 |
| Crocus' blooming by Bob Reber |
|
Have you felt the anticipation and increasing excitement building in the air these last few weeks? The Cardinals and Chickadees are singing their hearts our every morning to woo mates. The Red Wing Blackbirds have returned along the roadsides with their familiar song. Spring! There is something magical about spring!
I have been watching the trees prepare since February. I can almost hear them waking up. The Willows have turned that yellowish color prior to their full bloom. The Oaks look like they’re dancing a ‘happy dance’ as they push out their pre -growth!
I always feel excited and childlike in March and April. Everything is going from dormant, dull and drab to emerging tentatively and then into full glory. What a spectacular show.
This is the time I get my ‘Faerie Garden’ prepared. I love fairies. I see them and talk to them. I relate to them; sometimes better than people. In my faerie garden is an amethyst path, pansies, marigolds and other flowers that are Fey friendly.
The nature spirits are always around us – we just can’t always see them.
I number of years ago, my husband Bob and I were shopping for a new tree for the backyard. We decided on a miniature Weeping Pussy Willow which we placed in my fairie garden. When we went to buy a tree, I was drawn to this particular one. We loaded it into the backseat of the car and I heard, “I’m so glad you picked me!” I laughed and asked Bob if he heard that! He didn’t.
Many of you are probably thinking I’m a little off my rocker at this point. Yet, a brief look at history will show ‘folktales’ of fairies, gnomes, dragons, trolls, leprechauns, the good folk and so on. This is no coincidence. Behind all myths are elements of truth, but how does one get to the truth?
I recommend beginning by asking yourself what’s so hard to believe. When you hold any belief, or lack of belief, up to the light of truth (what is truth to you), you may find that the belief is based in misinformation or not having enough information. There are plenty of people who do believe in Fairies, Elementals and other Nature Spirits and I recommend some of their works before you close your mind entirely. My personal favorite is, ‘Enchantment of the Faerie Realm’ by Ted Andrews. I also enjoy Brian Froud’s ‘Faerie Oracle’.
Extending your consciousness into other dimensional realities begins by first acknowledging that they exist. We always ask the faeries for assistance when working in the gardens and ask their permission and insight before we change things in the yard. Most importantly we give an announcement before we mow the lawn. Our yard and gardens are akin to a hidden magical realm and many people comment on how good they feel when they are in our backyard. The beginning is simply the acknowledgment of living things around you and the simple possibility that there is more life surrounding you than you can see.
I have a wonderful example of the faeries presence in our lives. A few years ago Fond du Lac had major flooding. As I watched the rain fall, I was drawn to the backyard. I looked out the door and saw water rushing through our fence and filling our backyard. I put on my Wellies and headed outside. Water was quickly filling our backyard, as we are the low spot in the neighborhood. Our gardens were submerged, including our raised beds and the back of our house was holding back a wall of water.
I alerted Bob and we got some neighbors to aid us in diverting some of the water. It was as if Hoover Dam had burst and diverted to our yard. In reality it was water flooding the street behind us and finding its way into our yard. With that crisis averted I looked in our basement and saw our freezers floating! We had the power and gas turned off and evacuated. But before we left I stood in our yard, raised my arms and called on the faeries, nature spirits and devas to watch over this home, yard and to protect our gardens. I thanked them and then joined my family in the evacuation.
When we came home the next day there was not a bit of water in our backyard or gardens. All of the flowers, plants and trees were intact; even the ground was firm under our feet. In fact, you couldn’t tell anything had happened, except that all the woodchips for mulch were washed away. It was truly magical. I thanked the faeries and nature spirits. Our basement however, wasn’t quite as pristine.
I have many other experiences with faeries and nature spirits that I would love to share, but instead I’ll just encourage each of you to set aside your skepticism and open your heart to the possibility that faeries, wee folk and nature spirits are all around you.
Ask to see what is invisible to you now. Life is so much more than what we perceive with our senses. Look around at the magical emergence of life from what was recently a frozen earth covered in snow!
As the buds appear, flowers bloom, say ‘hi’ to the nature realm – it will respond!
Most of all the faeries, nature spirits and other wee creatures within the unseen creation would like us humans to be more childlike and spontaneous! Take a seat on a swing, lean back, stretch out your toes and soar to the treetops!
When was the last time you let your imagination imagine?
When was the last time you allowed yourself to be spontaneous?
|