Ethereal Fairies: The Essentials

All fairies are elusive, and are usually invisible to mortals, but some are more ethereal than others. Unlike the earthbound nature fairies, ethereal fairies are closer to the world of spirit than matter.

Sylphs
Sylphs dwell entirely in the element of air, riding the wind thermals and resting occasionally on high mountain summits. They are almost transparent to those who do not have the "fairy sight," but you may feel their passing on drafts and puffs of air, or if you listen carefully you may hear their voices on the breeze. Their name comes from a Greek word meaning "butterfly," and some sylphs have the winds of butterfields while others have feathered wings like birds. Some are very tall, and others as tiny as moths, but all have eyes as sharp as those of hawks.

Sprites
Sprites are insubstantial and subtle beings. Their name simply means "spirit," and they have few dealings with mortals. In popular fairy tales, sprites are responsible for ushering in the winter, causing the leaves to change in the fall, turning them brown, red, and gold before they wither and drop from the trees. Other sprites appear as spirits of frost and snow, painting windowpanes with lacy ice patterns and nipping the fingers and toes of children. Sprites are always out when sun and rain occur together, and the rainbow bridges the gap between the ordinary world and fairyland. It is the sprites who paint it with seven colors.

Devas
Devas are rather esoteric fairies that occupy a mystical realm between the physical and spiritual plane, which is therefore sometimes referred to as "The Middle Kingdom." They are ethereal creatures, with bodies made of the very finest matter that seem to shine with an inner light. The energy that flows through them sometimes appears as flowing hair and wings, though they can take any form they wish. Their job is to give the world its material structure and especially to show plants hot to grow and what form to take. Every plant, flower, and vegetable has its own deva.

Sirens
These sea fairies are usually depicted as nymphs or mermaids, though it is said that they once looked like bird women. Their wonderful singing is an irresistible enchantment, drawing men to their deaths as they either jump overboard or wreck their ships on the rocks in an attempt to reach the exquisite music. The shore of the sirens' island is littered with the bleached bones of sailors. Only one man heard their singing and lived, the clever Greek hero Odysseus, who stopped his men's ears with wax and tied himself to the ship's mast so that he could listen without succumbing to the sirens' fatal charms.

Goblins
Goblins are some of the more unpleasant denizens of the fairy realm; the villains of the fairy world, and companions to the dead, their name means "evil spirit." The best time to see goblins is Halloween, when they emerge from their homes which lie in tree roots, caves, or grubby holes in the ground. Then they will haunt the churchyard with the ghosts, or make mischief around the village trying to tempt people into eating fairy food, which will make them the prisoners of the fairies forever. Goblins are small, swarthy, ugly creatures, who look like squat, crooked humans, and the smile from one is horrible enough to turn milk sour.

Banshees
Banshees adopt families of pure Celtic blood, and their unearthly wails pierce the air when death or disaster is about to befall them. Their keening is said to resemble a combination of wild goose's screech, a wolf's howl, and the pitiful cry of an abandoned child. If a member of the family goes out to look, the banshee may be seen sitting in the branches of a tall tree, silhouetted against the moon, combing her long black hair. The family member must be careful though, as if one of these hairs falls on him he will be cursed forever more.

Pixies
The moorland of southwest England is alive with these playful fairies, who delight in playing practical jokes on the unwary. One of their tricks is to "pixie-lead" travelers or, in other words, to lead them astray from their path across the heath. Another favorite prank is stealing horses and ponies, riding them wildly through the night before returning them in the morning tired out (with knotted manes and tails) to the farmer's puzzlement. Their humor is good natured, however, and, if they choose, pixies can be as helpful as brownies. One Devonshire farmer found his barns full of threshed gain, a gift from the pixies.

Elves
Elves are larger than most fairies, being of human size or even slightly taller. They live in large communities in specific woodland groves or underground inside the fairy hills. Elves are ruled by a king and queen, and are sometimes called "trooping fairies" because they ride out in magnificent processions behind their rulers, mounted on prancing ponies whose eyes flash with fire and whose hooves are shod with gold. The males are stately and handsome, while female elves have an unearthly beauty, with long, pale hair that sweeps the ground, and dew sprinkled gowns that sparkle as thought set with diamonds.

Gnomes
Gnomes are earth fairies, their name meaning "earth dweller," and it is said that they can move through their element as easily as a fish moves through wate.r They protect and guard all the things of the earth, from the treasured minerals and metals within it and its rocks and stones, to the plants that grow on it, though it is really the soil that gnomes are concerned with. It is for this reason that many people have little protective statues of gnomes in their gardens, showing them as jolly faced little men with red caps, tunics, belts and boots.

Leprechauns
Leprechauns are cobblers who make the shoes for all the fairy gentry. They are usually seen with a last and hammer, but for some reason, only one shoe in the making. The Irish will tell you that the leprechaun hides his pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, and if you can reach the end of the rainbow, he will be forced to hand it over. Leprechauns are small, wrinkled, and usually dressed in a homely fashion. Don't be surprised if you catch him enjoying a pipe of tobacco and a glass of good Irish whiskey.

Excerpts from Watercolor Fairies by David Riche and Anna Franklin.