The Good People: Ancient Faery Lore, Offerings & Pacts with Brandon Becker
What if everything you think you know about fairies is only a tiny—and very modern—piece of the story?
In this episode of Big Crystal Energy, I’m joined by Brandon Becker of Inside the Hollow Hills for a fascinating deep dive into Faery Craft, the Good People, and the ancient relationship between humans and the beings of the Otherworld.
Brandon’s path into this work began with an interest in megaliths, archaeoastronomy, and ancient sites across Ireland and the British Isles. But as he dug deeper, he began noticing something: again and again, these ancient places were intertwined with folklore surrounding the Good People.
That curiosity eventually became a practice—and a deeply researched exploration of what our relationship with these beings may have looked like thousands of years ago.
We talk about why the tiny, winged fairy of Victorian art is such a recent interpretation; the strange, beautiful, sometimes unsettling ways the Good People appear throughout folklore; and why Brandon describes these beings as chthonic, primal, and deeply connected to the natural world.
We also get into the part of Faery Craft that doesn't always make it onto the pretty side of social media: risk, reciprocity, boundaries, offerings, pact-making, and why working with the Good People isn't necessarily something everyone should do.
Brandon shares how his reconstructionist approach led him to research ancient ritual practices, seasonal observances, natural ritual tools, votive offerings, and the importance of understanding why we do something rather than simply repeating a practice because we read it in a book.
We also talk about:
Megaliths, fairy mounds, and entrances to the Otherworld
Why the Good People aren't necessarily the tiny winged fairies of popular culture
Glamour and the uncanny nature of encounters with the Other Crowd
Why terms like Good People and Good Neighbors are traditionally used
The chthonic and underworld associations of Faery lore
Why working with these beings requires caution and respect
Offerings, propitiation, and cultivating relationships with the Good People
Faery familiars and pact-making
The importance of establishing boundaries before entering into spiritual agreements
Working with natural and handmade ritual tools
Brandon's beautiful story of receiving a willow stang
The solstices and cross-quarter days in his reconstructed practice
His forthcoming book exploring the ancient roots of humanity's relationship with the Good People
And because apparently we couldn't have an entire conversation about the Otherworld without things getting a little weird... toward the end of our conversation, I notice what looks like a moving shadow behind Brandon.
There were no other humans in the room.
Make of that what you will. 👀
Brandon's forthcoming book is scheduled for publication through Moon Books in November 2027, and we also talk about what readers can expect from his exploration of archaeology, folklore, belief, and reconstructed practice.
Find Brandon:
Threads: Inside the Hollow Hills
YouTube: Inside the Hollow Hills
Send me questions or comments
bigcrystalenergypodcast @gmail.com
