THE PEOPLE OF THE CELTIC FAERIE

The Sprites, Part 1

This article focuses on the most diminutive of the Faire Folke, the Sprites. They have also become perhaps the most well-known of the Faire Folke, through the images portrayed in our childhood books and in the paintings of the Victorian era. Almost everyone has heard of the famous encounter of the two young girls with the Cottingley Faeries.

Our two Sprite guests today will be Mira Hummingbird and her sacred mate, Gwionbach Dragonfly. They are the queen and king of the Sprite kingdom in Tir na n’Og. Mira has long blonde hair, which flows down below her waist. Two golden braids encompass her youthful, beautiful, heart-shaped face. Her compassionate brown eyes, like those of all Faire Folke, are tilted upwards. Her nose is small and well-formed, and her lips are full and prone to smile often. From her back sprout four wings the color of stained glass windows, which flutter with her every gesture or with their own accord, much like a cat’s twitching tail. Like all Sprites, she tends to shy away from any form of clothing, except for the occasional leaf or flower hat or scarf. Even such minimal clothing is worn only for a very brief time, as Sprites do not understand the Human nature of prudishness and why we tend to cover our bodies, since they find our clothing restrictive. To help my ability to focus and conduct this interview, she has graciously clothed her slender and well-formed figure in a thin, gossamer robe of blue. Her sacred love, Gwionbach, sits beside her.

Gwionbach’s appearance, like all Sprites, is angelic in nature. When I look at Gwionbach, I am reminded of Michelangelo’s statue of David, for his features and form are perfect, without flaw. His light brown halo of hair is curly and flows downwards to rest between his shoulderblades. Gwynbach jokes that if his hair was as long as Mira’s, he would constantly get it tangled in the limbs of trees. His upward-slanted eyes are golden brown. His nose is strongly formed, and his full lips, like his mate, Mira’s, are always to be found laughing or smiling above his square, dimpled chin. As I closely observe Mira and Gwionbach in order to record their descriptions, I suddenly realize that all the female Sprites have dimples in their cheeks and all the male Sprites have dimples in their chins. I suppose I would expect nothing less from these beautiful people. Gwionbach, to be as considerate as Mira, has briefly donned a gossamer robe of green. His four wings are presently shimmering with the color of sunlight passing through spring’s green leaves. From this point onward, Mira and Gwionbach will speak for themselves to explain the nature of Sprites and their relationship to the Mother and Father Creator and to Mother Earth and her children. Mira begins:

“Being a small people, many times we are not given the credibility or the respect that is shown to spiritual beings of larger stature. I, Mira Hummingbird, humbly offer the following thoughts to our readers. I know it may appear to you from the words that follow that I am like a squirrel, scolding you from the treetops about some imaginary injustice. Yet, I feel the Mother and Father speak through me, for these words are important, and these thoughts need to be brought to your attention. I promise, however, if you ever travel to our home in Tir na n’Og, you will not be greeted with a scolding, but, instead, treated to the food and drink which befit an honored guest. During your stay, no scolding finger will point your way.

“Long ago, before the Great Separation, the tragic separation of Humanity from the Mother and Father Creator, Humanity left the Garden (better known to some as the Garden of Eden) to set forth upon their own journey away from the Mother and Father, away from the Holy Child, and away from their other brothers and sisters, which included the Faer Folk. We Sprites existed even then, and we tried to speak to our Human brothers and sisters, pleading with them to turn back and ask forgiveness of the Holy Family. We tried to help them understand they were not gods and that they needed the companionship of the Mother and Father Creator, so that their spirits would thrive and their existence on Mother Earth would be lived in harmony and beauty. We pleaded with them to ask forgiveness for their hard-hearted arrogance and their belief that they were superior to all creation and an equal of the Mother and Father Creator, but Humanity did not heed our pleas.

“Many millennia later, history once again repeated itself, and others of the Faer Folk, those who would later become known as Gnomes, Elves and many of the other Faer Folk tribes, decided that they, too, did not need the constant guidance of the Mother and Father Creator in their lives. Like their Human brothers and sisters, they, too, left the Garden. Again, our pleas went unheeded, and, with great sadness, we watched our Faery brothers and sisters march out of Eden, or Tir na n’Og. In anguish, we flew to our Mother and Father Creator, and, standing upon their knees and resting gently upon their open palms, in great sorrow, we wept and pleaded with them to call back our Faery family. We could not bear the loss of those who were so close to us in nature, for we still grievously mourned the passing of our Human family many, many millennia before. The Mother and Father Creator wiped away our tears, but they told us that all of their children had free will, and that the Human and the Faery had made the decision to leave their presence and set out upon their own pathway, which would lead them far from their true hearts’ home. To ease our sorrow, they promised us they would always watch over their children and would send our Angel family to watch over our Human and Faery families. One day, they told us, our big brother (who would later become known to the world as Jesus) would come to Mother Earth and be born in a human body. Through his love and sacrifice, he would provide a pathway, so that the Faire Folke and Humans might find their way home to the Mother and Father Creator and back to Tir na n’Og.

“We Sprites, before our Mother and Father and before our loving big brother (who we will henceforth refer to as Jesus), asked if it would be possible that we, like the Angels, could be given the ability to travel between the worlds of spirit and the more physical world of Mother Earth where our families had fled. We asked this of them that we might still be able to plead with our Faery and Human families to return home. Even though they had not listened to our counsel while we were in the presence of the Mother and Father, we hoped that eventually, with our determined persistence (and I do say that we are the very Gnats of persistence), our families would hear our words and turn their hearts back to the Mother and Father. The Mother and Father and Jesus gladly gave us permission to carry out our mission, so that we and other spirit companions and all living things of Mother Earth, including all animals and green things and stone things and all the rest of Mother Earth’s children, would act as counselors to our Human and Faery families.

“Happily, others of our Faery family heeded the Mother and Father’s call first and, over many millennia, began their journey back home to the Mother and Father and Jesus, back home to their beloved Tir na n’Og. Sadly, Humanity has been rather stubborn, but we do find, especially within these last few years, that Humans are beginning to awaken. Like their Faery family before them, some Humans are turning their eyes back to their spiritual home of the heart, back to the Mother and Father Creator. We have had many encounters with Humans over many thousands of years; yet, oddly, in what you refer to as this industrial age, this time of the great destruction of Mother Earth, some Humans have begun to notice our presence and the presence of our other Faery family, as we and other spiritual beings strive to show them the way home.

“An example of this would be the two young girls mentioned at the beginning of this article. To act in their defense or, as the Human phrase goes, to set the record straight, these two young girls did, in fact, have a Faery encounter, not with myself or Gwionbach personally, but with other Sprites. Had they kept their encounter to themselves until they were older, they would no doubt have blossomed into beautiful, spiritually-gifted young women, who would have lived rich, fulfilling lives as spiritual teachers. Because their encounters, instead, reached the attention of men of a cynical nature, the beauty seeded within their spirits from these early Sprite encounters did not have the chance to grow and blossom into its full potential. Tragically, this beautiful flower became wilted by the malign interest of the media of that time and the skeptical disbelief of Humans with no magic in their hearts.

“We of the Faery believe the encounter of the two young girls with the Cottingley Faeries was meant to be a historical turning point for Humanity, for this Faery encounter was to be an opening of the door between the world of Spirit and the physical world. It was the intent of the Cottingley Faeries, through these young girls, to teach Humanity the old ways—how to live in spirit and in harmony with all creation. The Cottingley Faery encounter was to be the first of many encounters, not only with these little girls, but with many other Humans as well. This simple event, which holds a small place in the history of Humanity, was meant to crack open the Garden gate leading back to the Mother and Father Creator. Tragically, Humanity hearkened to the puppets of the Evil One, who, in that day and time, controlled the media and your scientific community. This fragile, spiritual flower, just as it appeared above the soil of Mother Earth, was crushed by the heavy heel of Human skepticism, and a wonderful spiritual opportunity was missed. This caused great grief, and still does to this day, among those of the Faire Folke and other spiritual beings who serve the Mother and Father Creator.

“Humanity demands proof of all things spiritual, but true spiritual matter is so pure that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to prove its existence by your scientific methods. Happily, I would say most of Humanity believes in a Father God (though they do not believe in the Mother, more to their shame), and I would say most of Humanity believes in Angels. Still, that belief in God and Angels does not depend upon scientific methods. I do not think many Humans say, “I will not believe in God or Angels or in God’s son, Jesus, unless I see a photographic picture of them. I will not believe in God or Angels or Jesus unless my machines can measure or weigh their existence.”

Obviously, we of the Faire Folke cannot compare ourselves to the Mother and Father Creator, nor to our beloved brother, Jesus, nor to the Angels, for we hold a place in Creation which is equal to Humanity. Like you, we are merely humble children of the Mother and Father Creator. Yet, because you cannot measure and weigh us with your machines, and you cannot photograph us, in the minds of Humans, we cannot exist. Sadly, those who do believe in us, if they are children and especially if they are adults, are ridiculed, and, it appears, if they hold to their belief in our existence, they become persecuted. But I tell you, my Human family, we do exist, just as surely as the Angels do. We exist just as surely as do your mother or father, your brother or sister, your husband or wife, or your daughter or son. We are part of your family. We are your neighbors. When is the last time you ventured outside to weigh and measure your neighbor? We are just as real as they are, and we pray and long for the day when our beloved Jesus will return to Mother Earth, so that the physical and spiritual Mother Earth may once again become whole. When that day comes, our Human family will be able to see us and believe in us, so that we may feast together and become a family once again.”

As Mira finished speaking, I realized Gwionbach, Mira’s beloved sacred mate, was resting upon my knee. Clearing his throat for attention, with a wry sweet smile on his face, he spoke:

“Hello, I am Gwionbach. My beloved Mira has said many important things. It has been brought to our attention, however, that your newspaper can contain only so many words. Therefore, I ask, with all humbleness, that you will allow me to join you next month for a trip into the Sprite realm in our beloved Tir na n’Og. There, I will take you on a tour of our Sprite community and discuss with you how we live and perhaps some of our social customs. Mother and Father’s blessing upon you all.”

The above article appeared in the June 2001 issue of "The Open Line", a monthly newspaper based in Spokane, Washington (email: ol@openline.cc).