Vision Quest with the Faeries

Faery Quest
by Sophia Fairchild

PART ONE

Faeries are real, even if we can’t see them.

In a traditional Vision Quest, the seeker ventures into the wilderness, where faeries[1] are most often found, to sit alone inside a sacred medicine wheel. The sanctuary of this circle allows her to go within to a place of silence, to commune with Nature and the celestial realms. For three days and nights she fasts and calls for a vision, to guide her life’s journey ahead. But your Faery Quest can be scaled back to suit your current circumstances; it may be held indoors or out, and there’s no need to fast. 

We are delighted
that you’re invited
to spend some time in your circle with us! 

Do not delay
to invite we fae
as we are the friends you know you can trust!

We all have ancestors, guides, angels and celestial beings to watch over us during our quest. But since a quest is a time out, away from the mundane concerns of ordinary activity, allowing us to get back in touch with our essential natures, the faeries make expert guides for such a task. As companions they encourage us to become more like them – innocent, playful and pure, with masterful skills in drawing to themselves everything necessary for an abundant life, overflowing with pleasure, joy and blissful harmony.

To create your own sacred circle for your Faery Quest, first decide whether you will sit indoors or out, and how long your Quest will last – a few hours, a full day, or longer. The faeries prefer that you stay outdoors, but if this isn’t possible, you may conduct your quest indoors near a large window with a view of nature.

Find a quiet and peaceful spot where you can be alone and completely undisturbed. Dress in something comfortable. If you wish, wear a magical piece of jewelry and decorate your hair. Remember to have a notebook and plenty of water handy, and please do not bring your phone.

Indoors, you may create a faery altar using a beautiful cloth decorated with items found in nature such as flowers, shells, feathers, moss, bark, crystals or stones. It’s especially effective to use objects representing the four elements of Air, Water, Fire and Earth. You may also include small bells, a faery statue, glitter, or a string of tiny lights – whatever makes your heart sing!

If you are creating your sacred circle outdoors, form the circumference using anything found on the earth such as stones, old tree branches or bark, flowers, pinecones, dried seaweed or whatever nature provides. Indoors, you may use shells, pebbles, crystals, flowers etc. to create your faery circle. Begin by marking the four compass points, always remembering to enter and exit your circle from the direction of sunrise, the East.

Choose a special object, especially something that offers itself, to place at each of the compass points to symbolize Air in the East, Water in the South, Fire in the West and Earth in the North[2]. For example: a feather for Air; moss, seaweed or a shell for Water; a candle or something fiery to represent Fire; and a stone or crystal for Earth. These directions are based on the North American Cherokee medicine wheel. The Celtic tradition, described below by Fiona MacLeod[3], uses different elemental correspondences for the cardinal directions, so please use whichever tradition resonates with you.

 Wind comes from the spring star in the East; fire from the summer star in the South; water from the autumn star in the West; wisdom, silence, and death from the star in the North.

After requesting the Creator’s blessing and guidance, ask the faeries to assist you in finding suitable objects for your four directions while taking a vision walk, as mentioned earlier.

Fairy rings are powerful, magical portals which humans should not enter without permission. Your sacred medicine wheel is also a place of magic and power, and if constructed with the intention of healing and transformation, the faeries will gladly bless it.

When your circle is complete, stand silently in the East and ask permission to enter your faery circle. Enter respectfully and stand in the center, where heaven and earth meet. Feel the blessings of heaven pouring down upon you like a shower of golden white light, filling your entire being, and forming a sphere of light around your heart chakra. Now feel your energy moving down through your feet, forming deep roots into the center of the fertile earth below. Feel your connection with the holy earth, and draw that rich nourishment back up through your feet, returning to your heart chakra.

• Now turn to the East to honor the Spirit of Air for giving you breath, openness, mental clarity, insight and understanding, making each moment an opportunity to grow.
• Turn to the South to honor the Spirit of Water, for deepening your instinct, spiritual awareness, and your capacity to feel joy.
• Turn to the West to honor the Spirit of Fire, for empowering you with intuition, passion, energy and light, which purifies and illuminates all things.
• Turn to the North to honor the Spirit of Earth, for the power of protection and regeneration, for grounding and centering, so that you always feel peaceful and safe.

As you sit in the center of your faery circle, you become the fifth direction, a channel between heaven and earth, mediating all seven directions – East, South, West, North and Above, Below and Within. You merge with the Pillar of Light, the Central Flame of Being, where all things are redeemed and transformed.

Now you are ready to call in the faeries of the four directions. You must carry in your heart the intention to be harmless or the faeries will refuse your call. Simply empty your mind of all other concerns and invite the Spirits of the Air Element, the Sylphs, to come to the outer edge of your circle. Then invite the Spirits of the Water Element, the Undines or Mermaids, to come forth. Now invite the Spirits of the Fire Element, the Salamanders, to attend. And finally, invite the Spirits of the Earth Element, the Gnomes, to be present at your circle.

These elemental spirits are the architects of form, pure streams of power that make up each element in nature. The sylphs can assist us to extend ourselves and become open to new ways. The undines teach us pattern, depth and harmony. The salamanders bring us warmth, vitality and illumination. The gnomes teach us manifestation and regeneration. Honor their presence and blessings on your circle.

~Excerpt From Soul Whispers: Collective Wisdom from Soul Coaches around the World, edited by Sophia Fairchild  ISBN: 9780615290423 Soul Wings® Press, 2009 www.soul-wings.net

Award winning finalist USA Best Books Awards 2009 – Anthology: Non Fiction

CONTINUED IN PART TWO

© Sophia Fairchild, 2009. All rights reserved. 

Tags: Faeries, Sophia Fairchild, Vision Quest