Brace yourself, because we’re about to say something… controversial. Against the grain. Contentious.  

Shocking, even.

Here it goes: in the actual folklore, fairies often don’t have a ton to do with nature. 

We know, we know, we hear you. “But nature is kind of the THING about fairies, isn’t it? They’re nature spirits! They’re protectors of trees and rivers! They wear cool little acorn hats!” 

But do they, really? Sure, sometimes, especially in popular illustrations of fairies, but is it really central to what it means to be a fairy generally speaking? 

The scholarship says the answer is no. In Ireland, the crucial features of the dullahan have nothing to do with nature, nor do those of the killmoulis of Scotland (they love mills!) In Japan, the kamikiri stalks city streets pretty exclusively, and the bannik of Slavic folklore specifically acts as an intermediary between the spirits of the home and the spirits of the forest (preferring himself to hang out in the bathhouse!)

So where does this idea that fairies must always = nature come from? Why do so many stories nowadays link fairies and nature? Why does searching “fairycore clothes” on Google produce a million dresses with flowers, ferns, and mushrooms on them? 

Well, as far as we can tell, there are two main (and linked) theories. 

The first is that fairies have long been connected to the “elementals” of various magical practices, especially those with an alchemical bent. According to scholar Carole G. Silver, alchemists like Paracelsus called upon sylphs of the air, sprites/gnomes of the earth, undines/nymphs of the water, and salamanders of fire, and these nebulous guys are definitely kind of fairy-like. Further, they’re explicitly meant to represent the various elements, so there’s your nature connection right there. Some contemporary pagan practices, like Wicca, draw on this kind of imagery even today.  

Secondly, scholar Diane Purkiss notes the similarities between Celtic fairies and the nymphs, dryads, satyrs, and other not-Gods-but-still-supernatural creatures of Greek and Roman mythology. As Purkiss writes, “nymphs [etc.] are caught between the world of gods and the world of men; they eat ambrosia, the food of the gods, but their lives, though long, are destined one day to end. Hence they are not goddesses [or gods], and like mortals they can suffer from familiarity with the gods.” So these guys aren’t gods, but they’re magical; not immortal, but still have longer lives than other mortals; aren’t worshiped, but still very respected… all things that connect them to the fairies of Northern Europe. We’re willing to bet this was noted fairly early on too – Western European people were, for a long time, highly educated in Greek and Roman mythology. There’s a reason we still refer to Greek and Roman materials as the “Classics” throughout the West. Romantic and Victorian literature in particular is practically overflowing with the stuff. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to us to imagine that people in Britain, Ireland, etc. saw their own culture’s creatures, noted their similarities to Greek and Roman creatures, and proceeded to write things that made that connection even clearer.

And nymphs, dryads, etc.? They’re all explicitly connected to nature.  

In fact, Purkiss goes on to note that the connection between fairies and nature only occurs “sometimes” in folklore and actually happens “more often in literature,” mostly Romantic and Victorian texts. The Victorian period was also the age that popularized illustrations and stories about tiny fairies (and gave them things like spidersilk shawls, dresses made from rose petals, and other things of that sort!)      

Nowadays, the connection between fairies and nature feels completely obvious, even key to what a fairy is. But this really isn’t always the case at all – fairies in folklore can be urban and thrive on city streets or fight hard to stay in the human houses they’ve commandeered as their own!

If you want to read more about these kinds of debates (and hear what we think fairies actually are, in a way that’s as cross-cultural as we can manage), you’re definitely going to want to pick up our upcoming book, Fairylore: A Compendium of the Fae Folk! You can pre-order it now all over the place (and, if you do, definitely go to this page after to enter your pre-order information and grab a bunch of goodies, including a ticket to our virtual LAUNCH PARTY on February 10th!)

And, if you’re interested in learning more about mythology and how it connects to other folklore like fairies, you’re definitely going to want to watch this space. Something big is coming very, very soon…