The look on the face of the faery here is one of watching…he’s looking and he’s waiting to see if anyone is looking back.  And if they are looking back and someone catches him watching them he’s going to disappear behind that tree in pretty short order.  And is this not how we sometimes approach working with the spirit world or the Fair Folk?  We want to observe them and we want to connect but only from a distance at times and when we notice that they are taking notice of us we run for cover.

Looking through the book that comes with the deck, the thing that stuck me was this:

Seeing straight through illusions and speaking your truth needs to start now!  You have been “seen” by the faeries as one of the evolving human ones, and as such you are responsible to your own truth, not to any exterior source of authority. Refuse to be dictated to.

The reason that this got me was it made me think about how so many people in the magickal community, but certainly not all, try and hold on to their ability to “see” as though it’s only something for them.  They don’t want to share what they know or they don’t want to share how they know it.  It’s as though they’ll then be “seen”.

I think we’re coming into a time where we really need to start sharing more of what we see and what we know.  While some people would say that the world is coming to its “end times” or what have you, really what is happening is a change of an age and a change of perception.  The things that we know and the way that many of use see the world can be a huge help for people that may have a hard time with these changes.  For those who have magickal and psychic gifts already developed this can be a huge chance to help heal.

The big trick for many has been in the past, and will be in the future, dealing with the feeling of not being “normal”.  Being seen as a “weirdo” or a “freak”.  Many people who have the ability to see and connect with the spirit world, when sharing with those who have no experience with such things, feel that they are being judged.  And that may well be the case at times, but this shouldn’t be the reason to not share, teach, or heal those that seek it or need it.

So I guess the thing that the card was staying to me today was “Wake up, look around, see what there is to be seen but then don’t hoard that for yourself.  Share it with the world and let people know ‘we’re’ here.”

How should I relate to the local fae in my daily life, so as not to offend them?
~ Linda

Hi Linda! Thanks for your question.

Learning to relate to the faeries that are resident in your local area is one of the keys to working with the fae.  If you have a specific place that you can begin working with them outdoors such as a back yard or garden, then you’ll have a great chance to connect with the faeries that are in your own personal space.  You can also set up a space in your home for them as well if you live in the city or don’t have a private place in nature to work.  If you set up your altar or faery space in the home, be sure to include potted plants and flowers that will be kept and maintained with love and care.  By bringing in a little nature to your indoor space they will feel very “at home”, but it’s important to remember that the fae are very protective of nature and their natural environment.  If you begin working with them indoors and have plants and flowers and let you them die or you don’t place cut flowers right away this could show a sign of lack of respect for plants and nature.  So just be sure you can do your best at caring for such things.  If you have a black thumb, so to speak, which I do, I have found that when working with plants as part of working with the fae they will help a bit as you build that relationship and soon you’ll find that plants you never thought would live will thrive for a long time.

Once you determine where you’re going to work to honor and connect with them, you’ll want to decide on what sort of offerings you’d like to give them.  The fae prefer and enjoy offerings that are sweet; things like milk, cream, honey, cakes, mead, even butter, all work as great offerings.  When making offerings you want to use something that is the freshest you can find and the finest you can afford.  When you’re working to connect to the local fae it’s ideal to use locally produced items for offerings such as local honey or local milk or cream.  If you’re doing an offering of baked sweets it’s best to bake them yourself from scratch.  Something that I have long done and found works well is to find a sugar cookie recipe and cut it in half and make small 1-2″ round cookies for the fae.  Make up a batch and store them in an air tight container and then you will have cookie offerings for the fae for a little while.  Again, because of their connection and roles in nature, anything you leave should be biodegradable, especially if the offering is left outdoors, which is one reason that food is a great offering.  If you’re making your offering outside in a garden, under a special tree, or at an outdoor altar space, simply find a time that works best for you to leave an offering daily.  Liquids don’t need to be more than an ounce in size if you use them.  Having a special shell, dish or cup to put them in is also ideal; something that is special and chosen just for them like a tiny tea cup or a particularly pretty sea shell are great ideas.

Keep in mind that, when leaving an offering, especially of food, the fae (and any other magickal being for that matter) are not going to physically eat what you leave, rather they are taking the essence from it.  Over time and while you work to develop your relationship with the fae, you’ll learn to sense when an offering has been accepted and used.  One way that you can start to do this is take the time to linger and meditate once you have placed your offering.  You’ll often begin to get a feeling, or even a message through a psychic sense, letting you know that the offering is acceptable.  You’ll find that this will also be something helpful to do when you return to clear the altar away and bring a new offering.  If you take the time to feel the vibrations of the food or liquid left behind when you return you may begin to develop the ability to sense the difference in feeling and know that energy and essence has been taken from it.  This takes time so “go with your gut”, as they say, and you and your faery friends will develop a language and way of communicating over time.  Offerings are best left out between 8 and 24 hours.  Again, you’ll learn over time how to tell when something is ready to be removed.  Once you do remove whatever you have left, it should be returned to the earth either to be absorbed into the ground or, in the case of food, for animals to come along and eat.

The fae do make themselves most known and visible during “in-between times” such as twilight and first light.  These are ideal times for leaving offerings and connecting with them, especially if you do this on two of their biggest Sabbats, Beltane and Samhain.  Other times like noon and midnight are in-between times that they can be most felt as well.

When it comes to cautions, the list can be quite long.  It is always best, when you do meditations or rituals with the fae, to work with some form of protection for yourself.  Whether it’s simple shielding or a full cast circle, working with some safe guard is important since the fae can be tricky creatures.  It’s often said that you shouldn’t say thank you to the fae if they have helped you in some way and that instead a special treat or offering should be left as a form of thank you for their help.  The fae do not like iron, so be careful of the types of metals you use when working with them or leave offerings or tools of metal on their altar or space in nature.  This can also make iron a great protective charm against faeries that you think may do you harm so it’s something to keep in mind for that purpose.  And when it comes to meditations or traveling to the faery realms, the old cautions of myth and ancient tales are still adhered to; do not eat or drink anything offered to you and do not dance with the fae.  It is strongly believed that once you start dancing with the fae either you will never be able to leave or you will die from exhaustion.

The fae can be creatures of very delicate natures, mainly meaning that they can be offended or have their feelings hurt easily.  It’s important to remember that, while wonderful magickal assistants, they are not there to do your bidding or obey commands.  It is things like this that often make the fae dislike human contact and human attention.  By simply honoring them, showing deep respect for them and their natural areas where they reside, you will slowly win their favor.  Being sure to leave offerings for them, showing them respect, and being serious about your desires to connect with them are key.  Faeries have a problem with the fleeting minds of humans and do not like the curiosity of humans who want to peer into their world without any real serious intentions to connect with them.  So if you approach them and this work pure of heart and with the highest respect, you’ll be off to a good start.

Dragon’s Pet
Communication between species, Animals, Pets, Magickal companions, Guardianship

The Dragon’s Pet card is one the speaks strongly of the interconnected relationships that we have with not only the fey but also the other messengers around us.  This can be your pets, your magickal companions that you may consider to be familiars, or those creatures in the world that you feel a kinship with and a need to connect to and protect.  The Dragon’s Pet reminds us that we need to be open to these relationships because they sometimes happen when we don’t expect them or they happen and hardly even notice they’re forming.  This is often the case with a relationship with magickal creatures, those who are in other realms who touch us in this one, such as the fey, dragons, and so on.  When this card comes through it is a reminder to us that a magickal connection between you and another creature is forming.

However, this card in our reading today come out reversed, so here we see a blockage in this relationship.  It’s possible that you aren’t listening, can’t understand what is happening, or maybe you don’t believe in faery beings, dragons, or that your cat or dog can actually communicate with you beyond “feed me” and “I need to go out”.  The world around you, be it a world with humans, plants or animals, even animals in another realm, are all connected to you.  The trick for you is to open the gate to let that energy and relationship flow naturally.  If you just don’t understand or you don’t know what to do with them, express that to the Universe and ask for help in understanding and nurturing that connection and that relationship.  This is when learning to open and develop our intuition, our abilities to hear and see beyond the physical, the ability to meditate and journey to other realms becomes so important.  By opening up and not actively blocking out the messages and connections of the creatures around us, whether of the the fey or household pet variety, we find out more about the world, the Universal consciousness, and ourselves.

Today is a great day to set aside a little time to connect with these creatures of the other realms.  Set up a small meditation altar where you can spend a little time undisturbed.  If there is a specific creature that you wish to work with, for example if you prefer dragons to faeries, set up your altar to reflect the creature you wish to connect to with images, statues or figurines, and so on.  Add flowers as an offering along with a white candle to meditate with and maybe even some incense dedicated to your creature; try a faery blend to reach the fey or burn some rose, lavender and elder berry for them.  For dragons try dragon’s blood to call on their fiery energy.  If you want to connect to your own pet’s energy burn something associated to your pet such as cat nip for cats.  Working with dogs I would suggest working with dog grass (also known as Witch grass) but you could also work with herbs associated to Hecate since dogs were closely tied to her and her magick.  Burn your herbs or incense, light your candle, and call on the energy of your chosen being and ask to better connect to and understand it.  Welcome it into your life and ask to make magickal connections with it so that you can work together and move through the world as allies.

Today’s Affirmation
“I am open to connecting to the magickal beings around me.”

Mother and Daughter
Mothering, Teaching, Sharing knowledge, Nurturing self-worth

When we talk about the mother/daughter relationship we sometimes forget about how nurturing this relationship can really be.  As our children get older we forget that they still need nurturing and sometimes mothers forget that they nurture their own self-worth by caring for their children.  But what if you don’t have children?  You still need to nurture yourself, especially your own inner child.  This is where the mother/daughter relationship within can come into place.

Whether it’s nurturing your own inner child or taking time to nurture your own children, take the time out today, and even throughout the week, to take time to spend with them in whatever way you can to share with them in some way that nurtures you both.  If it’s nurturing yourself, get out into nature and take some time to see the world from a child-like perspective and find a way to nurture that aspect of yourself that seeks joy and excitement in the simple things.  If working with your actual children, no matter what their age, find a way to teach them something about yourself, your family history, or the world that can give them a new piece of knowledge to carry into the world but that can also help you feel your own worth in the world and in their lives.  Find a way today to teach and share something of yourself with the world.

Today’s Affirmation
By sharing my knowledge and wisdom with those around me, I nurture my own self-worth.

Litha is often a time when the faeries are honored and are thought to be particularly active.  Bonfires are common during Litha and it’s thought that lighting bonfires in forests or on hilltops attract certain faeries to the fires and festivals.  Leaving offerings of honey and cream at the edge of the fire for the faeries can keep them from causing any trouble or mischief and is thought to help create a connection between ourselves and the fae.

For Litha I thought we could do a short reading, a small glimpse with the help of the faeries through Brian & Wendy Froud’s The Heart of Faerie Oracle to see what the fae have to tell us for the coming half of the year.

The Faerie of Growth
The Lord of the Forest
The Elven Knight

Seeing The Faerie of Growth here is no wonder and no mystery.  Even though the summer solstice signals the coming of the waning half of the year, there is still a wonderful and powerful period of growth ahead.  Here the faeries remind you that staying stagnate for any length of time means that life is not expanding.  Growth is necessary otherwise we die; stagnation is like death.  As the summer months move on and we see the world around us growing we need to grow with it.  It’s a good time to stop and take a moment to see what areas of our lives need growth and allow the warmth of the sun to empower our paths to welcome and foster that growth.

The Lord of the Forest is part of the embodiment of masculine energy in the faerie realm.  He is the driving force of all that we are and all that we do.  We all have a masculine side just as we all have a feminine side, but sometimes we forget these things and we need to be reminded so that we can really sense that energy within us.  As the feminine side nurtures the masculine side impregnates and moves.  Here the Lord of the Forest comes to remind us that our thoughts and dreams are good to have, as this is the feminine side doing it’s job, but we need to also let the masculine side come in and act on those dreams.  As the Faerie of Growth tells us it’s time to start growing, moving and changing, the Lord of the Forest comes to help us take action.

Seeing The Elven Knight come in as well shows that we have come into a period of great opportunity and growth, more than we may even really realize.  Much like the Lord of the Forest, the Elven Knight is a driving force.  The Elven Knight is a guide, a leader, a driving force even stronger than the Lord of the Forest.  He leads us to our destiny when we are ready to move and seek it out.  Here we have the Knight letting us know that the way is clear and the path is open for us.  It’s time to set our sights on accomplishing things that, in the past, we may have seen as impossible.  Nothing is impossible when you have these faeries to guide you.

These are three very powerful faeries to have come together in a reading, and here in this reading, we see ourselves driven into a very powerful direction for growth and change as the summer season moves forward.  This is going to be a great chance for change and for accomplishing things that we have held off on either out of fear or not being confident that we can reach our goals.  Set your goals, ask the Faerie of Growth to guide you in where to go and the Lord of the Forest and the Elven Knight will be sure to keep you going and to drive you toward your goal and your destiny.

Have a wonderful and empowered summer season!