How To Protect Against Fairies

Thanks for the thoughts and prayers about the fire!

This week, we did get better weather and some rain. Yesterday we had a storm that seemed to really come down right over the affected areas. Containment levels are up, and hopefully the fire will be out soon. People are already able to go home after being evacuated, in some areas.

Okay, so the title of the post.

I'm working on a nice autumn story right now, a novel about fairies in New England. When I asked a friend in my writing group what I should post on my blog today (it was a long day, and my brain is tired), she suggested talking about the new project.

It's about fairies, and it's kind of a dark take on folklore and fairy tales, set in New England. I think I've mentioned this before as a WIP. But the fairies I'm writing about are the Celtic ones, that are sometimes godlike in power and are amoral. They will help mortals they like, but curse badly the ones they don't.

So today's blog is a dumping of some of the lore I've learned on how to deal with this kind of fairies, especially some of the lore I use in this book.

Let's get started.

IRON

Iron, usually called "cold iron" (though this is a poetic term for iron), is supposed to be the best deterrent for fairies. They can't touch it and they can't even, sometimes, go near it. To protect babies from fairies, iron shears might be hung over the cradle.

Don't ask me why shears and not horseshoes, which, hung over a door frame, could stop fairies from entering. Sounds like a hazard, no matter how you slice it.

RED

The color red is sometimes a deterrent to some fairies. Red berries, like those from holly or rowan (pictured above), are sometimes used to keep fairies away. However, leprechauns and red caps are fairies who wear red and to some fairies, rowan is a sacred tree. So better to use iron.

PLANTS

Some plants can keep fairies at bay. Some of these are St. John's Wort (above - apparently this is also available in pill form, so for the modern fairy problem?), primroses, and marsh marigolds. Putting garlands of these on horses could keep fairies from stealing them, and on windows and doors, keep them out of your house.

Four-leaf clovers can prevent fairies from being able to hide. Fairies can go invisible and have glamors that make them look different. Carrying a four-leaf clover can cause the wearer to see through those glamors to the fairy's true form.

That said, DO NOT ALLOW THE FAIRY TO KNOW YOU CAN SEE THEM. Fairies don't often take kindly to humans being able to see through their glamors. If a human reveals this ability, the fairy might strike the human blind in retaliation.

Which brings us to...

ETIQUETTE

Fairies are very polite creatures. They work by rules of give and take, and they have rules of etiquette that can cause help or harm to humans. For example, if a human were helpful to a fairy, they may receive help or gifts. Squirting some milk on the ground for a fairy, when milking a cow, or leaving gifts of food or silver behind, could win the regard of a fairy. Obviously, harming trees (like hawthorns or oaks) or mounds sacred to or living places of the fairies is a bad idea.

(Hawthorns also have red berries, by the way.)


Fairies are offended easily, often by lack of hospitality. If they think they are owed something by right, and they are denied that thing, they may retaliate badly. Kindness and hospitality are good safeguards, but some fairies will take advantage.

Fairies cannot lie, but they can mislead. They twist words until what may sound like a straight answer actually means the opposite. They're like lawyers that way.

Don't offend fairies, but in dealings, there are some things that are not wise to do. Telling a fairy your name is a bad idea, as names have power and can give the fairy power over you. The reverse is also true: knowing a fairy's name allows you to summon it. If a human should ever make it down to the fairy's lands under mounds, they must not eat or drink anything down there. That will tie them to that world. Time also runs oddly in fairy lands, so a person may seem to spend one night and return a hundred years later, or vice versa.

Other things that can protect against fairies are running water, church bells, and bread, although the term "fairy" can cover things like mermaids, so obviously different rules apply.

It has been fun researching this topic. I've learned a lot, and I look forward to using these and other ideas in my novel.