Definition and Meaning

The Spanish word hada comes from the Latin fata which, in turn, derived from fatum, meaning fate or destiny.  In the Middle Ages, it was defined by the gentiles as a divinity or unknown force which had a fascinating effect on the other divinities and on men and events.  The French word fée has a similar origin and resulted in the English words fey and fairie which, as time went by, suffered spelling variations from fayerye, fayre, faerie, faery, and fairy.  According to its ethimology, it is a fantastic being pictured as a woman known to have magickal powers.  For the Saxons, the word ferie refers to the world of fairies as an entity, being a geographical location.  In Spanish it turned out to be féerico, depicting something wonderful or fantastic, as applied for example to música féerica (fairy music).

Are Fairies Real?

Scientific Explanations

Towards the end of the 19th century, a group of scientifically-minded people with nevertheless strong spiritual beliefs, began to theorize that the worlds often labeled "magick" were actually as natural as the one we live in, but that they vibrate at a different speed, and so they can exist alongside us, unseen.  There were different groups who pursued these ideas, but they were generally called the Spiritualist Movement (although the Theosophists who were so instrumental in bringing the Cottingley photographs to public attention, always denied that they were a spiritualist group.) When Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths photographed fairies in Cottingley in 1917, the grown-ups who believed in them were mostly of this movement.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, despite having created that most cold and un-spiritual thinker Sherlock Holmes, was a devout spiritualist.

The fairies of Cottingley seem somewhat different from those described in the oldest tales.  In stories written down as long as 800 years ago, the experiences of people encountering fairies were often frightening, and fairies acquired a reputation of being quite dangerous.  The fairies in Cottingley did not seem in any way menacing or prone to mischief.  Going back equally far are reports that the fairies had left Ireland, Scotland, or England. Numerous witnesses described their "final" departure at different times.  It is possible that the few fairies remaining in the British Isles by the early 20th century, such as those at Cottingley, were either more benevolent or less powerful than the fairies of olden times.  Perhaps both.  In any case, the smaller fairies are generally thought to be less powerful and less mischievous as a rule.

Scientific Dis-proofs

More recently, a different kind of "scientific" theory has been offered to suggest that the stories about fairies are all based on specific groups of ordinary mortals.  This idea supposes that one ancient group of people was pushed off the land by a different, conquering group.  Perhaps the "native" group was merely a weaker tribe who were conquered by a stronger tribe, or perhaps they were truly a different, ancient form of humans somewhat smaller than we modern humans.  The old group fled to the forests and fields where they hid.  There, they lived for centuries in underground, or partly underground huts, moving stealthily, often by night, and keeping to themselves as much as possible.  When in need they are supposed to have robbed the conquerors of food or odd items.  They may also have worked for the conquerors, doing household chores in exchange for food or for the use of tools they could not make themselves, like iron kettles.  This theory offers many explanations for most of the wide-spread beliefs about fairies.  Unfortunately for this "scientific" notion, there is no scientific evidence of this earlier people to support it, only the very stories that it seeks to disprove.

The simpler explanation, of course, is that the vast array of fairy-stories are, to some degree at least, true.

People and Fairies

For those who would like to meet fairies, it is wise to learn as much as you can about them.  Here is a sprinkling of information, some helpful hints, and a few cautions.

Many Kinds of Fairies

There are reports of fairy-like creatures and others closely related from all over the world...far too many to consider here.  We are chiefly concerned with the many different kinds which have been known for centuries around the British Isles.

Fairies are called by many names in many different places: faerie, fay, fey, the Gentry, the Good People, the Good Neighbors, the People of Peace, the Fair Family, the Twylyth Teg, pixies, piskies, pisgies, the Daoine O'Sidhe (Deeny Shee), the Sith, the Seely Court.  There are also a variety of other creatures akin to them, such as the elves, gnomes, trolls, brownies, bwca, hobgoblins, pooka, phouka, pwca, kelpie, silkie, and many more.   (A special word about "hobgoblin", which is not what it seems.  Hob is a name given to a helpful sort of spirit, and so a hobgoblin is quite different from plain, scary goblin.)  These are all names people use to describe fairies and their ilk, but each of them has a name of his or her own, which is not so easy to find out...but more on that later.

It should be pointed out that those we now usually think of as fairies, small, delicate creatures, are the type that usually live in large groups, and are commonly called trooping fairies.  Not all the trooping fairies are quite so small a sort as most popularly pictured, but for many hundred years, even the larger sort were thought to be smaller than ordinary humans.  The diminutive fairies were not often reported until the past two or three centuries, and it may be that as their numbers diminished, their individual size shrank, too.

Some of those mentioned above are solitary creatures, not strictly fairies, who vary from the very helpful (such as the brownie, who usually lives by a house or on a farm and does chores in return for a bit of food and drink) to the very dangerous (such as a Silkie, who lures sailors into the sea.)

Generic Classification

They are grouped in generic families based on big differences among them, and the elements they inhabit or preferably domain. They could be classified as follows:

Air Spirits

The air element, featured by intelligence, represented by Spring and Dawn is inhabited by Sylphs in the form of butterflies.  They control winds, help birds in their migrations and flowers in their pollination.  Their light yellow-toned translucent appearance is present in the scent of wet herb threatening to rain.

Water Spirits:  Nymphs, Mermaids, Nereids, Naiads, Undines and Water Goblins 

The water element featured by love and cures, represented by Autumn and Sunset, is inhabited by nymphs, mermaids, nereids, and undines.  They appear as mythological creatures in all liquids, such as seas, rivers, fresh water brooks, falls, and clouds.  Their aspect vary depending on their habitat.  Nereids rule the seas; undines called Naiads by the Greek, are found in lakes.  They are mostly blue and a receptive energy.  Like mermaids, they attract any sailor with their songs until they wreck.  They are the ones channeling natural river beds.

Earth Spirits 

The Earth element is the most dense.  It is represented by Winter and the night.  It is inhabited by Ladies, goblins, gnomes, and trolls.  They are mostly green, and have a receptive energy. Fairies or Ladies are characterized by their kindness and for being the oldest inhabitants of the plant.  They may either be imposing or tiny; their powers, however, are incredible and dominate nature.

Fire Spirits

The Fire element features both creation and destruction.  It is represented by Summer, and daylight.  It is inhabited by Salamanders, Farralis and Ra-Arus, appearing as reddish salamanders and dragons.  They give the idea that with courage and imagination everything can be done.  They send forth projective energy, and dominate the element.  No fire would be ignited without their intervention.