Fairy Treat- Fairy Animals

In ancient times, animals were believed to be the teachers, guardians, and soul companions of humanity. In shamanic traditions, an animal can be a totem or a unifying emblem, or it can be a "power animal," acting as a kind of "hotline" to a certain kind of energy. Animals are close to Nature and are generally honest and true to themselves. Small wonder that many animals are beloved of the fairies, and that numerous fairies assume their shape from time to time.

    Witches' "familiars" are a potent connection to the spirit world. A favorite "familiar" is the cat, which has close links with fairies and may indeed be a shape-shifted fairy, according to Irish and European folklore. Tailless Manx cats were fairy-bred. and the Fairy Cat-King dwells as an ordinary cat by day, but goes on royal procession by night to wreak vengeance on any who have injured him. In times of persecution, cats often suffered with their owners. Who can blame the Cat-King?

Cloven-Hoofed Animals

     Fairies have a special affinity with cows, possibly because these creatures giver generously of their milk and are closely associated with the Mother Goddess. Fairies were blamed for stealing milk from cows, either from a distance or by appearing as a hedgehog or a hare and suckling. Fairies who do this are drawing on the life force of the cow, rather than on the actual milk. There are also tales of cows from the Otherworld with red or rounded ears, and these may be found wandering on the seashore, having strayed from their fairy home beneath the waves. Such cows give a wonderful supply of milk. 

    The stag was a sacred animal to the Celts. It is one of the forms of the Horned God, who embodies the mystical link between hunter and hunted, and both protects and culls the wild creatures of the forest. The Horned God was debased as the Devil, when the old pagan gods were demonized by Christianity. However, he has nothing at all to do with anything demonic and is more properly regarded as the Fairy King in one of his most awesome guises. Fairy women often take on the shape of a red deer, and fairies in general do not like hunters and may throw elf-shot at them--usually in the form of small flint arrow-heads.

    Fairies also turn into goats, or have goats'legs and hooves. The Greek nature god Pan was half-man, half-goat, to show that we all have animal instincts and knowledge within us. Pan (and, along with him, the goat) has also been demonized, and in English folklore there exists the belief that a goat cannot be visible for an entire 24 hours, for it must go to pay homage to the Devil-- or the fairies. 

Horses and Dogs

    Horses are believed to be able to gallop between the worlds, carrying the rider to Fairyland. Fairies love these subtle, graceful creatures. The people of the Sidhe keep magical horses within the Hollow Hills, made of flame and swift as the wind. Scottish water fairies or Kelpies often appear as grey horses, and these are evil beings who may tempt a traveler onto their back, only to ride them swiftly to their death in a water grave. 

    Fairy dogs guide humans into the Underworld, and may be either friendly or malevolent. There have been numerous stories of black dogs haunting areas of Britain, and boding ill. In fact, "Black Dog" may be a metaphor for depression, showing an unconscious recognition of the power of such apparitions. Other fairy dogs appear to be white or green and have red ears. Many legends tell of a pack of spectral hounds that hunt the souls of the dead in the Wild Hunt. 

Birds

    Many birds are associated with fairies. The cuckoo is the herald of spring, going back into the fairy mounds during winter. Owls are associated with darker fairies, such as Gwyn ap Nudd, lord of the Underworld, who rides out in the Wild Hunt to herd souls into his kingdom. Ravens guard fairy treasure, and the death goddess, the Morrigan, appeared as one. Fairies and enchanted humans both take on the form of swans, and the little wren is a fairy bird. 

Frogs

    Fairies could also take on the shape of frogs, and there are many stories of humans having been turned into frogs as punishment for committing various transgressions. Fairies who guard wells may be seen as frogs, and frogs were sacred to the Celts, who connected them with healing. 

    You do not have to kiss a frog in order to receive a blessing from the fairies. Just show them that you respect and love the natural world in all its amazing manifestations (even the apparently ugly ones), and the fairies will reward you.