Fairies, Pretty Little Creatures

The belief in the existence of Fairies was first known and is based on the fae of medieval Western European folklore. They are often identified with a variety of beings from other mythologies. These fantasy creatures, along with Elves, Mermaids, Dragons, Dwarves, Leprechauns and many other creatures in folklore, are supernatural beings endowed with the powers of magic and enchantment. Here we are going to discuss these faeries.

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Literature from all over the world has tales of their relations with humans. Belief in them seems to reach back into ancient times, being traceable both in written and oral tradition. Traces stem from the Sanskrit gandharva (semi divine celestial musicians) to the nymphs of the Greeks and Homer, the jinni of Arabic mythology, and other folk characters of the Samoans, Arctic, and other indigenous Americans.

Today, the depictions, especially in children's fairytales, rest largely upon the old folklore tradition. Here they were generally described as serious and sinister. The exceptions include the "Tooth Fairy", the Godmother in both "Cinderella", and "Snow White and the seven dwarfs". Folklore about these mystical creatures is particularly prevalent in Ireland, Cornwall, Wales, and Scotland.

In English folklore they are sometimes known as Pixies or spirits. The pixie is commonly represented as a mischievous imp who delights in flustering young maidens and leading travelers astray.

It appears that their women, all over Ireland, find birth a difficult experience. Many children die before birth and those that do survive are often stunted or deformed creatures. The adult faeries, who are aesthetic beings, are repelled by these infants and have no wish to keep them. They will try to swap them with healthy children who they steal from the mortal world. The wizened, ill tempered creature left in place of the human child is known as a changeling and possesses only the power to work.

Much of the folklore from this time revolves around protection from malice. In particular, folklore describes how to prevent these creatures from abducting older people or stealing babies and substituting changelings for the babies. Humans, to avoid these fantasy creatures, use such means as cold iron (they don't like iron and will not go near it) or charms of rowan and herbs, or they avoid offense by shunning locations known to be frequented by these little creatures.