Fairies at the bottom of the garden?

I know that for many families, both in the ‘waldorf world’ and outside of it are fond of incorporating fairies, gnomes and mystical creatures into their lives.  The idea of ‘fairies at the bottom of the garden’ is a popular one.  Not in our house I’m afraid.  I mean fairies at the bottom of the garden?  This is modern day Canada people.  It is a ridiculous notion.  In the winter months they would be contending with literally feet of snow, how is a fairy to manage?

We have the solution!  In our home fairies are not only welcome but they have their own doors.  These mystical portals are scattered around our home and garden allowing the faires, or faerys as we spell them, free access.  Of course only the faery folk can open these doors but they do sometimes leave gifts, or notes letting us know they have been here.

Huwyl has an extra special door in his bedroom made from tangled branches and polished to glimmering brightness.  This door is special because it allows his faery friend, Tinkerbell (thanks Daddy) to come and visit him in his dreams.  Then they can both enter faery land through the door, after some shrinking with magic faery dust of course.

The thing is faery folk are shy.  They will be gone in the blink of an eye if they spot a human coming, but when they have their own doors they can come when they know it will be quiet.  During the summer months there is a faery who inhabits our garden, she comes to collect flowers and vegetables to take to the Golden River that flows through the world of the faerys.  The plants help feed the magical river, that in turn gives the faery’s their power.  It is also from here that the magical dust comes.  Occasionally there are little glittering samples left by a door, so we know for sure that a wee person visited us in the night.

I have heard strange things spoken (or written) by those who are anti-faery.  They say that they are nothing more than a silly fancy, that in fact they are a lie.  Even worse, those of us who speak these stories are deceiving, betraying and harming our children.   Harsh words indeed.  But I have harsh words of my own in response, tosh, poppycock and balderdash.  What nonsense, what silliness, what rotten drivel.  And I’ll tell you for why.

These creatures that inhabit the half way world between here and there, night and day, real and unreal, they are our teachers.  They show us that what is before our eyes is not all there is to see.  That what we can touch is not all that matters.  Indeed that there are things beyond our comprehension, outside of the everyday, that affect us and touch our hearts.  In the pagan traditions we speak of Devas, spirits of place or element.  Powers that exist within nature, aspects of Gaia’s life force.  Other traditions speak of angels, benevolent beings that watch over us.  All of these concepts require a leap of faith, allowing our conscious minds to rest and our inner spirit to take over.

So we will continue to invite the faerys in, the Easter Bunny is welcome here as is Father Christmas.  For as long as is possible our little ones will bathe in the world of magic and story and gain wisdom untold because of it.  The stories weave into their minds thoughts of good and evil, fair and cruel, ordinary and adventure.  What will settle, who knows, that will be up the them.  For as long as we can we will revel in the in between places as only children and faery’s know how.  There are many years ahead of ‘reality’, we are in no rush to leave behind the whisper of the impossible.  We open our doors and hearts to the faerys and hope they stay for a long time.