I Meet the Faeries in North Carolina
My dear friend Reverend Marian Starnes was a spiritual powerhouse. A compassionate healer, a gifted medium, a loving friend to any in need.
She founded The Brigade of Light and on the advice of an Angel named Ga
ry (I’m not making this up) bought a property of 250 acres of pristine beauty on a North Carolina mountain top and named it Terra Nova.
There she practiced her mission by following the 7 Cardinal Virtues. She fed the hungry, gave drink to the thirsty, healed the sick and so forth, never doubting for a moment that God would provide the wherewithal for her to do all that.
Feeding the Hungry
Marian kept a full pantry of necessary food items and told the poor they could simply take what they needed. If ever they could give back something in return, they should do so – if not, that was fine, too.
As a result of this generous but somewhat haphazard system, it wasn’t odd to drive up her mountain road and find a live chicken or baby goat tied to the mailbox outside the pantry, or a basket-full of fresh picked apples or potatoes left at her doorstep as the payback gifts from someone she had fed.
The Faery Grove
Marian called me one day, bubbly with excitement. She’d discovered a Faery Grove on the property, she said, and had held a lively conversation with the King of the Faeries, who told her that the Faeries and Elves work diligently all year long to keep the flowers and woodland lush and fertile, but they have a two-week holiday to frolic (isn’t that the best word?!) around the end of May.
She was calling to invite Dakota and me to meet the faeries. So off we went, having invited Natalie, the young daughter of a good friend to join us.
Magic from the Get-go
The trip was heavenly. We stayed at an antebellum mansion-turned-hotel outside of Ashville and drove to meet Marian at dusk on the appointed day.
She took us to the grove where a young couple already waited (they were getting married the next day) and gave us all instructions. If the faeries chose to come see us, they would appear as globes of light bouncing up the hill on the far side of the garden.
They would check us out and if they liked us, they’d form a circle or a semi-circle of lights around us. If they did that, it was a sign, we could make a wish that they would grant.
The Magic Garden
It was apparent on entering the grove that it was situated on a convergence of ley lines. The energy was so fluid and volatile there that in the light of fathering dusk it seemed almost like an undulating liquid at the center of the clearing. We sat and tried to be patient.
But then the rain started and quickly turned into a downpour. Marian had gone back to her house to rest as she was not feeling well, so we didn’t want to disturb her. Sad as we were to leave the grove, it seemed the only thing to do.
We got into our car and started back down the mountain as the sky turned black with storm and nightfall. Halfway down, Dakota said we should turn around—how could we be this close to faeries and not keep on believing they’d show themselves? What did we care about rain and surely it wouldn’t deter a faery!
She and Natalie begged me to turn back and to tell the truth, I was happy to do it. I’m Irish. We’re genetically programmed to be impervious to rain so back we went.
Just as we got to the grove, the rain stopped and five minutes later, a parade of balls of light (ranging from golf ball size to baseball size) came bouncing up the hill toward us.
We were mesmerized.
When they reached the grove, the balls of light perched in a tree creating a dazzling light show! Their energy appeared to be in constant motion within their individual spheres – a bit like hummingbird wings that flap so fast they form an illusion of a whirring ball of energy, the faery balls were alive with swirling light that radiated all around them.
After a time, during which the balls appeared to be interacting with each other, bouncing from limb to limb on the great tree, as if having an animated conversation, they began to form an orderly line that headed straight toward us.
They seemed to be looking us over from top to toe – one came so close I could see a
form (a creature?) within the swirling globe of light but couldn’t make out more than that. Close up, they were very soft pastel shades of pink, blue, silvery white, yellow light. Finally, they formed a semi-circle around us and we expected them to do the same for the bridal couple, but that didn’t happen and we felt sad for their disappointment.
But we were also giddy with excitement and gratitude for the experience. each of us made our wish silently – after that the balls of light flitted back to the tree for a while and then one by one, bounced back down the hill.
Afterward
Rev. Marian is gone now – I imagine she’s conversing in heaven with the Angel Gary and his pals! If anyone deserves heaven, it would be Marian.
Most people scoffed, needless to say, when we told the story, but a friend asked if she could visit the faeries the following year. I’m happy to report that she and her husband had a similar experience to ours and she’s as adament as I that the faeries frolic there!
So who knows…
My wish hasn’t quite come true yet, but I’m waiting eagerly and keeping the faith…
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Love this story.
Only wish I had been there with you and Dakota.
Where I live (not in North Carolina) I’m sure there are faeries, butI’m afraid they’re a bit too long in the tooth to frolic.
Charming and exhilarating tale. I believe every word as I am a believer of spirits all around us if only we were attuned to their whispers. Lights of love and hope and wishes coming true.