Lucy Cooper's Blog, page 2
August 26, 2014
#6 Beautiful guardians of the Otherworld…
A sneak peek at some of the denizens of fairyland you’ll meet in The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies… #6 Mouras Encantadas Shapeshifting female fairies of Galician and Portuguese folklore. Generally described as beautiful females, singing and combing their long locks, Mouras Encantadas sometimes appeared in the guise of a serpent, dog, horse, or goat. Dwelling […]
August 25, 2014
#5 A roguish yet on the whole benevolent fellow
A sneak peek at some of the denizens of fairyland you’ll meet in The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies… #5 Puck Shakespeare’s merry jester. Puck is now synonymous with the merry jester fairy in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. However, “pucks” already existed in British folklore before Shakespeare’s time as mischievous hobgoblins. “Puck” or “pouke” was […]
August 24, 2014
#4 A bushy-browed, fiery-reared, hullaballoo-raising bush spirit…
A sneak peek at some of the denizens of fairyland you’ll meet in The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies… #4 Hebu South American bush spirit. One of numerous bush spirits named in legends from tribes in northeastern South America. The hebu is distinctive in both appearance and habits, as it is without buttocks, displaying from […]
August 23, 2014
#3 Introducing the Celtic Noggle
A sneak peek at some of the denizens of fairyland you’ll meet in The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies… #3 Noggle (Also Nuggle or Nygel.) A Celtic fairy water horse. A Shetland kelpie, or water horse. It took the form of a pretty small grey horse, about the size of a Sheltand pony, wearing a bridle […]
August 22, 2014
#2 A penchant for music, dancing and revelry…
A sneak peek at some of the denizens of fairyland you’ll meet in The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies… Many of the fairies’ favorite times of year are connected with music, dancing, and revelry. In tales from around the world, fairies have a love of music, and are often to be found dancing in moonlit fields […]
August 21, 2014
#1 A most mischievous and unsociable Cornish sprite…
A sneak peek at some of the denizens of fairyland you’ll meet in The Element Encyclopedia of Fairies… #1 Pisky (Also piskey, piskie.) The Cornish breed of pixy. Cornish piskies are different from their English cousins the pixies – or pigseys, as they’re known in Devon and Somerset. While the pigsey, or pixy, is on […]
Enter the fairy realm – but consume nothing, or you may never return…
In the latest instalment of the best-selling Element Encyclopedia series, Lucy Cooper examines the history, legends, and folklore of fairies. Be charmed by the Djinn of Arabia, meet the bushy-eyebrowed Hebu of South America, and investigate the Cottingley Fairies, as you lose yourself on this enchanting journey of magical beings. But beware: the forest is […]
