Fairies are highly connected to animals. Some are beasts of burden; some are wild and fantastic, and some fall into both categories. There are animals that are referred to as Bogey Beasts, which can shapeshift and are very dangerous. There are the beautiful Fairy Horses and small animals that are enchanted and allowed to roam the countryside freely. Sometimes they mix and visit "human" herds. Usually they are very smart and very fierce. Fairy Cattle is usually less fierce, but still quite enchanted. Fairies also have enchanted cats, dogs and other small "familiars." Usually they are black in color. Cats are frequently the fairies themselves but this is also said of beavers, seals, ravens, caterpillars, goats, deers, owls, eagles, trout, salmon, wrens and storks.

Because bread is an ancient food made from wheats and grains, it is considered to be a symbol of life, and therefore it is used as a protection against fairies. So the next time you plan on going out your front door be sure to put a piece of bread in your pocket.

Throughout recorded history and even before it was actually recorded but rather orally passed down from generation to generation, there are stories of grooms and brides whose beauty and glamour was more than any normal being. There are many stories, especially in the Celtic tradition that tell of marriages between Fairies and Humans. Often very beautiful, but usually very tragic in the end.

So the tradition goes, Fairies are very creative and talented with their hands and they possess many skills. Sometimes, they teach their skills to humans, sometimes they tempt humans with their wares in return for babies and other precious commodities. Their skills in spinning, weaving, shoe-making, leather works, metal works, and music making. Some say that Fairies were not really more talented then Humans in these areas, but they did possess the magic of glamour, which gave the illusion that the things they made were of a better quality.

Although Fairies have their own world and live an independent existence, they still seem to have a great need to replenish their stock with human blood. It is further noted that they seem to need humans for food and it is common knowledge that fairies will steal human's dairy foods, grains and cattle because the quality of these items are so much better then their fairy equivalents. But, be advised, Fairies are very proud creatures who really would rather man did not know of their odd dependence.

Fairies live nearby, but usually not with humans. They reside in small communities made up of their own kind. Because of their size their dwellings, furniture, and wares are very small. Similar in detail and style to human items of the same kind, they are just too tiny to satisfy most humans who happend upon the Fairies' secret cities. It is told in many tales that the Fairies, whose lives are very long, live an existence that mirrors human beings. For example, their food looks like human food, but is only a shame of the real thing. The same is said of all their things, the Fairies merely representations of what they see humans having and enjoying.

The best advice to give a mortal is that under most circumstance, eating Fairy Food is very dangerous. Alth ough there are times that Fairies are said to bake small, delicious cakes as gifts to their benefactors, the Fairies are believed to take the good substance out of the food leaving it with some kind of Fairy substance that can be harmful to humans. Most Fairy food can not satisfy the hunger of a human, and often the food runs out before the appetite is abated. It is clear that just as everything else made by Fairies has been transformed by The Glamour, so has Fairy Food.

Four-leaf clovers are thought to be excellent protection against Fairies. They are believed to diffused the power of Glamour. In fact ointments were usually made from pulverized four-leaf clovers. But having a four-leaf clover can also be used to obtain wishes. Fairies unable to resist the the power of the clover often grant wishes for the human who holds one. But beware, four-leaf clovers are rarities, so one should not count upon it in times of emergency.

Fairies don't really die the way humans do, or so it is believed, rather they fade and shrink until they disappear from memory. But, like many human rituals, Fairies do like to ape human funerals. They are believed to dress up as men and carry tiny coffins or use rose-leaf stretchers to carry their "dead." Sometimes Fairies are believed to warn humans of their impending death, by staging a funeral for them to view. Usually these warnings of death can change a person from doing harm to living a clean and ethical life.

It is widely believed that even when Fairies are beautiful they still have one deformity or imperfection that they cannot always hide. In one tale, a fairy had a beautiful face if you looked at her head-on, but from behind she was hollow. So if you think you might be in the presence of a Fairy, check for abnormalities, such as web fingers or toes, marks, perhaps even cloven hoves within those dainty shoes.

Generally, although many Fairies have beautiful wings, hey rarely travel by using them in a conventional sense. Most Fairies are believed to use twigs, grasses, brooms and other natural things to get from place to place, riding upon them by the use of Levitation incited by a magic word. Fairies are also believed to be able to levitate humans and carry them off. In addition, they can levitate buildings such as castles and churches causing the structures to be carried off to a more suitable location. Often a Fairy levitation can be halted by a humans incantation of a prayer.

Fairies are usually very quick to borrow and to lend. If a Fairy borrows from a human, the item is always return with heavy interest. But should a human borrow from a Fairy and try to pay interest, the Fairy will become insulted and never lend out to that person again. A Fairy is looking for no more and no less then what he has given.

Salves and ointments used to penetrate the Glamour that Fairies cast upon things. They are usually rubbed on the eyelid so that one can see things as they really are. These ointments are used by mortals and half-fairies, because full fairies can see through glamour!

Periodically, Fairies will organize raids upon the Human's herd of cattle. Usually these raids take place at night when people should not be out alone. In addition to raiding, Fairies also feel that they have a certain right to anything a human owns, and will frequently take items and grains. Fairies also like to pilfer in open market places and frequently use Glamour to disguise their actions. Often a Fairy will return what he takes, and when he does so, he usually leaves more behind that he took!

Most trees hold a certain sacredness to Fairies, but the Oak, Ash, Thorn, Apples, Hazel, Alder, Willow - to name a few, hold a special position. Trees often are said to have their own personalities, or rather the personality of the fairy that inhabits it. There is a whole group of sinister fairies, known as Oakmen, who are said to haunt whole Oak Groves. It is often proposed that cutting down a "possessed" tree and burning a chip of that wood in one's hearth will bring very bad luck to the whole household. In other beliefs it is thought that eating nuts from some trees could bring fertility to some and wisdom to others.