Fairy Wind Rescue Spell March 8, 2017
Author: Beach Combing | in : Modern , trackback
Location: West Ireland
Aim: To rescue a man, woman or child captured by the fairies as they ride by in their fairy breeze: note that in Ireland it was commonly believed that the fairies travelled across the country is winds, typically whirling winds.
Ingredients: A fairy wind, some dirt.
Method:
Ireland 1808 (Neilson 1808)
(i) Wait for a whirling wind to go past such as the fairies travel in.
(ii) Lift your foot and pick up some dirt from under where you are standing.
(iii) Throw the earth into the wind in the name of ‘the Father and Son, and Holy Ghost’.
(iv) If a human being is among the fairy host, he or she will fall from the sky: ‘and, behold forthwith downfalls a woman, weak, faint and feeble, on the earth, with a heavy groan’.
One modern essay alleges that throwing nails into the fairy wind (fairies of course hate iron) will release humans. I cannot find any early reference to this, though, so remain skeptical.
Dangers:
Apart from the obvious problem of angering Irish fairies over any little thing be careful about where you stand. You do not want a body to drop on your head from fifty feet.
Antiquity:
The belief in a fairy wind seems to be medieval if not older. This particularly charm though is first attested in 1808.
Help:
There must be more references out there to this kind of story: there are scores of references to fairy winds, drbeachcombing At yahoo DOT com
For references and explanation of the project and tag index: Beach’s Book of Shadows.
