Faerie Fact 06: The Patron Faerie Spirits

In the Faerie Wood game there are 13 powerful Faerie Spirits: the most powerful is the The Dragon Spirit and represents the balance between all things – good and evil, night and day, the world of magic and the world of humans and so on (but more about the Dragon later…).

The other 12 are archetypes (e.g. Hero, Ruler, Caregiver etc.) and eight of them represent the spirit of a particular time of year, such as Spring or the Summer Solstice etc. The remaining four are personifications of other important aspects of the world and magic, such as Jack Frost and The Green Man.

All of these have been interpreted by humans differently over thousands of years and are known by many other names, but the names shown in the calendar wheel below are the ones they are most commonly known by in the realm of Faerie Wood.

All faerie folk, including the player characters are aligned to one of the 12 archetype spirits based on their nature – they serve as a kind of guardian spirit. Player characters can draw on their chosen spirit’s power in the game at certain times when they need help or inspiration. However, this power should be used wisely and not taken for granted - if a faerie calls on their guardian spirit’s power too often the spirit will no longer help them.

Also, some humans in the game also follow one of these spirits, such as witches, mediums and fortune tellers or other people with ‘the gift’, as well as druids and other faith leaders or occultists. However, only Dark fearie folk and their human followers (such as Dark Withches) follow the Spirit of Samhain.

Yule: 20th – 23rd December
Other incarnations in folklore: Old man Winter (Old English), Santa Claus (Western), Ded Moroz (Russian/Slavic wizard of winter)
Symbol: Holly

Jack Frost: 1st January
Other incarnations in folklore: Jokil Frosti (Norse/Viking)
Symbol: Snowflake

Imbolc: 2nd Februry
Other incarnations in folklore: The Maiden (Greek), Brigid/Bridgit
(Gaelic), Diana (Greek), Artemis (Greek)
Symbol: Crescent moon

Ēostre: 20th – 23rd March
Other incarnations in folklore: Ostara (Pagan), Freya (Norse), Kore (the Maiden) and Persephone (Greek)
Symbol: Egg

Beltane: 30th April – 1st May
Other incarnations in folklore: Belenus (also Belenos, Belinus, Bel, Beli Mawr – Gaelic), The May King and Queen (Old English)
Symbol: Fire

The Green Man: 1st May
Other incarnations in folklore: The Jack-in-the-green (Old English), Puck (Old English), Robin Goodfellow (Old English)
Symbol: Leaf

Litha: 20th – 1st June
Other incarnations in folklore: Sulis (Gaelic), Sulis Minerva (Gaelic-Roman), Sól (Norse Goddess of the Sun)
Symbol: Sun

Myrddin: 1st July
Other incarnations in folklore: Merlin (Old English), Mímir (Norse), Chiron (Greek), Mentor (Greek)
Symbol: Star

Lammas: 1st August
Other incarnations in folklore: Lughnasadh (Old Irish), Lúnasa (modern Irish), Demeter and Ceres (Greek)
Symbol: Wheat

Hærfest: 25th September
Other incarnations in folklore: Mabon (Neopagan/Wicca), Matrona (Gaulish), Harvest Moon (Old English), Demeter and Ceres (Greek)
Symbol: Acorn

Samhain: 31st October
Other incarnations in folklore: The Devil, (Western/Christian), Hern the Hunter (Old English), Cernuous (Gaelic),
Symbol: Horned beast

Wolf Spirit: 1st November
Other incarnations in folklore: Capitoline Wolf (Roman), Leto (Greek goddess), Medeina (Lithuanian goddess), Shuck (Old English)
Symbol: Wolf's paw

  
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