Faeries & Elementals for Beginners: Learn About & Communicate With Nature Spirits (7 page)

them with its long, branch-like fingers and stole them away to a faerie land to work as slaves to the faeries for the rest of their days.

Gianes—Earth

Though gianes may have originated in Italy, they can be

found all over Europe. They look like elves dressed in peasant clothing and pointy hats of animal skins. They carry

spinning wheel spindles in their back pockets and live solitary lives. Gianes spend most of their time spinning, weaving and telling fortunes. They are friendly to humans.

In order to seek your fortune from a giane, go out to

the woods at night and ask for your future to be revealed.

Beware that gianes don’t pull any punches, and may give

you harsh news along with the good. If you make friends

with a giane, you may be given a piece of woven cloth. Keep it with you, as it will bring you good fortune.

46 • Chapter One

Giants—Air

Giants appear in myths and legends the world over. They

most often look like humans (especially ugly ones) of a fantastic size. Since there are so many different kinds of giants, some may be friendly while others are unfriendly due to a

distrust of humans who tend to persecute and steal from

them. Giants keep to themselves out in the country and

mostly live solitary lives. If you want to frighten a giant away from an area, they may be fearful of cats.

Griffins/Griffiths/Geetoes/Gittos/Gryphons—Air

A Welsh griffin has the body of a goat with the head of a

horse. Griffins can float through the air and have the magical power to cause crops to die. They are most active in the fall and winter. Griffins have human voices and the power

of speech, but they are very unfriendly and will not hold

pleasant conversation.

Griffins do not like people, but often a satisfactory

arrangement can be made between people and griffins. The

people leave some of the crops in the fields after the final harvest on Halloween so that the griffins can eat or destroy them. That way, hopefully the rest of the gathered harvest will be spared.

Glaistigs—Water

Scottish glaistigs are solitary and territorial, living in the country near farms. The glaistig is a shapeshifter who takes on the form of a woman, but always accidentally applies

horse or goat parts to her body. Glaistigs hate men, and will kill them in order to suck out all their blood for sustenance.

Getting started with Faeries • 47

It may be that glaistigs are friendly to other members of

the farming family, such as women, or even children or the elderly of either gender. They can be asked for help with the crops, but men should avoid them at all costs, even if they are not attracted to the glaistig’s female form.

Golem—Earth

The Israeli golem is a creature created by a magical prac-

titioner for a specific purpose. It is a thoughtform, rather than a sentient entity with which one can interact. Golems may take many forms, but they can be recognized by the

vacant stare of something that has no mind of its own.

Golems are harmless unless they have been created to

harm, in which case they can be killed like a living thing, but without guilt, since they are essentially objects. In some tales, the Hebrew word
emet
(“truth”) would be written on the golem’s forehead to bring it to life. To destroy it, one would erase the aleph character to make the word
met
, which means “dead.”

Grants—Fire

Grants are solitary faerie creatures that associate themselves with a single English town. They appear to be very small

horses, but are so oddly shaped that they are eerie to those who look upon them. Though their grotesque deformity

frightens people, they are actually quite friendly and want to protect humans from harm.

Whenever any marauders are about to besiege a town

that is looked after by a grant, the grant runs through the streets stirring up all of the animals, causing the dogs to
48 • Chapter One

bark and the horses to whinny. If you hear the commotion

caused by a grant, you can be sure that a group of people

who may not wish your town well are on their way.

Gremlins/Gremlers/Sky Boogies—Air

Gremlin is actually the name for a male of such a crea-

ture. The females are called fifenellas and their babies are widgets. Gremlins come from Germany but have spread

all over Europe and England in particular has many tales

about them. Many gremlins are small, but some are almost

as large as humans. They are brown-furred with short,

pointed ears and mischievous smiles.

Gremlins, as a species, may once have flown with

wings, but are no longer winged or capable of flight. As

a result, they take out their frustration by destroying airplanes. Gremlins can start fires, pull wires, chew through metal, and cause all manner of destruction. Spandules are a special type of gremlin that enjoy putting ice on the wings of planes, even when temperatures are well above freezing, to cause fatal crashes. There is no known way to appease a gremlin except to abandon an airplane to its destruction.

Guriuz—Air

Guriuz are creatures from Italy that look like elves. They have the ability to control the weather, so keeping on their good side is of great interest to farmers. Though the guriuz may hibernate during the winter, they are friendly toward

those who raise plants from the earth during the rest of the year.

Getting started with Faeries • 49

Gwragedd Annwn—Water

Female water faeries called gwragedd annwn come from

Wales and are guardians of children, mothers, and the

poor. Gwragedd annwn appear as breathtakingly beauti-

ful human women, but they normally make their home at

the bottom of mountain lakes. When they do emerge, they

are very friendly to humans. Gwragedd annwn are always

patient and loving with human children, but may be a bit

moody and quick to cause drama in mixed social settings.

They love the number five and collect objects from the lake in that number. In fact, they cannot count higher than the number five.

Gwragedd annwn can be approached gladly, although

you may have to be overly polite so as not to offend them.

They enjoy music and dancing, if you would like to make

them happy. Men can fall in love with and even marry

gwragedd annwn without it ending in strife as with many

other faerie marriages. Humans and gwragedd annwn can

interbreed to make beautiful children who love music.

Gwyllions—Fire

These faeries may once have been able to fly, but they no

longer have the power of flight. They guard wild mountain

goats of Wales, and only come out at night. They mostly

keep to themselves and are so very rarely seen that it may be hard to find a reliable description of them, since they are normally spoken of as strange figures seen in the mountains at night.

Gwyllions are not unfriendly towards humans, only

shy. They fear storms, and so a friendship can be made of

50 • Chapter One

them if you offer them shelter in the rain. Never threaten a gwyllion, especially with a knife. Though a gwyllion is said to grant a wish when frightened by a knife, he or she may

spend a lifetime getting even with the human who made

such a threat.

Herdswomen/Firesitters/Gruagachs—Earth

A herdswoman is a faerie woman that looks like a human,

only she is quite old and deformed. Wandering Scotland,

carrying a shepherd’s crook and wearing a gown of green

or gold, a herdswoman seeks out companionship and a

warm fire. When meeting humans, they normally shun her

because of her ugliness, so she is always lonely and cold.

Even when she does find somebody to speak with, they

normally ignore her because her attention span is too short to be able to understand long stories.

If meeting a herdswoman, invite her to sit by the fire

and she will be so overjoyed to have good conversation and warmth that she will gladly help you. She helps cattle find water and stay out of trouble, and guards livestock from

malevolent faeries. Offering a herdswoman some milk will

also please her.

His Nibs/Clurichauns/Monciellos—Earth

Found in both Italy and Ireland, his nibs are solitary faerie creatures that are short, wingless, elderly and male, wearing red hats made of flowers. His nibs find and then guard wine cellars, so that they can drink far too much themselves. His nibs are cheerful drunks, however. Even though they take

wine for themselves, they also prevent cask leakage and

Getting started with Faeries • 51

stop the wines from turning to vinegar. They gladly allow

the owner of the cellar to take as much as he or she wants, but chase away would-be wine thieves that are not his nibs themselves.

The trouble with his nibs is that they require polite

hospitality. Leave out wine for his nibs to drink, otherwise they may become upset by your rudeness and destroy your

entire stock of wine before leaving forever.

Houris—Air

Houris are spiritual creatures of Arabic origin that represent the ecstasy of the awareness of God. Described as being attractive men or women, each endowed with translucent

skin and an especially arresting gaze, houris are very tall creatures with no hair except on their heads. Houris have

few biological needs, as they don’t eat or defecate. Even gestation lasts only an hour for them, without showing any

sign of the pregnancy.

As a result, a houri cannot be lured by food like other

beings. Instead, being pure creatures that belong to God,

a houri may be attracted to, or come into being, due to a

good deed. In fact, houris may be the pure physical mani-

festation of good deeds pleasing to God.

Howlers/Glashtin/Hawlaa/Howlies—Air

On the Isle of Man and perhaps in Scotland, these faeries

appear to be half cow and half horse, though which animal

has the head and which has the tail may vary. Those with

the head of a horse are smart while those with the head of a cow are dull.

52 • Chapter One

Howlers are so named because they howl with joy

before a storm appears. The howlers can be a good warning

before an especially destructive windstorm. They enjoy riding on the wind and laughing as the wind causes property

damage. It is possible that howlers even cause such storms.

There is no way to prevent a storm caused or heralded by a howler, but you can take cover.

Hyldermolders—Earth

Scandinavian hyldermolders have spread to all over Europe

to guard the sacred elder tree. Hyldermolders are always

female, and appear as elderly matriarchs in beautiful green gowns. A hyldermolder can be asked during the full moon

to work mother goddess magic. Anything to do with fer-

tility, abundance, or psychic power is easily granted by her magic. However, never try to steal wood from the elder tree by cutting or burning it, or you will find that she can attack with malice and frightening magic.

Hysters—Air

Hysters may have originated in Spain or England and

spread all over the world, and they are shapeshifters that normally take the form of birds. They like to frighten

humans, so they’ll pick a bird that makes a person uneasy, like a buzzard or a vulture, and may even wear a human

face. A hyster’s idea of a good time is to dive-bomb a

human to frighten him or her. Though they are not danger-

ous, hysters are also not helpful.

Getting started with Faeries • 53

Ieles—Earth

The terrifying ileles of Eastern Europe wait near human

paths at night. They look like big cats that walk on their hind legs. They attack and kill humans and suck their

blood. If you see an ilele, he or she may try to lure you away from a busy road by dancing or making beautiful music.

Do not follow an ilele. Instead, retreat to a crossroads. Ileles cannot enter crossroads, as the magical intersections take away their power.

Jinn/Afreets/Djinn/Genies/Jeannies/Jeenies—Air

From Persia and Saudi Arabia, these spirits live inside magical receptacles. Female jinn live in bottles while male jinn live inside oil lamps. When the magical receptacle is rubbed by a human, the jinn will emerge and offer to do the bidding of the human. However, jinn are not naturally very

friendly, and they may try to trick the very people that they serve.

Kelpies/Fuath/Nickers/Nuggies/Shoneys/

Uisges—Water

From Cornwall, Ireland, Scotland, Norway, Germany, Shet-

land, and other regions, kelpies are small and round. With webbed feet, horse’s tails, pointed, ears and large teeth, kelpies may be funny to look at, but they are easily given to rage and somehow manage to be both sneaky and simple.

When left in the wild, kelpies live near the water and

feed on wild deer. They may try to lure humans toward the

water in order to eat them. Kelpies can shapeshift, but do so poorly, leaving seaweed on their person as a dead giveaway.

54 • Chapter One

If you see a kelpie taking the form of a seahorse or a beautiful human with seaweed hair, stay away from the water.

Knockers/Black Dwarves/ Coblynaus/

Gommes/Paras/Wichlein—Earth

Knockers are underground-dwelling faeries widespread in

European mines. They are short and may appear seemingly

out of thin air to make funny faces at people. So named

because they make a knocking noise in order to commu-