Tag Archives: fairy magic

Of Fair and Cunning Folk

30 Thursday Oct 2025

Posted by in Faery, Magic, Reflections

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

This weekend is the annual Occult Conference in Cardiff, run by Dragonoak Coven, this year titled: Earth, Sea, and Sky.
​
I was asked to come and share some stories about fairies to finish the day and it sent me down a research rabbit hole weaving a talk with stories from history and legend on one of my favourite topics: the relationships between cunning folk and those fairy spirits that are our neighbours and allies.

(They also have a bonus online event on 8th November with some excellent speakers! Get your tickets here!)

This weekend is the annual Occult Conference in Cardiff, run by Dragonoak Coven, this year titled: Earth, Sea, and Sky.
​
I was asked to come and share some stories about fairies to finish the day and it sent me down a research rabbit hole weaving a talk with stories from history and legend on one of my favourite topics: the relationships between cunning folk and those fairy spirits that are our neighbours and allies.

While there is no substitute for in person performance, my first draft was much longer than it should have been so I offered the long version as a work-in-progress talk for my lovely Patrons & students!

Pale green slide with brown text: "At Earth Sea and Sky conference, Cardiff, 1st Nov 2025 - Of Fair and Cunning Folk - Explore our relationships with those called fairies through time & story... with Dr Halo Quin

It also got me thinking that I’ve been writing, speaking and teaching on fairy magic for about half my life, because I have loved them for as long as I can remember. When I was small, I wanted to be a fairy when I grew up, and even then I didn’t mean tiny and sparkling… I meant magical.

Throughout history, the “cunning folk” – a term for those healers, wise-folk, and “service magicians” who have made magic for their communities – have worked closely with spirits in general, including the Fair Folk. There are stories of magical skills taught and granted, of lovers and parents, and of conjuring kings and queens.

This relationship between magicians and our Good Neighbours runs deep, and it has always been a blessing in my life that they encourage me to share.

So here are a few resources for those of you that want to dive in deeper.

FREE TALK

Green button: "on Fairies - a talk with Halo Quin"

Sign up here to access the “On Fairies” Masterclass from TEA free!

Free Talk: “On Fairies”

Faery Books

Book cover of "Your Faery Magic - discover what it means to be Fey and unlock your natural power" by Halo Quin
Your Faery Magic – A gentle introduction to exploring and building a relationship with faery spirits – my first published book!
Cover of Folktales, Faeries, and Spirits book
Folktales, Faeries, and Spirits – a practical guide to working with faeries and the spirits of nature
All That Glitters book cover
All That Glitters – Wanderings and wonderings of a changeling bard (poetry and prose to explore the land and lore of elfhame)

Courses, Classes, and Storytelling

Green forest backdrop button with white text "Folkloric Faery Magic
Self-Study Course
Button: "Monthly Faery Circles" - faery lore, magic, journeys, and sharing
Live Faery Magic Circles returning on Patreon in 2026
Screenshot of a YouTube Playlist: Storytime with the Faery Doctor by Halo Quin
Stories & Magic on YouTube

And if you miss the live talk, or want to revisit it with a longer WIP version, it’s available on my Patreon now:

Brown text on pale green saying "Of Fair and Cunning Folk" with Patreon logo in the corner
“Of Fair & Cunning Folk” talk on Patreon

And for those that want more… here’s the bibliography!

Bibliography slide: Robert Kirk, The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies, (Dover Publications. 2008) R.J. Stewart, The Living World of Faery, (Mercury Publishing, 1999) Emma Wilby, Cunning Folk & Familiar Spirits, (Sussex Academic Press, 2005) Andrew Phillip Smith, Pages from a Welsh Cunning Man’s Book, (Bardic Press, 2023) Jeremy Harte, Explore Fairy Traditions, (Explore Books, 2004) Ash William Mills, The Black Book of Isobel Gowdie, (Scottish Cunning Ways, 2021) David Rankine, “Conjurations” in The Faerie Queens, (Avalonia, 2012) Dan Harms, “Spirits at the Table”, in The Faerie Queens, (Avalonia, 2012) Harms, Peterson, & Clark, The Book of Oberon (Llewellyn, 2015) Reginald Scot, The Discoverie of Witchcraft, (Project Gutenberg, updated 2025) William Lilly, William Lilly’s History of His Life & Times, from the year 1602 to 1681, (Project Gutenberg, updated 2020) Pr. Ronald Hutton, The Witch, (Yale University Press, 2018) Nennius, Historia Britonum - Trans. J. A. Giles, (The Avalon Project, 1841) Accessed October 2025 W. Jenkyn. Thomas, The Welsh Fairy Book, (Dover Publications, 2001) Allan Boyd, Prophecies of Thomas the Rhymer, the ancient Scotch Prophet, (T. Johnson, 1828) In the National Library of Scotland Undiscovered Scotland, www.undiscoveredscotland.co.uk - Accessed October 2025

Comment below… Do you work with the Fair Folk? Why did you start?

A Spoken Word Show: Thereby Hangs a Tale

04 Saturday May 2024

Posted by in Following Delight, Reflections, Storytelling

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Find my upcoming Shows and Classes listed here
Text: Thereby Hangs a Tale - Folktale and Legend meets Shakespeare - With Milly Jackdaw & Halo Quin Book us to come to your town in 2025! Click here to enquire. Picture: Milly and Halo smiling and playing a uke and a horn in the woods.

Last Friday Milly Jackdaw and I brought our spoken word show, Thereby Hangs a Tale to Aberystwyth. We debuted this last year at the Willow Globe Theatre (during a storm!) and it is an epic piece including eight stories, extracts from Shakespeare, storytelling, acting, music, spoken word pieces, and a donkey hat.

Here’s the official description.

Thereby Hangs a Tale

Finding the Folktale Roots of Bardic Inspiration with Milly Jackdaw & Halo Quin.

Two femme, white, folk smiling, with flowered head-dresses. One playing the uke, the other blowing a horn, beneath the great arching roots of a tree.

Over the eons Shakespeare’s tales have retained their relevance, capitalising on our fascination with watching our own stories amplified that we may better understand ourselves. Could it be that Shakespeare found inspiration from some of the earliest explorations of key themes in already existing stories? Could myths and folktales have played their part? Storytellers Milly Jackdaw and Halo Quin have been uncovering tales, including some from Welsh myth, that hold tantalising hints that this may indeed be the case.

In the tradition of the great bards of old, we call Shakespeare into conversation with the folktales that shine through his work, baring the bones of stories that take us to the heart of inspiration. We unpick colourful threads from plays and tales, reweaving them in the place where traditional storytelling meets theatre.

If folktales be the food of the Bard, tell on.

There’s something really fascinating about folk stories and spirits, the way they crop up in literature, theatre, poetry, movies, and other media. As someone who loves the old tales, the spirits and divine beings in myths, legends, and wonder tales, I adore seeing how they evolve and grow with our human culture. The oral tradition continues living through the literary pages. Old Nordic Skalds’ tales live on in Marvel’s comics, King Arthur appears in folklore, French romances, and animated movies, the Faery King takes new form as Oberon in Shakespeare, and still continues his adventures to today.

Thereby Hangs a Tale is a show that explores some of these shifts, hinting at the magical traditions and oral history – and literary evolution – of some of the pieces that Shakespeare wove so deftly into his plays. I, of course, was most excited about A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest.

Spirits and magic, fairies and love. What could be better?

Next year we might include different plays and tales, so I’d love to hear in the comments – what is your favourite Shakespeare play and why? What story does it remind you of?

Praise for Thereby Hangs a Tale

An amazing blend bringing together humanity & cultures.

Truly Wonderful, Thank you!

Brilliant! Come back please!

Lovely evening – your description of the landscape, scenery, setting, & people are so evocative. Thank you x

It was utterly fantastic… Well done!

Very enjoyable – I was hanging on each word!

Book THaT here!

Upcoming Events… Check below for the next THaT & other show dates!

Halo smiling at the camera with three golden dots of clay on their forehead and tents in the background.

Magical Classes & Talks – with Halo

BABALON CIRCLE & BOOK CLUB

Live Babalon Circle – Visions of Babalon –Our monthly magical working to connect with Babalon – Monday 17th November, 8pm (UK) – online – replay included

October Book Club Topic: Babalon’s Lineage

Join the Babalon Circles & Book Club here.

Online Talk: Of Fair and Cunning Folk – Sunday 26th October, 8pm (UK) – for the “Magic & Musings” Tier on Patreon

Upcoming appearances include: Ancestral Pathways Conference (online, 31st Oct), Earth Sea & Sky Conference (Cardiff, 1st Nov), music at the Festival of the Living Rooms (online, Dec), Glastonbury Occult Conference (Glastonbury, 14th Feb)…

Enchantments – Live Classes Now on Patreon

Book Review: Fairy Queens

21 Wednesday Feb 2024

Posted by in Faery, Magic, review

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

This is a review of the Pagan Portals book: Fairy Queens by Morgan Daimler

Book Cover - Fairy Queens - Meeting the Queens of the Otherworld by Morgan Daimler - picture of a white lady with red hair in a red dress on a white horse, in front of a dark green tree.
Order Fairy Queens here

Morgan Daimler has a very different background to me, so it was fascinating to read about a few of the Irish and Scottish named Queens of Fairy.

Daimler, as ever, takes an academic starting point to tease out the threads of these powerful beings, exploring the etymology of their names – because names hold power. If we understand the meanings held in a name we can uncover the nature of the name-holder, and Daimler unpicks these tangles with skill and conciseness.

This book holds discussions of several specific Irish and Scottish Fairy Queens, including Nicnevin, Aine, Una, Mab and Titania as literary fairies, the Queen of Elfhame, and others, followed by guided meditations to meet several of them, and suggestions for how to decorate an altar to them, and offerings that each one might like.

I enjoyed the exploration of lore and legend surrounding these Queens, and the presentation of the different courts, and though I found the details of courtly hierarchy a little literal compared to my experience, I come from a different landscape and a different tradition. I did, however, very much appreciate Daimler’s sensible approach of urging manners and caution in engaging with these very real and powerful Ladies.

On a different note, the opening section also includes a thoughtful discussion on how to traverse in a magical journey if you are physically disabled and find that your disability travels with you, including the reminder that mobility aids can in themselves be spirits that travel with you, if you set things up that way.

There are many different traditions for working with the Fair Folk, and definitely different approaches to working with the Fairy Queens, (at least as many as there are Queens themselves, I suspect) and this is a great introduction to the particular Queens and relationship styles that Daimler works with, and has some excellent pointers for any interaction with the Queens of Fairy. Make space for them, mind your manners, bring a gift, and remember; they are real, powerful, wonderful, and entirely untamed. Just the way they should be.

Book Cover - Fairy Queens - Meeting the Queens of the Otherworld by Morgan Daimler - picture of a white lady with red hair in a red dress on a white horse, in front of a dark green tree.

You can order Fairy Queens by Morgan Daimler from your local indie bookshop, the usual place you get books, or directly from the publisher.

Order Fairy Queens here

(PS: Full disclosure, I’m published by Moon Books too, who sent me this to review. Find my books here.)

Folkloric Faery Magic – Online Course!

01 Monday Jul 2019

Posted by in Faery, Following Delight, Magic

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , , , , , , ,

Folkloric Course Postcard

What is Folkloric Faery magic?

Faery magic is working magic in relationship with faery spirits, who are primarily (arguably) spirits with close ties to the land and the “green” world. I’ve spent my entire life working with the Fae in one way or another, from greeting them everywhere as a child, to my current practise of prayer, honouring the Land Spirits, storytelling to share their magic, and travelling to Faeryland (in a manner often described as shamanic).

In this course I will be guiding you through some folkloric elements of faery magic so you can deepen your understanding and build your own practice in relationship with these spirits.

The six main lessons are:

  1. What is Folkloric Faery Magic? Getting Started, altars, and understandings.
  2. Opening the Way: A Foundation for working safely with the Fair Folk.
  3. Beginning On the Path: Recognising Faery Magic, making contact, and offerings.
  4. Crossing the Rivers: Magical Housework, Faery gateways, and the Beloved Dead.
  5. Entering Faeryland: Faery taboos and customs, and dreamwork.
  6. Returning Home: Finding clues to continue onwards, house spirits, and your path ahead.

How does this Online Course work? Beta Testing!

This course is delivered by email, six main lessons sent out weekly for you to work on at your own pace. For this first round I will be taking questions each week and potentially adding in new material in a variety of media – for example, I intend to send out audio recordings of the stories, weekly Q&As, and to be on hand for support via email.

Special Offer for beta testers!

Alongside the six main lessons you will receive:

  • Email Q&A – ask me questions and I’ll send out a weekly round up of questions asked by everyone on the course and my responses, advice, and recommendations for resources. This has the potential to be a huge resource for everyone as every individual brings something to the table and questions inspire new connections and information sharing of what you find important in your practice.
  • Random extra materials – audio, video, art, poetry, suggestions for creative projects… who knows! I’ll be listening to the spirits and responding to the participants so this beta testing round will be growing and expanding in new and interesting ways.
  • You get to shape the course! The main lessons are all written, but there is so much more to play with and explore. Tell me what you want from it as we go along and there’s a good chance it will appear!
  • The option to connect with others working through this in real-time. In future I will be setting this up as a home-study course so folk will be engaging at different speeds, so not only do you get my feedback and support if you join this time around, you also get to make like-minded connections and support, inspire, and encourage each other!

As you’ll be helping to improve this course and I’m excited to create it with you, but I’m going to be offering a lot more support than in future cycles, I’m going to limit this course to a maximum of 12 participants and offer it at an introductory price…

£60 (GBP) for the 6 weeks through Paypal (click here!)

Deadline for Booking: Midnight (BST), Sunday 28th July, 2019.

Course starts Monday 29th July, 2019

Your place is secured on receipt of payment. Contact me for installment plans, or alternative methods of payment.

Any Questions? Email me on haloquin (at) gmail (dot) com!

About Halo:

I’ve spent my entire life pixie led, and have been explicitly devoted to the Faery Queen for about a decade, with two decades of faery relations, magical work, and training under my belt. I’ve taught classes on working with the elements, the spirits of the land, stories old and new and many others, but my favourite classes are always those working with the Fae. It is my honour to share this work with you. My book, “Pagan Portals: Your Faery Magic” has found a home with over 1000 faery lovers and my storytelling show The Goblin Circus, born of a union between faery magic and performance, has appeared at many events across Britain, enchanting as we go. For more from me, explore this site