{"id":10448,"date":"2019-04-30T14:58:02","date_gmt":"2019-04-30T20:58:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=10448"},"modified":"2019-04-30T15:04:05","modified_gmt":"2019-04-30T21:04:05","slug":"pixie-problems-or-working-things-out-with-the-cousins-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=10448","title":{"rendered":"Pixie Problems, or Working Things Out with the \u2018Cousins\u2019 (4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Part 2<\/a><\/p>\n

Part 3<\/a><\/p>\n

So what are fairies? How do you research them<\/a>? Just as important, do you even want to have anything to do with them?<\/p>\n

Each of those is a book or article-length question, so I will paint with a very broad brush here. Nevertheless, fairies have popped up on this blog before<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In deadbutdreaming,<\/em> a blog devoted to fairy lore, among other things, Neil Rushton offers “A Faerie Taxonomy<\/a>.” He writes,<\/p>\n

The faeries mean different things to different people. There is a great range in their taxonomy; they can be the archetypal characters found in faerie tales, folkloric entities existing in a liminal reality, animistic nature spirits responsible for the propagation of flora, and a host of culturally-coded modern beings, including, but not limited to, extraterrestrials and certain creatures that can manifest during altered states of consciousness.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is so much folklore, so many variations, and categories (the dead, nature spirits, interdimensional beings, etc.) that blur into each other. Big ones, little ones. Usually they are described as humanoid, but on the other hand, I don’t think of our “cousins” as being necessarily humanoid at all.<\/p>\n

You have various sorts of Hidden Folk in various places and cultures. Apparently they are fairly respectable in Iceland. I have met them (?) in dreams, where they became “the people who live inside the walls.” Not that they live between 2x4s and sheets of paneling or drywall \u2014 what was meant was a sort of interdimensionality, where their large world seems to fit into one of our small worlds.<\/p>\n

The big ones (human-size or almost that) are often described as the Gentry, the Good Neighbors, and so on. They are powerful and unpredictable in the stories, and the best response to encountering one might be to tip your hat and say, “Fine day, isn’t it, Your Grace.” And then go another direction.<\/p>\n

Or as Anne Johnson put in a post last year titled, “Faeries aka Fairies Are Real<\/a>”<\/p>\n

So you say, “What do faeries look like?” And I answer, “What have you got?” There are as many varieties of faerie as there are of biological life in the apparent world. Some faeries are human shaped and sized, some are tiny, some look like animals, some like birds, and some are just beams of light. Be careful if you make eye contact, because they like to distract. And whatever you do, show them respect. Even the “critter” ones. Call them “Ladies and Gentlemen,” or “your majesties.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

John Beckett describes what happened when a group of American Druids, seeking to be inclusive, “explicitly invited the Fair Folk as part of our formal liturgy [at Beltane 2016].”<\/a><\/p>\n

We had mentioned them before and they had shown up on several occasions, but if my memory is correct (and if it\u2019s not, it\u2019s not off by much) this was the first time we invoked land spirits, ancestors, Gods, and the fae in four separate invocations.<\/p>\n

The ritual was an overwhelming success. But Themselves decided we hadn\u2019t been sufficiently generous and helped themselves to an entire pitcher of wine.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In a rather violent manner.<\/p>\n

He concludes,<\/p>\n

The stories of our ancestors tell us they are proud people who do not tolerate slights and disrespect. They seem pleased with this change.<\/p>\n

Attempts to lump them in with spirits of the land and of natural forces is inaccurate, unnecessary, and unwanted. They are the Fair Folk. That is how I understand them, and how I will relate to them.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here are some books that influenced my thinking:<\/p>\n

<\/a>Jacques Vall\u00e9e, Passport to Magonia: From Folklore to Flying Saucers<\/em><\/a>. Astronomer, computer scientist, and ufologist, Vall\u00e9e wrote this book in the 1960s partly to answer the question, “If the Space Brothers are out there, why don’t they land on the White House lawn\/Red Square\/United Nations Plaza, etc.?” His suggestion: it\/they have always been here and it\/they enjoy messing with us.<\/p>\n

I often criticize people for trying to explain a mystery with another mystery, and I have to admit that saying, “They are not visitors from another star system, but they have been here all along” is doing just that, because what does “here all along” exactly mean? But I cannot think of hypothesis more useful.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\"\"George P. Hansen, The Trickster and the Paranormal<\/em><\/a>. A\u00a0 former university parapsychology researcher, Hansen writes an interdisciplinary study of why most academics \u2014 even in religious studies \u2014shy away from the topic of the paranormal and why, at the same, people and institutions involved with the paranormal have their own difficulties.<\/p>\n

Psi interacts with our physical world, with our thoughts, and with our social institutions. Even contemplating certain ideas has consequences. The phenomena are not to be tamed by mere logic and rationality, and attempts to do so are doomed to failure (From the book’s website.<\/a>)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book grabs ideas from parapsychology, psychology, anthropology, and elsewhere, but the chapter I found most interesting, “Unbounded Conditions,” discusses how investigating UFOs, parapsychology\u2014and I would add Bigfoot, for example\u2014destabilizes both groups and individuals.<\/p>\n

These phenomena intrude into the lives of investigators. The researchers participate in them and cannot remain on the side as observers. The subject-object distinction is subverted, and the consequences are often unpleasant (p. 217).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hansen acknowledges John Keel The Mothman Prophecies <\/a><\/em>as a classic of phenomena intruding; you might call it synchronicity out of control.<\/p>\n

<\/a>Finally, I recommend The Super Natural: Why the Unexplained is Real<\/em><\/a>, by Whitley Strieber and Jeffery Kripal. Strieber is known for Communion<\/em><\/a> and other writing on his often-unpleasant encounters with “the visitors,” whom he does not see as space aliens. Kripal is one religious studies professor<\/a> who is willing to think and write about odd, esoteric, erotic, and paranormal aspects of what we cal “religion.”<\/p>\n

The book is arranged in alternating chapters by each author. I read it last year and need to re-read it. A few statements in it severely shook me, so I need to have another go. If you prefer the “interdimensional” explanation, then this book is the rabbit hole that you want to jump into.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 So what are fairies? How do you research them? Just as important, do you even want to have anything to do with them? Each of those is a book or article-length question, so I will paint with a very broad brush here. Nevertheless, fairies have popped up on this […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[82,22],"class_list":["post-10448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-fairies","tag-weirdness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-2Iw","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":11934,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=11934","url_meta":{"origin":10448,"position":0},"title":"Call Deadline Extended for Gothic Encounters with Faerie Conference","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"December 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Everything academic seems to slo-o-o-w down in 2020, so you can still submit a proposal for the \"Ill met by moonlight\u2019: Gothic encounters with enchantment and the Faerie realm in literature and culture\" conference at the University of Hertfordshire, 8\u201311 April 2021. We are pleased to announce an extension to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"academia\"","block_context":{"text":"academia","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=academia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.opengravesopenminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Fairy_passage.jpg?w=703&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.opengravesopenminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Fairy_passage.jpg?w=703&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.opengravesopenminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Fairy_passage.jpg?w=703&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/www.opengravesopenminds.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/Fairy_passage.jpg?w=703&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11680,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=11680","url_meta":{"origin":10448,"position":1},"title":"Call for Papers: Fairies and Gothic Literature and Culture","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"August 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\"Fairies and fashion\" as a suggested topic? Someone must have seen my \"Dior Dresses the Fair Folk\" post! Seriously, there are some fascinating topics under potential consideration for this conference: Call for papers: Gothic encounters with enchantment and the Faerie realm in literature and culture University of Hertfordshire, 8\u201310 April\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"academia\"","block_context":{"text":"academia","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=academia"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10435,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=10435","url_meta":{"origin":10448,"position":2},"title":"Pixie Problems, or Working Things Out with the \u2018Cousins\u2019 (3)","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"April 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Part 1 Here Part 2 Here Skittles to me are M&M's low-rent relative, and Gummi Worms look like they should be threaded onto a lead-head jig and used to catch largemouth bass \u2014 except the fish might just spit them out. (I am sure that someone has tried.)\u00a0 But per\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"fairies\"","block_context":{"text":"fairies","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=fairies"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/skittles.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/skittles.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/skittles.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10477,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=10477","url_meta":{"origin":10448,"position":3},"title":"Bejayus, It’s the Eco-Fairies","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"May 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"In the last of the four-part post about \"the cousins\" (start the series here), I raised the question of what do fairies look like. Here is the man who knows, says the (Irish) Independent: \u201cLooking at fairies on my farm is the same as looking at traffic in Dublin. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"agriculture\"","block_context":{"text":"agriculture","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=agriculture"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9601,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=9601","url_meta":{"origin":10448,"position":4},"title":"In the Land of Fairy, Don’t Eat the Pentagram Pizza","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"June 15, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"You have heard that advice, right? Don't eat the food that the Good Neighbors \u2014 or however you want to describe those beings whose reality intersects ours \u2014 might offer you, or you might be there with them a very very long time. In Morgan Daimler's view of the Fairy\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"blogging\"","block_context":{"text":"blogging","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=blogging"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/pentagrampizza.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11959,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=11959","url_meta":{"origin":10448,"position":5},"title":"Forget Ecotourism\u2014Try Fairytourism","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"December 18, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Ecotourism often involves naturalist-guided tours of relatively wild areas, but also visits to small-scale agricultural producers, also called \"agritourism.\" Sometimes this operates in a B&B fashion. See, for example, the state of Vermont's guide. But never mind milking cows and picking berries. Suppose you could offer encounters with the Other\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"agriculture\"","block_context":{"text":"agriculture","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=agriculture"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.agriland.ie\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Image-source-screenshot-3-e1603973166180-1024x598.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.agriland.ie\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Image-source-screenshot-3-e1603973166180-1024x598.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.agriland.ie\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Image-source-screenshot-3-e1603973166180-1024x598.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/cdn.agriland.ie\/uploads\/2020\/10\/Image-source-screenshot-3-e1603973166180-1024x598.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10448"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10475,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10448\/revisions\/10475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}