“The veil between this world and the next is so thin. One breath separates them.”

Sylvia Plath

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Cover art by August Malmström

In a previous post I used the phrase ‘thinning of the veil’ to describe the autumn equinox in the context of fairies, ancestors and liminal times of the year. Over time, I have found that it is one of the more divisive phrases within fairy studies, even though it is used extensively to describe the division of the earthly realm and the fairy realm. I think that I understand why some people don’t like it, but as a visual description, I feel it conveys the separation quite well.

To be very honest, there really doesn’t seem to be a consensus as to what this term should mean in the first place. It’s not an ancient description so there’s no historical precedent to solely support one side or the other when it comes to today’s contextual usage, really. Some researchers favour it generally describing a dividing dimensional marker between worlds, and others advocate for a more psychological or consciousness-based explanation. There are also those who do not think the term ‘veil’ is helpful, full stop, as there is, in their view, no separation between the fairy realm and that of the human world in the first place.

Looking at the examples of those who have encountered the good people, a person could make a strong argument for any of the above theories. In this following account from Irish folklore there is a definite physicality to the way the fairies separate those who have trespassed onto their territory. Not only do they draw down a thick mist to make the humans lose their bearings, but a stone wall appears out of nowhere so there is no way back until the good people have left.

“There is a field in this locality known as Knockparson where the fairies are said to dwell. On several occasions people went there after nightfall to gather mushrooms. When they entered the field a great thick mist seemed to fall everywhere. When they tried to get out of the field they found it surrounded by a great stone wall. The persons inside in the field had to remain there until morning. As soon as daybreak came the mist suddenly cleared and people could get away.”
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428156/4382392/4452321

Of course, the euphemism of a veil is as much to do with perception as it is to do with boundaries. The concept of a veil hiding something profound is an ancient one. One explanation is that it refers to archaic Goddess mysteries and, indeed, looking at the overlap between fairy-type beings and their queens this makes quite a bit of sense. In European tradition Diana is a good example of this. Later 19th century occultists would use the veil as a metaphor in their rites and initiations. The context was the same: the veil represented the separation between worlds and only when it was lifted could a person realise the full depth and transcendence of the higher consciousness realms.

When it comes to fairy studies there are also highly personal interpretations of what the veil is and is not. For some who claim to see and interact with fairies there is no veil at all. This is not really borne out by traditional Irish lore although let me say that I am someone who accepts contemporary encounters as being just as important as older accounts. One specific aspect of Irish fairy-lore which tends to divide those who are prepared to take it seriously is the physical versus non-physical attributes of the encounters in the first place. I understand this in some ways. By attributing sights and interactions to altered states of consciousness we can then address the phenomenon without having to believe it really happened.

The theory that the veil may occupy the same time and space but remain unseen is also something which Irish folklore tells us in its own way. We are warned that the good people may be standing next to us or passing by and we will not know it. This may refer to their human-like characteristics making them indistinguishable from us as well as potentially hinting at some dimensional blind-spot existing parallel to our own world.

Sometimes the veil seems strangely specific in terms of location, seeming to open and close like invisible windows to another dimension. Andrew Lang, in his introduction to The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies by Robert Kirk (1691) recounts an anecdote about a woman who declared that a number of the gentle people (Sleagh Maith) “occasionally frequented her house; that they often conversed with her, one of them putting its hands on her eyes during the time, which hands she had, to be about the size of those of a child of four or five years of age.” The family were “worn down” with these visits, and from the mention of touches of hands. Even the most ardent argument for fairy encounters being insubstantial and merely altered psychological states becomes difficult to sustain when there are multiple witnesses.

So, to repeat a question I asked recently, why does it sometimes seem that people could more easily experience crossing the threshold of a veil at sacred sites in the past and why was there no question that they were ‘real’? In my view, complex rituals and preparation often create a biological neutral state, a toxic clearance which was normal for people up to less than 100 years ago. Going even further back, a person was much more in sync with their natural environment. We felt stronger effects of the moon and stars, we were more in tune with the cycle of nature, we had less pollution, less distraction. In fact, people were in a constant state of ritual preparedness which might lead to a spontaneous reception at sacred places.

Term aside, then, ‘the veil’ takes on properties which allow it, and those who dwell within and as a part of it, to live outside of time as human beings currently understand it. In fact, this has always been a gift of fairies in the first place. Although altered states, or the veil, may well act as a gateway for these encounters, the overwhelming folkloric record of every culture describes something affecting and physical emanating from beyond it. Ultimately, the veil may continue to have many meanings for those invested in deep fairy exploration but as a phenomenon it will also continue to beg even more questions.

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