You say 'Faeries' & I say 'Fairies'

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by lmp

How does one come to perceive faeries? Does one need to believe, first? Does one need to want them to be real in order to perceive them? Does one have to be born on English soil in order to perceive English faeries? Does one have to be relatively close to nature; that is, having a nature loving mindset as opposed to utilitarian? Does oen need to have Celtic blood flowing through one's veins? And finally, did Tolkien ask these questions?

While I'm not going to try and write "Faerie spotting for dummies" - I can tell you that your questions kind of answer themselves in the main. I think that you would stand more chance of seeing some if you wanted to see some, and you would have to possess the right kind of mindset, i.e. it might be more difficult if you wree a dyed-in-the-wool cynic! But you would not have to be either in England or to be English or British to see them; faeries are found in many cultures, they just go by different names.

I am sure many see them and do not know what they have seen. I happen to think that alien sightings are more likely to be sightings of faeries; our culture has replaced tales of faerie abductions with tales of alien abductions as we have moved out of our rural lifestyles and into the world of possibility that the space age offers. I also think, in regard to aliens, that if there were any then they would have been here by now and taken us over (who knows, maybe they have, I might be in the Matrix or something now ) - history shows that more 'advanced' cultures are never kind to the cultures they 'discover'. Those little green men are more likely to be faeries. So, knowing what you might see when you leave yourself open to Faerie is always helpful.

I have a boggart in the house - though many might not know what they had seen. When I saw a little wizened figure crouching near the ceiling before dropping down and scuttling away I knew what he was because we had them about when I was a child. Now I've seen him a few times around the house.

I wish I could explain ghosts so easily.