Fairy Myth and Lore

Fairy Myth and Lore

The origin of fairies

The Little People are said to be the dispossessed early tribes of the British Isles.They faded away into inhabited places, growing smaller and smaller with time as they were forgotten and passed into legend. The Tuatha de Danann, People of the Goddess Dana, ruled Ireland before the Milasian invasion. They were driven underground where they became the Daoine Sidhe fairies.

The word Fairy is derived from the ancient "faunoe o fatuoe" which, in the pagan mythology, indicated the faun's (deer) companions, creatures endowed with power of foretelling the future and ruling the human events. The word Fairy also comes from "fatigue", which in Middle Ages was synonymous with "wild woman", that is woman of woods, waters and, in general, of the natural world. Fairies are super natural creatures endowed with magic power, thanks to which they can change their appearance and make it change to the others. They frequent caves, rocks, hills, woods and sources; they are ready to help innocents and victims of persecution; they make up for a wrong, they avenge an offense, but they also can be malicious and vengeful. According to tradition, they are present at men's birth in order to give them special gifts and influence their existence in a benevolent or malevolent way.

Fairies are naturally complicated and their behavior is ruled by a moral code which is very different from ours. Most of these little creatures, apart their size, appearance and nature, have hidden powers and are able to give, as much as they please, good and bad luck. Therefore, the more you know about Fairies, the best chances you have to come out of an encounter unscathed. When you have dealings with Fairies it is of primary importance that you treat them with kindness and all respect. It is too easy to offend them and Heaven help you if you take liberties with them

Fairies are constantly attracted by every form of creativeness and, most of all, by instants of deep feeling, which they want to share. Lovers, poets, artists, writers, sculptors, weavers, musicians and all arts have to admit they are in debt to a unidentifiable force, which is invisible, capricious, sensible, delicate, incomprehensible and powerful, called "inspiration" or "Muse" which, when it is present, is generally irresistible. Fairy's world is full of dark enchantment, of charming beauty, of incredible ugliness, of hard superficiality, of spirit, malice, joy and inspiration, of terror, laughter, love and tragedy. Their world is richer than fairy-tales make believe.



Special Dates for Fairies

Midsummer's Eve (June 24). On Midsummer's Eve the fairies are at their merriest

Fairy Food

When it comes to fairy food, we read stories to discover that mallow fruits are fairy cheeses, and dogwood fruits are pixie pears. Little cakes are another favorite fairy food, and if they are made with saffron, they are especially cherished since saffron is highly valued by fairies.



What do Fairies Love ?

Fairies love beauty and splendor, grace of movement, music and pleasure, everything in fact that is artistic. They do not like any sort of violent, brutal enjoyment. They hate greedy people who gather the last bit of grain, or drain the last bit of milk from the glass, or pluck the trees bare of fruit leaving nothing for the spirits who wander by in the moonlight.

Always leave a bit of milk or drink in your glass at a feast and never pick the last fruit from the tree. Don't stay up too late either, for fairies like to gather round after the family is in bed and drink and eat.

If treated well, the fairies will bestow good fortune and reveal the mysteries of plant herbs. For acts of kindness bestowed upon the spirits, fairy blessings will come in the form of unexpected good luck.

Fairies could bestow good fortune on people, but if they felt offended they could cast spells and cause mischievous trouble. Therefore be kind to a vagabond, for he may be a fairy prince in disguise, who has come to test the depth of your charity, and of the generous nature that can give liberally out of pure love and kindliness to those who are in need, and not in hope of a reward.

The most popular pastimes of fairies are music and dancing. At night the fairies would rise from their homes and come out to dance away the hours of darkness. They especially love to dance in the evening of the full moon. When the morning sun begins to rise, the fairies vanish.

Many mortals were enticed by the beauty of dancing fairies and sought to watch them dance at night. But this was very dangerous, because if the fairies lured and trapped a mortal, the mortal could be forced to dance all night until they collapsed from exhaustion.

Fairy music is more melodious than human music and there are many songs and tunes which are said to have originated from the fairies. Many pipers and fiddlers of Europe learned their songs from the fairies. 

http://whisperingworlds.com/fairies/fairies.php

History of Europe's Medieval Dragons

History of Europe's Medieval Dragons  Cave Dwelling Medieval Dragons of the Middle Ages In Europe, during medieval times tales of terrifying fire-breathing dragons grew far and wide, and have stirred awe and terror in the myths and legends of many cultures ever since. In Western myths, the European dragons, or Medieval dragons, and as they are often known: draco, are generally portrayed as terrible, evil, and dangerously fierce carnivorous reptiles with wings and a tail for added balance. This colossal magical beast has the ability to fly and simultaneously breathe fire to wreak havoc on numerous villages of the Middle Ages. Western Medieval dragons can be categorized by their peculiarly unique physical characteristics, general appearance, and habitat (or dragon liar). During the renaissance period, and according to Western folklore, Medieval dragons have a longstanding association with magic, and they are left with the job of guarding and watching over hidden treasures and fortunes! Western Medieval dragons have an attraction and association with gemstones and probably live in caves in order to give them the best access crystals and cool underground temperatures. Dragons have also been known to use deep lakes to hoard piles of golden treasures, jewels and other precious items kept in the depths of their draconian lair. What Led to the Downfall of Dragons According to the mythology of dragon lore, knights of the Medieval times had to protect their kingdom and their elaborate Medieval castles from fierce and menacing dragons by the tradition of fighting and slaying the dragons to not only protect their Medieval culture, but also to capture their hidden and protected treasures. Knights of the round table were eager to prove their faith and would battle dragons to the death. Medieval dragons would also take women, especially young women of the child bearing age and royal bloodlines. Occasionally, dragon monsters would wander into villages, and leave great destruction and death in their wake. This led many a brave knight to attempt to hunt down and slay dragons, as recounted in many medieval writings of the middle ages. In some cases, Medieval knights were successful, in many other situations they were defeated by the immense power of dragons! Even with a slim chance of winning a battle with a fierce fire-breathing dragon, knights soon discovered that dragon-hunting and dragon-defending was very profitable and would bring them plenty of fame and fortune. And so it wasn't long before most of the dragons throughout the world were destroyed, according to medieval folklore and legend. Dragon Tales of the Norse Viking Warriors Even the Vikings where fanatics with the dragon figureheads they installed on the prows of their long ships. With the dragon leading their assault their bazurk raids would help frighten and scare the people they were attacking into total submission. Old Norse dragon ships were also believed to endow keen sight and endow cunning to the Viking warriors that sailed in them. Norse dragons were depicted in ancient Viking art and culture as a way of symbolizing power, strength and to instill fear in their enemies. Vikings spread dragon tales with every invasion they led across Europe. In Scandinavian myths, dragons are associated with the dead and it was believed that they where guardians over the graves of the dead. Scandinavia Nordic stories tell of serpents and dragons so unimaginably vast that they encircled the world itself! Jormungand, the Midgard Serpent, was one such world encompassing monster that lived deep under the sea. Even Thor's hammer, a magical golden hammer called Mjollnir, built for Thor by underworld dwelling dwarfs, had a dragonhead attached to its tip. Welsh Dragons and the Celtic Conversion Celtic peoples have often shown great reverence for dragons and serpents, depicting them right beside their gods. Early on Medieval dragons came to represent wisdom and nobility in Celtic culture. Even today, the welsh national flag has a dragon with one claw raised as a warning of its power with its dragon neck arched in complete readiness. Though this respect for dragons clashed with the beliefs of a new Celtic religion... Christianity. According to both Christian and Jewish texts, they were true incarnations of evil and were said to be bringers of destruction at the end of the world, as correlated in the Book of Revelations, while the serpent has been blamed for bringing the first sin to humankind when it tempted Eve into eating the forbidden fruit from the Garden of Eden. Greek and Roman Dragons and the Tasks of Hercules Ancient Greeks and Romans had no doubts at all about the actual existence of dragons, and were already telling stories about them for centuries. They revered dragons for their wisdom but also feared them because of their tremendous powers, both Greek and Roman culture shared this belief. One of the twelve tasks of the legendary hero Hercules (or Heracles) was to pick three golden apples from a sacred tree, protected by a fearsome dragon, or serpent - depending on your perspective. Of all, the most feared monster of the Greeks and Romans was Hydra, a dragon-like serpent creature with multiple heads and poisonous breath. On another task of Hercules he went to slay the freakish Hydra in a dangerous marsh. However, every time Hercules cut off one of the heads of the dragon beast, more grew back in its place. Only by burning the multiple dragon-serpent necks with raw fire, and crushing its body with a giant boulder, was Hercules able to defeat the incredible Hydra. Dragon Myth or Fact? For thousands of years, we have been told of fantastic fire-breathing dragons, creatures with supernatural and magical powers, some aligned with the forces of good, and others with the forces of evil. Are these dragonesque creatures merely fabrications of boundless human imagination, or do they represent something of great significance to all earth's cultures? Of all the sensational monster legends of the world, none has slithered into as many of man's myths and legends as dragons. Dragons and serpents have come to represent a huge diversity of different ideas, but perhaps the one prevailing symbolism that unites them all is man's fascination and fear of the unknown. As long as mankind is plagued by mystery, our deep lakes, skies, turbid seas and even our souls will never be freed from the clutches of the dragon.

http://www.dragon-art-work.com/the-history-of-europe-medieval-dragons-and-times.shtml

Clasical Mythology World: Giants, Ogres, and Monsters

Clasical Mythology World:Giants, Ogres, and Monsters

From Dusk to Dawn The Sisters of Helius The Good Time God: Pan
The Fairy Tale World: Giants, Ogres, and Monsters

Unfortunately, not all of the immortals and primordial creatures were as benevolent as the gods and goddesses of Olympus (though they, too, had their moods) nor as benign as the nymphs and other nature spirits. The world of classical mythology also featured forces of destruction, chaos, and barbarism that opposed the order and civilization represented by the Olympians. Giants and monsters tore up landscapes, devoured humans, and bedeviled the immortals. If not properly called evil, these bugaboos nonetheless wreaked havoc on the world and threatened the peaceful reign of the gods.
Big Trouble on Olympus: The War with the Giants

In defeating the Titans after 10 years of war, the Olympians vanquished a formidable opponent. But even with the Titans locked away in darkest Tartarus, the Olympians still faced another challenger to their power to rule the universe: the mighty race of Giants.

The Giants, you'll recall, were bred from the blood shed from Uranus's manhood (or godhood) when Cronus castrated his father. This blood spattered on the womb of Gaia, who then gave forth the Furies (Erinyes), the meliae (ash nymphs), and the Giants (see Tales of the Titanic).

The Giants, whom some storytellers described as having legs that ended in the tails of snakes or the scales of dragons, settled near Phlegra in Thrace. Although the spawn of gods, they didn't enjoy the power of the Olympians. So, egged on by their Mother Earth, the Giants rose up against the Olympians.

That Gaia would turn on the Olympians—including her beloved grandson Zeus, whom she had nurtured as an infant—should not come as too much of a surprise. Twice before Gaia had aroused the spirit of rebellion against the ruling powers: urging Cronus to castrate her husband Uranus, and then supporting Zeus in overthrowing her son Cronus. After helping to oust her husband and son, why not attempt to overthrow her grandson as well?

What a Life!

To ensure their victory—or some say, to give the Giants immortality—Gaia attempted to find a magic herb. But Zeus, who knew of her plans, enlisted the help of Eos, Helius, and Selene to thwart them. Zeus forbade the dawn to rise nor the sun or moon to shine, leaving the world in utter darkness until he himself had found the magic herb.

The Giants started the war by hurling boulders and flaming oak trees at the sky.

Led by Zeus, the Olympians fought valiantly against the superior strength of the massive Giants. But the gods learned from an oracle that they could not win this war without the aid of a mortal. So Zeus sent Athena to enlist his son by the mortal Alcmene: Heracles (see The Labors of Heracles).

Heracles immediately helped turn the tide in favor of the Olympians. He first attacked the Giant Alcyoneus, who could not be killed on his own soil. Heracles shot an arrow that should have delivered a fatal wound, but the Giant staggered back to his feet. So heeding Athena's advice, Heracles carried him across the border into a neighboring land, where Alcyoneus soon died.

The Giant Porphyrion then attacked both Heracles and Hera. But Zeus distracted Porphyrion from battle, using his wife as a decoy and inflaming the Giant with lust for her. Porphyrion tore off Hera's robe and attempted to ravish her, but before he could violate her a shaft from Heracles' bow and a bolt from Zeus's hand struck him simultaneously, killing him.
After these two champions—the strongest of the Giants—fell, the Olympians seemed certain to prevail. Nearly all the Olympians contributed to the victory:

Logos

The thyrsus was a wand entwined with live grape leaves or ivy (symbols of fertility) with a pine cone at one end. Dionysian revelers often carried them during their ecstatic rites.
Apollo shot Ephialtes in the left eye just as an arrow from Heracles' bow pierced the Giant's right eye.
Hephaestus hurled red-hot metal at Mimas, killing the Giant (though some say Ares defeated Mimas in battle).
Athena, the goddess of war, killed two Giants. She threw the island of Sicily on top of Enceladus, who had been trying to retreat. And after slaying Pallas, Athena tore the Giant's skin off and used it as a shield.
Hecate destroyed Clytius with her torches.
Poseidon chased Polybotes across the Aegean Sea to the island of Cos, where he threw part of the island on top of him.
Hermes “borrowed” the cap of darkness from Hades and, rendered invisible, stole up on the Giant Hippolytus and killed him.
Artemis the archer shot Gration.
Dionysus killed Eurytus by beating him with his thyrsus.
Even the Fates took part, using bronze clubs to beat the Giant brothers Agrius and Thoas to death.

Zeus destroyed all the rest with his thunderbolts, with Heracles supplying the death blows that killed all of the Giants as they lay dying. In this way, the Olympians prevailed and maintained their rule over the universe.
The Mother of All Monsters!

Perhaps to avenge the defeat of the Giants, Gaia soon lay down with Tartarus, begetting the most frightening monster of all Greek mythology: Typhon (sometimes called Typhoeus). The youngest yet largest of all her sons, Typhon shot flames from the eyes of one hundred serpentine heads that spoke in the voices of both men and animals. His legs were tireless and his arms were mighty.

Typhon wanted to overthrow the gods. If not for Zeus, he might have done just that, for even the gods fled from the sight of this horrifying creature. Following the advice of Pan, the Olympians transformed themselves into various animals and fled to Egypt. Hermes, for instance, turned himself into an ibis (a long-legged wading bird), while Aphrodite assumed the form of a fish. This left Zeus alone to oppose the monstrous Typhon—and some storytellers claim that even the mightiest of the gods took the form of a ram and hid himself away for some time.

Zeus and Typhon engaged in fierce combat. Their series of battles produced quakes so violent that they frightened Hades, Cronus, and the other Titans now deep below the earth. The keen-eyed Zeus began by hurling a thunderbolt that echoed throughout heaven and hell, causing the earth, sea, and sky all to tremble. The thunderbolts of Zeus weakened the monster, burning each of his hundred heads. Seizing the advantage, Zeus descended to Earth to engage Typhon in hand-to-hand combat.

But Typhon did not fall easily. The monster seized Zeus's sickle from his hand and cut out the sinews from both of the god's hands and feet. Unable to walk or to fight, Zeus was helpless. Typhon carried the Olympian to Cilicia in southeast Asia Minor and held him captive in a cave. The monster hid the sinews under a bearskin and ordered the dragon Delphyne to guard them. But the crafty pair of Hermes and Pan managed to steal the sinews back.

After Hermes and Pan restored Zeus to health, the god returned to Olympus. There Zeus outfitted himself with more thunderbolts and, harnessing winged horses to draw his chariot, set out in pursuit of Typhon. The monster threw mountains at his pursuer, but Zeus used his thunderbolts to deflect them right back at Typhon.

After several more bloody battles, Typhon fled across the sea to Sicily. There Zeus threw Mount Etna on top of the monster, trapping him under its weight. To this day, the volcanic mountain still spits out flames from Typhon's breath (or perhaps his eyes). Or maybe the eruptions are lingering blasts from Zeus's thunderbolts. Some say that Zeus instead cast the vanquished monster down to Tartarus, where he became the source of all the deadly winds that rage over the seas, tossing ships and claiming sailors' lives.

Having defeated both the Giants and Typhon, the Olympians could now rest on their laurels. The mightiest and the most monstrous had failed to wrest power away from them, and never again would they face such formidable challengers for the throne of heaven. The reign of the Olympians was secure for all time.
http://www.infoplease.com/cig/mythology/fairy-tale-world-giants-ogres-monsters.html

The Secret History of the Gods w/ Erich von Däniken

I love this guy, Erich von Däniken, I believe I read all of his books. Speaking of gods Danikens has his own unique way of interpreting the gods

Published on Mar 27, 2014


MAKE SURE YOU TOGGLE YOUR VIEWING SETTINGS TO 1080HD.

Erich von Däniken published his first book, Chariots of the Gods, in 1968. The worldwide best-seller was followed by 32 more books, including the recent best-sellers Twilight of the Gods, History Is Wrong, Evidence of the Gods, and Remnants of the Gods. His works have been translated into 28 languages and have sold more than 63 million copies. Several have also been made into films. Von Däniken's ideas have been the inspiration for the History Channel's hit Ancient Aliens.

In this never-before-seen style of YouTube programming; a radio show/TV documentary hybrid, Russell Scott interviews the great Erich von Däniken. This program is presented in full HD with a 1080pixel resolution.

If Erich von Däniken wasn't enough, the show is also joined by guest callers: Scotty Roberts, Brien Foerster, Robert Steven Thomas and Michael Tellinger.

Fairies in Legend, Lore, and Literature

Fairies in Legend, Lore, and
Literature 

"Fairy" by Alan Lee

Other folklorists divide the fairies by their element, rather than by their temperament — harking back to Paracelus' classification system of earth, air, water, and fire. Fairies associated with the earth are the most numerous group. Earth elementals include those who live in caves, barrows, and deep underground, and who often have a special facility for working with precious metals. This group includes the Coblynau in the hills of Wales, the Gandharvas of India, the Erdluitle of northern Italy, the Maanväki of Finland, the Thrussers of Norway, the Karzalek of Poland, the Illes of Iceland, the various Dwarves of Old Norse legends, and the Gans of the Apache tribe. Forest fairies are also earth elementals, and are the most numerous type of fairy around the world. Fairies of this type include the shy Aziza in the forests of West Africa, the Mu of Papua New Guinea, the Shinseen of China, the Silvanni of Italy, the Oakmen of the British Isles, the Skogsra of Sweden, the Kulaks of Burma, the Hantu Hutan of the Malay Peninsula, the Bela of Indonesia, the Patu–Paiarehe of the Maori, and the Manitou of the Algonquin tribe. Other earth fairies are those who guard standing stones, such as the web–footed Couril of Brittany, and sand fairies in desert environments, such as the Ahl Al–trab found in Arabic lands.

"Peri" by F. Wolff

Fairies associated with air include the various winged fairies and sylphs that are so numerous in modern picture books, popularized by Tinkerbell and Victorian–era fairy paintings. Examples of air fairies include the luminous Soulth of Irish fairy lore, the Star Folk of the Algonquin tribe, the Atua of Polynesia, and the Peri, the "good fairies" of Persian legends, who are said to dine exclusively on perfume and other delicate scents. Fairies who account for weather phenomena, such as mistral winds, whirlwinds, and storms, are associated with the air element, including the Spriggans of Cornwall, the Vily of Slavonia, the Vintoasele of Serbia and Crotia, the Rusali of Romania, and the mischievous Folletti of Italy.

The most common type of fire fairy is the salamander, an elemental spirit much prized by Renaissance alchemists. Also associated with fire are the Djinn, who are the "bad fairies" of Persian lore, and the Drakes (or Drachen), fire fairies found across the British Isles and western Europe who resemble streaking balls of fire and smell like rotten eggs. Luminous, will–o'–the–wisp type fire fairies are famous for leading travelers astray — including the Ellylldan of Welsh marshland, the Teine Sith of the Scottish Hebrides, the Spunkies of southwest England, Le Faeu Boulanger of the Channel Islands, the Candelas of Sardinia, and the Fouchi Fatui of northern Italy. The various fairies who guard hearth fires are also associated with this element, such as the Gabija of Lithuania and Natrou–Monsieur of France. The Muzayyara are fiery, seductive fairies in old Egyptian tales; and the Akamu is a particularly dangerous fire fairy found in Japan.

"Ferdinand Lured By Ariel" by John Everett Millais

Although (as the brief list above indicates) fairies are known all around the world, nowhere are they quite so varied and populous as they are in the British Isles — which is probably why we find so many of them in English literature. Fairies can be found in many of the courtly Romances of the medieval period — although they're rarely named as such, "fairy" being a relatively late term. These ancient stories are filled with fairy–like men and women who wield magic, live in enchanted palaces, forge magical weaponry, and bewitch or beguile innocent mortals — such as the Lady of the Lake who gives Arthur his magical sword, Excalibur. The tales of King Arthur and his court are particular rife with fairy–like beings, especially in the Welsh and Breton traditions — as are the splendid Lays of Marie de France, written for the English court sometime around the 12th century. The Wife of Bath in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales speaks wistfully of an elf queen and her merry court in the old days of King Arthur, when "al was this land fulfild of fayerye" — as opposed to the Wife of Bath's own time (the 14th century), when fairies were rarely seen.

A 15th century French Romance called Huon of Bordeaux was popular among English readers. This sprightly story of King Oberon, Queen Mab, and assorted knights of the fairy court is notable for providing inspiration for the fairy plays of William Shakespeare. Shakespeare seems to have been well versed in traditional English fairy lore, for he borrowed liberally from this tradition to create the fairies who quarrel, scheme, and cavort in A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. Along with "Queen Mab" from Mercutio's famous speech in Romeo and Juliet, these are the best known and most influential fairies in all English literature — which is why diminutive fairies "no bigger than an agate–stone on the fore–finger of an alderman" are better known today than their human–sized cousins found in many older stories. Fairies are also the subject, of course, in Edmund Spenser's extraordinary poem,The Faerie Queene, written in the late 16th century — although Spenser's fairy court owes more to Italian Romance than to homegrown English fairy legends.

"The Meeting of Oberon and Titania" by Arthur Rackham

In the 17th century, fairies inspired Michael Drayton's Nymphidia, the Court of Fayre, a satirical work featuring King Oberon, Queen Mab and a hapless knight named Pigwiggen. A series of poems in Robert Herrick's Hesperides also feature King Oberon, and also have a satirical edge, but this is a darker, more sensual look at Fairyland than Drayton's. In the 18th century, the fairies appeared in Alexander Pope's arch tale, The Rape of the Lock; and also, covertly, in Gulliver's Travels, the great satire by Jonathan Swift, for Swift used many elements of fairy lore to create his tiny Lilliputians.

"La Belle Dame Sans Merci"
by J. W. Waterhouse

It was in the same century that Bishop Thomas Percy began to collect old British folk ballads, which he published in an influential volume called Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. Without Percy's labors, many traditional ballads might have been lost forever — he rescued one old manuscript from kitchen maids who were using it to light the fire. Percy's work had a notable influence on the writers of the German Romantic movement, who in turn influenced such English Romantics as Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and John Keats. All three of these writers wrote fairy poems, but the ones that are best known and loved today are Keats' evocative "Lamia" and "La Belle Dame Sans Merci." Other writers of the late 18th and early 19th centuries who were much beloved by the fairies, and vice versa, were Tom Moore, Thomas Hood, Allan Cunningham, and especially James Hogg. Known as The Ettrick Shepherd, Hogg was a working shepherd for most of his life as well as a writer of popular tales that drew upon old Scottish legends.

James Hogg's good friend Sir Walter Scott was another writer who found inspiration in Bishop Thomas Percy's efforts to preserve the folk heritage of Britain. Scott's fiction is permeated with the fairy lore of his native Scotland, and he was an enormously influential figure in the 19th century folklore movement. As a collector of tales and ballads himself, Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border preserved important fairy ballads such as Thomas the Rhymer and Tam Lin, and did much to educate readers about the value of Scotland's rich folk history. In addition, Scott gathered around him a group of poets and antiquarians who were likewise interested in preserving the old country tales of a nation that was rapidly urbanizing. Scott was fond of fairy lore in particular — for he'd believed in fairies in his youth, and never entirely lost faith in "things invisible to mortal sight."

"Water Faery" by Brian Froud

Partially due to Scott's influence, two extensive volumes of fairy lore appeared in the early 19th century: Thomas Keightley's The Fairy Mythology and Thomas Crofton Crock'sFairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland. They proved to be enormously popular and kicked off an explosion of folklore books by Reverend Sabine Baring–Gould, Anna Eliza Bray, Joseph Jacobs, and many others. These books are important when looking at English literature and art of the 19th century, for they were avidly read by a wide variety of Victorian writers and artists. Folklore was still a new field back then — the name itself wasn't coined until 1846 — and these groundbreaking publications generated talk and excitement among the intellectuals of London. At the same time, the magical tales and poems of the folklore–loving German Romantic writers (Johann Wulfgang von Goethe, Ludwig Tieck, Novalis, etc.) frequently appeared in English magazines of the period. One German story, in particular, captivated Victorian readers:Undine by Baron de la Motte Fouqué, about a water nymph's love for a mortal knight and her attempt to gain an immortal soul. Undineinspired a large number of subsequent stories, paintings, and dramatic productions about doomed fairy lovers of various kinds (including, over in Denmark, Hans Christian Andersen'sThe Little Mermaid). Such stories were particularly appealing to readers who were interested in matters of the occult and in psychic phenomena — which was a substantial segment of the reading public once the Spiritualist movement crossed the sea from America and took England by storm. These various influences came together to create a wide–spread interest in the fairy race that was unprecedented. At no other time in British history have the fairies been so popular among all types of people, from the working class to the aristocracy.

by Terri Windling

http://www.endicott-studio.com/rdrm/rrfairies2.html

A Tale of New World Dragons

A Tale of New World Dragons

Fire Dragon,Great Turtle, Iroquois,Month of the Dragon,Myth and Legends, New World.

It seems only fitting around Columbus Day, with its tangled web of myth and history, to offer a tale of New World Dragons. This one was originally published in The Dragon Keeper’s Handbook. I hope you enjoy….

In the New World, Creation was one of those monumental events happening somewhere between earth and sky with a healthy dose of water thrown into the mix for good measure. What an auspicious environment for Dragons!

And yet, among the peoples north of the 30th parallel, they were surprisingly rare participants. There were, of course, familiar players: Bear, Buffalo, Wolf, Raven. Totemic figures, one and all. Even trickster Coyote got his paws dirty in the shaping and populating of the world. But hardly a Dragon in the lot. The exception to this rule – and there always is one – is the cosmic Fire Dragon of the Huron and Iroquois.

Long ago, during the before-time, in a Universe of water and sky, there was a young woman named Aetaentsic. So beautiful was she that the Sky God, Chief-of-All-the-Earth, desired her to be his and his alone. This was quite an honor, to be sure, but not one without its perils. The Sky God had a fierce temper when riled and a jealous streak a mile wide. And desiring was not the same as having: there were tests and trials first. Aetaentsic submitted to them all, proving herself worthy to be a divine wife.

Cosmic Dragon by Dido6



For a time they were content, Chief-of-All-the-Earth and his young bride. But the Universe was young and the Sky God often called away to tend this worry or that. In his absence, Aetaentsic whiled away the hours in the company of the Fire Dragon, a spirited and genial being who lit up the skies like a comet with breath and wing. They were close, though how close only they knew. When, in the fullness of the seasons, Aetaentsic became pregnant, her husband opened his ears to the malicious gossip drifting through the heavens. Scandalous chatter filled the air, recounting Fire Dragon‘s visits and the laughter heard in the Sky God‘s longhouse when the god was away. Chief-of-All-the-Earth fumed and fretted, unable to block the slander from his mind.

Day after day he fixed green eyes upon his wife as she sat very still, her belly growing, her gaze stretching across the galaxy as if waiting for her scaled companion to return. He believed Aetaentsic had been unfaithful and was carrying Fire Dragon‘s children, and nothing she said to the contrary could disabuse him of this conviction. Unable to bear the sight of her any longer, he ripped a hole in the sky and hurled her through it.

Down and down Aetaentsic fell, tumbling through the firmament. She was divine; she would continue her descent until someone – or something – stopped her. Two loons saw her plummeting towards them and were dismayed. They rose up, flying close together and caught her on their downy backs, breaking her fall. But she was heavy with child and they could not manage on their own. They sent a call for help out across the water world. Big Turtle heard them and rose to the surface of the Cosmic Sea; the loons gratefully set Aetaentsic on his back.

“It is not right for her to live upon my shell,” Turtle said. “She needs land to live upon.” One by one the animals dove beneath the waters, looking for earth. Some died, all failed. Finally, lowly Toad returned, half-dead but with a tiny bit of mud in his mouth. From that little bit of mud, Aetaentsic formed the World.

With land beneath her feet, she gave birth to the twins she carried. One good, Tijus-kaha; one bad, Tawis-karong. Again, this was a case of life out of death, for Aetaentsic‘s evil son refused to come into the world the normal way. Instead, in a decidedly Alien moment, he broke forth from her side and killed her. All was not in vain: out of her body came all the plants of the Earth, maize and gourds, herbs and trees. She enriched the Earth that her sons might prepare it for the humans who were to come. But that is another story.

Did Fire Dragon sire Aetaentsic‘s children as Chief-of-All-the-Earth feared? Is there noble Dragon blood coursing through the veins of the World makers? It is quite possible. In a Cosmic heartbeat, the Dragon went from attentive intimate to fair-weather friend, an act indicative of a guilty conscience and/or dread at what the Sky God might do to him. A further clue as to the twins‘ paternity can be found in a variation on the tale in which the good twin is known as Se’ sta or Man of Fire.

https://mackenziesdragonsnest.wordpress.com/tag/fire-dragon/

Elementals ~ Natures Spirits ~ their importance

Elementals / Natures Spirits - Why they are so important to the planet and us. 

Many people have some awareness of elementals/nature spirits even though they may not really believe in them. However, they are VERY real and without them our planet would not exist and we would not be here!

There are many aspects of what the nature spirits do that most people are not aware of. What is presented below is a very general overview of the different types of nature spirits, but just like humans, they come in a large variety of shapes, sizes, personalities and temperaments - including fairies, elves, dwarfs, sprites, brownies, pixies, etc. Elementals are also great mimicers of humans and our myriad range of emotions. They easily take on the vibrations of their surroundings and the energy of humans. Because of all this, everyone's experiences with the nature spirits will be different.

Why do we not normally see the elementals?

Everything in the universe vibrates at a certain frequency - including material matter, light rays, radio waves and even thoughts and emotions. As humans we only see a very limited band of frequencies that make up our color spectrum, whereas there are infinite vibrational frequencies outside of what we perceive. The elementals are simply vibrating at a higher frequency than we can usually perceive. Some humans though have developed their sight so they can easily see them. Many children are also aware of them since they have recently come from the heaven world and still retain their inner sight for awhile.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (creator of Sherlock Holmes), Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison are amongst though who came to believe in the existence of nature spirits. In fact, Tesla and Edison both were trying to develop a device to photograph them.

Different types of elementals

There are four classes of nature elementals. They tend the forces of nature and sustain the four elements of earth (gnomes), air (sylphs), salamanders (fire) and undines (water).

The Earth Element and Gnomes

The nature spirits called gnomes are the ones who tend and care for the earth at the physical level. There are billions of gnomes and without them, the planet would not be habitable by humans. Amongst the things that gnomes are responsible for are:

- enriching the soil and the formation of all the minerals and elements found in the earth
- processing the waste and by-products of everyday existence and purging the earth of dangerous pollutants and poisons that are harmful to us
- the protection of and maintaining the form of every plant, flower and growing thing produced in the earth

On the spiritual level, the gnomes have equally important and even heavier chores. They must clean up the energetic release that is imprinted on the earth due to mankind's discord and negativity. This includes the imprint from wars, murders, abuse, torture, etc., as well as from the negative emotions of anger, hatred, discord, and the like. All of these combine to form an enormous amount of negatively charged energy that weighs on the earth body and the nature spirits.

Gnomes vary in appearance as reported by those who have developed their inner vision. Some are short and impish, some appear as very small elves to 3 foot high dwarves and even more giant sized gnomes.

Also associated with the earth element are Fairies, Pixies, Elves, Wood Nymphs and Brownies.

The Air Element and Sylphs

As with the gnomes, we could not survive without the aid of the air elementals - the sylphs. They are responsible for:

- tending to the air element, atmospheric conditions and directing air flows
- aerating every cell with prana - the sacred breath of Spirit which nourishes all things
- purifying the atmosphere of pollutants such as car exhaust and toxic fumes released from factories

The air element also corresponds to the mental plane - or mind. The sylphs also purify the mental level from negative energies and pollutants such as anger, resentment, greed, bigotry and other poisons.

Sylphs usually have thin ethereal bodies that can transform into many shapes as they soar through the air. Their passage are often defined by the formation of clouds. They are able to travel very quickly and over great distances.

The Fire Element and Salamanders

These nature spirits - the salamanders - work with the fire element and their work is crucial to our existence:

- infusing the molecules of matter and all creation with the energies of the Spirit necessary to sustain life on earth - without the spark of life the salamanders sustain, matter would decay, corrode and disintegrate
- controlling the spiritual-material oscillation of light within the nucleus of every atom
- agents for transferring the fires of the subtle world for mankind's daily use - electricity, firelight, etc.

The salamanders are also responsible for absorbing and transmuting huge masses of negativity over the large cities on earth. Without them, crime and darkness would be much more rampant.

These nature spirits are the biggest, most powerful of the elementals. They are tall, majestic beings appearing as pulsating rainbow fire.

The Water Element and Undines

The undines are the nature spirits whose domain is the water element and they govern water and its energies wherever they are - large or small sources. The critical jobs they are responsible for are:

- purification of water everywhere - including in our own bodies
- toiling ceaselessly to cleanse the water of earth poisoned by toxins, sewage, industrial waste, oil spills, chemical and other substances
- control of the tides, oxygenation and precipitation
- control of all of the fish and mineral life in the seas and in the water of the earth

The undines also cleanse the aspect of mankind's life which relates to the water element - their emotions. They carry the weight of our emotional pollution - feelings of anger, fear, anxiety, etc.

These elementals are beautiful, mermaidlike beings. They are swift and subtle in their movements and can change form quickly.

The miracle of life is the miracle of the elementals!

As can be seen, we are totally dependent on the selfless service of the nature spirits, who are mostly unrecognized by the majority of mankind. And yet they give us the miracle of life and without them, life on earth would not be possible!
Nature's guardians never fail to respond to the universal language of Love. Every compassionate gesture from man is joyously communicated from one elemental to another around the world and the love energy is returned to man amplified many times over.

http://natureelementals.com/NE1.html

Food for thought, are you an old soul?

The “Old Soul” Signs You’re An Old Soul: You tend to be a solitary loner. Because old souls are disinterested in the pursuits and interests of the people in their age groups, they find it dissatisfying to make friends with people they find it hard to relate to. The result is … old souls tend to find themselves alone a lot of the time. People just don’t cut it for them. You love knowledge, wisdom and truth. Yep … this seems a little grandiose and overly noble, but the old soul finds himself naturally gravitating towards the intellectual side of life. Old souls inherently understand that knowledge is power, wisdom is happiness and truth is freedom, so why not seek after those things? These pursuits are more meaningful to them than reading up on the latest gossip about Snooki’s latest boyfriend, or the latest football scores. You’re spiritually inclined.

More emotional old souls tend to have sensitive and spiritual natures. Overcoming the confines of the ego, seeking enlightenment and fostering love and peace are the main pursuits of these young-in-body Mother Teresa’s. To them it seems the wisest, most fulfilling use of time.
You understand the transience of life.

Old souls are frequently plagued with reminders of not only their own mortality, but that of everything and everyone around them. This makes the old soul wary and at times withdrawn, but wisely dictates the way they live their lives.

You’re thoughtful and introspective.

Old souls tend to think a lot … about everything. Their ability to reflect and learn from their actions and those of others is their greatest teacher in life. One reason why old souls feel so old at heart is because they have learnt so many lessons through their own thought processes, and possess so much insight into life situations from their ability to quietly and carefully observe what if going on around them.
You see the bigger picture.

Rarely do old souls get lost in the superficial details of getting useless degrees, job promotions, boob jobs and bigger TV’s. Old souls have the tendency to look at life from a birds eye view, seeing what is the most wise and meaningful way to approach life. When confronted with issues, old souls tend to see them as temporary and passing pains that merely serve to increase the amount of joy felt in the future. Consequently, old souls tend to have placid, stable natures as a result of their approach to life.
You aren’t materialistic.

Wealth, status, fame, and the latest version of iPhone … they just bore old souls. The old soul doesn’t see the purpose of pursuing things that can be easily taken away from them. Additionally, old souls have little time and interest for the short-lived things in life, as they bring little meaning or long lasting fulfillment for them.
You were a strange, socially maladaptive kid.

This is not always the case, but many old souls exhibit odd signs of maturity at young ages. Often, these children are labelled as being “precocious”, “introverted”, or “rebellious“, failing to fit into the mainstream behaviors. Usually, these children are extremely inquisitive and intelligent, seeing the purposelessness of many things their teachers, parents and peers say and so, and either passively or aggressively resisting them. If you can talk to your child like he/she’s an adult – you’ve probably got an old soul on your hands.
You just “feel” old.

Before putting a name to what I felt, I experienced certain sensations of simply being an “old person” inside. The feelings that accompany being an old soul are usually: a feeling of world wariness, mental tiredness, watchful patience, and detached calmness. Unfortunately, this can often be perceived as being aloof and cold, which is only one of many Old Soul Myths.

Just as some old people describe themselves as being “young at heart”, so too can young people be “old at heart”.

— ALETHEIA LUNA

Elven Biology

Elven Biology

Elves are very close to humans on a biological level, but hey so are chimpanzees...

Elves belong to the same genus as humans but not to the same specie, unlike Neanderthals (brut men) who are the same species, and so is Hin (halflings).

Genetically elves are 99.8% similar to humans in this passage were going to discuss the remaining 0.2 percent.

Appearance-
Elves tend to be shorter than humans. This is true in most cases though often you can find elves reaching 1.8 meters in height (males and females) and even higher. Reduced height poses an advantage in the dense forest realms the elves come from therefore adult elves tend to be ranging from 1.4 to 1.7 meters (males and females are the same size).

Elves who do not live in forested areas for long periods of time tend to grow higher than woodland elves.

Elven bodies are more slender than humans and they weigh lower than the human norm for their height. However their muscles are still strong and they are not fragile as they seem. Elves do not have bodily hair. Nowhere.

Elves have narrow faces with pointed ears (this is much more refined than some illustrations show. the ears are less pointed than Mr. Spoks) and hazel shaped eyes, whose colour range from grey and silver through blue and green to violet. Brown eyes can be found but they are more rare.

Hair changes according to subrace and tribe. While blond and golden tend to be more common in most cases some tribes are completely black haired.

Old elves (and that’s mighty old!) have white hair. Blue hair or greenish are legends that probably refer to some fairy race or to dryads.

Senses-
Elven ears have a different hearing range from humans. While human adults hear noises from 400 to 20,000 hertz , elves hear from 1000 to 30,000 hertz a slightly higher range. This is probably why elves speak in higher pitches than humans. Elves have an excellent sense of sight especially in close ranges. They separate colours better, and therefore make better archers and hunters in forested areas when shades of green are the difference between a leaf and a meal of frog legs.

I have a serious problem with infra vision. In order to decipher infra red light the eyes of an elf should be very different. Snakes that do have infra vision have special organs for that range of light instead of their regular eyes.Because of this, IMC ,elves (end dwarfs and orcs and everyone) don’t have infra vision but rather have the natural ability to open their pupils larger (like cats) in order to gather more light. They can see in what seem to humans to be darkness, but cant see in total absolute darkness.
This comes as a disadvantage in places of extreme sunlight such as deserts and snow fields , as the pain to the eyes is terrible.

Smell and taste are usually the same as humans, though what elves and humans like to taste and smell is not always the same.

Food and drink-

The elven diet is composed on less complex carbohydrates than humans and less protein from meat. Its not true that all elves are vegetarians or that they are repulsed by eating meat. Its just they need meat in different quantities than humans. Elves do eat a lot of simple sugars from sugar-cane berries and fruit , and they supplement it with the occasional insect fish, frogs and small mammals (usually rabbits) they also eat roots and mushrooms and some nutritious tree bark. Elves cook meat (again against rumours and legends) usually roasting it on open fire. Elves drink wine (only kind of alcohol they know) and tend to react to its effect the same way humans do.
Sleep-

This is a very sensitive subject. The elven biological clock works differently than the human one in almost every aspect. (see below).
For one thing the active hours of elves are different. Elves are not nocturnal, but there most active hours are from the afternoon to midnight.

Elves go to sleep around two hours before sunrise and wake up at noon (just like modern teenagers!) they sometimes nap in the evening like humans do in the afternoon. The reason for this daily cycle is not known, but it explains lots of the myths humans have about elves. For one thing, common human folk that live near elves think they are lazy and never work- that’s not true - elves work, they just don’t do it early in the morning like humans do. Another thing humans think about elves is that they have wild parties all night long (dancing in fairy rings and such) this is only partly true as elves tend to sit around the fire before they go to sleep talking singing and telling stories.
Life cycle-

Elves have extremely long life spans in the OD&D this is about 800 years and in the AD&D system up to 600 years IMC this is more complicated than this. While elves do have very long lives this doesn't mean their cycle of life is the same as humans. Elves grow up slightly slower than humans and when they mature they stay that way for a very long time before they age. Old elves don't suffer for the same ailments that plague human elderly people, but just the different ailments they gathered through their long lives. Elves do not get wrinkles on their skin nor do their bodies become fragile or weak. Eventually, they will suffer a normal disease and die. This is not considered as death of old age since elves do not fade away into death, they just die.

Elven life cycle versus human life cycle:

human years
elven years

babies
0-2
0-3

children
3-12
4-15

puberty
13-17
16-21

young adulthood (fertility)
18-28
21-70

adulthood
29-55
71-250

venerable
56-75
251- 350

death
75-100
350-550

Love and monogamy

Elves usually start getting interested in the opposite sex during their young adult years. Elves form strong bonds with mates (the same way they do with members of their own gender) but this doesn't always lead to marriage. Elves are monogamous and never have relationships with more than one mate but the relationship is not permanent. Elves learned about the marriage custom from humans and use it to promise their loved ones they will stay with them forever. However elven couples are known to fall in love live together raise kids and then go on living single lives again- marriage is optional.

Sexual relations

While we have trouble understanding this complicated subject in our own society its even harder to try and understand sex in a completely different race.

Elves have sex the same way humans (and most mammals) do, in the physical sense but they treat it in a different way. Elves enjoy sex less than humans. Elves are not slaves to their passions as we are and lots of them go through life (a very very long life!) without sex. Elves have less obvious sexual organs than humans, the male’s penis is less thick and reaches only 10-14 cm, while the females vagina doesn't have clear outer parts. Both genders have absolutely no hair on their bodies , not even in places that serve as erogenous zones.Elves treat blind sexual passion as animalistic (in some way that is the main reason humans seem inferior to elves being “like animals” in behaviour). 

Elves don’t treat nudity as indecent or always sex related, but sexual relations of any kind are always done in privacy.

Elves sometimes have sex with partners of the same gender this is considered an act of strong love to that person. Elves do not consider these relations as having to do with duality and don't understand how can one be solely attracted to his/hers own gender there aren't any elven homosexuals as such.
Reproductive habits

This is the most puzzling aspect of elven biology. In evolutionary terms elves rate of reproduction is much too slow to allow the continuation of the specie. But evolution works different on creatures of magical essence and maybe the slow rate of reproduction is necessary to the survival of the elven race.

Elves rarely have sex , sex rarely brings to fertilisation and pregnancy + childhood take long. All these make the elves poor breeders. This is probably why there are fewer elves than humans. The ratio on mystery (and most worlds) is about 15 to 1 in favour of humans. While humans can triple their population in a century (given ideal resources and space) elves need 500 years to do same.
The fact that elves war less among themselves evens the sides a bit.
Elf females have a monthly period like human women but only release eggs every two or three months. Elf males release less sperm than humans and therefor fertilisation is rare.
When fertilisation does occur the female enters a pregnancy of two years (like elephants!) at which time of course she is not fertile. After this long pregnancy an elven baby is born and stays helpless for three years (elven babies learn to walk when they are two).

http://pandius.com/morphail/Elvenbiology.html

Fairy Love

For my dear sis

I Love the fairy people. 

Up on high in the sky, 

over the tops of the mountains,

and down into valley,

down into the ravine do they fly,

Fly on hi, fly on low over the river,

with sparkly fairy dust do they land,

land upon the blooms of the cherry trees,

Satisfying their thirst they dance, 

and dance until the sun sets.

Each bedding within the blooms about,

enfolding them softly,

protecting them for the night. 

Fairy love

  ೋღ♥ღღೋ ✫ Writen by Cynthia  ೋღ♥ღღೋ✫