Faery Water of Wisdom

From the hands of the White Lady of the Faery Well pour the wise waters of Faeryland, sweeter than the finest human wine, smelling of honey and sun-baked earth.  Faery spirits have always been associated with wells and springs, mediating the healing properties of water and bringing hidden natural knowledge of the earth to light.

  This bright queen pours forth an endless flow of sparkling purity while surrounded by the faeries who cure various physical complaints -- arthritis, skin disorders, gout -- and a wart faery in very ill temper.    Faery wells and sacred springs were considered potent sources of healing by ancient peoples all around the world.  Here in the west of England, the old wells buried in the Cornish countryside and the famous Chalice Well at Glastonbury (where the Holy Grail is said to be hidden) are visited to this very day by those seeking cures and blessings.  Pins (often bent) were traditional offerings thrown by pilgrims into holy wells -- a custom echoed by the modern practice of throwing coins into wishing wells.  Rags were tied to nearby trees by those seeking cures for disease or barrenness: as the rag disintegrated in the wind and rain, so, too, would troubles fade away.

     Of all of the numerous illness said to be cured by sacred water, the most common one was eye complaints.  Many votive plaster casts or gold replicas of eyes have been found at the bottom of old wells -- some of which were known as eye wells and faery pools were once renowned as sites of prophecy.  The movement of water, or fish in the depths, or the pattern of light and leaves on the surface were all ancient means of divination in England and other lands.  At special sites known as woe waters, the flow of springs, or lack of it, warned people of war, famine, and other trouble ahead.  The Fountain of Youth can be found in legends all around the world; in Japan it is guarded by faerylike creature called Chrysanthemum Boy, while in Spain it is under protection of the xanas, the fountain faeries.

     As we rinse our eyes in the faery well, we open up the eyes of the soul to see clearly and clairvoyantly into other levels of consciousness.  The bright queen invites us to drink deeply of the water of Faery, as wisdom flows from the depths of the earth through the White Lady's nurturing hands.