Exercise: Faery Zodiac
Consider which sign you fall under within the Faery zodiac and how your personality is reflected in the elemental qualities of that sign. You may wish to do further research into the stories behind your sign, and make notes of any personal significance. If you know your time and place of birth, you can easily get a full birthchart drawn up; there are many free programs online that can do this for you. Consider where your elemental strengths and weaknesses lie, and how you may seek to find elemental balance through your alliances with the Faery realm. Look at the influence of the planets and consider how they have manifested so far in your life. What does this information tell you about the challenges you face in this life? What gifts do you manifest and what still lies latent and in potential? How can you uncover and develop this potential? What lessons are you here to learn? These are all questions that are worth exploring with the aid of your Faery allies.
Suggested Activities
Practice
Take time over the course of a month to perform each of the elemental contemplations in turn, doing as many of them as possible (preferably all) in appropriate outdoor locations. Do not rush by trying to do them all in one day, but you may choose to do more than one if the time you are able to spend in an appropriate location is limited. Remember to makes notes of your experiences, however subtle they may be.
Consider your Faery zodiac sign as suggested in the above exercise. If you are artistic, you may choose to create an image of this sign or of yourself as the elemental being. Alternatively, build a mental picture in your imagination.
Daily Routine
Try to find a few minutes during your day—either first thing in the morning or last thing at night would be best—to build a daily practice, incorporating the Becoming the Faery Tree exercise and any other of the exercises so far that you have found effective (for instance, The Voice). Since voice work uses physical muscles and is deeply connected to your personal energy, the more you practice, the stronger it will become. You may choose to use your previously created Faery symbol centrepiece as a focus for this work.
Create
Once you have completed all the elemental contemplations at least once, consider what understanding you have gained of each element and apply them to the following creative tasks. Remember these are for you and your Faery allies, not for an outside audience, so do not allow fear of judgement to block your raw creativity.
Write a poem or song about your experience of the element of air.
Devise and perform a dance that expresses your experience of the element of fire (according to your physical capacity—even just hand movements can carry much energy and expression).
Using modelling clay, create a piece that expresses something of your understanding and experience of the element of earth. It may be as abstract or representative as you choose.
Paint an image in watercolours that expresses something of your experience understanding the element of water, as abstract or representative as you wish.
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chapter three
Trust
“Trust dreams, trust your heart, and trust your story…”
Neil Gaiman, Instructions
Chapter 3 is dedicated to the direction of north, the element of earth, and the quality of trust. In this chapter we will explore such themes as the land of Faery, the underworld journey, and finding a Faery ally. We will also look at the sacred landscape and learn about locations where our world and the otherworld interact, leading to a powerful exercise called Walking in Awareness.
At first glance you may wonder why this chapter is called “trust,” but in fact it is at this stage that trust becomes a vital quality in order to progress in Faery Craft. By this point you have built a foundation of knowledge and started to develop awareness of and connection with the land around you. In order to deepen your relationship with Faery and form bonds with sacred places, guardians, and Faery allies, you will need to be able to trust. It is usual at this stage to have lots of questions, the most common being “How do I know that what I am experiencing isn’t just in my imagination?” Questioning is an important process, and it is important not to blindly accept everything (remember, you can ask questions of your Faery allies when you start journeying and communicating with them). At the same time, it is possible to get caught up in unconstructive circular questioning that can only be escaped with the aid of trust.
Trust the work that you have done so far, trust your inner guides and allies, and, above all, learn to let go and trust yourself. The exercises and activities so far should have prepared you for taking your journey a step further, and as long as you stay grounded and true to yourself, the path will unfold before you…
The Land of Faery
“Sometimes lying on the hillside with the eyes of the body shut as in sleep I could see valleys and hills, lustrous as a jewel, where all was self-shining, the colours brighter and purer, yet making a softer harmony together than the colours of the world I know. The winds sparkled as they blew hither and thither, yet far distances were clear through that glowing air.”
AE, A Candle of Vision
Although we may encounter Faery beings in our realm when they choose to appear or in locations
