In any case, we're continuing here with the latest & greatest from my series of articles, "Changelings and Other Nonhuman Humans," in which we're exploring the idea - and the reality - of nonhuman entities like fae and angels incarnating into human form. Here's the first article in the series, and here's the most recent one, in which I covered angels.
So, like I said, in the last article I talked about incarnate angels - typical personality traits, spiritual needs, and ways to mediate connections to the angelic realms so there's not as much friction between the natural mindset of an angel and earthly realities.
We'll continue on to fae children. They're like angels, but more fun.
Changelings are children who incarnate from the world of faerie - a realm of boundless magic, infinite prosperity, and abundant mischief - both good and bad (and eeeeeverything in between). Whereas angels come to earth from their realms to create goodwill, charity and compassion, or something like that, fae children are here to rev up our sense of humor, magic and rejuvenate the natural state of childlike wonder that so many of us lack or have lost, especially in this day and age. There may also be "Unseelie" or malevolent fae who incarnate, though they may not do so to perform malicious or malevolent acts (the only one I know is one of the coolest and most talented people I have met, and she is also an incredible magician and herbalist).
Like Puck in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, fae children are constantly aware of the magic around them - but rather than let its power and allure consume them (this happens in real life with some folks who practice magic. I've seen it. It isn't pretty), many fae see this as an opportunity to create mischief, play and fun. Fae children may also have seriously heavy-hitting powers of prophecy and healing (the native fairy doctor tradition of Ireland reflects this well. It goes back hundreds of years and has a fck ton of power).
While at first glance this may not seem as practical as the work of those who come from the angel realms, it actually kind of is. I could waste my time rifling through the neverending archives of Google to find all the medical info out there that proves that laughter is literally good for your health.
Or I could trust that you, dear reader, are endowed like the rest of us with decent common sense. Laughter loosens us up; and while, like I said, there's plenty of Western medical info on there re:why this is just plain good for you, I'm not a Western medicinal provider of any kind, and common sense should be enough to let you know that the world needs more laughter right now.
Also I am clairvoyant and good with energy healing, and I can tell you from my experiences with that stuff that laughter infuses the being with good energy, while also loosening the channels of energy that flow through the human system, creating more room for positive energy to flow and a greater capacity for blockage removal. If your body was a stream, stress and burnout and all that would be rocks and mud and gunk blocking its flow. Laughter shakes out the gunk, and the stream flows stronger. Laughter also reinforces social and romantic bonds, and rejuvenates faith in the humorous side of the world.
And, perhaps less obviously, laughter provides perspective. How many times have you had a mind-numbing, nerve-rattling situation that you just learned to laugh at? Let's be real: when that happened, there's a fair chance you learned to look at that situation in a new way, and even began to see solutions to it that may not have been obvious before.
Perhaps needless to say, laughter is good for the health of the world as well. Regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, it may be safe to assume that damn near everybody feels that tyrants and autocrats of every sort are in no short supply these days. Whether it's the man in the oval office with his bulletproof hair and permanent insta-tan, or some caricatured terrorist, it seems like everybody (myself included) is worried about people with too much power and too little sense tearing shit up.
What if these morons just took themselves a little less seriously? What if, when they were kids, somebody had taught them to laugh at themselves, and at the ridiculousness of the world? What if somebody had shown them that magic is not only real, but fun?
I suspect things could be a little different.
But if you're with me on that one, that you'll probably value the things fae children have to bring to the table in terms of making the world a little less fucked up. Again, not saying that every stand-up comedian and Moe, Larry or Curly out there is secretly a changeling fae. But if you know that one person in your life who's always playing pranks and getting people to see how ridiculous they are, if they're an incarnate spirit it's most likely (according to my experience) that they come from fae.
...side note on the link above: I love Kristen Schaal. She is everything good in comedy, and I totally have a weird creepy celebrity crush on everything she is.
Anyway, I've found that, for the most part, fae don't suffer nearly as much as angels when it comes to realizing what they are and being cool with it.
Generally, fae children don't take things too seriously and are quick to be whimsically amused. Which means they usually don't struggle with having too much humility, and are thus typically more likely to be open to realizing their faerie roots without making too big a deal out of it.
What fae often do struggle with is grounding. Their sense of play and whimsy is so ever-present that they may forget or only be slightly conscious of the importance of practical, ordinary stuff.
So what I'd suggest for most fae children is a middle ground: something that allows them to have their feet on the ground, while remaining spontaneous and creative.
More often than not this seems takes the form of art: dance, music, visual art, poetry, fashion, weaving, pottery and other forms of creative expression all seem to be pretty good fits for those who hail from faerie, where creativity is ever-present and woven into the realm itself.
In terms of spiritual practice, I'd suggest magic. Fae children are naturally sensitive to the ebb and flow of magic that pulses through the everywhere, all the time. Nature-based magic such as dowsing, magical herbalism or rituals that hail from nature-based traditions such as Wicca or Druidry might be a good way to allow fae childrens' sense of magic to give itself form and expression; fae children are naturally drawn to literal magic, but without a solid channel this may give way to excessive wandering of the spirit or mind as they drift toward the magic that they sense so clearly and often yearn to work with.
Meditation or prayer could work just fine, but fae are creatures of motion and laughter; solemn or quiet things may not work out. Another suggestion is to take up some form of magic that combines art and magical practice; crafting spiritual or magical items such as crane bags, clothing or jewelry with spiritual/magical designs or purposes, or practicing spiritual dance like shamanic dance or spontaneous prayer dance.
And, of course, don't forget to call home. The fae are one of those groups of spirits I don't hang with very often. They do appeal to me greatly for a number of reasons, but they just don't come around as much as the others - like, say, my wolf spirits, who are pretty much there every night when I walk into my apartment. Or the Malachim, who I see at least a couple times a day - or general wandering spirits, elementals, pissed-off spirits or demons that I tend to see daily, or even the timid nature spirits that only come out when the moon is right and when I can be patient enough to wait for them.
But I have encountered the fae occasionally, and they're not hard to please. They can be picky about offerings, and as I've said so many times in this article, they are quick to mischief - so if you make a faerie altar or faerie house and get the sense that they're displeased, try small adjustments or asking them what you could do. Your answer doesn't need to be directly visible or audible; things as simple as feelings and mental imagery can be all you need to know what your faeries want.
If they feel really at home in your space, they might get a little rowdy - I've heard from friends who've done fae altars that they can make audible noises (flute music, drums and the like) at odd hours or make objects (even valuables) disappear. And though I haven't had this experience with the fae specifically, I have had it before with different kinds of spirits, so it is possible - but this doesn't mean it's a problem, unless it disrupts your zen, man.
So, given this, it may be necessary to address the fae if this stuff occurs and it bothers you (perhaps aloud, in front of your altar is the best approach - though again, fae aren't my main jam so feel free to explore how to do this on your own), to make sure they don't get out of hand.
Although from what I do know of the fae it might be best to assume that any kind of relationship them will include by default a good amount of mischief, merriment and spontaneity. So if you're not down for that, it's probably best to avoid the fae. Even if you feel you come from their realm, if you feel like you haven't got your wits about you (or if you've got too many wits about you) enough to deal with this, perhaps wait 'till you're in a place to handle mischief well. Or just chuck yourself headlong into it whether you're prepared or not - that can work pretty fine as well.
And lastly, spend time in nature. I think most people enjoy spending at least some time in nature, and traditions like this one advertise that it is important for physical and mental health but for the fae, it may well be vital. By the standards of every tradition ever-ever that deals with the fae, they are spirits of nature. They are a part of the rocks and trees and rivers and plant life as much as those things are a part of them, and their vitality, happiness and good health are intrinsically linked to these things. If they don't spend lots of time in nature, things may well start to suck.
So yeah, there's that. That's all I got for the fae for right now. Again, the Otherkin community seems to have some incredible resources for all kinds of nonhuman humans, but particularly for the fae.
Last thing, actually. There's this great book about fairy lore, with something of an emphasis on Changelings that I heard about on The Paranormal Podcast which is a great podcast that everyone who's anyone should listen to. I haven't read it yet, but I plan to, and from what I heard on the PC it's well-researched and provides quite a bit of perspective on the subject.
That's all for now. #psychicout
Two illustrations from White Wolf publishing's roleplaying game "Changeling: The Lost," which is an excellent rpg for those who love immersive, story-based, urban fantasy-type stuff. Notably, my experiences with real, actual changelings has had little in common with this game. Though I do kind of wish I'd met people who could do things like turn into fire or sit on top of tree stumps in provocative poses.
I just found this on Google and thought it was cool. A depiction of a stolen child (to be replaced by a changeling fae child) more in keeping with traditional Celtic lore.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23x00x4WcHw
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