A History of Elves

A History of Elves

'Elves and Fairies,' an illustration for 'The Tempest,' by Edmund Dulac (1882-1953)
Credit: WikiPaintings.org

Elves have been a popular subject in fiction for centuries, ranging from William Shakespeare's play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to the classic fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien 300 years later. But it's only recently that elves have been confined to plays, books, and fairy tales: In centuries past, belief in the existence of fairies and elves was common among both adults and children.

Like fairies, elves were said to be magical, diminutive shape-shifters. (Shakespeare's elves were tiny, winged creatures that lived in, and playfully flitted around, flowers.) English male elves were described as looking like little old men, though elf maidens were invariably young and beautiful. Like men of the time, elves lived in kingdoms found in forests, meadows, or hollowed-out tree trunks.

Elves,  fairies, and  leprechauns are all closely related in folklore, though elves specifically seem to have sprung from early Norse mythology. By the 1500s, people began incorporating elf folklore into stories and legends about fairies, and by 1800, fairies and elves were widely considered to be simply different names for the same magical creatures.

As with fairies, elves eventually developed a reputation for pranks and mischief, and strange daily occurrences were often attributed to them. For example, when the hair on a person or horse became tangled and knotted, such "elf locks" were blamed on elves, and a baby born with a birthmark or deformity was called "elf marked."

Indeed, our forefathers trifled with elves at their peril. According to folklorist Carol Rose in her encyclopedia "Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins," though elves were sometimes friendly toward humans, they were also known to take "terrible revenge on any human who offends them. They may steal babies, cattle, milk, and bread or enchant and hold young men in their spell for years at a time. An example of this is the well-known story of Rip Van Winkle."

Evolving elves
Another type of elf emerged, one with a somewhat different nature and form than the mischievous and diminutive sprites of yore. Some elves, such as those depicted in J.R.R. Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, are slender, human-sized, and beautiful, with fine — almost angelic — features. Tolkien's characters were drawn largely from his research into Scandinavian folklore, and therefore it's not surprising that his elves might be tall and blond. Though not immortal, these elves were said to live hundreds of years. They have also become a staple of modern fantasy fiction.

Gary Gygax, co-creator of the seminal role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons, was not only influenced by Tolkien's elves but also instrumental in popularizing them, even including elves as one of the character races (along with humans) that gamers could play.

In either form, elves are strongly associated with magic and nature. As with fairies, elves were said to secretly steal healthy human babies and replace them with their own kind. These changelings appeared at first glance to be human babies, but if they became seriously sick or temperamental, parents would sometimes suspect that their own child had been abducted by elves. There were even legends instructing parents on how to get their real child back from its elven abductors.

Each generation seems to have their own use for elves in their stories. Just as leprechauns have historically been associated with one type of work (shoemaking), it is perhaps not surprising that many common (and commercial) images of elves depict them as industrious workers — think, for example of Santa Claus' toymaking elves or even the Keebler cookie-baking elves. Folklore, like language and culture, is constantly evolving, and elves will likely always be with us, in one form or another.

By Benjamin Radford, LiveScience Contributor 

http://www.livescience.com/39689-history-of-elves.html

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Elvhenan The World Of Magic Part 3

Social Structure
The social structure of the drow is one of the most important aspects . This is how he/she social standing in the city and in the favour of the Lolth can make or break the drows social climb up a ladder for that high statist type home to live in... If you are in good standing with the Lolth then you properly will have a good chance of lifting in a high-rise pad, in the underground cities.. but you must understand the social standing and the favour of the Lolth and the drows dealings with the Lolth

first...In every city there is Drow noble houses and it is the goal to become the one with the first house. This is done in many ways. However, the most common one is through murder. The drow have laws to punish these murders but the legal system has enough holes in it to get round the problem of prosecution. to give you and example.

House A is ranked 22 House B is ranked 23. House B want the position of House A so plan to dispose of them. To do this they must kill every noble in House A. If one noble survives then they have the right of accusation. If a noble of House A survived then they could name the house that tried to destroy them, in this case House B. House B would then be killed off completely, leaving no surviving nobles, as punishment for their crime. 

If House B managed to wipe out House A completely then they would move up in the house rankings to 22 and all those houses beneath them would move up accordingly. House A would then be considered to have never existed at all. Nice eh? [Crazy I think but that just their culture]

It does sound a little complicated but to the drow and their social statics in the community it is very important to them. so that why I included it in the discussion..

The favour of their Lolth is one of the most important things in the lives of the drow. Her favour is gained in many ways. Houses in the favour of Lolth progress through the house ranking and their priestess' are able to call upon certain powers of their goddess. Most of these involve spiders and very nasty spells!!!
Priestess's of Lolth carry snake headed whips that move freely and bite, inflicting great pain on the recipient. The snakes will also instantly attack anyone who is not a believer in Lolth.
The more heads on whip, the nastier the priestess is.

[Note: you must remember that each place i get info has their own integration of the drows.]

NOBLE HOUSES

A matron mother, the senior female priestess , leads nobles Houses. In Lolth-worshipping drow communities , her rule is absolute, enforced by the priestesses beneath her [usually her daughters]. All females of the mother's blood, in order of their age, follow rank, although they wield no authority until they are trained and of age [passed puberty].

Below the daughters come the male officers of the House; the weapons master [leader of the fighters, [chief] House wizard, and patron [current consort of the matron mother]. These ranks may be combined, and even held by the traditional next rank down in the hieararchy: the male heirs of the House.

Male heirs are also ranked by age: elder boy, second boy, third boy and so on. They are not allowed to look at the faces of other drow , of speak unless spoken to or bidden. This treatment teaches them subordinate place in drow society.

Below them are the "war-leaders" of the House[veteran warriors, who lead House patrols, attack squads, and guards, under the command of the weapons master], and House mages [under the command of the House wizard].

Beneath these "blood" members and officials of the House rank its common warriors, its craftspeople, its servants, and its slaves. All ranks are decreed, and can be changed at the whim of, the matron mother. Her position changes at death - often at the hands of her eldest daughter.

ASSASSINATION AND WAR
In a Lolth - worshipping drow community, It is a deadly thing to slay a matron mother who holds Lolth's favor, so mothers m ay reign for hundreds of years, kept alive by magic of the Lolth and the diligent service they perform to get and keep it. The assassination of a matron mother is often a punishment for punishment for losing Lolth's good will, and marks either a new direction for the House, or - if it is weak, and has strong rivals - the beginning of its extinction.

If one House in the city openly wars on another, and survivors of the ruined House can call down the city's justice on the attacking House. When this occurs, all Houses combine forces to wipe out the offending House. Houses who send assassins and saboteurs against each other for years will be force into an open battle by the city's ruling council, with the same results as above.

This type of no-win scenario allows the internal strife of drow to be strictly controlled, so that drow communities are not torn apart by continual, bloody warfare. Most internal combat therefore takes the form of eternal manoeuvring for small advantages. Underhanded intrigue, poisoned knives in dark alleys, vicious trade rivalries, and dirty dealings are all a part of normal drow life.

Most drow wear a magical shielding cloak, called a "piwafui".

Wendy.....

More about the little people ~ origine of the little people
http://cynthiasfairiesandme.blogspot.ca/2014/01/origin-of-hidden-people.html

More About Elves
Fairies Elves and Pixies
http://cynthiasfairiesandme.blogspot.ca/2014/01/a-history-of-elves.html
Native American Story of Elves
http://cynthiasfairiesandme.blogspot.ca/2014/01/the-native-american-story-of-elves.html
The Secrete Commonwealth of Elves
http://cynthiasfairiesandme.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-secret-commonwealth-of-elves-fauns.html

Origin of the Hidden People

Origin of the Hidden People

Two Legends from Iceland

1.

Once upon a time, God Almighty came to visit Adam and Eve. They received him with joy, and showed him everything they had in the house. They also brought their children to him, to show him, and these He found promising and full of hope.

Then He asked Eve whether she had no other children than these whom she now showed him.
She said "None."

But it so happened that she had not finished washing them all, and, being ashamed to let God see them dirty, had hidden the unwashed ones. This God knew well, and said therefore to her, "What man hides from God, God will hide from man."

These unwashed children became forthwith invisible, and took up their abode in mounds, and hills, and rocks. From these are the elves descended, but we men from those of Eve's children whom she had openly and frankly shown to God. And it is only by the will and desire of the elves themselves that men can ever see them.

2.

A traveler once lost his way, and knew not whither to turn or what to do. At last, after wandering about for some time, he came to a hut, which he had never seen before; and on his knocking at the door, an old woman opened it, and invited him to come in, which he gladly did.

Inside, the house seemed to be a clean and good one. The old woman led him to the warmest room, where were sitting two young and beautiful girls. Besides these, no one else was in the house. He was well received and kindly treated, and having eaten a good supper was shown to bed.

He asked whether one of the girls might stay with him, as his companion for the night, and his request was granted.

And now wishing to kiss her, the traveler turned towards her, and placed his hand upon her; but his hand sank through her, as if she had been of mist, and though he could well see her lying beside him, he could grasp nothing but the air.

So he asked what this all meant, and she said, "Be not astonished, for I am a spirit. When the devil, in times gone by, made war in heaven, he, with all his armies, was driven into outer darkness. Those who turned their eyes to look after him as he fell, were also driven out of heaven; but those who were neither for nor against him, were sent to the earth and commanded to dwell there in the rocks and mountains.

These are called elves and hidden people. They can live in company with none but their own race. They do either good or evil, which they will, but what they do they do thoroughly. They have no bodies as you other mortals, but can take a human form and be seen of men when they wish. I am one of these fallen spirits, and so you can never hope to embrace me."

To this fate the traveler yielded himself, and has handed down to us this story.

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• Source: Jón Árnason, Icelandic Legends, translated by George E. J. Powell and Eiríkur Magnússon (London: Richard Bentley, 1864), pp. 19-21. Translation slightly revised.
• Link to these texts in the original Icelandic: Jón Árnason, Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur og Æfintýri vol. 1 (Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs, 1862), pp. 5-6.
• The first of these two legends, the story featuring Adam and Eve, is classified as an Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 758 folktale.
• Return to the table of contents.

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The Origin of Bergfolk

Denmark

Bergmen originated in this way, that when Our Lord cast down the wicked angels from heaven they could not all get to hell together, and some of them settled in the mounds and banks.

Brownies, bergmen, and such creatures originated in this way. When Our Lord cast the wicked angels down from heaven some of them fell on mounds and banks, and these became bergmen; some fell into woods and mosses, and these became fairies (ellefolk), while those that fell into buildings became brownies (nisser). They are just little devils, the whole lot of them.

• Source: William A. Craigie, Scandinavian Folk-Lore: Illustrations of the Traditional Beliefs of the Northern Peoples (London: Alexander Gardner, 1896), p. 93.
• Craigie's source: Evald Tang Kristensen, "Bjærgfolks tilblivelse," Danske Sagn, som de har lydt i Folkemunde, vol. 1 (Aarhus: Folkeblads Trykkeri, 1892), pp. 3-4.
• Additional legends in Danish about the origin of underground people: J. M. Thiele, "Troldfolkets Oprindelse," Danmarks Folkesagn, vol. 2 (Copenhagen: Universitetsboghandler C. A. Reitzels Forlag, 1843), pp. 175-76.
• Return to the table of contents.

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When Satan Was Cast out of Heaven

Sweden

Know that when Satan was cast out of heaven, on account of his pride, and fell to the earth, there were other spirits, which, like him, were also cast out. These spirits, in their fall, were borne hither and thither on the winds like the golden leaves in the autumn storm, falling to earth finally, some into the sea, some into the forests, and some upon the mountains. Where they fell there they remained, so the saying runs, and found there their field of action. After their abiding places they were given different names. Thus we have sea nymphs, mountain fairies, wood fairies, elves, and other spirits, all of which are described in the catechism.

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• Source: Herman Hofberg, Swedish Fairy Tales, translated by W. H. Myers (Chicago: Belford-Clarke Company, 1890), p. 56. This excerpt is from a longer account entitled "Katrineholm Manor" (pp. 55-59) from the province of Småland in southern Sweden.
• Hofberg's source is "a good old woman, resident in the neighborhood."
• Hofberg does not give this excerpt a title.
• Return to the table of contents.

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Origin of the Underground People in Amrum

Germany

The Lord Jesus came one day to a house where a woman lived who had five beautiful and five ugly children. She hid the five ugly children in the cellar. The Lord Jesus asked her where her other children were. The woman said: "I do not have any more children."

Then the Lord Jesus cursed the five ugly children, saying: "That which is beneath shall remain beneath, and that which above shall remain above!"

When the woman returned to the cellar, her five ugly children had disappeared. The underground people are their descendants.

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• Source: Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, Sagenbuch des Preußischen Staats, vol. 2 (Glogau: Verlag von Carl Flemming, 1871), p. 1092. This account (entitled "Die Unterirdischen," no. 1350, pp. 1091-1092) contains many additional beliefs about the underground people on the Island of Amrum in the North Sea.
• This is an Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 758 folktale.
• Return to the table of contents.

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Lower Elemental Spirits

Bohemia

In addition to the gods, heathens knew a whole row of lower demons which can be placed together under the names sprites and elves. They constitute a distinct spirit realm on earth, independent of the world of humans. They possess supernatural powers with which they harm and help humans. However, they shy away from humans, because physically they are not our equals. In Bohemia they tell about the origin of these demons as follows:


When God cast out the arrogant angels from heaven, they became the evil spirits that plague mankind day and night, tormenting us and inflicting us with harm. The ones who fell into hell and into caves and abysses became devils and death-maidens. However, those who fell onto the earth became goblins, imps, dwarfs, thumblings, alps, noon-and-evening-ghosts, and will-o'-the-wisps. Those who fell into the forests became the wood-spirits who live there: the hey-men, the wild-men, the forest-men, the wild-women, and the forest-women. Finally, those who fell into the water became water spirits: water-men, mermaids, and merwomen.

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• Source: Josef Virgil Grohmann, Sagenbuch von Böhmen und Mähren, vol. 1 (Prague: Verlag der J. G. Calve'schen k. k. Universitäts-Buchhandlung, 1863) , p. 108-109.
• The German names of the spirits mentioned are: Teufel, Todmädchen, Kobolde, Schrätlein, Zwerge, Daumlinge, Alpe, Mittags- und Abendgespenster, Irrlichter, Waldgeister, Hemänner, wilde Männer, Waldmänner, wilde Weiber, Waldfrauen, Wassergeister, Wassermänner, Meerjungfern, Meerfrauen.
• The historical region of Bohemia is currently part of the Czech Republic.
• Return to the table of contents.

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Origin of the Fairies

Anglesea, Wales

In our Savior's time there lived a woman whose fortune it was to be possessed of nearly a score of children, and as she saw our blessed Lord approach her dwelling, being ashamed of being so prolific, and that he might not see them all, she concealed about half of them closely, and after his departure, when she went in search of them, to her great surprise found they were all gone. They never afterwards could be discovered, for it was supposed that as a punishment from heaven for hiding what God had given her, she was deprived of them; and it is said these her offspring have generated the race called fairies.

• Source: Wirt Sikes, British Goblins: Welsh Folk-Lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends, and Traditions (London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1880), pp. 133-34.
• Sikes calls this account "a local legend of the origin of fairies in Anglesea."
• This is an Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 758 folktale.
• Return to the table of contents.

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The Baby Farmer

Wales

Old Kaddy was a baby-farmer, and one day she went to the woods to gather sticks for her fire, and whilst she was gathering the sticks she found a piece of gold, and took it home; but she never told anyone she had found the money, for she always pretended to be very poor.
But though she was so poor, she used to dress two of her children in fine clothes; but the others, whom she did not like, she kept in the filthiest rags.

One day a man knocked at her door, and asked to see the children.
He sat down in her little room, and she went and brought the ragged little boy and girl, saying she was very poor, and couldn't afford to dress them better; for she had been careful to hide the well-dressed little boy and girl in a cockloft.

After the stranger had gone she went to the cockloft to look for her well-dressed favorites, but they had disappeared, and they were never seen afterwards, for they were turned into fairies.

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• Source: Peter Henry Emerson, Welsh Fairy-Tales and Other Stories (London: D. Nutt, 1894), p. 14.
• This is a variant of an Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 758 folktale.
• Explanation of baby farming from Wikipedia:

  Baby farming was a term used in late-Victorian Era Britain (and, less commonly, in Australia and the United States) to mean the taking in of an infant or child for payment; if the infant was young, this usually included wet-nursing (breast-feeding by a woman not the mother). Some baby farmers "adopted" children for lump-sum payments, while others cared for infants for periodic payments. Though baby farmers were paid in the understanding that care would be provided, the term "baby farmer" was used as an insult, and improper treatment was usually implied.

• Return to the table of contents.

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The Fairies as Fallen Angels

Ireland

The islanders, like all the Irish, believe that the fairies are the fallen angels who were cast down by the Lord God out of heaven for their sinful pride. And some fell into the sea, and some on the dry land, and some fell deep down into hell, and the devil gives to these knowledge and power, and sends them on earth where they work much evil.

But the fairies of the earth and the sea are mostly gentle and beautiful creatures, who will do no harm if they are let alone, and allowed to dance on the fairy raths in the moonlight to their own sweet music, undisturbed by the presence of mortals.

As a rule, the people look on fire as the great preservative against witchcraft, for the devil has no power except in the dark. So they put a live coal under the chum, and they wave a lighted wisp of straw above the cow's head if the beast seems sickly. But as to the pigs, they take no trouble, for they say the devil has no longer any power over them now. When they light a candle they cross themselves, because the evil spirits are then clearing out of the house in fear of the light, lire and Holy Water they hold to be sacred, and are powerful; and the best safeguard against all things evil, and the surest test in case of suspected witchcraft.

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Source: Jane Francesca Elgee Wilde (Lady Wilde), Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland: With Sketches of the Irish Past (Boston: Ticknor and Company, 1888), p. 89.

http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/originunder.html#icelandelves

Origine of the Fairies

Faeries
Timeless Myths

  Background


  Fairy People

  Origin of the Faeries
  Types of Fairies


Origin of the Faeries

Fairy comes from the Old French word faerie. The word has been overused to describe a supernatural being. There is a great deal of difference in classifying a being as a fairy from the medieval literature and those from modern literature, especially those belonging to the Celtic tradition.

There are other traditions such as that found in English, German and Slavic folklores.

Today, when we think of fairies, we often visualise them as tiny, supernatural beings with wings and glowing with uncommon light in today's children fairy tales. And they also possessed some sorts of strange magical powers, like Tinklebell in the story of Peter Pan or the Fairy Godmother in Cinderella. The modern fairies, between the 18th and 20th century, comes from oral tradition before they were transmitted into writing.

The fairies are supernatural beings that can be best described by the Greek word - daimon, which means "spirit". They are not divinity, ie. god or goddess, in the usual sense of the word, and yet they are not mere mortal; often, it is easier to classify them as minor divinity.

However, if we look at the idea of fairies, then you would find that have been around a lot longer than everyone expects. Perhaps the earliest form of faeries can be found loosely in the mythical beings in Greek mythology, such as the nymphs, satyrs and sileni. The nymphs from ancient Greek myths can be considered as fairies and they existed as early as the time of Homer writing the Iliad and the Odyssey. Even the river gods in Greek myths can be classified as fairies. These are spirits or minor deities of nature or of the natural phenomena.

And then, there are household or guardian spirits that can be found in Roman religion and mythology, such as the penates, lares and genii.

The Norse versions of the fairies are the wide variety of elves and the dísir that exist in the Teutonic traditions. The Valkyries could also be classified as fairies.

It was during the time of Queen Elizabeth I of England, where William Shakespeare (1564-1616) had popularised fairies in English folklore, in his play Midsummer Night's Dream, with the characters Oberon, Titania and Puck (Robin Goodfellow). Earlier than Shakespeare, Chaucer (1342-1400) mentioned that the land of Britain was filled with fairies before the time of King Arthur.

In the Arthurian legends, the divine or fairy figures also appeared in abundance. Morgan, Arthur's half-sister, seemed to be great sorceress and healer, was often called Morgan le Fay; her nickname Fay, which means "Fairy". And then there is this Lady of the Lake. Arthur's wife, Guinevere, or Gwenhwyfar in the Welsh tradition, also appeared to be a fairy, as well as the sovereignty goddess. Many knights were either born from fairies or they took female fairies as their lovers. Even Merlin was only part mortal.



Then you would discover that that these images of fairies are not the only kind. There were all sorts in fairy tales and folklores. Some are benign, while others are maligned and hostile to mortals. Some were seen as fair, while others were considered ugly and monstrous to look at. They can come in all size and sizes - tall or short, fat or skinny, so there is really no clear definition of fairies may look like. Different types of fairies may also have different types of magical powers.

So, what are these fairies? Where do they come from?

To understand what they are, we should look at some of those found in Celtic mythology and other Celtic traditions. But, then you would discover that fairies are not just confined in Celtic traditions. Many cultures and civilizations have their own versions of fairies.

There are enough kinds of fairies to confuse anyone, because sometimes writers have associated one fairy with a different kind.

In Celtic religion, there was Celtic deities in Gaul (France and Belgium), Hispania (Spain) and Britannia (Britain) during the Roman occupation of these regions or provinces. But the situation changed when Christianity spread to the west and north. These deities that were worshipped before the conversion to Christianity were reduced to the status of fairies in Celtic mythology and folklore.

So in Ireland the gods in the Tuatha De Danann were degenerated to the roles of fairies (eg. Dagda and Lugh), people living under the dune mound or fabled islands, or even within underwater domains. Similar degeneration occurred with old deities in Wales, Scotland and other surviving pockets of Celtic kingdoms (such as Cornwall, Brittany and island of Man).


These earlier Celtic traditions of fairies, the former Irish or Welsh deities were also not fairies in the usual sense. They looked very much like human, in size and shape, except that they have special magical powers and they seemed eternally young, but they don't have wings. The Dananns or their Welsh counterparts were usually seen as race of fair people. They can die just as mortals can, but their lives could last hundreds or even thousands of years.

The problem is that sometimes, the Christian authors have also turned them into beings serving the Devil, and that the fairies were actually demons. However this view is no longer shared, today.

These medieval fairies are different from the common folklore and fairy tales of today. The Tuatha de Danann is nothing like the brownie, leprechaun and goblin of these later traditions.

 
Related Information
Name
Faerie, Færie, Faery, Fairy.
Faeries (plural).

Irish: sidheog (unreformed); síóg (reformed); sheogue (anglicised).
daoine maithe ("good people"), daoine sidhe;
áes sidhe ("people of the mound");
daoine uaisle ("the noble people");
bunadh na cro, bunadh na gcnoc ("host of the hills");
bunadh beag na farraige ("wee folk of the sea").

Scottish Gaelic: boctogaí, s'thiche.
daoine s'th ("people of the mound").

Manx: ferrish.
ny guillyn beggey ("the little boys");
ny mooinjer veggey ("the little kindred");
ny sleih veggey ("the little people").

Welsh: y tylwyth teg (the fair folk).
bendith y mamau ("mother's blessing").

Cornish: spyrys.
an bobel vyghan ("the little people").

Breton: korriganez, boudig.

Sources
Midsummer Night's Dream was written by William Shakespeare.

Related Articles
See also Tuatha De Danann.

Back



Types of Fairies

Most of the information that I have about Irish fairies, comes from 19th century poet, Williams Butler Yeats.

He wrote two works, which is of interests:

The Celtic Twilight (1893, 1902)
Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888)
In Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry, is not only description of fairies; it is a collection of works, poems and prose, from other authors, such as T. Crofton Croker and Lady Wilde.

In this work, he divided the fairies into two broad categories:

Trooping Fairies or Social Fairies
Solitary Fairies
Social or trooping fairies are those who lived in large company, like in a clan. The Tuatha de Danann who lived in the sidh, ruled by a king, and sometimes a queen (or both), can be considered as the social fairies. They were often seen feasting, singing and dancing. They can be either benevolent or hostile to humans. Another example of trooping fairies is the Merrow.

The solitary fairy usually avoid large gathering. There are many types of solitary fairy, such as banshee, leprechaun, cluricaune, brownie, pooka, etc.

Generally, they can recognise by the type of jackets they wore. The social fairies wore green jackets, while the solitary fairies wore red ones, but sometimes their jackets are brown or grey.

Scottish fairy folklore can also be divided in the similar fashion of solitary and social fairies.

Another writer, Wirt Sikes wrote in the British Goblins (1880), comparing the Welsh fairies with that of Norse/Teutonic fairies.

Sikes says that there are four types in the Norse tradition: 1) elves, 2) dwarves and troll, 3) nisses and 4) necks, mermen, and mermaids.

While in the Welsh traditions there are:

the ellyllon, or the elves;
the coblynau, or the mine fairies;
the bwbachod, or the household fairies;
the gwragedd annwn, or the fairies of the lakes and streams;
the gwyllion, or the mountain fairies.
Here, the classification of Welsh fairies distinguished household fairies from that of the mines, lakes and mountains. Like the Irish tradition, the Welsh can be further divided into solitary and social fairies.

The Welsh name use for fairies is y Tylwyth Teg, which mean "the fair folk". And these folk lived in Gwlad y Tylwyth Teg, "Fairyland".

 
Related Information
Name
Solitary fairy.

Social fairies, trooping fairies.

Sources
Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry (1888) and The Celtic Twilight (1893) were written and edited by William Butler Yeats.

British Goblins was written by Wirt Sikes (1880).Back

Fairy People

 
Here are the list and descriptions of faeries.

Since there are many types of faeries, there will only be articles on faeries that have parallel to or has antecedents from the mythical beings of the Celtic mythology. So there won't be many faeries that are found in this page, about fairies (eg. pixie) and goblins that appear in later folklore. I will also concentrate mainly in the Celtic regions (eg. Britain, Ireland and Brittany), ignoring Germanic and Slavic faeries.

Anyone interested here are the links to follow for the rest of the classifications of thes spirit beings.

Banshee Baobhan Sith Bean Nighe Brownie Changeling Dullahan

Elf The Fool (Amandán) Goblin Leprechaun Pooka Washer at the Ford, see Bean Nighehttp://www.timelessmyths.com/celtic/faeries.html

My thoughts and prayer for the New Year

The balancing of the dualities is to bring about true peace, love, harmony and nurturing for all, male and  female regardless of the color and beliefs. The sacred feminine energy has no desire to conquer, subdue or hold mastery over others, nor does she recognize hierarchies. Her love for us, all, male, female, all living things she  only seeks to merge equally as one within the universal web of life. A "Oneness". When that day comes there will be no more hate, deceit, lies, suffering, wars, strife, and tears. no more destitution, no more desease, aloneness or loneliness.

This is my prayer and my wish for this coming new year, 

For today
My prayer today is of thankfulness
I am thankful for today to have the freedom to express my feelings for in many places they cannot.
I am thankful today for the home I live in and the food I have to eat, for in many places they do not have a home or food.
I am thankful today for the freedom to move about this great country for in many places they do not.
I am thankful today for my good health and well being so that I may continue this journey with certitude.
I am thankful today for all that I have learned on this journey and the ability to share this knowledge with others.
I am thankful for today to have the freedom to show my compassion and caring to others around me who are in need.
I am thankful today to still have the freedom to enjoy the beauty of the natural world around me.
But above all I am thankful to be free to be me, to embrace all these gifts that have been given me and pray for those who have not.

Cynthia

Dragon Legends

Nature
Legends & Myths
The legend of Pilatus
Dragon Legends
Chapel on Klimsenhorn
The Mountain»Legends & Myths»Dragon Legends

Dragon Legends

In medieval times, it was believed that dragons with healing powers lived in the rugged clefts and crevices of Mount Pilatus.
In the summer of 1421, a powerful dragon flew to Mount Pilatus and landed so close to a farmer by the name of Stempflin that he fainted. When the farmer came to, he discovered a lump of coagulated blood and a dragon stone, the healing powers of which were officially confirmed in 1509.

The chronicle of Petermann Etterlin tells how Regional Governor Winkelried killed one of the Mount Pilatus dragons: he wrapped a spear with thorn twigs and thrust it into the open mouth of the dragon, finishing the beast off with a sword. In the process, drops of poisonous dragon's blood spurted on to his hand. These drops - and the poisonous breath of the dying dragon - froze the blood in Winkelried's veins and he also met his death.

In the early hours of the morning of 26 May 1499, a wondrous spectacle was seen in Lucerne: after a terrible thunderstorm, an enormous, wingless dragon rose out of the wild waters of the River Reuss at the Spreuer bridge. The beast had probably been taken by surprise by the thunderstorm and washed down from Mount Pilatus in the Krienbach, which flows into the Reuss beneath the Jesuit church. Several well-respected and educated townspeople authenticated the truth of this story.

How the young cooper was saved by the Pilatus dragons

One sunny day, a young cooper arrived in the Pilatus region. It was late in the year and he was searching for rods with which to make barrel hoops in winter. Deep in his search, without thinking, he climbed higher and higher up the forbidden mountain. Not until dusk began to fall did he realise with horror that he was just beneath the summit. Terrified, he started to hurry downwards but stumbled and lost his footing. He tumbled down and down into a deep black void and finally lost consciousness. When he came to, with a painful swelling on his forehead, the sun was already high in the heavens. But all he could see was a tiny glimpse of blue sky. He was trapped in a cave deep inside the mountain!

The opening through which the daylight was shining was far, far above his head. Oh no, what could that be? He peered deeper into the darkness of the cave and his blood froze in his veins! Two gigantic beasts with scaly bodies and fiery breath were staring at him. Believing his last moment had come, the cooper crossed himself, his hands shaking with fear as the beasts slowly drew closer and closer. To his great astonishment, the enormous creatures meant him no harm. 

They sniffed him all over, curiously but gently, before again turning to lick at the moon-milk, welling rich and thick from the cave walls.
And so the cooper spent the next few months in the dragons' den. Winter covered the mountain with ice and snow, but he remained quite snug and warm in the cave, eating the moon-milk and at night nestling like a baby into the warmth of the dragons' huge bodies.

One glorious day, the spring sun burst into the cave. Birds chirped joyfully outside and the sweet scent of thousands of spring flowers stole into the depths of the mountain. 


The dragons lifted their great horny heads and unfurled their mighty wings. One of them flew out into the warm spring sunshine. But the second dragon came close to the cooper and snorted gently, as if to tell him that the time had come to leave their winter home. The cooper plucked up courage, grabbed hold of the dragon's tail and suddenly they were both soaring in the fresh spring air, high above the cave. The cooper thought his heart would burst with joy as he felt the warm sunshine playing on his face. Carefully the dragon lowered him onto a flower-carpeted meadow. The young man waved to his winter companion for a last time before taking to his heels and running as fast as he could back down to the valley.

Such rejoicing as never before was heard in Lucerne as the cooper's friends flung their arms around him. They had long given him up for lost! He had to tell the incredible story of his rescue on the dreaded mountain over and over and over again. Finally he had the tale of his adventure embroidered on a silken tunicle, still found to this very day in the possession of the Church of St. Leodegar in Lucerne.

Ever since then, the Pilatus dragons have been revered as good-natured, helpful creatures. And sometimes, on a dark night, when the moon is playing hide and seek behind ragged clouds, a giant shadow passes across its face. Visitors to Mount Pilatus may just catch the faint sound of the beating of leather wings. Should this happen and a trace of the beneficial powers dust lightly over them, then they are very lucky people indeed!
http://www.pilatus.ch/en/the-mountain/legends-myths/dragon-legends/

The Faerie Portal

Introduction to the Faerie Realm, Connecting with the Faeries

The Faerie Portal

Faerie 

‘Enter Now and You Will See,
Blessings Here for Two or Three’



Blessed be, and welcome to the Faerie Portal. Are you weary dear one? Have you trudged through a long day at work with a heavy heart? Has your system been over-loaded with loud noise and synthetic light? Too much to do and not enough time to do it in? But be still, for all is well…

You are invited to embark upon a transformational journey. The Faerie Portal is a doorway into the Faerie Realm. The Faeries can help you to cleanse your aura of psychic debris and re-connect with the deepest needs and values of your sacred being.

With the help of the Faeries, we can cast aside our everyday cares and concerns as we are supported to love ourselves. We can release old fears and patterns of behaviour that no longer serve us. With the aid of the Faeries, we begin to remember our ancient truths. We remember that we are wild, free, magical soulful beings.

You are starlight, moonlight, and a wondrous incarnation of Universal Gaia Energy. You are both creative and powerful. You have within you, the talent of manifestation, but you have been sleeping…

Disconnected from nature and surrounded by those who but seek your love, your own voice may have grown dim. Within such a cacophony of noise, many have forgotten to love, honour and nurture their selves.

Journey into the Magical Realm of the Fey who but await your invitation to step into your world, and transform it into something so illuminated with healing light that it shines like starfire.

There are many beings in the Faerie Realm. Like us, they have particular gifts and glamours. Some will support you to lighten up and play, some will teach you to weave your dreams into form, some will assist your healing from previous psychic wounds while others will enlist your help to serve and heal the planet and our animal friends.

All of them have something to teach you, you need but choose the lesson that your heart wishes to learn. As you work with the Faerie Folk and begin to understand their ways, do not be surprised if you experience spiritual shifts or some form of psychic awakening. When you invite the Faeries into your life and heart and begin to work magic with them, the illusions of the world begin to fall away.

When you connect with your authentic, organic, powerful self, you tap into Universal Gaia energy and you may begin to experience the physical world differently.

What previously seemed impossible may become possible…

The Faerie Folk will assist you to transform your "Have to’s" into "Want to’s".

You will begin to weave the life that you desire, as an authentic, conscious being, rather than a shadow, dancing out the expectations you were taught to hold dear and believe…

Be Your True Self,
Live the Life of Your dreams,

Enter The Realm of the Faeries… 

And Who Are the Faeries?

Faeries



‘Here We Stand Amongst the Trees,
Very Close, for Those who See,
Dancing in the Midnight Hour,
Through the Starlight’s Glorious Power,
Entwined Hands and Earthy Feet,
Merry Part but Merry Meet!’



So who are the Faeries? Hear their merry laughter like the tinkling of a stream as they ask riddles in the starlight... How many petals are there on a wild flower? If an owl alights from a dark oak at the stroke of midnight, how many field mice will he catch on his way home? (None, for he has already eaten!)

It is a little like posing the question, ‘And Who are You?’
How many pages in a book could you fill dear one?
Let us speak in general terms as we come to glean some idea. Know that as your connection with the Faeries grows stronger, you will come to understand more specific information about each one who seeks your friendship and understanding.

The Fey are often shy of human kind. Be aware that they may spend some time observing you to see if you are ‘their people’, before revealing themselves. Like us, they judge based on the vibration of your energy, your thought, and oh so importantly, your deed!

Does his heart bear kindness? Is she good to animals? Do they care for the earth? Are those children of sweet countenance? Are they honourable? Will they love us?

Faeries are especially fond of children who, having not yet taken on the ways of the world, remain tuned in to them. These children are often able to see them. Next time your little one looks intently over your shoulder focusing on what appears to be nothing, be mindful that they in fact may be interacting with a Faerie or an Angelic Being.

Like us, Faeries are etheric beings of pure energy. Faerie energy vibrates faster than ours, but slower than that of the Angelic Realm. They are the caretakers of the physical earth, and their energy consists of a density that allows them a strange combination of etheric and physical form.

Theirs is the ability to appear in form when they want you to see, and later to exist as light when it becomes necessary to fade into the shadows…

Faeries are powerful healers. Steeped in the ways of old and skilled in herb-lore, they have an innate perceptual understanding of the needs of the earth. Masters of manifestation, their magic involves the powerful, singular, focus of their thought, combined with an unencumbered heart, as they draw the energy of their intensions into physical form.

Uncomplicated beings, their hearts are wild and free. They are passionately committed to their beliefs and loyal to their beloved.

The Faeries have a wicked sense of humour…
They laugh at jokes, at themselves, at each other, and most certainly they laugh at life! Tinkling gossamer laughter like the sound of bells from the diminutive Flower Faeries, Sylphs and Sprites and deep rumbling belly laughs from the Gnomes, Dwarfs and mischievous Leprechauns.

Leprechaun Language

A mischievous Leprechaun
and his Leprechaun Language


They laugh because their hearts are merry and grateful and they express this through the ritual of song, dance, feasting and celebration!

Friends with uncertainty, light of heart with courage, emboldened by joy with an unquenchable belief in the limitlessness of what is possible, these wondrous beings have much to teach those of us who are brave enough to learn. 

Connecting with the Faeries

Many of us who have been transported to The Realm of Faerie through tales told to us when we were young, and later poured over these self-same beloved stories as ‘grown-ups’, have maintained our connection.

Humans who share an affinity with Faeries have many Fey friends who support and assist them in all manner of ways, from finding one’s car keys, to help with the conception of a much prayed for child.

Understand that it is your pure love for them that draws them out of hiding as they seek involvement with you.

 They are attracted by your love and commitment and wish to communicate. They stop to listen, inclining their heads when they hear you laugh, and they hold out small hands to catch your tears when they fall onto your eiderdown at night as the moon shines in through your window.

To connect with the Faeries and enter their Realm, you have only to believe in their existence and to call upon them with love and sincerity. Faeries are everywhere but you may find it easier to sense their presence and communicate with them when you are outside in nature or somewhere where there are lots of plants and animals.

You can ask the Faeries for guidance, support and healing in any matter. Explain to them your circumstances and put forth your request with love and gratitude for the assistance they will bring...

If you would like some extra help in connecting with the Faeries, you can call upon one of the Faerie Queens to assist you. Faerie Queens are similar to Goddesses. Some of the major Faerie Queens are Aine, Cordelia, Dana, and Maeve. Just call upon them as if you were calling upon a Goddess, and ask them to guide and support you in connecting with the Faeries.

Faerie Queen Maeve


*               *               *               *


(With the exception of the last three paragraphs, the words for the Faerie Portal were channelled from the Faerie Realm by Deborah, who may herself be a faerie in human incarnation.)


See also:

A free self-healing
system, available worldwide:
http://www.vibrational-alchemy.com/faeries/intro.htm