The Fairy Sand Project

Calling the Nature Spirits to Heal the Gulf

 

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The Vision

Soft waves rippling in sunlight, dancing towards beaches of sand so fine and white you’d think an unseen hand had overturned a cosmic sugar bowl. Sand made of crystals, that squeaks when you walk on it; sand that, when you rub your hands on it in the dark, carries the glow of baby jellyfish eggs. Feet sink into soft sand – and so does the oil that comes ashore in wave after wave, covering the pristine sand with toxic goo.

We’ve all seen the pictures, watched with horror as the oil gushes from deep in the earth and inexorably makes its way to cover beaches, infiltrate marshes, coat birds, turtles, dolphins, sentencing them to certain death. And that’s only what we can see. How much is still in the sea, mixed with even more toxic dispersants? What damage is it doing to the entire ecosystem of the Gulf? How long will it take to clean the waters again? Is that even possible?
   
No one knows the answers to those questions. Thirty years after the Ixtoc spill in the Gulf, sediment in a mangrove swamp still has gooey tar in it; oysters that used to cling to the roots have never come back.
   
It’s hard to find anyone whose heart hasn’t been torn by the devastation. For those of us who can’t shovel goo from beaches or remove oil from wildlife, watching without being able to help has been painful. We can send prayers or healing light but many of us whose hearts continue to ache, struggle to find what small pieces we might contribute to the overwhelming task ahead. Once the oil finally stops flowing, the real work will begin.
   
We at Fairy Woodland are no different. We have a deep connection to the elemental spirits who inhabit our world and for many years, we have created habitats for those nature spirits, sprites, elementals – Fairies. We build small houses made of natural materials like twigs and stone and sand for the homes and gardens of mortals who want to invite these mystical creatures to come and live with them. These miniature houses are not just craft projects – they are alchemical art, designed to engage the mythic imagination and open a gateway for communication with the life energies that inhabit forests and streams, caves, trees, flowers – all of the natural world. (For those of you interested in pursuing the subject, see "The Making of Fairy Houses"and "Fairy FAQ's"or check out our fantasy/documentary, Gateways to Faerie.
   
As the oil began coming ashore in the Florida panhandle, a young woman who lives there read our website and noticed that each of our Fairy Houses is created in a bed of sand, a “metaphysical soup� containing sand from special earth places around the planet. (You can read about it here.) She told us about her beloved special beach in Pensacola, which was being hard hit by the oil and asked if she could send us some of the sand that was still clean to add to our sand box. She thought it could help heal the beach and the ocean to have that sand be a part of fairy homes.
   
Her heart-felt impulse sparked an idea. What if we could gather sand from other waterways, from places other people loved, and add those to our sand box? We could build a special fairy house from that sand and send it to the Gulf to stick its toes in the water, bringing with it the special blessings sent by all of the people who contributed the sand. Could that really help? We decided that it certainly couldn’t hurt and was about as good as any BP plan so far. Besides, we happen to believe that love made into physical form, is powerful magic.

So we’re asking for your help. Please send us a little sand from your favorite beach. Or from the lakeshore where you first fell in love, or the river bottom where you stand to fly fish. Someplace that is special to you, that touches your heart, that is a healing place for your soul. Send your prayers, energy, love, for the Gulf and all her creatures with the sand and we’ll use it to build Fairy Houses that will go to live at the Gulf and bring all your prayers and healing energy to those waters. 

The Plan

Now – September 21, 2010: Gather a small amount of sand (1/4 cup is plenty), put into a sealed container (cloth, paper, or plastic bag, small box or envelope), label where it’s from and (optional) why the place is special to you.

Sept. 22, the Fall Equinox, (which is also a full moon) we will take all the gathered sand and do a blessing ritual here in Oregon. We’ll invite people of peace, guardians of the earth, elders, children, and indigenous peoples to participate and bring their music, drums, chants, and prayers to bless, awaken, and energize the sands.

During the following moon cycle, 5 Fairy Houses will be built in the Fairy Woodland studio, one for each of the Gulf states. They’ll be built in a ceremonial way by those whom the Fairies call for this process. We hope one house will be built by an Elder, one by a child, one by a father, one by a mother. The fifth builder is still a mystery. The houses will be blessed and the Fairies will be called to inhabit them. Then they will be sent to those in the Gulf who have come forward to be the keepers and guardians of the houses. Each house will have a journal with a list of all the places from which the sand comes and some of the comments you send us about your special place.

October 22, the full moon. The Fairy Houses will “stick their toes� in the waters of the Gulf in ritual designed and led by the local keepers of each place, connecting the prayers and love of all of those who have sent the sand with the waters that so desperately need healing. Each Fairy House will then be positioned in a place where it can see the water and where people can come and visit the house.

• Sand from as many waterways as possible, all over the world.

• Locations in each of the 5 Gulf states, near the water, where the Fairy houses can permanently stay to continue to be a gateway for the elemental spirits to bring their energies to help the waters heal.

• Guardians/keepers for the houses who are willing to lead the rituals to set them in place and keep watch over them.

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