Pagan Portals - Fairy Queens: Meeting The Queens Of The Otherworld
104
Pagan Portals - Fairy Queens: Meeting The Queens Of The Otherworld
104Paperback
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Overview
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781785358333 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Collective Ink |
| Publication date: | 10/01/2019 |
| Pages: | 104 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.40(d) |
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CHAPTER 1
Navigating Elfland: Hierarchy among the Good People
In the Introduction we looked at some basic tips for approaching and dealing with fairies, which is an essential starting point. The next step, before we get into actually learning about and meeting each Queen, is to get an idea of Fairy itself and how things generally are among the Good People. While the etiquette from the last section was important because you need to understand how you, as a human, should approach the Queens, it's also important to realize that the Fey folk have their own hierarchy and rules among themselves which are different than those in play for humans.
Fairy is a world unto itself, or more truly several worlds, and as you journey into it to meet the Queens you need to keep a few things in mind. Firstly, time moves differently in Fairy so it's not uncommon to undertake a meditation or journey in which you feel like a short amount of time has passed only to find that when you return to the waking world it has been much longer than you expected, or inversely that it seems like a long time has passed for you but when you return it has been only a very short amount of time here. Secondly, as I mentioned in the Introduction, things that happen in Fairy in a meditation or journey are just as real as things that happen to us here and that means they have consequences. Not only do we need to treat the experiences as real and be careful of what we say and do, but you should be aware that it is possible to get hurt. Thirdly much like in our own world things can and do change while we are away. Even if you are going to the same places each time you visit don't be surprised if the place itself changes or the beings you encounter are different between visits. These shouldn't be massive shifts, hopefully, but some change is to be expected and is normal. The beings you encounter are real and exist whether you are around to interact with them or not.
Which leads us to the next point, and the title of this section, hierarchy among the Good People. Obviously we have already covered the idea that there is a monarchy and that those who occupy that upper echelon require the same respect that would be given to the most high powered of humans – if not more. However they represent the highest level of Fairy's inhabitants not the sum total of who can be found there. Fairy contains a diversity of beings that include a range from Kings and Queens to the most humble of beings, and everything in between. Humans tend to fall somewhere towards the lower end of that scale, particularly when we are in their territory. Never forget your place in that range and that the beings you encounter do not and will not all relate to you the same way.
When we are going there we will inevitably encounter these beings, across that whole range, and we need to keep in mind that respect is important and that we are not the rulers of this realm nor the most powerful things kicking around. Good manners, common courtesy, and humility are valuable here and I suggest approaching these experiences and the beings you will meet as you would if you were travelling in a foreign country here on earth, where the consequences of offending someone or breaking a law are severe and cannot be appealed. You generally want to stay on good terms with the beings around you, don't pick fights unless you have to, have a good idea of when you are most likely to be in danger (and how to handle it) as well as who is most likely to help you.
This is why I suggest getting a good feel for folklore before taking the step of starting to travel in Fairy. There are several decent books on the market that look at the different types of beings from a more Celtic perspective. The two main ones I might recommend starting with are Brian Froud and Alan Lee's 'Faeries' and Katherine Briggs' 'A Dictionary of Fairies'. Froud and Lee's book is more fluid in its approach but is invaluable for its illustrations which will help you get ready for some of the different things you may see. Brigg's book in contrast is better for getting one acquainted with the various beings in a more orderly fashion and with snippets of important folklore attached.
A Note on Fairy Courts
Throughout this book you will see the term fairy court used so its important to understand the different contexts and meanings that this term can have. In one sense it can be a very general term, drawing from the Scots word court meaning a group or assembly and simply implying a group of fairies, usually of a specific affiliation. In another sense however, and the meaning that we will use more often here, a court is the group of people who are in service to and living in a royal household.
When we talk about the Two Courts or about the Seelie and Unseelie Courts we are using the term in the general sense of a group. The Seelie Court may be understood as the grouping of fairies which are more generally benevolent towards humans and slower to anger. The Unseelie are those more malicious towards humans and more inclined to cause harm without provocation. Additionally the term Seelie Court or Seelie fairy is used sometimes as a euphemism like Good People or Fair Folk would be. However it's important to understand that while these terms are useful for understanding fairies they are not always literally applicable to all of them and there is no wide spread loyalty to one or the other among the fey folk. The terms originated in the Lowlands of Scotland and that is where they have the most functional use; outside of that we are mostly using them figuratively. The Irish Fairy Queens, for example, would not belong to either of these Courts.
A fairy court as we mean it when applied to individual Fairy Queens is the specific group of beings who would attend or serve a Fairy Queen or King; we see this use in ballad material and in some anecdotes. This may raise the question with some people of what exactly a royal court would be and how it would function and since people who decide to use the guided meditations or journeys may find themselves encountering the courts of different Queens this is important information. Here we will briefly discuss what exactly a fairy court would be and who would be included in it.
A fairy royal court, like a mortal one, represents - effectively - the royal household which includes a range of beings from family of the monarch to counselors, servants, courtiers, court officials, entertainers, ladies-in-waiting, courtesans, knights, heralds, doorkeepers, cupbearers, stable hands, and huntsmen (Pattie, 2011; C& MH, 2014). Ladies-in-waiting are often the wives of nobles attending court or sometimes widows of such nobles tasked with keeping the Queen company, entertaining her, and sharing court gossip with the Queen. The Queen would also have maidservants or handmaidens who were not nobility and were servants in truth that would handle her personal needs. Who was a part of the court and who wasn't could be a fluid concept but generally a person who was in regular - usually daily or nearly daily - contact with the royal family and made their home at the royal court may be considered a member of the court. The size of any court was dependent on the size of the kingdom and its power and influence.
Keep in mind that just being a member of the court did not mean having rank in it. Having rank within a court meant having a specific title and duty within that court relating to serving the monarch, and the system of rank as one may assume was hierarchical. Certain titles implied a great deal more power and influence than others, and some positions, like master huntsman or master falconer, where usually held by members of the nobility (C & MH, 2014). To quote the article 'Officers and Servants in a Medieval Castle': "The presence of servants of noble birth imposed a social hierarchy on the household that went parallel to the hierarchy dictated by function." (C & MH, 2014). This is referencing human royal courts however it applies equally to courts in Fairy; rank in a court is a matter equally of birth and function within the court itself, and everything is a matter of rank.
If this sounds complicated that's because it is, and no less so for Fairy courts than for human ones.
The ruling monarch has a court; the members of their court do not have their own courts because only the ruling monarch has the authority to make governmental decisions, military decisions, and judgements of law. So a Fairy Queen would have her court but her children and other close relatives would not have their own courts unless they are ruling monarchs in their own right of their own territory or have been given specific authority to rule as a representative of the Queen in a different location. In the same way, non-royal nobility do not generally have courts although in some rare cases they might depending on the degree of authority they have over their own territory.
One example of a Fairy court of the type we are discussing comes from the ballad of Tam Lin. When Tam Lin is talking to his lover Janet about how she can rescue him he tells her this:
Then the first company which comes to you Is published king and queen;
Then next the second company that comes to you,
It is many maidens.
Then next the company that comes to you Is footmen, grooms and squires;
Then next the company that comes to you Is knights, and I'll be there.
- Tan Lin 39G (modern English)
What we are seeing described is the Fairy court riding out in procession in groups, with the royalty first, then the queen's ladies-in-waiting, then the more general retinue of servants, then the knights at the rear. This is fully in line with what we might expect of a royal court, although I would imagine other nobles riding along with the king and queen.
A fairy court, whether that of the Seelie or Unseelie Queen or any of the Irish Fairy monarchs, would be complex and include a variety of beings that were part of the ruler's household, from close family to servants who waited on the royal family, as well as the same range listed above from advisors to huntsmen. These are usually beings who would be in permanent or near permanent attendance on the royal family, with the exception of knights who may be sent out or assigned specific tasks that took them away from the court. We can look to Tam Lin as an example of this, as he was a knight within the Queen's court but had been given the task of guarding a specific well in the forest of Carterhaugh. Courtiers, especially nobles, may also spend part of their time away from court, but would generally be expected to spend most of their time attending to the Queen or King.
As you move forward into meeting the Fairy Queens and interacting with them you may also interact with their courts, either as they ride out or through visiting them directly. At the least understand that these courts would include the royal household as well as courtiers, and that rank within a court would be an intersecting matter of birth and function. Everyone in a court has a function which ultimately serves the monarch, and the court itself is both representative of the monarch's power and a tool to exercise that power. The Queen is not the only one that you have to be respectful towards, and as an outsider – even if you develop a strong relationship with one of the Queens – you should keep in mind the complicated situation represented by a court.
On Travelling in Fairy with a Disability
I want to start by saying, in case it's not obvious, that while some people find meditation or Journeying just isn't their thing (which is fine) there isn't – as far as I'm aware – any physical disability that would stop a person from doing this. A person who is deaf is just as able to Journey as a person who hears; a person with limited mobility is just as able to meditate as a person who runs marathons. Sending our spirits out isn't based on physical ability, beyond the ability to focus and engage in the meditation or Journey itself.
Everyone who does meditative or Journeywork will have different understandings of it and perceptions of the experience. I can't make a definitive blanket statement about how this works for everyone under every circumstance, so ultimately I encourage people to experiment for themselves to get a feel for how you personally react to being in different worlds. I have found that there is no one-size-fits-all to this, and also that where you are going matters because different destinations have different rules. You may find that certain places feel more like this world and come with the same physical limitations, while others do not.
My own experience has been that physical limitations relating to mobility may or may not crossover during meditations/journeys. In some cases you may find that you can manifest whatever form or image of yourself you choose, even shapeshifting if you want to. However if you have mobility issues and they do show in the Otherworld then, as in the waking world, we just have do what we can; asking your Guide for whatever assistance or accommodations you may need is a good idea and part of what your Guide is there for. You can also create or visualize what you need for yourself to a degree, especially if it has a real-world counterpart. Objects, even created ones, often have spirits of their own particularly if they have had energy invested into them, even unintentionally through regular use. If you have something that helps with your mobility in the waking world, like a cane, walker, or wheelchair, you can bring that with you when you meditate or Journey if you need it. If you feel the object has a strong sense of spirit you might want to ask it if it's willing to help you in this way, and then it becomes a type of ally for you; I have done this with a walking stick I have. Just remember you will have to add the steps of bringing the item with you when start and taking it back out when you go. Another option would be asking for or creating a counterpart object in Fairy that would remain there until you need it.
When it comes to stamina or issues relating to how much of something you can physically handle doing, definitely pace yourself and don't push, as much as possible. That may take a little trial and error to figure out, which is why it's important to run through some of the basic meditation/Journeys in Fairy several times and take notes about how they go. When you talk with your Guide in the 'Getting to Know your Guide' meditation I would definitely be very clear about whatever might come up with this – part of the importance of having your Guide with you whenever you travel There is that they can help you in situations where you need it. So if you are mid-Journey and talking to someone likely to be offended easily and you have a human-moment where you get sick or physically can't do something they expect you to do your Guide should help explain the situation to the other being. This is a big part of why I emphasize building a good rapport with your Guide before we get into meeting the individual Queens. It's true that the Queens are not particularly gentle, some less than others, but they can appreciate genuine effort – just be sure to make that effort.
Don't make yourself sick trying to push too hard with these things. Fairy is timeless, and the sense of time there is fluid at best, so any sense of scheduling is usually more on our end than theirs. While we may feel a need to do things regularly and indeed it can be good for us to practice these skills consistently, unless we have an obligation to do something on a schedule it's alright to wait or push back a planned meditation or Journey if we aren't feeling up to it. Some people may find these Journeys invigorating or energizing, in which case I'd caution against the allure of wanting to do them too often; other people may find them draining in which case you need to be careful about spacing them out enough.
Everyone is unique in what they can and can't do and how much they can handle of this particular work. It can be really tempting to compare ourselves against the successes or failures of others, but that just isn't, or shouldn't be, how this works. Don't measure yourself against anyone else except yourself.
Getting to know Your Guide and Exploring Fairy
That all said, our ultimate point here is meeting each individual Fairy Queen, and before we do that it's a good idea to get to know your fairy Guide better and also to get a feel for travelling in Fairy. For people who are familiar with these things this may just be a refresher but for those who haven't done many guided meditations or journeys in Fairy it's good to get some practice in before trying to seek out the more powerful beings within it. I would suggest trying this meditation/journey a few times before moving forward to meet the first Queen in the next chapter.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Fairy Queens"
by .
Copyright © 2018 Morgan Daimler.
Excerpted by permission of John Hunt Publishing Ltd..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Introduction, 1,
Chapter 1 Navigating Elfland: Hierarchy among the Good People, 9,
Chapter 2 The Queen of Elfland, 23,
Chapter 3 Nicnevin, Queen of Fairies, Queen of Witches, 31,
Chapter 4 Áine, Fairy Queen of Munster, 41,
Chapter 5 Aoibheall, Fairy Queen of Clare, 49,
Chapter 6 Cliodhna Fairy Queen and Bean Sidhe, 55,
Chapter 7 Una, Fairy Queen of Tipperary, 61,
Chapter 8 Pop Culture and Fairy; Queens in a new age, 69,
Chapter 9 Working with Fairy Queens, 77,
Conclusion, 85,
Bibliography, 87,