September 2011

Voices to Visions July 2011

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Voices to Visions July 2011 ABOUT US “ Famous Haunting: Alice Mary Herden or Karen Bashak “ Famous Locations: Alice Mary Herden or Karen Bashak “ 101-Dictionary: Alice Mary Herden “ Paranormal Team: Alice Mary Herden “ Workshop: ******* “ Dust and Shadows: Alice Mary Herden * I would like to welcome Richard Senate and Tara Tomlin (my little sister) as our new contributors to Voices to Visions Magazine!

Alice Mary Herden Founder of Dust and Shadows, a Paranormal Investigation and Research Group. Alice is also freelance photographer and graphic artist.

Her experiences with the Paranormal go back to where she resided with her family in Largo.

Encounters with the paranormal have been from breathing to a full black mass apparition.

For this magazine, I wanted to share as much information about the paranormal without all the adversity. I do hope our readers learn as much as we do with each month we put this magazine together.

Articles “ Editor Views: Alice Mary Herden “ Interviews: Alice Mary Herden “ Encounters: Alice Mary Herden “ Paranormal Folklore: Alice Mary Herden

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Jesselee Lang Concept Art for Paranormal Folklore Richard Senate Ghost Stories Richard has been investigating haunted places since the night I saw a ghost in July of 1978.

I have 14 books about ghosts and I have worked as a consultant on TV shows since 1979. I also give tours and do radio shows about ghosts and haunted places.

Jesselee Lang is a superb 3D fantasy-based artist that tells astounding stories through digital art. He lives in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, where he provides design, artwork, and graphics to the web, print, and video game industries. He offers free images for download at his website, and you can find his art spray-painted on the sides of train cars. Jesselee enjoys creating powerful stories, projecting them into a single work of art for others to appreciate. His works put you in the middle of the action.

I met Jesselee through a stock photography site.

I enjoy in artistic view and creative imagination.

He is a great addition to this magazine. http://www.darkgeometry.ca/

Karen Bashak Article Writer Karen and I work together at establishment for over 5 years. smart, beautiful and just a joy! that she has time to write magazine.

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the same retail She is talented, I am so happy articles for our

Issue Contents All material and information gathered within this magazine are researched and/or solely opinions stated by the writer. You choose your opinions and beliefs upon your own conclusion with each expressed view or article written.

Photography Artwork All photography and artwork within this magazine are property of the photographer and/or artist.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Interviews Interviews are conducted via e-mail. If possible, some interviews are conducted in person and recorded.

Our Sponsors Vision-Vault LLC Green-Fly Media (coming 2012) Merchandising Professionals LLC The White-Raven (coming 2012) Action Sales and Merchandising INC Arrowwear USA John and Cindy DeHaven Donald and Bobbie Herden Become a sponsor Sponsors donations help with the yearly payment of the website. For more information about becoming a sponsor, please email us at: Editor@voicestovisions.com Special Thanks A special thanks to my husband, Donald Herden Jr. You have been the light of my life and I love you will all my soul. Thank you for being a huge supporter in all my goals. I could have never lived without you.

Our Magazine is non-profit. You only pay for printing and shipping.

Voices to Visions: a Dust and Shadows Magazine in association with Vision-Vault LLC Š2011

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* 3D Renders by Alice Mary Herden

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IN THIS ISSUE “

Editors Views

Fairies “

Interview

Anna Franklin “

Encounters

Fairies, Elves, etc. “

Paranormal Folklore

Wicked Little Fairies “

Famous Places

Calvados Castle “ Famous Haunting Charlton House “

Readers Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories “

101-Dictionary

Candles “ Workshop Working with Fairies “

Paranormal Team of the Month

Apollo Paranormal Investigations “

Dust and Shadows Location

Home

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This issue is dedicated to all the people that create such a wonderful imagination through 3D art.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ SPIRIT Putting a little different type of spirit than what we are accustom to for this magazine; the spirit of imagination.

Everything in this world, real or imaginative is made up of some type of spirit. A soul spirit.

The grass we feel with our bare feet, to the dreams of flying upon the beautiful winged Pegasus. It is all about your own spirit, the spirit that lives with us every day.

With the fairies, you will have your good ones and your bad ones... there has to be two sides to every imagination to so-called balance the realm of imagination. Just like life itself, there are good people and bad people. We just know that that is all in the characteristics of what we call human life and all its existence.

Without dark there would be, no light, without negativity there would be no positivity, without destruction there would be no creation, and so forth. Everything balances out even in the faery realm.

Regardless if you or I believe in fairies, it is just nice to know that there is a way to connect to things by a certain or assigned characteristic of the Earth and what surrounds the Earth. Just like in mythology, everything has a characteristic of a god or goddess. As in the faery realm, it too has its own characteristic. Maybe this is to really help our children learn about respect and honor. Moreover, help us as adults relearn the value of respect and honor.

So what this is all about, is YOU. Learning to view things in a different perspective, learning to respect what is in front of your lives. Love the nature, get out and enjoy the air, and see things differently, you might live a little wiser, live a little happier and most of all laugh a little louder.

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So right now, take a deep breath, relax, and enjoy!

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Editor View The Cottingley Fairies In the early 1900s, Frances Griffiths and Elsie Wright, two young cousins who lived in England, created the most compelling photographic manipulation of fairies. The public had mixed opinions about these photos, some felt it was a hoax and other felt they were real. It was all in the mind of the believers that made these the most sought after photographs and most well known fairy hoaxes even to this day.

Fairy Tales and Faeries

How amazing the imagination can create so many tales. The best-known fairy tales started by the Grimm Brothers, back in the early 1800s. However, fairy tales are not what we are here to talk about; we are going to talk about all the folklore characters in those fairy tales. Creating a story is either something your imagination has conjured up, and that imagination is endless with different styles of characters for your fairy tale story. In order to create a great story, you would have to have experienced something like it in order to write about it, right?

Well, I am sure most of us that are interested in fairies, have seen the infamous mummified fairy. http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/bl_fairy_pictu res.htm Although the photos look so real, but is this what you would imagine a fairy to look like?

Maybe. Again, this was a prop made by Dan Baines.

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The girls at such a young age can give us a pure, honest, heartfelt conclusion that we do have an imagination. We can figure ways to make our imagination come to life, just as these girls did ninety-seven years ago. Now with Photoshop and 3D software, you can create the most realistic fairy photos and fairy characters you want.

Is there any physical evidence of the existence of fairies? Just because some of us do not believe in fairies, pixies, elves, or gnomes, this does not mean that we are too old to play. It is nice to have a childlike outlook in the creative imagination of the fairy realm.

Fairies, fays, sprites or fairies, whatever you would like to call them, still reside in a paranormal environment. Some people refer to them as spirits, which in the paranormal field we would connect spirits to ghosts and not necessarily to fairies. Some people connect the Otherworld or Underworld to fairies as we would to witches, warlocks and even those of evil intent.

Our first thought of fairies would be very small characters with wings that let them travel around within the woods, carrying a magical wand.

However, that is not the case in folklore,

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ because there are many different types of fairies within the realm that we would not consider belong in the fairy realm.

To some, fairies represent the four elements: water, air, fire, and earth. Each element has a significant purpose. Since fairies are considered ‚worldly‛ of all Mother Nature they are divided into four parts.

I had a discussion with my sisters, Tara, and Debbie, along with my nephews, Walter and Austin, about the reality of fairies. Tara, strongly believes in the content of the TV Series, Supernatural, in which one episode explained the existence of fairies and the like. Debbie, Walter and Austin do not believe in the existence of fairies, although when I asked them if they believed in ghosts they all believed in the existence of ghosts and spirits. That being said, and knowing that there is proven existence of ghosts/spirits, where is the proof of the existence of the characters from the faerie realm?

When we are in the routine of our daily lives, there is no room to actually venture out. Could you take the time to embark upon an adventure into the fairy realm? Regardless whether or not you believe in the fairy realm, taking the time to be with nature could change some things in your life. Being in touch with nature can make you aware of different surroundings, notice new growth, new peace. Maybe there is not a pixie hiding behind one of the fallen logs, or a dryad embedded in the oak tree behind you, but your imagination of a realm may just let you see beyond the routine of your life, and see the beauty of your own earth. Maybe all this was created to bring people out to be with nature, something to believe in to love more of the earth we ignore and destroy.

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When you meditate outside, where you can see the most beautiful sights of nature, you are free to let your imagination carry you to another realm of creativity. Imagining fairies fluttering around the trees playing catch me if you can, or gnomes constructing new furniture for their under-dome home, can bring new light to ideas and revitalize your creativity.

Humans drove fairies from the earthly plane into the Otherworld or Underground. From my research on the fairy realm, it was the Christians faith who pushed the fairy realm to the Otherworld. The Christians felt that the interaction with humans was the act of the devil. The Pagans’ ideals of fairies is the fairy faith which is divided into four groups: Angels * Demons * Elementals * Dead The third group of Elementals are subhuman nature spirits (no comma) which in that class is divided into four classes. * Earth Sprites * Air Sprites * Water Spirits * Fire Sprites Within some portions of folklore, some believed that among a parallel world the fairies and the dead intermingle. The souls of the dead roam amongst the fairies as they dance and sing.

Piskies (Pixies?) were known to be the souls of the unbaptized dead, kind of a ghost. Within the Pagan and Celtic folklore, they believed in reincarnation and when they died, they lived with the fairies before being reborn again.

Five Classes of Celtic Faeries First Class: Sidhe who were taller and wiser Second Class: Known as the Good People who were young and beautiful

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Third Class: Little people, tiny and danced in the air Fourth Class: Leprechauns and Brownies Fifth Class: Smallest, they are gloomy earth sprites

person who is traveling alone to a lost path.

Even at night, they can lead to the Willo’ the Wisp, which are little light fairies that you will follow until you are hopefully lost. If you want to avoid this, turn your socks or all your clothing inside out.

Knockers

Leprechauns These little people in the fairy realm really keep to themselves and are always working. They are best known for their designing of shoes and of course their pot of gold.

These elves were helpers of the miners. They would give the miners warnings if there was going to be a cave in and they would lead them to the treasure.

Spriggans These are known as standing stone sprites that guard buried treasure and quite nasty little creatures.

When and if you catch a leprechaun, hold on to him tight and never lose sight of him. He will do everything he can to distract you to look the other way, and if you do, he will not be there.

You can ask him where he keeps his treasure and he will take you there, or you can ask him to grant you three wishes.

They are also said to be the dwindled ghost of spirits. When you get too close to them the swell up to the size of a giant to protect their treasure.

Brownies

The Banshee is one that is within the Unseelie Court, as well as the Pooka.

Cute little hairy house elves. They help with the undone chores in the house. I would love to have one of these living in our house. To show your gratitude, you will need a small amount of honey, cream and baked cakes for them. If you offend them, be on the lookout; they are said to be very malicious. Malicious like what we, as paranormal investigators, call a poltergeist.

Piskies Some say these are souls of the unbaptized dead. They were not good enough for heaven and not bad enough for hell. They are just plan mischievous little fairies. They love to lead the

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In Scotland, there are two courts, the Seelie Court (good) and the Unseelie Court (bad).

Pooka The Pooka is a dark side brownie. They are shape shifters, but most popular known to be a black horse with fiery eyes. The Pooka would offer you a ride and he would ride you around and around until your death.

Red Caps These are vicious little creatures. The red in their caps are not of vegetable dye, but the blood of their victims. When the red starts to fade, they stone passers-by to replenish the color. So be on the look out, especially if you

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ are near to catch can still creatures

a castle or tour. You will not be able them, even with their iron boots they run very fast. To ward these little off, carry a cross.

Kelpies These are shape shifters as well, known to be a white horse or a mermaid. If you get too close to the water, they will pull you in, drown you, and even devour you.

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Sources: “ The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey “ Enchantment of the Faerie Realm by Ted Andrews “ Faeries of the Celtic Lands by Nigel Suckling “ Good Faeries Bad Faeries by Brian Froud “ Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins by Carol Rose

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Earth Elements

“ Pan * Feet of a goat, animal legs, human torso, and horned head * Music * Learn to make the best out of a bad situation “ Pixies

Earth elementals spirits are Gnomes, which are attached to a specific place; they also give character to rocks, crystals, and flowerbeds.

* Souls of the prehistoric people of England * Haunt Prehistoric Sites

Other characters within the Earth Elements are “ Leprechaun

“ Gwyn ap Nudd * King of the Underworld

* Shoemaker * Treasure

“ The Green Man * Growth

“ Dwarfs * Great strength and intelligence

“ Cernunnos * Horned God of the Wildwood

* Magical Stones that give them wisdom * Guard the minerals of the Earth

“ Robin Hood * Nature God

“ Knockers

* Dislikes greed and fights evil

* Found in Mines * Easily offended by swearing and whistling “ Cerridwen * Welsh hag fairy * Underworld goddess * Transformation and fertility

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“ Giants *Guardians of Mother Nature

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Water Elements

* Mirror and Comb “ The Kelpie * Horse * Rides the rider to the sea to drown “ The Nix *German Water Fairy

Water Elements are called Undines, which are the pure manifestation of the spirit water.

There are numerous water spirits within this element, mainly because it is easier for fairies to manifest within the damp air. These fairies can be captivating and beautiful but the association with water deals with emotions and repressed fears. They are very risky and might play with your conscious mind.

* Eerie singing along the shoreline “ The Melusine * Upper body Human, Lower body snake * Power freedom “ The Naiad

“The Selkie

*Water nymphs

* Human form with skins of seals * Follow your heart

of healing, wisdom, and

* Spirits of streams, fountains and wells “ The Nereid

“The Undine

* Dwells in the Sea

* Sea fairy

* Ride the hippocampus (part horse, part dolphin)

* Mystery and Beauty

* Gives madness or death by drowning

“ Ningyo * Human head but a body of a fish * Tears of pearls “ The Gwargedd Annwn * Welsh Water Sprite

“ Lorelei * German Water Fairy * Lures men to the rocks by playing her harp “ The Drac

* Beautiful and irresistible to men

* French water fairies

* Lady of the Lake

* Shape shifters from purple globes to beautiful women

“ The Mermaid * Beauty and Song

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Air Elements

“ Leanan Sidhe * Irish Spirit * Bringer of creative inspiration “ Aranrhod * Welsh Fairy Queen

Air gives us life and the sense of smell to give us the gift of instinctual sense. These sylphs are ethereal sprites who are swift, free, clever, and unpredictable. They bring inspiration, revelation and new perspectives and most important laughter.

Other Air Elements

* Prepares for the next life on earth “ Lilith * Wild spirit of wind and storm to bring nightmares * Independent “ Thoth the Wise

“ Vila * Taught the arts of growing herbs and fruit * Music and honoring the dead “ Odin

* Truth and Justice * Power of self-knowledge “ White Buffalo Woman * White Cloud

* Oldest of the Realm * Poetry and Wisdom * Self Expression and clear thoughts “ Valkyrs * Odins special battle maidens * Brings message of the releases of death “ Hermes *Leads the souls of the dead to the Underworld * Messages of life changes

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* Peace Pipe “ The Seven Ravens * Grimm’s Fairytale * Be Careful what you wish for “ The Griffin * Half animal ” Half bird * Union of matter and spirit “ The Sphinx * Woman Head ” Body of a Winged Lion * Understanding and Knowledge

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Fire Elements

“ Djinn *Arabian Fairies * Knowledge of secrets to the power of the Universe “ Wayland the Smith

Fire Spirits are called salamanders. These are highly intelligent spirits and they can help with inspiration to connect with the Otherworld. This spirit also helps with passion, and renews your soul.

* Elf-Blacksmith * Inspiration for courage, strength, and perseverance “ Brighid

Other Fire Elements

* Goddess of the Sun

“ Dragons

* Mistress of Healing

* Supernatural Sight and Hearing * Protection and Strength “ Centaurs * Half Human ” Half Horse * Bow and Arrow * A Guardian Spirit “ Prometheus * Spirit of courage and idealism “ Will-o’- the- Wisps * Teasing spirits * Glimpse of what we may be * Reminds us of death within, dreams, hopes and beliefs

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* Cleanse and transforms your life

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Flower Fairies

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Flowers overall are beautiful in themselves. If you see a fairy as you gaze upon the flowers that is just an added bonus for you to enjoy.

Different colors and arrangement of flowers bring so much light and joy into your home or to the person these flowers were sent to.

Honeysuckle: These flower fairies help awaken great psychic energy.

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Rose: These flower fairies help you awaken the sense of love.

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Tulip: These flower fairies help stimulate a greater vision.

Every flower has a fairy or elf associated with that flower. They are connected to the flower by spirit. As the flower dies so does the fairy or elf associated with that flower.

Fairies associated with flowers 

Carnation: These fairies radiate strong love for humans.

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Daffodil: These fairies can help us realize our own inner beauty.

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Iris: These fairies can open the entire fairy realm to you. They can help you stimulate great inspiration and creative expression.

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Jasmine: These fairies can help you developmental clarity.

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Lavender: These fairies can help bring healing and protection.

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Daisy: These fairies can help awaken creativity and inner strength.

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Tree Fairies Any tree can be a doorway to connect within the fairy realm. As fairies are associated with flowers, fairies and elves are also assigned to trees.

Trees are amazing, if you just take the time to just stand there any look at the beauty, age and creation of a tree, it is truly remarkable. Trees can be up to hundreds of years old. They have outlived humans. Do you ever wonder what tales those trees could tell you?

Trees are truly spirits. They inhale the spirit of life itself. They hold all the knowledge and history that surrounds their own circle of vision.

They might even hold some human spirits as well.

The next time you walk by a tree, take the time to place your hand on the tree, feel the bark, and close your eyes. Maybe the trees’ spirit just might share some knowledge with you.

“ Oak Tree: This tree is power and endurance. Mistletoe which is found growing on an oak tree gives it more magical power which can awaken the visions of your soul. “ Willow Tree: This tree helps stimulate dream activity.

Trivia: Which trees are associated with the Unicorn?

A: Apple Tree B: Cherry Tree C: Cedar Tree D: All of the above

Fairies associated with trees “ Apple: this tree has many magical fairies associated with it. When the apple blossoms in the spring, it helps promote the feelings of happiness. “ Birch: This tree can help you connect to many of the elemental realms of life. “ Cedar: These trees are protective and healing. “ Elder Tree: This tree is of birth and death, beginnings and endings. This tree helps with transition and awakens opportunities. “ Elm Tree: This Tree is a tree of intuition and holds the knowledge of empathy and compassion.

Weather Fairies The Four Winds When connecting within the magic circle for protection the Four Elements are summoned at the four quarters, which are called The Watchtowers, which is attended by a mighty wind. “ Eurius: Lord of East and Air “ Notus, Lord of South and Fire “ Zephyrus: Lord of West and Water “ Boreas: Lord of North and Earth

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Interview

grow my own fruit, herbs and vegetables, keep chickens and four cats. “ How did you become interested in fairy folklore?

As children we may see and speak with fairies, but as we grow up we are told that this is just imagination; it is not real. As we get older, we become distracted by the material world: the business of falling in love, raising families and earning a living. We forget the Otherworld until something makes us remember.

Anna Franklin Will you share with our readers a few things about yourself?

I am the High Priestess of the Hearth of Arianrhod, which runs teaching circles and a working coven, a company of archers and the annual Mercian Gathering, a Pagan camp which raises money for charity. I regularly speak at conferences, moots and workshops around the country and am the author of many books on witchcraft and Paganism, including the Sacred

Circle Tarot, The Fairy Ring, Midsummer, Lammas, Fairy Lore, Herb Craft, Magical Incenses and Oils, The Celtic Animal Oracle, Personal Power, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fairies, A Romantic Guide to Handfasting, Familiars, The Oracle of the Goddess, Hearth Witch and The Path of the Shaman. My books have been translated into nine languages. I live in a village in the English Midlands where I

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I underwent a shamanic initiation though illness some years ago. I became sick to the point where I was confined to bed for nearly two years. I felt that I was separated from the world of humankind; it seemed to me that they humans were like the creatures on the surface of a pond, skittering here and there in the glittering light, darting hurriedly through life. On the other hand, the pace of my life became slower and slower, and as it did, I sank further and further down into the great pond, until I lay at the bottom, in the gloom of the thick mud, where I could see the roots of things, and witnessed how everything was generated in the darkness and grew toward the light. I saw the creative cauldron of the Universe and the spirits that moved within it. The fast moving people on the surface never saw this; they were too busy and bound up with solely with their own concerns. “ What are some of the different types of fairies? Do you have any favorites?

Amazingly similar stories of fairies, under a variety of names, exist around the world from Africa to the Americas: they are white and shining, they can appear in animal form, they live in the underworld with the dead or in an Otherworldly paradise; they are responsible both

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ for the fertility of the land, and can also cause disease, blight, decay and death. Wherever we find fairies in the world [and they are everywhere], their names, more often than not, simply mean ‘spirit’ or else ‘shining’ and sometimes just ‘lord’ or ‘lady’. In these legends of fairies, we can trace pre-Christian concepts of nature spirits, along with the principles of dealing with them.

The English word ‘fairy’ or ‘faerie’ is derived, by way of the French fée, from the Latin fatare meaning ‘to enchant’. Variations on the spelling include fayerye, fairye, fayre and faery. In England, Geoffrey Chaucer made the words fairy and elf interchangeable, though the word ‘elf’ is from the Scandinavian alfar, a term that relates to mountains and water. The Welsh call fairies Tylwyth Teg meaning ‘Fair Family’. In Scotland they are the Daoine Coire or ‘Honest Folk’ or Daoine Beaga ‘Little Folk’ and to the Irish Daoine Matha, ‘Good People’ or Daoine Sidhe, meaning ‘People of the Hills’. Sidhe simply means ‘hill’, referring to the hollow hills and mounds where fairies are said to live, though it has been suggested that it may be from the same etymological root as the Hindustani word siddhi meaning ‘something, which controls the elements’.

Some occultists believe that fairies are elementals- creatures of earth, air, fire or water.

Aristotle thought that everything was composed of a combination of these four elements, an idea that persisted in scientific thought until the seventeenth century. They are the first growth of primal matter and each composed two of the four primal humours- hot, cold, wet and dry.

Fire was hot and dry, water cold and wet and so on. The powers of the spirits of the elements are called on by magicians who maintain that they are beings who evolved along another line

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to humans. In the Cabala they are called the Shedim.

The elemental spirits were of great interest to the alchemists. According to the alchemist, doctor and philosopher Paracelsus [1493-1541] in his ‘Treatise on Elemental Sprites’ the earth elementals were pygmies or gnomi [singular gnomus] who could move through the earth as fish move through water.

The derivation of the word is uncertain, but may relate to the Greek verb ‘to know’ or yet again to ‘of the earth’. Though the concept of gnomes does not seem to pre-date Paracelsus [though the idea of earth spirits does], gnomes have captured the popular imagination as guardians of the earth. He called spirits of the air sylphs from the Greek silphe meaning ‘butterfly’ or ‘moth’.

They are described as almost transparent, very small and winged. Salamanders [from the Greek meaning ‘fireplace’] were designated elemental spirits of the fire. They are usually portrayed as the lizards of the same name. Undines [‘Wave’] are regarded as representing water.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ “ Would you share with us some of the good and bad within the fairy realm, and how this affects their realm and possibly us?

The idea that fairies could also be harmful beings ” if they chose - was universal, but one that is divorced from the concepts of tiny cute Tinkerbells that are entirely modern and have their roots in bowdlerised Victorian nursery tales, not real fairy lore. Fairies could blight the crops, make fields and animals barren, and steal the goodness from food. Fairies could also steal the spirit of the land itself; the fields appeared to yield a crop but the ears of corn would not fill out, the harvest would be slender and the

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animal fodder without nourishment. Fairies were thought to use elf bolts to cause harm, propelling them into humans or livestock. Deaths were attributed to them and it was thought they could induce paralysis; the origin of the word ‘stroke’ for paralysis is derived from ‘elf-stroke’.

They could cause other illnesses: in Norway people fear the elf wind or alvgest which is the breath of elves and which covers the body of a person with blisters; cramps were a punishment for annoying the fairies, and it was widely believed that tuberculosis was caused by eating fairy food or by visiting a fairy hill at night; rheumatism, cramps and bruising were thought to be a punishment for annoying the fairies.

Good and bad fairies tend to make seasonal appearances. For the ancient Celts there were only two seasons: summer, which began at Beltane [May 1st], and winter, which began at Samhain [November 1st]. Good fairies are most active from Beltane to Samhain and bad fairies from Samhain to Beltane. At Beltane, the winter fairies, represented by various Hags and unhallowed creatures give up their dominion over the land. Good fairies are most active from Beltane to Samhain echoing the ancient return of the gods of summer and increase. Samhain marked the start of winter, and the ancient Celts celebrated it as a Festival of the Dead. Good fairies such as the Irish Tuatha dé Danaan and the English Puck retire from sight until spring returns. Evil fairies, such as the Scottish Unseelie Court become very active; goblins are seen consorting with ghosts and evil omens such as Black Dogs, and Washer at the Ford manifest.

As the sun winds down and darkness increases, our ancestors believed that the immortal spirits of chaos are released from the underworld and try to overtake the world. The threat of the longest night and dangerous Twelve

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Days of Yule that follow is reflected in the folk tales of ghosts and fairies temporarily freed from the underworld. In the Orkneys the evil trow fairies leave their mounds and dance. In Guernsey the powers of darkness are supposed to be especially active between St. Thomas's Day (21st December) and New Year's Eve, and it is dangerous to be out after nightfall. People may be led astray then by Will o' the Wisp, ominous black dogs appear to them, or folk find mysterious white rabbits hopping along just under their feet. In the Scandinavian countries peasants sensed the nearness of the uncanny on Christmas Eve and stayed indoors so as not to meet the spirits, especially between cock-crow and dawn. In Sweden the trolls were believed to be abroad, celebrating the dark time with dancing and revelry or flying to assemblies in the mountains in the company of witches, mounted on wolves, shovels or broomsticks. Passersby might hear their laughter and music. In Iceland the thirteen Yule Lads or Jolasveinar appear.

Though today they have become cuddly gift bringers, leaving presents for good children and potatoes for naughty ones, originally they were terrifying characters, the sons of two undead trolls, Gryla and Leppaludi who stole and ate naughty children.

More frightening and closer to their original characters are the Greek Kallikantzaroi who appear during the Twelve Days. In Greek folk tradition it is believed that when Christ is born, so too are these winter spirits. They are half-animal, half-human monsters, black, hairy, with huge heads, red eyes, goats' or asses' ears, lolling red tongues, ferocious tusks, long curved claws and animals’ feet. Though they normally live in the underworld, at this time they attempt to climb up the World Tree to emerge on earth. The signal for their final departure does not come until Twelfth Night with the Kalanda festival, when the ‘Blessing of the

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Waters’ ceremony takes place.

Like other such creatures elsewhere, they are often said to be spirits of the dead.

Children born at Christmas are susceptible to becoming Kallikantzaroi, as are people with inept guardian angels. In some places they are thought to be transformed humans placed under a spell after being born with a caul during the Twelve Nights. “ We mostly associate fairies having wings, however, stated on your website there are also other mythical characters within this folklore realm, could you share some interesting beliefs relating to those characters?

The sentimental late Victorian view of fairies was that they were all delicate, miniature, butterfly winged creatures but older accounts described them as being human size or larger and often ugly. They usually appear in human form, but since they can exert a glamour that deceives the eye and make a crone seem to be a young girl or a rough cottage a palace, it is impossible to know their true appearance.

However, there are always signs to betray a fairy origin, like webfeet, feet back to front, goat’s hoofs, squint eyes, pointed ears or cow’s tails.

Some fairy women have a frightful front tooth, or very long breasts. In Mull fairies only

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ have one nostril. The Irish banshee gives herself away by devouring a whole cow at a single meal. Many fairies are also expert shapeshifters and can choose to appear in a variety of nonhuman forms such as fire, moss, deer, birds, and other animals. Others say the beings sometimes appear to radiate a shimmering light, or to have a musky odor.

Many British fairies are described as being the size of young children. Writing in 1705 John Beaumont described an experience with fairies: ‘…the two that constantly attended myself appeared both in Women’s Habit, they being of a Brown complexion, and about Three Foot in Stature; they had both black, loose Network Gowns, tyed with a black Sash about their Middles, and within the Network appear’d a Gown of Golden Colour, with somewhat of a Light striking thro’ it…they had white Linen Caps on, with Lace on them, about three Fingers breadth.’

In 1911, T.C.Kermode described an encounter with the Isle of Man fairies:

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‘…I saw come in twos and threes a

great crowd of little beings smaller than Tom Thumb and his wife. All of them, who appeared like soldiers, were dressed in red. They moved back and forth amid the circle of light, as they formed into order like troops drilling.’

The earth fairies that dwell beneath the ancient mounds are usually small and look like beautiful humans. They love music and dancing and live luxuriously in their underground palaces.

According to Irish lore the fairy king and princes dress in green with red caps bound with a golden fillet. The queen and court ladies are robed in silver gauze, spangled diamonds and their long golden hair sweeps the ground. In Ireland, all the trooping fairies wear green jackets and the solitary ones red. On the western coast the red jacket is covered by a frieze one, and in Ulster the solitary fairy wears a cocked hat.

In Skye the fairy women are dressed in green, while the males are called ‘little red men’ [daoine beaga ruadh] as their clothes are dyed with lichen. The women’s coats are shaggy, and their caps wrinkled. The men sometimes have blue bonnets. In Orkney fairies are all considered ugly and evil, and a Shetland writer described the local faries as short with small faces, yellow complexions, red eyes and green teeth. They dress in dark grey and wear brown wool mittens.

Welsh fairies customarily dress in red and white.

Some fairies can fly, though few have wings. Usually they ride on ragwort stalks, or by wearing magic caps or by reciting spells. Most of them can appear or disappear at will.

In mediaeval lore the fairies came to be divided into the aristocracy, who appeared in groups, and the common fairies, which appeared individually. The common fairies were elusive and often the only sign of their existence was in

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ their passing, with the bending of the flowers or the rustling of the leaves in the branches, or the patterns of Jack Frost in the windowpane. They were the guardians of individual streams, trees, forests, pools and streams, or sometimes of private houses and particular families.

The aristocrats were called Heroic or Trooping Fairies and belonged to the Seelie Courts of Scotland or the Daoine Sidhe [pronounced Theena Shee] of Ireland. The Daoine Sidhe were believed to be the diminished remnants of the Tuatha de Danann [‘People of the Goddess Dana’], who may have been legendary gods or an actual race who were driven underground by the Celtic Milesian invaders. The Danaan were thought to have taken four gifts to Ireland- the spear, the sword, the cauldron and the stone, representing the four elements and the power of the elemental kingdoms.

In the Middle Ages fairy aristocrats were thought to be human sized and very beautiful.

They passed their time hunting, hawking, and feasting. Tales are told of the Fairy Rade [ride] when they rode in procession behind their king and queen on white horses hung with silver bells. These types of fairies are more common in Scotland than either England or Wales. One description comes from an old woman of Dumfriesshire in the early 1800s:

‘A leam of light was dancing over them, more bonnie than moonshine. They were wee, wee folks with green scarves on. They rode on braw wee white nags with uncommonly long swooping tails and manes hung with whistles that the wind played on. This and their tongues when they sang was like the sound of a far away psalm.’

The last Fairy Rade was witnessed at the beginning of the nineteenth century by a herdboy and his sister at a hamlet near Glen Eathie. A procession of dwarfish strangers rode by and the boy asked them who they were and where they were going. The leader replied

‘Not of the race of Adam. The people of peace shall never more be seen in Scotland.’ “ Would you share some more information about the Scottish term ‚the sight‛?

According to the old lore, not everyone can see fairies; you have to be born with what the Scottish called ‘the sight’, an ability to see into the spirit world and to read the future. It is a talent possessed by the genuine wise woman, the shaman, the witch.

The worker with fairies is a Walker between the Worlds, travelling between this realm and the Otherworld. Such a person is one who dwells a little apart from the everyday world and sees further than its boundaries.

The future witch or shaman may be the lonely child who hovers on the edge of social groups, misunderstood by those around them because he or she is different, seeing things, hearing things, aware of things that others are not. This is reflected in fairy tales where it is

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ always the orphan or the outcast who contacts the fairy or witch, and who has the adventures.

Some people have souls of clay and cleave only to the material realm, while others have souls of fire and seek to fly.

People who see the fairies are often called ‘fey’ themselves, i.e. fairylike. It was not unknown for seers to have some fairy blood in their veins. It was rumored that fairies and humans often mated; preachers even denounced human and fairy liaisons from the pulpit. The offspring of such marriages were always wild and strange, their beautiful eyes and bold, reckless temperaments betraying their fairy blood. They were mystics and possessed second sight, or they became legendary warriors, bards or musicians. Many famous people are thought to have had one mortal and one Otherworldly parent, including Alexander the Great, the Queen of Sheba and Merlin. Even Shakespeare was said to have been part fairy.

Llandwrog, was summoned to a birth. She was taken to a large cave in which there was a magnificent room with a woman on a fine bed.

After the birth the husband asked the midwife to anoint the baby’s eyes with magic ointment. As she did so her own eye began to itch and she rubbed it, accidentally getting some of the salve into it. Instantly she saw that the cave was really small and mean, and that the wife was on a bundle of rushes and withered ferns. She recognized Eilian, her old servant. Some weeks later she encountered the fairy husband in the market place at Caernarfon, and asked how Eilian was getting on. He inquired which of her eyes she could see him with. When she told him he put it out with a bulrush.

The twelfth century historian Saxo described how one must first hallow the eyes before being able to see spirits and to be safe in their presence. There are numerous accounts of the eyes being prepared in special ways in order to see the fairies.

It is said that a special ointment is applied to the eyes of newborn fairy babies to enable them to see the invisible. In some cases human midwives are called upon to perform this task, and occasionally, these women have accidentally got some of the ointment in their own eyes and afterwards been able to see the fairies coming and going. One of the earliest tales, related in Otia Imperialia by Gervase of Tilbury [13th century CE], concerns the serving maid Eilian of Garth Dorwen who ran off with the Tylwyth Teg [the Welsh ‘Fair Folk’]. Nine months later her old mistress, the midwife of

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A similar story was told in Germany. A midwife was taken to a hidden chamber and attended the birth of an elf. The fairies kept her with them for a few days, but she noticed that each time they went out they rubbed their eyes with a salve that they kept in a glass jar by the door. She smeared a little on her right eye.

Eventually the woman was allowed to leave, and given as her reward the sweepings behind the door. She arrived home and her husband was overjoyed to see her again. Then she emptied her apron onto the table and the sweepings had

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ turned into a big pile of gold. Some time later she attended a market in Frankenberg and saw a number of elves in the crowd, playing tricks and stealing from the stalls. They were invisible to everyone else. She called out to them and they inquired which eye she could see them with. When she told them her right, she instantly went blind in that eye, and never saw through it again.

These are warning tales about what happens to the merely curious. Only the committed witch or shaman who acts with respect may deal with fairies with impunity. In reality, it is the third eye that should be anointed with a specially prepared ointment or oil to open the sight. The third eye is an energy centre, or chakra, whose position corresponds to the centre of the forehead. It is this centre that deals with the psychic senses and enables sight of the Otherworld.

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“ Are there any similarities common to both fairies and witches in the Grimoire?

Witches and fairies were often thought to have the same powers: both use magic and both can bless and curse. In fact, the old Romany word for ‘fairy’ is the same as the one for ‘witch’.

The Irish believed that a witch was created when a young girl spent seven years in the Otherworld with her fairy lover, coming back somewhat aged, but with knowledge of herbs, philtres and secret spells. The famous witch Biddy Early insisted that her powers came from the fairies.

She used a blue bottle, given to her by the fairies, for healing and prophecy. At her death in 1873 it was thrown into a lake so that no one else could attempt to use it.

The old witches worked their magic in conjunction with wildfolk, and there is plenty of evidence for this in the trial records; the accused often tried to explain that their powers came not from devils, but from the fairies. Elspeth Reoch of Orkney confessed, in 1616, that she had met a fairy man who offered to teach her to understand and see anything she wanted. In 1566, John Walsh of Netherberry in Dorset said that he knew when men were bewitched because the fairies told him. When he wanted to converse with fairies he would go to the hills where there were mounds of earth, and speak to them between the hours of one and noon, or at midnight. In 1587 John Penry of Wales spoke of swarms of soothsayers and enchanters who professed to walk, on Tuesday and Thursday nights, with fairies, bragging of having knowledge of them. Fifty years later, a Caernarvonshire man claimed to speak twice weekly with the fairies, again on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Similar stories of witches gaining their powers from fairies were told over and over again all around Britain.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Croatia, the people said that on each Good Friday a vile flies down from the sky to teach women how to heal people and be of benefit to them. The women had to go with their hair unbraided into the green grove, where two had to climb the old trees with the vile, and eat yarn, to better remember what the vile was teaching them; in this way they became vilenice.

Scottish witch trials in particular were often notable for their accounts of the Fairy Queen, or Queen of Elfhame [‘Elf Home’].

Isobel Gowdie said that she met the Fairy Queen when she went into the hollow hills, and learned all her magic from the fairies whilst there. She spoke of the wildfolk that waited upon her coven as Robert the Jakis, Sanderis the Reed Reever, Thomas the Fairy and Swain the Roaring Lion, but she was stopped from speaking further by the interrogators, as she often was when she spoke of fairies, as can be seen from the transcripts. The interrogators only wanted to hear of devils and evil deeds.

This association of fairies and witches goes beyond the British Isles and seems to have an almost universal resonance in other parts of the world. For example, in parts of Eastern Europe, witches were called vilenice, which implies someone who deals with fairies [vile].

During an investigation during the late seventeenth century, a young vilenica confirmed that her powers had been granted to her by a fairy who had shown her the properties of herbs, and who could be called upon by virtue of certain herbs picked together with their roots. As in other places, there were tales of children and adults disappearing into the mountains for months or years, and returning with magical powers granted to them by the fairies. In northern

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The old British witches called their supernatural mistress the Fairy Queen and it was she who led the Sabbat. Similarly, many Italian witches believed in the historical existence of a woman [or goddess] named Aradia, who brought about a revival of Italian witchcraft, travelling the country and preaching the old Pagan religion of Diana, whom they called Queen of the Fairies.

There was a Rumanian Pagan sect known as the Callusari who, during the Middle Ages, worshipped a mythical empress who they sometimes called "Arada" [possibly Aradia] naming her as Queen of the Fairies. The Cǎlluşari dancers were the followers of the Fairy Queen, and their dances were thought to have originated in the Otherworld. Similar Macedonian dance troops were called Rusalia or 'Fairies'.

Like fairies, they were responsible for bringing fertility to the land.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ The Italian carnival society of the Cavallino assembled under the banner of Erodiade, a name for the Queen of the Fairies, possibly synonymous with the witch goddess Herodias. The society grew to prominence in the Middle Ages, appearing in processions, pantomimes and healing sessions, but may have had a very ancient, Pagan origin. It was exclusively male, its members dressed in women's clothes and wore make up. They always gathered in odd numbers, such as seven or nine or eleven. The Catholic Church persecuted them as Pagans who worshipped the goddess Diana.

If people worked with fairies, it was considered that they had renounced their Christian faith, something often reiterated in the trial records. In 1670 Jean Weir confessed that she had performed a ritual at the bidding of a fairy so that all her troubles would depart.

Afterwards she found that she had wonderful ability with spinning, but this made her afraid, and she stayed indoors for twenty days weeping, because she thought that what she had done in working with a fairy was, in effect, a renunciation of her baptism.

fleeting shapes or balls of coloured light. You may hear the sound of laughter, piping or the harp, or detect an unexplained musky scent. Full manifestation is very rare, though it does happen. In these cases, the spirits are usually very pale and shining, perhaps in humanoid form, though they can take any shape they wish; their appearance is a glamour. They may appear as people, animals, plants and even flames. We do not see their true form, and in all probability any two people witnessing a manifestation may see the creature differently. It may be that the shapes fairies assume are for our benefit, or it may be that the contour we see are merely the mind’s attempt to make sense of an unfamiliar image.

“ How would you suggest we see or look for fairies? Are there ways to summon them?

Fairies are a link between the world of humans and the world of spirit, flitting between the two realms, though only rarely perceived by our grosser vision. It should be remembered that the sight of fairies is often an inner one, not a physical experience. Fairies are usually encountered during meditation, in visions and in dreams; imagination is one of the main doorways we can use to access the Otherworld.

However, occasionally you may catch glimpses of them in the physical realm, as

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The Otherworld has a habit of breaking through into this world to contact us, if we only have the eyes to see it and the ears to hear it.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ If you approach a numinous place with an open heart and heightened awareness, you may be astonished at what you experience. There are a wide variety of exercises you can follow to help make you more aware, and some of them are detailed in this chapter, but Nature herself is the greatest teacher in this quest.

does not, it creates an imbalance that most certainly will eventually lead to the downfall of the magician. A fairy will not have any association with a greedy person, a selfish person, a polluter of the environment, a harmer of other people or other creatures, except in order to trick and punish them.

Contact from the Otherworld may be spontaneous and surprising. You may become aware of synchronicities; things that seem coincidental but are not. You may come across a piece of information that answers your immediate questions, a book that comes to hand containing knowledge that you need and so on.

You might become aware that the same bird greets you each morning, and reappears throughout the day for several weeks. These types of omens are very individual, and you won’t find them in any dictionary of dreams or divination. It is important not to over-analyze them and look for related symbolism, since fairies rarely use symbolism to communicate with us. Their messages usually mean ‘look at what I’m showing you’ or ‘listen to what I am telling you’. Contact with fairy powers may trigger all sorts of memories, abilities and understanding that you never knew you had. You may be fairy led on our journeys, taken from the worn path on to a new way. You may feel lost at first, but you will arrive at the place you most need to be.

It is a fact that while children are often aware of fairy folk, most people lose contact as they get older. The cares and stresses of the everyday world intrude; we get caught up in other things. The Otherworld may be trying to communicate with you, but cannot get through the babble of ‘what shall I make for dinner?

Fairies have their own courses and objectives; their reason for existence is not to be your teacher, and they are certainly not there for your entertainment. Any friendship with fairies is on their terms, and offending them will have dire consequences. It should be remembered that there are both munificent fairies and malevolent fairies. Both kinds demand a price for their assistance. If the help required maintains the balance of the universe, all well and good, if it

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What shall I wear tonight; I must get my suit from the dry cleaners,’ and so on. We must be able to slow down and listen to the rhythms of Elphame.

Sometimes the Otherworld forces us to do this. One of the ways it uses is to make us too ill to have any interaction with the outside world. In illness we stop trying to achieve and simply learn to exist, to be. In the ensuing quiet, the world of spirits opens. This is the basis of the shamanic initiation. Sometimes tribal shamans have been subject to natural illnesses during which the spirits speak to them, and sometimes the crisis is provoked with drugs and arduous physical practices.

You will never contact the wildfolk while your mind is cluttered with the business of everyday life. To work with fairies you have to learn to shut out the prattle of the human world, and the inner chatter of your mind. When you find the still, silent place within, the Otherworld can begin to communicate with you. Do not rush, do not try to force it, stop trying to accomplish it, and simply learn to be.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Meditation helps in this aim; it develops mental clarity, and imagination is the greatest tool we posses when working with spiritual disciplines. You may use meditation and pathworking as the first step in recovering lost levels of consciousness, to clear the mind and even establish contact with the Otherworld. When you relax your body, it is easier to relax your mind, to slow down the rapid fire of surface thoughts and access deeper levels of awareness.

the ancestors and the spirits of the dead, and the various offerings made to the spirits. Nor were these beliefs confined to the witches and cunning men, but shared by the general population, even the most learned and distinguished, as evidenced by the writings of King James I. It is in these beliefs and tradition that we find the real roots of modern witchcraft.

“ In your book, Working with Fairies, what do you feel carries the most important message for your readers?

Photo provided by Anna Franklin Website: http://www.merciangathering.com/index.htm Illustrations: Dover

In the practices and taboos surrounding fairies, there are many parallels with shamanic cultures. These include working with animal totems and familiar spirits, the feeding of the familiars, travels to the otherworld, the association of the spirits of the Otherworld with

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Here are some great project ideas for you and your child, even a group of your friends, family members or even your spouse.

A great family project with your kids all you need is anything you can find in your yard or around your house!

Above is my fairy house, the roof is tree bark, inside is moss, a leaf for a bed with the bark from a palm tree, some acorns, little pinecones, flowers for decoration. I have put a nest for the dog outside and some materials I found, such as glass, metal, and clay for the gnome to use for building materials. “ Have fun, get some fairy costumes, and dress up with your friends and with your family. You can even have your costume ready for the Renaissance Festival and Halloween! “ Create your own fairy greeting cards I have rendered some fairy characters for you and your kids to print and cut out to create your own fairy cards. You can get them here: http://vision-vault.com/VoicestoVisions/VilaFae.zip

“ Create your own fairy bracelets This is a great way to share some creative time with your friends or your sisters. Have some wine and cheese and create your own fairy bracelets. “ Create your own fairy house

Sometimes all of of us need a break from reality and just take some time to visit another realm.

Maybe this would give us another way of viewing what we actually surround ourselves in, another perspective perhaps. By the way, if some people never venture out of our own reality, then the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter would not exist! “ The Fairy Bible by Teresa Moorey “Enchantment of the Faerie Realm by Ted Andrews “Faeries of the Celtic Lands by Nigel Suckling “ Good Faeries Bad Faeries by Brian Froud “ Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins by Carol Rose

* Photos by Alice Mary Herden

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Encounters

Keep your eyes and ears open when you are walking in your backyard planting new plants, or attending your garden. Keep your eyes and ears open when you are taking a hike in the woods.

You just might not know what you will see or what you will hear.

Have fun!

Fairies Each fairy realm has different ways to connect to them; meditation is a major part to this connection with the fairy spirits you want to communicate with.

Some you will need to create an altar, while connecting to the tree spirits, all you need is to just sit next a tree. Crystals, Candles and incense are also used to connect with fairies associated with your home.

Don and I decided to give our best to connect with the fairies, the Tree Fairies. Although we tried, we did not experience any visible fairies, maybe it was not the right time and we are still on the look out!

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Interview with Nigel Suckling

much lore about them has survived, thanks largely to the early Christian scribes in Ireland.

Although the early Church in Ireland was intrinsically quite hostile towards faeries, it was unusual in accepting their real existence and also remarkably tolerant about its scribes recording pagan legends about the faerie folk. In Celtic countries generally though there was until quite recently a much stronger belief in faeries than in neighboring cultures and the faeries respond to such respect by being easier to sense. “ Faerie folklore takes place mostly in the European countries; in what other countries does faerie folklore exist?

“ Will you tell us about yourself?

I am a writer who has specialized in books on mythology and folklore, illustrated by a variety of artists from the present and past. Mostly my themes have been bright and positive - angels, unicorns, leprechauns and so on - but I've also looked into darker areas like vampires and werewolves; plus the borderlands where they overlap - dark faeries and fallen angels. “ What makes you believe faeries exist?

Well, they just complete the circle of nature somehow. If they did not exist our ancestors would have had to invent them. “ Your book Faeries of the Celtic Land had been a long awaited project for you, what was it about the faerie realm that prompted you to create this book?

I am attracted to faeries remind us of the magic found in the natural faeries are particularly

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in general because they and joy there is to be everyday world. Celtic interesting because so

Faerie folklore actually exists everywhere that people live, European fairies just happen to be the best documented. A few random examples: in North America the Algonquin Indians have legends of the maymaygwayshi, small faerie people two or three feet tall with big heads.

They live in cracks and caves near water, or sometimes just within the solid rock, and are very fond of fish which they often steal from human nets. They delight in playing tricks on humans but can sometimes be persuaded to encourage fish into human nets in return for little gifts of food. Japanese legend speaks of the kodoma which are tree sprites very like the dryads of Greek mythology. The Zulu in South Africa speak of the abatwa, a tiny fairy folk resembling humans but so small they live whenever possible with ants in their anthills, sometimes also riding them like horses.

Accidentally treading on an abatwa brings terrible bad luck so people avoid treading on ants to avoid this. Abatwa are very shy and tend only to reveal themselves to children, pregnant women and seers. They are also a bit sensitive about their size so the diplomatic thing to say if you meet one is something like: ‘Oh but you’re so much bigger than I imagined.’ If they like you

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ they can bestow good advice and luck, as with European little people like leprechauns and brownies. They are close relations in fact of the muryans of Cornwall, a fairy folk that have also shrunk to the size of ants. Traditionally the Cornish avoided treading on ants for just the same reason as the Zulu. So faeries are not just a European phenomenon at all and there are surprising similarities between the perceptions of them around the world. “ During your research, was there a particular faerie, singular, or clan, to which you attached yourself or they have attached themselves to you?

Leprechauns are possibly my favorites though I cannot quite say why. Perhaps it is their mischief and humor. Irish leprechauns in the old days were much less willing to surrender their pots of gold than is now commonly believed; and being small they had to rely on ingenuity to avoid losing their treasure when caught by one of us big people. Having said which, all the faeries have some particular charm, apart from the scary ones like boggarts, pookas and redcaps which are best avoided. “ Christianity became the downfall with the interaction between humans and faeries.

Could you tell us more about why this happened, and can there be a resurrection of trust between the two?

Yes, established Christianity is naturally hostile towards faeries because they are kind of outside its control. In Ireland it was once commonly believed that faeries were fallen angels; not demons necessarily but that when the gates of heaven were closed after Satan's rebellion these fallen angels just happened to be excluded too.

So they are not really involved with Christianity's great war between good and evil; and faeries are generally no more completely good or completely evil than humans are. Certainly there can be a resurrection of trust between humans and faeries. It just requires an open mind and goodwill.

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“ Although some of the faeries noted within the faerie realm are somewhat on the wicked side, others draw a fine line to that side. Will you share with us the meaning and reasoning of a kidnapped child being replaced by a changeling?

Well to begin with we have to accept that most accounts of babies being swapped for changelings came from ignorance of the many diseases that can strike and wither a baby. But the traditional explanation for real changelings is that faeries make such swaps when one of them is terminally ill and needs looking after. Although potentially immortal, at least by comparison with us, faeries do occasionally sicken and die; so that is what happened with changelings. There are also tales of women being abducted into the faerie realm to nurse the infants or invalids there and then being released with very muddled memories of the experience. While such faerie behavior may seem cruel or heartless, the few tales of abducted children returning from the faerie realm suggest that they had been very well treated there. “ Every myth in our folklore history has a romantic story. Which in the Celtic folklore of the faerie realm is your favorite?

My favorite tale from Celtic folklore is the story of the Children of Lir in which a jealous faerie stepmother transforms her husband's children into swans. This treachery is discovered by King Lir and the queen duly punished but no one can undo the spell so for the next 300 years the swans are tenderly caned for on Lough Derravaragh by Lir's people, whom they rewarded with songs of unearthly beauty.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ “ In making contact with the faerie realm, some might consider this a part of ritual that seems to go beyond on what people believe as so-called worshipping by using altars, candles, offerings and so forth. What is your opinion on connecting with the faerie realm in this manner?

Ritual can be useful for getting oneself into the right state of mind for perceiving the faerie realm - lifting oneself out of the mundane - but it is not actually essential. Many people are naturally able to sense the presence of faeries without any kind of ritual at all but for most of us creating a meditative atmosphere with candles, incense and so on is certainly helpful. ‚ In closing, after all the research you have gathered about the faerie realm, what would be the most important message you would want to share about your overall experience and knowledge?

Faeries are nature spirits and the overall message they convey is that if you are kind to nature, it will be kind to you in return.

Conversely, neglect or abuse of nature usually ends with some kind of unpleasant backlash from it. So belief in faeries should be encouraged, for the sake of humans keeping on the right side of Mother Nature.

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* Website: http://www.unicorngarden.com/index.htm * Photos provided by Nigel Suckling .

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Bigfoot: The sightings of the upright creature have been noted for centuries. The sightings are made by all sorts of individuals some are trained observers. Still, those who have tried to find the Bigfoot have failed to uncover any evidence that the thing exists. They would be more accurate to say it does not exist now because we know that such a creature did walk the land thousands of years ago. It is called giganticus and fossilized remains have been found by scientists. Perhaps what people see are images of the creature though time, when it did exist?

Timeslips: a theory on ghosts and haunted places

By Richard Senate I am a ghost hunter and I have been investigating ghosts since 1978. Then, while part of an archaeological dig, I saw a ghost one night. In the many years if researched the subject I have found that many, not all to be sure, but a majority of reported events seem to have less to do with stereotypical spirits of the dead and a great deal to do with time. Many sightings seem to be of images that behave like a loop of film or videotape of past events.

Other paranormal investigators confirm that such events fill their files to the point that they have given them a special classification: Afterimages.

Many of these time skips are linked to emotions, such as re-enacting battles or murders. Emotions seem to play into this unique phenomena in some way.

In thinking about these glances back in time, I got me to wondering if any of the paranormal events in the literature of the unknown might be answered by these slips in time. I put together a theory �a thesis if you will„ to try and explain some of the most bedeviling of mysteries in the field.

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Unidentified Flying Objects: Maybe when people see the strange lights in the sky they are not seeing space ships from far away but simply looking forward in time when such things, built by earthmen, will be a common form of transportation. This would also account for ancient records that tell of odd things in the sky.

Maybe they are getting images of our helicopters and airplanes.

Ghost Ships and Trains: these inanimate objects are reported as ghosts but all but the most diehard sailor would believe that at boat or ship has a soul. Maybe when we see these images we are just looking back in time to a real ship that sailed the seas a century ago. This would also explain phantom trains rolling on long abandoned tracks.

These wholes in time could be natural products of the environment that click on and off, perhaps stimulated by naturally occurring electromagnetic fields. They could be generated deep below the earth’s surface. These emanations could stimulate the psychic part of the brain and, working with elements of the natural world, create a glance back or forward in time.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ The theory does not explain all ghosts or all paranormal events, but it does offer an explanation for some. Perhaps further research in EMF effects and experimentation will see if holes in the fabric of time might be behind some of the reports of strange things, UFOs, and ghosts. It is a theory that needs further investigation. Let me know what you think?

Richard Senate, HaintHunter@aol.com

Do you have a ghost story to tell..

Email us your story and you can be featured in our magazine!

Editor @ voicestovisions .com

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Famous Folklore

Wicked Little Fairies Red Caps are probably the most notorious of the fairy folklore. They are just plain nasty little creatures. The reason why they are called Red Caps, written in folklore, the caps that these fairies wear are not of vegetable dye but the blood from their victims. They are tiny little critters and that can run swiftly even though they are wearing iron boots. Red Caps are seen within old castle and towers, stoning those who walk by. If the red in their caps start to fade, they need to replenish themselves with fresh blood. Nasty!

Then you have your Brownies and Goblins. Most of these fairies are either shape shifters and can kidnap your child and replace them with a changeling.

Some fairies appear to humans as beautiful women, so intriguing and enticing for the male eye. She will endow you with beauty and promises, but in the end, you will see your own death.

Then we come to Cauld Lad of Hilton Said to helpful, but a mischievous spirit, half brownie and half ghost who haunts the Hilton Castle, the story goes that a stable boy by the name of Roger Skelton was just not quick enough for the Lord Robert Hilton to retrieve his horse. Furious as the Lord was, he took a hayfork and killed the poor stable boy. Realizing what he had done, to hide the body, in effeort to hide Roger’s body, he tossed into the pond.

It is believed that the spirit of the boy can be seen by the pond at night as well as being seen and heard in the kitchen of the castle singing and causing some little mischievous occurrences. He would do what a Brownie would do, clean up where it need to be clean up and mess up where it was clean.

Unfortunately for this little spirit brownie, the servants did banish him from the castle by laying a cloak and hood of Fairy green for him.

Photo: West face of Hylton Castle in Tyne and Wear, England. Wikipedia

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Famous Haunting

Charlton House Built in 1607 of red brick and stone, this prominent English House still stirs up some ghostly phenomena. Specially built for Sir Adam Newton, inn 1680, Sir William Langhorne purchased the Jacobean Mansion. It is said that he is the one that still roams the grounds of this beautiful mansion.

At the age of 85, Sir William married a seventeen-year-old girl to have her conceive with an heir to his wealth. However, Sir William died a couple of months after their wedding, so his fortune went to his nephew, Sir John Conyers.

Could it be that Sir William is still looking for his heir? What is interesting is that when renovations were being conducted they did find a mummified baby within the fireplace. It is said that the baby is that of a servant, or is it?

49

People have seen the White Lady holding a baby walking through the halls, as well as hearing sounds of the doorknobs turning as if someone is trying to open the door. Could this be Sir Langhorne, or Sir William, or others that have passed on in this beautiful mansion?

During World War I, the Charlton House was converted into a hospital. There is one room that is said to be the most haunted out of them all, and that room will not be opened. What goes on in that room? Could it be the spirit of a soldier? Do people who stayed there hear the horrifying sounds of bombs during the time when the war was going on? * Photo Source: http://www.ancestryimages.com/index.html

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ even if the setting had been Calvados Condos. The

Famous Places

site chosen for the Castle was atop the ruins of a previous building of which little is known except for the rumor that it had once been the home of a wealthy man who died in poverty and was cursed to roam the grounds for all eternity. Indeed the site of the ruins and later the Castle itself became well known locally for the unexplained and unearthly sounds often reported there. This, however, is not Calvados Castle’s claim to fame; that was to come in dramatic fashion some 40 years later.

The remarkable haunting of Calvados Castle began on

October

12,

1875

and

was

fastidiously

documented by the Master of the House known only as Monsieur X. By his account on that October night, the house was visibly shaken with sounds of loud banging echoing throughout the Castle, as well as the sound of an unknown entity running up and down the main staircase all through the night. Within days, the entire household was awakened at about 2:00am by loud footsteps stomping from the front entry, Was Calvados Castle Haunted?

across the great hall and up the main staircase until it reached the door of what was known as the Green

By Karen Bashak

Room, where upon arrival, the door to the room was Calvados Castle, as it has come to be known, was

pummeled loudly and furiously by unseen hands. In

built in 1835 in a remote area of northern France.

the next couple of weeks leading up to Halloween no

Manor houses that are less than 300 years old are

member of the household, not family, not servants or

considered

visitors were spared from the increasingly frightening

relatively

modern

on

the

European

continent, and as such, evidence suggests Calvados

nightly events.

Castle is probably an incorrect translation of the correct title believed to be Chateau de Calvados.

Calling it a Castle may also have been a way to make the story more intriguing to the public, but was probably unnecessary because the story as told was more than creepy enough to have created interest

It was noticed that during the first months of the intense haunting that the most frequent and terrifying experiences were focused on the Green Room and on the son’s live-in tutor known as Abbe Y. Usually any supernatural activity in the Castle was both preceded and followed by frenzied pounding on the

50

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ walls and doors of the tutor’s room and/or the

torrential river of water gushed down the chimney

Green Room. The tutor was also the first to witness

spewing soot and hot ashes that covered the

visual disturbances, such as furniture moving by itself

flabbergasted teacher’s entire body and rendered him

in his chamber. Arm chairs were propelled across his

temporarily blind. It did not take the timid tutor long

room, the sofa was often turned on end and the

after this episode to make a hasty departure from the

cushions were found piled vertically end on end in

household.

seemingly impossible configurations; and bolted doors and windows were discovered gaping open

as

Soon the matter of fact Brother-in-law of Monsieur X

though they had been pried from their locks. For

was invited to visit the Castle. A stoic Army Officer

over 3 months, there was not one single night when

not given to flights of fantasy or to being easily

the household was not roused from their slumbers by

frightened, he volunteered to sleep in the notorious

what was now being considered demonic in origin.

Green Room, where he kept his pistol at ready under his pillow. During the night, he awoke to

During

a

particularly

in

sounds of a woman’s silk skirt rustling as she moved

November, voices were added to the visions, the

about and suddenly he found himself engaged in a

poundings, and the footsteps. The sound of a person

supernatural tug of war for the blankets and sheets

running

now

with an invisible unyielding assailant. The Officer

accompanied by shouts of Ha Ha! Shortly thereafter,

pulled his weapon and fired three well-aimed shots in

the shrill sounds of a woman weeping and wailing

the direction of the culprit. In the morning it was

were added to the nightly cacophony of unnerving

discovered on inspection that the bullets had passed

sounds. In addition, two of the servants had their

through the bedclothes and lodged in the wall

beds turned over on top of them as they lay

overhead, a strange unlikely trajectory for the bullets

sleeping. At separate visits to the Castle, two local

unless the bed sheets, etc. had been somehow

lower echelon clergymen were called on to help

suspended above the bed.

wildly

through

savage

the

thunderstorm

corridors

was

decide what was causing the disturbances and what could be done about it. Both men left abruptly,

Nearing the end of their rope, the family prevailed on

without offering a possible plan, believing the

the Bishop to send a Reverend Father of the diocese

phenomena to be the work of Satan.

to conduct an exorcism on January 15, 1876.

Inexplicably, the 10 days prior to the ritual were

Once again, the son’s tutor, Abbe, was the prime

relatively quiet, but following the exorcism rite, all hell

target in a most bizarre rash of events. It started

broke loose once again, so to speak. Pounding

with locked windows in his room flying open as he

noises, furniture movement and anguished screams

watched, and repeatedly every book in his bookcase

were now occurring at a feverish pace. The sounds

was hurled to the floor, except for the Holy

of wild animals braying and bellowing within the

Scriptures. It culminated while the tutor sat by the

Castle were often heard. A large knife was founded

fireplace reading one evening. Without warning a

embedded deeply in a solid wood table and lastly an

51

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ event, which probably was terrifying to a devout

For the next few months, activity was confined to

Christian family, the discovery that every single

occurrences of light tapping on doors and walls with

religious artifact in the entire Manor house had

the addition of infrequent choruses of organ music

suddenly disappeared. As was the custom in the

being played by a ghostly musician. All remained

Castle during the manifestations, a thorough search of

virtually uneventful for months, yet the family moved

the house and grounds was conducted. Once again,

out of the Castle in September of that same year.

nothing was found.

Subsequent residents of the Castle have reported no Haunting/Poltergeist activity from 1876 to the present

The Master of the house was called away to attend

day. If the horrific accounts are accurate, the

to a family matter, but upon his return home 2 days

experiences themselves must have been truly blood

later the events, deemed to be Poltergeist activity,

curdling.

became even worse. The family arranged for a repeat exorcism to be performed by yet another local

In conclusion, this is a well-written tale by the

clergyman. It was to be done at the exact same time

diarist, Monsieur X. Whether or not it is factual

that a Novena Mass was said for them at Lourdes.

remains debatable, since the journals were only

This second grueling exorcism was held just 5 days

published

after the first, on January 20, 1876. At 11:15pm,

household remains totally anonymous and no further

just as the exhausted priest finished the exorcism,

inquiry would ever be made of his family or his staff

the hooves of stampeding beasts were heard

regarding

thundering throughout the entire Castle. The Chateau

between October of 1875 and September of 1876.

shuddered

violently;

pounding

and

with

the

the

agreement

incidents

that

described

his

as

entire

occurring

banging

reverberated from every area and continued for well

* Castle Concept Art: Alice Mary Herden

over an hour. Finally at 12:55 am a piercing shriek

Stock photo used: Castle Door by: ~firesign24-7 and Lusete both on deviantart.com

was heard, followed by the sound of a man coughing spasmodically, followed by 10 distinct loud raps on the door of the Green Room and then‌.Silence.

Cautiously, the family and servants investigated but it appeared that the haunting was now over. Not quite yet!!!! All had been peaceful and serene for several days after the exorcism, when suddenly the Mistress of the Castle while sitting at her writing desk was startled

by

maniacal

laughter.

Within

moments,

seemingly out of nowhere the missing religious artifacts, icons, crosses and the like, fell from above crashing on to the desk before her.

52

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Readers Ghost Story My Dream Do you dream in segments? Like when you are dreaming of one dream in you are in this area and then you turn the corner and it is a very different dream?

Well, last night (August 21, 2011) Mel Gibson popped up in my dream for some reason. It is not as if I have viewed a picture of him later or even talked about him in a conversation, anyway, something happen and he was involved, his picture was in a magazine. Then I am somewhere else with some people. I cannot remember what it was; you start to forget all the segments of your dream the more you are awake. Anyway, a woman wanted us to do an investigation at her house, and I told her that we do not conduct investigations at private residents. She understood, and then later I receive in the mail this painting. It was a painting of an old woman, more like a Van Gogh type painting. The old woman in the painting was frightened. Then I get a phone called while I was looking at the painting and it was that woman who wanted us to do an investigation at her house. She said that things were getting out of control. Then I agreed to go and meet her.

I was lying in my bed and I felt like a cold breeze over me, thinking it might be the fairy breeze since I have been working on the magazine about fairies. I looked up above my pillow and saw this black mass, small like the smoke from about ten blown out candles but the color was black, I got up and firmly stated, waving my pointer finger, "No go home.‛ I looked over our headboard and saw that we were in a cemetery. I looked close at the name of the first one I saw, the name inscribed was Nathaniel, and the one behind it was Natalie.

54

The black mass appeared again to the side and I said "No, you are not allowed here, please go." I ended up at our old house, looking at the door from our bedroom and you can see the hallway. I said, please God surround me with your white light and then within the right of the hallway, I start to see a really bright light, I mean bright and then I woke up.

Bree was growling and I got up half way to looked towards the end of the bed and in the bathroom, we have one of those automatic air fresheners that have a light that goes on and off. Well while that second the light was on, a shadow blocked it while I was looking at the threshold of the bathroom.

Later after I told Don about my dream he told me during that time he felt like someone was there.

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ 101-Dictionary

Candles Candles have always been a part of connecting with some spirit, rather it be the spirit within you or a spirit of a lost soul, or they can just add wonderful dĂŠcor and freshening aroma to your home.

History The first known origin of candles was in China where they were made from whale fat. After 400AD in Europe, the candles were created by using olive oil for lamps. Not until the discovery of beeswax, the real candle making process evolved.

While

we

about Fairies in this issue, Bridhid is stated to be the easiest fairy to make contact with.

All you need to do is simply light a candle, call her name and she will bring you cheer.

Another attribute is if you are suffering from writers block or need to be cleansed, she can help you with that.

55

are talking

Candles are light, and when used correctly they can provide protection against unwanted guests that may be lurking in your home, whether they may be faeries or spirits.

In the myth aspect of the candle, an old Jewish custom was the lighting of candles beside a dying person to frighten away demons and must remain lit for a week. From Ireland, burning of twelve candles in a circle around the corpse until it is buried will prevent evils spirits from carrying off the souls of the dead.

There are also Death Omens that are associated with the burning of a candle; if a candle is left burning in an empty room this would cause a death in the family.

On the paranormal side, a candle that burns dimly and especially if the candle burns blue, it means a ghost is close by. In the 18th century, blue candle flames were considered ghosts’ calling cards.

In the 17th century, treasure hunters carried candle lanterns to conjure up ghosts of the dead, which were believed to be the pirates of that time, to reveal their buried treasure.

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Work Shop How To Connect With Your Fairy Realm

Fairies have always been such elusive folk that very few humans have ever seen them. What do they look like? Where do they live? What is their purpose in the grand scheme of things?

Referred to as nature spirits, sprites, pixies, elves, faeries, fays, brownies, pucks, kelpies, and even leprechauns, fairies are tiny little creatures that live in a utopian world parallel to ours.

Some believe they are only imaginary because they have never seen one. Have you ever walked through the woods and caught a glimpse of something from the corner of your eye?

Perhaps a little flash of light? A slight movement that stopped when you looked its way? That might just have been a fairy!

People have even found little fairy things in the woods„like tiny little shoes and boots that have scuffs on the bottom from walking in them; tiny cauldrons with burn marks on the bottom and evidence of food having been cooked inside.

Some have found tiny little hats and clothing that had obviously been worn. So fairies must be real or how would we explain these items?

Fairies are impish creatures that love to play.

They ride dragonflies, bumble bees, butterflies, and humming birds. By day they help the plants and flowers grow. By night they dance and celebrate! Have you ever seen a circular area of grass that seemed to be darker in color than the surrounding grass? That’s what we call a ‚fairy ring‛ where fairies have been dancing!

You can attract fairies to your garden with flowering plants and colorful little flowers of all kinds. The plants that attract butterflies and

56

hummingbirds are the fairies’ favorites. Create a quiet place in your garden conducive to meditation and reflection. A small pond would also be a wonderful addition to attract kelpies and water sprites. You can even create a little a fairy house or two to set in your garden to encourage them to live there. Leave them bits of food and a small dish of water. Leave a few pieces of material they can make clothing out of and small pieces of leather for shoes and boots.

They are very appreciative folk and are very grateful that you have honored them in such loving ways. They will repay you with a garden of lush foliage and beautiful blooms!

Meditate in your garden or sit in quiet reflection.

As your fairy community comes to know and trust you, they will slowly reveal themselves. You may find you suddenly have answers to your questions. You may find you feel a great sense of joy. Whatever you experience, you will know you have connected with your fairy folk.

Fairies are part of our world. There are good fairies that want to help us, and there are notso-good fairies that want to mess with us. Think good thoughts to attract the good and banish the bad, and you will enjoy the peace and beauty of a blissful fairy realm!

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Paranormal Team of the Month

Photo left Team pic @ Fantasy of Flight from Left to Right... Nick, Nate, Angelo, Lisa, Constance and Cliff

“ Was there something that happened in your life that peeked your interest in the paranormal?

When my wife was a young girl, she saw an apparition standing at the foot of her bed in her bedroom. I was more of a skeptic, but after investigating for the last five years and learning so much about the paranormal looking back, I did have a few things happen as well.

Apollo Paranormal Interview with Cliff Kennedy “ Would you please share some information about yourself and your group?

My wife Lisa and I along with our close friend Angelo Sarouko founded Apollo Paranormal Investigations. My wife and I own a pest control company based out of Riverview, Fla. and are both native Floridians.

Our group is made up of several diverse individuals. Lead investigators Angelo Sarouko and Nick Variz, Investigator Nate Aman, Web Master and Technical adviser / Investigator Larry Molter, Investigator Ward Smith.

Nick and Nate both have a vast knowledge of paranormal science, Demonology and crypto zoology. Larry is an electrical engineer, which gives us an excellent database of info when dealing with energy fields and has developed equipment that we use on our team. Ward has always been interested in orbs and physics behind them and has studied these occurrences for years. Angelo is a History major witch provides us with a great resource of information when dealing with historical locations.

58

I raced stock cars from 19 until I was 35 years old. I grew up across the street from family friends that raced when I was around 10 years old. I helped them on the cars for 8 or 9 years before building my own. In 1985, my neighbor was killed in a racing crash. I was working on my car one night a couple of years later in his old garage when I started smelling his cologne there was no reason to smell it in a shop with a race car in it. Later on, I told one of his sons about what happened and he said the same thing had happened to him we both looked around to try to find this cologne but we never did.

On the night before I ran my first Hooters Cup Race I could not locate a special tool that was needed I had looked for it for about an hour then right where I had been looking it was just laying there in plain sight as soon as I picked it up I started smelling the cologne smell very strong I looked around and said ‚Thanks old man (what I had always called him). “ What was the final factor that made the decision for you and your wife to start a paranormal group?

Once again, after being a skeptic, I wanted to capture some evidence of my own. So we visited a supposed haunted location. After

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ returning home that night, we found we had captured a disembodied voice. That got us interested. Word started to get out through some friends and we were eventually asked by a friend to check out a private residence. We told them we were not a paranormal team, but they still wanted us to come. More than 75 investigations later, here we are.

*Inside B-17 EVP Session Angelo and Nick, Loud Female voices have been heard by investigators on A.P.I investigations as well as on Night Flight investigations

was started by team member Larry before joining API. We were thrilled to merge the two sites.

We are contacted from people all over the world with questions about animal behavior and the paranormal. Larry fields the questions so if Fluffy is acting strange drop him a line. “ With the locations you have investigated, which one is the most intriguing of them, and what evidence did you fine?

We have been very fortunate in getting the opportunity to investigate some very interesting and historical locations. I would have to say the John Ringling House has been the most intriguing. The mood has proven to be different on just about every investigation. Some of the evidence has been directly related to the house and its history, such as the captured EVP where you hear‚ ‚That’s Emily,‛ referring to John Ringling’s second wife.

Also, during a public event, some guests had gone into a restricted area. When we were reviewing our findings, we heard a negative EVP with screaming‚ GET OUT, appearing to be upset about the earlier intrusion.

“ Tell our readers about the collaboration with Zephyrhills Paranormal Investigations to form AnimalCanSense.org.

“Tell us about your partnership with Fantasy of Flight: Night Flight.

Zephyrhills Paranormal Investigations is not affiliated with A.P.I. or Animals Can Sense.

But they are good friends and an excellent paranormal investigation team. If we had something come in we could not get to, we would send our client to them. They do have a major asset when it comes to animal Behavior.

One of the co- founders is a veterinarian Dr Mel. Animals can play a big part in helping to locate an area were activity is occurring. We are starting to see them used as a tool more often now in the paranormal field. Animals Can Sense

We have been very fortunate to get the opportunity to be the team that hosts night Flight. A customer of our pest control business told me a story about his late wife seeing a ghost in the P-51C Mustang during a visit to Fantasy of Flight. This customer did not know anything about API. My wife and I had been to Fantasy of Flight several times and loved it.

Hearing this story from the customer led us to contacting the attraction about possibly working with them on an investigation. We met and then committed to spending two nights doing some investigative work on-site. We found evidence of

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ paranormal activity, which then became the foundation for the night Flight program.

Night Flight is a real investigation, a true paranormal investigation. It is not a ghost tour.

Every bit of Night Flight evidence gathered by the guests attending Night Flight is reviewed by API. A lead investigator is with every group.

Each group is run just like we would run our team. We are proud to say there have been a few paranormal teams that have formed after attending night Flight. Think about being there at night with your team sitting in an authentic B-17 Flying Fortress and performing an EVP session.

It could be a feast for the senses and an elixir for your soul.

*Game Room at John Ringling’s House

“ Your residential investigations: how often do you get requests to investigate residential locations?

It is definitely seasonal. We get calls throughout the year, but the fall seems to bring in most of the investigation requests. While we believe paranormal activity takes place year-round, it seems around the holidays starting in November through January we are very busy.

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“ Have there ever been any residential locations that you have investigated that made you feel uneasy and what was that uneasiness?

Yes, but not because of a negative presence, but because of the fact that the client was not being truthful about their actions and what might be causing the hostile activity toward them. In one case, after performing a detailed search into the history of the location, we discovered that the client had lived there a lot longer than we were told and some remodeling that had been performed on the location had not been disclosed. Some things as major as a basement that was sealed up for no apparent reason and learning about a violent crime that occurred there years earlier. When we brought these things up, they were very uneasy about telling us about them.

We often ask the same questions over again in a different way to see if we get consistent answers. With her, after the second investigation she started divulging little pieces of info to us that were inconsistent with her original stories.

Example: This is a private retirement center where the state places people with no family to care for them. We ask if a certain area was used for her patients. She said no, but later she told us someone passed away in the home.

Oxygen in use signs were in the rooms and a med-locker. “ What are some of the situations about an investigation you and your team have been on that made you feel you could not or should not handle?

We had a case were a child was acting out violently toward a sibling. The parents were thinking he was possessed. In the preinvestigation interview, we found that he had just started taking medications, one of which could

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ cause mood swings. They wanted paranormal help before getting a medical evaluation. The liability exposure on something like that is huge.

We have no place advising them. “ How far would you and your team investigate to collect paranormal evidence, and how important is that to you personally?

We have no problem traveling and have been all over Central Florida. We have investigated as far north as South Carolina and have been invited to the Keys, an invitation we hope we can accept soon. We learn something every time we investigate. We never turn down an investigation request. If it is a legitimate case and someone is in need of help, we go.

groups. This will only help all of us to make inroads in the field overall. This is one reason we enjoy night Flight. Each event is part of the larger investigation. Information from one event is used as the basis for the next event to carry the investigation forward.

(2) To help establish credibility in the field of paranormal investigation. I hear over and over again from historical and commercial locations that they allow teams to investigate, but never hear from them again. If we make the experience professional and interesting one for the client, it is likely they will allow additional teams to investigate. We hope to positively affect the reputation and integrity of the paranormal field so it may get the respect it deserves. “ In closing, after reviewing your evidence from a digital recorder, you hear ‚help me. What would you do next?

*Game Room Apparition photo, A figure standing next to one of the columns was captured in the game room around 45 sec after this picture was taken we captured a disembodied voice that says "That's Emily" referring to John Ringling’s second wife Emily Hagg..

“ What are the goals you have for your team in the future?

We have several goals for our team: (1) Try to help establish unity in the paranormal field. We would like to help establish the sharing of information among all paranormal

61

At our very first investigation, we recorded a disembodied voice that said I could not move my arms. Help me, help me. We were very disturbed by this, so we returned to try again to help. We were novice at best when we got this recording. On the second visit, we asked if the voice could tell us its name. Twice we heard the name‚ Karla. We spoke with someone more experienced at the time in the field, trying to get information that would help. Unfortunately, we could not return for a while and were not able to do anything. That is the only we have had something like this happen. If anything like this happened again in the future, we would do everything in our power to help them move on.

And if we could not help, we would find someone who could help them. I think of that person often and hope she is at peace now.

Website: http://apolloparanormal.com/ Photos provided by Cliff Kennedy

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Dust and Shadows

* Don having the experience similar to what I had at our old house, where you feel someone is laying on top of you and you cannot scream or get up. * A couple of incidents while sleeping, opening my eyes, and seeing a black shadow person.

Things calmed down after Don had a candle continually lit for months and until now, we more or less want to experience something. * The Office While we had our family over one weekend, Jordan, my niece is very interested in the paranormal. Therefore, we decided to do a ‚fun‛ pretend paranormal investigation at the house.

She wanted to use my necklace as a pengualm.

Therefore, we asked a question to that we know the answer to, to see the response of what a yes answer would be. Would the necklace circle clockwise or circle counter clockwise?

EVP SESSION:

~Is there a spirit in this house? (Alice) Our Home

NO

When Don and I became interested in the paranormal more passionately, things started to become more noticeable. I have told you about something that we have experienced here in our house.

~ Was there a spirit here before Don moved in? (Alice)

* The torso of the man wearing a red Hawaii shirt

* The piano playing

63

~ Is the spirit still here now? (Logan) NO

* The shadow Don saw

*Digital recorders: unexplained voice.

YES

Mommy,

and

~ Did Alice actually see a spirit walking through the hallway? (Jordan) YES

some

~ Was that the man that used to live here?

(Alice) YES

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ ~ Did he die of natural causes? (Debbie)

YES

NO

~ Can you speak to us? ~ Did he die because someone murdered him?

(Jordan)

YES

YES

~ Can you whisper your name in Don’s ear?

Don feels something in his left ear

~ Are we protected? (Logan) YES

~ Can you leave your name on the voice recorder?

After this session we closed the connection.

*

* In the master bedroom The best evp session I have ever experienced was with my nephew, Logan and my niece, Jordan.

~Is there a Nathaniel here?

NO

~ Did you use to be human before?

YES

* Logan requested the spirits to make a sound, like tap on the bed like this… Jordan also

~ Did you live in this house?

NO

states, ‚If you hands go thru it don’t bother!‛

~ Were you an Indian?

YES

~ Were you a Seminole Indian?

YES

~ Did you fight with Spanish?

Don and I really wanted to find out who was murdered. A couple of weeks later we did this again.

NO

~ Were they the Colonials?

YES

EVP SESSION:

~ Is the person that was murdered here?

~ Was it before the 1700?

YES

NO

~ Is my mother here?

~ Was it the 1800s

NO

YES

~ Is there a child here?

~ Are you male?

*

NO

~ Can you see us?

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ ~ Are you female? ~ Was it from a soldier?

YES

YES

~ So, they murdered you? ~ Are you afraid to go to heaven?

YES

YES

~ Did you want to find somebody?

YES

~ Is it your parents?

YES

~ Are you under the age of 18?

NO

~ Do you see a light?

NO

~ Do you see other people around you?

YES

~ Do you know these people?

I DON’T KNOW

~ Do they scare you?

YES

~ Where are you in this house? Are you in this room?

YES

~ Did you and your family live on this land here?

NO

~ Were you brought here?

YES

~ Did you have a child?

YES

~ Was that child from your owner?

NO

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Don said that some Indians belief was that the heavens were made by the dark. Don reassured her that that was not true and she could go up to heaven.

Don and I occasionally leave a recorder running now and then, but lately we have not heard any messages on the digital recorders.

Are we connecting to a spirit thru channeling and using my necklace as a communication vessel?

On the other hand, the movement of my necklace only the pulses of energy thru my fingers and the slightest movement determines which way my necklace would go, clockwise or counterclockwise?

Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________ Next Issue: October “

Editors Views

Witching Hour and the Ouija Board “

Interview

Gene Orlando “

Encounters

Death Spirits “

Paranormal Folklore

Death Omens “

Famous Places

Hell “ Famous Haunting Deane House “

Readers Ghost Stories

Ghost Stories “

101-Dictionary

Caul “ Workshop Truth about Witches and How to build an Altar “

Paranormal Team of the Month

Submit your team! “

Dust and Shadows Location

Being Scheduled

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Voices to Visions September 2011 __________________________________________________________________

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