Fairies & Elves

A leading biologist has stated that the angels, fairies and other winged sprites of nativity and folklore are anatomically flawed and would never be able to fly despite having feathered wingssprouting from their backs."Angels depicted heralding the birth of Jesus in nativity scenes across the world are anatomically flawed, according to a scientist who claims they would never be able to fly.

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by Micha F. Lindemans

The original fairies, or faeries, bestowed gifts upon newborn children, such as beauty, wealth and kindness. In the subsequent centuries they continued this original function, but expanded their activities into other types of meddling in human affairs.

Fairies can only be seen clearly by animals and seldom by humans, although if one is fortunate enough, one might catch a fleeting glimpse. There are a few exceptions however. The first is when fairies use their power (known as 'glamour') to enable a human to see them. Also, during a full moon on Midsummer Eve a mortal witness fairy dances or celebrations. And finally, by looking through a self-bored stone (a stone in which a hole has been made by tumbling in the waters of a brook; not found on a beach) one can see fairies distinctly.

The rulers of the race of fairies are Queen Titania and her consort Prince Oberon, their court being in the vicinity of Stratford-on-Avon. Other synonyms and euphemisms for fairies are: the Little People, the Green Men, the Good Folk and the Lordly Ones. The name is probably a combination of the words fae "friend" and eire "green." So Faerie means "Green Friend."

the above article can be originally found in http://www.pantheon.org/articles/f/fairy.html

When Chelsea Banton was born five weeks prematurely, doctors predicted she had 36 hours to live. Proving them wrong was the first miracle for Chelsea, now an Independence High School freshman. “She spent the first four months in a neonatal intensive care unit,” recalls her mother, Colleen Banton of Mint Hill. Before Chelsea was 2, she wasadmitted to the hospital for pneumonia, the first of several dangerous run-ins with the illness that have made her a familiar face in Presbyterian's pediatric intensive care unit.

Among other health problems in her medical history: hydrocephalus, requiring a shunt in her skull and, later, several shunt revisions; life-threatening viruses; and, this past July, fluid retention that required more than a week'shospitalization and three liters of liquid to be drawn from her body.

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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 20 years. He said: "We don't believe in fairies of coursebut 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.In Denmark elves have been traditionallyblamed 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.

View: Full Article | Source: Wiltshire Times