Fairy tattoos are popular with women who want a natural and sensual image. Fairies have a rich symbolic history and many of our ancestors, especially the Irish, believed in fairies.
Fairies have been called by all sorts of names through history. Many people called them the little people, or the fair people, because they feared calling them by their right name would invoke their
presence. Other words include faerie or fae. The Gaelic term for fairies is sidhe (pronounced shee), which also includes the banshees and leprechauns of Ireland.
The little people were thought to have been driven underground by the iron weapons of invaders, which is why you may notice a horseshoe or a piece of iron over the door of believers.
The traditional fairy is not a Disney version of a nice being with wings who helps people on a whim. Fairies are mischievous spirits, the spirit of nature itself. They can bestow gifts upon people they are attracted to, such as beauty, wealth and kindness, or perform petty and potentially harmful tricks on people they don't like or disrespect. Overall fairies are blamed for things people don't have an explanation for, such as unexplained death, a poorly behaved child or weather phenomenon.
To stay on their good side, believers offer bowls of milk and treats on the solstices. It is not recommended that one be out and about in the evenings on the solstice. The fairies may take a liking to a traveler and kidnap him into the fairy world. Other warnings when dealings with fairies include:
- Never eat their food
- Always treat them respectfully
- Remember they have different motivations and beliefs than humans
- Follow through if you tell them you will accomplish a task
- Since fairies are of the Earth, treat the Earth with respect
Belief in fairies is not entirely a thing of the past. Practitioners of Wicca and other neo-pagan religions believe in nature spirits known as Sylphs, Undines, Salamanders, and Gnomes, and believe ,they are alive and well in the world today.
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