Exclusive:
Former punk rocker Karen Kay says she’s been able to see the winged mythical creatures since she was a child – and she doesn’t care if people call her delusional
A self-confessed “fairy whisperer”, who has been able to see the mythical beings since she was a child, says she’s also in touch with other fabled creatures including mermaids. In fact, Karen Kay, 60, from Truro, Cornwall, gets close to them with a ritual bath where she adds a handful of sand to the tub, before placing mermaid figurines, soaps, shells and candles around her.
“I’ll have ocean waves playing in the background, dim the lights and close my eyes,” she said. “I drift off and sometimes it literally feels like I’ve got a tail, it can feel so powerful.” But she’s far from alone, Karen is part of an international community who believe in fairies, and gather at fairy festivals to dress up, swap stories and listen to alternative music.
Karen first discovered her connection to the elemental kingdom as a little girl. “Fairies are connected with children, who have their eyes open, they’re untarnished, and ever since then, when I was just four or five years old, I’ve not just been a believer, it’s become my life.”
Her focus changed during her teens and 20s however. “I had a brief rebel period when I dropped out of school at 16 and joined various bands in London, gigging everywhere, and living the life of an old-school punk rocker. “I was always a bit alternative, whatever I did but even then, I dressed as a goth fairy, with black wings and tutus, and had my first fairy tattoo done.”
She was even a punk model and photos of her with bright red spiky hair were splashed over postcards sold all over London during the Eighties. But when she was 25, another musician convinced her to jump in his van and join him in the west country. “Cornwall is perfect for me,” says Karen, who sees fairies as tiny points of light.
“Fairies are the guardians of living things like trees and plants, so I’ll sit in a wood and meditate for a few hours most days, and see the usual little lights.”
But she admits she was concerned that the lights might be a sign of a visual issue so she went to the optician to have her eyes tested. Fortunately they found she has 20-20 vision. Karen admits she’s only seen fairies in their “full form” with bodies, twice, but she says that not everyone will see fairies in the same way.
“They present to the seer in a way that works for them,” she said. “They can shape-shift, but you’re more likely to see them at ‘liminal’ times, like solstices, May Day or Halloween, which we call ‘Samhaim’ in pagan. About 15 years ago, I was driving back from the supermarket on the A30 and saw the legs of a giant fairy – I slowed down and saw it was as big as the huge oak tree there, and realised the fairy was the tree’s guardian.”
But she’s not alone in her beliefs. In 2007, the mum-of-two founded a fairy magazine called FAE – Fairies And Enchantment and she launched The Fairy Ball, now held annually in Glastonbury. I wanted to create an event that felt like a fairyland nightclub for adults,” she said. “It’s a safe space for people to dress up and just have fun, there were hundreds of other people who felt the same, and it sold out.”
She’s also behind the Three Wishes Fairy Festival, where a thousand fairy-loving revellers, some coming from as far as Australia and the US, rock up every year for the three-day event to talk about fairies, dress up in costumes and listen to new age music. Karen thinks there is a link between fairies and people who eat plant-based diets and care about the environment.
“I do believe the fairies are in favour of appearing to those who have a harmonious life, who take only what is necessary for them to live from the world, due to the fact that they are earth beings who are pro-active in defending the natural world.” Karen says she connects with the supernatural beings through an outdoors ritual. “I’ll have a fairy bath with rose petals and organic, earthy type things around to invoke that energy – the best place is to get out into nature and connect with them.”
She is undeterred by doubters. “I’m not here to make people believe in anything, for me it’s about knowing. People can say I’m delusional but there’s no reason why we must leave magic behind when we grow up. “I think people in general like to feel like they’re in control. Things like this can scare them because it’s stuff they can’t fathom. Why would there be fairies, mermaids and aliens?
“Society makes you feel like you’ve got to grow out of this. I get people contacting me all the time saying they can’t tell their families about their fairy beliefs. My family totally accepts what I do. One of my sons is a pilot and doesn’t believe in fairies, but he believes that I believe and he’s very supportive of me. My other son is a bit more spiritually open, he kind of knows that other beings exist too. I have found my calling and now that I’m in my ‘queen-age’ years – I’m a fairy queenager.”
Fairy Whispering: 111 Magical Practices for Connecting With Fairies, £11.99, is available at amazon.co.uk
