Faery rings

[Rain30]

I haven't done much reading much about the fae, but I have had some interesting experiences with them. For those of you who are more experienced than I, do you think it's a bad idea to step inside a faery ring? I've done it on a number of occasions, and I found it to be quite enchanting. I know the myths say otherwise, but maybe the local nature spirits around here are more benign than their European cousins.

I was thinking that having a Midsummer celebration in a fairy ring could be a lot of fun, but I would like to hear some of your thoughts. Have any of you had experiences with a fairy ring? I really don't know much about the fae, beyond my own experiences, so any thoughts or advice you might have would be great. :)

ETA: Oops! I think this thread would have been better under the "Magical Creatures and Familiars" subfolder. My bad. If one of the mods could move it for me, I'd appreciate it!

[Meadhbh]

No I don't think its a good ideal. Not unless you have some iron on you some where. Its would also depend on what time of the day you did your steeping. Usually the rings are active at night so if you did it during the day you may be okay. The problem is that not all of the fae are nice and you have no ideal till your end the circle if they want to chat or if they plan to eat you. If you want to go to faerie let me remind you not to eat or drink anything while your there.

[Janjuh]

I have done a tons of reading on the fae but I have never heard of a faery rings. What is that?

[Rain30]

Hi Meadhbh,
Thanks for the reply. I'm a defender of old trees, untouched prairies, and other faery haunts, so I think the fae kind of respect me for that reason. I get "good vibes" from the nature spirits, if you know what I mean. I've never felt anything threatening. It's hard to tell if some of those cautionary tales are grounded in truth, or if it's just supersition. Have you ever had any bad experiences with the fae?

Janjuh, faery rings are circles of mushrooms in the grass. The ones I've seen also have a dark green ring of thick, lush grass around the perimeter, but some faery rings appear as circles of dead grass. It's said that the rings are made when the fae (or sometimes witches) dance in the circle at night.

Here's a picture:
http://web.utk.edu/~mgoddar1/images/diseases/Fairy%20Ring.jpg

[Morgandria]

I don't invite the presence of the little buggers into my life at any point, let alone decide to enter into their realm, run by their rules, voluntarily. No thanks!

[Meadhbh]

No I myself have not. I have run across some of the nastier fae but they were not looking for me. If you've been anywhere near where the Unseelie have ridden by then you'll know that some things are best given wide distance. Morgandria is right though even if their not puropsefully evil its best not to trust them completly they like to play by their own rules to much.

[Rain30]

I have a few more questions:

1) Are the fae the same everywhere? I mean, are American fae the same as Irish fae? Do the myths and folklore about European faeries even apply overseas? Or is it better to research the native myths about nature spirits?
2) Are all nature spirits considered fae?

Thanks for your help! :)

[sybba_leigh]

i don't think anything will happen. faeries have never done anything to me. i've looked for them, invited them to my house, made offerings and nothing ever happened. the faerie ring story will just add amusement to the party i think. everything will probably be fine.

[Janjuh]

Hi Meadhbh,
Thanks for the reply. I'm a defender of old trees, untouched prairies, and other faery haunts, so I think the fae kind of respect me for that reason. I get "good vibes" from the nature spirits, if you know what I mean. I've never felt anything threatening. It's hard to tell if some of those cautionary tales are grounded in truth, or if it's just supersition. Have you ever had any bad experiences with the fae?

Janjuh, faery rings are circles of mushrooms in the grass. The ones I've seen also have a dark green ring of thick, lush grass around the perimeter, but some faery rings appear as circles of dead grass. It's said that the rings are made when the fae (or sometimes witches) dance in the circle at night.

Here's a picture:
http://web.utk.edu/~mgoddar1/images/diseases/Fairy%20Ring.jpg

Thanks Rain and thanks for including a picture! Interesting stuff!!

[skilly-nilly]

I have a few more questions:

1) Are the fae the same everywhere? I mean, are American fae the same as Irish fae? Do the myths and folklore about European faeries even apply overseas? Or is it better to research the native myths about nature spirits?


I think that where-they-live can be accessed/have an entrance anywhere in the world; I believe that the calling-up on the part of the human has an influence on where the openings occur. Knowing about the myths and Spirits of your specific locale is always a good idea (imo) but those Beings may choose not to talk to you. Again imo, any Being can pop out anywhere if they want to and are invited.

Invited is the important distinction to me. I believe that even the Seelie Buggers have their own agenda---possibly harmful to humans and certainly not limited by the same ethical considerations that we have. And they have a cruel, slapstick sense of humor that can be quite dangerous.

To me, stepping into their land would be like using an ouija board or holding a seance but in a country known to be dangerous and perhaps hostile. You would be lighting up a beacon and calling up anyone who cared to answer---Seelie or Unseelie. If you knew in advance that you would have allies meeting you, perhaps it would be less dangerous but it's not something I would do.


2) Are all nature spirits considered fae?


I don't think so. I communicate often and at length with Tree and Animal Spirits. They have Their own natures (related to the physical manifestations we see of Them in this world) and while not, strictly speaking, friendly They are not as likely to be malicious and also operate with a code of honour far more similar to ours (or our ideal) than the Buggers do.

Perhaps I should mention that I am an Animist and so my particular world is pretty full of Beings. Yours may vary.

[Rain30]

Thanks for the encouragement, sybba_leigh. :) My experiences have been the same way. Nothing too sinister.

You're welcome, Janjuh! I'm happy to help. :)

Hi skilly-nilly,
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm an animist too, which is why I was wondering about it. Personally, I don't think the tree's spirit is the same as a dryad that might be living on it, but I could be wrong. The fae seem to be free agents, coming and going as they please. They also have very peculiar personalities that are quite different from the other nature spirits I've encountered. Like I said, I've only had great experiences with the fae so far, but I'll be cautious. Thanks again. :)

Oh, and are there any good books that any of you would recommend? I haven't read anything about the fae other than a couple of webpages, and I'd like to know more. I'd deeply appreciate any recommendations you might have.

LOL, I like this icon. :ringaroun

[skilly-nilly]

Hi skilly-nilly,
Thanks for your thoughts. I'm an animist too, which is why I was wondering about it. Personally, I don't think the tree's spirit is the same as a dryad that might be living on it, but I could be wrong. The fae seem to be free agents, coming and going as they please. They also have very peculiar personalities that are quite different from the other nature spirits I've encountered. Like I said, I've only had great experiences with the fae so far, but I'll be cautious. Thanks again. :)

Oh, and are there any good books that any of you would recommend? I haven't read anything about the fae other than a couple of webpages, and I'd like to know more. I'd deeply appreciate any recommendations you might have.

LOL, I like this icon. :ringaroun

I'm a sort of an Irish Reconstructionist , so dryads aren't part of my world-view but I agree that there is a particular, personal, individual Spirit of each Tree/Bush/rock/structure as well as the Spirit of that type of thing that can come over from the Other World and co-inhabit the particular Being.

So I can talk to the Spirit of Oak from the Spirit World as well as the Spirit of the particular Oak in my back yard all at once.

Animals I find to be a little different and more varied---Crows interact largely as individuals with only a small prompt from Crow-Spirit, Rabbits (perhaps because they are prey animals) mostly don't interact themselves but allow SpiritRabbit to act through them, butterflies don't (I believe) have individual will but are just moved around by Spirit...

Again, it's specifically Irish but I would recommend:

Summer with the Leprechauns by Tanis Helliwell
http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Leprechauns-Tanis-Helliwell/dp/1577330013/ref=sr_1_3/103-5173278-0259068?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1174403864&sr=1-3


The Elves of Lily Hill Farm by Penny Kelly
http://www.amazon.com/Elves-Lily-Hill-Farm/dp/0963293419/ref=pd_sim_b_4/103-5173278-0259068?ie=UTF8&qid=1174403864&sr=1-3

You can also go to any library and read Irish folk-lore. If you read lots you get a sense of what's been fiddled with and what's not.

[Meadhbh]

I have a few more questions:

1) Are the fae the same everywhere? I mean, are American fae the same as Irish fae? Do the myths and folklore about European faeries even apply overseas? Or is it better to research the native myths about nature spirits?
2) Are all nature spirits considered fae?

Thanks for your help! :)

1) Both. Like other people have said its always a good ideal to at least know whose living in your area. But you more likely to run into the fae/ nature spirits that come from the cultures that belong to the path your on. For example if your on an Irish path your more likely to run into a sidhe than an elf.
2) It depends on the spirit. Some are more spirits of place than they are actuallty fae.