A Guide to the Fair Folk of Ireland

[Brennus Flaithi]

Types of Fair Folk

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Most humans have the misconception that Faeries are small winged children who live in flowers and flit about in sunlit fields and forests. They couldn’t be more wrong. Yes, there are faeries who resemble these sprites of human fancy, but the majority of the inhabitants of the Twilight Realms are grander, more ethereal, and far more dangerous. There are several different breeds of Good People but the population of the Irish Court Under the Hill is made primarily of five breeds: The Sidhe, Selkies, Pucks, Flora Faeries, and Changelings.

The Sidhe

[/size][/color](pronounces Shee) are the kings and queens of Faery, who hold their courts under the hills of Ireland, where they live much as the aristocracy of any other race does. They feast, they dance, they have harpers and minstrels and so on. The Sidhe are tall, slender , graceful and posses an unearthly beauty.

Selkies

[/size][/color] also know as Merrows, are the Irish equivalent of merfolk, Faeries of the water. While in the water they take the form of seals, but upon reaching the shore they can shed their seal skins and take on a human or Faery form. If a Selkie loses her or his skin she or he may not return to the sea until they find it or grow a new one, which is an incredibly long and painful process, most Selkies choose to make their lives on land or Under the Hill rather than under go it.

Pucks

[/size][/color] also known sometimes as Pookas are Trickster Faeries essentially. They can have any number of forms as they are shape shifters, though most tend to adopt only an animal form in addition to their human and Faery visages. Though sometimes more helpful to humans than other Faeries, they would much rather tie shoelaces together than untie knots in a washing line. A Puck will play a trick on any one, regardless of the consequences sometimes.

Flora Faeries

[/size][/color] are the closest to the common human idea of Faeries, thought not childlike this type of Faery is small, with large insect wings in their Faery form. They are in essence the spirits and guardians of plants, not every plant has a Faery, but every Flora Faery has a plant. Though generally associated with flowering plants Flora Faeries are not limited to them, they can be spirits of trees, herbs, and shrubbery, even weeds.

Changelings

[/size][/color] are not Faeries at all, really. They are humans who were stolen by Faeries as infants and raised Under the Hill. Though Human in blood and nature these children take on the life span, behaviors, and in some cases the appearance of the Faeries they live with. They will not grow wings, nor will they have the shape changing capabilities possessed by the Fair Folk, but their basic feature tend to be elfin at the least.

[Brennus Flaithi]

Rules for Encounters with Faeries

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[/font][/center][/size][/color] ~ Faeries fear them. The theories why Faeries fear iron are many, too many to go into detail here.

2.) Don't Dance With Them

[/size][/color] ~ Faeries may entice you dance with them in their circles, but beware. Time for Faeries is different than it is with humans. You might think you just danced for 10 minutes but afterwards you discover that 10 years or more have gone by.

3.) Don't Eat Or Drink Anything They Give You

[/size][/color] ~it could be poisonous, or it could have a spell on it. Or in a manner rather like Persephone and Hades, you may be forced to stay with the Faery that gave you the food or drink.

4.) Don't Go To Faeryland

[/size][/color] ~ Just like in #2 above, time is different for Faeries. You might think your visit lasted an hour only to discover upon returning that a century has passed by. There are tales of people returning only to find out that their entire families have been dead for ages. In many of these stories, when a person returns from visiting Faeryland they instantly crumble into dust when their feet touch the ground. Most are not lucky enough to return.

5.) Don't Take A Faery Lover

[/size][/color] ~ Just as in Keats famous poem, 'La Belle Dame Sans Merci', all Faery-human unions are seemingly destined to turn tragic for the mortal. The same holds true for human women as well. In the history of the Irish Court there was one particular a male Sidhe called 'Glanconer'(Love-Talker) delights in bedding human females. Unfortunately, he's a 'love-'em-and-leave-'em' type of Faery and his cast-offs soon either go mad and kill themselves or else waste away and die as no touch of a mortal man will ever satisfy them.

6.) Salt & The Lord's Prayer

[/size][/color]~ Cary a pinch of salt in your pocket and recite The Lord's Prayer before traveling. The salt of the Earth can burn Air or Water Faeries. The Lord’s Payer is more a of courtesy than anything else, when Christianity first came to Ireland King Auberon made a pact that Christians were to be left alone. The agreement was that if a human said the Lord’s Paryer to a Faery, the Faery could not touch them or tempt them in anyway.

7.) Don't Step Into A Faery Circle

[/size][/color]~ If you chance upon a Faery circle, a circle of mushrooms where the fairies were said to have danced, do not step into it. Lore states that people have simply disappeared after doing so and that such circles might be gateways to the Twilight Realms.

8.) Stay Indoors When Fairies Are Most Active

[/size][/color] ~ Samhain (Halloween), Beltane (May 1st), The Solstices & Equinoxes, Midnight & Noon.

9.) Be Observant

[/size][/color]~ When Faeries walk amongst us in human form, there will always be a tell, though that depends on the Faery. If there is something off about your new friend, don’t agree to go over to their house until you can be prepared.

10.) Don't Steal From The Faeries

[/size][/color] ~ You would be surprised how many tales their are of foolish people who happen upon a Faery treasure and decide to help themselves. Let's just say the tales don't end well for the poor thief.

11.) Don't Cut Down Trees Or Move Boulders Or Large Rocks Without The Faeries Permission

[/size][/color] ~ Such could be the home of the Faeries. Instead, one is supposed to ask permission, or to at least explain why such a task needs to be accomplished. Ample time is to be given for the Faeries to relocate. Anyone who destroys the home of a Faery is likely to find himself/herself homeless sooner or later.

12.) Don't Spy On The Faeries

[/size][/color] ~ If one spots Faeries, it's best to quietly scram. 'Peeping Toms', when caught, can be severely punished. Think of Artemis and Actaeon, not pretty.

13.) Don't Follow Faery-Lights

[/size][/color]~ If you see a Faery-light, also called fox-fires or will-o'-the-wisps, do not follow them. The Faeries use these lights to fool and trick people into wandering away and getting lost, or worse, falling off a cliff or drowning in a marsh.

14.) If You Become The Victim Of Faery Magic

[/size][/color] ~ Strip, turn your clothes inside-out and put them back on. Put your shoes on the wrong feet. This is said to confuse the fairies and destroy their ability to harm you. This isn't true, but if a Faery is bothering you they will stop if you do this, if only because they are laughing to hard to think of any more tricks.

15) Silence Is Golden

[/size][/color]~ Do not talk about Faeries directly, but instead use phrases like 'The Good People', 'The Little People', 'The Fair FOlk,' etc., lest you attract them. If you encounter a Faery do not speak of the encounter lest you be plagued by bad luck and ill fortune for the rest of your life.

16.) RESPECT...RESPECT...RESPECT

[/size][/color]~ If you don't put into practice any of the above advice, practice this one and you should be fine. Always show the utmost respect to Faeries and you should survive the encounter unscathed.[/ul]

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IF YOU HAVE READ ALL OF THE ABOVE, WRITE: I Believe in Faries
on the bottom of your application, along with the rules clue

[Nod O'Not]

this is so confusing

[Robbie O'Not]

I didn't read any of this but there is a lot