‘I was officiating a Pagan wedding ceremony in a small glen. We were surrounded by pine trees from the South to western part of the circle, scrub on our right with a hay field immediately beyond it. The bride was of the Fairy Tradition, the groom generic Pagan. As I started casting the circle, walking the around the participates [? around the participants?] creating a sacred space, I realized I was walking widdershines instead of clockwise. I’ve participated in thousands of rites and had never made the mistake of going in the wrong direction but it felt like I was being physically pushed in that direction. As soon as the circle was cast, I saw a shimmering in the upper branches of a pine tree in the western part of the circle. The bride saw the same thing as did I believe a couple of other people. They were small and beyond our field of sight so we couldn’t make them out clearly but there was no doubt in my mind it was fairies. We kept going with the ceremony (we didn’t collaborate and realize we shared in the experience until afterwards). As the purpose of casting the circle is to create a space separate from the world, I felt they pushed me in the other direction so they wouldn’t be cut out of the festivities. I believe they were there for the duration of the ceremony, although the shimmery quality was only visible for those few moments at the start. It was like they wanted us to know they were there but then stepped back as to not interfere or let their presence be known to the rest of the participants. The bride and I definitely saw them we talked immediately after the ritual, and recognized them for what they were. Not sure who else did. As I didn’t want people to think I was crazy, I didn’t talk about it with others.).’ ‘Small and shimmery/glittery. They were too high up in the trees to make out details.’ ‘Still not a hundred percent sure of what I saw but I believe it was fairies. Over the years, I’ve had things disappear and reappear which I sometimes blame on the fairies. What they are, I’m not sure. They were not like the pictures or descriptions in fairy tale books. They were like small balls of living light which glimmered and glittered.’
§295
Massachusetts, US
2000s
Female: Age 41-50
occasional supernatural experiences
in woodland, in open land (fields etc)
12 pm-3 pm
one to two minutes
with several other people, some of whom shared my experience
you were undertaking a repetitive task (e.g. picking blackberries), you were extremely happy
friendly, joyful
hair prickling or tingling before or during the experience, a sense that the experience was a display put on specially for you