Fairy Tales

Happy Beltane! Spring has officially sprung, bringing fairy activity, magical flower "medicines", and even some "ultra-terrestrial" contact.

Hilariously, I was reminded of today’s pagan holiday by a Twitter account…for the Irish political party known as Sinn Fein. Yah, they’re the Irish Independence Party that wants the British out of Ireland. My grandfather was Irish, so I feel like this is my little digital homage to him;)

Sinn Fein published a hilarious community reminder to put flowers out on our doorsteps to prevent the fairies from causing mayhem in our houses…and our lives. Only in Irish politics is this a public service announcement! Why would they do this, you might be asking? Well, today is Beltane, otherwise known as May Day, and the ceremonial reason for dancing around the ritual Maypole. It’s also when many pagan covens set fire to their Wicker Man, an effigy representation of their fears, sins and negative energy.

Talk about a clearing ritual, huh? Oh: and a great plot starter for more than a couple of horror movies!

So, what is Beltane? And why does it matter?

Well, at the risk of being redundant to Wikipedia, here are the basics: Beltane is the Gaelic May Day festival traditionally held on May 1st, midway between the spring equinox and summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. The festival name is synonymous with the month marking the start of the summer season in Gaelic.

Beltane is historically the time when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect cattle, people and crops, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, whose flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around or between bonfires, and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Beltane bonfire. These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the fairies. Doors, windows, byres and livestock would be decorated with yellow May flowers, perhaps because they evoked fire.

I had honestly forgotten about Beltane until fairies- and ultraterrestrial visits- started to unfold here in Austin in rapid order. And then I saw the tweet and put everything together, a bit like that scene in the Usual Suspects when the detective realizes it was Kizer Soze in his office the whole time!

What are fairies?

I could write hundreds of pages on the nature and origins of the fairies— as many authors and researchers already have— but, for the purposes of this Beltane post (and brevity, more generally) let’s just say: I believe that fairies are ultraterrestrial beings that have been here on earth since before humans were even a thought in the universe.

Even ancient Judaism has references to the “first people” that inhabited this dimension, insisting that they remain here— just out of sight and earshot of us clumsy humans. Most ancient spiritual systems— like Japanese Shinto and European paganism— are built on the concept of fairies and elemental nature worship.

Several of the Spirit Guides featured in our TOTEM Tarot Deck are ancient fairy gods and goddesses and related beings, still worshipped by various modern pagans, Wiccans and witches, including: Mab, Titania, the Swanmane, the Faun, and Erlking, among others. Today, consider taking a look at those tarot cards and reading their summaries in our TOTEM Tarot Deck booklet- they can give you a deeper understanding of and connection to these beings.

Fairies are as varied and eclectic as the biological life forms we’re used to seeing on planet earth: everything in the water, the air and on land has a kind of fairy counterpart, flitting in and out of our range of human perception. There are cute little Tinkerbell-type fairies and scary goblins and fire elementals and fairy goddesses. They are, for all intents and purposes, a very diverse group of beings that have equally diverse attitudes about humans.

Many, myself included, believe that the fairy phenomenon is inextricably linked to extraterrestrial phenomenon: stories of lights in the sky, lost time, amnesia, travel to other realms and interaction with strange, non-human beings. There is a new theory emerging in the UFO community that asserts these beings are not extraterrestrial but are, in fact, ultraterrestrial, meaning: a superior, non-human entity of natural or supernatural origin that is indigenous to planet Earth.

Yah. You read that right. The metaphorical call has possibly been coming from inside the proverbial house— and not some galaxy far, far away.

Supporting this theory are the advancements in quantum physics, which increasingly suggest that we live in fluid, multidimensional reality with various interdimensional intersection points, portals, and more. The brilliant podcast TANIS explores this concept of the fairy kingdom interacting with our own, referring to the intersection points as “the Breach”. It’s an awesome podcast with lots of offshoot podcasts (including one called Fairies)— check out the details here:

How can we interact with fairies?

One rule before playing around with fairies and attempting to connect with them: make sure you’re ready to reinforce your boundaries! As inferred by the Sinn Fein tweet reminding folks to put flowers on their doorsteps or get ready for the chaos of a fairy in your house, these beings have very poor boundaries and don’t really understand the meaning of “no”. What’s more: they like to play around, frequently stealing and relocating items or simply playing little inter dimensional pranks to get your attention. Sometimes, they even pinch (as is the case with one fairy subtype knows as leprechauns on St. Patricks Day, pinching away if you’re not wearing the color green).

That said, fairies are awesome. Some of my best friends are fairies. Just get ready to have a firm hand with them, a bit like when dealing with certain breeds of puppies. They’re earnest, they’re smart, and they respond really positively to structure and appropriate limitation. A few specific things you can do to kindle a conversation with the fae are:

• Take flower essences: I know, I know— but this really isn’t a hard sell. I swear. The first time I ever encountered a fairy being was the week I first started taking Bach’s Rescue Remedy, a blend of flower and tree essences. And it makes functional sense: flower essences embody the alchemical magic of the flowers, herbs, plants and trees themselves, which in turn are often “housing” the spirit of a fairy. We’re having a huge 50% off sale on our TOTEM Readings ATX Etsy Shop in an effort to clear the decks for a whole new range of TOTEM Flower Essences (and by that, I mean I literally need space in my house for all of the new bottles!) so check it out and see if any of our tinctures speak to your intuition on this May Day: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TotemReadingsATX

• Go outside for celestial events: Most of my fairy encounters have taken place during days or evenings with notable celestial events: solstices, equinoxes, meteor showers, shooting stars, eclipses and full moons. Keep a lose eye on any of these phenomenon and plan to go outside a bit that day or night, making sure to not be hooked up to technology (they HATE technology) and be in a somewhat still, isolated spot. Fairies are kind of shy about being seen by big groups, so bear this in mind when you’re attempting to make contact.

• Keep things wild: Keep an area of your yard wild for the fairies. We’ve made our back corner of our TOTEM Flower Essence garden a fairy area, not mowing or weeding and, instead, scattering some wildflower seeds that we won’t use for our essences. Sometimes, I scatter birdseed out there, too, and will even leave a piece of candy every once in a while as a special treat. Not only does this give the fairies a place to hang, but it ensures they don’t wander around outside of the wild area…and into your bathroom to make some pipes burst!

• Talk to them: Fairies respond to direct, verbal communication, so try asking them to show themselves or interact with you. But be warned: words are VERY important to fairies and you can accidentally fall into a spiritual contract with these guys, so be very specific and do not promise anything in exchange for anything else. Also: when you’re done with the interaction, remind them to not follow you and that your home is your space— not theirs! One day, I was asking the fairies to stop the squirrels from destroying my flower essence garden. I made a point to say, “only if you want to help and no, I don’t want to owe you anything in kind.” Instead, I explained what the garden did and how I provided herbal “medicines” to women, outlining how their help would support the greater good. That evening, I f*cking heard two fairies outside, speaking some crazy language and seeming to walk around the garden, perhaps putting a squirrel plan together.

• Pull some runes: Runes seem to kick up fairy activity, so much so that I have painted some flat rocks to have runes on them for decoration in the various flower beds. You can pull the runes inside or outside, or simply use their symbolism in your backyard to initiate a fun, spiritual dialogue with these beings.

What can we do today?

Aside from the Sinn Fein recommendation to put yellow and/or orange flowers on your doorsteps, you can do a few other things to honor the fairies in your area this Beltane:

• Scatter birdseed or bread crumbs: Fairies love when we take care of nature and the animals that dwell within it, so feeding birds is a great, easy way to give back to our unseen friends. Scattering birdseed is so powerful, in fact, that you may even notice a major uptick in your income in the days and weeks to follow, an energetic exchange for your contribution.

• Light a fire: Beltane is all about fires and the fire element, so if you can safely light a fire on your balcony, porch or in your yard, take advantage of the day! Light a fire, invite the fae into your circle, and perhaps even contemplate the power of the fire element in nature worship: the cleansing, purifying and detoxifying element that purges negativity and stagnation from our lives and from nature, enabling new growth to emerge.

• Make a wreath or a bush: Using found twigs, flowers and other natural materials to make a Beltane bush is a traditional activity for this holiday. You can place this bush— or wreath, if you prefer— outside of your front or back door, offering the fairies a cool little spot to hang out in.

• Offer them a little booze: My husband and I literally just went outside with a small mezcal tasting glass (i.e. fairy sized cocktail) full of an herbal liquor called Vert. We asked for their help with a personal project of his today, as well as overall help to ensure that we can stay in this lovely home and continue to maintain the garden they seem to enjoy so much. Fairies love sweet liquors and candies, and considering that this is a high holiday for them, too, we thought they would enjoy the gesture. No joke: within one minute of offering them this drink and asking for benevolent support, we saw the biggest, fuzziest caterpillar crawling towards the tiny little glass!

Keep an eye on the skies

I may share my recent experience with what I believe to be ultraterrestrial objects in the sky in more detail at another time, but suffice it to say: shit might get really wild on planet earth this summer. The confluence of my cosmic visit on this particular pagan holiday has me more than a little shook, and I think this may just be the beginning.

So, keep an eye out. Strange clouds or unexpected weather events? Go outside for a minute or two and gaze at the horizon line. If you’re psychic/ intuitive, tune into potential transmissions around you. Life on planet earth feels pretty wild at the moment, so you never know: the “first people” might be making a return visit very, very soon!