A sister wrote us asking how it was that we seemed to equate Faerie with Love while Tolkien wrote that Faerie was the Perilous Realm, which contained not only the good but also the dark, and could be quite dangerous. Here is our reply to that question:
Going to Faerie from this world…
Dear sister,
… is like moving from a small town to New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, London or Tokyo… the opportunities are greater surely, but so are the dangers (not that there are no dangers in this world or small towns or even backwoods). We did not say that Faerie was love, we were instead using Love as an analogy to point out that one can no more force their way into Faerie than they can force someone to love them, or even truly force ones’elf to love someone else. Not even elves can do that (and we surely wouldn’t try), although we do have magics that can grease the wheels, so to speak. And while it is also true that there are magics that can cause profound infatuation, the admonition to be careful of what wishes for is best considered when using these spells.
Faerie is closer to the source, the formative Magic, the underlying reality of pure potentiality that is within and beneath, so to speak, all things. Although, perhaps it would be more accurate to say it is along side of. But that is not quite it either. Faerie/Elfin is not exactly elsewhere. In his novel the Quest of the Golden Stairs, Waite wrote, “Faerie is not there but here”. For Faerie/Elfin is not so much another place but another vibration of this world. Think of it as one would think of Ultra Violet or Infra Red, a spectrum of being that exists here and now but is not readily observable by most folks. It is like the Moon ruled sephiroth on the Tree of Life. It is the formative world (thus both more magical and more responsive to our desires) upon which this world is based. Are we really ready to have our desires instantly or very quickly come into being. How about our fears? Can you see the danger here? Are our dreams less perilous than this world? Only because we can escape them, we expect. But what if we could not? Perhaps some of us are in this world to escape from the dangers of Faerie. Biding our time and strengthening our souls, spirits and magic until we feel ours’elves truly ready to go back and confront the dangers there, learning to control our minds and impulses so we do not unthinkingly bring about results we do not truly or completely desire.
Yet, perhaps Faerie is Love. Is Love not perilous? Do we not risk nearly everything in truly loving? Our hearts, our minds, sometimes and for some people their very lives? Even their souls? Mayhaps we should speak of: Faerie at first sight? There is truth there, don’t you think? A greater truth than most realize.
eli feln le,
the silver elves
We welcome you to come join us on Facebook under Michael J. Love (Zardoa of The SilverElves) and Martha Char Love (SilverFlame of The Silver Elves).
We invite you to visit our Author page on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1490695829&sr=8-3
Also, we hope you will come to our website and enjoy reading samples of all our 40+ books on magic and enchantment and the Elven Way at: http://silverelves.angelfire.com/HAelfbooks.html
What sort of elf, faerie or other are you? For years various kindred have asked us, the Silver Elves, to help them figure this out. Now we’ve created a questionnaire to help us do so. This is our gift to you. Simply follow the link & the directions. http://silverelves.angelfire.com/HAelfkin.html
“The quiet of the woodlands,
the tenderness of Faerie,
the whisper in the wilderness doth silent voices carry,
listen well within you and there a sigh you’ll hear,
as all that you did wonder doth suddenly come clear.”
—The Silver Elves
Tags: elfin, Faerie, perilous realm, romance, sephiroth, tree of life
The Silver Elves Blog 
September 28, 2009 at 7:49 pm |
Wondrously wonderful perspective. Without going too far into the Folk lore , & boy, howdy, is there pull-ent-eye OF that, might I offer that Elfin/Faerie is 3-tiered. First, it is quite another dimension. Secondly, ’tis everywhere all around us, right now, just as you had quoted the Hermeticist AE Waite, long held as the author of the Rider-Waite deck, but whose origin was, in Truth, to be given to the long-lived enchantress, Pamela Colman Smith, had him(s)elf long attested to, as seen above in his “The Quest of the Golden Stair: A Mystery of Kinghood in Faërie”. Thirdly, it is accessible only to those of us descended from the Family, whose genetic imprint allows us entrance. Of course, sometimes, when other modalities align, others outside our kin can gain entrance, as with the 13th c. legend of the Scotsman, Thomas of Erceldoune, or even that of the more recent Rev. Robert Kirk, famed for his 1692 study of our Kind, “The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, & fairies”, a modern day translation from the then in-use Scots-English argot to a more comprehensive, modern day parlance with generous annotations by the 21st c. Scots Faery Bard, RJ Stewart, may be found here & republished as “Robert Kirk: Walker Between the Worlds”. Then again, in a fiction-all-eyes’d form, there’s authoress Delia Sherman’s lovely “Changeling”, about the oft times perilous adventures of the changeling girl, Neef, taken from her human parents in New York City & transported to the Land of New York Between, an Elfin/Faerie parallel dimension populated with nearly as many creatures & bee-Ings of Faerie as in Holly Black’s & Tony DiTerlizzi’s Spiderwick series, which, BTW, had all of its Elven characters deleted from the Nickelodeon Films screen adaptation, much to my chagrin. Thanks SO MUCH for this particular piece, Zardoa & Silver. Happy Journeying, all ~ Anadæ Effro (•8-D}
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 29, 2009 at 9:17 pm |
We’ve ordered Delia Sherman’s book…
dear brother,
… from the library. Thanks for the recommendation. We were also disappointed that the elves did not appear in the Spiderwick movie, although we enjoyed it for what it was. As to being descended from the Family, which you are and which we believe ours’elves to be, nonetheless we suspect we have the power to be born as elfin spirits into any genetic lineage we choose. Thus, those who seem to come from a culture that appears to have no connection to our ancient ancestors at all, may still be of us. At least, that is what we feel.
kyela,
the silver elves
LikeLike
September 28, 2009 at 9:43 pm |
This is SUCH an awesome viewpoint – thanks so much for sharing, and thanks, Anadae for your comment too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 28, 2009 at 11:44 pm |
Tolkien’s first motivation for composing tales of Elves was to impress his (then) girlfriend, since, in his first naive thought, girls love fairies. So, literally, his first thought was that Faerie was Love. It didn’t take long for him to realize that beings who live for hundreds of thousands of years must surely endure a poignancy of experience that would crush a ‘mortal’. In the Sixties, many spread the sentiment that Acid was Love. But, in experience we learn that it is wonderful and beautiful to the point of terror. To step into living the life of the Fair Gentry is to expand the meaning of our lives in every direction. And that is surely beautiful to the point of terror. These are not minor or quaint commitments, but the most serious decision that can be made, even though it really can happen at first Sight.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 29, 2009 at 9:20 pm |
great analogy…
dear brother,
… although, we are inclined to think from experience it is not an analogy at all but the living truth for all to see who have seen.
kyela,
the silver elves
LikeLike
September 28, 2009 at 11:46 pm |
Hello Beautiful Brethren!
I very much appreciate this site! I do have a question for you, as you seem to be the ones who would know the answer… Where do I find information, or literature, specifically dealing with Elf Majick? I do alright on my own, using my inherent knowledge, but I definitely could use a bit of guidance in order to “hone” my kraft.
I am not Particularly interested in Mythology that has been put down by non-Elf writers, as I cannot fathom, that they could truly have the perspective necessary to make an accurate guide to Elf knowledge…
Love, Light, Peace…
Cainneach Tanai-Alill FionnCiaran
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 29, 2009 at 9:35 pm |
strangely…
dear Cainneach,
… or perhaps not so, most hints about elfin magic come from faerie tales. For real “how to do books” on elfin magic, we can recommend our own. You can check them out on our website at . They are somewhat simple but are books on real elfin magic written for, by and from the point of view of elves. Some people also like Kisma Stepanich books and while we like Kisma, her works are from the outside. That is from the point of view of witches or normal folk evoking the aid of the faeries as an outside force.
Also, while we have not yet read his work, though we shall very soon, Anadae, our true and faithful brother, and Rialian have both recommended and spoken highly of Orion Foxwood’s books. And, of course, there are others, such as Tad Andrews (whom we have also not read at this point but his works have been recommended to us), although again we believe his works are written from the outside.
We being a particular eclectic folk who have, for the most part, had our ancient culture erased, except as myth, do tend to trust our feelings and pick and choose from various systems of belief, adapting all we like into a newly reawakened/created elfin magic, blending Taoist practices with shamanism, sorcery (ala Castaneda) with Western evocational magic and Huna. We are not called the Ancient Future People for nothing.
kyela,
the silver elves
LikeLike
September 29, 2009 at 3:44 am |
Wow! This is exactly what Ive been hoping to read! Beutiful words on the power of desire and intention and the necessity for strength and care. Of course when I arrived home today my Father in law posted a note on the refridgerator saying ” Where are all the Elves?”. He was mentioning that messes left around the house arent taken care of by mythical beings, but that he had to do it himself so we should be mindful haha. I feel Im definatly resonating with the elves lately, weve met before but a different time and space, now I know theyre calling! Thanks for sharing Anadae looking forward to reading more here, lovely work!! Be very well ~Namaste!
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 29, 2009 at 9:39 pm |
your father in law probably meant where are all the brownies…
dear Kevin,
… but you could, when he is not around, clean up the house and leave a message from the elves and while he would think that you did it and not the elves, he would be both right and wrong.
kyela,
the silver elves
LikeLike
September 29, 2009 at 10:44 pm |
this is the most beautiful discussion i have seen in a while – which led me to reflect on the art of seeing and especially of the faerie sight itself. maybe here lies something of the key. maybe to see faerie (and equally to know love) we first need to develop the faerie sight – that magical sight which enables us to see not only what is but what could be! (especially where love is concerned). interestingly, as i write this i have to keep correcting myself as i am typing ‘site’ rather than ‘sight’. i know my learned friends and kin here will recognise this not so much as an accident but more a message from faerie, perhaps encouraging us to look at our connection with the land (and in that i include the cities)? like others have said above, faerie isn’t elsewhere but here – if we would just look. thank you dear friends for reminding me to do just that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 1, 2009 at 10:34 pm |
beautifully put…
dear sister Sue,
… and yes the merging of Site and Sight do seem to have meaning. In a certain sense, as we see Elfin, it becomes real in the place where we see it. Just in the same way, as we love, we create love in the world. Love/Divinity and Faerie/Elfin are always there in potential but requires us to materialize it. It is also paradoxical, which suits we elves perfectly, that love is both a very easy and a very difficult magic to create. We suppose like all things, it gets easier (or easier seeming) the more one practices/masters its creation.
LikeLike
September 30, 2009 at 11:57 pm |
It seems that Tolkien’s world is on a collision course with this realiy. Those that Think they control this realm are working towards it’s total destruction …. was he describing what is happening to Humanity and Kin!
It appears that the Characters names have changed, but hopefully the Outcome will be the same!
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 1, 2009 at 10:38 pm |
if we understand the nature of the Universe correctly (and we are open to the idea that we do not)…
dear brother,
… in the long run we each create our own reality. Those who so hunger for, and constantly call down, destruction, shall get it, and those of us who have been lovingly creating Elfin/Faerie shall get what we desire as well.
LikeLike
October 1, 2009 at 10:19 pm |
Love is the most fundamental Power. Everything emerges into existence through Love; even that which apparently functions anithetically to Love. Love rules everywhere, in the Abyss of human consciousness and well as in the highest realms thereof. Love courses through everything. Love runs through Faerie and through the mundane, more natural element based expressions of Life on this world. Both realms have been differentiated from the One. Everything that has been differentiated from the One embodies both the light and the dark; Love abides on both poles, everywhere.
As Faerie is a more Formative realm, the Presence and activity of Love is far greater there; nonetheless, the contrasts between light and dark experienced in the mundane are also found in the subtleties of that realm. The closer one gets to the Formative, the closer one comes Love. To the degree that one becomes One with Love, one is able to “harmonize” with the Formative, to move to Center and thereby perceive and interact with all planes through which Love flows, including Faerie. While direct entry into Faerie may be granted to those who carry the Family DNA in their bloodstreams, (and that has dispersed widely into key family lines of many peoples), interacting with this mundane terrestrial realm as Love enables one to become attuned to things of Faerie and, perhaps, even to experience communication with that realm. [Hence why unicorns manifest themselves only to the pure of heart.]
Yes, the Formative IS perilous and Faerie is full of peril for all fools who dare to attempt to tread therein with an attitude otherwise. Neverthess, Faerie is also a realm manifested through and sustained by Love. If the “Bloodline” does not flow in your veins, approach Faerie as Love and, in this pivotal time with boundaries between realms thinning, Faerie will extend the bridges to connect with you — but you MUST approach _as_ Love.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 1, 2009 at 10:48 pm |
we so agree with you…
dear kin,
… and are inclined to think that it is not blood or DNA that connects us so much as Spirit that makes us Elfin/Faerie folk, no matter what bodies we currently inhabit. And yet, many of us take a certain pride in being genetically descended from our elfin ancestors and these elves are glad that they can find such joy in their lives as well. However, we feel this should never be used as a source and means to separate us, or an excuse to consider ones’elf superior to one’s kindred who have chosen, most often for the sake of Dharma, to be born in another genetic line.
LikeLike
October 17, 2009 at 7:46 am |
Awesome blog!
I thought about starting my own blog too but I’m just too lazy so, I guess I‘ll just have to keep checking yours out.
LOL,
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 17, 2009 at 1:32 pm |
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 20, 2009 at 2:03 am |
yes you may
LikeLike