Spirits and fae; telling the difference or is there one?

[RyukaAscendant]

So I've read some on the difference between spirits, ghosts, and shadow entities as well as had encounters with them. My question is where do fae fit into everything? I've experienced hauntings of a couple kinds, been attacked by spirits of unknown kind, and currently have a shadow living in my attic. But have no clue how to recognize whether I've encountered fae or if that's what the shadow is.

[Heartsong]

In my personal experience, faeries or nature spirits, have a more earthy feel to them than other entities. When they're around, I'm very much reminded of natural things like the elements or trees or grass or a field. That can be a good feeling, like sitting under a tree on a sunny day, or a bad feeling like standing waist-deep in rancid swamp water. Pleasant or unpleasant, it's still part of the earth and its rhythms, if that makes sense. Other spirits don't inspire that sense, not to me at least.

[RyukaAscendant]

Unfortunately I've never encountered that I guess. I used to spend lots of time outdoors but the closest I've gotten was talking with Gaia.

[Lord_of_Nightmares]

Fae are just a type of spirit. For unknown spirits I like the Japanese term "yokai" which has no English equivalent. It's a term for mysterious, strange phenomena and spirits.

It could also be a minor asura. They're spirits that prey on people's negative energy from negative emotions. They tend to like to cause chaos and suffering.

[RyukaAscendant]

I never had a name for them but asura are pretty typical for what I deal with. Most of my family have issues with depression and anxiety, including myself. I've had some pretty rude awakenings and also learned to use my chi to drive them out early in my life.

[Bychan Wulf]

and currently have a shadow living in my attic. But have no clue how to recognize whether I've encountered fae or if that's what the shadow is.

I have the same problem with a shadow I keep seing behind me all the time....still no idea what it is, but it feels protective

[SpiritTalker]

This may be an obvious thing, but Fae in general look different from human spirits/ghosts. They do have that earth-connection as Heartsong mentioned, and even though they may look humanoid, they also resemble the bit of earth from which they spring. At least the one's I've seen, as example, a Tree-Fae will have some kind of resemblance to trees or something of a tree attached to them, or actually be attached to the tree itself. Resemblance is not a hard a rule, just a general indication. Exceptions abound. My experience is limited.

The few human spirits I've seen well, looked like themselves as they were when living, with varying density. You know you are looking at a human person. A dogs spirit looks like the dog...I've only seen 2 dogs and knew them. Then there are orbs??!? My cats chased one from front to back door. We all saw it. A human spirit would be most likely to use the doors, huh?

Blasted shadows...I dunno, so far I've seen a human head/torso shape that just seems to stand and watch. If i acknowledge it, it disappears. My unprovable theory is they are between dimensions.

[RyukaAscendant]

The shadow that lives in my house has been seen dancing around oddly enough. And I've experienced some non humanoid spirits as well one of which was particularly aggressive but did not resemble any animal I know of. It was almost chimeric in appearance.

[Bychan Wulf]

Blasted shadows...I dunno, so far I've seen a human head/torso shape that just seems to stand and watch. If i acknowledge it, it disappears. My unprovable theory is they are between dimensions.

That's what drives both my cat and my dog crazy. The dog barks and shivers...he is definitely scared. And the cat, hides her ears, makes big eyes, looks at me and meows like saying: " you see that too, right?"

[SnowCat]

We had a team building exercise in the park across from the office summer before last. I saw the dryads watching us from their trees. They weren't sure what we were doing. I wasn't either, but it was a chance to have a beer on company time.

Snow

[Yex]

Snowcat, I laughed out loud.

I also chuckled at this, because it really resonated with me:

Then there are orbs??!?

But yeah, OP: My understanding of it is that "spirits" are a pretty big umbrella term. Ultimately everything is derived from uppercase Spirit, so the lowercase spirits are just beings that lack a physical form. Fae are, then, a type of spirit As far as fae go, everything that's been said is pretty good. I'd add that fae have a specific vibe to them, a sort of mischievous feeling. You can get a better sense of that from reading folklore.

[RyukaAscendant]

I've read quite a bit of the Irish Tuatha which some claim to be fae. But the feeling I get is that they are more godlike ancestors than the mischievous fae people talk of.