How Far Back in History Do Elves and the "Elven Faith" Go?

  (Zardoa with faerie on his left shoulder)

".... 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 and the elven elementals 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

Click Here to go to our introductory page on The Silver Elves  . . .  Elves in Paradise  

See all 45+ of the Silver Elves books on The Elven Way on Amazon US here:

https://www.amazon.com/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

and on Amazon UK here:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

 

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.

We invite you to visit our Author page on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1490695829&sr=8-3



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.

Elf Witches of the Mystic Moon

https://www.facebook.com/groups/806583242768352

Elven Life and Magic

https://www.facebook.com/groups/629491797123886

Elvish Magical Chat

https://www.facebook.com/groups/307775362744491

The Faerie Circle

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1025483294180077

The Elven Way and Friends

https://www.facebook.com/groups/165938637423212 

United Otherkin Alliance:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/328253710566869

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!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/328253710566869

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). 

How Do Elven Communities Govern Themselves? Do They Have Kings and Queens?

"In our own experience, the elves we have known who have had communities,
even temporary ones, and most are temporary,
have sought to create a sort of consensus for decision making."

     Traditionally, elves are viewed in stories as having kings and queens, and this is the case even in modern stories, including urban fantasies about elves and fae folk. The reason for this is primarily, we believe, because most folks that wrote about us in the past were not elven and imagined our world was just a more magical version of their own world. They lived in kingdoms or queendoms and imagined that we did the same.

     More modern writers tend to base their stories about us upon the tales of the past. They take ancient lore and rework it, although in some cases they just put a new mask upon it, and so accept the idea that our communities are a form of monarchy because that’s what traditional lore says. And surely there is no great harm in this and it is perfectly understandable. It is not easy to imagine what an elven form of government really is like, particularly when you are basing it upon the world around you. The reader may wish to check out our book on how the realms of elfin are governed,  The United States of Elfin:Imagining a More Elven Style of Government, to see our more elaborate thoughts on this matter (once you have clicked on the link to our website book page, please scroll down for an excerpt from Chapter One of this book).

     Certainly, these elves, having been raised in a democracy are more inclined toward that form of government, a republic, really, but there is surely no reason why elves couldn’t have a kingdom or queendom if that was their desire. We’ve certainly heard from numerous elves throughout our forty plus years journey through these lands in our current incarnation, who are eager to claim to be a king or queen of Elfin. Usually, these are the least suited to that position, but we honor their aspiration and where possible do whatever we can to help them become truly worthy of such titles.

     We’ve even encountered those, although this is rare, who were eager to have a king or queen to rule them. And that is surely their right, although our own feeling was that there was at least of bit of S&M to this desire. Not that we’re judging, mind you. To each their own, as we elves say.

     In our own experience, the elves we have known who have had communities, even temporary ones, and most are temporary, have sought to create a sort of consensus for decision making. However, the power of personality still had its affect on the situation and there were often various power blocks, this elf allying with that, in order to sway what was going on. But the larger the community gets, the less consensus seems a workable process.

     However, what is important and what is vital is that whatever form of government elves choose, it is a matter of choice and that the rights of all individuals, the majority, the minorities (and elven groups tend to be nothing but minorities of various kinds of elves and elfae, anyway) and every individual is protected. Everyone has the right among the elves to choose their form of government, their religion and even their mode of dress and fashion. This does not include, however, the right to force others to be as we think they should be.

     Without that, without the choice to be ones’elf and to live in the community of one’s choosing, we might as well be men or some other less savory sorts of individuals and would surely, in time, lose our essential elfinness no matter how pointed our ears might be, how beautiful we may appear in the world or how much we choose to wear traditional elven garb.

Kyela, 

The Silver Elves

Click Here to go to our introductory page on The Silver Elves  . . .  Elves in Paradise 

"We elfin do not understand the concept of Kings and Queens as it is perceived by most folk. To we elves, a king is someone who donates everything they have for the sake of the people. So you must be very careful of what you claim around the elven or we will be showing up at your door continually, expecting to be invited to dinner."
—from Elf Quotes: A Collection of Over 1000 Ancient Elven Sayings and Wise Elfin Koans by The Silver Elves About Magic and The Elven Way
 

If you enjoyed this blog article and would like to read more on elven community government, we invite you to read our book The United States of Elfin: Imaging a More Elven Style of Government. It is based on the Thirteen Treasures of the Ancient Britons, but with an elven twist that gives us a unique and delightful perspective. These treasures are explained in the book to be very similar to the four treasures of Tuatha De Danaan, the faerie folk of Ireland, and when followed give us a clear path to a government that serves the needs of all its people. The United States of Elfin is a must read for all students of history and government, as well as for all fae folk who are endeavoring to participate and develop an elven community and would like some guidance in the governance of a truly elven community. It is a comprehensive and unique book in that it combines political science and philosophy into both a historical and spiritual perspective of better governments throughout the world.

 

The United States of Elfin: Imaging a More Elven Style of Government.

Excerpt from Chapter One of The United States of Elfin:

"Most stories about elves and faeries, both ancient and modern, picture our cultures as being monarchies. In old stories this is probably due to the fact that the writers themselves lived in monarchies or constitutional monarchies. In modern stories, this may have much to do with the reality that most writers of today base their ideas of elves upon ancient faery lore and tales rather than conceiving our culture in new ways. In some cases, these faerie worlds are pictured as benevolent monarchies; in others they are less so. Quite often there is a conflict between the various elven realms such as in Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner, although this would not rate as one of our favorite books. But also frequently these conflicts reflect the ancient ideas of the conflict and war between the Winter and Summer Courts of Faerie, the ancient strife between the Holly King (Alferian Gwydion MacLir in his book Wandlore suggests this should be Holly Queen and we are quite inclined to agree with him) and the Oak King and between the Unseelie and Seelie Faerie courts. The number of books that represent Elfin Faerie as monarchies are too numerous to mention here, however, some of our favorites are Marie Brennan’s Onyx Court series. But this tendency can also be seen in Melissa Mar’s faerie books, Holly Black’s wonderful faerie novels, Emma Bull’s great War for the Oaks and even in some of the Dresden Files novels.

There is no reason, however, to suppose that elfin faerie societies are strictly monarchal, or that even if that had been so in the past that they would necessarily be so in the present or the future. Elven and Faerie folk, more than any other group, tend to promote evolution and change, adaptability and transformation as key elements of our culture. Nor should we suppose that every society of elves would necessarily organize thems’elves in the same fashion. We can expect variation and variety among the elfae (elves and faerie folk) even more than we can among normal humans since we tend to be unique and eccentric as individuals and that eccentricity is reflected in our families, governments and social organizations...."

Also, we welcome you to come join us on Facebook under Zardoa's birth name Michael J. Love (silver elves) and Martha Char Love (Silver Flame).

We invite you to visit our Author page on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3?qid=1490695829&sr=8-3 

 

Are We Born Elves?

"We are elves because we choose to be elves and we choose to be elves because of who we are, because Elfin calls to us, because, quite often, we have been pursuing this path in various forms from one lifetime to another."

Are We Born to Be Elves?

      The answer is yes, but not in the way that many folks would think. This question is similar to the one about being genetically elven, and as we’ve said (see our article on our Wordpress Silver Elves Blog site titled "Is Being An Elf a Matter of Blood of Genetic Heritage?"), while some folks may be descendants of those upon whom the tales of elves are often based, not everyone from that genetic line chooses to pursue the Elven Way (in fact very few do) and not all those who pursue the Path of the Elfin are from that genetic heritage nor need to be.

     But the question: are we born elves? is really a slightly different question. And we say yes, we are born elves not because of our genetic heritage but due to our spiritual heritage. We are elves because we choose to be elves and we choose to be elves because of who we are, because Elfin calls to us, because, quite often, we have been pursuing this path in various forms from one lifetime to another. We may not have called ours’elves elves. We may have called ours’elves star children or some other name but the reality of our being is the same.

     And it doesn’t matter what our ancestors believed or how they acted as individuals. It doesn’t matter if they thought themselves elves or not, or even bothered to even consider the idea. What matters is that it calls to our own hearts and minds. And why does it do so? Because we are elves. Because this is what moves us, brings us joy, enlightens our minds, awakens our spirits and nurtures our souls. We were born to be elven and we sing the praises of the Divine Magic, of the stars of Elfin that this is so.

     Our elven ancestors may or may not have been our genetic ancestors but they are most assuredly our spiritual ancestors and in the realms of Elfin, those wondrous realms of spirit and magic, this is what really matters.

So if elves are born elven, are orcs born to be orcs as well?

  

      We must say that the answer to this question is both yes and no. If we consider orcs, goblins and grimlens from the point of view that is expressed in so many stories that these individuals often seek to foster wickedness in the world, then we’d have to say no, they were not born to do so. Rather they are raised or reared (and we do mean reared and beaten) to do so. Just as abusers have often been abused as individuals, so do some individuals become orc-like, or goblin-like, or grimlen-like because of the abuse they’re suffered or the way they have been reared/abused.

     Certainly, this was Tolkien’s opinion when he stated that orcs were elves that had been tortured until they became orcs. And surely and unfortunately this is the fate of far too many innocent children who would grow up to be quite lovely and loving (elfin) beings if it weren’t for the fact that they are brutalized by their parents or others, by the often cruel nature of the world as some folks have created it and insist upon it being. They are raised by those who are always trying to toughen them up for the harsh world they will encounter as they grow up.

     And surely there is some karmic link or lesson that is involved with this as well. We choose our incarnation although some individuals are so desperate to be reborn they don’t bother to read the fine print, so to speak, of the body and life they choose. But what we need ask ours’elves is if orcs, grimlens and goblins have to be the cruel and wicked to be orcs and so forth. Do you have to be evil or part of a conspiracy to take over the world and force your beliefs on others to be a grimlen? Is there no positive outlet for the orc?

Can a person be a good person, and intelligent, educated and kind individual and still be an orc? Well, really that is for the orcs, goblins and grimlens to decide for their own selves. It is not our place as elves to define what it means to be an orc or any other kind of being. We are doing well in attempting to define our own s’elves and live up to those definitions. And we certainly are not inclined to allow others to decide for us what constitutes our elven nature. We elfin, for our part, believe in the possibility, even the inevitability of evolutionary development and trust that someday orcs, grimlens, goblins and other Unseelie will be our friends as well as being, as they are, our fae cousins. That is surely our hope for them and for the world.

Kyela,
The Silver Elves

Click Here to go to our introductory page on The Silver Elves  . . .  Elves in Paradise  

See all our 45+ books on The Elven Way on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/The-Silver-Elves/e/B0070R8ER2/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

And to help you with your Elven magic:

THE ELEMENTS OF ELVEN MAGIC: A New View of Calling theElementals Based Upon the Periodic Table of Elements is a book to use for summoning and evoking elements to help you in your life and magic. Taking a new look at the idea of the elements and the elementals, we Silver Elves have once again merged the reality of Science, which is Nature, and Occult tradition and have introduced the elements of Earth, Fire, Air and Water into the modern age of the Periodic Table of Elements. It is a new and original view of the Ways of the Ancients as expected of the Elves. We present for your consideration a new and elven way at pursuing the magical art of evocation of the Elements and the Elementals. Our wish is that it serves you well and hopefully evokes your own imagination and stirs your particular and individual style of magic

_______________________________________________________

If you are feeling elven adventuresome, you might also enjoy our Elven Tree of Life Eternal: A Magical Quest for One's True S'Elf. 

The Elven Tree of Life Eternal: A Magical Quest for One's True S'Elf is set up like a choose your own adventure book for those who wish to undertake the challenge to discover their true magical s'elves. It will help one understand if one is a wyzard or a sorcerer, a healer or a warrior, an elf of wood, snow, hill, ocean, starlight, or a sprite, a faerie, a gnome, a dwarf, a changeling, a dragon, or some other magical folk. If you wonder about your true magical nature, explore the ever-flowering branches of The Tree of Life Eternal.


And to go with the Elven Tree of Life Eternal are our short stories:

ELVEN SILVER: The Irreverent Faery Tales of Zardoa Silverstar

These are a collection of short stories by Zardoa Silverstar, one of the Silver Elves. You will find within this book a western, a detective story, parodies of popular movie and television characters, and re-imaginings of traditional fairy tales all told from an elven point of view in Zardoa’s wry irreverent pixie style. We trust you will enjoy them as much as we do.

The stories in Elven Silver were originally written to go along with the Elven Tree of Life to explore your magical being in our Elven Tree of Life Eternal. In the Elven Tree of Life Eternal, there are different types of elves and faeries that you can come out to be and the bottom has choices of what kind of magic you wield. So these stories in Elven Silver were originally written to go with those. But then we realized that it would be far too much to read on a website, so we made the stories into a book. We have also made the Elven Tree of Life into a book titled The Elven Tree of Life Eternal: A Magical Quest for One's True S'Elf, much like a choose your own adventure book, to use to explore your magical nature.

ELVEN SILVER: The Irreverent Faery Tales of Zardoa Silverstar

For those wondering . . . . this is our The Silver Elves spiritual 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).