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Saturday, September 6, 2014

About Fairies

I got this unfinished picture out today and am determined to get it painted.  It has truly become it's name: The Forgotten Garden.  But the cooler weather has gotten me inspired to paint again.  And while I am pondering what color palette to use, I'm also pondering other things.

What is a fairy?  There are probably as many definitions as there are people, but two different viewpoints come to mind.  One is that fairies are completely benign, tiny beings wearing fluffy pink dresses and waving magic wands over children as they sleep.  The other, an ancient belief dating back many ages, is that fairies are an old race of non-Christian beings possessed of super-human powers, mischievous at best and often downright evil.  They steal children, dry up the cows' milk, lead humans into decadence and vice, and must be placated with bowls of milk left on the stoop.

I think both concepts do the fairies a big disservice.  They have been caught in a darkening world that hovers between hardened materialism and old superstition, and I keep struggling to understand how they, and Mother Nature as a whole, became so misunderstood and separated from both science and religion.  On the religious side, it's maybe because when Christianity arose, the old Pagan wisdom was rejected, giving way to new impulses.  So the pendulum swung from worshiping nature to fearing and shunning it.  It's time for some fresh new perspectives in keeping with the new age.

I do believe there are invisible presences in nature, in fact, I've communicated with many of them while making flower essences over the years, and have learned a tremendous amount.  And I believe that some of these presences are malevolent.  But does that mean we should shun them, or should we try to understand them?  With understanding, fear, confusion and superstition dissipate, and a person feels strengthened to meet evil and adversity.  Granted, it's not easy to communicate with invisible beings, but it is possible, and very rewarding.  This is a topic left for another day!

We humans are the bridge between nature and the cosmos, between earth and spirit.  In us resides the extremely important task of enlivening science and updating religion to include the fresh new insight and growth we are now capable of.

My fairies are a personification of nature: fragile, beautiful or ugly as the case may be, keepers of much wisdom that encompasses the entire cosmos: stars, planets, angels, elements, earth, water, fire, air, and all the living, intelligent beings that bring order to our world.  And may a little of their spirit shine on you.

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