"Faery Dance Spell"

[arethinn]

(manual crosspost from tumblr: http://silveth.tumblr.com/post/33385220632/faery-dance-spell)

"Faery Dance Spell"

So, um. I didn't reblog this directly because it's not that I want to engage with this person. I'm sure they mean well and I don't like making people angry with me. But honestly, this post kind of makes me ill.

First, it's too pretty and twee and sweet and augh. Yes, many fae enjoy colorful, pretty clothing. Yes, they like food and drink offerings, and can have a sweet tooth. But the tone of the "oh it must all be lovely and nice, of course they are sweet and pretty!" I get from it is just.. ugh. Though I don't get the bit about a "non-metal" musical instrument. Sounds like making assumptions and generalizations based on what you think you know rather than actual experience. I know some fae are said to be averse to church bells and things of that nature, but I don't see any issue with softer chimes or with metal flutes or pennywhistles (ferex, RJ Stewart uses a metal pennywhistle and a psaltery with metal strings to play calling/attuning tunes in a lot of his workshops and it always works just fine). I suppose if you actually had an iron flute or something you should skip that. :P

But nevermind all that. My real issue is that this "spell" appears to be instructing one to go find a faery ring or mound out somewhere quiet and mysterious in nature and then GO MAKE A LOT OF NOISE WITHOUT ASKING FIRST and maybe oh I dunno DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LOCAL FAE AND NATURE SPIRITS OVER SOME PERIOD OF TIME with repeated offerings and meditation and energy work. The whole concept here is just backwards and upside down. It's like barging into a stranger's house and starting a party and expecting them to be happy about it and join you because hey you brought snacks.

Then, there's addressing Them as "faery". Now, I am not real clear on the rationale and "when" of the taboo on actually referring to the Folk as "faeries". I feel like it's not usually a problem just to use the word when talking about the topic, and that not every faery being actually has a problem with it. But perhaps, at least, one should not directly address them that way unless given prior permission? Random Faery Place Whose Inhabitants You Do Not Already Know is not the place to take this chance.

Then, saying "please come out and dance with us! dance with us!" as you go on, 'cause of course, your random twirling and music (which stands a good chance of being just a racket unless the participants are all already musicians) is obviously so appealing to them that it'll win them over and all will be fine? Sorry, pal, that's usually the other way around, that the faery music and dance is strangely magnetic to humans. And you're supposed to come on the dance unawares, or be invited, and it really really helps to be an unusually gifted musician if you don't want them just to be playing with you like a toy and laughing at how terrible you are DANCE MY PUPPET. And even then they might just be.

I feel like the most likely result of this whole proceeding is that some very annoyed fae will be like "Oh, come out and dance, the humans want? *baring teeth* WELL THEN SUCH A DANCE WE SHALL SHOW THEM". And they won't only be in the mood to wreak havoc in some lives, they'll be sugar-high because that's what you brought for offerings. Great idea. You'd be fool-ass lucky if all you got were some peaceful fae giving a weary sigh and condescending to do what you want because then maybe you'll go away.

I mean. PROTIP. Don't summon the Goblin King just because. You probably won't like what happens next.

Comments

[laughinglotus]

I agree. This does sound backwards. I suppose it might be fine if it where near a high traffic place where many humans rolled in for drum circles and the like, but wandering out into the sticks and then clamoring into a quiet home and tossing a wild party is all wrong. Starting with say a few people engaging in a brief and quiet meditation at a particular spot now and again might be a good start. The wild parties might come later. Then again, they might not.

[blessedbran]

What I can never understand is the logic, or lack thereof.

1.) The people must believe things like the fae exist.
2.) They make effort to contact something supernarural.
3.) They never stop to consider the possibility that something decidedly NON-fae, and quite nasty, might come to answer.

[arethinn]

That is also a possibility. Even if you successfully contacted faery with this method, though, I feel they would be likely to be ... in a bad mood.

[forever_green]

My advice for people:

• Embrace your human dumbass-ery early on in the event to try fae communication. That way you have a chance at "excused ignorance".
• err on the side of meekness
• expect the unexpected

People get me… and LOL!No~ at this spell.

[blessedbran]

This topic is similar to what got me away from Kisma K. Stepanich's Faery Wicca. At some point I realized that the books depicted Fae as beings that had nothing better to do than cater to the inanity of wide eyed humans that splurged at Barnes and Noble one day.
It actually offended me (that was my sidhe-ness feeling that).

Of course I did do the offering to the "salamander." I really had to repent of that for other reasons.

[valkyriur.livejournal.com]

I've seen this kind of thing with all kinds of spirits (fae, animals, plants, ancestors, angels,...)and I normally have about the same reaction. What is this? I don't even?!

[arethinn]

It does rather make one lose one's ability to can, doesn't it?

[dragonzuela.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I do little to nothing involving Faery folk mainly because of this. I respect them but don't entirely understand them, and certainly don't want to piss them off with my clumsy dragonself.