There are many different myths concerning the origin of the species of Faery, Elves, Otherkin, etc. Each culture has its own names and stories concerning these magickal creatures. As stated before, I am not of the race of Sidhe, so I can only recount what I have seen and heard regarding them. Your mileage may vary.
The information that I will give here, is mainly limited to the Sidhe. There are excellent links to Gothic and Otherkin sites on the Dark link page.
What is known of the Sidhe (pronounced shee) originated among the Celtic people of Ireland, Scotland, and England. What are commonly thought of today as Sidhe, or Faeries, were originally known as the Tuatha Dedannan (toowa deedawn nan). These beings were a magickal race that inhabited Ireland before the arrival of man. When the Tuatha were defeated by the milesians, they retreated back into a shadowrealm, beyond the reach of mankind. Many people believe that some of the Sidhe remained behind, on our plane, their magick a shadow of its former greatness. Others believe that the Sidhe can come and go at will between our plane and their own.
In the broadest sense, there are two main categories of Sidhe, or Faery. The Seelie Court are the Faeries that are friendly towards, or at least tolerant of, mankind. These are the Faery that are most likely to have contact with humans in a positive way. The Unseelie Court is made up of Faery that are more malevolent in their attentions toward humans. I am of the opinion that it is not always easy to classify the Sidhe into "good" elves and "bad" elves. Most could be grouped somewhere closer to the middle.
Another method of classifying the Sidhe is by how social they are towards each other. Some Faery live and function in groups. These are classified as "Trooping Faery", and would include a majority of the Tuatha Dedannan. Other Faery avoid contact with other Faery, like the Leeanan Sidhe. The Leeanan is a beautiful female faery that is drawn to creative humans like authors, poets, and artists. The human is so captivated by her that he is inspired to heights of creativity in his art that was never possible before. On the down side,,,the Leeanan feeds off of this creative energy like a vampyre, leaving the human to burn himself out to an early death.
Probablly the most common image most humans hold of Faeries is that of Tinkerbell. A small, winged pixie-like creation of Walt Disney. The closest approximation to this image within the world of the Sidhe would probablly be Pillywiggins of England and Wales, and the Pixies of Scotland. The primary preoccupation of these slight creatures is the care and tending of flowers during the spring and summer months.
The Brownies, originating in Scotland, are a benevolent form of Faery. They will "adopt" a human family, if treated well, and help out around the house and homestead. They tend to be smallish, dwarf faeries with black eyes and suits of green, brown, or blue. As with many varieties of "house faery", the Brownies are very fond of milk, cream, bread, and especially strawberries. If you leave some offerings of food out for them, they just might adopt your family!
To be continued........
Categories of Faery
(An extemely incomplete list!)
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