"Believe in the fairies that make dreams come true,
believe in the wonder of the stars and the moon.
Believe in the magic from the fairies above,
they dance on the flowers and sing the songs of love.
And if you just believe and always stay true,
the fairies will be there to watch over you!"

~Unknown~

The Faery Realm

Fairy, also spelled faerie or faery, a mythical being of folklore and romance usually having magic powers and dwelling on earth in close relationship with humans. It can appear as a dwarf creature typically having green clothes and hair, living underground or in stone heaps, and characteristically exercising magic powers to benevolent ends; as a diminutive sprite commonly in the shape of a delicate, beautiful, ageless winged woman dressed in diaphanous white clothing, inhabiting fairyland, but making usually well-intentioned intervention in personal human affairs; or as a tiny, mischievous, and protective creature generally associated with a household hearth.

Classifications of fairies

• Trooping: These fairies contain the aristocracy of the fairy world, including the the Irish Aos Sí. They are known as trooping faeries because they travel in long processions. But the trooping fairies also include other fairies of lesser importance; a trooping fairy can be large or small, friendly or sinister.
  
  Solitary: These fairies live alone and are inclined to be wicked and malicious creatures, except for beings such as the brownie who is said to help with household chores.
  
  Domesticated: These fairies generally function as pets or servants of the households they live in, but sometimes might temporarily join with other fairies for merry-making activities.

Fairies are usually conceived as being characteristically beautiful or handsome and as having lives corresponding to those of human beings, though longer. They have no souls and at death simply perish. They often said to carry off children, leaving changeling substitutes, and they also carry off adults to fairyland, which resembles pre-Christian abodes of the dead. Fairy and human lovers may marry, though only with restrictions whose violation ends the marriage and, often, the life of the human. Some female fairies are deadly to human lovers. Female fairies may tell fortunes, particularly prophesying at births and foretelling deaths. In fact, just like humans, some are good and some are bad.

As supernatural beings, fairies have a variety of powers. It depends on the type of fairy. Each species has its own signature power and, some of them, may actually be magic. Fairies use their powers to help or harm humans, but they usually don’t use their powers on other Fae.

Typically the individuals who work most often with faery magick are witches, but anyone who practices nature magick, herbalism, or work with animal spirits develop an appreciation for these spirits.

• Mermaids (Merfolk): Some say mermaids are spiritual beings, similar to fairies, while some legends say that the mermaid is an elemental being like a water nymph. Mermaids have a correspondence to water nymphs as they are guardians of the seas, while water nymphs are guardians of rivers and streams. Mermaids and water nymphs serve as artistic muses who stir the imaginations of artists, poets, and musicians and their appearance may indicate a calling to be near water to draw upon the energies associated with the element of water. (see also 'Merfolk' under "Spirit Guides/Mythical Animal Spirits").

   All nature-spirits are not the same as fairies;
nor are all fairies nature-spirits.
The same applies to the relationship of nature-spirits and the dead.
But we may safely say that a large proportion of nature-spirits became fairies,
while quite a number of the dead in some areas
seem to take on the character of nature-spirits." 

~ Lewis Spence, British Fairy Origins ~

The Elemental Nature Spirits

CAUTION: When researching "Elementals" on the web you need be very selective in which sites to reference. 'Gamers' have usurped the banner of "Elemental Spirits" and made it a component of their D&D type fantasy games. Often these sights appear to be delineating the occult explanation of the term, but are in fact merely gaming tips for individual gaming platforms, containing material invented solely for that game.

An elemental is a mythic being that is described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance. These correspond to the four elements of antiquity: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. All things in the material world are made up these four elements These are the nature spirits that interact with the material world, but have their existence in the non-material beyond this plain of existence. When these spirit consciousnesses descend into the material world they manifest in the manner of physical existence within the boundaries of the elemental realm into which they settle.

They were some of the first sentient creatures to inhabit the nascent worlds of the waking universe. The elemental spirits appear in an almost infinite variety of shapes and sizes. Each of these creatures has a distinct personality and temperament, traits that are heavily influenced by a spirit's elemental nature. It becomes an elemental spirit according to the element it forms in: In earth it becomes a gnome; in water it becomes an undine, in fire it becomes a salamander and in air it becomes a sylph. Each of these elementals has a distinctive and important part to play in the creation and maintenance of life within the natural world.

Earth Element (Gnomes) -- Earth spirits maintain the physical earth and they give us the basic energy of life in its rawest form and they aid in maintaining the physical realm of the earth. Thus, when they meet a human, they take a human form, though short, stocky and thick-set, due to their earthy nature. They help us to become more aware, but remember that they can be tricksters as well.

Air Element (Sylphs) -- Air spirits are found in any motion of air, from a light breeze to a tornado. They are composed entirely from wind and thought, and they are the source of all life energy. Sometimes they are depicted as cloud beings. Sylphs are responsible for the myths of "angels", the winged protectors of the Garden of Eden and they defend the high mountain peaks that are their home. Mercurial and intense they assist humans to develop mental abilities and inspiration.

Fire Element (Salamanders) -- Fire spirits are everywhere and they will often first appear as sudden bursts of heat, but when manifest they will take the form of the lizard of the same name. They are responsible for all light, heat, and strong powerful emotions that drive “The Will”.  Salamanders when called upon to assist in magick can have a very profound effect upon human nature and while helpful in stimulating energies fire spirits can be temperamental and impulsive.

Water Element (Undines) -- Water spirits are found in natural sources of water such as rivers, springs, and the ocean. The water spirits govern magnetism and chemistry and they stimulate our emotions and spiritual impulses. They first appear as a blur of color, but as they manifest they take their form from our imaginations, and often appear mermaid-like.They are infinitely sensual, something to keep in mind if you encounter them. They are usually found in forest pools and waterfalls. They have beautiful voices that can be heard over the sound of water. In some legends, undines cannot get a soul unless they marry a man and bear him a child, which often leads to romantic, but tragic consequences.