Realms of Fantasy and Myth: Week 14 - Faeries

Sep 8, 200922 min read

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Published: Sep 8, 2009

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Realms of Fantasy and Myth: Week 14 - Faeries

Welcome to the fourteenth issue of my weekly news article! I hope you enjoy it, and please, show the featured artists some love and recognition through pageviews,

's and

's!
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This week's creature feature is:  Faeries
Extra-Long Bonus Week!  Hopefully that will help make up for the weeks I couldn't post ^_-

From Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faeries :

A fairy (also fay, fey, faery, faerie; collectively, "fae", wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, and other euphemisms) is a type of mythological being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.
The word fairy derives from the term fae of medieval Western European (Old French, from Latin fata: Fate) folklore and romance, one famous example being Morgan le Fay ('Morgan of the Fae' ). "Fae-ery" was therefore everything that appertains to the "fae", and so the land of "fae", all the "fae".
Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, humanoids of small stature, they originally were depicted much differently: tall, radiant, angelic beings or short, wizened trolls being some of the commonly mentioned. Diminutive fairies of one kind or another have been recorded for centuries, but occur alongside the human-sized beings; these have been depicted as ranging in size from very tiny up to the size of a human child. Even with these small fairies, however, their small size may be magically assumed rather than constant.
Wings, while common in Victorian and later artwork of fairies, are very rare in the folklore; even very small fairies flew with magic, sometimes flying on ragwort stems or the backs of birds. Nowadays, fairies are often depicted with ordinary insect wings or butterfly wings.
When considered as beings that a person might actually encounter, fairies were noted for their mischief and malice. Some pranks ascribed to them, such as tangling the hair of sleepers into "Elf-locks", stealing small items or leading a traveler astray, are generally harmless. But far more dangerous behaviors were also attributed to fairies. Any form of sudden death might stem from a fairy kidnapping, with the apparent corpse being a wooden stand-in with the appearance of the kidnapped person. Consumption (tuberculosis) was sometimes blamed on the fairies forcing young men and women to dance at revels every night, causing them to waste away from lack of rest.

***Allow me to add that the Wikipedia article appears to be rather biased against faeries.  While these stories used to be very popular, they only show "one side of the coin".  Faeries are also often depicted as harmless, delicate creatures that are tied closely to nature.  Flower faeries are very popular, as are elemental faeries.  Some protect small animals, and there are even faeries that heal wounded travelers or help protect children from nightmares.

Now, for the features!  Works are featured from various categories, in no particular order:

Titania -Queen of the Faeries3 by wingdthing

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Monica summer fashion Fairy 2 by fairiesndreams

Tabitha OOAK Fairy Sculpture 1 by LindaJaneThomas

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Art Nouveau Summer Time Fairy by lady-cybercat

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+ Neopets - Earth Faerie + by TheBlueLummox

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Mature Content

Mothlight 1 - Luna Moth by MeredithDillman

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An Elven Fairy's Backyard by BlackMageAlodia

Dancing with the Green Fairy by Cynnalia

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The Edge of Enchantment by MeredithDillman

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Birthstones - Amethyst by twosilverstars

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FAIRYTASIA - Sara Close Up by fairytasia

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Thank you so much for viewing, and come back next week for a different inhabitant of the Realms of Fantasy and Myth!