That night we were out in the meadow. “Why are we here?” I asked.
“I want you to meet some friends of mine.” My grandmother smiled at me.
“I don’t see anyone?”
“You will. Just stay still and don’t yell when they come. Some of them are quite large and scary looking.” She turned her head and looked toward some woods and beckoned with an odd gesture.” It was very formal looking and welcoming at the same time.
Some people (?) emerge from the woods. Some were large and some appeared to be flying. (?!!!!)
My mouth dropped open. I was not seeing what I was seeing. Some looked like they were out of a horror story and some from an old book of faeries my dad had upstairs in his library. No! I was not seeing faeries. My grandmother was sitting and smiling in the sunlight. She held her hand out and three small beings lit on it and sat down.
She turned to me with a look that said be good and don’t move!
“I would like you to meet the Fae and as you could see they do exist. You will never see them in the waking world but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist in the waking world. They do but they’ve learned it isn’t safe. And by the way you could see them when you were little and you used to speak to them when you visited.”
“I did?” I goggled as the Fae kept coming and sat down around us.
“You did.” She said with firmness.
“I can’t tell you their names. They have to do that when they feel like you are ready. Names have power and have to be given with respect. But just so you know they do come in all shapes and sizes. Some night you might want to go sit in the garden and see if anyone wants to visit. But here these three would like to greet you and they tell me they will be there for you if you need help.” She looked at the three tiny beings on her hand.”
The three took off from her hands and landed on my shoulders. They were perfect small beings. Their clothes looked to be made of things from the garden. One was wearing an acorn cap for a hat. It looked to be male and he looked like he had very strong muscles even though he was tiny. The other two appeared to be female. One was dressed in a tunic and skirt that were made of dandelion fuzz. She also looked very strong. The last one appeared older and was dressed in a long green gown that kept changing the shade of green as you stared at it. I had no idea what it was made of. They were all three beautiful and had faces that looked very serious.
“These are devas.”
“Like Whitney Houston?”
“No, deva not diva, silly. They are the spirits of plants. Every kind of plants have devas. Usually one to each kind. They protect the plant and the area around it. If they accept you, you can ask them for help and if they can they will provide it. All of these Fae protect something or have jobs to do that make the natural world run. As you can see some are huge and some are tall and some are human sized.”
I looked around at the assembled gathering. I was in awe and a bit frightened. All these were in the world and we couldn’t see them? That was a bit disturbing.
“Why are you showing me them?”
“They wanted to meet you again. You were always kind to them when you were little and the fae do not forget. Some of them are independent and some are like bees, if one of them know something, they all know it.” She smiled around at the assembly. “I told you they know you and they’ve been excited to know you were coming here.”
“They were?”
“Yes, so few are able to see them and know they were there. They don’t need to be believed in but they do like people who would be friendly to them to know they do exist. We’ll talk about difference between believing and knowing another time.”
“K,” I’m sure I looked confused. There was a difference between believing and knowing? Grandmother seemed to think the distinction was important.
“Anyway these three will be around if you need them. This is Oak.” The one with an acorn cap gave an elegant bow. “and this is Dandelion.” The one dressed in Dandelion fuzz curtsied. “And this last one is the spirit of water in the garden. She is usually around ponds or fountains where there are things that are alive.” The last one was very regal as she tilted her head at me.
The others had started to go back to the forest. “Why are they leaving?”
“They just wanted you to know for now that they exist. If they want more contact they will let me know.”
That was kind of a relief. Those really big ones were a bit scary looking.
“Are they like gods?”
“No,” My grandmother was laughing. “They are the spirits of all living things that have ever been or ever will be.”
“But some of them looked like they were made of stone. Stone isn’t living.”
“Are you sure about that? Haven’t you ever heard the expression, ‘Carved out of the living rock’?
“Yeah but I didn’t think it was true.”
“Well it is.” Grandmother said firmly and gestured to the last three on my shoulder. They waved and smiled and took off towards the woods.
“Can I tell Melly?”
“If you think she will believe you. Now off to bed with you.”
Adventures and Musings of an Arch Druidess 