Fairies & Elves

Cumbria: land of the lakes, land of the fells, land of the... fairies? Well, the first two certainly, but you may need more convincing over the presence of the little people. However the more you look, the more you find — until it seems that our county is overrun by the little critters. Lamplugh in West Cumbria was the place not to be if you were unfortunate enough to suffer with fairy-phobia, for it was in this parish that four unfortunates were “frighted to death by fairies” some time between 1658 and 1662. This compares with three old women who met their deaths when they were “drownd upon trial of witchcraft”, a man whose demise was caused by a sprain in his shoulder sustained while saving hisdog and a curious collection of other strange deaths For a village which had a population of only about 400 people at the time, the fairies seem to have been pretty prolific serial killers.

This information is recorded in an old manuscript held at Cumbria Record Office, Whitehaven, and purports to be a list of deaths taken from the parish register of Lamplugh from “Janry ye i, 1658 to Janye ye i,1663”. The foolscap-size document is undoubtedly old, and browned with age, but there’s not too much evidence to back its authenticity, and any campaigns for justice for the Lamplugh Four may run in to murky waters. But that’s not to say that four people weren’t so scared that they dropped dead on seeing the little people — stranger things have happened.Like a calf floating through the air, high over the sea, coming from the direction of the Isle of Man, as seen by aWhitehaven man standing on what used to be called Fairy Rock near Saltom Pit. What this unnamed man was witnessing, according to William Dickinson’s Cumbriana, 1876, was the “last fairy to be seen in Whitehaven”. The calf landed on the rock next to the man, who was so astonished that he exclaimed: “G-d! weel loppen cofe!” At the sound of the sacred name, the calf disappeared, and no fairy has been seen from that day to this in Whitehaven. Fairy rock was broken up in one of the violent storms of January, 1872, so clearly Whitehaven has been forsaken by the fairies for a very long time. But why an apparition of a calf should be described as a fairy is unknown. The last appearance of fairies in Cumbria is said to have been in 1850. Jack Wilson saw them pack up and leave for good one moonlit night, at Martindale, above the shores of Ullswater. His tale is told in Jeremiah Sullivan’s......

Thomas the Rhymer

: He was said to have predicted the death of King Alexander III, the battle of Bannockburn and the succession of a Scottish king to the English throne. Such is the chilling accuracy of his supposed soothsaying that the fame of Thomas the Rhymer, Scotland's own Nostradamus, has lasted more than 700 years after his death.The folk-rock band Steeleye Span sang of him, and the 19th-century Russian poet Mikhail Lermontov claimed to have been descended from him.The rhymer - Thomas Learmont of Erceldoune, now Earlston in the Borders - certainly had a lastingeffect.

As late as the 1600s, his prophecies were still significant, being used to shore up James VI's claim to become the monarch of England as well as Scotland, and even in the 18th century they were consulted before both Jacobite rebellions. The story goes that Thomas, who is thought to have been born around 1220, had a favourite tree that he liked to sit under and one day he "beheld a lady gay, a lady that was brisk and bold, coming riding o'ver the ferny brae". The woman in question turned out to be none other than the Queen of the Fairies and, according to a ballad written 50 to 100 years after his death, the pair engaged in enthusiastic love-making before riding off to her home in Elfland, although some more chaste accounts say they merely kissed. After seven years in Elfland, Thomas returned to theland of mortals and was given an apple as a parting gift by the Queen who told him it would "give thee a tongue that can never lie". And so "True Thomas" was born as a soothsayer, which means truth-sayer, with the power to predict the future. Scottish historian Professor Ted Cowan of Glasgow University says: "The thing that really impressed people was he was supposed to have predicted the death of Alexander III, who was a contemporary. That gets him up a few notches because Alexander actually died [when Thomas predicted]. I imagine there were people who said they were around when Thomas the Rhymer told Alexander he wasn't to visit his lady [the Queen] that night. Also, he is known in the Highlands and the Lowlands, which is unusual. Usually these guys are very local." The death of Alexander in 1286 and subsequent death of his last remaining......

The Faerie Faith is a complex Pagan tradition, with its own mystical system, that of the Beth-Luis-Nion Celtic Lunar Tree Calendar. It is impossible to understand any one part of the tradition without looking at all of the tradition's different components. I will try to introduce some concepts that should be kept in mind while reading this paper.First, the Faerie Faith is a Dianic tradition, and as such places emphasis on the feminine in humanity, in nature, and in God. For ease of reading, all pronouns will be in the feminine, according to that tradition.For example, "High Priest or High Priestess" will be referred to simply as "High Priestess, " unless noted otherwise. Similarly, pronounssuch as "he or she, " and "his or her, " will be referred to as "she, " or "her, " respectively.

It should be noted that individuals of both genders can and do enter the training of the Faerie Faith. The Beth-Luis-Nion system is a mystical system, and therefore it is difficult to understand in a purely intellectual way. In many ways it is comparable to the Qabalah. Israel Regardie describes the Qabalah as, "a trustworthy guide, leading to a comprehension both of the Universe and one's own Self" (Regardie i). Similarly, the Beth-Luis-Nion system is a beneficial system that leads to an understanding of Nature, and a personal transformation of the student. It is this goal of personal transformation and balance that all students work towards on their journey through the mysteries of the Celtic Lunar TreeCalendar. This paper serves as a simple introduction to the Faerie Faith and the Beth-Luis-Nion system. The Faerie Faith is a living, evolving tradition, and therefore may change in the future. This paper describes the Faerie Faith as it is currently practiced, as well as the current understanding of the Beth-Luis-Nion calendar. Also, much of the information I present here may appear juvenile in the future, as I learn more. This is not an exhaustive paper. Please consult the bibliography to learn more on the research presented here.

History The Faerie Faith is a tradition that has branched off from the McFarland Dianic tradition. Through Mr. Mark Roberts and the High Priestess known as Epona, the Faerie Faith has been handed down over the years. What follows is a summary of the historicaldevelopment......

Fairies have been dancing in the garden of a Staverton couple, according to ancient English folklore. A large fairy circle has appeared in the lawn of Tom and Sue Gaylard's home in School Lane. Mrs Gaylard, 85, said: "It amazed me. I had never heard of it or seen anything like it before and I couldn't believe it."The perfect ring of mushrooms, know as a fairy or pixie circle, first appeared about three years ago and has re-appeared annually, each time getting bigger.Mr Gaylard, an 85-year-old retired railway worker, has lived in Staverton with his wife for more than 20years. He said: "We don't believe in fairies of course but it is known as that.

We didn't really pay much attention to it but then our daughter-in-law saw it and ran out to make a wish in it." In times gone past the rings, some of which are hundreds of years old, defied explanation spawning a host of legends in countries around the world to explain their presence. In English folklore the rings were said to be caused by fairies dancing in a circle, wearing down the grass beneath their feet. Toads would then sit on the worn down areas, poisoning it and allowing the fungus to grow - hence the name toadstool. In Sussex, fairy rings were called hag tracks', while in Devon it was believed that fairies would catch young horses in the night and ride them round in circles. InDenmark elves have been traditionally blamed for the rings while in parts of Austria they were thought to be the result of land being scorched by the breath of dragons. The rings are in fact naturally occurring circles of fungi that can grow up to 10 metres in diameter. They are caused by fungi under the ground casting out spores in a circular pattern resulting in the distinctive ring. In some cases the fungi remain underground and the ring is marked by discoloured patches of grass. The circles, which can appear anywhere, can be formed by an estimated 50 different species of mushrooms and toadstools. Most cultures regard the rings as lucky, with their benefits as diverse as granting wishes to improve your looks. Although their true origins have been known since the 18th century thecircles ar......