The fair people, or little people as they were known, included banshees (from the Gaelic word for fairies, sidhe, pronounced shee) and were similar to the leprechauns of Ireland.
Many people believe that these magical sprites were driven underground by their enemies who used iron weapons against them. This is supposedly why people who belived in fairies began the tradition of placing a horseshoe above the door for luck.
But before we go any further, it's important to bear in mind that the original fairies were nothing like the sickeningly sweet version served up by Disney. The traditional fairies were free spirits who were as likely to shower gifts on people they liked as play mischievous tricks on people that they didn't. They were known to reward beauty and kindness and play nasty tricks on disrespectful people.
Over time people developed various superstitions that they believed would please the fairies and bring them luck. These included, always treating them respectfully, keeping your promises and respecting the Earth (the fairies home).
Due to their beauty, these designs are extremely popular with women. And unlike angel tattoos, which lean more towards religion and pureness, fairies are more sensual, more mischievous and ultimately, more representative of human life
Fairy tattoo designs are usually delicate and often have wings, but beyond that they can depict an almost endless range of mood and emotions such as happiness, sadness, beauty, mischievousness etc.
In terms of design, they're also extremely flexible. For example, the basic fairy design can be combined with a wide range of design features, such as Celtic patterns, butterflies, flowers, or other mythical creatures such as dragons or unicorns. Not only does this increase the chances of getting a unique tattoo it also adds greater personal meaning and symbolism to the design.
And due to the fact that they make excellent small tattoos they can be placed on virtually any part of the body. The lower back, hips and lower stomach are the most popular places for fairy designs.
However, due to the elaborate nature of these designs and the fact that they take longer to create, fairy tattoos are more expensive than other tattoos of a similar size.
So when you decide to get a fairy tattoo, make sure you have enough money to pay for the whole design regardless of how long it takes. There's nothing worse than running out of money halfway through a tattoo and having to go about with in incomplete tattoo until you can find enough money to get it finished. If you need to know how much a specific tattoo will cost, get your tattoo artist to give you an estimate.
If necessary it's possible to cut the cost of your fairy tattoo by reducing the size of your design or getting your artist to remove some of the intricate detail.
And finally, due to the detailed nature of most fairy designs, make sure that your tattoo artist has previous experience of creating this type of tattoo. If possible, take a look at the portfolio of fairy tattoos that they've already created.
