The Cunning People Who Had A Pact With A Fairy Or Faery

Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing by William Black c.1786

In days gone by ordinary people, or country folk had a respect for fairies. They seemed to understand how the faery, or fairy had supernatural powers and therefore they were careful to protect themselves from any encounters.

They would, for example, never speak evil of them and would often leave food or perhaps milk as offerings. Similar, I suppose, to how we leave a carrot and a mince pie out for Father Christmas. It's about currying favour.

In days of old folk were more in tune with nature and super-nature. Some people, known as 'cunning folk' would try to strike up a relationship with a fairy. This was to the advantage of both sides - the person and the faery - but a deal had to be agreed, which was sometimes sexual.

The spirit of the supernatural creatures would appear in various disguises, such as a dead relative's ghost, or maybe in the form of an animal or simply as a more traditional fairy.

The 'cunning person' in the relationship would then have the powers to practise as a healer for health as well as poverty. They had to be careful though, and err on the side of caution. If the 'magic' failed they could well be accused of witchcraft, which would result in some nasty penalties by the state.

It's suggested in books such as Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits that many people in the middle ages fell into other states of consciousness, often unconsciously, because of various factors.

Firstly there was an ingrained belief system of the supernatural going back to pagan times. And what we believe, we can experience. There was also a lack of food. Famine was common, and the majority of women would be constantly pregnant or nursing babies. All of which could destabilise normal consciousness. Mystics traditionally fast and engage in physical mortifications to achieve similar conditions.

Also life was so very different. Without electricity the world would look different. There would be a special kind of darkness and of the perceptions this would bring about. Night time must have been full of mystery where the imagination moved to other levels.

It can't be denied that there were mind altering substances and these were ingested both voluntarily and involuntarily. The water was often contaminated, beer was very strong by today's standards and was drunk in large quantities.  Moulds grew on cereal foods. And, of course, witches had special ointments, herbs, mushrooms and so on that had mind bending results.

Fairies in old England were seen differently as today. Back then they were believed to live in a parallel world to ours. They usually lived in forests, caves and even within the earth itself. Like humans they wore clothes, married, had sex and had the flaws and foibles of humankind.

So, wish the fairies well, think of them kindly as they could be around us today - and not just at the bottom of the garden.

Resources:
Cunning-Folk and Familiar Spirits
The Book of English Magic

More 67 Not Out Posts:
The Creation Of Real Live Fairies And Goblins
The Magic Of The Elves Who Stopped A Motorway Being Built
The Ghosts Who Haunt Bodmin Jail, Cornwall: 13 Exclusive Photos

The Magic Of The Elves Who Stopped A Motorway Being Built

Huldufolk Houses Strandakirkja, Iceland - Image Christian Bickel

I published a post about elves, The Elves Who Keep Us Safe And Protect Girls Who Ride Donkeys, and at the time thought more elf news would probably follow. It did. Here's a particular story I liked - because it's true!

This time the elves who are causing a problem, though indirectly, are living in Iceland. They have actually managed to halt work on a motorway being built by some British developers.

Traditional Huldufolk

The elves causing the hold up are known as Huldufolk - or 'hidden folk' in English - and they have the Supreme Court of Iceland on their side - at least at the present time.

An elf advocate group, the Friends of Lava, say the route of the proposed Icelandic motorway will disturb an elf habitat where there just happens to be an elf church - yes, really!

Nobody wants to harm any elves so the Court are deliberating on the matter. Of course one of the problems is that most people can't actually see elves or Huldufolk.

There's a reason why we can't see the elves in question - it's because of Eve - that's Adam's missus.

The story goes that Eve hid her dirty, unwashed children from God, and lied about their existence. When God found out he was a bit miffed and declared: "What man hides from God, God will hide from man." So that's why we can't see these descendants of Eve. They are like fallen angels condemned to live between heaven and hell.

The Icelandic people take their Huldufolk seriously and leave out food for them on Christmas Day. On New Years Day it is believed that the elves sometimes move to new locations so Icelanders leave candles to help them see their way to their new homes.

More glamorous Huldufolk
by Adrienn-Nagy

You have to be careful if you should happen to sit at a crossroads on Midsummer Night because if you do the Huldufolk will try to seduce you with food and gifts. If you should succumb there are serious consequences.

It appears that several construction projects have already been altered to prevent damaging rocks where the Huldufolk are believed to live. I read on the Extreme Iceland website examples of this:

"In the capital area of Reykjavík this can be seen in Álfhóll, where the road narrows in order to spare the rocks. Also, in 1982, 150 Icelanders went to the NATO base in Keflavik to look for elves who they thought might be endangered by the American Phantom jets and AWACS reconnaissance planes."

But in the meantime the motorway, that's bad for your elf, is still waiting completion.

More Elves Fairies & Goblins:
The Elves Who Keep Us Safe And Protect Girls Who Ride Donkeys
The Magical Web Of Wyrd
The Creation Of Real Live Fairies And Goblins

Happy New Year Everyone