Undoubtedly the best way to see fairies is to have a fairy door in your own garden. Another simple way to see them however is to follow a fairy trail, these are most easily observed at harvest time.The photo on the right clearly shows such a trail leading to a stone circle (a frequent venue for fairy festivities)
Fairy Trails
It is tempting to speculate that the fairy behind this horseshoe-framed door is a farrier, a mistake that many humans make.
One has to remember that fairies are much too small to ride horses so farrier as a profession is alien to them. It is obvious then that the horseshoe was made by a human farrier and merely utilized by fairies as a sturdy door frame.
Moon Fairies
The term "Moon Fairy" is a somewhat puzzling phrase as there is no equivalent post in human society. Basically the job is one of organisation and coordination.
Most fairy festivals are governed by the movement of the moon as its phases are both a determination of illumination and tides. Both of these properties are essential for night time fairy travel.
The Lammas Moon (Aug 1st.) is of particular interest to fairy folk as a great festival is held for both the beginning and ending of harvest.
It is the job of the annually appointed " Moon Fairy" to prepare and coordinate these festivities.
It is immediately obvious that this fairy doorway is architecturally of eastern influence yet here it is in the great beech forest of Warkworth. It is said that beyond this door live the descendants of the royal dynasties of ancient Egypt (this statement could, until recently, only be regarded as conjecture). Once however, upon a Lammas Moon a stranger, not of pure fairy blood set foot in this realm and was to provide some rather curious evidence that helped support this theory.
Fairy Portals
There appears to be some confusion as to the difference between a fairy door and a fairy portal. Fairy doors are for the exclusive use of fairy folk and are permanent fixtures.A portal however, although summoned by fairies, is an elusive, ephemeral structure that allows humans to enter a fairy realm. Portals, because of their fleeting nature are difficult to photograph. The illustration on the left provides a glimpse of the phenomena and interestingly the inclusion of the garden chair helps give the reader an idea of scale.Soon after the photograph was taken the portal was closed and ceased to exist.
Fairy Portal Key
Fairy Portals are secured by lock and key rather than magic as humans are required to use them.
Not all fairy doors lead to private dwellings beyond this door for example is the printing works of Peastalk & Bodkin Publishing Company. The firm are chiefly noted for their annual publication......
"A Comprehensive Directory Of Fairy Godmothers."
The fairy in this photo is Julia Speedwell grand daughter of Stagnant Moss and part of the famous racing family. Like most of her family she owns turbo-wings and recently received a traffic violation ticket for flying at 3.7 mph in a 2.0 mph zone (no wonder she looks so grumpy).
In a statement to the Sandword Gazette she said " I am truly sorry for my reckless flying but I guess speed is just part of who I am."
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That greatest Glorianna to him gave,
That greatest Glorious Queene of Faerie land,
To winne him worship, and her grace to have,
Which of all earthly things he most did crave;
From The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser
I do wander every where,
Swifter than the moon's sphere,
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
The cowslips tall her pensioners be:
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours,
In those freckles live their savours:
I must go seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear
Farewell thou lob of spirits; I'll be gone :
Our queen and all her elves come here anon.
From A Midsummer Night's Dream
by William Shakespeare
My earlier post about fairy trails has prompted a few people to point out that another way to see fairies is in the proximity of toadstools. Generally if the toadstools form a ring then there is a good chance the site is frequented by fairies.Giant toadstools, although more difficult to locate, are also a favourite haunt of fairy folk.
Fractal Design Sample
2021 Catalogue
Documenting this fairy door has been dogged with problems but since the article is of seasonal interest I have decided to publish it anyway.
The fairy outside these premises is Wingsy Willow and she is irrelevant to the photo.Miss Willow spends a great deal of her time using invisibility juice to sneak her way into photos and once there strikes a provocative pose. The idea behind such a strange behaviour is the vain hope she gets herself noticed by some famous film director.
So I would ask the readers to ignore her presence and concentrate on the door itself.
The door is the entrance to the business premises of :
Winter Fractal Enterprises Ltd.
This firm is a subsidiary of the Jack Frost Corporation. During the year the firm design fractal patterns to be used as decorations for the Midwinter Festivals. The manager declined my request for an interview however he did produce, on my car roof, one of the sample designs from this year's forthcoming catalogue. He also provided the following written statement.
Order Your New Season Winter Fractal Catalogue
Tel :691
Plant Growth Problems
I am sure many of my readers are familiar with the story of "Briar Rose." It is sometimes difficult for humans to appreciate the problems fairies face with regard to excessive plant growth. The picture here represents a typical situation where a road has suddenly become overgrown with weeds preventing a delivery van accessing the fairy residence. Commercial fairy transport now carries specialist equipment to deal with such a situation. The most commonly used of these specialist tools is the daisy-chain saw.
Wix & Co. Ltd
These premises are the local branch of :
Wix & Co. Ltd.
who are world famous for their top of the range magic lamps. The firm also undertake lamp restoration and polishing. They are perhaps less well known for their Genie management classes but still provide this valuable service.
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A Quantum Leap
In the early 1950's this was the home of fairy physicist Erwin Schrödinger. It was here he claimed to have discovered his theory of quantum entanglement after being stuck in a cobweb for three hours. A lot of people have asked if his cat also lived at these premises during that period however the evidence for that is, at present, inconclusive.
