Myths and Legends : Fairies

The 'Good People' at New Grange.--Between Knowth and, New Grange I met Maggie Timmons carrying a pail of butter-milk to her calves; and when we stopped on the road to talk, I asked her, in due time, if any of the 'good people' ever appeared in the region, or about New Grange, which we could see in the field, and she replied, in reference to New Grange:--'I am sure the neighbours used to see the good people come out of it at night and in the morning. The good people inherited the fort.'

Then I asked her what the 'good people' are, and she said:--'When they disappear they go like fog; they must be something like spirits, or how could they disappear in that way? I knew of people,' she added, 'who would put milk in the fields about here and spill milk on the ground for the good people; and pots of potatoes would be put out for the good people at night.'

from  The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W. Y. Evans-Wentz  1911

The Wisdom - we don't need to have all the answers -

When the lady is asked what the good people are she could have said - ' I don't know'.  But, we do not like to admit our lack of knowledge, so she answers with another question... And what she is saying tells us more... we do not know who the good people are - they are a mystery and will remain so - but some trust in the mystery and nourish it... this is indeed a world where people are wonder-full... full of wonder for the place in which they live...  they spend a little time caring for the unseen, the things beyond understanding, not requiring explanations or sensible reasons...

The Wisdom - forbidden grounds -

The faery, an ancient race, sometimes said to be the Fir Bolg and often the Tuatha De Danaan now inhabit the fairy mounds.  These are Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age mounds and henges which cover the landscape of Ireland.  In times past, and to this day, adults forbid children to go near a certain field or monument.  Particularly in the west our forefathers were also warned of the fairy wind.  This could wisk you away into their enchanted land.  To avoid this you had to spit three times into the wind.  The power of three is evident everywhere.  Fairies often grant three wishes in return for your soul. 

Why would you want to keep children away from their ancestral land?  Perhaps children were taken away by the fairies.... but also low flat land, created by high henge banks, does induce chilled air and can cause unusual winds and frost hollows....  the wisdom maybe that they are not healthy places to be...  Yet, the Fairy world was often beautiful, otherworldly, made of glass and crystal with the most beautiful melodies and attractive people... this state you were told was unobtainable by ordinary folk, in fact it was dangerous and forbidden.  This creates a situation where you know your place and your place is not in ambition to better yourself and seek fortune.  But you would gain glory and comfort in heaven, in immortality, which the fairies were doomed never to achieve.  But don't be tempted to look for heaven on earth!

Page last updated: 8th Mar 2010