Books About Faerie
Books About Faerie | ||
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This page has changed significantly in this new edition of the Faerie FAQ. There are so many new books out about Faerie, and so many old ones! I can't list every book about Faerie, I just don't have enough room! And I haven't read them all...yet! So I have placed only the books and other media on this page that I feel offered me something significant in my understanding of Faerie. I'll try to keep the blurbs short and convey the essence of what each item offered me. I no longer have click thru links to sell you the books from this site -- sorry! If you need to buy cheap -- try half.com first. After that -- please get these books from your local independant bookseller! Keep the small bookstores alive with your support! | ||
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Be a Goddess!: A Guide to Celtic Spells & Wisdom for Self-Healing, Prosperity and Great Sex Francesca DeGrandis's Faerie Magick is nothing if not experiential, ecstatic.These are the books and the path I recommend to everyone who wants to get into Faerie Magick. If you want to follow the "Third Road" you will have to do the exercises (they aren't hardÉand they require very little in the way of tools and materials.) Francesca also has an album out called "Pick the Apple from the Tree", which you can get from Serpentine Music. "Goddess Keep My Family" is the favorite track off that CD around here. As she likes to quote Thomas the Rhymer: "There's the road to Heaven, and there's the road to Hell -- and there? That's the road to FaerieÉ" I hope to meet you someday, Francesca de Grandis. | ||||||||||||
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People of the Earth Ellen Evert Hopman People of the Earth is a book you will want to read -- parts of it, at least. This is where I found my first references to Victor Anderson, Francesca De Grandis, and Gwydion Pendderwen. It appears to be out of print, but used copies can often be found. | ||||
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The Vanishing People: Fairy Lore and Legends also Both these and all other Katherine Briggs books are out of print, and the author has, like so many other authors well versed in traditional faerie lore, has passed over. I purchsed both of them through out-of-print book search companies. Not cheap, but if you have burning curiosity like mine...An Encyclopedia of Fairies is required reading for those of you who plan on delving deeply into matters of Fey importance. Pretty much any kind of Fairy, Piskie or Bwca will be listed in her volume. You can get lost in it, and it provides infinite jumping off points for all kinds of Faerie research. This isn't simply a volume of fantasy, because she carefully mixes folk talk with literature. It's still a secondary reference, but you can be sure the vast majority of new age faery books were crafted with it at right hand. | ||||
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"Oak Ash and Thorn" and "Advanced Celtic Shamanism". Both of these are written by DJ Conway. She also co-created the Shapeshifter Tarot, with Sirona Knight and Lisa Hunt. Shapeshifter Tarot is full of images that could be very useful to anyone doing Faerie Magick or meditation. The main reason I mention these two books is that my closest contacts to Faerie came through a similar type of shamanic practice. If you want to try to reach Faerie the way I did, try these resources. | ||||||||||||||||||
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Elves of Lily Hill Farm: A Partnership with Nature This book, with it's hand drawn illustrations, is charming enough to read to your kids at bedtime. So far, I haven't seen the author recant it. I was delighted because Lily Hill Farm is so close to me, I live in Ohio, the farm is in Michigan -- why, we're almost neighbors! Heck of a lot closer than Findhorn -- but a similar kind of story. If you like this and find it believable, let me introduce you to Eileen Caddy, and the magick of the Findhorn Garden. | ||||
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The Findhorn Garden: Pioneering a New Vision of Man and Nature in Cooperation By the Findhorn Community Findhorn is a garden community situated on the sandy peninsula in the North Sea, They talk with Devas there. This book is a classic in nature communications literature. Those of you who are Pagan, please be patient with the New Agey feel of this book. There's a goldmine of information in here. There are other books about Findhorn and spirituality by members of the community. My understanding of some of the I have met fey is very similar to some of the info presented here. | ||||
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Fairies: Real Encounters with Little People Just what it says. You'll have to read it. Incredible! No, we are not talking about about a memoir written by a former cast member from the original "Wizard of OZ" cast. This book is from the folks at Fortean Times. This book will give you chills. It takes these issues very seriously. After you read it you may find it hard to look at these matters with the same eyes. Did it destroy my faery faith? On the contrary -- it confirmed it. | ||||
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Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition Cora Anderson Thorns of the Blood Rose Victor Anderson I sent away to Cora Anderson for two books advertised for sale in the classified sections of Green Egg, "Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition" and "Thorns of the Blood Rose". I have to admit that "Thorns" seems a lot like extreme Rod McKuen to me -- but I know a lot of people have been profoundly touched by Rod McKuen's work (Readers all across America turned Rod into a bestselling author by buying self-published copies of his book out of the trunk of his carÉ) So maybe I'm just not ready for "Thorns" yet. "Fifty YearsÉ", however, is a strange and provoking mix of concepts. If you are expecting the sweetness and light of Tinkerbell when you open the unpreposessing cover of this heavy little book, you will be shocked and surprised. Get in the frame of mind to read Charles de Lint's "The Wild Wood", and you might make it through "Fifty Years.." in a single sitting. Do I think this man's philosophy has had a profound effect on the Radical Faerie movement? I'd expect so -- the ideas presented here are deep and graphic. This book may very well change the way you feel about the Fairy Faith. I heartily recommend that you support Cora and Victor's work and open your mind by buying this book. | ||
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Any novel by Charles De Lint This guy knows something. He has to. He's very nonchallant about it in interviews, but the stories themselves are very subtle and full of fey resonance.. Read any of his books, see if you don't agree. Hesays they're just stories, fiction. Hah! I don't know what I can say about this writing -- I don't want to give anything away. You just have to read them on your own. Try "The Wild Wood" first, if you can find it. | ||
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The Holy Books of the Devas: the secret mythologies of the herbal world Paul Beyerl From the author of the Master Book of Herbalism. I sense this book has a lot in common with nature communications literature. Clearly the content comes out of the author's personal relationship with herbal wisdom and nature. Especially thoughtful and meaningful to me was the information about Verda (chlorophyl) and it's similarity to Haema (blood). | ||||
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The Secret Life of Plants Tomkins and Bird And it's a very good thing that this classic was reissued. This is a real world volume about real but subtle dimensions of the existence of plants. You will wonder why they never talked about this in school. If this book fires you up, please follow up by reading "The Humanure Handbook" by Jenkins and "Nourishing Trtaditions: The cookbook that challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats" by Fallon and Enig | ||||
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The Carmina Gadelica A man named Alexander Carmichael roamed the Scottish Hebrides during the periods spanning 1855 to 1882 collecting the stories and songs of the people in their language -- Gaelic. This became the Carmina Gadelica: Hymns & Incantations from the Gaelic The Pagan roots of this people are evident throughout the prayers, hymns and charms -- and so is their belief in Faery. We are truly lucky that this collection was translated into English so that us non- Gaelic speaking people can enjoy and learn from the treasures of the Gaelic folk. Specifically interesting to Faery seekers will be the chapters devoted to Night Shielding, Prayers for Protection, Fairy Songs, Fairies and Fairy Changelings. | ||
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The following books are in common distribution and will likely be easy to get hold of, but IMHO are less useful in developing an understanding of real faerie. To be sure, Kisma Stepanich's books have drawn a wide following in her Faery Wicca tradition, but this seems to be much more a created tradition than actual fey workings. | ||
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Witch's Guide to Faery Folk: Reclaiming Our Working Relationship with Invisible Helpers Edain McCoy's a very prolific Llewellyn author, with widely read Wiccan/Pagan books to her credit. Most of this book is just secondary reference, With a few hints from Edain, I finally understood what "Smooring Songs" in the Carmina Gadeica were for, and I enjoy her approach. The book broadly proclaims a "Dictionary of 230 Fairies!" but I have to tell you -- you're much better off getting Katherine Briggs' Encylopedia book for that. (See above) | ||||
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Faery Wicca, These have been out for a while, Faery Wicca, Book. 1: Theory & Magick, a Book of Shadows & Lights and Faery Wicca: Shamanic Practices of the Cunning Arts , Her books are very Irish, so if you're going into Faery from that angle, you might want to look these over. I must add a caveat here, though, after reading "When is A Celt not a Celt" by Johanna Hautin-Mayer in Gnosis #48 and now available online, that Kisma's scholarship seems to leave a bit to be desired. I did not catch all the errors pointed out in Hautin-Mayer's article (see above), but I have to admit that I was a little put off by the overarchingly Irish setting of her tradition. I won't deny that the Fairy Faith is thick in Ireland, but it's not like there aren't Faery in Scotland, Wales, France -- and even in America! It is clearly a Wiccan/Witchcraft-based system. To her credit, she produced a very nice Faery Wicca Tarot in 1998 Definitely look into Book II for the info on Pishogue and Butter spells. You can also visit the Faery-Faith Network Website. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Finally, I'll end this page with two magazines. One out of print, one in print. Why is it that all the good magazines disappear? Omni, Metzlim, and finally and most recently, Green Egg. Oh! Subscribe, darn it! Subscribe! Keep the magazine industry alive! | ||||||
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Green Egg If you can find this as a collectible, you'll treasure it forever. Goodies include interviews with both Francesca DeGrandis and Victor Anderson, as well as music from Gwydion. The cover graphic is fabulous, too. | ||||||
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Witch Eye is an ocasional zine oriented toward the subject of Faeri Tradition in the style of Victor and Cora Anderson. I've only perused the website, and as of late have been too poor to even send off for a copy of the magazine, but hopefully will be able to get hands on this and give it a proper review. Meanwhile, dash on over to their website yourself. There's a lot of fun stuff right there! Witch Eye 6 is out and entirely dedicated to Victor Anderson... | ||||
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