If you want to develop a relationship with faeries, you have to meet them on their level. This means you should be paying attention to what’s happening outside. Faeries are nature spirits, and in order to get to know them and work with them, you need to be attuned to the natural world. This doesn’t mean that you have to go outside and sit on the grass and meditate for an hour every day (though if you’re willing and able to do that, faeries say “Great!”). You just need to be aware of the changes that are happening around you, and celebrate changing seasons. Faeries are as inextricably linked to the turning of the seasons as we are to pumpkin spice lattes.
Celebrate changing seasons and invite faeries.
We celebrated the fall equinox a week ago, and that is a good start. Hopefully you left out some honey or apples as an offering to your fae friends. You can also leave out an offering as an invitation for faeries to come into your life. If you’re living where you don’t have easy access to nature, this is especially important. Faeries thrive in natural and wild areas. To keep mine coming around, I have lots of indoor plants. The succulent planter I keep on my desk is wild and overgrown, but that’s how I know faeries love it.
Faeries are currently getting all riled up for their biggest party of the year, Halloween (that’s another blog post). That’s another great day to leave out some treats, and the faeries will really appreciate it. Some might appreciate it so much that they might choose to winter with you!
Why to celebrate changing seasons with faeries
The Vernal Equinox is usually around March 21st and it marks the first day of spring. Usually by this point, crocuses and spring beauties have popped up out of the snow. These are some of the first signs that our fae friends are excited for spring. Indeed, some of the most potently magical times have been when I go walking in the woods during the spring. This Equinox has a lot of potent fertility energy associated with it; it is also known as Ostara. The fae celebrate on March 21st because they know that the days are getting longer, but also because this day is balanced with light and darkness.
Six months later, our Autumnal Equinox is much the same. The fae celebrate the day because it has a balance of light and dark. Though in mid-September, they are getting all riled up for Halloween, not spring. September 21st marks the first day of fall. From this point on, we know that the days are getting shorter. Also known as Mabon, this is a harvest festival, full of the bounty from summer. Faeries celebrate all they have learned and gathered throughout the growing season and they are getting ready for the quiet reflection of the months to come.
Solstice; long and short of it.
By December 21st, night has taken over. Daylight lasts a mere 9 hours, which, for anyone who works a typical 9-to-5 job, is probably the bulk of their shift. We are lucky we have artificial lights so that we can at least see to get our work done! This is the longest night of the year, also known as Yule. How funny, then, that instead of celebrating this for the darkness, the fae celebrate this day, for it marks the return of the light. There’s a reason why the Church celebrates Jesus’ birthday so close to the Solstice; though that is also another blog post. Though the days only get slightly longer, the fae know that the trek through darkness has come to an end and the cycle is starting over again.
The summer solstice is June 21st, and it’s the longest day of the year. In my neck of the woods, that means 15 hours of daylight. The fae come out in droves on this day. It’s also known as Midsummer. I think this is their second favorite holiday, aside from Halloween. This is probably because it was traditional to leave out an offering for the faeries at this holiday. The fae love honey and milk, the fresher the better, and fresh honey and milk were probably easy to come by during this time of the year.
Those are the four main days to pay attention to if you’re working with faeries. There are others, for sure, but these are the main and most important ones. You could even follow the rhythms of the new moon and full moon, or do a weekly offering to the fae. However you would like to acknowledge their presence and gifts is up to you.
