What Are the Characteristics of Faeries?

From Through the Faerie Glass, by Kenny Klein

What are the characteristics of faeries? The many things learned from folklore include: 

• The Faeries, or Fey, live close to nature. Their homes are often hollow hills or mounds, and they dance in rings of mushrooms or stones. They haunt overgrown ruins (Carter Hall) and tangled green places (Huntley Bank, the forests of old New York). The desecration of nature can summon them; the plucking of a rose, for instance.


• They spend a good deal of time devoting themselves to the arts: dancing, making music and song. In the case of Irish Faeries, they are often warlike.


• Faeries can hurt or help humans, but there seems little evidence as to why they choose to do one or the other. A particular Faerie might go out of its way to help a human, and then turn around and harm another human for no apparent reason. But like the little girl with the little curl, when they are helpful they are very helpful. The same goes for the aforementioned harm.


• They fear iron. Being gifted with signs of human civilization or society can cause their banishment: a gift of clothes, for instance, will frighten them off. All Harry Potter fans know this.


• They can appear as many elements of the natural world: human, animal, floral. Bird-like, fox-like, insect-like, seal-skinned, fishy, leafy, watery, earthy; these are all guises the Good People have taken.


• Their food and drink are harmful to humans, and even speaking to them can bring unpleasant consequences. This does not stop humans from doing so.


• They can be lusty, and they seem to desire romance and sex as much as humans do (or perhaps a good deal more). Often their embrace is harmful or deadly. In other cases, it spells heartache to mortals.


• Some Faeries are portrayed as immortal, some as long lived, some subject to harm and death as much as mortals are. It depends on the Faerie.


• They have a sense of humor, and often a sense of honor. They speak various human languages but also have languages of their own. They ride horses as well as bugs, foxes, cows and fish.