Pixies and Fairies

They are NOT the same thing.

The legend of the pixie (also piskies, pisgies, pigsies and west country fairies) is unique to Britain, particularly concentrated in the areas of Devon, Somerset and Cornwall in southern England, suggesting a Celtic origin for the belief and the name.
Some believe them to be the earliest inhabitants of England, drawing on possible relations to the Picts. One British scholar took pixie myth seriously enough to state his belief that “pixies were evidently a smaller race, and, from the greater obscurity of the...tales about them, I believe them to have been an earlier race.”

In Devon, pixies are said to be “invisibly small, and harmless or friendly to man.” Others say they are no larger than a human hand but can change their size at will. In yet other legends and accounts they are presented as having near human stature.
They are fond of music and dancing. They dance in the shadows of the standing stones, or gambol on the edges of tumbling stream. Their bells can be heard deep in the heart of the many tors on the moor.

In Somerset, it is said that pixies and fairies are antagonists and fought a huge battle at Buckland St. Mary. The pixies were victorious and still visit the area. The fairies are said to have left after their loss.

Dartmoor tales include a passion for horses. Pixies steal horses or ponies at night, riding them across the moor for pleasure, twisting their manes to spur them on. The horses are back before dawn, leaving only the tangled ringlets in the manes as evidence.

Before the mid 19th Century pixies and fairies were taken seriously in much of Cornwall and Devon. Books devoted to the homely beliefs of the peasantry are filled with incidents of pixie manifestations.

In some areas, belief in pixies has endured into contemporary times. During the construction of Hinkley Point nuclear power station, anything that went wrong was blamed on "the Pixy," with the station being built near Wick's Barrow, an Iron Age burial mound called "Pixies Mound" by the locals.

Still, pixies' contact with "normal humans" is greatly diminished. One Cornish author by the name of Drew wrote, "The age of Pixies, like that of Chivalry, is gone. There is, perhaps, at present hardly a house they are reputed to visit. Even the fields and lanes which they formerly frequented seem to be nearly forsaken. Their music is rarely heard." If you know me, you can appreciate that sometimes I am hard to find.

Though pixies and faeries seem to have much in common, and are often viewed as interchangeable, they are two distinct species. Pixies enjoy a human origin and “partake of human nature”. They love humans, taking some for mates. Fairies, on the other hand, have origins traced to immaterial spirit forces.

Traditionally, pixies are nearly ageless and uncommonly beautiful, though there are some called "pixie" who have a distorted and strange appearance. In art they are often depicted wearing a green outfit and pointed hat. These are Victorian Era conventions and not part of the older mythology. In reality, pixies generally enjoy loose, flowing garments or go unclothed, though they are sensitive to human need for covering. They do have a weakness for bits of finery, and "pretty things" are highly prized by them.

The debate as to whether or not pixies have wings is again based on the confusion between pixies and fairies. Pixies don't have wings, although personally, I envy fairies for them!

Pixies are conscientious of their human counterparts and reward consideration and punish neglect. Some believe that pixies are natural spirits, generally benign and sometimes helpful to humans, such as helping needy widows and others with housework (which links them with other household elves such as brownies.) By their presence they bring blessings to those who are fond of them. Even within living memory, some rural families left small gifts, such as bowls of food or saucers of milk, for the pixies in order to placate them.

However, their curiosity and not-quite-mortal facets lead them to mischief. Some pixies are said to steal children. They are also known for being malicious tricksters who enjoy playing pranks on people if they feel such attentions have been earned. Sometimes pixies may confuse mortals so thoroughly that they never recover and wander aimlessly through the countryside singing or talking a mysterious language. This condition is known as being "pixie-led".

The term "pixie-led" has been transformed into the modern word pixilated, which has nothing to do with computer images at all but instead means: behaving as if mentally unbalanced, very eccentric, whimsical, prankish, bemused, intoxicated or drunk.