The Pythia defines fairies

_Elsa_

“Would you like to learn more about fairies?” asks the Pythia. “Before I begin, I would like to introduce you to @KimElston. She is the cutest little fairy that I’ve ever seen! Don’t you agree? She is my right hand helper and I can always count on her for anything. The other fairies have a great deal of respect for her. Ok, let me start you off with some information on fairies. Are they real or myths?” 

‘Fairy comes from the Old French word faerie. The word has been overused to describe a supernatural being. There is a great deal of difference in classifying a being as a fairy from the medieval literature and those from modern literature, especially those belonging to the Celtic tradition.

There are other traditions such as that found in English, German and Slavic folklores.

Today, when we think of fairies, we often visualise them as tiny, supernatural beings with wings and glowing with uncommon light in today’s children fairy tales. And they also possessed some sorts of strange magical powers, like Tinkerbell in the story of Peter Pan or the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. The modern fairies, between the 18th and 20th century, comes from oral tradition before they were transmitted into writing.

The fairies are supernatural beings that can be best described by the Greek word – daimon, which means “spirit”. They are not divinity, ie. god or goddess, in the usual sense of the word, and yet they are not mere mortal; often, it is easier to classify them as minor divinity. (Info here)

“There are many types of fairies but I would like to make mention of the elves,” the Pythia says.

‘An elf is a creature of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally imagined as a race of minor nature and fertility gods, who are often pictured as youthful-seeming men and women of great beauty living in forests and underground places and caves, or in wells and springs. They have been portrayed to be long-lived or immortal and as beings of magical powers. Although the concept itself is never clearly defined in the extant sources, the elves appear to have been conceived as powerful and beautiful human-sized beings. The myths about elves have never been recorded. The elves and (like most creatures in the Scandinavian folklore) become nasty when offended. One could appease the elves by offering them a treat (preferably butter) placed into an elven mill – perhaps a custom with roots in the Old Norse álfablót. Elves have been a popular subject in fiction for centuries, ranging from William Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to the classic fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien 300 years later. But it’s only recently that elves have been confined to plays, books, and fairy tales: In centuries past, belief in the existence of fairies and elves was common among both adults and children. Like fairies, elves were said to be magical, diminutive shape-shifters. (Shakespeare’s elves were tiny, winged creatures that lived in, and playfully flitted around, flowers.) Like men of the time, elves lived in kingdoms found in forests, meadows, or hollowed-out tree trunks. As with fairies, elves eventually developed a reputation for pranks and mischief, and strange daily occurrences were often attributed to them. For example, when the hair on a person or horse became tangled and knotted, such “elf locks” were blamed on elves .In either form, elves are strongly associated with magic and nature.’ (Info here)

Let’s continue here – Fairies and Angels- what’s the difference?

Start at the beginning – Do you believe in fairies?