7. Masks We Wear, Roles We Play
Every faerie carries many faces. Some are worn lightly, others cling tightly. In Faerie culture, we recognize that masks and roles are not illusions to be discarded, but tools to be played with consciously.
Masks as expression
Costumes, makeup, wigs, feathers, glitter — these are not mere decorations. They are invitations to embody different aspects of ourselves. When a faerie steps into drag, adorns their body, or takes on a playful persona, they are exploring archetypes that live within us all. The mask does not hide the self — it reveals another facet of it.
Roles in community
At gatherings, certain roles naturally emerge: cooks, firekeepers, facilitators, healers, performers, caretakers, tricksters. None of these are fixed positions. A person may be a kitchen witch one day and a priestess of ritual the next. Roles are fluid, shifting with energy, desire, and need.
Archetypes as mirrors
Beyond daily roles, we also embody deeper archetypes: the Trickster, the Healer, the Mystic, the Fool, the Lover, the Elder, the Child. These archetypes help us understand ourselves and each other. When someone plays the Trickster, they may be teaching us not to take ourselves too seriously. When someone embodies the Elder, they may be anchoring wisdom. Archetypes are not boxes but mirrors — they reflect aspects of the collective psyche.
The Drama Triangle
In community, we sometimes slip into unconscious roles of the Drama Triangle: Victim, Persecutor, Rescuer. These roles create cycles of blame, control, and dependency. They are common because they are familiar, but they keep us trapped in patterns of suffering.
The Empowerment Triangle
The invitation is to transform the Drama Triangle into the Empowerment Triangle. Here, the Victim becomes the Creator, the Persecutor becomes the Challenger, and the Rescuer becomes the Supporter.–
- The Creator takes responsibility for their own path.
– - The Challenger provokes growth without shaming.
– - The Supporter offers presence without taking over.
By shifting roles, we transmute drama into empowerment, conflict into learning, and projection into self-awareness.
Role fluidity
The key is not to eliminate roles, but to remain conscious of them. We can step in and out, wear the mask lightly, and notice when we are stuck. A faerie gathering is a theater where roles are explored, but not fixed.
Freedom through play
When we honor masks and roles as tools of exploration, we free ourselves from the weight of identity. We can be many things — fierce drag queen, gentle healer, mischievous clown — without being reduced to any of them. In this freedom, authenticity is not the absence of masks, but the dance between them.
Oracle message from the Radical Faeries Egregore
You are many masks, many mirrors.
Do not cling to one face, for it will become a prison.
Do not fear the mask, for it can reveal as much as it conceals.When you play Victim, Rescuer, or Persecutor, know that you are dreaming an old dream.
Wake, and shift. Creator. Supporter. Challenger.
This is the new dream.You are Trickster and Mystic, Fool and Lover, Child and Elder.
Wear them lightly. Dance among them.
For the truth of you is not one mask, but the freedom to become many.