World of Magic Myth and Legend Zazzle shop

Taa daah!

Pleased to announce my new shop on Zazzle

 The place to shop for all faerie lovers

from t shirts, to phone covers, cushions etc

 

                                        https://www.zazzle.co.uk/store/magicmythlegend

More Faeries and Folklore of the British Isles

In a few weeks time the revised and updated edition of 

More Faeries and Folklore of the British Isles 

will be available from Amazon.

"These wonderful tales of the faeries world have been gathered from all corners of the British Isles- from Ireland, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, to the Scottish hills and then down to the tip of Cornwall. Many of the folk tales can be traced back to Celtic times and have been passed on orally, from old wives tales to the spell binding stories we were told as children.

County by county Elizabeth Andrews explores the different types of creatures from the faerie world, where they may still be found and their customs and habits.

There are also wise tips on how to protect yourself against faerie magic."

Since the publication of the first edition I have heard many times why did you forget this county and that faerie? So I decided that I had better go on another faerie hunt!

This edition has many more pages, information and illustrations in a larger format.

I hope this edition will be as popular as the original.

I will announce the publication date when the final draft has been finalised.

The Witch and the Rollright Stones

 The Rollright Stones.

A Bronze Age site, the stones are widely believed to be a King and his Army that were turned to stone by a local Witch.

The circle of stones is a 100 ft in diameter, to one side stands the King stone.

This was a conquering  army that marched as far north as Little Rollright until the King came upon a local wise woman.

She told the King that if he could see Long Compton within seven strides he would be King of the whole country.

Taking the seven steps up the hill his view was obscured by a mound, jubilant, the Witch turned the King and all his men to stone.

And there they still stand waiting for somebody who has enough strong magic to break the spell.

The Witch then turned herself into an Elder tree  close to the stones to stand guard against the spell being broken.

This site is also a favourite spot of the Oxfordshire faeries. 

At certain times of the year ,at the full moon, the stones will come to life and perform strange dances

 with the Faeries . Then they will dance down to a nearby spring for a drink to quench their thirst.

St Winnold and the Mad March Hare

 The month of March is the time when spring is nearly upon us and we all turn 

our thoughts to  seed catalogues, planting and tackling those neglected garden jobs.                                      

Not without reason is March  known as the time of new life, weather permitting!

On St Winnolds Day, 3rd March, dire weather warnings are given out as windy and stormy weather is seasonable and are to expected at the beginning of March. 

First comes David 

Next comes Chad

Then comes Winnold, roaring like mad.

If the storms do not appear at the beginning of the month, it is saving itself for 

the three 'Borrowing Days' at the end of the month.

St Winnold , also known as Winwaloe,was a sixth century Cornish saint whose family fled to Brittany to avoid the Saxons and the plague. Son of Fragan, Prince of Dumnonia  ( Devon and Cornwall) and Gwen the Three Breasted. He was the founder and first Abbot of Landevennec Abbey in Brittany. He founded another Abbey after miraculously opened a passage  through the sea to the other side of the Landevennec estuary. After his death he was commemorated at a Monastery at Wereham, Norfolk.

He is the patron saint of churches.

New green shoots are pushing its way through the soil,birds are attempting to nest despite

 the wind and cold temperatures.

 And of course it is the time for the 'Mad March Hare' to start their mating rituals which include mad chases through the fields and the infamous boxing matches.

 It used to be thought that it was two males fighting over a prized female but now it is thought  more likely to be an unresponsive female seeing off an unwanted suitor.

We were lucky enough to see a field of hares earlier this year on the slopes of Maiden Castle near Dorchester. The chalky soil seems to be attractive to the creatures, allowing them to create small 'scrapes' where they seemingly disappear from view. This ability has given rise to the animal being associated with witchcraft. 

Their odd behaviour  caused people in the past to believe that the hare was a shape shifting witch or were- hares  and as such could only be killed with a silver bullet. Rowan and vervain would be placed on the gun stock as further insurance against the whiles of the witch.

The fact that they could stand upright on their back legs and their strange human like cry when in distress deepened the suspicion against these harmless creatures.

Mermaid Jewellery

Excited to share my new range of sterling silver jewellery, 

available on my Zazzle shop- MagicMythLegend

Faerie and folklore inspired range of products.

https://www.zazzle.co.uk/beautiful_mermaid_silver_necklace-256342389916710955

Matching set available

Necklace, Earrings, charm Bracelet.

Other designs available

Take down the Christmas decorations!

 It's the Twelfth Day of Christmas today so its time to pack away all of the lights 

and baubles for another year 

Now Christmas is past; Twelfth Day is the last

To the Old Year adieu; Great joy to the New.

In days past the twelfth night was the most festive, its celebrations were ruled by King Bean and the Queen of the Pea. Chosen by who ever found the bean or pea in their slice of the twelfth night cake.

All greenery would be taken down after this last fling as it was extremely unlucky to leave any sprig of holly or ivy in the house although in a few places they would remain up until Candlemas in February otherwise the more mischievous faeries  and pixies would be encouraged to inside.

Down with the rosemary and so 

down with the bais and Mistletoe

down with the holly, ivie and all

wherewith ye drest the Christmas hall

that's so the superstitious find

not one least branch there left behind

for look how many leaves there be

neglected there. maids trust to me 

so many goblins you shall see!

Although it is usual to compost the tree it is unwise to carelessly discard the evergreen decorations; some ceremonially burn the tree while in some cases  they are allowed to rot quietly in the garden, or perhaps re purpose as nesting spot for birds, squirrels etc.

Pine needles dry quickly while rotting slowly so can be used as a mulch

Spells and Wealth