Land of Orgin: Ireland


Element: Earth


Appearance and Temperament: The Leprechaun is a solitary faery and a trickster who loves to play pranks on the humans he meets. He always appears as a male, and no sighting of a female Leprechaum has ever been recorded. They are always seen wearing green clothing of costly material and green tri-cornered hats. They are mischievous, but will be helpful to humans if approached with respect. They are very quick-witted unless they are drunk.


Time Most Active: All year

Lore: The most well-know of all the faery folk of Ireland is the Leprechaun. He guards a pot of gold, which is in fact a cauldron associated with the Crone Goddess. If one can gain contraol of one of these wily creatures one can have the cauldron, and three wishes along with it. The origin of this belief is rooted in Crone worship and is a symbol of spiritual attainment.

Leprechauns are shoemakers by trade, but their clientele is limited to the faery world and they only work on one shoe--never a pair.

The Leprechaun is a solitary faery who does not enjoy working with his fellow creatures and keeps to himself unless there is a party, at which time he gets very drunk and very social. There are numerous stories of persons who have accidentally come upon an open burgh and witnessed these leprechaun revels. Occasionally they feel moved to invite humans to join them. Feel free to accept their invitation, but do not drink, eat, or dance with them.

Music, dancing, fox hunting, and drinking Irish whiskey are said to be the Leprechauns' favorite pastimes. They love to dance and are attracted to the folk music of their land. Legend says that ifnyou start one dancing he cannot stop until you quit playing your tune. In this frenzied state he may gladly lead you to his crock of gold, if you will please only allow him to stop dancing. Also catching a Leprechaun's eyes and staring at him unblinkingly will give you power over him. Whatever you do, do not grab the little fellow. Remember that he is a creature of another dimension. If you grab him he will fade, still very much in your grasp, but unseen in our world. You will think you have lost him and inadvertently set him free.

But even if you are sly enough to capture this elusive faery, the lucky Leprechaun still has his ways to trick you out of both the crock of gold and the three wishes. If he can trick you into makinga fourth wish by sundown, you lose all your wishes and the crock, too. This is certainly not hard for him to do, given the propensity we humans have for wistfully voicing wishes. The poem "The Three Wishes" by Mark Shapiro tells of this legend.

I caught me a Leprechaun,
and you know what that means!
I got me three big wishes,
and I wanted so many things.
I wanted silve and I wanted gold,
and riches beyond my place,
And castles all in clover,
and love and a beautious face,
"So what it be, your wish number one?"
asked the Leprechaun all in green.
"I wish I might have beauty,
the most bewitching ever seen."
"Done!" said the green little Leprechaun,
all with a wave of his hand.
"And I wish," I said, "to have riches,
the greatest in this land."
With a flourish and a flutter they did appear,
great beauty and my gold,
And then, I wished for a lover fair,
all that my heart could hold.
Bedazzled I was when I saw him there,
my knight in armoured bob.
"Thank you, Leprechaun," I gushed with glee,
"You've done a most spendid job."
But the Leprechaun stood near me,
seeming unanxious to leave.
"I'm glad you know your mind, lass.
So many waste wishes, you see."
So enraptured I was with my bounty
that I hardly noticed when
That wee little, green little Leprechaun
began chattering away again.
"Tis a bonnie day, is it not, my lass?
Don't you wish, lass, it would bid
To stay like this all year long?"
And I replied....I did.
The little Trickster laughed with mirth,
and then my face did fall.
"The rules be, lass, if a fourth wish you make,
then you lose them all!"

To find out about the Legends of St Patrick and the Shamrock
click on the shamrock below

Thanks to Fairy Entrantress for the graphics.