Faeries & Elementals for Beginners: Learn About & Communicate With Nature Spirits (6 page)

ian help of dinnshenchas during any time of need when

they are being wronged. Dinnshenchas can take on terrify-

ing forms to protect women from attackers.

Dracs/Dracae/Nix—Water

Found in France, England, and Germany, dracs are giant,

floating purple blobs that usually appear on or near water.

Dracs can shapeshift into the form of a golden chalice or

a woman. Dracs frolic near natural bodies of water, or

even just in damp forests. They enjoy floating down rivers on wooden rafts that look like plates. Dracs are harmless

Getting started with Faeries • 37

when you keep your distance, but are not helpful. They may devour or kidnap men when they reach toward the water

to claim their prize. At that moment, the drac will grab the man and drag him away to either drown or live in captivity below the water.

Drakes—Fire

Originating in England, drakes are house faeries that seek out human homes that have a fireplace and a welcoming

family. Though invisible to the eye, drakes have a very

strong sulfurous smell that is not terribly pleasant. How-

ever, the services drakes provide are worth the terrible

smell, since they keep firewood dry and help the hearth fire start and keep burning through the night.

Drakes enjoy offerings of food and old wood, and are

more likely to take up residence in a home that is out in the country or near a forest. If offerings are withheld, a drake may become upset and leave the home forever.

Duckfeet/Erdluitles—Earth

The males of these Swiss dwarf faeries are called Hard-

mandlene, while the females are called Erdbiberli. Though

they do have webbed feet, they can’t swim and they keep

their feet hidden by wearing long, hooded cloaks. A duck-

foot has magical control over the weather, but as they are all shy around humans, they are unlikely to offer help with the weather to just anyone. In the past, farmers were able to gain the favor of a duckfoot by being polite. Pleasant

weather would follow, helping the crops to ripen.

38 • Chapter One

Duendes—Earth

Though duendes appeared first in Spain, they migrated

with the Spanish people to the Americas. Duendes always

appear as small women with long and slender fingers that

taper to a point. They wear green robes and live solitary

lives. Duendes are extremely envious and possessive, and

especially like to try to take over a human home and drive its human occupants away.

Though they do tidy up the houses they infest since

they like order in their environment, make no mistake,

they are not trying to help. A duende will set about creating cruel practical jokes, moving furniture, and tossing and breaking objects in the home. Things can get quite dangerous if a duende starts throwing cutlery. The best course of action if your home becomes infested is to evict her. Any

attempt to placate her will only make her envious about

what resources you have that she does not.

Duergaars—Earth

These dwarf faeries may be from England, France and

Spain. Appearing as nearly two foot tall people wearing

clothes of moleskin and green hats, they are ill-tempered

and unfriendly to humans. Duergaars live solitary lives,

usually setting up residence on a faerie path in the woods.

Since they dislike humans, a duergaar will viciously guard his or her path in the woods and will work to steer humans away or make them lose their way in the forest. Duergaars

tamper with human trail markers in order to confuse and

disorient travelers.

Getting started with Faeries • 39

Dybbukkim/Lobs—Air

Dybbukkim are Israeli spirits that are demonic in nature.

They are invisible, but can possess people in order to take the form of human bodies. A similar creature, the Lob, that may have originally come from either Wales, Germany,

or England, is said to take the form of a dark cloud with

arms. A dybbuk will travel through the air in search of loud human arguments or fights. Feeding off the energy of dis-cord, the dybbuk waits until a human has become vulner-

able through acts of evil or violence. When a human has

become spiritually weakened, the dybbuk will possess him

or her in order to have a tangible form.

Dybbukkim are never helpful. They are always harm-

ful, especially since they halt any recovery from spiritual afflictions. A dybbuk can be exorcised by a priest once it has entered a body, or dybukkim can be warded off altogether

with music. Even a few musical notes will send a dybbuk

flying away to find somewhere else to feed. Consequently,

when the atmosphere has turned negative, turn on some

music to keep the situation from getting much worse.

Ellyllons—Water

From the lakes of Cornwall and Wales, ellyllons are faeries small enough to ride upon eggshells over the water. Though they live at the bottom of lakes, they cannot be seen when they are below the water’s surface. Ellyllons are most commonly spotted during the spring, but they have little interest in either helping or harming humans unless they are

worshipers of the lake Goddess embodied by the fables of

the Lady of the Lake from Arthurian legend.

40 • Chapter One

Erlkonig/Ellerkonge—Air

Erlkonigs are solitary elf kings. In fact, there may be only one since only one has been seen at a time. Though Erlkonig’s appearances have occurred in Denmark and Germany,

he is said to live in Valhalla when not making brief visits to foretell a death.

The Erlkonig appears only to a person who will die. He

wears a crown of gold and other finery. If he looks miserable and suffering, the nature of the death will be horrible. If he looks peaceful and jolly, the death will be just as peaceful.

Farm Faeries/Fireesin/Harvesters—Earth

Farm faeries are ugly, naked and covered with sparse brown fur. A farm faerie lives a solitary life, seeking out a farm to make its home. Once a farm has been found, a farm faerie

will take up residence and attempt to help out with the

farm chores. Unfortunately, farm faeries are not very intelligent, and the farm faerie’s attempts to help might just end up breaking things or making a mess. Farm faeries hibernate during the winter, but tend to cause frustration on

farms the rest of the year.

If a farm faerie is banished from a farm, it will become

angry and usually destroy crops and livestock as it leaves.

So, it is best to put up with the minor annoyances of poorly done chores than to evict a farm faerie by offering him or her clothing. After all, once one farm faerie is gone, another one may move right back in.

Getting started with Faeries • 41

Fays/Fae/Fadas/Fas/Fatas/Fee—Air

Though from Albania, these faeries may have been named

after the Latin word for “fate.” They are small and of four distinct types, one for each season. Their appearances are evocative of the seasons; they also help to color and open flowers in the spring, ripen fruit in the summer, make

leaves fall in the autumn, and paint frost on the windows

in the winter.

Dancing with the fays is the best way to please them,

although they are more likely to be caught up in their own important work than to actually help your life. Though

they are tangentially associated with the weather of the seasons, they only bring about the inevitable, and so they cannot be asked to work specific weather magic for you.

Fin Folk/the Lady’s Own/Sea Gardeners—Water

From Cornwall, Scotland, and Wales, fin folk look like

humans, but exist in an underwater kingdom surrounded

by a bubble of glass. Fin folk love to garden the watery beds of their domain and enjoy helping fish and other water

animals thrive. Though fin folk can breathe air, they never leave their underwater kingdoms, preferring to stay home.

They are shy around humans and have shunned the world

of dry land, so they are unlikely to invite you to visit unless you commit yourself to helping underwater plants and animals thrive as much as they do.

Formors/Formorians—Water

The formors may have once been humanoid Irish faerie

folk. However, they have long since been banished to the

42 • Chapter One

sea and turned into frightening sea monsters. The formors

can be recognized because they look like many animal parts sewn together. They live in the sea, but can crawl awkwardly upon the shore at nighttime. They are not very intelligent and are quick to anger. The formors can be easily avoided

by not going to the seashore or into the sea at night.

Fossegrim—Water

These Norwegian spirits of waterfalls are playful pranksters, but don’t truly wish humans either help or harm. They

appear to be human themselves, only their lower bodies and feet gradually taper and disappear into mist as if they were the bottoms of waterfalls themselves. Fossegrim enjoy taking the form of particularly attractive humans, even though they don’t have any gender differences themselves. In fact, they can switch between male and female human forms in

order to properly trick whatever gender approaches their

waterfall homes. Though fossegrim are not cruel, it would

be wise to avoid becoming too attached to them, since they only want to toy with peoples’ hearts.

Fylgiar—Air

In Iceland, some people, especially those born with a caul over their head (a leftover layer of membrane from the

mother’s womb) will have a faerie companion through-

out life called a fylgiar. The fylgiar helps its chosen person throughout his or her entire life, and perhaps even for some time after a given lifespan. Fylgiars remain invisible until shortly before their human’s death, when they make an

appearance in order to warn of the upcoming demise. If the
Getting started with Faeries • 43

fylgiar appears as a beautiful and serene faerie, death will be peaceful. If a fylgiar appears mangled and in pain, the death of its human will be a terribly painful one.

If one has been blessed with a fylgiar, one must serve

the fylgiar throughout life in return for the fylgiar’s service.

Serving a fylgiar can be done in dreams, or during medita-

tion when the fylgiar can give specific instructions for how it would like to be helped. This reciprocal relationship helps build a bond of trust that can last beyond death.

Ganconer/Gancanagh—Air

From Cornwall, Ireland and Scotland, the ganconer faerie is only male. Ganconers are solitary and appear as attractive human men who carry pipes. Strangely enough, a ganconer

never smokes his pipe, but only seems to hold it for decorative purposes since he hates the smell of smoke. Ganconers are not friendly to humans, and they exist only to try to

steal the hearts of lonely human women. Ganconers do not

return love, but allow the strong feelings to consume each woman until she dies.

Ganconers should be avoided, especially by women

who are prone to falling for attractive men. If you see a man with a pipe who is not smoking, especially if he is waiting in the forest all alone, walk the other way.

Gandharvas—Earth

Indian faeries called gandharvas serve deities through

music and dance. Gandharvas are extremely small and live

entirely underground. They are very shy and rarely emerge, though they are harmless to humans if they do. In order to
44 • Chapter One

attract gandharvas, one need only make music and dance in

praise of the Hindu deities that they serve.

Gans—Air

Gans are faeries that live in the mountains and wild places of the southwestern United States. Apache people used

to honor them to avoid accidents or attacks by wild ani-

mals when they went out to explore or hunt. Gans are very

friendly and helpful, but they require a lot of honor and ritual before they will choose to help humans at all. They may have shared the appearance of the ritual dress the Apache

used, which involved white robes, black masks, and head-

dresses made of wood. In order to ask for protection from

the gans, you can dress yourself in similar attire. Dance in order to raise energy in praise and service to the gans, and ask for them to help you in return.

Geancanach—Fire

These hearth fire faeries from Ireland and Scotland are very small, just a few inches in height, with pointy ears and eyes that curve upward to a point. Though they are winged, they are never seen in flight. Instead, they seem to magically

transport themselves by disappearing and reappearing. Per-

haps they fly so fast that they can’t be seen, or perhaps they teleport themselves. Light seems to flicker when they move, making them seem like fireflies.

Geancanach love human hearth fires and will be

attracted to the warmth of the fire when it is kindled.

Though geancanach are not malicious, they aren’t very

helpful and like to play practical jokes on humans. In order
Getting started with Faeries • 45

to avoid their mischief, set out an offering of fresh milk by the hearth fire for the geancanach to drink.

Ghillie Dhu—Fire

The name
ghillie dhu
in their native Scottish Gaelic means

“dark shoe.” Ghillie dhu are forest spirits which mimic the form of trees, so they look like trees that have an oddly

humanoid form. Ghillie dhu are not friendly toward

humans and keep to their own in their forests.

Don’t tread in a forest in which people have been

known to disappear. It may be that a ghillie dhu grabbed