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Whenever Flavia Peters tells people her age – 50 – they often remark how much younger than that she looks.
And she believes the key to fighting ageing is fairy magic.
Ever since she was little, Flavia, of Buxton, Derbyshire, has had a strong bond with fables and folklore, saying she first saw a fairy, which looked like a “mesmerizing" flash of light, in the woodland by her home when she was just three.
Now, she has decided to use her gift to help others and holds regular workshops during which she teaches people how to connect with the fairy realm – as well as casting spells to help them with anything they are lacking in life, from luck to love.
She said: “I'm 50 now – though much older in fairy years – but people always tell me I look younger. I am sure it's because I work with fairy energy. Like me, fairies are old souls but appear much younger – I call it their fairy glamor!"
She continued: “I can see and communicate with them, and now I am on a mission to bring back some of that folklore magic of ages old to the rest of the world."
Flavia, who claims to also be able to communicate with angels, still remembers the first time she saw a fairy at just three years old.
She continued: “I was crawling along outside and got to this oak tree which had a little door in it. I peered in and saw this tiny flash of light. Even then, I was sure it was a fairy. It was mesmerizing."
After that, Flavia would regularly sneak out in the early hours of the morning to the woodland by her house to look for more magical creatures.
Sweetly, she would even leave food and treats in a bid to coax out the fairies.
She explained: “Fairies love sweet things, so I'd leave chocolate or bread dipped in honey. It's a two-way exchange – if you leave them a gift, then they will, in return, do something for you."
Flavia's prosperity spell
A spiritual child, Flavia felt an incredibly strong connection with nature, and was always exploring the great outdoors.
And initially, she did not realize that her other-worldly visions were unique, and that not everybody else could see the things she did.
Then, aged 11, a boy next door, who was a year older, came round to visit and she took him out fairy-hunting – only to be teased relentlessly.
“I showed him a fairy door I had found, and he started teasing me, saying it was silly to believe all that," she recalled. “That was the first time I realized that not everybody could see and communicate in the way I could.
“I was really embarrassed, so for years, while that connection to the fairy realm was still there, I tried to ignore it and hide it away by shutting down completely and stopped thinking magical thoughts.
“I just thought I had been stupid and so went about my life with them off my radar."
It was not until she hit her thirties that Flavia rekindled her connection with all things mythical.
Walking into a bookshop one day, she felt strangely drawn to a title about angels, and as she leafed through it, memories of the magical things she would see in the woods as a child came flooding back.
Feeling empowered, she decided to start using her gift to help others, and jetted over to Laguna Beach in California, USA, to train to become an angel therapy practitioner, a type of spiritual healer.
There, during a stroll along the sand one day, she physically saw a fairy for the first time since she was 11.
She recalled: “I saw these beautiful flowers and was wondering whether or not to smell them, when I literally heard this voice in my head saying, 'Please do.'
“I took a sniff and it was absolutely glorious. Then, I went back inside to my angel practitioner course, and someone said, 'You've got a fairy on your nose.' I could literally feel it there. It was very light and tickly. I had to be careful not to itch my nose and knock it away."
Since then, Flavia has sporadically seen, heard and felt the presence of fairies – though they do not always look the same.
She continued: “Everyone is different in the way they connect to the fairy realm. Some can hear them, some can see them and some can even feel them.
“I don't see fairies every day – they are shy, and not happy with what humans have done to the planet. But to catch a physical glimpse, it is important to go at certain times, like dawn and dusk, or certain locations like places with ancient trees."
She continued: “On camera, they look like little green orbs, but in person, they all look different, just in the same way that people look different too.
“In the past, I've seen fairies as little flashes of light, or as physical beings. I remember seeing one during a meditation session with really long legs, almost like a rag doll."
According to some folklore, fairies are the 'spirits of nature', and so do not take kindly to people who mistreat the planet.
Flavia's love spell
Similarly, Flavia has found that many of her mythical sightings come as a reward for doing something eco-minded.
She explained “Fairies really appreciate it when people are custodians of the planet. Pick up a bit of litter and they will love you.
“If you do something for them, you will get some fairy magic in return. Once, I was chasing a piece of litter around for ages as it kept getting picked up by the wind. Eventually, it landed on a silver bracelet on the ground, which I know was a gift to say thank you."
She continued: “Another time, I was cleaning up some broken glass in a park as I was worried about animals stepping on it. It took a while to do, and when I finished, I looked over to a tree nearby and a leprechaun had materialized, looking exactly as they do in books, with little green tights.
“I was so excited – it's not the sort of thing you expect to see every day."
As well as her fairy workshops, Flavia works as a speaker, crystal healer and also holds angel card reading sessions, which are similar to tarot cards.
“People come to me with all sorts of problems, so I will help them by doing angel card readings, incantations and spells," she explained. “I also look into their past life to see if there is a connection with fairies already there.
“I believe that's why we have so many young people are passionate about the environment now – because they have that past connection with fairies, who are guardians of nature."
Surrounding herself with like-minded people, Flavia – who was married for 12 years to a husband who she says was very supportive of her beliefs – does not encounter many skeptics, though understands not everybody believes in the mystical world.
She continued: “A lot of people struggle with the thought of fairies because they have been brought up to think they only live in the imagination. So I tend not to tell people straight away, as I know that people can be a bit put off and so I only really discuss it with people I'm close to.
“But the less people believe in fairies, the less energy there is for them to thrive and live off.
“Children are very open-hearted and don't have the cynicism that adults have and can be much more open to the idea – if I'd had children we'd have been out in the woods searching for fairies."
Still, she is determined to succeed in her mission to bring some folklore magic into the 21st century, and said that she owes everything in her life so far – like in her career and relationships – to her fairy guides.
She concluded: “Everybody has the ability to connect to the fairy realm, but there are so many distractions these days that we don't always realize it. With everyone constantly on their phones, they aren't in the moment and there is a lot they don't notice.
“At one time, everybody believed in fairies. Ancient folklore is full of stories about how they are the guardians of nature, and as such, people would be quite fearful of them, making sure they left out gifts or asked permissions before walking through meadows and so on."
Flavia concluded: “It's not the same world now, and so that fairy magic has dwindled a little, but I am on a mission to bring it back. Some people may think I sound crazy and ridiculous, but I genuinely believe I owe every positive in my life to my fairy guides.
“We are taught at school to use our brains and answer questions at the drop of a hat, but we aren't taught about using our hearts and giving ourselves space to stop and think, which I try to do in my workshops.
“Everyone has that magical connection there – it's just about opening your mind up to it."