Hanged up in houses,it doth very well attemper the aire,coole and make fresh the place to the delightand comfort of such as are therein. — John Gerard, 1597 As our days fill with the gift of Summer’s lush ripening, beloved Thalia, the Grace of Mirth and Flowering, continues to teach us. In the hot, summery [...]
Faerie Guardians © Howard David JohnsonWhen I sound the fairy call, gather here in silent meeting,Chin to knee on the orchard wall, cooled with dew and cherries eating.Merry, merry, take a cherry, mine are sounder, mine are rounder,Mine are sweeter for the eater, when the dews fall, and you’ll be fairies all. — Emily Dickinson [...]
Cock Robin Defending His Nest by John Anster FitzGeraldSome day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. — C.S. Lewis If you are called to establish ties with the Good People, you are going to want to learn about the proper use of offerings and gifts. According to the 1911 work [...]
Titania by Arthur RackhamHand in hand, with Fairy grace,Will we sing, and bless this place.– Titania (in William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream) Yesterday, I noted that, when making your initial introductions with the Gentle Folk, naming is powerful, and this is one reason that so many euphemisms abound. According to Cassandra Eason in A [...]
Puck and a Fairy, from A Midsummer Night’s Dreamby Arthur RackhamSome call him Robin Good-fellow,Hob-goblin or mad Crisp, And some againe doe tearme him oft,By name of Will the Wispe;But call him by what name you list,I have studied on my pillow,I think the best name he deservesIs Robin the Good Fellow.– from The Merry [...]
Go not to the hills of ErinnWhen the night winds are about,Put up your bar and shutter,And so keep the danger out. For the good-folk whirl within it,And they pull you by the hand,And they push you on the shoulder,Till you move to their command. — from The Wind on the Hills, by Dora Sigerson [...]
Fairy Under the Flowers © by James ChristensenWithin thine eyes are dreams of mystic things,Within thy voice a subtler music ringsThan ever mortal from the keen reeds drew;Thou weav’st a web which men have callèd DeathBut Life is in the magic of thy breath. — from Madonna Natura, by Fiona Mcleod (William Sharp)Offerings for the [...]
Oberon, Titania, Puck with Fairies Dancing,by William BlakeThe iron tongue of midnight hath told twelve;Lovers to bed; ‘tis almost fairy time. — from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, William Shakespeare One of the very important functions of the Faery altar is that it will be a portal and communications center, between our world of mortals and [...]
O Solitude! If I must with thee dwell,Let it not be among the jumbled heapOf murky buildings; – climb with me the steep,Nature’s Observatory – whence the dell,Its flowery slopes – its rivers crystal swell,May seem a span: let me thy vigils keep‘Mongst boughs pavilioned; where the Deer’s swift leapStartles the wild Bee from the [...]
The garden with its little gate of green,Invites you to enter, and view mysteries unseen,Its vine laden bowers and overhanging trees,The air filled with sweetness, the hum of the bees,The flagged walks with Iris galore,Of most beautiful coloring, unknown before,Pink, white, purple, yellow, azure blue,Mixed and mingled of every hue,You come away wondering, can more [...]