Fairies and Magic

So why kind of magic do fairies possess?

Well, to start with, they can fly. It is an overlooked magic, but all the same, quite something. Yes, they have wings and wings collect air and lift like birds and bats and bees and bugs and butterflies, but fairy flying is an another thing, a lightness, magical. Personally I think that the birds, bats, bees, bugs and butterflies have a little fairy magic in them, and that is why they can fly. We just overlook it because it is such a common magic. I mean technically bumble bees shouldn’t be able to fly, I quote “Their body is way too big, their wings too small. And it makes sense because wing loading increases as weight increases (bumble bees are definitely heavy) and the higher the wing loading the faster you must fly. With such small wings, there’s no way they can generate enough lift to fly.” So there.

Another and probably the main magic fairies are known for is ‘enchantment’. Stories about fairy enchantment are many and various, from stepping into fairy rings to doing their bidding to falling asleep for long periods of time and so forth. They can enchant by charms, spells, looking you in the eye and simple banter, twisting words and laughs around until you become confused, dreamy, enchanted, next thing you know is all your honey is gone, because you gave it to them.

They can become invisible, they’re there, they’re not. If they don’t want to be seen, they won’t be. It’s a pretty convenient trick. They say that the magic is so strong it can persist after death, the invisibility lingers.

They live a long, long time, semi immortal really, which is another type of magic they have. And they don’t really die, but rather fade away, become more and more transparent, which fits with the above invisibility situation.

They can play with light, creating auras around themselves, make sparks or shine or balls of light, change the color of light, make it into shapes of all kinds, generally do what they want with it. Mostly they use it for fun or warmth or healing or intuition, but they can also use this magic in defense, creating a bright blast so they can walk away or disappear or make a point or even repel an object if the kinetic energy is strong enough. Light magic is very natural to them, but they almost always stay away from hard light, like lightning and direct sun. They adore moonlight.

They can shapeshift, appear to look like different shapes, sizes, forms, incarnations. Be aware, when a fairy shows her true form, usually quite exotic in some way, they are sharing an intimacy, so tread lightly. Otherwise they can assume all kinds of looks, often choosing whatever they think is beautiful to humans, but also stuff like fireflies, and goblin like and nature like, and mists and it goes on and on. They are magical so whatever their imagination conjures up. And it is a mix of energy and enchantment, which can give them very indistinct appearances a lot of the time. They can also create illusions, sorta like putting on a costume, where you see the illusion and not the fairy behind it.

Then they have this interdimensionality thing they can do, travel between worlds, see back in time, teleport with a blink of eye or snap of finger, create spaces within spaces that are there and not, bend time, manipulate ‘reality’ like changing things into other things, stuff like that. These abilities vary greatly from fairy to fairy, it takes a lot of energy for these types of magic.

Then there are individual fairies and magics specific to just them, uncommon magics, like soul or mind reading, wandering around in someone’s dreams, breaking spells, genesis (making things out of nothing, rare), certain healing powers, and so on. It’s like meeting some gifted person, some fairies can just do things. And it all depends on what kind of fairy or fae, like elves are good at teleportation, dwarves are good at making magical things, leprechauns are good at granting wishes, and so on. Interestingly enough, trolls are good at spells.

Fairies with wings are good at a lot of magic, seems to be their nature, and how they naturally channel it. One thing they are especially good at it playing with plants, making them grow bigger, faster, this way or that, they don’t even think about it. That’s why its good to invite a few garden fairies around, makes for an interesting garden.

In general, most fairy magic is benign, and I say this carefully. Be careful what you get involved with, it can go sideways and the law of unintended consequences can kick in big time under the wrong circumstances. Best to stay on the sidelines but if you just gotta go there and get involved with fairy magic, be really, really aware of what fairy or magic you are working with. Even the best hearted fairy can take you places you don’t want to be, because they are fairies and you are human and there are some real big differences there. They have a different strength, both physically and psychically and spiritually which can be great at times, and way all too much other times. Remember when working with fairies and fairy magic, they are so close they are basically the same, fairies don’t really ‘do’ magic, they are the magic.