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Are fairies dangerous?

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
I don't really know much about faerie lore in the traditional sense, although working with "nature spirits" (same as gods to me, really) is a regular cornerstone of my path. By some interpretations, nature spirits and the fae are analogous but I don't use that label for them. I suppose if you were to apply my experiences with nature spirits to the fae, yes, some nature spirits are dangerous if you do stupid things. If you want to work with Poison Ivy, for example, you need to be careful about it. It's a great ally for hexcrafts, but if you work with it wrong, it'll bite you.
 

Erebus

Well-Known Member
As te_lanus mentioned it really depends on the fairy. As a general rule I'd say "capricious" neatly summarizes the nature of fairies in a lot of folklore. Also remember that following the Christianization of Europe, fairies often became synonymous with demons.
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
They can be.

Fairies, from what I can tell, are basically the Celtic equivalent to the Germanic Elves. (In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Fairies there are often referred to as Elves, for example). That is to say, they are more localized Wights. (A Wight is basically any living entity but with a more "supernatural" connotation.) While Gods in the Old Way were often worshiped primarily at certain times of the year, or asked for intervention via a priest, Elves/Fairies were honored every day.

For Anglo-Saxon Christians, Elves were blamed for many ills, such as rheumatism and other diseases. For myself, I often blame bad luck on the whims of an Elf gone bored. Speaking of Midsummer Night's Dream, I recommend looking into the lore of Puck/Robin Goodfellow, because he's a pretty central figure in Anglo-Saxon fairylore.
 

AutumnWitch

New Member
Only when they get stuck in your hair...no wait that are pixies. Yes, anyone can be dangerous if you threaten or try to harm them. Might as well ask if you are dangerous.
 

Bunyip

pro scapegoat
The fairies in Anglo-Saxon folklore were terrifying elemental beings. They stole babies and returned them changed, amongst many other fearful things.

Essentially a fairy was about as scary as a demon, goblin, wight and so on.
The 19th century pretty little girl with fly wings and glitter fairy has very little to do with the original concept.
 

Ingledsva

HEATHEN ALASKAN
They can be.

Fairies, from what I can tell, are basically the Celtic equivalent to the Germanic Elves. (In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the Fairies there are often referred to as Elves, for example). That is to say, they are more localized Wights. (A Wight is basically any living entity but with a more "supernatural" connotation.) While Gods in the Old Way were often worshiped primarily at certain times of the year, or asked for intervention via a priest, Elves/Fairies were honored every day.

For Anglo-Saxon Christians, Elves were blamed for many ills, such as rheumatism and other diseases. For myself, I often blame bad luck on the whims of an Elf gone bored. Speaking of Midsummer Night's Dream, I recommend looking into the lore of Puck/Robin Goodfellow, because he's a pretty central figure in Anglo-Saxon fairylore.


What? I'm a good Elf/Alf, - and I'm definitely not a fairy.

I do however keep myself from getting bored by debating on this site, - so who knows! LOL!




*
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
Fairies as in Djins and... GULP... goats?

:fearscream:

Well.... not really.

Djinns, I understand, are creatures born of fire?

Fairies are not. Fairies are, at the most basic conceptual level, woodland spirits, born from trees.

As for goats... if you're thinking of the image of the half-man, half-goat, that's called a Satyr. They're also woodland spirits, but they're Greek in origin; Fairies are Celtic.
 

Smart_Guy

...
Premium Member
Well.... not really.

Djinns, I understand, are creatures born of fire?

Fairies are not. Fairies are, at the most basic conceptual level, woodland spirits, born from trees.

As for goats... if you're thinking of the image of the half-man, half-goat, that's called a Satyr. They're also woodland spirits, but they're Greek in origin; Fairies are Celtic.

Oh, okay!

And yes, you are right about Djins, at least as in the Islamic claim.

As for goats, I meant ghosts. It was a typo.
 

Riverwolf

Amateur Rambler / Proud Ergi
Premium Member
Oh, okay!

And yes, you are right about Djins, at least as in the Islamic claim.

As for goats, I meant ghosts. It was a typo.

Ah. Okay.

There's a distinction between Fairies and Ghosts in the modern senses of the words (ghosts in most modern contexts are very specifically spirits of dead people), but in older conceptions, they may have been similar. Shakespeare's fairies are often called "shadows", and are basically "unseen spirits", which is basically what a ghost is...

I'm stopping here before I ramble too much. lol
 

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber & Business Owner
Only if you encounter a shape shifting one that is in the form of a chair until you go to sit on it, and then the fairy moves so you plop down really hard on the floor.
 

Jogg

Member
Hello again ...
Thanks for those opinions!
bunyip/Quintessence/Riverwolf/Shyanekh
really interesting what you write !!
Éva Pocs studies shows that in the Balkan region where many
"Fairy-disease healer" a specialist to cure only fairy diseases!
The disease tuberculosis with the symptom of consumption is also blamed on the fairies.
I also do not believe that one can discuss about faith
other way would they universities throw out a lot of money
for nothing, or?
Many thousand rapports of encounters with fairy's...!

Éva Pocs...professor in the department of ethnography and cultural anthropology at Janus Pannonius university, Pécs

[[Link Removed]]
 
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