Episode 20: The Fae Realm: Faerie

The folklore of Faerie in a nutshell, how I reimagined it for my writing, and Faerie translated into Afrikaans.

Written and narrated by Ronel Janse van Vuuren.

Copyright 2021 Ronel Janse van Vuuren — All rights reserved.

Learn more about Faerie here.

Get the transcript here.

Music: Secrets by David Fesliyan (FesliyanStudios.com) and Dramatic Heartbeat by FesliyanStudios.com

Transcript

You’re listening to the Faeries and Folklore podcast by Ronel.

I’m dark fantasy author Ronel Janse van Vuuren. With nearly a decade of digging around in dusty folklore books, researching creatures of imagination that ignited my curiosity, I’m here to share the folklore in a nutshell and how I reimagined it for my writing in an origin of the fae.

This is the Faeries and Folklore podcast.

Hi, I’m your host Ronel Janse van Vuuren. You can just call me Ronel. In today’s episode, we’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

This episode is brought to you by my book Once… Tales, Myths and Legends of Faerie available in eBook, paperback and audiobook. Go to ronelthemythmaker.com/my-books for more.

We’re continuing our exploration of the fae realm.

Today’s Subject: Faerie

Folklore in a Nutshell by Ronel

Faerie is the home of the fae. It is known by different names. Popular ones are: Fairyland, Elfland, Avalon, Fairy Kingdom, Tír n nÓg, Faylinn, Ilse of the Blest, Mag Mell, and Annwn.

In most folklore, Faerie is ruled by a queen. She will banish any who disobey her. Most folklore also has it that Faerie is underground. These underground dwellings are usually referred to as faery hills as they are connected to the ancestors and their cairns (graves) and the fae are sometimes seen as the ancestors of the Irish.

If not in hollow hills, Faerie is seen as islands across the sea or even underwater palaces. In some cases, it is the strange meadow in the forest. Faerie, just as its denizens, appears in different forms.

The Norse Alfheim, elfland, is associated with the land of the dead and is also the home of elves.

All folklore about the fae have certain expectations of Faerie: humans are rarely invited, but are occasionally tricked or kidnapped to go to Faerie. And few ever make the trip back home. Time is always different than in the mortal realm, and humans are only ever released upon doing a valuable service to the fae. Though with the time issue, it is possible that years may have passed and they have no real home to return to.

Faerie is always described as being unequalled in beauty and always filled with music and dancing. And though their food is the most delicious a mortal can ever taste, if one eats faery food, one will never be able to stomach human food and will thus either be enslaved to the fae or die of starvation.

Rossetti’s Goblin Market is by far my favourite take on Faerie and the fae. It’s way too long to read in this microcast, but you can go and read it on my blog. The link is in the show notes.

After you’ve read Rossetti’s Goblin Market, you might ask yourself: why do people waste away, craving for things they’ve only seen in their dreams?

Well, I’ll answer that one: have you read the description of Faerie in The Twelve Dancing Princesses by the Brothers Grimm?

“…they found themselves in a magnificent avenue of trees where all the leaves were made of silver, glittering and glinting.”

“Then they came to an avenue of trees where all the leaves were of gold, and then to a third where they were of pure diamond…”

“…on the far side of the water there stood a splendid, brightly lit castle resounding with the gay music of drums and trumpets.”

Exactly.

Faeries love to offer gifts. You know the story of Rumpelstiltskin by the Brothers Grimm.

“When the girl was alone the little man came for a third time and said, ‘What’ll you give me if I spin this straw yet again?’

‘I’ve nothing more to give,’ answered the girl.

‘Then promise me your first child if you get to be queen.’”

So you know that there’s always a price to pay. Even one you never thought you would…

Faerie is a place of promises and of deception, of hope and of despair, and despite its magic – very much like the mortal realm.

And now for my interpretation of the fae in an origin of the fae:

Origin of the Fae: Faerie

Before the Rift (a millennium or so ago), Faerie was one, whole.

Now there’s the Seelie Realm (Avalon), Borderlands within the human world (though humans are smart enough to stay away from what belongs to the Fae) where Solitary Fae live at a price (a Tithe is paid every seven years to either the Seelie Queen or the Unseelie King), the Unseelie Realm with the Dark King’s castle in the middle of it all, the Wildwood that connects everything and where magic is unpredictable, and the Sea of Discord which divides all realms.

Though Faery Circles and Faery Rings are quite capable of taking the user to where they wish to go within the realms, some still use the old passages between realms (though only the foolish or desperate do so). The old passages were created before the Rift and are no longer uninhabited or reliable.

Balance no longer exists in Faerie. After the Rift, the light no longer tempers the darkness in the Unseelie Fae and the Seelie no longer appreciates the light, for there is no darkness in their world (they no longer realise when they are being cruel or callous).

Some Fae have escaped to magical parts of the human realm – places touched by Faerie during the Rift – and made homes there. Usually this dwelling is disguised as a small hill or something uninteresting and best avoided (like a burial mound).

Though scattered, all Fae are still ruled by the Seelie Queen (Faery Queen) and the Unseelie King (Dark King). Whether that’s by doing the Court’s bidding outside of the seat of power (Seelie Realm/Unseelie Realm) or by paying a Tithe for Court privileges (like living on Court land, under the protection of that Court).

The Fae who choose to have nothing to do with the Courts have a hard life. They either live in the untamed wilderness (the Wildwood or the Sea of Discord) and go mad, or on Court land as prey, or in the Mortal Realm, cut off from their magic. (Only the two Fae monarchs, the Assassin, the King of the Dead and Cù Sìth can command the Mist. Everyone else have to draw and store Glamour from the Mist for their own use – and they can only do that in places where magic is strong.)

Time runs differently in Faerie than in the Mortal Realm. Hours there can be weeks in the human world.

Humans shouldn’t eat food from Faerie: once they do, they belong to the Fae. Only the one who offered the food can break the spell. And usually they don’t: Fae love mortal playthings. Also, Faerie food holds an enchantment that makes food from the Mortal Realm unpalatable to humans, causing an addiction to Faerie food. (You’ve been warned: don’t take sweets/fruits/cakes/drinks or anything else a stranger offers you.)

Making deals with the fair folk from Faerie invariably leads to trouble. Rumpelstiltskin isn’t the only Fae who collects debts, he’s just the most notorious.

Faerie changes to suit the will of the Faery Queen. Her power is strongest in Avalon.

The Dark King prefers to toy with perception and light/dark (illumination or lack thereof) around him.

To enter the land of the Fae (Faerie) is to give up all power of where you are and what you see/hear/feel/smell/taste.

As a little bonus, let’s look at the translation of Faerie into Afrikaans: Feërie.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed this episode of the faeries and folklore podcast and that you’ve learned something new about faerie.

Remember that you can get a transcript of this episode in the description. If you’re new to the podcast, why not go and grab your free copy of Unseen, the second book in the Faery Tales series, on my website ronelthemythmaker.com? Loads of folklore, magic and danger await! Take care!

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