The FAERY Month of May

Why would a mortal month be strongly associated with timeless beings?

And does that make May a time to celebrate – or to beware?

Some things just go together like sun and fun, peanut butter and jelly, and Watson and Holmes. One pairing that's much, much older is that of faeries and May.

The ancient Celts of the British Isles and much of Europe celebrated Beltane as a spring festival of renewal, fertility, planting and growth. Many people today still observe Beltane.  Even more celebrate May Day (May 1^st). Just as the spirits of the dead and other supernatural beings are associated with the waning of the light at Samhain or Halloween, the veil between worlds is also believed to be thin during this time of growth and new life. And the creatures to be most afraid of?

Faeries.

While many May rituals were simply happy celebrations, just as many were intended for protection. It’s no coincidence that a portion of the Beltane feast was given as an offering to the fae. Associated with nature spirits, they were considered to be one of the main threats to the success of the growing season and the fruitfulness of both livestock and humans. Faeries were easily offended and quick to anger. Unless appeased, they might cause a crop to wilt or cows to stop producing milk. (Mind you, they might do so anyway out of mischief or sheer spite!)

Pleasant weather often accompanies May but sleeping in the open air was considered dangerous because the faeries were thought to be at their most powerful during this month. Worse, both male and female fae were actively on the prowl for attractive mortals to carry off to their otherworldly realms! There, the captives would become lovers, servants, nursemaids … or simply toys. If the easily-bored fae tired of you, you might eventually be freed. But since time moves differently there, a mere day could be years long and you would not return to the world you knew.

Meeting a faery in broad daylight in May was also perilous. Even the most benign of fae beings could be tricky. Any conversation had to carefully negotiated so you wouldn’t accidentally agree to a bad bargain or be fooled into making a promise you couldn’t fulfill. Ordinary words that humans take for granted could be dangerous. A simple “thank you” was the height of insult!

Small wonder that people sought to protect themselves, their households, and their farms from these powerful and capricious immortals.

Since we're only halfway through this perilous month, I've included the following tips from one of my past posts:

HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF FROM THE FAE

Garlands made of yellow flowers such as marsh marigolds and primroses were hung over the barn doors to protect the horses from being ridden to exhaustion by faeries in the night. The flowers were also spread over windowsills and hung above the door-posts of the house for safety. Your best bet, however, was a plant called St. John's Wort. Wearing it was said to provide strong protection from faery magic.

Faeries could vanish at will and remain invisible to mortal eyes for as long as they pleased. Carrying a four-leafed clover would allow you to see and thus avoid them. A Celtic tradition was to sew several of the clovers into a tiny bag to be worn around the neck. You could discern the faeries once for each clover in the bag.

Red berries were believed to keep faeries at bay, especially if they were from rowan trees, mountain ash or holly. So did red verbena (a flower). Daisies were often tucked into children’s pockets or woven into fanciful chains to wear around their necks to prevent them from being taken away by the faeries. And if you were walking through the woods, it was best to carry a walking stick or staff made of ash or rowan wood.

Traditionally, yeast-risen bread provided protection from the Fae. Carrying bread with you, even just a crust, had a two-fold effect. It would repel some faeries. Other faeries would accept it as an offering and leave you alone.

My Welsh gramma taught me the old tradition of leaving a saucer of milk and a slice of bread or some bread crusts on the back porch for the faeries, so they wouldn’t play pranks on the family, ruin the garden, or trouble the livestock.

Salt is associated with purity, and spreading salt across the threshold and along the windowsills has often been used to keep faeries, demons, and spirits out of houses. If you had to carry food to the farmhands in the fields or tote your lunch to school, sprinkling it with salt was said to keep the faeries from taking it – or from extracting the nourishment from it unseen!

Even humble oatmeal was believed to be a faery repellent. You could carry a handful of dry oatmeal in your pocket or sprinkle it on your clothes.

But the very best protection against faeries? Iron. In any form or shape, legend has it that the metal is like kryptonite to the fae. If you kept an iron nail in your pocket, you couldn’t be carried away by them. Sometimes iron nails were sewn into the hems of children’s clothing for that very reason. A pair of iron shears hung on the wall near a baby’s bed was said to prevent the child from being swapped for a sickly faery baby. Horseshoes were nailed over doorposts, not for “luck” as we sometimes do today, but to repel the fae. Some traditions call for the horseshoe to be placed on its side like the letter “C”, resembling the crescent moon.

Enjoy the rest of the merry month of May – and don't forget to watch out for faeries!

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Faeries + Fantasy + Romance
= The Grim Series

Available in paperback, Kindle ebook, audiobook and Audible See ALL Dani Harper novels on her Amazon Author Page or go to her website at http://www.daniharper.com

May is the Month for Faeries - Beware!

Faery Queen
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Ancient faery legends are brought to modern-day America in my ongoing Grim Series: Storm Warrior, Storm Bound, Storm Warned, and the upcoming release, Storm Crossed. 

The Fae in these novels are inspired by old stories I heard and read as a child. Between my Welsh gramma and ready access to a entire library of British books, I learned that faeries were not to be trifled with.

FORGET EVERYTHING YOU KNOW ABOUT TINKERBELL!

Faery beings come in all sizes and shapes from ethereally beautiful to monstrously frightening. But it’s their unpredictable temperament you have to watch out for – the Fae are easily offended, volatile, amoral, and even violent. 

While occasionally some may be helpful to humans, more often they delight in tormenting them. Their motives can range from child-like mischief (souring milk, knocking down fences, pulling hair) to downright evil (kidnapping, cursing, or even killing mortals). And of course, there's always a few that just like to eat people...

No wonder people have been trying to protect themselves from faeries for the last three thousand years or more!

PLANT PROTECTIONS

Marsh Marigolds
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Historically, garlands were often made of marsh marigolds and hung over the barn doors to protect the horses from being ridden to exhaustion by fairies in the night. Flowers, especially primroses, were spread over windowsills and hung above the door-posts of the house for safety. Your best bet, however, was a plant called St. John's Wort. Wearing it was said to provide strong protection from fairy magic and mischief.

Fairies could vanish at will and remain invisible to mortal eyes for as long as they pleased. Carrying a four-leafed clover would allow you to see the fairies – but only once. A Celtic tradition was to sew several of the clovers into a tiny bag to be worn around the neck. You could then discern the fairies once for each clover in the bag. In some legends, the clover was said to allow you to see through fairy glamors and magical disguises.

Red berries were believed to keep fairies at bay, especially if they were from rowan trees, mountain ash or holly. So did red verbena (a flower). Daisies were often tucked into children’s pockets or woven into fanciful chains to wear around their necks to prevent them from being taken away by the faeries. And if you were walking through the woods, it was best to carry a walking stick or staff made of ash or rowan wood.

FOOD PROTECTIONS

An offering for the faeries
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Traditionally, bread and salt provided protection from the Fae. Carrying yeast-risen bread with you had a two-fold effect. It would repel some faeries. Other faeries would accept it as an offering and leave you alone. My gramma taught me a Welsh tradition of leaving a saucer of milk and a slice of bread or some bread crusts on the back porch as an offering to the faeries, so they wouldn’t play pranks on the family or trouble the livestock. Sometimes, if you were seeking the faeries' aid, you might add berries, honey, or cheese.

Salt’s association with purity made it an excellent tool against otherworldly beings. Spreading salt across the threshold and along the windowsills has long been the primary method of keeping faeries, demons, and spirits out of houses.  If you had to carry food to the farmhands in the fields, sprinkling it with salt was said to keep the faeries from taking it – or from extracting the nourishment from it unseen!

Even humble oatmeal was believed to be a fairy repellent. You could carry a handful of dry oatmeal in your pocket or sprinkle it on your clothes. As long as you didn’t mind looking flaky, you’d be safe.

IRON PROTECTION

Iron in any form or shape has always been considered the very best protection against fairies – in almost all legends, the metal is like kryptonite to Superman. If you kept an iron nail in your pocket, you couldn’t be carried away by them. Sometimes iron nails were sewn into the hems of children’s clothing for that reason. A pair of iron shears hung on the wall near a baby’s bed was said to prevent the child from being swapped for an ugly fairy baby.

Iron horseshoes repel faeries
(Image source: Bigstock.com)

Horseshoes could be nailed over doorposts, a precaution that had to be taken to the extreme in my first two Grim books, Storm Warrior and Storm Bound. 

(By the way, some legends specify that the horseshoe should be placed on its side like the letter “C”, resembling the crescent moon, or it won’t repel the Fae!)

Steel is also effective against the faeries because it is created from processed iron. If a faery is cut by a steel or iron blade, the wound will not heal or will take a very long time. In some stories, the Fae is slowly poisoned by such a wound. Steel or iron weapons are among the few things that can actually kill a Fae being. 

However, unless it was plainly self-defense (and sometimes even that wouldn’t help your case), you could expect the rest of the faeries to exact a terrible retribution!

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Love Faeries? Check out The Grim Series by Dani Harper

STORM WARRIOR, STORM BOUND, and STORM WARNED

And watch for my upcoming release, STORM CROSSED!

Note: Every book in this series is designed to stand alone. It's more fun to read them in order, but not necessary.

Legend, love, lore, and magic...
See ALL my novels on my Amazon Author Page
or go to my website at http://www.daniharper.com