Over hill, over dale,Thorough bush, thorough brier,Over park, over pale,Thorough flood, thorough fire,I do wander everywhere,Swifter than the moon’s sphere;And I serve the fairy queen,To dew her orbs upon the green. The cowslips tall her pensioners be:In their gold coats spots you see;Those be rubies, fairy favours,In those freckles live their savours:I must go seek … Read more
Happy birthday yesterday to Alruna: The Flowers by Robert Louis Stevenson All the names I know from nurse:Gardener’s garters, Shepherd’s purse,Bachelor’s buttons, Lady’s smock,And the Lady Hollyhock. Fairy places, fairy things,Fairy woods where the wild bee wings,Tiny trees for tiny dames–These must all be fairy names! Tiny woods below whose boughsShady fairies weave a house;Tiny … Read more
And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.— William Shakespeare Beltane, the counterpart to Samhain, which Pagans and Witches south of the Equator are now celebrating, is one of the Greater Wiccan Sabbats and is usually celebrated on May … Read more
Throughout my whole life, during every moment I have lived, the world has gradually been taking on light and fire for me, until it has come to envelop me in one mass of luminosity, glowing from within… The purple flush of matter fading imperceptibly into the gold of spirit, to be lost finally in the … Read more
On winter nights, when the moon is high, wait by the track at Camelot.Though nothing catches your eye except shade and moon shadows, you may hear them ride by:Arthur and his men, hoofbeats clattering, with their horns and their hounds on their way to hunt. — Exploring King Arthur’s Britain by Denise Stobie Except for … Read more
The Love Potion – Evelyn de Morgan, 1903There are some things after all that Sally Owens knows for certain: Always throw spilled salt over your left shoulder. Keep rosemary by your garden gate. Add pepper to your mashed potatoes. Plant roses and lavender, for luck. Fall in love whenever you can. — Practical Magic, by … Read more
I must go seek some dewdrops hereAnd hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.Farewell, thou lob of spirits;I’ll be gone: Our queen and all our elves come here anon.— From A Midsummer Night’s Eve, by William Shakespeare Today is the last day of Spring. Today, go outside, taste the rich fruit that has come of … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more