best for REAL LIFE
‘As the
fairies told
me, you
only see if
you believe’
WORDS:SARAHWHITELEY^SEE^KAREN’SWEBSITE:^ KARENKAY.CO.UK^PICTURES:DANNIELLAJAINE.COM,^ ©ILLUSTRATEDBY^GINGERKELLY,^ ©L+R^EDITEDBY^TYTANIAFAIRYeither – I’d still wear fairy
wings on stage with the punk
girl group I’d joined, and my
first tattoo was of Tinker Bell.
When I moved to Cornwall
with a boyfriend in the mid-
80s, fairies started to play a
more prominent role in my
life – speaking to me, giving
me messages.
By now, I understood they
were protectors of nature
and the land, so sometimes,
they’d simply point out a piece
of litter and ask me to pick
it up. But, over the years, the
messages became stronger,
more meaningful.
I had two boys, Kailash,
now 29, and Samayan, 27,
and when I became a single
mum I got retail jobs to
support us all. But they
weren’t my passion.
So, in 1996, when my sons
were in nursery school, I
decided to host an Earth,
Health and Mystic Fair to
raise funds for the school.
Although I only had one fairy
stall, it was still completely
different to anything else that
was happening in our area- but it went down so well,
I carried on with it.
I was glad I did, because
that’s how I met my current
partner, Michael Tingle.
A Celtic artist, he turned up
to one of my fairs in 2000,
asking to hire a stall. The
attraction was instant.
We became a couple
and it wasn’t long before
I told Michael, 49, about
my connection to
fairies. Luckily, he
fairies’
didn’t simply dismiss me as
crazy. Instead, he started to
read fairy folklore.
‘Apparently, they’re at their
strongest in midsummer, at
sunset,’ he told me. ‘Let’s go
and investigate.’
So, we went to a local
woodland at dusk and waited.
‘Please show yourselves,’
I thought fervently. And, just
as the sun went down, the
field was filled with fairies,
their translucent wings
glowing in the dark night.
‘Wow,’ Michael whispered.
I couldn’t stop smiling.
I hadn’t needed proof, but
I was glad Michael had it.
Afterwards, he questioned
whether it could have been
insects we’d seen or maybe
a trick of the light. But, as the
fairies had told me before,
although some people say
seeing is believing, it’s actually
the other way round. You only
see if you believe.
As the years passed, my
fairs evolved to focus more
on fairies and, by 2006, they
prompted me to host my first
fairy ball. I was fed up of pubs
and clubs – they were too loud
and abrasive for me now. So I
asked myself, what would be
my perfect night out?
The answer was, a fairy
wonderland brought into the
human world. So that’s what
I organised. I advertised it in
local papers and put
it on the internet.And it did. Within weeks,
I met a man with some land,
complete with a music stage.
He loved the idea of my fairy
fiesta and agreed to host it.
We had music, vegetarian
food and dozens of workshops
and speakers. As I walked
around in my fairy wings and
flowing dress, I was so proud.
‘I shouldn’t have doubted
them,’ I told myself.
Since then, I haven’t – and
it’s always paid off. In June
this year, I received an email
from pop star Madonna’s
fan club, with news of a
competition to meet my
heroine. I closed my eyes
and spoke to the fairies.
‘I don’t want to be selfish
but it would mean so much for
me to win this,’ I told them.
As instructed, I wished with
all my heart, then released it
into the universe. And I was
one of 40 people selected, out
of hundreds of thousands! I
knew it was down to the fairies.
At 55, I’ve just designed a
pack of Oracle cards with a
guidebook, called Oracle Of
The Fairies, with teachings
the fairies have passed on to
me and I want to pass on to
others, to inspire, help and
heal them.
After all, if I can spread
a little bit of fairy magic into
the world, why wouldn’t I?● Oracle Of The Fairies, by
Karen Kay, illustrated by
Ginger Kelly and published
by Hay House UK, is out in
October, priced £14.99.I had no idea how well it
would go down – as far as
I knew, I was the only one
who actually believed in the
creatures. But, by the night,
the ball had sold out.
People from all around
the world were there. Some
people had seen fairies,
others had sensed them,
and all believed in them.
‘I thought I was the only
one,’ everyone exclaimed.
It was a truly magical night.
I’ve now created a fanzine,
called FA E (Fairies And
Enchantment), full of fairy
fashion, folklore and events. It
wasn’t long before a publisher
caught sight of it and wanted
to distribute it in America. My
publication spread its wings
and flew across the world.
And, for the past 12 years,
I’ve held an annual fairy
festival. At first, I was
sceptical, but the fairies
were adamant.
‘I don’t even know
where I’d hold it,’ I
told them silently.
‘Just trust us,’ they
said. ‘Announce it
and everything will
fall into place.’Fairy clan: Karen
with partner Michael
and sons Kailash
and SamayanKaren’s FAE festival
has taken wing