the Publisher
I once lived in a house in a wooded area in New England, and it was there that I had my introduction to the fairy realm. I felt as though I’d acquired my own private nature preserve. I could sit on the back deck and look out over a brook populated with muskrats and ducks and trees filled with an abundance of birds. Soon I discovered that another, largely unseen population existed in the landscape: nature spirits. I became aware of the spirits especially at times when I was in a peaceful mood, not thinking of anything in particular, but simply drinking in the beauty, scents and sounds of the environment around me. Mostly I noticed them at dusk when long shadows fell across the woods, and also at dawn when shapes emerged from the lightening darkness. Nights when pale moonlight glittered through the trees were magical; the woods came alive with mysterious presences.
I rarely ‘saw’ the beings, but rather sensed them with my inner eye. There were silvery-white forms that zipped and flitted about the woods; strange little creatures that seemed to be made of bark and leaves; and other beings that I would simply call ‘presences’. These latter ones seemed more like essences of the natural world than creatures or beings.
Whatever I perceived, I usually could only hold them in my consciousness for a few moments at a time. Later I learned how to expand my ‘fairy sight’ to have more detailed perception, both inner and visual, and I also learned how to establish relationships with some of these beings. In this book I will share with you how I did that, and also describe the rewards that come with a sincere partnership with the nature kingdom.
My awareness of the nature spirits was part of my unfolding awareness of the angelic kingdom. I discovered I wasn’t alone in this, by any means, but that many people were having similar spiritual awakenings and encounters with angels and fairies. What does it all mean?
Humanity has sent out a collective call to the spiritual realms for assistance. We have received a calling in return. If we wish the spiritual help of angels and fairies in our own personal growth and in our striving to make the world a better and more harmonious place, then we must establish relationships that reach beyond the bounds of physical earth. We must demonstrate our sincere intent to make use of the help that is offered. Fairies and angels were created as helping beings, to look after all things in accordance to the Divine Plan. They all work toward a purpose of wholeness and love.
Angels have the primary responsibility of looking after the wellbeing of people, while nature spirits, tending to the natural realm, traditionally have had different interactions with us. But now the nature spirits have made themselves available to open more lines of communication with humans. An earth of beauty, harmony and love cannot be accomplished by one force alone. The fairies cannot do it alone, the angels cannot do it alone, and we humans cannot do it alone. It requires cooperation. Fairies, like angels, can help us bring forth joy and abundance into the world.
The fairy universe teems with diverse beings. This book is an introduction to their marvellous and magical world, and how you can participate in it. As you turn the pages, imagine that you are showered with glittery fairy dust that casts a special enchantment to transport you through the Golden Door. And what is the Golden Door, and what lies beyond it? That’s for you to discover!
ROSEMARY ELLEN GUILEY, PH.D.
Parallel to our world is an invisible world, the realm of the fairies. The existence of this realm has been known since ancient times the world over. Fairies occupy a middle realm between earth and the heavenly spiritual planes, and they are more closely tied to and associated with the concerns of earth than are angels, demi-gods and gods.
Descriptions of fairies and explanations of their origins vary, as do the nature of human interactions with fairies. Some fairies are feared and others are courted. They are supernaturally endowed and can do magic, and for that reason people throughout the ages have sought their help and favours.
Perhaps you’ve already glimpsed their secret world as they work industriously in nature and around human households and places of work. Fairies are elusive, and many prefer to keep to themselves. However, it is possible to build a relationship with the fairy realm that is rewarding and productive. This book will tell you how to do it.
Fairies are supernaturally endowed and can do magic, and for that reason people throughout the ages have sought their help and favours.
The term ‘fairy’ comes from the Latin word fata, or fate, which refers to the Fates of mythology: three women who spin, twist and cut the threads of life. ‘Fairy’ came into usage in medieval times and was often used to refer to women who had magical powers. ‘Fairy’ originally meant ‘fae-erie’, or a state of enchantment. According to lore, fairies themselves do not like the word, but prefer such labels as ‘the Good Neighbours’, ‘the Gentry’, ‘the People of Peace’, ‘the Strangers’, ‘Themselves’, ‘The Seely (Blessed) Court’ and similar terms. Fairies are often referred to as ‘the Little People’.
Fairy beliefs are universal and, despite their variations, are strikingly similar. While their lore can be found around the world, fairy beliefs are particularly strong in the British Isles and in Europe.
Contemporary popular Western beliefs about angels link fairies to angels as a subordinate class of beings, in accordance with the idea of ministering angels – everything in nature has its guiding, or ministering, angel. In folklore tradition, however, fairies are not a type of heavenly angel, but a separate class of being.
Fairy lore is older than Christianity, but much of it has acquired Christian elements. The major explanations for the origins of fairies are:
