We have fairies in our yard. At least the folklore says fairies live there and will draw you into the ring to dance with them. I can't say as I have been approached by one of the wee folk yet but I did have a bit of a dance in the circle when my cousin Drew pointed it out to us. "You have a fairy ring." he said. Drew, being more the scientific type than the seeing fairies type, got a raised eyebrow from me to go along with the quizzical look. But here it is... a ring of mushrooms.
Its a little hard to see the circle from this angle so I put a red dot with Photoshop, next to each mushroom. The mushrooms them selves are splendid and some are easily over a foot across.
Can't you see an imaginary fairy lounging in this soft spongy bed?
I like the idea of it...although folk beliefs generally paint fairy rings as dangerous places, best avoided. I, not knowing I was in danger, marched straight to the center and did a bit of a twirl and made a wish. I was careful not to step on any of the mushrooms. I hope they will forgive my tresspassing but it's nice to have a bit of magic in ones life occasionally.
Other legends paint fairy circles as places of fertility and fortune. If any fairies are listening, I would much prefer the "fortune". Shakespeare alludes to them in A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest. Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Tennyson and Yeats also refer to them in their poetry.
For myself, I prefer to think of them as "enso" - the Japanese word for circle. It is a sacred symbol in Zen Buddhism referring to the oneness of the universe, a graphic depiction of enlightenment itself.
I'll keep you posted on the wish.
Wonderful faerie ring photos! Thanks for sharing them! (I linked to you: http://faeriemagick.com/believe/fairy-rings-fact-fiction-fungus/ )
Posted by: FionaBroome | December 09, 2011 at 09:10 AM