Welcome to Whispers in the Twilight !
Who am I, and why do I do this?
My name is Daniela Simina. I was born in Romania, in a culture where zâne, the Romanian fairies, feature prominently. I grew up with fairytales and stories of encounters with fairy-beings told to me by my sweet and magical Grandmother. Grandma, herself a skilled medicine woman, was also my first teacher in the witchy arts. Like her, I could see things invisible to others, which has advantages, as well as plenty of disadvantages. I can't help thinking: who knows what would had happened to me without her love and support?
Magic and fairies were thus part of my formative years under Grandma's watchful eye. She diligently oversaw my becoming a healer, guided me, and shared with me what she knew about the amazing, difficult, and oftentimes dangerous magical path- a path that included, of course, fairies.
When I remained entirely on my own, I realized that a path involving fairies, spirits, deities, can be painfully solitary and disorienting. In the pre-internet era, access to information was difficult. Add this to the fact that I was living back then in a communist country, and seeking openly knowledge and/or companionship on any kind of mystical path was dangerous, and proved occasionally fatal. (In case you are not aware of the spiritual and psychological persecution under dictatorial regimes, I will only mention that it was, at best, brutal.) This set of circumstances made me at some point turn my back on the magical, and beautiful path Grandma had opened for me. I couldn't help but think, what if I could only have a group of friends, a community to share experiences with, to talk openly about all things pertaining to fairies without fear of ridicule, without fear that I could land my family in jail and myself in a mental institution...
Those years are far behind, but my desire for a community is as strong as it has always been. "Whispers in the Twilight" is the kind of space I wish I had back then, the space and the kind of community that I have been longing for. I believe that I'm not the only one who feels this way.
Few years ago, fairies and ancestral deities called me back to the path I had abandoned. I resisted for sometime but eventually gave in. Information was no longer scarce or unavailable: quite the opposite. This created a new dilemma: what sources shall I trust? They, my fairy guides and gods (2) guided me again in the right direction: I crossed (cyber)paths with Morgan Daimler, scholar and researcher of fairy lore and folklore, translator of Old Irish, distinguished teacher and writer. I connected with other scholars and researchers of cultural anthropology, that have inspired my work and my spiritual path. (3)
Through education, and through learning from one another people grow wiser. Why is this important for such space as "Whispers in the Twilight"? In my view, the relationship between fairies and humans is, or should be, symbiotic . Through educating ourselves -people- about Fairy(4) we can establish relationships that are mutually beneficial, as well as safe - for how safe can be all things involving fairies.(5)
In the book "Living Fairy", Morgan Daimler discusses the need for re-enchanting the world. On one hand, enchantment is already there, and people only need to open up to experience it. On the other hand, over the past centuries things have gotten out of balance, and for balance to be restored there is an acute need to bring the Otherworldly, namely fairies, more into this world.
"My view has always been that to achieve this re-enchantment of our world we need only to change how we perceive it because it is plenty of enchantment here already.... I believe now that it is essential that we actively seek to bring the Other into our world and that it is essential for us to return our world to a state of balance with the Otherworld by opening the way again."
(Morgan Daimler, "Living Fairy: Fairy Witchcraft and Star Worship", Moon Books, 2020)
Personally, I couldn't agree more.
As far and interaction and partnership goes in my own experience with Fairy, some things do align with the lore while some other things... not really. Nonetheless, I firmly believe that learning the lore authentic to whatever culture we may be interested in, is critically important. Aside from what I personally experience in my relationship with fairies - zâne, iele, Na Daoine Maithe or The Good People- I do pay attention to the lore and traditions surrounding them. It is like building an edifice -that would be my relationship with Them - on a solid foundation that combines both personal experience and what has been known and documented through hundreds of years.
To give a personal example (6): I was born and grew up in Romania, surrounded by fairy lore, interacting with the land, and with the local fairy beings. I know that Fairy folk, and spirits from Romanian land factor into my ancestry(7). It makes sense for me to keep learning the lore of the native zâne/iele and continue to study Romanian traditions related to fairies, to seek to incorporate such elements both in my writing and my spiritual practice.
I am now live in North America. As a transplant to this land, I seek to establish healthy relationships with the spirit of the place where I live, and with the fairy or fairy-like beings, my Good Neighbors. I don't feel called to research thoroughly the fairy beings native to this land, nor do they tug at my heart the same way that Romanian and Irish ones do. However, I am bound to show the native fairy beings respect, and I do so through reading about local fairy lore, and acknowledging Them as Good Neighbors each time I make offerings. (8)
Personal altar dedicated to An Dagda. Photo by Daniela Simina, 2019
The Irish side of my relationship with fairies is in a sense a little bit more complicated. For now, suffice to say that a number of occurrences made me aware of the connection that I have with Irish spiritual heritage. The Na Daoine Maithe, the Good People as Irish fairies are oftentimes called (9), and some among the Aes Sidhe(10) became preeminent in my practice. I didn't really grow up stepped into Irish culture although I did connect deeply with it later in my life. However, it is precisely this "later in my life" that prompts me to diligently study all the Irish material that I can lay my hands on and take all classes that I came possibly take on Irish culture and spirituality.
As I learn more about the fairies in the past, my understanding of Them in the present expands, and so do the abilities to connect, communicate, and partner up whenever possible or necessary.
There's nothing more enchanted to me than walking the Fairy path. It blends syncretic with my daily life. It shows up in my being a mother, spouse, friend, teacher, healer. It makes me who I am, and I wouldn't want it otherwise.
"Whispers in the Twilight" is a little corner of my world which I'm very, very happy to share. I hope this space will grow with the participation of readers like yourself. I greatly appreciate comments, questions, and suggestions on what you would like to read about here.
See you soon,
Daniela Simina
(1)The word 'Faith' as it is used here has no religious connotation whatsoever; it simply means believing in the existence of fairy beings.
(2)I am a polytheistic pagan following an Irish orientation, and practice my own version of Fairycraft based on personal experience, Romanian and Irish fairy traditions, and Morgan Daimler's work.
(3)See 'Resources' at the end of the article.
(4)I will use Fairy capitalized, in reference to the Otherworldly spaces where fairy beings of many kinds dwell. More on Fairy, fairies, and Otherworld in future posts.
(5)I personally don't subscribe to the idea that all fairies are nature spirits, cute and minute, nor to the homocentric model that present fairies exclusively as helpers to the humankind. More on fairy nature, appearance, and relationships with humans in a future post.
(6)I use a lot of personal examples not because they are any more special or "better" than other people's experiences; it is simple due to the fact that I can understand my experiences at a level deep enough to direct and analyze them. I would not feel comfortable doing this with other people's experiences: it holds the risk of becoming judgmental or biased on way or another.
(7)The crossover between fairies/zâne/Na Daoine Maithe and the dead will be the subject of a separate post. This aside, I do not support any kind racial and supremacist views, and any such voice will be banned from this page.
(8)Offerings of food, water, art, poetry, dance, song, incense etc, are part of my devotional practice. More on offerings in a future post on how to establish and maintain relationships with the fairy beings.
(9)In Ireland and in Romania euphemisms are deemed as appropriate when talking about fairies. In Irish, Na Daoine Maithe translates as the Good People. In Romanian, Iele/iele is the appellative used for zâne; not really an euphemism, iele translates as Themselves/Them.
(10) In Older Irish, Aes Sidhe translates approximately as the Shining Ones, and also as People of the Mounds. This is in reference to the fact that after Ireland was invaded by the Milesians, on of the Celtic tribes moving across Europe during Bronze Age, the local gods, or race of super-humans went down into the mounds, Neolithic Burial sides, to live with the Na Daoine Maithe, becoming part of the fairies of Ireland, especially as fairy kings and queens. For example, the Irish god An Dagda, literally The Good God, the god good at everything, is also known as the king of fairies in Ireland. This does not implies necessarily a hierarchical subordination as we sill discuss in a future article that analyzes fairy kings and queens in Irish and Romanian lore.
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Resources:
Morgan Daimler:
https://lairbhan.blogspot.com/2019/ and https://www.facebook.com/morgandaimlerauthor
Jenny Buttler:
https://www.facebook.com/DrJennyButler and http://drjennybutler.com
Dr. Simon Young:
https://www.facebook.com/The-Fairy-Investigation-Society-928941547185066
Lora O'Brien:
https://www.facebook.com/TheIrishPaganSchool and https://irishpaganschool.com
Jon O'Sullivan:
https://irishpaganschool.com and https://www.facebook.com/groups/514274122282006
Mael Brigde:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1589353934650280/user/100004311310895
Orlagh Minxie Costello:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/318562765289760
https://mybrigidsforge.com/2021/08/13/stress-management/?fbclid=IwAR2B8HahmfhmykN_o8Qf8ds3c8KvpJhR9NdZUw-syoFHusFRa2Zg0i1DFWM
