wards and protection against aes sidhe

[Grimmlore]

i know iron and silver are great wards against the fae but i have also heard of other little things like the crow of a rooster hurts their ears or boiling water in egg shells drives away any changellings. im after as much info as i can keeping as close to mythology as possible. please post!

 

[Ireth]

I've also heard putting a line of salt across doorways and windowsills keeps them out, as well as putting a rowan branch over your door.

 

[Grimmlore]

that is pretty cool ive heard 2 things about the salt theory, one is they cant touch it and the other is they are compelled to count every single grain, why rowan do you have any idea? i try searching these things on the net and come up with all sots of stupid things, (to save a fairy clap your hands and say i believe in fairies) stuff like that hahahaha

 

[Ireth]

that is pretty cool ive heard 2 things about the salt theory, one is they cant touch it and the other is they are compelled to count every single grain, why rowan do you have any idea? i try searching these things on the net and come up with all sots of stupid things, (to save a fairy clap your hands and say i believe in fairies) stuff like that hahahaha

I'm not sure why rowan is significant; I just remember reading it in a novel series involving lots of Fae lore. The Chronicles of Faerie, by O.R. Melling.

 

[Corvus]

Trees and other plants always had a lot of significance in the occult and superstitions. Yew for instance was associated whit death and is often found in old cemeteries, rowan was linked to protection (especially against evil spirits), healing and general sens of being good. Why exactly I don't know it made sens to people some hundred years ago.

I think I read somewhere, don't remember ware that people believed owls heralded someones death. In the sens that if you herd an owl you would die soon.

That's all I can think of right now.

 

[Kit]

Somewhere I've read that wearing your clothes inside out repels faeries.

 

[Guru Coyote]

Fae tend to be very attached to a certain order of things... as such they tend to want to stick to "how things have always been." For that reason, they have immense issues with anything "new" or "modern." This is why they severly dislike iron etc. (Remember that Fae lived with humans for many centuries in which there was very little change in the order of things: the medival times etc.)
Ever since "modern times," the human environment has changed in a very rapid manner... so you can assume that anything introduced in, say, the times of the industrialization will be very problematic to Fae.

ox cart, horse drawn chariot: ok
steam engine, iron, etc: NOT GOOD
motor car, bicycle, cellphone, etc.: AHHHHH, poof.

The reason why you do not read much about the effects of today's tech on Fae is simple: you don't read of Fae in out times that much at all. The most stories either take place in times where cold iron was the worst a human could have - all the other modern stuff wasn't even invented.

 

[wordwalker]

Somewhere I've read that wearing your clothes inside out repels faeries.

I think the idea of this one was reversing the clothes "showed your inner self instead of your outer"-- which made you invisible, or maybe repelled them. (You'd think your inner self would be the last thing you'd want hostile fae to see!)

 

[Guru Coyote]

I think the idea of this one was reversing the clothes "showed your inner self instead of your outer"-- which made you invisible, or maybe repelled them. (You'd think your inner self would be the last thing you'd want hostile fae to see!)

To Fae, appearance equals identity. Or rather, what you are is always also what you appear as. Changing your appearance makes you a different entity to them.

Actually, your "story" and description, with your appearance being part of that, is what defines you as an entity to a Fae. "The Wicked Witch of the West" has a very clearly defined "Gestalt" - changing any of that makes her something other, but no longer herself. As such, there is no such thing as a costume to a Fae... Clothes, typical props, anything that "belongs" to a Fae is very literally a part of them, more like our hair and eye-color are part of us.

 

[Ireth]

To Fae, appearance equals identity. Or rather, what you are is always also what you appear as. Changing your appearance makes you a different entity to them.

Actually, your "story" and description, with your appearance being part of that, is what defines you as an entity to a Fae. "The Wicked Witch of the West" has a very clearly defined "Gestalt" - changing any of that makes her something other, but no longer herself. As such, there is no such thing as a costume to a Fae... Clothes, typical props, anything that "belongs" to a Fae is very literally a part of them, more like our hair and eye-color are part of us.

I'm not so sure about that. Some Fae change their appearances regularly with Glamour illusions or other things, yet it doesn't change who they are.

 

[Guru Coyote]

I'm not so sure about that. Some Fae change their appearances regularly with Glamour illusions or other things, yet it doesn't change who they are.

I could argue that it is part of their story, then. "The Changer of Faces" ... changes faces. It is his identity to do so. Maybe a better word for "identity" here is "Nature".

Something similar is true regarding being truthful: Most Fae are 100% bound by a given word... but this does not mean that they will be truthful. It means they will do anything to honor the wording, if not the meaning of the given word. As such they can be very deceptive, while always "keeping to their word".

 

[Ireth]

I could argue that it is part of their story, then. "The Changer of Faces" ... changes faces. It is his identity to do so. Maybe a better word for "identity" here is "Nature".

Something similar is true regarding being truthful: Most Fae are 100% bound by a given word... but this does not mean that they will be truthful. It means they will do anything to honor the wording, if not the meaning of the given word. As such they can be very deceptive, while always "keeping to their word".

Indeed. I'm sure we could go on about this for a while, but that would kinda derail the thread. XD

 

[CJBlanton]

Traditionally, as you said Iron is good against fairies. I'm not familiar with silver being used.

Also holy symbols, particually those made out of iron, are said to be useful. Holy water as well. Bread and salt are also said to be useful as is churchyard mould. Bells are thought to protect against fairies.

There are some plants that are said to be useful wards. Probably not surprising that the strongest is the four-leafed clover, which is said to break fairy glamours. St. John's wart, red verbena, and daisies as well. Daisy chains were worn to keep children from being kidnapped by fairies.

As mentioned by others, the turning of clothes is suppose to stop the fairies from pursing as well.

And last, but not least, running water. Fairies can't cross running water. Although some live in the water.
This is all from the Protection against Fairies entry in Katharine Briggs' An Encyclopedia of Fairies. There is a pretty good summary at this page (which quotes more of Briggs).

 

[Grimmlore]

interesting thought. faeries are un-dead and have a close link to the paranormal in many cultures (this is something I did not know) I hear a lot of old wives tales are based around protection from faeries does anyone know any?

 

[Ireth]

*blink* I've never heard that Fae are undead, just metaphysical. A lot of the myths I've seen make them basically demigods.

 

[Grimmlore]

I may have my sources wrong ireth you know you can never believe the internet.
this is a small something I found
If a human does find himself the target of Faerie malice, there are ways he can protect himself. Faeries are essentially pagans and tend to be superstitious; most can be held at bay by religious objects or rituals. Sacred symbols such as the cross are often effective, not just because of its religious significance, but also because it represents the purifying light of the sun. Faeries are not afraid of or harmed by the sun, but its symbology as a giver of life is inimical to their status as beings of the dead. Similarly, Christ's conquest of death on the cross can be seen as a repudiation of the Faerie lifestyle. Even making the sign of the cross can be effective, and after the triumph of Christianity, Christian symbols were accepted as shields against the evil Faeries of the Unseelie Court. These include saying prayers or singing hymns, sprinkling or carrying Holy Water, and even carrying churchyard mold. Bread and salt are also effective, being as they have been regarded as sacred ever since primitive times, and as with the sun are symbols of life.

 

[Grimmlore]

The Origin of Faeries
There are two types of theories concerning the origin of Faeries: folkloric and mythographic. Folkloric theories assume the Faeries are real and try to explain how they came to be, whereas the mythographic theories assume Faeries are not real and try to explain how and why people invented them.
The folkloric theories can be divided into three groups. The first explains Faeries as fallen angels who did not follow Satan into Hell, but chose to reside on the Earth. The second explains them as the dead who are not good enough to get into Heaven, but are too good for Hell, and instead reside in a limbo world where they recreate their former lives. The third explains Faeries as children of Eve, whom she hide from God because they were dirty. As punishment, God cursed her, saying that the children she tried to hide from Him would remain hidden from her, and subsequently all Mankind.
The mythographic theories can also be divided into three groups. One explains Faeries as an older race of people driven into hiding by invading newcomers. This old race continues to survive in part by stealing tools, food, animals, even woman and children from the invaders, attacking solitary travelers who wander into their territory, or haunting isolated farms where they do work in exchange for food. In time, the invaders come to think of these people as having supernatural powers, and develop traditions about them to protect themselves and try to stay out of their way. This may have occurred in Ireland, when the Mesolithic hunter-gathers were supplanted by Neolithic farmers sometime around 4500 B.C.E. Certainly, the Irish mythological history claims that defeated races retreated under mounds to become the Faeries.

 

[Ireth]

I may have my sources wrong ireth you know you can never believe the internet.
this is a small something I found
If a human does find himself the target of Faerie malice, there are ways he can protect himself. Faeries are essentially pagans and tend to be superstitious; most can be held at bay by religious objects or rituals. Sacred symbols such as the cross are often effective, not just because of its religious significance, but also because it represents the purifying light of the sun. Faeries are not afraid of or harmed by the sun, but its symbology as a giver of life is inimical to their status as beings of the dead. Similarly, Christ's conquest of death on the cross can be seen as a repudiation of the Faerie lifestyle. Even making the sign of the cross can be effective, and after the triumph of Christianity, Christian symbols were accepted as shields against the evil Faeries of the Unseelie Court. These include saying prayers or singing hymns, sprinkling or carrying Holy Water, and even carrying churchyard mold. Bread and salt are also effective, being as they have been regarded as sacred ever since primitive times, and as with the sun are symbols of life.

That makes some sense, but I'll also argue that Christian symbols aren't effective on all Fae. Those born before the lifetime of Christ are immune to His symbols and invocation of His name, but they do affect some Fae born after that time. For many, it is a matter of their own belief that such things will harm them.

 

[CJBlanton]

I've thought the idea behind the "holy" symbols is that they are a method for the user to express his or her faith. The idea being that if the user didn't have faith, the symbol wouldn't do any good. Something similar to the situation in Acts 19:15 with the evil spirit. "And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?" So, this gives a way that the holy symbols may "work" for some people and may not work for others.

On the other hand, I subscribe to the idea that fairies are older/partly remembered aspects of gods. The use of the another god's symbols against would have to be tied to the idea that the other god was interested in and able to protect its worshipers. This could also be a way to explain why something may have worked in the past but doesn't work at the current time. Perhaps, it is because it is no longer the age of miracles.