Fairies have gone by many names, wee folk, and good folk, people of peace, just to name a few. If you have decided that a fairy tattoo design is what you are looking for then I suggest you keep reading and I will supply you with some of the myths and legends surrounding this wondrous creature.
Fairy tattoo designs usually show fairies as human in appearance, and they vary in appearance from cute to evil, sexy to angelic, and everything in-between.
The origins of the fairies are vague and many different versions have explained there existence. Now fairies are viewed in a morepositive light, as helpful fairies, as was Tinkerbelle to Peter Pan.
In early folklore fairies were originally as tall as a small child, back then, fairies were to be avoided, as they were known to steal babies and old people and replace them with replicas that looked exactly the same.
There were many ways to avoid capture by the evil fairies; you could put an iron fence around your house as iron was considered poisonous to the fairies. The iron myth appears to have come from stories of the first battles with the Viking invaders. Or you could find yourself a four leaf clover, or better still, a simple piece of bread (as bread was seen as a symbol of life), would keep the little devils at bay.
Other evil fairy deterrents included the ringing of church bells or running water. Even wearing your clothes inside out was a deterrent, and I think it’s safe to say if you walked around wearing your clothes inside out you probably would scare off more than just the fairies!
And so, with so many charms available to ward off the naughty fairies perhaps evil fairies weren’t such a problem after all.
A common view was that fairies were the souls of dead humans. One man said that one night walking home from the local pub, he came upon a fairy, and when he looked closely at that fairy, he saw that it was in fact his recently deceased neighbour.
I did mention he was walking from his local pub, didn’t I.
Another view is that fairies were somewhere between heaven and hell. This would explain their impish behaviour, because they were not devils, but not quite angels. Take for example, bad hair days, they could be explained as fairies visiting you as you slept and tangling your hair, or “Elf-locks as it was known then.
And if you were wondering why you always wake up during the night, well you can blame those pesky fairies, because, as legend has it, if they thought you kept an untidy house they would pinch you as you slept. When you are late for work because you slept in, try blaming the fairies.
Also, they were credited with sending you the wrong way on your travels, and where did I put those keys? You guessed it, the fairies again.
If you decide on getting yourself the best fairy tattoo design, remember nowadays fairies are seen as good luck charms, and if you know the name of your fairy, so the story goes, that fairy must grant your wishes.
I love fairies because they’re very interesting. They can be good or they can be evil. And they’re as old as time.
I want to have a tattoo with a fairy design. Thanks for this post