neptunesdolphins: dolphins leaping (Default)
 Since I discovered that Brownies are Spirits of the Home, I decided to mediate on how to meet one. At first, I tried the usual forms of meditation. However outside of being refreshed, I could not envision to how contact any. Therefore, I decide to mull over what to do next.
 
As strange as it may seem, I felt a presence while I was vacuuming the living room rug. Not sure of what I was experiencing, I continued with my cleaning chores. As I was wiping out my kitchen sink, I heard a deep voice coming from behind me. “Do not forget to shine the faucets while you are at it.” Startled, I dropped my dishtowel. Whoever the voice belonged to was not of this earth.
 
While wiping down my stove, I glanced out the corner of one eye. Careful not to look directly, I saw a squat brown figure in brown rags. As I kept my focus on scouring the stove burners, I pondered what I saw. I believe that I encountered a Brownie in my home. (Being part Scottish, I was not surprised about having one in my home.)
 
I continued cleaning as if there was nothing out of the ordinary happening in my kitchen. I stuck my head into the microwave oven to wipe down the inside. The deep voice then said “I prefer listening to Frank Sinatra.” Upon hearing that, I nearly banged my head on the roof of the microwave. This whole exchange was entirely unexpected. I did have enough presence of mind, not to speak to the Brownie, who was standing in the middle of my galley kitchen. I also did not turn my head to look directly at him.
 
When I do my chores, I often enter a trance. The chores have a rhythm and focus to them that invites meditation. Since I have a set routine, I often do housework on “automatic pilot.” I remembered that Brownies expect tidiness and cleanliness. Therefore contacting one while doing the vacuuming then did seem natural.
 
Later, I reviewed what I had learned about Brownies. They have rules that the people living the house need to follow. Usually, a meeting of the minds between both parties has to happen. I could agree to keeping a neat home since they dislike messes. Another thing that I could do was to make food offerings in odd places.
 
Later I left some bread heels near the furnace closet. When I went to wash the floor, the food was gone. Then I put some cereal by the stove. That disappeared as well.
 
As for the Brownie’s preference for Frank Sinatra, I was flummoxed. There was nothing in the lore about what music Brownies liked. Somehow, I expected that Celtic music was what they preferred. A Brownie asking for the songs of Frank Sinatra was the farthest from my mind.
 
Since Sinatra was what the Brownie asked for, Sinatra, it would be. I did not want a Good Brownie go bad, and turn into a Boggart. Since I did not know which of Sinatra’s songs, the Brownie liked, I would play a variety of them.
 
Some nights later, when I was dozing off in bed, I heard a deep bass voice singing. The Brownie was crooning “Young at Heart,” “When the Wind was Green,” and “New York, New York.” The first two made sense since they concerned things that interest the Fae. However, the last song puzzled me. Perhaps the Brownie had hidden ambitions for Broadway. I was reminded that Brownies and other Fae do not conform to human notions about them.
 
Works Used:
Daimler, Morgan, “Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folks.” Moon Books: Winchester (UK). 2017.
…,” A New Dictionary of Fairies: A 21st Century Exploration of Celtic and Related Western European Fairies.” Moon Books: Winchester (UK). 2020.
…, “Pagan Portals: Fairy Witchcraft.” Moon Books: Winchester (UK). 2014.
Lecouteux, Claude, “The Tradition of Household Spirits.” (Translated by Jon Graham). Inner Traditions: Rochester (VT). 2013.
…., “Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies.” (Translated by Clare Frock). Inner Traditions: Rochester (VT). 2003.
McCoy, Edain, “A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk.” Llewellyn: Woodbury (MN). 1994.
Moorey, Teresa, “The Fairy Bible.” Sterling: New York. 2008
Sanchez, Tara, “Urban Faery Magick.” Llewellyn: Woodbury (MN). 2021
neptunesdolphins: (Panzuzu)
 Pondering what a Fae is, I researched the difference between that Being and the Roman Lar (Note 1). In “Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folk,” Morgan Daimler writes that “fairy” is a catch-all term for otherworldly beings. Teresa Moorey, in “The Fairy Bible,” classifies the Lars and Penates with House and Hearth Fairies.
 
Claude Lecouteux, the medieval scholar, describes how Brownies (Note 2) and Lars are connected. In “The Tradition of Household Spirits,” he explains that Brownies were originally Domestic Gods. They had two major duties. First, Brownies supervised the “ethics of the household” (i.e. the behaviors of the family). Second, they protected the house from both human and supernatural attack. For the Brownie to do his work, he and the household had to reach a mutual sense of understanding.
 
Delving deeper into the lore of Brownies, I find that they are one of the few Fae who prefer human habitation. Edain McCoy in “A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk,” says that Brownies want to keep the home peaceful and happy. (This fits with Lecouteux’s two duties for Brownies.) According to McCoy, Brownies are considered to be lucky to have around. If asked, they will protect the human heart.
 
McCoy says that the most benevolent Brownies are the House ones of Scotland. According to various sources, Brownies were brought to the New World by Scottish immigrants. That I can attest to since my Scottish Grammae did tell me about Brownies.
 
Daimler says that there are two species of Scottish Brownies. The Highland ones have no fingers or toes. The Lowland Brownies have no noses. McCoy details other Scottish Brownies. The Dobie is dull-witted while the Killmoulis looks after mills.
 
The lore concerning Brownies has many ambiguities. McCoy list Brownies as being world-wide under different names such as the Domovoi of Russia. Meanwhile, Moorey includes other Beings who live in homes as Faeries. My sense of Brownies is that they are to the Scots as the Lars are to the Romans.
 
In the lore collected by Daimler, a Brownie is usually referred to as “he.” Although females do exist, they are not often encountered. When a female is, she is generally rampaging against a person for harming her child or husband.
 
Traditionally, Brownies are depicted as squat brown beings. In the lore collected by Lecouteux, they wear brown rags. Do not offer a Brownie any clothing. He regards clothing to be an empty gift, since it indicates that he has to conform to human rules. Moreover, the clothing implies that the Brownie is a servant. An offended Brownie will immediately leave the home.
 
When a Brownie adopts a home, he will come unseen on a quiet night. He will clean and organize the house. If a human follows the rules that the Brownie has laid down, they will be blessed. Tara Sanchez, in “Urban Faery Magick,” writes that what makes a Brownie mad are messes. If a person regularly leaves a mess, the Brownie will trash the home. (A Bogart is a good Brownie gone bad.) To keep a Brownie happy, put out a bit of milk or bread in odd places.
 
Brownies remind me of the Roman Lars. Brownies would be as welcomed in my home as are the Lars. I make offerings to the Lars and Penates of milk and bread. Perhaps Brownies do inhabit my home since I do keep it neat and clean.
 
Notes:
Note 1. As a Roman Polytheist, I have altars to the Lars and Penates (Roman Domestic Gods). The Lars protect the family and the home, while the Penates keep the pantry full.
 
Note 2: Lecouteux in “The Tradition of Household Spirits” refers to the Fae as “Brownies.” In “Witches, Werewolves and Fairies: Shapeshifters and Astral Doubles in the Middle Ages,” he explains that “fairies” are people’s doubles.
 
Works Used:
Daimler, Morgan, “Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folks.” Moon Books: Winchester (UK). 2017.
…,” A New Dictionary of Fairies: A 21st Century Exploration of Celtic and Related Western European Fairies.” Moon Books: Winchester (UK). 2020.
…, “Pagan Portals: Fairy Witchcraft.” Moon Books: Winchester (UK). 2014.
Lecouteux, Claude, “The Tradition of Household Spirits.” (Translated by Jon Graham). Inner Traditions: Rochester (VT). 2013.
…., “Witches, Werewolves, and Fairies.” (Translated by Clare Frock). Inner Traditions: Rochester (VT). 2003.
McCoy, Edain, “A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk.” Llewellyn: Woodbury (MN). 1994.
Moorey, Teresa, “The Fairy Bible.” Sterling: New York. 2008
Sanchez, Tara, “Urban Faery Magick.” Llewellyn: Woodbury (MN). 2021
 

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