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Mythical Creatures Spotlight: Fairies
Our Mythical Creatures Spotlight is a new blog feature that will take a deep-dive into mythical creatures, from dragons to mermaids and all in-between. This week’s spotlight is on: Fairies.
Ah, the beautiful enigmatic fairy. A creature that has sparked human imaginations for centuries. It’s hard to not picture a Tinkerbell-esque figure when hearing the word ‘fairy’, normally clad in human clothing with butterfly wings and a magical wand. But fairies are so much more than that.
We touched on the origins of fairies in our previous blog post, A Dragonspace Bestiary. They’re such an integral part of European myth and fantasy, it does make you wonder if they’re even a ‘myth’ at all...or perhaps a mystical part of reality. While we can’t provide a definitive answer as to ‘what is a fairy?’, ‘where did they come from?’ or ‘are they real?’ we’ll explore a few different versions of the fantastic fairy legacy below.
The Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuatha Dé Danann are often considered the ‘first’ fairies. In Gaelic legend, this ancient supernatural tribe came to Ireland on flying ships and won the right to rule the land. Over time, and many battles, the Tuatha Dé Danann were eventually driven underground, where they became the mysterious ‘aos sí’ or ‘People of the Ground’ that appear in later folklore. Their land underground is parallel to our own, and reveals itself in mysterious ways...like the Fairyland we often see in stories.
The ‘Good People’
The concept of the ‘Little Folk’ or the ‘Good People’ isn’t necessarily separate from the legends of the Tuatha Dé Danann. In fact, they could be one and the same. The ‘Good People’ is one of the names given to the fairy folk who are said to still live in the shadowy landscapes of Ireland and parts of Britain. These invisible folk are generally benevolent, but can be spiteful, and care should be taken not to upset them. There are many tales of terrible luck befalling anyone who damages or obstructs mystical sites like fairy rings, fairy paths, hillforts and fairy trees. But leaving offerings like milk, butter or wine for the Folk is traditionally said to win over their favour.
Seelie and Unseelie Courts
The Seelie and Unseelie Courts are two 'groupings' of fairies in Scottish folklore. This classification divides fairies into ‘light/good’ (Seelie) and ‘dark/bad’ (Unseelie). Benevolent fairies - like the ‘Good People’, pixies and nature elementals - are considered part of the Seelie court. While malevolent fairies - like boggarts and redcaps - are part of the Unseelie court. While both Courts must be treated with caution, you’d much rather encounter a Seelie fairy on a deserted country lane than an Unseelie one.
Elementals
Elementals are nature spirits who guard and embody the natural world. In some belief systems they take a physical form. Classically, gnomes are the earth elementals, undines are the water elementals, sylphs are the air elementals, and salamanders are the fire elementals. These figures can be worshipped as deities, to connect with the natural world and ask for its favour. While they don’t take the traditional form of ‘fairies’ as we know them, they’re all intrinsically linked.
Pixies, Knockers, Brownies and Leprechauns
All of these figures are benevolent, mischievous forms of fairies. Pixies and knockers are prevalent in Cornish and Welsh folklore, while leprechauns are Irish, and brownies are Scottish. Ultimately, they’re all a part of the same family and share a few things in common. They’re typically humanoid yet miniature in appearance, love dancing and playing tricks, and are normally connected to the domestic or working sphere. They can be useful companions if treated well, but will cause quite a mess if they feel mistreated...or just want a bit of fun.
Arthurian Legend
The archetypal ‘wise woman’, ‘witch’ or ‘sorceress’ often found in literature may have her origins in the world of fairy. A prime example is Morgan le Fay from Arthurian legend. Morgan le Fay - whose very name has connections with the fairy world - is a complex character in the vast myriad of Arthurian tales. Some paint her as a wicked femme fatale, others as a powerful wise woman and healer. But it’s commonly accepted that Morgana had fairy blood, which was where her magic and wisdom came from. Another Arthurian figure closely linked with the world of fairy is The Lady of the Lake (also known as Nimue or Viviane), the mysterious sorceress who gave Arthur his sword Excalibur and enchanted the great Merlin. The Lady's close connected with water and magic has similarities with Elemental lore.
Fairy Animals
Some stories say that fairies will present themselves in the guise of an animal. Deer, mice, cats, wolves and birds are favoured forms amongst the fairies. In fact, if you find a fallen bird feather while walking in nature, it's considered a gift from the fairies. Animals that are coloured red-and-white are considered most strongly connected to the fairy world, including the Fairy Cow. This speckled hornless cow might appear amongst a regular herd of cattle and and cause trouble, sometimes leading the herd into the misted world of the fairies never to be seen again.
It's no wonder fairies inspire such fascination. Their mystical world has been explored in story, song, art and spirituality for centuries, and there still remain shadowy corners left to discover. If you want to delve further into this magical land, take a look at our fairy collections below. And let us know your favourite fairy stories in the comments!
View all our Fairy Figurines
View all our Fairy Books
View all our Fairy Jewelry
Five Wonders of Winter
It’s easy to get bogged down by winter blues during the frosty months. But we believe that winter is is just as full of myth and wonder as the rest of the year...if not more! From the enchanting quiet of snow falling, to the ancient tales that winter inspires, a bit of cold doesn’t freeze the magic here at Dragonspace.
Not exactly convinced? Here are five winter wonders to warm you up.
A Time for Brewin'
There’s nothing better to warm you up on a frosty day than a hot brew or pot of soup. Cooking might seem like a practical act, but there’s something deeply spiritual about preparing and eating food. It’s a practice that our ancestors have done for aeons, and connects us both with each other, and with the past.
Winter is the perfect time to try something new in the kitchen, and we can help with that! Our Celtic Folklore Cooking book features recipes derived from the Celts, from savoury chestnut soup to hearty cakes. Or there’s our Kitchen Witch’s Cookbook, full of culinary magic! Here you’ll discover foods that encourage peace and love, or ingredients that help with endurance and stability. You’ll find that a thoughtful recipe can be just as nourishing - physically and spiritually - as a well-executed spell. And let’s be honest...the kitchen, with its blazing oven and steaming stovetop, is the nicest place in the house during the cold season!
Winter Deities
You’re probably familiar with Santa Claus and Jack Frost, but there are dozens of other winter legends from cultures the world over to explore.
In Greek mythology, Boreas is the god of the cold north wind and the bringer of snow. His name gives us the word ‘boreal’, meaning ‘north’ or ‘northern’. In the old legends, Boreas falls in love with with Orithyia, the lady of mountain gales, and has a daughter with her. This daughter, Chione, becomes the Greek goddess of winter and sleet.
Norse myths feature Skaði (or Skadi), the goddess associated with bowhunting, skiing and mountains. Skaði is described in some stories as a giantess, and lives in the highest peaks of the mountains, where the snow never melts. Similar to Skaði is Beira, the personification of winter in Gaelic mythology. Beira appears in many forms, but in some folk tales she appears as one-eyed giantess who built the mountains of Scotland using a magic hammer.
Winter deities appear in many other mythologies, from the Great Winter God in Chinese folklore to the Slavic Father Christmas, Ded Moroz. Delve into the vast world of winter mythology this season - it’s sure to keep you occupied for hours in front of the fire!
View our Winter Figures Collection
Fire Magic
Magic, both new and old, is heavily inspired by the elements - earth, air, water and fire. As a hearty antidote to the winter chills, fire reigns supreme during the colder months. This is a time to honour fire in its many forms.
There’s the obvious act, of course - curling up in front of the hearth fire and appreciating the element in its most basic form! But this is also the perfect time for performing fire spells and rituals. In Wiccan practice, votive candles are popular symbols of fire, as is the cauldron bubbling away with a hot potion. Incense is also a powerful fire tool, which can be used for cleansing sacred spaces and divining the future through smoke patterns.
Winter is also the ideal time for practicing aromatherapy. Heated essential oils can be wonderful healers for ailments - be they in the body or in the soul. And of course, the scent of fragrant eucalyptus, rosemary or patchouli wafting through your home brings a warmth all of its own!
Bunkering Down with Books
Speaking of fire...there are fewer winter activities more delightful than curling up in front of the fireplace or heater with a good book!
Have you heard of bibliotherapy? Some people believe that reading is a pathway to healing - that it can make us happier, and even alleviate psychological issues. If you’re the kind of person who gets the winter blues, then bibliotherapy could be just the cure.
We’ve got a vast range of books here at Dragonspace, encompassing mythology, divination, Wicca, and more. Titles like Avalon Within draw on Celtic mythology, Arthurian legend and Druidic lore. Others like Eastern Body, Western Mind look to the East for inspiration, exploring the chakra system, Jungian psychology and more. While books like A Field Guide to Fantastical Beasts are for those who love their mythology and magical creatures. Whether fictional or non-fictional, instructional or inspirational, a good book is a surefire way to warm up this winter.
Winter-Loving Animals
But perhaps you’re the kind of person who’d rather be outside during winter? We don’t blame you...the natural world can be gorgeous during winter, whether it’s a mountaintop glittering with snow or a resilient evergreen forest.
And then there are the animals. While some creatures hibernate during the cold months, others are completely in their element. Beasts like the musk ox, reindeer (caribou), and the snow leopard are well suited to colder climates, with their fur coats and and strong physiques. There are also many beautiful birds to look out for in the winter, like the snowy owl and the northern goshawk.
Wolves are also known as the champions of winter. While these beautiful creatures are adaptable to many climates, from deserts to woodland, they thrive in colder climes. In the soft snow, wolves are able to splay their feet to distribute their weight evenly. They also benefit from all the bears being in hibernation, as there’s less competition for prey! On a spiritual level, there's something deeply mystical about a wolf in the snow, nature at its finest and most divine.
View our Winter Animals Collection
Have those pesky winter blues been cast away yet? Between reading up on winter goddesses, preparing an old-fashioned Celtic stew, breathing in the healing scent of hot peppermint oil, and keeping an eye out for snowy owls, there's no time to let winter get you down! Here's to embracing the magic of the frosty season and turn those blues into shimmering silvers.
Astrology Around the World
Whether you believe in astrology or not, chances are you’re familiar with the Western zodiac. We bet you know your starsign and the common traits associated with it...any proud Leos out there, harmonious Libras, practical Capricorns?
Astrology - the practice of divining information from celestial movements - has its fair share of sceptics. People who doubt astrology and horoscopes normally do so because they consider it arbitrary or coincidental. But the idea that our personalities and fates might be shaped by the celestial world doesn’t have to be wishy-wishy conjecture.
In older times - both ancient and not-so-ancient - people were far more influenced by the cycles of the natural world. Our lifestyles, systems, ceremonies and ways of living and working were very much shaped by the seasons and the cosmos. So perhaps it’s not too much of a stretch to believe that a child who was born in January - the dead of winter - would develop hardier more resilient personality traits, than one who was born in July - the high summer - an easier more pleasant time.
Certainly, many cultures throughout history have believed something of the sort. The Western branch of astrology is actually just one kind. Do you know your Chinese zodiac sign? What about your Celtic Tree sign? Let’s take a look at some other astrological systems from around the world.
Celtic Tree and Animal Astrology
If you’re familiar with the the Druids - the spiritual leaders of the Celtic tribes - you’ll know that trees were very important to them. They believed that trees contained great spirit, wisdom and power. In some stories, it was even told that Druids believed humankind was born from trees and that trees consequently shape who we become.
Animals were also a big part of this ancient culture. The Celts saw elements of themselves - their personalities and behaviours - reflected in creatures of the natural world.
In Celtic Astrology, the year is broken into 13 lunar months, based on the cycle of the moon. Each month then has a corresponding ‘tree’ and ‘animal’ sign, similar to the Western zodiac.
Like all information passed down from ancient times, there is some disagreement over the exact timings and breakdown of the thirteen-month calendar, and the corresponding animal signs - though the tree signs have remained mostly consistent throughout the ages. Here’s a quick summary of each sign, their animal and tree association, and their key characteristic.
December 24th - January 21st: BETH ‘The Achiever’
Tree: The Birch Tree, Animal: The Stag/Deer
January 22nd - February 18th: LUIS ‘The Thinker’
Tree: The Rowan Tree, Animal: The Dragon (sometimes The Cat)
February 19th - March 28th: NION ‘The Enchanter’
Tree: The Ash Tree, Animal: Merfolk (sometimes The Snake)
March 19th - April 15th: FEARN ‘The Trailblazer’
Tree: The Alder Tree, Animal: The Falcon (sometimes The Fox)
April 16th - May 14th: SAILLE ‘The Observer’
Tree: The Willow Tree, Animal: The Sea Serpent (sometimes The Cow)
May 15th - June 12th: UATH ‘The Illusionist’
Tree: The Hawthorn Tree, Animal: The Seahorse (sometimes depicted as The Chalice in non-animal iconography)
June 13th - July 9th: DUIR, ‘The Stabiliser’
Tree: The Oak Tree, Animal: The Horse
July 10th - August 6th: TINNE, ‘The Ruler’
Tree: The Holly Tree, Animal: The Lion
August 7th - September 2nd: COLL, ‘The Knower’
Tree: The Hazel Tree, Animal: The Salmon
September 3rd - September 30th - MUIN, ‘The Equaliser’
Tree: The Vine Tree, Animal: The Swan
October 1st - October 29th: GORT, ‘The Survivor’
Tree: The Ivy Tree, Animal: The Fairy (sometimes The Butterfly)
October 30th - November 27th: NGETAL, ‘The Inquisitor’
Tree: The Reed Tree, Animal: The White Hound (sometimes The Wolf)
November 28th - December 23rd: RUIS, ‘The Seeker’
Tree: The Elder Tree, Animal: The Raven (sometimes The Hawk or Falcon)
Do you feel an association to your Celtic sign? An affinity to your tree, or a connection to your animal? We’ve got a beautiful range of pewter pendants for your Celtic zodiac sign here.
The Chinese Zodiac
Like Celtic animal astrology, Chinese astrology is based on the animal kingdom. But unlike Celtic and Western astrology, the Chinese zodiac is not split into months, but years. The Chinese zodiac, or ‘shengxiao’ is a repeating cycle of twelve years, with each year corresponding to an animal and its attributes.
The Chinese zodiac is believed to influence both on an individual and universal level. The animal of your birth year determines your personality and character make-up, while the animal of the current calendar year will impact community and world events.
A lesser known fact about the Chinese zodiac is that the animals also correspond to a 2-hour period in the day, and that these hours directly relate to that animal’s ‘special time’. So for example, the hour of The Rat is 23:00 - 1:00, when rats are seeking food, and the hour of The Monkey is 15:00 - 17:00, when monkeys are most lively and active in the wild.
Below is a list of each year, hour and its corresponding Chinese zodiac animal. Remember that the Chinese New Year falls between January 21 - February 20, so if you’re born between those dates you must check the year of your birth to see what Chinese year you were actually born in.
Rat: 2008, 1996, 1984, 1972, 1960 (Hour 23:00 - 1:00, when rats look for food)
Ox: 2009, 1997, 1985, 1973, 1961 (Hour 1:00 - 3:00, when oxen start tilling the land)
Tiger: 2010, 1998, 1986, 1974, 1962 (Hour 3:00 - 5:00, when tigers hunt)
Rabbit: 2011, 1999, 1987, 1975, 1963 (Hour 5:00 - 7:00, when the jade rabbit on the moon starts grinding herbs, according to Chinese myth)
Dragon: 2012, 2000, 1988, 1976, 1964 (Hour 7:00 - 9:00, when dragons start marching westwards in legend)
Snake: 2013, 2001, 1989, 1977, 1965 (Hour 9:00 - 11:00, when snakes leave their holes)
Horse: 2014, 2002, 1990, 1978, 1966 (Hour 11:00 - 13:00, when the horse is most rigorous)
Goat: 2015, 2003, 1991, 1979, 1967 (Hour 13:00 - 15:00, the best time for goats to eat grass)
Monkey: 2016, 2004, 1992, 1980, 1968 (Hour 15:00 - 17:00, when monkeys are lively)
Rooster: 2017, 2005, 1993, 1981, 1969 (Hour 17:00 - 19:00, when roosters return to their coops)
Dog: 2018, 2006, 1994, 1982, 1970 (Hour 19:00 - 21:00, when dogs guard the house)
Pig/Boar: 2019, 2007, 1995, 1983, 1971 (Hour 21:00 - 23:00, when pigs are sleeping)
If you want to show off your Chinese zodiac sign or find a gift for your zodiac-loving friend, have a look at our Chinese astrology pendants.
Hindu/Vedic Astrology
The traditional Hindu astrology system is called 'jyotisha', from the Sanskrit jyótis meaning 'light/heavenly body'. This is an apt name for this ancient science, which studies and interprets the 'lights' (celestial bodies) in the sky.
Vedic astrology has some similarities to its Western counterparts and is based on the same constellations. But it is far more specific. The key difference is that Vedic astrology is focused on your 'rising' sign, rather than your 'sun sign' as in Western astrology. While the sun stays in the same sign for the whole month (roughly), your rising zodiac sign is accurate to your exact moment of birth.
Because the 'jyotisha' is much more specific than the other astrological systems we've explored, it's best to use a calculator to find out your chart. We'd recommend this one here, thanks to the Vedic Astrology Centre.
Sceptic or supporter, it's hard to deny that the celestial world has fascinated humans for millennia and that we're constantly drawn to the meanings in the sky. And even thought we try to intimately know ourselves - what influences our personalities and dispositions, our fates and decisions - it's compelling to think that perhaps it is all written in the stars. Which system do you find has the most significance to you? Let us know in the comments below!
Related Products
Our beautiful range of Josephine Wall Zodiac cards are the perfect addition to a birthday gift.
Our Zodiac Fairy trinket boxes are gorgeous little treasure chests for precious jewels or dainty knick-knacks!
Other astrological gift ideas