The Fair Folk have long been associated with he dead and ancestors. The Celtic peoples said that the fairies came out of their hills on Samhain, the night when the veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead was thinnest. The Book of the Dun Cow describes the realm of Fairy as a place where there is continual feasting, and no one ever dies or does anything bad. This was the Pagan afterlife, literally a land of milk and honey. Respect for the fairies and thus respect for the dead was never really stamped out by the Christian churches, who taught that the fairies were nothing more than devils and demons. While underground, Cornish miners would not make the sign of the cross, for they did not want to offend the fairies in their very homes by making gestures to invoke their enemy.

The fairies of old were not the ddiminutive winged beings one so often sees in storybooks. The Fair Fold of Ireland were gods, a race of giants-the Tuatha De Danann. The women of the fairy mounds-the Bean Sidh-later degenerated into banshees, the wailing demons whose voices foretold or brought about death. A "Who's Who of the Fairy Realm" could read something like this:

BROWNIES: These small men with wrinkled brown skin and a shaggy demeanor like to adopt homes. They will do various household chores in exchange for cream and honey cakes.

ELVES: This is the classic, pointed-eared fey. They are astonishingly beautiful, although very pale. The Old English and Norse words for elf (aelf and alfr) meant white. Very magical in nature, they were always thought to be powerful and somewhat frightening, depending on their disposition. They can be both beneficial and malevolent to humans, so it is best not to upset them in any way.

GNOMES: Here we have the earth elementals. It is said that each flower and plant has it's own gnome attending it, so it is best to be very careful when dealing with the local flora of your area, lest you disturb a gnome. In ancient times this was said to bring about dire consequences.

GOBLINS: Having trouble finding things where you last put them? It could be that you have a goblin about engaging in its favorite pastime-snitching things. Goblins are olive skinned, and their favorite time of year is Halloween. Goblins aren't necessarily evil. They are simply the pranksters of the Fairy Realm.

PIXIES: Found almost exclusively in Ireland, pixies are the most carefree of fey. They love to lead people astray simply to watch the consternation it causes. If you feel you have been duped buy a pixie, your only recourse it to turn your clothing inside out to turn away the pixie magic.

To please the fair folk, you need do nothing more than accept them, not disturb their natural habitats, and perhaps leave pretty trinkets or a bit of bread and honey as an offering.

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