Faery books... connecting to the faery realms

Flaxen

Thank you, I had not heard his name before, so I really appreciate the recommendation. I looked at the descriptions of his books, and they seem to really fit with what I was looking for. Is there a particular book of his that you like the most, or that you know would be good to start with? Some of the books seem to be ordered into different volumes.

I started with The Underworld Initiation and then quickly followed it with Earth Light and Power Within the Land all of which can be found quite easily as second-hand copies. These three give a good grounding in his philosophy. I would also recommend The Living World of Faery.
 

lalalibra

R. J. Stewart books

I started with The Underworld Initiation and then quickly followed it with Earth Light and Power Within the Land all of which can be found quite easily as second-hand copies. These three give a good grounding in his philosophy. I would also recommend The Living World of Faery.

Yeah, they all look incredibly interesting! I wonder, do you know anything about one of his more recent books called "The Well of Light: From Faery Healing to Earth Healing" ?

I apologize for the multitude of questions, but I'm truly interested in reading something by him and I can't afford to get all the books-- that is, at least not right away -- so I'm contemplating on whether or not I should indeed start with "The Underworld Initiation" or one of the others, like "The Living World of Faery," or the title I mentioned above, "The Well of Light"

Thank you!
 

celticnoodle

For what you are wanting to get out of it, I would recommend Enchantment of the Faerie Realm: Communicate with Nature Spirits and Elementals by Ted Andrews
I have heard of this book, but I don't have it yet. However, I hear it is good.

I would like to ask if there are any other books (or even films & other sources) about faeries that you have read, particularly ones you especially enjoy, or that you found most helpful in expanding your knowledge, or in opening your mind & heart to the fae? Books by Brian Froud himself, but also by other authors?
as for films, this may or may not actually help you--but I ALWAYS loved faerie films and a few of my favorites are just pure stories--one called Darby O'Gill and the Little People and The Gnome Mobile. Now, I realize - these are fun movies for children, but also for us BIG kids, who don't ever quite grow up and continue to believe. I love both of these movies and interestingly enough, the Darby O'Gill is all about believing!

Even comments on how your path unfolded deeper into understanding and connecting with the fae would be met with much interest and appreciation, as doing so is what I'm seeking through these book recommendations... perhaps you haven't relied on outside sources for particular circumstances or reasons?

Thank you! :)
As a child, I have always 'seen' faeries. everywhere. My 'best' friend when I was about 3 or 4yrs. old was this little girl who lived in the tree behind our house. My parents always referred to her as my imagination or my invisible friend or imaginary friend--but I sometimes now wonder if I was making contact with a real tree faerie.

I was very close to my maternal grandparents, who often babysat me. My grandfather was an Irish immigrant and his wife was the granddaughter of Irish immigrants herself. Both were very much believers in the faeries or should I say, "the little people". I can remember my grandmother throwing out water in the back yard and I'd often go with her to 'help'. "Now, watch out for the little people! Don't hit them with the water!" she'd warn me. Every now and again she'd point and say, "did you see that little man running there?" and I'd look for him. :)

We often also would set food out for them. And, whenever anything went missing, it was always due to the faeries. "they must have needed it themselves, but if you ask them nicely to return it, they just might do so!" my grandmother would always say. Its funny, but when I do misplace something, I still do ask the faeries to PLEASE return it to me. it often works....

My maternal grandparents were 'magical' people and believers. They certainly did believe and they also always told me the stories of leprechauns (which my grandfather was one, I was told, and he DID look like one!) and other faeries. I did my best to pass that along on to our nieces and nephews and our daughter too and will do the same with my granddaughters too. :D My hubby is a "believer" too. at least to the point that he puts up with my stories of them and he does enjoy our faeries, tomtes, elves and leprechauns tucked all around the home. He even has one in his workshop in the barn, that he did a story about on his blog. :D

I can say that both of the Brian Froud faerie decks are great! They are not all the squeaky clean, cutesy elves, faeries and such that we see in movies and most books, but they are all very loveable still - warts and all! They are also very bluntly honest decks, and fun to work with. I think reading whatever book, watching every movie you can find and just reading up on the stories in each culture about these loveable faeries is the way to go about to understand them.

Have you checked your local library for the books you mentioned? You may find them there.
 

lalalibra

as for films, this may or may not actually help you--but I ALWAYS loved faerie films and a few of my favorites are just pure stories--one called Darby O'Gill and the Little People and The Gnome Mobile. Now, I realize - these are fun movies for children, but also for us BIG kids, who don't ever quite grow up and continue to believe. I love both of these movies and interestingly enough, the Darby O'Gill is all about believing!

Celticnoodle, I love your whole post! :D

Thanks for the film titles, they are indeed helpful! I happen to love "children's" movies, and anything that will feed my heart and my imagination will surely bring me closer to the fae. I will add them to my list. One faerie movie I loved myself as a child was "Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest," which I actually watched a couple months ago.

As a child, I have always 'seen' faeries. everywhere. My 'best' friend when I was about 3 or 4yrs. old was this little girl who lived in the tree behind our house. My parents always referred to her as my imagination or my invisible friend or imaginary friend--but I sometimes now wonder if I was making contact with a real tree faerie.

I was very close to my maternal grandparents, who often babysat me. My grandfather was an Irish immigrant and his wife was the granddaughter of Irish immigrants herself... Both were very much believers in the faeries or should I say, "the little people".

How lovely for you to have experienced all that as a child! I believe you surely did befriend a faerie. It's rather funny (though understandable) to me when people discredit such stories and experiences as saying "oh, it was just your imagination" ...becuase it's like, well what is the imagination? Perhaps that idea won't make sense to everyone, but I feel that it comes down to having faith in your own experience, and not judging or dismissing another's simply because their experience differs or doesn't fit in within whatever established limitations for what is possible..... Which reminds me of a quote (by David Boorstin), "The main obstacle to discovery is the illusion of knowledge."
...Anyway, I really hope that wasn't too much of a tangent to go on lol. But I wanted to say all that, as having an open mind & heart is surely helpful to connect with faeries. The mind can surely block experiences, and it is much harder to see what we don't want to see, or what we think we could never see.

I don't remember having an imaginary friend as a child, but I remember being a total space cadet. I grew up in the city, and didn't have the opportunity to spend much time in nature, so I spent a lot of time in my room, contemplating things, and really meditating even though I didn't realize thats what I was doing at the time. I would lay down, "spacing out," and envision places, one of them being a very beautiful forest! I was always so in love with faeries. I even made little faerie dolls at one point. But I was duped into thinking faeries weren't actually real lol... so I'm thrilled to hear that you have family who nourish that part of your life, and that you pass that on as well.

I believe that I may have had my own faerie experience, more recently, last summer. I was living in a woodsy area, and I went for a walk, feeling especially light and cheerful that day.. and for some reason, I found myself so drawn to particular trees and areas, feeling that there was a magical quality to them.. I wasn't thinking about any of it too much, just observing without any expectations, and simply delighting in the natural world. When I got home, and went inside, I distinctly saw two bright lights flying by my side, that looked almost like fireflies only brighter. It was amazing... and so they appeared like that for maybe a second or two, and disappeared right before my eyes... I didn't know what they were at the time, only that it had to be special. I felt so happy and thrilled. Looking back, I think they were faeries.

I can say that both of the Brian Froud faerie decks are great! They are not all the squeaky clean, cutesy elves, faeries and such that we see in movies and most books, but they are all very loveable still - warts and all! They are also very bluntly honest decks, and fun to work with. I think reading whatever book, watching every movie you can find and just reading up on the stories in each culture about these loveable faeries is the way to go about to understand them.

Have you checked your local library for the books you mentioned? You may find them there.

I agree, I absolutely love both of the Brian Froud decks. I've had so many powerful experiences with them, and I've only owned them for a short time. I had only read tarot, but the level of honesty and clarity that I get from these oracles is much deeper than the work I had been doing for myself with tarot (though perhaps I just need to work more with tarot.) Still, the Froud decks truly carry a different energy. They feel alive! I really cherish them. They have completely helped me to reverse my mood when I have found myself feeling confused or upset. I've literally drawn The Faery Godmother and burst into tears at how much love, comfort, and clarity she brought to me.

....I probably sound really emotionally unstable lol!!!! I just try to be as honest as I can with myself. I'm going through a time in my life where I am trying to heal old wounds and get to know myself better, so I do a lot of emotional digging lately. The Froud Faeries have helped me so much. :)

I am planning to look for things more at my library, but they unfortunately never seem to have what I'm looking for. Not too many books on the fae.. but I will keep trying. Thanks for the suggestion! :)
 

celticnoodle

Celticnoodle, I love your whole post! :D
:) I'm glad.

Thanks for the film titles, they are indeed helpful! I happen to love "children's" movies, and anything that will feed my heart and my imagination will surely bring me closer to the fae. I will add them to my list. One faerie movie I loved myself as a child was "Fern Gully: The Last Rainforest," which I actually watched a couple months ago.
I have seen this movie too, but I've never watched it. I should. after sharing with you those other movies, it has gotten me to want to see my faerie movies again. another one I found when I went back through our collection of movies was "The Borrowers". That is another magical movie of "the little people". its how I use to imagine those "little people" too when my grandparents spoke of them. :laugh: My grandfathers sister, (also an Irish immigrant), use to have a 'magical' kitchen. she always told us that the Easter Bunny lived in her house and there was one cabinet door on the floor in her kitchen cabinetry- that was HIS front door! :bugeyed: But we were not to knock on it, or open it or disturb him in anyway, as he'd get angry. :laugh: I can remember my sister and I sitting in the kitchen for hours just WAITING for Mr. Easter Bunny to emerge for breakfast. :laugh: That side of the family were all very imaginative and magical. I'm so glad that I had a strong relationship with them.

How lovely for you to have experienced all that as a child! I believe you surely did befriend a faerie. It's rather funny (though understandable) to me when people discredit such stories and experiences as saying "oh, it was just your imagination" ...becuase it's like, well what is the imagination? Perhaps that idea won't make sense to everyone, but I feel that it comes down to having faith in your own experience, and not judging or dismissing another's simply because their experience differs or doesn't fit in within whatever established limitations for what is possible..... Which reminds me of a quote (by David Boorstin), "The main obstacle to discovery is the illusion of knowledge."
Oh! I love this quote! So true!

...Anyway, I really hope that wasn't too much of a tangent to go on lol. But I wanted to say all that, as having an open mind & heart is surely helpful to connect with faeries. The mind can surely block experiences, and it is much harder to see what we don't want to see, or what we think we could never see.
I so agree. it is always good for EVERYTHING to keep an open mind and heart. It is very important to have and keep a good imagination too. I try hard to help children and adults have a good imagination as well. Another famous quote that my hubby and I both like to repeat, "A little whimsy now and then, practiced by the wisest men!" (that came from Willy Wonka in the movie, "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory". :D) My husband and I both try to stay whimsical.
I don't remember having an imaginary friend as a child, but I remember being a total space cadet. I grew up in the city, and didn't have the opportunity to spend much time in nature, so I spent a lot of time in my room, contemplating things, and really meditating even though I didn't realize thats what I was doing at the time. I would lay down, "spacing out," and envision places, one of them being a very beautiful forest! I was always so in love with faeries. I even made little faerie dolls at one point. But I was duped into thinking faeries weren't actually real lol... so I'm thrilled to hear that you have family who nourish that part of your life, and that you pass that on as well.
Yes, me too. Well, I did grow up in the country, but I was sickly as a kid--and often in bed for days/weeks/months at a time. I did A LOT of quiet contemplation myself through out my young life. I would always 'dream' about traveling places and seeing the world with my 'imaginary friends'. Perhaps this is why I have the abilities I do today, who knows? :)

I believe that I may have had my own faerie experience, more recently, last summer. I was living in a woodsy area, and I went for a walk, feeling especially light and cheerful that day.. and for some reason, I found myself so drawn to particular trees and areas, feeling that there was a magical quality to them.. I wasn't thinking about any of it too much, just observing without any expectations, and simply delighting in the natural world. When I got home, and went inside, I distinctly saw two bright lights flying by my side, that looked almost like fireflies only brighter. It was amazing... and so they appeared like that for maybe a second or two, and disappeared right before my eyes... I didn't know what they were at the time, only that it had to be special. I felt so happy and thrilled. Looking back, I think they were faeries.
:) oh how beautiful! I'm sure they were! :thumbsup:

I agree, I absolutely love both of the Brian Froud decks. I've had so many powerful experiences with them, and I've only owned them for a short time. I had only read tarot, but the level of honesty and clarity that I get from these oracles is much deeper than the work I had been doing for myself with tarot (though perhaps I just need to work more with tarot.) Still, the Froud decks truly carry a different energy. They feel alive! I really cherish them. They have completely helped me to reverse my mood when I have found myself feeling confused or upset. I've literally drawn The Faery Godmother and burst into tears at how much love, comfort, and clarity she brought to me.
yes, they do feel alive, don't they? they are fun loving pixies, these Brian Froud faeries. :) The Faery Godmother is one of my favorite cards. Oh, I've got to play with them today. I do have a reading to do with them in the Faerie exchange here. I hope to work on it today!

....I probably sound really emotionally unstable lol!!!! I just try to be as honest as I can with myself. I'm going through a time in my life where I am trying to heal old wounds and get to know myself better, so I do a lot of emotional digging lately. The Froud Faeries have helped me so much. :)
:laugh: not to me! But, then I LOVE the angels, the faeries, the saints and the spirits. I talk to all our deceased family members and friends like they are right here in our home visiting us and I do think it keeps them close by. When I do go for a psychic reading, my psychic reader ends up taking a long time to read me, because I always have about 20 people or more waiting in line "to talk" to me :D Luckily, my maternal Aunt Mary always keeps people in line for this psychic, so it doesn't get to be a zoo. Aunt Mary was always like that too in real life. kept everything orderly! :D But, the spirits also come to me directly as well. I don't go anywhere w/o my entourage. :p

I am planning to look for things more at my library, but they unfortunately never seem to have what I'm looking for. Not too many books on the fae.. but I will keep trying. Thanks for the suggestion! :)
a lot of libraries now will inter-library lend too--so check into that! luckily, where we live, we can use any library within the 3 counties around us and also check for things online and have it delivered to our library in town. it can take a few days to actually get it, as they only come to our town one or two days a week. but, it helps, since our town library is very tiny and quite honestly even the post office is bigger! which is not saying much. :p
 

Calcifer

I've always loved "Once...", by James Herbert :)

Michael
 

lalalibra

Thanks again to everyone's suggestions on this thread. Such a wide variety of books mentioned here! :)

I also wanted to mention a brief story... Not too long after I asked this question, I happened to go to a thrift store during a full moon. I was just browsing around and I heard the sound of this music box playing. Naturally, I followed the sound, and I found it coming from a fairy-themed music box. Except the music box was broken, and it wouldn't play again after. Right by the music box, however, there was a book shelf where I found two books by Brian Froud -- The Runes of Elfland and Goblins...

It probably sounds like I'm making that up, but I promise I'm not!! It was truly magical :D