"The Faerie Folk, by whatever name and in whatever form they may be known – fairies, elves, pixies, sprites, fawns, banshees, leprechauns, little people, etc. – can be said to be symbols, ‘manifestations’, of the profound Celtic bond with the natural and the supernatural world (these two worlds being inextricably inter-connected).
Fairies were (and still are to an extent) believed to be metaphysical beings that were often associated with mythological figures or deities of the Celtic religion.
Belief in fairies, however, can be found in both the written and oral traditions of many ancient cultures throughout the world.
The Faerie Folk could be said to represent a kind of ‘re-sizing’ of the gods and goddesses of the most ancient Celtic populations, bringing them closer to humans and human understanding.
Although fairies (and especially elves) were acknowledged as being of both sexes, they have always been particularly associated with the feminine principle. The Welsh, for example, called them ‘the Mothers’, and believed fairyland to be the Land of Women. As creatures and spirits of Nature, in fact, the Faerie Folk are closely related to the Celtic symbols of the Great Mother." from http://celticsymbols.net/faerie-folk/