Wednesday, 30 April 2014

A Fairy Love Song


A Fairy Love Song

Few folk have seen a Fairy.
As much as some would want to
they never seem to make it
to that special place,
that special place within your heart.
Once it is within, in your heart,
then shall you believe.
If you believe with all your might
she'll make your dreams come true.
But for now, my dear friend,
I found this one just for you!

The forest is teeming with fairies!
The trees alive with them!
They flitter, flutter and dance,
upon the waters of the nearby
rivers, streams and ponds.
Perhaps playing tag with the dragonflies;
See how they dip and dive!
What fun and endearing little fellows!
Such delicate beauty, the forests enchantment.
They dance and leap, and prance and sing
fairy cheers to you!

Composed by Cynthia ©


Fairy Tales and the Ancient Mythology


Here is one view from Victorian England concerning fairy tales and the faie folk of Wales. The Arthurian Legend and Avalon are mentioned in this commentary from about 1880 or so. Enjoy the read and we welcome comments. Thank you


Fairy Tales and the Ancient Mythology

At eve, the primrose path along,
The milkmaid shortens with a song
Her solitary way;
She sees the fairies with their queen
Trip hand-in-hand the circled green,
And hears them raise, at times unseen,
The ear-enchanting lay.


Rev. John Logan: Ode to Spring, 1780

The Compensations of Science--Existing Belief in Fairies in Wales--The Faith of Culture--The Credulity of Ignorance--The Old Time Welsh Fairyland--The Fairy King--The Legend of St. Collen and Gwyn ap Nudd--The Green Meadows of the Sea--Fairies at Market--The Land of Mystery

I.
WITH regard to other divisions of the field of folk-lore, the views of scholars differ, but in the realm of faerie these differences are reconciled; it is agreed that fairy tales are relics of the ancient mythology; and the philosophers stroll hand in hand harmoniously. This is as it should be, in a realm about which cluster such delightful memories of the most poetic period of life--childhood, before scepticism has crept in as ignorance slinks out. The knowledge which introduced scepticism is infinitely more valuable than the faith it displaced; but, in spite of that, there be few among us who have not felt evanescent regrets for the displacement by the foi scientifique of the old faith in fairies. There was something so peculiarly fascinating in that old belief, that 'once upon a time' the world was less practical in its facts than now, less commonplace and hum-drum, less subject to the inexorable laws of gravitation, optics, and the like. What dramas it has yielded! What poems, what dreams, what delights!

But since the knowledge of our maturer years destroys all that, it is with a degree of satisfaction we can turn to the consolations of the fairy mythology. The beloved tales of old are 'not true'--but at least they are not mere idle nonsense, and they have a good and sufficient reason for being in the world; we may continue to respect them. The wit who observed that the final cause of fairy legends is 'to afford sport for people who ruthlessly track them to their origin,' [Saturday Review,' October 20, 1877] expressed a grave truth in jocular form. Since one can no longer rest in peace with one's ignorance, it is a comfort to the lover of fairy legends to find that he need not sweep them into the grate as so much rubbish; on the contrary they become even more enchanting in the crucible of science than they were in their old character.

II.
Among the vulgar in Wales, the belief in fairies is less nearly extinct than casual observers would be likely to suppose. Even educated people who dwell in Wales, and have dwelt there all their lives, cannot always be classed as other than casual observers in this field. There are some such residents who have paid special attention to the subject, and have formed an opinion as to the extent of prevalence of popular credulity herein; but most Welsh people of the educated class, I find, have no opinion, beyond a vague surprise that the question should be raised at all. So lately as the year 1858, a learned writer in the 'Archaeologia Cambrensis' declared that 'the traveller may now pass from one end of the Principality to the other, without his being shocked or amused, as the case may be, by any of the fairy legends or popular tales which used to pass current from father to son. But in the same periodical, eighteen years later, I find Mr. John Walter Lukis (President of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society), asserting with regard to the cromlechs, tumuli, and ancient camps in Glamorganshire:

 'There are always fairy tales and ghost stories connected with them; some, though fully believed in by the inhabitants of those localities, are often of the most absurd character; in fact the more ridiculous they are, the more they are believed in.' ['Archaelogia Cambrensis,' 4th Sc., vi., 174] My own observation leads me to support the testimony of the last-named witness. Educated Europeans generally conceive that this sort of belief is extinct in their own land, or, at least their own immediate section of that land. They accredit such degree of belief as may remain, in this enlightened age, to some remote part-to the south, if they dwell in the north; to the north, if they dwell in the south. But especially they accredit it to a previous age: in Wales, to last century, or the middle ages, or the days of King Arthur. The rector of Merthyr, being an elderly man, accredits it to his youth. 'I am old enough to remember,' he wrote me under date of January 30th, 1877, 'that these tales were thoroughly believed in among country folk forty or fifty years ago.' People of superior culture have held this kind of faith concerning fairy-lore, it seems to me, in every age, except the more remote. Chaucer held it, almost five centuries ago, and wrote ['Wyf of Bathes Tale,' 'Canterbury Tales.']:

In olde dayes of the Kyng Arthour, ...
Al was this lond fulfilled of fayrie; ...
I speke of many hundrid yer ago;
But now can no man see non elves mo.

Dryden held it, two hundred years later, and said of the fairies:

I speak of ancient times, for now the swain
Returning late may pass the woods in vain,
And never hope to see the nightly train.

In all later days, other authors have written the same sort of thing; it is not thus now, say they, but it was recently thus. The truth, probably, is that if you will but sink down to the level of common life, of ignorant life, especially in rural neighbour hoods, there you will find the same old beliefs prevailing, in about the same degree to which they have ever prevailed, within the past five hundred years. To sink to this level successfully, one must become a living unit in that life, as I have done in Wales and elsewhere, from time to time. Then one will hear the truth from, or at least the true sentiments of; the class he seeks to know. The practice of every generation in thus relegating fairy belief to a date just previous to its own does not apply, however, to superstitious beliefs in general; for, concerning many such beliefs, their greater or less prevalence at certain dates (as in the history of witchcraft) is matter of well-ascertained fact. I confine the argument, for the present, strictly to the domain of faerie. In this domain, the prevalent belief in Wales may be said to rest with the ignorant, to be strongest in rural and mining districts, to be childlike and poetic, and to relate to anywhere except the spot where the speaker dwells-as to the next parish, to the next county, to the distant mountains, or to the shadow-land of Gwerddonau Llion, the green meadows of the sea.

III.
In Arthur's day and before that, the people of South Wales regarded North Wales as preeminently the land of faerie. In the popular imagination, that distant country was the chosen abode of giants, monsters, magicians, and all the creatures of enchantment. Out of it came the fairies, on their visits to the sunny land of the south. The chief philosopher of that enchanted region was a giant who sat on a mountain peak and watched the stars. It had a wizard monarch called Gwydion, who possessed the power of changing himself into the strangest possible forms. The peasant who dwelt on the shores of Dyfed (Demetia) saw in the distance, beyond the blue waves of the ocean, shadowy mountain summits piercing the clouds, and guarding this mystic region in solemn majesty. Thence rolled down upon him the storm-clouds from the home of the tempest; thence streamed up the winter sky the flaming banners of the Northern lights; thence rose through the illimitable darkness on high, the star-strewn pathway of the fairy king. These details are current in the Mabinogion, those brilliant stories of Welsh enchantment. so gracefully clone into English by Lady Charlotte Guest, ['The Mabinogion, from the Welsh of the Llyfr Coch o Hergest.' Translated, with notes by Lady Charlotte Guest. (New Edition, London, 1877.)] and it is believed that all the Mabinogion in which these details were found were written in Dyfed. This was the region on the west, now covered by Pembroke, Carmarthen, and Cardigan shires.

More recently than the time above indicated, special traditions have located fairy-land in the Vale of Neath, in Glamorganshire. Especially does a certain steep and rugged crag there, called Craig y Ddinas, bear a distinctly awful reputation as a stronghold of the fairy tribe [There are two hills in Glamorganshire called by this name, and others elsewhere in Wales]. Its caves and crevices have been their favourite haunt for many centuries, and upon this rock was held the court of the last fairies who have ever appeared in Wales. Needless to say there are men still living who remember the visits of the fairies to Craig y Ddinas, although they aver the little folk are no longer seen there. It is a common remark that the Methodists drove them away; indeed, there are numberless stories which show the fairies to have been animated, when they were still numerous in Wales, by a cordial antipathy for all dissenting preachers. In this antipathy, it may be here observed, teetotallers were included.

IV.
The sovereign of the fairies, and their especial guardian and protector, was one Gwyn ap Nudd. He was also ruler over the goblin tribe in general. His name often occurs in ancient Welsh poetry. An old bard of the fourteenth century, who, led away by the fairies, rode into a turf bog on a mountain one dark night, called it the 'fish-pond of Gwyn ap Nudd, a palace for goblins and their tribe.' The association of this legendary character with the goblin fame of the Vale of Neath will appear, when it is mentioned that Nudd in Welsh is pronounced simply Neath, and not otherwise. As for the fairy queen, she does not seem to have any existence among Cambrian goblins. It is nevertheless thought by Cambrian etymologists, that Morgana is derived from Mor Gwyn, the white maid; and the Welsh proper name Morgan can hardly fail to be mentioned in this connection, though it is not necessarily significant.

The legend of St. Collen, in which Gwyn ap Nudd figures, represents him as king of Annwn (hell, or the shadow land) as well as of the fairies. ['Greal' (8vo. London, 1805), p.337] Collen was passing a period of mortification as a hermit, in a cell under a rock on a mountain. There he one day overheard two men talking about Gwyn ap Nudd, and giving him this twofold kingly character. Collen cried out to the men to go away and hold their tongues, instead of talking about devils. For this Collen was rebuked, as the king of fairyland had an objection to such language. 

The saint was summoned to meet the king on the hill-top at noon, and after repeated refusals, he finally went there; but he carried a flask of holy water with him. 'And when he came there he saw the fairest castle he had ever beheld, and around it the best appointed troops, and numbers of minstrels and every kind of music of voice and string, and steeds with youths upon them, the comeliest in the world, and maidens of elegant aspect, sprightly, light of foot, of graceful apparel, and in the bloom of youth; and every magnificence becoming the court of a puissant sovereign. And he beheld a courteous man on the top of the castle who bade him enter, saying that the king was waiting for him to come to meat. And Cohen went into the castle, and when lie came there the king was sitting in a golden chair. And he welcomed Collen honourably, and desired him to eat, assuring him that besides what he saw, he should have the most luxurious of every dainty and delicacy that the mind could desire, and should be supplied with every drink and liquor that the heart could wish; and that there should be in readiness for him every luxury of courtesy and service, of banquet and of honourable entertainment, of rank and of presents, and every respect and welcome due to a man of his wisdom.

" I will not eat the leaves of the trees," said Collen. "Didst thou ever see men of better equipment than these of red and blue?" asked the king. "Their equipment is good enough," said Collen, "for such equipment as it is." "What kind of equipment is that?" said the king. Then said Collen, "The red on the one part signifies burning, and the blue on the other signifies coldness." And with that Cohen drew out his flask and threw the holy water on their heads, whereupon they vanished from his sight, so that there was neither castle nor troops, nor men, nor maidens, nor music, nor song, nor steeds, nor youths, nor banquet, nor the appearance of anything whatever but the green hillocks.'

V.
A third form of Welsh popular belief as to the whereabouts of fairy-land corresponds with the Avalon of the Arthurian legends. The green meadows of the sea, called in the triads Gwerddonau LIon, are the

,Green fairy islands, reposing
In sunlight and beauty on Ocean's calm breast.
Parry's 'Welsh Melodies'

Many extraordinary superstitions survive with regard to these islands. They were supposed to be the abode of the souls of certain Druids, who, not holy enough to enter the heaven of the Christians, were still not wicked enough to be condemned to the tortures of annwyn, and so were accorded a place in this romantic sort of purgatorial paradise. In the fifth century a voyage was made, by the British king Gavran, in search of these enchanted islands; with his family he sailed away into the unknown waters, and was never heard of more. This voyage Is commemorated in the triads as one of the Three Losses by Disappearance, the two others being Merlin's and Madog's. Merlin sailed away in a ship of glass; Madog sailed in search of America and neither returned, but both disappeared for ever. In Pembrokeshire and southern Carmarthenshire are to be found traces of this belief. There are sailors on that romantic coast who still talk of the green meadows of enchantment lying in the Irish channel to the west of Pembrokeshire. Sometimes they are visible to the eyes of mortals for a brief space, when suddenly they vanish.

There are traditions of sailors who, in the early part of the present century, actually went ashore on the fairy islands--not knowing that they were such, until they returned to their boats, when they were filled with awe at seeing the islands disappear from their sight, neither sinking in the sea, nor floating away upon the waters, but simply vanishing suddenly. The fairies inhabiting these islands are said to have regularly attended the markets at Milford Haven and Laugharne. They made their purchases without speaking, laid down their money and departed, always leaving the exact sum required, which they seemed to know, without asking the price of anything. Sometimes they were invisible, but they were often seen, by sharp-eyed persons. There was always one special butcher at Milford Haven upon whom the fairies bestowed their patronage, instead of distributing their favours indiscriminately. The Milford Haven folk could see the green fairy islands distinctly, lying out a short distance from land: and the general belief was that they were densely peopled with fairies. It was also said that the latter went to and fro between the islands and the shore through a subterranean gallery under the bottom of the sea.


That isolated cape which forms the county of Pembroke was looked upon as a land of mystery by the rest of Wales long after it had been settled by the Flemings in 1113. A secret veil was supposed to cover this sea-girt promontory; the inhabitants talked in an unintelligible jargon that was neither English, nor French, nor Welsh; and out of its misty darkness came fables of wondrous sort, and accounts of miracles marvelous beyond belief. Mythology and Christianity spoke together from this strange country, and one could not tell at which to be most amazed, the pagan or the priest.





Tuesday, 29 April 2014

The Arkan Sonney, Another Shape Shifter?

The Arkan Sonney, Another Shape Shifter?

I have no way to know for certain but the more reading and researching I do on the mystical beings mentioned in our many mythologies, legends and lore I am coming to the conclusion that fairies are not solid mass, like us, but just a concentration of energy. This would account to the fact as to their apparent ability to flip from one side of reality, to another or dimension to another. There are diferent ways we could come up with possibilities using quantum physics, I have chosen neutrinos for an illustration.


Neutrinos are energy particle, In June 2012, CERN announced that new measurements conducted by four Gran Sasso experiments (OPERA, ICARUS, Borexino and LVD) found agreement between the speed of light and the speed of neutrinos, finally refuting the initial OPERA result.[


To actually detect a neutrino one can only record the luminous trail left when passing through photons, light,

technically that would require a particle accelerator is to smash protons into a fixed target, producing charged pions or kaons.

Neutrinos basically and simply are the only subatomic particle which can disappear apparently completely out of existence and reappear elsewhere in the universe at the wink of an eye so to speak

Neutrinos are also useful for probing astrophysical sources beyond our solar system because they are the only known particles that are not significantly attenuated by their travel through the interstellar medium

Who are we to say that fairies and other creatures and beings that our mythology abounds with is not true? Could our mystical beings from our mythology be of the same element as the Neutrino?



The Arkan Sonney, Another Shape Shifter?
Wikipedia cites another tale from A Manx Scrapbook by Walter Gill that describes it as a white pig, seen by a child near Niarbyl, Isle of Man
. She wanted her uncle to help her catch it but he refused and it got away.[2]
In Dora Broome's Fairy Tales from the Isle of Man, the pig, or hedge hog like being is described as white with red eyes and ears. In that story the pig can change size, but not its shape.[3]


* * * * * * * * * *



Arkan Sonney, the Hedgehog Men of Spatantike;


The Arkan Sonney, hedgehog men in the tradition of the German fairy tale about Hans, are this world equivalent of Celts.

Arkan Sonney

The Arkan Sonney, the hedgehog men of the North, are a race of incredibly fierce, incredibly friendly warrior-poets, who expanded out of the great woods of the nation when the fey retreated to occupy many parts of the Arcadian world.

The Arcadian Empire managed to somewhat incorporate them into their tribes, creating an interesting mix of Arcadian and native culture in many regions. But the people themselves maintained their initial traits and culture successfully to the present day, especially their respect for nature and their unique song, dress and cuisine.

The Arkan Sonney are an exceptionally pleasant and happy people, delighting in food, song, dance, love, and war equally, giving them a reputation as being fearless. They tend to be a peaceful folk until roused, or threatened. They will not hesitate to enter battle with the same joy and energy that they bring everywhere else. Their moods tend to be kept calm or happy by design, because anger or fear causes their spikes to sprout, which can cause accidents, death, etc.

They consider themselves gourmands, and feasting and eating are important social occasions. They show great reverence for nature, and often commune with beasts and plants, keeping pets, growing gardens, etc., and holding the natural world to be evidence of the glory of the Creator. Respect for life is important, and prayers any time a plant or animal is killed for food are considered necessary. Brightly colored clothing with elaborate designs also reinforce the happy mood of the people, and they take great pride in their colors.


Arkan Sonney are hedgehog men, humanoids with pleasant, broad faces, jolly dispositions, and a head covered in quills that trail down their back. These hairs stay retracted while they are in a good mood, but when startled, frightened, or angered, they extend from their skin in prehensile barbs, causing their hair and back to essentially sprout defensive spikes that can be plucked and thrown, or fought with directly, or simply as a shield on one side. This hair is usually blond or red, though lighter browns are also extremely common. They are quite tall, especially compared to southerners, averaging around six feet, and they are very pale of complexion. Blue, green and gray eyes are common. They tend to grow facial and body hair, though this does not have the spike-like quality of the hair on their heads and backs.

Arkan Sonney, as a particularly friendly people with a vast geographic dispersion, almost universally get along with other races and nations, if for no other reason than they have such a wide range of experience with foreign peoples. They are one of the few races that get along with the Anakim, and some of them have adopted similar roaming ways. There are only two exceptions to this: the Arkan Sonney cannot abide by the Cruithni, who they chased out of their territories wherever they encountered them, because of their association with the fey, and the Fomorians, who are considered traditional enemies in every context. An Arkan Sonney will gladly die if he can take a Fomorian with him.


Arkan Sonney tend to be chaotic, preferring to trust whim and good humor to the rigidity of law and order. Their society does have laws, but they are much looser and specific than some cultures, and while laws are obeyed, it is a loose obedience, viewed more as custom than rule.

Arkan Sonney exploded out of the woodlands of central Spatantike before the arrival of the Fomorians and spread throughout the continent, reaching even onto other continents. While their lands are not as great as they once were, they have settlements throughout the western coast of Spatantike and along the Blood Sea, as well as settlements around the White Guard and, surprisingly, in the highlands on the canal side of the Drywinds. Their most powerful independent kingdoms are along the Spatantike north-western coasts.



The Caitsith Rite of Baruchianity is the major religion of the Arkan Sonney in their Spatantike surroundings, though those in other areas tend to follow the major religion of their own places.

Caitsith Rite believes that the human nature of Baruch was overcome by the divine spark of God, dissolving in the Divine, so that as he aged he became closer and closer to God while still having the memories and experiences of a man. They see him as very much a man, as a result, prone to all one’s errors and thus capable of understanding and forgiving humanity for their baser natures, becoming God slowly and thus getting more and more holy towards the end.


There is also a minor faith, common throughout all Arkan Sonney communities, of the Drunemeton, the faith of the worshippers of the True Tree, which has been slightly influenced by Baruch’s hanging on the Midsummer Tree. They believe in the sanctity of all life, and so are vegetarians, who are able to talk to the animals and plants, and act as shepherds of nature—the religion is respected and feared both, and the healing skills of the Drune are well known.

The Arkan Sonney speak a number of inter-related languages, divided into a series of more similar groups with some degree of mutual intelligibility—dialect is an important part of culture and society, and it makes it easy for Arkan Sonney to tell a stranger. The languages share three grammatical genders, a number system counting by twenties, a verb-subject-object word order, and a number of other curious language features. The language has a song-like quality, with risings and fallings in tone, as well as word length, affecting meaning.

Arkan Sonney have a personal name and a clan name, with nicknames often attached to the first name to make compound names. The clan name is much more important than the personal name in almost all cases, with those who have a weak clan or no clan adopting their nick name as their clan name.




Thank you for your interest dear readers and followers
"˙•٠•●c♪♫♪❤❤´ (¸.´´¯`•.¸¸.¸.´¯)  ᵔᴥᵔ ᵔᴥᵔ ᵔᴥᵔ ❤❤




Monday, 28 April 2014

Seelies



Seelies


The Seelie Court, the Unseelie Court, Trooping Fairies and how to protect yourself from them


The Unseelie Court 

Pic: Web Image

In Scottish folklore, fairies are divided into the Seelie Court, the more beneficently inclined (but still dangerous) fairies, and the Unseelie Court, the malicious fairies. While the fairies from the Seelie court enjoyed playing pranks on humans they were usually harmless affairs, compared to the Unseelie court that enjoyed bringing harm to humans as entertainment. A Seelie Court is a term originating in Lowland Scottish folklore and the word “seely” being a Scots, Northern and Middle English term means “happy”, “lucky” or “blessed”.Trooping fairies refer to fairies who appear in groups and might form settlements. In this definition, fairy is usually understood in a wider sense, as the term can also include various kinds of mythical creatures mainly of Celtic origin; however, the term might also be used for similar beings such as dwarves or elves from Germanic folklore. These are opposed to solitary fairies, who do not live or associate with others of their kind.


Practical beliefs and protection

When considered as beings that a person might actually encounter, fairies were noted for their mischief and malice. Some pranks ascribed to them, such as tangling the hair of sleepers into “Elf-locks”, stealing small items or leading a traveler astray, are generally harmless. But far more dangerous behaviors were also attributed to fairies. Any form of sudden death might stem from a fairy kidnapping, with the apparent corpse being a wooden stand-in with the appearance of the kidnapped person. Consumption (tuberculosis) was sometimes blamed on the fairies forcing young men and women to dance at revels every night, causing them to waste away from lack of rest. Fairies riding domestic animals, such as cows or pigs or ducks, could cause paralysis or mysterious illnesses.

As a consequence, practical considerations of fairies have normally been advice on averting them. In terms of protective charms, cold iron is the most familiar, but other things are regarded as detrimental to the fairies: wearing clothing inside out, running water, bells (especially church bells), St. John’s wort, and four-leaf clovers, among others. Some lore is contradictory, such as rowan trees in some tales being sacred to the fairies, and in other tales being protection against them. In Newfoundland folklore, the most popular type of fairy protection is bread, varying from stale bread to hard tack or a slice of fresh home-made bread. The belief that bread has some sort of special power is an ancient one. Bread is associated with the home and the hearth, as well as with industry and the taming of nature, and as such, seems to be disliked by some types of fairies. On the other hand, in much of the Celtic folklore, baked goods are a traditional offering to the folk, as are cream and butter.

“The prototype of food, and therefore a symbol of life, bread was one of the commonest protections against fairies. Before going out into a fairy-haunted place, it was customary to put a piece of dry bread in one’s pocket.”


Bells also have an ambiguous role; while they protect against fairies, the fairies riding on horseback — such as the fairy queen — often have bells on their harness. This may be a distinguishing trait between the Seelie Court from the Unseelie Court, such that fairies use them to protect themselves from more wicked members of their race. Another ambiguous piece of folklore revolves about poultry: a cock’s crow drove away fairies, but other tales recount fairies keeping poultry.In County Wexford, Ireland, in 1882, it was reported that



“if an infant is carried out after dark a piece of bread is wrapped in its bib or dress, and this protects it from any witchcraft or evil.”



The Fairy Queen on a Raid


Pic: Web Image


While many fairies will confuse travelers on the path, the will o’ the wisp can be avoided by not following it. Certain locations, known to be haunts of fairies, are to be avoided; C. S. Lewis reported hearing of a cottage more feared for its reported fairies than its reported ghost. In particular, digging in fairy hills was unwise. Paths that the fairies travel are also wise to avoid. Home-owners have knocked corners from houses because the corner blocked the fairy path, and cottages have been built with the front and back doors in line, so that the owners could, in need, leave them both open and let the fairies troop through all night. Locations such as fairy forts were left undisturbed; even cutting brush on fairy forts was reputed to be the death of those who performed the act. Fairy trees, such as thorn trees, were dangerous to chop down; one such tree was left alone in Scotland, though it prevented a road being widened for seventy years. Good house-keeping could keep brownies from spiteful actions, because if they did not think the house is clean enough, they pinched people in their sleep. Such water hags as Peg Powler and Jenny Greenteeth, prone to drowning people, could be avoided by avoiding the bodies of water they inhabit.




Brownies


Pic: Web images

Other actions were believed to offend fairies. Brownies were known to be driven off by being given clothing, though some folktales recounted that they were offended by inferior quality of the garments given, and others merely stated it, some even recounting that the brownie was delighted with the gift and left with it. Other brownies left households or farms because they heard a complaint, or a compliment. People who saw the fairies were advised not to look closely, because they resented infringements on their privacy. The need to not offend them could lead to problems: one farmer found that fairies threshed his corn, but the threshing continued after all his corn was gone, and he concluded that they were stealing from his neighbors, leaving him the choice between offending them, dangerous in itself, and profiting by the theft.


Millers were thought by the Scots to be “no canny”, owing to their ability to control the forces of nature, such as fire in the kiln, water in the burn, and for being able to set machinery a-whirring. Superstitious communities sometimes believed that the miller must be in league with the fairies. In Scotland fairies were often mischievous and to be feared. No one dared to set foot in the mill or kiln at night as it was known that the fairies brought their corn to be milled after dark. So long as the locals believed this then the miller could sleep secure in the knowledge that his stores were not being robbed. John Fraser, the miller of Whitehill claimed to have hidden and watched the fairies trying unsuccessfully to work the mill. He said he decided to come out of hiding and help them, upon which one of the fairy women gave him a gowpen (double handful of meal) and told him to put it in his empty girnal (store), saying that the store would remain full for a long time, no matter how much he took out.

It is also believed that to know the name of a particular fairy could summon it to you and force it to do your bidding. The name could be used as an insult towards the fairy in question, but it could also rather contradictorily be used to grant powers and gifts to the user.


———————————

Hi dear friends, just want to clarify something briefly here. I have been discovering that although there are many different types of fairies in legend and mythology, I have come to one conclusion. 

Just as we humans come from many different cultures and nationalities we are still part of the same species, Homosapien. So as do the different fairy folks, their roots are derived form the species of the Faye.

Thank you for coming and have a great read, and please do feel free to share your thoughts with us, thank you  

Researched by Cynthia

ڪےڰۣ✿✿ڪےڰۣ*☆*°°҉¸ \( °°)/҉¸.¸¸.•´¨¯`'•❥⋆´¸ڪےڰۣ

The Seelie Court, the Unseelie Court, Trooping Fairies and how to protect yourself from them


Sunday, 27 April 2014

Goddess Sif

Goddess Sif



Today we examine a little-known goddess but one who played an important role among the Norse gods, the goddess Sif.

It was the year 949 C.E. This was the year that King Olaf Trygvesson, after having brutalized King Ethelred's forces in England off the coast of Kent, and while waiting for the gold and silver payments that was Ethelred's payoff to stop the fighting, decided to go to a local fortune teller he had heard about. This particular fortune teller was said to possess the gift of prophecy.

According to the book The Last Apocalypse - Europe at the Year 1000 A.D. by James Reston, Jr.: "Rowing off in a sea buck to the hermit's rocky retreat, Olaf asked if the prophet could foresee Olaf's future. Would the [then] prince be successful in battle? Would he regain power in the north?"

"The prophet replied that Olaf would be a great king and to prove that his vision was correct the prophet told Olaf that there would be mutiny among his men and in the ensuing battle he would be wounded and carried to his ship on his own shield. After seven days, he would recover and thereafter would allow himself to be baptized a Christian."

It happened just as the 'seer' said it would. Prior to 994 C.E. Europe was mostly pagan and after Olaf converted to the religion with the wooden cross he ruthlessly went about converting everyone else along the way to becoming king. In time the old gods and goddesses that had been worshiped were forgotten but because of the psychic energy given to them by way of meditation, invocation and incantations of their names before warriors went into battle they are not gone but merely waiting to be called forth again to help humanity.


Who is Sif?



The Rites of Odin by Ed Fitch, published in 1990 by Llewellyn, has this to say: "The Goddess who was consort to Thor, and who was famed for her long, beautiful golden hair with which she preferred to work her magic and her enchantments. She is patroness of harvests and the comfortable wealth that comes from them."

The Cassell Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend by Andy Orchard has this description: "Mother of the archer-god Ull and (apparently later) wife to the god Thor and mother of Thrud.”

Despite her evident closeness to the gods, there is a notable omission from the lists of of goddesses or Asynjur given by the 13th Century Icelander Snorri Sturluson. Sif appears in numerous poetic periphrases or kennings, usually with reference to either Thor or Ull. Or in the mentioning of 'Sif's hair', evidently compared to that of gold. Snorri alone explains the comparison at first glance little more than a compliment to a famous beauty. In literal terms, relating a tale of mischief by Loki, combined with the ingenuity of the Black Elves:

“Loki Laufeyarson was Sif's personal servant, a jealous and malicious one I must say. One night under cover of darkness he sneaked into Sif's bedroom whilst she slept and cut off all of her hair, and when Thor heard of it, he grabbed Loki and was about to break every bone in his body like one would kindling for a fire, until Loki promised he would have the black elves make a head of hair for Sif from gold, one that would grow like real hair.”

The emotionally charged triangle of Sif, Loki and Thor is all the more evident in the epic poem Lokasenna, when Sif tries to placate Loki in the midst of his malicious wrangling: "Then Sif approached, offered Loki mead from a crystal cup and said: 'Hail now, Loki, accept this crystal cup, full of an ancient drink called mead. Better find one woman, among the Asir's sons, who is without fault.'

He accepted the horn and drank it down: 'You'd be the one, if only you were wary and cautious with men', Loki said; 'But I know someone, it seems to me, who made you unfaithful to Thor, and that one was crafty-wise Loki,' Loki grinned.

And finally Northern Mysteries and Magick by Freya Aswynn and published in 1998 by Llewellyn has this to say about Sif:

Sif, the second wife of Thor, is the lady with the corn-gold hair. Some sources state that she has the gift of prophecy, although this is not mentioned in the Eddas. From older Germanic sources it has been stated that Sif is a swan maiden and can assume this form. Having been married once to Orvandil, she can also be seen as one of the Elder race of gods. Sif signifies summer, fertility, and corn, hence Loki's cutting of her hair is interpreted as a fire destroying a corn field.

Sif's name is cognate with the German “sippe,” meaning "kith and kin." From this we may assume that, like Frigga, Sif is a goddess associated with peace and friendship in a happy family, and with conjugal fidelity. Runes compatible with Sif are Berkana and Inguz.


What She May have Looked Like


Here are two sample images of what she may have looked like. I don't have the title of the images but they can be found on Google Search. 



My only desire here is to re-introduce her to those who seek the knowledge, to help lift the veil between this world and the world of the unseen, past, present and future. I want to help those people seeking knowledge of the ancient ones that helped mankind in the beginning of the world, and be a source of material as best as I can bring it to you.

The goddess Sif wants it to be known that she and the other gods and goddesses are still entwined with the energy between worlds, and would like to play a bigger part in the course of future human events by helping those that seek her out in prayer and meditation but most important, not to be forgotten again in the next millennium.

Research by Cynthia
Thank you dear friends and followers for your interest
'✿.¸¸.✿"˙•٠•●c¸.•*¨ƸӜƷ҉♪♫♪.¸¸."˙•٠•●c¸.•*¨ƸӜƷ

Saturday, 26 April 2014

Ashrays


Ashrays

I have made some research on these beings but have not had much success at finding anything that details them to any extent, so a good part of this post has been filled-in with my own thoughts.

Ashrays have their origins attributed to Scottish mythology. They can be male or female and are completely translucent water creatures. Ashrays are also known as Asrais, or water-lovers, and are often mistaken for sea ghosts. My thought here is since there is such an abundance of beings we call “shape shifters” mentioned in most mythologies that the possibility of these beings being shape shifters cannot be ruled out.


Next time you look into clear waters, try looking for Ashrays, though only during the night. Ashrays are apparently nocturnal creatures. If you manage to capture one, keep the Ashray away from sunlight unless all you want is a puddle of water. It will shift back to its element and as an elemental it can transform itself to any of the elements around it; or shape shift to an elemental reality parallel to ours, only invisible to our perception. That part I will put aside for now and save for a later topic.

Ashrays, both male and female, appear to be about twenty years old in human time, but like many other elementals such as fairies and elves, are much more ancient then their appearance.

They have been lauded for good deeds and blamed for bad, but not enough is known about them to judge their overall intent or temperament where people are concerned. Of course, there is both good and bad, darkness and light, in them. For as long as we are in the temporal state, we follow the laws of dualities, just as any other being or creature would in the temporal state. The temporal state is malleable and depending on what is in your heart, it can be influenced for good or bad by your own choice. I imagine the law of duality would also apply for any of these beings or any other being as well, as long as they are in the temporal state of being.

So we have established that Ashrays are known as the Water Lovers, or another name, Asrais; that these creatures can be either sex, male or female, and can appear to you in a form of your own conception. I have come to the understanding that most, if not all, of these beings have the capability of telepathy and appear to you as what you conceive them to be; they are completely nocturnal and can not live on the land for long; you will find most times under water.

Some of the greatest stories, I believe, are myths and legends. It is amazing what entrancing magic draws you in, and although most are either not aware or if they are aware they will not believe that these beings are real, let alone acknowledge them, except for maybe as legends and myths like one reads in books in a library. So even for the nonbeliever it still has the ability to capture mind.

I think one reason is that myths and legends are set in our world, and some have not been proven wrong. It gives us that wonderfully creepy feeling that there is so much we don’t know about the world of the unseen.

I love studying mythology! It absolutely fascinates me and provides excellent fodder for my writing. I am familiar with many legendary creatures, but I have also found just how much of an incredible number of these creatures I did not know about until I started this blog. But when I came across this a day or two ago it was totally new to me – Ashrays.



Thank you, dear friends and followers, for letting me share this with you. I would greatly love to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you!
❤❤♪♫♪ƸӜƷ   `✦*'' ☆*❤❤♪♫♪ƸӜƷ 
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Friday, 25 April 2014

The Fary Princess and The Dragon King

The Fary Princess and The Dragon King


One day the young fairy princess, Sabrena, decided to venture out

eager to explore the nearby forest that lay

around the fairy city of Soglemia, where she lived.

The youthful fairy got lost and darkness began to fall.

An owl in a nearby tree hooted loudly

And Sabrena nearly fainted dead away.

Lost and afraid she sat upon a log and pondered.

Which was the way she had come?, she asked herself.

She wandered about, walked, and rested.

But at the end of each day she was as lost as on the first

One day as she sat by crystal blue lake,

its waters sparkling in the early morning sunlight,

Something in the distance flashed!

In an instant she was on her feet,

and began her trek towards the distant light.

She followed it with hope in her heart.

“Yonder sparkle surely is where I must go,”

Sabrena thought as she unfolded her wings.

She had never used her wings for great distances afore

But today it was important that she did.

So went the lost fairy princess of Soglemia,

A young princess whose wings had not yet fully matured.

The kingdom of Soglemia would greatly miss her

And that might even lead to its mourning and decline.

She flew and flew to where she could fly not any more,

and she landed in the thick forest and sat upon soft grass.

She did not know when or how long she had slept,

but when she awoke dawn was approaching.

She looked about at her surroundings

and saw a path going leading into the forest.

Starting from grassy knoll on which she had lain,

she began to follow the direction of the path.

Suddenly, without warning, she came out of the woods.

She heard it before she saw it, a heavy beating sound,

like that of someone beating a very large rug.

She turned in the direction of the sound and saw it.

A dragon with spread wings glided down to the ground

and landed on its large clawed feet ,

shredding dirt and stones like a plowshare.

It stopped and folded its large leathery wings,

and stood and gazed down at her with fiery red eyes.

Its scales gleamed, even in the dim light of the wood.

A bright red tongue flickered out and back.

Sabrena was too stunned to move!

She stood, frozen, and stared at the beast,

with distant thoughts at the back of her mind,

Like, “When will he eat me?”

Then to her amazement she watched the dragon waver,

like a snake in a charmer's basket.

Fading in and out of reality, the form changed

from that of a dragon to a human shape.

When the wavering stopped she watched, transfixed,

as the shape became a man whose back was turned to her.

As the man turned slowly, the more she saw,

and a tingling went up her spine.

It was the young knight of the kingdom adjoining hers!

She had seen him before and even had a few meetings with him

But she would never have guessed that she had been dating

the famous Ramad, the Dragon King!

She melted into his arms as he carried her away...

The large wing reappeared as King Ramad returned to Soglemia

With his fairy princess, Sabrena, in his arms.

Writen by Cynthia ©