'Spring drew on...and a greenness grew over those brown beds, which, freshening daily, suggested the thought that Hope traversed them at night, and left each morning brighter traces of her steps.' - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

(Photo: #PigwiggenWood , Dartmoor)

Harp recital this Sunday!
I've loved researching the life of Parish-Alvars, 19th-century harp virtuoso from #Devon who was hailed as the 'Liszt of the harp'.
Come and hear his fascinating life story and experience his music.
The Plough Arts Centre

theploughartscentre.org.uk/event/harp-mus…

'Witches' Knickers'
This glorious buttercup-yellow jelly fungus is also known as Yellow Brain, Fairy Butter, or Witches' Butter.

In Scandinavia, it's known as Trolls' Butter, and was burnt as a protective charm.
(Photographed #PigwiggenWood , last Thursday.)

Dear ones, here’s a photo (taken last week) of a scarlet elf cap nestled in the mossy magic of #PigwiggenWood .
It's said that the wood elves drink morning dew from the cups.

#faerie #woodland #devon

As a young bride, I visited The Drewe Arms on the way to church because landlady Aunty Mable (nearly 100 yrs old) always gave advice to local brides.
The pub is now sadly closed.

We’re buying it back for the community. YOU can own shares from just £100.
drewearms.org

Tonight: An evening of dark enchantment.
Can't wait.
I'll be watching it online at a friend's house. We'll have a girls' night in! Terri and Ellen are both incredible, inspirational women.
Terri Windling @terriwindling.bsky.social Ellen Kushner @ellenkushner.bsky.social

TOMORROW IN EXETER!
Me and a bunch of guys. Seashanties, folk, prog-folk...and classical harp. It'll be a riot!
exetercornexchange.co.uk/whats-on/the-c…

The diminutive trows of #Shetland sometimes ride through the air mounted on bulrushes.

If you see one, you should (if you have not a bible in your pocket) draw a circle around yourself and in God's name forbid his approach.

The trow should then disappear.

Art: Brian Froud

Seaweed growing on rocks above the low-water mark is known as 'tang' in #Scotland .

The water-spirit known as the #Tangie (from tang, the seaweed with which he is covered) appears sometimes as a horse, sometimes as a little man.

The malevolent #aughisky (water horse) emerges from the sea in November. It gallops over sands and fields.

Do not ride it. It will bound back into the water with you on its back.
It will devour you.
All of you.
Except the human liver, which will float to the surface of the sea.

Beware the #earwig !
The devil is known to disguise himself as an earwig, and penetrate a person's head through the ear.
This only happens in #Ireland .
#folklore

The dìreach is an oh-so-ugly creature, a kind of #fachan .
It has one eye, one leg, one rigid tuft of hair, and one hand emerging from its chest.
It haunts the deserted Glen Eiti.

Art: #BrianFroud

Rosalind’s work is the real thing. This will be a fascinating talk. It’s online, so wherever you are in the world, pour yourself a glass of mead and settle down to learn more about Faery.

A brownie called Luridan inhabited the island of Pomonia, the largest of the Orkades [Orkney].

He served with wonderful diligence to those families whom he did haunt, sweeping their rooms and washing their dishes, and making their fires before any were up in the morning. (1665)

Look at this glorious gold Anglo-Saxon ring!
Found in #Devon in 2018.

The #Wembworthy ring is tiny, made for a small woman or even a child. It's decorated with an intricate pattern of intertwined animals and has just been acquired by Exeter's fabulous Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter.

Pregnant?
Eat LOTS of quinces.

'The woman that eateth many quinces during the time of her breeding shall bring forth wise children of good understanding.'
(17th century maternity advice)

Bran and Sceólang are the hounds of #Irish hero, Fionn Mac Cumhaill.

They are also Fionn's cousins because their mother, Fionn's aunt Uirne, was turned into a dog whilst pregnant with twins.

The perpetrator of the canine spell was Uirne's jealous mother-in-law, a queen.

Shortly before death a light issues from the house in which the sick person lies.

It pursues its way to the church in which the body is to be interred, along the very track subsequently to be followed by the funeral.

This is called the Corpse Candle.

Art: Frank Holl

There is something so peculiarly fascinating in the old belief, that ‘once upon a time’ the world was less commonplace and humdrum, less subject to the inexorable laws of gravitation, optics, and the like.

What dramas it yielded!
What poems!
What dreams!
What delights!