"....
we Elven are associated with prewritten
history and the idea of Atlantis and the Land of Mu. At the same time, Fraser’s
twelve volumes of research shows that the very first spiritual practices of
people on earth were shamanistic, predating written history and religions. So
if we elves are the first people, we are shamanistic people not religious
people. Our ancient faith or spiritual practice was one in which we used magic
to affect the world, and it was later in history that priests came and
the religions of the world.
"
We are not sure who first coined the words “Elven Faith” but
the first time we heard it used was only a few months ago when Candace Apple,
owner of a fantastic esoteric store, the Phoenix and Dragon Bookstore in Atlanta, Georgia, mentioned that she was
planning in the future to have in her store a special bookshelf for “Elven
Faith.” (And by the way, if you are in Atlanta then do by all means visit this large esoteric store as we think you will agree with us that it is truly awesome and wonderous! We feel very fortunate to have many of our Silver Elves books upon its shelves!)
We certainly must
go much further back in history than the Celts to find the original Elven
Faith, and this is near impossible to do with any specifics because it predates
written history (although there certainly are many legends as well as archeological clues that we can draw upon to make some assumptions). The earliest elven spiritual practices were most likely
shamanistic in nature and predated all religious beliefs, including the Celtic
Faith, or Paganism from which much Neo-Paganism descended (although
Neo-Paganism sprung anew from ancient traditions from all over the world).
Legends show that the Celts related to the fairies and elves as being part of
the spirit world, as life and nature around them, and made offerings to them
via propitiation (see the works of Lawrence Gardner and Nicholas De Vere). The
Celts perceived the elves as a sort of force around them and called them the
“good neighbors” because they wanted to relate to them in positive ways. But
the Celts did not see themselves as elves, and instead saw themselves as a separate
race from the elves, from the Tuatha Dé Danann who they saw as a supernatural powerful
people. In a certain sense the Norse were closer to the elves or
being Elven in spirit than the Celts, because much like Tolkien does in his
fiction, the Norse believed that some of their people could become Elven by
achieving greatness.
The shamanic
faith is a faith in magic and a faith in the ability of each person to use
magic to change and affect their lives and the world around them without worshiping,
praying to, or propitiating deities (see Sir James Fraser’s The Golden Bough). In ancient Eastern spiritual practices, we also find
this elven view and understanding that we are the Creators of our own reality. For example, this is continually mentioned in The Tibetan Book of the Dead, a funerary text
that is a guide through the intermediate state (or bardo) between death and
rebirth. In it, liberation is outlined to be achieved by
recognizing our own ability as Creators and oneness with the Divine Energy. A
very Elven view indeed, particularly when understood in a magical sense!
Almost all lore that talks about faeries and
elves says we are the Eldar race, most likely the first people to arise as a
civilization. Thus we Elven are associated with pre-written history and the idea
of Atlantis and the Land of Mu. At the same time, Fraser’s twelve volumes of
research shows that the very first spiritual practices of people on earth were
shamanistic, predating written history and religions. So if we elves are the
first people, we are shamanistic people not religious people. Our early faith or spiritual practice
was one in which we used magic to affect the world, and it was later in history
that priests came and the religions of the world were created. Intermediaries with the spirit
world, the idea of Gods/Goddesses, and so forth, including Paganism, all came
later than our earliest Elven spiritual practices that where shamanistic in
nature.
Similar to the
early Elven spiritual practices, we Silver Elves can say that for us our modern Elven Way is not a religion of any sort but more kin to shamanism, to viewing
ourselves as one with Nature and the Divine Magic.
Generally, elves prefer to say that we have an Elven Way or Elven Path rather than an Elven Faith, as ours is not a religion but a spiritual path of individual development and s'Elf awareness, awakening to being an elf in a human body. The Faerie Faith essentially practices the belief in fairies and the understanding that they exist, but unlike the Elven Way, it does not practice the awareness of being a faerie oneself. While the Elven Way is not really a faith or religion and we do not worship any gods or goddesses, we do believe
in them as real energies and we have respect for all Higher Beings. We Silver
Elves do not follow Pagan traditions and ceremonies, but instead (and we do not
speak for all elves as we are a varied magical people) tend to be more
shamanistic and evoke Elven spirits of nature (see our book An Elfin Book of Spirits: Evoking the Beneficent Powers of Faerie) and
the elven elementals (see our book The Elements of Elven Magic: A New View of Calling the Elementals Based Upon the Periodic Table of Elements) as helpers/partners in our magic for
healing and enchantment.
Keldas Zet Ton Na
Tarsalunin Sol (Arvyndase for "Running wild on a moonlit night"),
Kyela (word for "love" in the beautiful elven language Arvyndase),
The Silver Elves
http://silverelves.angelfire.com
http://silverelves.angelfire.com
See all 45+ of
the Silver Elves books on The Elven Way on Amazon US here:
and on Amazon
UK here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1
What Sort of Elf, Faerie or Other Are You?
For years various kindred have asked us, the Silver Elves, to
help them figure this out. Now we've created a questionnaire to help us do so.
This is our gift to you. Simply follow the link
and the directions.
http://silverelves.angelfire.com/HAelfkin.html
and the directions.
http://silverelves.angelfire.com/HAelfkin.html
If you enjoyed this post, then you may well wish to read some of our books that cover our spirituality including our views on shamanistic practices from an Elven point of view. We suggest Liber Aelph: Words of Guidance from the Silver Elves to our Magical Children. While this book covers a multitude of subjects related to Elven magic, it also includes chapters specifically on shamanism and multiple s'elves, on journeying out of body, and on your true nature from a shamanistic and magical perspective.
The cover photo on Liber Aelph is taken by the Silver Elves of their children with Bedivere the Unicorn, who was raised by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, author of Grimoire For The Apprentice Wizard and other works on magic. Petting the unicorn is our beloved faerie sister, Annette Aiea Day,
author of The Magic of Art for
Therapy.
Also, in our book Living the Personal Myth: Making the Magic of Faerie Real in One's Own Life, more may be read on our Elven heritage, including our own descent from the Pict-Sidhe (pixies), the Merovingian Fisher Kings (the fae or fairy folk), and the Albigens, the Elven Bloodline. While we do not feel that bloodline is near as important as the spiritual component of being Elven in ones present life, we find the study of the Elven bloodline interesting. We also cover in this book the future prophesy and new mythos of elves with The Return of Faerie and The Starlight Path.
And we hope you will come to our website and enjoy reading samples of all our 40+ books on magic and enchantment and the elven way at:
http://silverelves.angelfire.com/HAelfbooks.htm
We also welcome you to come join us on Facebook under the name Michael J. Love (Zardoa of The SilverElves) and Martha Char Love (SilverFlame of The Silver Elves).
And we invite you to come join us on Facebook in some of our
Elven groups where you will find our elven-faerie-fae community interacting and
sharing the Elven Way:
The Magical Books of the Silver Elves
https://www.facebook.com/groups/539205916250397
where we have discussions about our books as well as about Elven
and Otherkin philosophy and lifestyle.
where we have discussions about our books as well as about Elven
and Otherkin philosophy and lifestyle.
Elf Witches of the Mystic Moon
Elven Life and Magic
Elvish Magical Chat
The Faerie Circle
United Otherkin Alliance:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/328253710566869
We invite you to view the table of contents and an excerpt
from one of our newest books: The Magical Realms of Elfin: Answers to Questions About Being An Elf and Following the Elven Path
THE MAGICAL REALMS OF ELFIN: Answers to Questions About Being an Elf and Following the Elven Path contains questions and answers about being elven that many people who are exploring the Elven Way have posed to The Silver Elves throughout the 40 + years that they have been living and sharing the Elven Way. The Silver Elves have put them all in this one book for all those who need a convenient, yet thorough and easy-to-read, resource to explore their questions about who the modern elves are and about the Elven Way or elven spiritual path — past, present and future. If you are curious about elves and want to learn more about modern elves and the Elven Path, then you will surely find this book to contain many of your questions answered and it will be a great comfort and help in finding your way home to the Magical Realms of Elfin.
Reach out and touch this beautiful elf star for an Elven Blessing!
We invite you to come
join the United Otherkin Alliance
open group on Facebook
where elves, faeries, dragons, kitsune, gnomes, hobbits, merkin, pixies, brownies, nymphs, driads, niaids, valkyrie, devas, and all manner of Faerie Folk gather!
where elves, faeries, dragons, kitsune, gnomes, hobbits, merkin, pixies, brownies, nymphs, driads, niaids, valkyrie, devas, and all manner of Faerie Folk gather!
For those wondering . . . . this is our The Silver Elves lineage at a glance drawn out by Zardoa Silver Star of The Silver Elves. For those viewing it, the 'vortexes' are what The Elf Queen's Daughters (EQD, 1974-1977) called their elven covens (they were elven witches), of which we were the vortex/coven named the Elves of the Southern Woodlands (see on right side). Later when the EQD disband in 1977, we began calling ours'elves the Sylvan Elves and then we changed our name to The Silver Elves when we migrated to California and began writing our Magical Elven Love Letters. We thought you might enjoy seeing this drawn out and viewing the dozen or so vortexes/elven covens of the EQD in those early times. The EQD were the first elven group in the modern times to publish articles and they also were the first of the modern elven to adopted the 7 pointed star as the elven star. How fortunate we were to be a part of this amazing group of elves and we Silver Elves are forever thankful for our elven ancestors The Elf Queen's Daughters (see our The Silver Elves books on Amazon titled Elf Magic Mail, volume 1 & also volume 2, for more on The EQD).
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.