Atlanta Vampire Alliance [AVA]

[Eclecta]

I read somewhere recently when trying to get a better understanding of Fae, that they are prone to lying and are sometimes tricksters? Is this fact or myth?
_________________
"Love is the law, love under will."

[Natasha]

Tricksters yes, lying depends on the person really. Fae tend to enjoy playing pranks on people, but mostly are happy go-lucky glittery beings that would rather spend time chasing bubbles and whatnot than causing problems.

We can be very wishy-washy concerning cementing plans simply because Fae would rather be free than have a set schedule.
_________________
The winds might rend-the skies might pour, But there thou wert-and still wouldst be Devoted in the stormiest hour

[Eclecta]

I can so understand that wanting to be free. I hate having to comply to any schedule.. probably why I'm always late. My subconscious did it!
_________________
"Love is the law, love under will."

[Natasha]

LOL.. I'll have to remember that one!
_________________
The winds might rend-the skies might pour, But there thou wert-and still wouldst be Devoted in the stormiest hour

[Xaphaniel]

i know as it goes with fairy folk the tales i was told as a child and then as an adult lol the scottish fairy folk were good to its peoples but as it goes there was alot of undertones not said in the stories and then later you find out that in the story that they norrmaly traped the hero or heroin in there land then theres full on ones telling of how they intentialy tricked its peoples into situations for there benifits.

one thing is that when you have asked for something and its given to you or put in your way its a thing never to say "thank you" aparantly its etiquette to tell them why your thankfull lol as it goes it works alot beter.

as for modern fae i havent met that many and been in there online company long enough to tell if there all tricksters lol sorry couldnt help it just going on about mythos and all

xaph
_________________
If i listen to you i am listening if i am smoking dont disturb me and PLEASE if i am on fire use water not piss

[LadyAnara]

Fae are very tricksy and false haha very michevious, playful, often darkly playful. Most are also very senstive too getting their feelings hurt too.
_________________
~LadyAnara~
Founder Of Blood Haven Online
http://bloodhavenonline.nukeyou.com
Blood Haven Coven / House of The twilight Shadow
http://theancientsmirror.magickalforest.com/hots

[Natasha]

In the fairy tales they often did trick humans to stay in their land. Often for marriage and purposes of that nature. Which leds one to think maybe it was genetic, as in another race similar enough to humans to intermix and produce offspring. The tales often say if you ate or drank anything you would be trapped forever. Perhaps there was a light drug in the food. All just ideas but possible.
_________________
The winds might rend-the skies might pour, But there thou wert-and still wouldst be Devoted in the stormiest hour

[Eclecta]

Sounds like the fae had fun! LOL.
_________________
"Love is the law, love under will."

[zero]

The first interesting thing that one has to do is separate out medieval and Victorian fiction, which is only loosely based on traditional folklore -- the little "tinkerbell" faeries, the Shakespearean faeries with their wiles and rhymed couplets, etc.

Once that's done, the salient and common thread among almost all folk lore and history regarding Faeries is the quality of alienness. Faeries are almost as muddled a category as "vampires," but there are some interesting facts that can get sifted out to start with:

1 - the mythic history of Ireland treats the Fae as one of several competing nations warring over the island. They are described as having supernatural nature or abilities, but then again, so are some of the other competing nationalities, including other nonhumans and even humans. Some folks analysing the Book of Invasions are led to conculde that this was all metaphors for different *human* tribes, and all the business about the war with the Fae was actually a metaphor for some indigenous group who lost the war.

2 - the "little people" bit is under debate - did the ancient humans of Ireland really mean that they were short? Was this another euphamism or poetic device? Did they believe that the Fae were tall, short, or Variety Pack? Further murking up already-cloudy waters is the recent discovery of small-framed hominid skeletons in Indonesia, sparking debate as to whether Faerey legends are actuallyfolkloric mementos of a time when modern humans as we know them existed contemporaneously with societies of much smaller hominids:
http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,65492,00.html
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/10/041028144857.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_floresiensis

3 - the folklore surrounding Faeries demonstrates their alienness, in that encounters with Fae sometimes do not make sense and modern analyses often attribute the strange things that happen around Fae in these stories to "mischief" and "malice," but it's unclear as to whether it's just Fae being Fae and humans getting really confused. Things that don't confuse humans are impossible to navigate for the Fae, like not being able to find you if your clothes are inside-out.

4 - beyond alienness of culture or perception, Fae encounter stories have an element of *contamination* to the alienness - time works strangely around them-- seem like a familiar complaint of Otherkin, energy workers, psivamps, and UFO enthusiasts?
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1588340635/sr=8-2/qid=1154489294/ref=sr_1_2/104-2613504-0283948?ie=UTF8

So you spend time with Faeries and you wind up spending more or lless time than you thought, sometimes a Rip-Van-Winkle amount..

Also, you can't go there and come back again, not without some major effort, and you can't eat their food or you become them. So different that sharing a meal will permanently contaminate you and make your substance of them and of their world. Merely seeing them in the woods can accidentally lead you to your death.

So, do they lie alot? over the years, this reputation for alienness translated in the literature to being lawyer-slick -- faeries were supposed to have to tell the truth and so get around it by mincing words.

Are they malicious or capricious? Again, the literature would have it so.

But the nature of faery-encounter stories in folklore really suggests that the ancients who originally talked about them really had no idea how they worked, or what they wanted.

There is no lore on how to interact with Faery culture, how to go to Faery, etc. It's all how to avoid Faeries, because that's what you did if you wanted to be able to predict anything in your life.

[gothik]

I couldn't get down with any type that wasn't able to see the humor in missed schedules, absentmindedness of time and space, and other elements of personality that reveal a lucid, airy disconnect with anything grounded in a singular reality. That's perhaps why I have always been drawn to learn about the fae. And perhaps resounds the familiarity I feel within myself at times. I do have few memories as faerie, and used to have a spirit guardian who I was aware of, when I was 17-18 (who was also of the faerie persuasion).

[sardonic_seraph]

Eh, might as well just jump right in here.

Zero put up a lot of good information, as has everyone else. However, one thing that may help clear up the understanding of Fae is this; There are two 'types' of fae, the Seelie and the UnSeelie.

Put simply, all fae are either Seelie or UnSeelie. Seelie are usually your more stereotypical "good" fae, where as UnSeelie are usually "bad". This is figured by the fact that most UnSeelie look to harm others, where as Seelie look to help in some fashion or another.

A perfect example of this is say.. a Dryad vs a Nymph. The two share a lot in common. However a Dryad over all doesn't wish harm upon a 'neutral' person; whereas, the Nymph would wish to seduce and 'keep' the same person. BUT, they'll both have the same trickster attitude. All fae find pranks and tricks all in good fun. At least if I have my Fae types right.. Been awhile since I've done specifics, I'll relook it up tommorrow.

Another interesting thing about most Fae, they are allergic to some form of metal, usually irons. Perfect example of this is a dear friend of mine who is VERY allergic to cold iron. To the point he gets blisters just by touching the stuff.

I'll check up my info, but I'm pretty sure the nymph are unseelie... And I can't think of anything else, except for 'Dark Elves' which is a misunderstood term anyway.

-------

I'll leave my original post intact.. But I was mistaken, the Nymphs are Seelie.. what I was thinking of was the Gwrach-y-Rhibyn, or the Leanan Sidhe... Both are Unseelie, and prey on men.
_________________
There is always a way.