To read firsthand accounts of experiences in the Air Realms of Faerieland - please study "The Book of Air - Vol. I".
To see a wealth of videos/music/books/art specifically connected with the Air Realms: Please ClickHERE.
The Air World is that which is known as "Faerieland". It is the hidden paradise and is well guarded from the outside world. The Gate to Faerieland is in the Fire Realms and all such stories as Thomas Rhymer and the Queen of Elfland ("Elfland" being the same Faerieland) took place in the Air Realm. One must generally have a guide of some sort to help access it.
It is Hermes who stands near the borders between the two realms and who has the secret keys through which we can access the divine paradises and Edenic Gardens of Faerieland.
The Air Realms are much more confusing than the Fire Realms and can suddenly become very haphazard and bewildering. Bernard Sleigh in his "Guide to the Map" describes it thus: "Some tracks, though well trodden and seemingly familiar, yet vanish and re-appear- and vanish again in bewildering fashion,- baffling and discouraging even to the most earnest traveler."
Not surprisingly this can be a very dizzying experience - but this realm is just so beautiful and divine that your adventures there will be filled with wonder and indescribable magic.
Tales of faerie kings and queens and castles and palaces and pixies and elves have largely originated from this realm, and there are endless wonders to discover for the explorer.
Once you have passed through "Findias" (which Fiona Macleod describes as "the Gate of Eden to the South") - then you will be ready to enter these gates and travel into Faerieland. But you will need help from Hermes who can guide you - because without his assistance you will not ever be able to make it past the Seraphim guardian of the great gates with the flaming sword that turns in all directions. This is for protecting the Land of Eternal Youth.
Samael Aun Weor describes it thus: "Lucifer is the Guardian of the Door and he alone has the keys of the Lumisial (place of light) so that none other than the anointed may enter; they who possess the secret of Hermes."
The entrance to Faerieland is via the Great Gate depicted below - and from there is a huge and impenetrable barrier/fence (though near invisible - somewhat like a giant bubble), and the effect of this barrier when you approach it is like facing the opposite ends of magnets, keeping all unwanted intruders at a distance. Bernard Sleigh's "Map of Faerieland" explains that "This Greate Walle was builded of Stars by manie Elfin Emperours in Days Remote."
I describe this scene at the end of my "Book of Fire - Vol. I", which was written more than a year before having learned of the existence of Bernard Sleigh's Map to Faerieland as this: "Hermes leads me right to the large golden gate which is near in the distance and which stands between the Fire and Air worlds. The Doorway into Eden. The Land of Spring.
In front of the gate we see a large winged figure with flaming sword who does not appear to have seen us. There is a great invisible barrier that works much like the opposite ends of magnets impossibly trying to be placed together - which repels any that approach this invisible wall which extends right around the outside of the garden on either side of the golden gate. This wall can be seen through but there is an uncanny effect because certain things which can be found inside the wall are not visible from the outside even though they are near and should be able to be seen - while other aspects are visible from the outside, such as the interior fountain nearby. I'm not quite sure how or why any of this works but I am learning as I go. What can be seen from the outside is a large wide expanse of open garden, a fountain in the far center, and behind that in the distance can just be seen a large while marble-like building, but this is much more visible from within the garden on the other side of the invisible impenetrable wall."
This is clearly referring to the same location depicted on Sleigh's map and the little symbol behind the gates with a circle and a line above it is to represent a "wishing well" according to the key on the map - which is what I am describing as the "interior fountain nearby".
The seraphim is not included in front of the gate on this map either - though in some of his earlier drawings of the map he included the angel "Ariel" very near to the gate - who is said to be the very Seraphim who guards these gates, and whose name is connected with fire.
Bernard has drawn the fence as bricks with stars on them to symbolize its existence (as it would be very difficult to draw it as it really looks), but he has left one side of it invisible which extends right around the Holy Grail Mountain, past the Fire Realms and along the "river of white nymphs" where the two bridges into "Elfland" represent the Air Realms. Sometimes he has drawn pieces of it among the trees and so forth if you look closely.
The white line below represents (approx) the various landscapes that this wall guards - wherein is found the ever-changeable and shifting Air Realm or "Faerieland/Elfland".
J.R.R. Tolkien had clearly and undeniably visited Faerieland, and when writing an essay on "fairy stories" he alluded to Faerieland itself in explaining that it is: "wide and deep and high, and is filled with many things: all manner of beasts and birds are found there; shoreless seas and stars uncounted; beauty that is an enchantment, and an ever-present peril; both sorrow and joy as sharp as swords. In that land a man may (perhaps) count himself fortunate to have wandered, but its very riches and strangeness make dumb the traveller who would report it. And while he is there it is dangerous for him to ask too many questions, lest the gates shut and the keys be lost. The fairy gold too often turns to withered leaves when it is brought away."
The Air World or Faerieland also tends to have a pleasantly warm temperature - though there are some areas there with snow-capped mountains, etc. The air is most purifying, there is a lot of large green fields, mountains, castles, woods, and pools of a replenishing kind. There are indescribable levels of detail in these lands, and much dancing and song.
Most of "The Lost Enchanters" music originated from within these realms. The feeling there is quite timeless and you could easily get lost there for hundreds or thousands of years.
Not only does this realm feel light and free, but it feels very safe and protected from danger or intrusion. The definition of "peace" is truly found in this indescribably beautiful paradise.
Tolkien said "Its very riches and strangeness make dumb the traveller who would report it." and I also attempted to explain of this in "The Book of Air - Vol. I" when I wrote "the messenger leads me into the castle which is also indescribably familiar and homely to me. The detail in the initial downstairs room is beyond description, for even one small inch of the whole room could have an entire book written on just that one section due to the level of detail. There is so much detail that I am quite unable to take it all in at once, and it causes our usual physical reality to feel quite lacking in comparison. Every section of space downstairs is so filled with the most magical and indescribably intricate details..."
Onward past "Oberon's Palace" and over the hills and snow-capped mountains / rivers, etc - you eventually reach what is written on the Map of Faerieland as the "House of Sorcerers". In that building you can meet with an ancient teacher/wizard of the air world called: Esras (pronounced in this file).
There are at least three "pixie" and "elfin" locations shown on the map - from the Pixie Town found directly inside the gates, to an "Elfin Temple" and an "Elfin Citie" - and also a "Pixie Point" all the way over nearer the entrance to the Fire Realms. If there is one thing you will find out about pixies upon meeting them, it is that you will likely lose your way fast.
Pixies can produce tremendous confusion and maddening labyrinth-like pathways - though they are very fun to be around and filled with generosity, humorous trickery and wonder.
The symbol/item associated with the Air Realm is a wand/spear/staff.
Hermes with his staff of serpents (caduceus) is the ruler of Faerieland: the Air World.
He is known in the bible as the "Prince of the Powers of the Air" (Ephesians 2:2).
As explained on the page of Findias: Lugh (connected to Mercury/Hermes) was associated with the spear of Gorias. Lugh is another form of Lucifer and he stands between the worlds. He is not as we have been taught about him, but very Peter Pan-like in his energy and filled with a light and playful spirit. He is beyond knowledgeable and extremely misunderstood.
Bernard Sleigh describes Hermes using the name "Fridolene".
He describes Fridolene as being a "hermaphrodite" with "lovely twinkly eyes" and further explains that he "knows every place and fairy person you can possibly wish to see."
I asked Hermes if he is sometimes also known as "Fridolene" and he responded to me with the words: "VIVA LA VIDA". I eventually discovered that this was the name of a painting by a woman called "Frida". This was Hermes' way of confirming to me that he is indeed at times known as Frida/Fridolene. No doubt this has its own connections with Freya or Frigg (where we get the name "Friday" - which is also the day of "Venus"). Freya/Venus/Aphrodite appear to be somewhat synonymous with each other, and these (just like Lucifer), also refer to the "Morning Star".
Hermes and Aphrodite merging is where we get the term "Hermaphrodite" which is what Sleigh describes Fridolene as being. It is clear to me that Fridolene - the guardian and guide who knows every place in Faerieland is also Lucifer, who is equivalent to that of Hermes.
Fiona Macleod writes of Gorias that there are: "vast opals of white air" and that there the "sunrise lifts a cloud of shimmering wings". She also writes of the "treasures of the morn".
Viva La Vida can also reference the Coldplay song by the same title (based on the name of the painting by Frida), and the lyrics/video for this song are very Luciferean / Fallen Angel themed in their subject material and overall energy (whether the initial intention or not).
The Bible tells us that the Devil is the "Prince / Ruler of this World" - meaning the ruler of this very earth: "I used to rule the world...seas would rise when I gave the word, Now in the morning I sleep alone, sweep the streets I used to own..."
It also speaks of him "rolling the dice" - something which Hermes/Thoth invented, and that he once "held the key" before finding his castles built on pillars of salt and pillars of sand.
Bernard Sleigh tells us that: "Once your guide is secured, the tour of the island to the East of the Great Wall is a thrilling and glorious undertaking; but what you see will depend upon your sympathy with the little people and with those stronger, beautiful spirits of Greek lore and Mediaeval romance (...) Go, if you can, always in the early Spring, for then the whole land is blushing with wild roses, shimmering with golden, thornless broom, or white with wild waving lilies; the waterways are safer too, the dangerous Western currents going to sleep and leaving the quiet seas as peaceful as a mountain tarn. You will find the best routes marked out with lines, as red and fine as the silken clue that guided Theseus through his Cretan labyrinth. If you stray not from the path, you too will be as safe. And so, farewell; until that day of days when you and I may meet together there."
You can learn more about all of these themes by reading my "Book of Air - Vol. I".
Click HERE for free online resources related to the AIR WORLD.