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Faeries, Elves,
Gnomes, Unicorns, Trolls, Sprites And Other Woodland
Creatures Books, Audio
CD's and Oracle Cards
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Faeries are special, often-thought of as royal
of elf-like. Their wings varying, often appearing insect-like or shimmering.
There are elemental and non-elemental faeries. Dark/unholy faeries are very
rare. They all can learn a simple spell to turn themselves human-sized, and
to hide their wings. There are more female Fae than male.
Pixies are a bit smaller than Faeries, and very mischievous. They are
natural pranksters. They also have butterfly wings. Pixies can be elemental,
but more often than often not. Dark pixies are very common, whereas holy
pixies are basically extinct. They all can learn a simple spell to turn
themselves human-sized, and to hide their wings. There are more female
pixies than male.
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The Unicorn is one of the most mysterious of all animals. It has been
glorified in folk tales, songs, poems, and stories for centuries; and it
remains one of the great "unsolved mysteries" of the world. Despite the
widely held belief in its existence, it has not been seen in centuries ; and
the popular Eastern image from Chinese folklore is very different from the
familiar Western image of a white horse-like creature. The only consistent
fact is that a Unicorn has a single horn in the middle of its forehead.
For true believers, the fact that it no longer exists only adds to the
mystique; placing it in the same realm as the dinosaurs, the mammoth, and
possibly such unknown creatures as Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. Others
believe the Unicorn still exists in remote regions and can be discovered
only by those of exceptional virtue and honesty.
In the meantime, we can marvel at its beauty and pay tribute to its unique
place in the culture and history of the world.
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Elves are little CUTE creatures that wouldn't hurt you at all! Most elves
have pointy ears and red adorable noses some elves can be 4 foot or 2 foot
elves it doesn't matter at all. Also you can find some elves behind a rock
or flowers and they love to hang-out around gardens and grass where no one
goes or cuts. Some elves are really sneaky in the gardens because they think
it theirs. If you get them angry they will bounce off the walls and you can
see a little light going up and down and all over the place but its fun to
watch. But not all elves are nice it matters if your are nice to others even
a elves if you have one if you catch one you can do a hole lot of things
with it but you may not through it or it will leave right away when you
leave thats how elves act so BELELIVE!!!!!!
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A troll is a member of a race of fearsome creatures from Norse mythology.
Originally more or less the Nordic equivalents of giants, although often
smaller in size, the different depictions have come to range from the
fiendish giants – similar to the ogres of England (also called Trolls at
times, see Troller's Gill) – to a devious, more human-like folk of the
wilderness, living underground in hills, caves or mounds. In the Faroe
islands, Orkney and Shetland tales, trolls are called trows, adopted from
the Norse language when these islands were settled by Vikings.
Nordic literature, art and music from the romantic era and onwards has
adapted trolls in various manners – often in the form of an aboriginal race,
endowed with oversized ears and noses. From here, as well as from
Scandinavian fairy tales such as Three Billy Goats Gruff, trolls have
achieved international recognition, and in modern fantasy literature and
role-playing games, trolls are featured to the extent of being stock
characters.
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Gnomes are small creatures that are found in a variety of forms. They appear
to have much in common with the old cave-dwelling dwarves and the two are
sometimes said to be related.
What Are Gnomes?
Gnomes are small humanoids who are often described as "gnarled" or even
"misshapen". Some people think they are mortal creatures, some that they are
related to the fairy folk, others that they are elemental creatures.
According to the alchemist Paracelcus - who appears to have originated the
name "gnome" - they are earth spirits.
Paracelcus also believed that gnomes were turned to stone during the day by
the rays of the sun, an attribute more commonly associated with the troll.
Most traditions say that the gnome is an earth dweller, living in tunnels
and caves below ground. However one occasionally hears stories of forest
gnomes who appear to be their cousins. These, according to folklore, are
turned during the day not to stone but into toadstools.
Some legends say that gnomes can make themselves invisible to ordinary
mortals and be seen only by those with second sight.
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Dazzling in color and about the size of large insects, sprites have
glistening membranous wings. In fact, they are often confused with exotic
insects or flowers at first glance.
Considered to be the most common type of faerie, they are known to live in
deep woods. Some make their homes high in the branches of trees while others
prefer to live near ponds and streams. They particularly love to live in the
forests inhabited by treefolk and other fey and enjoy cool weather and a
calm, serene environment. If sprites are spotted, it is a sign that the area
has a high concentration of faerie activity.
Sprites travel in swarms and can bite if provoked. They are playful, and at
times obnoxious. One of their favorite past-times is pestering butterflies.
This is a great game for them as they are able to fly much faster than
butterflies and can go greater distances before requiring rest. Generally,
no butterflies are injured during the sprites' harassment because of their
short attention span. To keep a sprite interested requires constant change
and surprises. Too much of a challenge, however, will frustrate them and
they will zip away to the next thing that catches their eye.
Each morning sprites come down from the trees, if they are tree sprites, and
bathe in the dew. Water and ground dwelling sprites bathe in the river or
pond they inhabit. Although we prefer to think of sprites as sweet and
innocent they are still living beings and require sustenance. As they are
Faeries' main gardeners, they kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.
They eat the pests that cause damage to the plants they aid in growth there
by nourishing their bodies with important nutrients and ridding the flowers,
grasses, trees and bushes they love of bugs, beetles, worms, grubs and slugs
that harm the plant.
Copyright 2008 Howard David Johnson
Each type of sprite has a different specialty. Tree sprites are responsible
for helping trees to shake off the Winter's snow, budding leaves, bearing
fruit, which they tend to snack on, turning the leaves in the autumn, and
plucking the leaves away once they've lost their radiance. They go deep into
the trees in the Winter and sing to the roots to keep the trees company
during the long lonely winter as the trees miss the birds and squirrels
terribly. If the sprites aren't there to soothe the trees they sometimes
don't make it to the next Spring.
At night their bodies give off a faint glow that can have them mistaken for
fireflies, which, along with other flying insects and small birds, they are
fond of riding. They wrap themselves in foliage at night or sink into silky
blooms. Water sprites will sometimes sleep on lilly pads, oyster shells, or
curled up on a nice pile of seaweed.
Petals and blooms missing from healthy plants may be due to sprites plucking
them for clothing. Sprites can also cause plants to bloom in the middle of
Winter and are the nurturers of the strange fruits that faeries delight in.
In forests with sprites, it is possible to find the hollowed-out acorns they
use as cups; dandelion-tuft mattresses, and hats made from folded leaves. A
water sprite is a mythical creature that mainly dwells in freshwater swamps,
rivers, and laces. They are known to be easily angered, and are dangerous if
angered. They also have magical flutes apparently, and lice to live in
groups. They can breath underwater as well as on land, and can fly in few
legends. They are social amongst there own kind, but very secretive to
others.
another definition of water sprite is an aquatic plant. I would assume a
tree sprite is something similar to a pixie.
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they kind of mean the same but this might help throw light on this for you.
the word faery is often used to talk about the ancient mythical faeries,
such as in folklore and literature. for example edmund spensers epic poem
'the faerie queen'. i've heard he was the first person to use this spelling.
the faeries (spelled that way) tend to be a kind of 'grown up' faery, some
people believe they are descended from ancient gods. there is also a
connection with druidism and also witchcraft (as in morgan-le-fey of
arthurian legend). they are also linked to earth spirits, and elementals,
and there are many different types of faery such as y tylwyth teg (of wales),
the sidhe (of ireland) and the seelie and unseelie court (scotland). an
important point is that these faeries are rarely described as having wings.
whereas fairy is used for the fairies of disney and childrens stories - such
as tinkerbell, and as in fairy tales, fairy god-mothers, flower fairies.
they have wings and tend to be friendly, gentle and kind (faeries, on the
other hand can have a bit of a dark side and you wouldn't want to offend
them by confusing them with the fairies).
having said that - older books on the the subject will use the 'fairy'
spelling to talk about 'faeries'. as does wikipedia. but the different
spellings help make it clearer which faeries/fairies you mean.
See also
Faeries
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A
Complete Guide to Faeries & Magical Beings: Explore the Mystical Realm of the
Little People (Paperback)