Monday, January 15, 2018

Good Fairy, Bad Fairy, Tooth Fairy

The Fairy Tale - James Sant
Most of us have grown up surrounded by Fairy tales - stories about good Fairies, bad Fairies, blue Fairies, tooth Fairies, Fairy godmothers, and some with actual names, like Tinkerbelle. These elusive little creatures flit in and out of our lives in stories populated with all manner of fascinating creatures. Dwarves, elves, giants, and mischievous little Pixies are a few I remember from childhood stories. All these beloved characters have their roots in the same ancient culture, and take part in preserving the records of its history.

Once upon a time, long, long ago in northern Europe there was a time-of-little-sun. For a thousand years it was mostly overcast, the precious sun peeping through just enough to sustain life. This lack of sun along with human biology, was responsible for the emergence of those who became known as Fairies. The sun provides warmth, but also vitamin D, which, among other things, prevents rickets. Dark pigmentation limits the intake of vitamin D, preventing overdoses. The lighter the skin, the more vitamin D is able to be absorbed. The people living in northern Europe during the time-of-little-sun would have produced lighter and lighter skinned offspring; those with darker skin, suffering from rickets, would not have lived long. These fair, almost white-skinned people were descended from the Maglamosians (ca. 7000 BC), and were referred to as the “Fair Folk”, and later, “Fairies”. They are the subject of stories such as Snow White, Snow Drop, and Rose Red.

The Fair Folk practiced oral tradition just as their ancestors had for thousands of years, and according to the translations by Duncan-Enzmann these records were produced mostly by women. They passed on their history and knowledge in stories accompanied by images. These “bedtime stories” survived suppression and destruction by enemies, and the natural loss of information over time. We have inherited these records as Fairy tales, compiled and retold by Grimm, Anderson, and numerous other sources.  

It is said the Fair Folk dwelt underground, in “Fairy mounds,” remnants of which can still be seen today. During the time-of-little-sun the weather was cool and damp. Peat grows fast in that environment, and did. It covered the hills, and then it grew over the homes sheltered by the hills. Peat is good insulation and these homes were cozy-warm. Villages looked as if they were underground, as did the people who lived in them. Fairy mounds still dot the landscape in Ireland, evidence of ancient Fairy villages. 

Dowth Fairy Mound, Ireland
The skill of the astronomers, medicine ladies, Norns, and builders of the Maglemosian people was well known; feared by some, sought out by others. The Faerie culture of Tuatha de D’nan - people of the goddess D’nan (goddess of the river) – inherited this knowledge. As tribes of Celts moved and migrated, merging European cultures shared knowledge and ways of life. Stories of elves, dwarves, giants (Æsir), watchers (Vanir), pixies (Picts), leprechauns, ogres, and many other strange characters have their beginnings with these peat-covered people. 

The Fair Folk were descendants of the Vanir and Æsir who populated Northern Europe tens of thousands of years earlier. The Fair Folk were taught astronomy and natural sciences from childhood. Their knowledge of agriculture and navigation positioned them well; they were wise, and socially powerful. Because their knowledge was extraordinary the Fair Folk gained the reputation of having magical powers, and were both feared and loved. They became great leaders to whom others looked for help surviving. This positioned them later as queens and kings, developing great monarch families which still survive today.

Briar Rose - A. Anderson
Centuries passed and legends of these fair-skinned, underground dwellers with magical powers resonated through history. They were immortalized in stories and legends of powerful Fairy queens and kings holding council on Fairy rings of mushrooms, raising their families in Fairy mounds. We have inherited these wondrous tales of Once Upon A Time, and, if we know how to see it, the history of a civilization that lasted thousands of years - one that still has descendants today.
    
Michelle Paula Snyder
Michelle Snyder is a professor of mythology, and an author, publisher, speaker, and artist. She  did her post-graduate research at the University of Wales, decoding ancient and prehistoric symbolism, mythology, folklore, and fairy tales.  Her artwork has appeared in galleries from Massachusetts to California. Michelle is co-owner of White Knight Studio.


Symbologist Michelle Snyder
Non-Fiction - Symbology:
Symbology: Decoding Classic Images
Symbology: Decoding Symbols through History
Symbology: Fairy Tales Uncovered
Symbology: Art and Symbols
Symbology: Hidden in Plain Sight
Symbology: ReVision
Symbology: World of Symbols
Symbology: Secrets of the Mermaids

Michelle Paula Snyder
Fiction – Fantasy Wonder Tales:
The Fairy Tales: Once Upon a Time Lessons, First Book
Call of the Dragon and other Tales of Wonder
A Tale of Three Kingdoms, book one: The Lost Unicorn
 A Tale of Three Kingdoms, book two The Lost Mermaid 


A Tale of Three Kingdoms, book three The Lost Dragon

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Once Upon A Time Stories



“Once Upon A Time” stories are among the greatest love stories ever told; layered with history, culture, and ancient ethics, these fascinating tales have been preserved for thousands of years by oral and literary tradition. Oral tradition is defined as "a set of practices by which societies communicate their vital knowledge and culture without writing." This clearly states that these "stories" contain information vital to our historic record; they were passed on through the millennia, mostly from mothers to children. We know them now as folklore, nursery rhymes, fables, legends, mythologies, and faerie (fairy) tales. 

Faerie tales boast a variety of well-loved characters: wicked queens, beautiful damsels-in-distress,  faerie godmothers, and hero-knights. Despicable villains, elusive little people, and wondrous magical happenings capture our imaginations. Characters like these are symbols based on people in 'real life'. What they represent is as old as life itself; symbols like these are archetypes: images and behaviors common to all human experience. These timeless tales proclaim the love of parent for child, grandmother for granddaughter, and Prince Charming for the fair maiden. Legends record in grand style the brave deeds of hero-knights who rescued princesses and restored them to their rightful place; magical forces arising from the power of love prevailed.



Once Upon A Time tradition of fantastic beasts, heroes, and villains all play a role on the stage of history in these captivating stories. Symbols and illustrations which accompany these legends have much to offer, and when considered alongside the written volumes, they enrich our understanding of events described by literary artists. Mythological symbolism is found worldwide; these stories, as with all symbols, astatize over time and pick up layers of meaning, or change meaning altogether. Placing the myriad of characters in context is crucial to deciphering accurate information.


Damsels in distress appear in stories of love and faith like Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Rapunzel, and Snow White, recently made famous by the brothers Grimm and Walt Disney. According to Duncan-Enzmann’s ice-age translations these stories had their start at least 14,500 years ago, with the emergence of the Sun Child. This was a time when daughters were precious, representing the sun and the cycle of life. Faerie tales that refer to spinning or weaving also began here, when women taught children with stories while working at their looms (thus 'spinning a yarn').

Love stories about youthful girls such as Beauty and the Beast and The Frog Prince come from a time when girls married young. Fathers always want their daughters to marry well, and at that time slightly older gentleman with means and manners could provide and protect. In these tales, the young girl starts out despising the doting gentleman, as if he were a beast or slimy frog, but after a time she decides he is not so bad and falls in love with him. Even popular tales about very young children, such as Hansel and Gretel and Babes in the Woods are about love between siblings, as well as warnings about getting lost in the great dark forests which at one time covered vast areas of the earth. We can trace these tales to ca. 4000 BC, during the Atlantic Era - the Grand Climate Optimum - when there were dangerous, enormous thick forests, miles and miles wide; it was possible to be lost in them forever. 


Faerie tales also bring us  faeries , pixies, dwarves, elves, kings and queens, and a variety of merchants and tradesmen. These characters are found in legends, tales, and mythologies, from the earliest to the most modern cultural stories; their presence reveals that our ancestors understood a great deal about the nature of human beings. This knowledge was preserved along with their history in faerie tales told to children generation after generation, in true oral tradition. This tradition gives us access to unique parts of history that would otherwise be lost. Within our favorite faerie tales are lessons about love, loyalty, tradition, and deceit, coupled with historic events, told over and over as verisimilitudes. The ability to recognize the historic (once upon a time…) elements of these great stories and to place them in context of time, event, and climate, provides clues to the roots and age of the stories. 

Symbology: Fairy Tales Uncovered reveals more about the history of Faeries – the “Fair Folk” of northern Europe, so called because of their white skin, blue eyes, and platinum blonde hair. Magnificent tales of love and courage have been told for hundreds of generations by and about these long-ago people. 

Michelle Paula Snyder
Michelle Snyder is a professor of mythology, and an author, publisher, speaker, and artist. She  did her post-graduate research at the University of Wales, decoding ancient and prehistoric symbolism, mythology, folklore, and fairy tales.  Her artwork has appeared in galleries from Massachusetts to California. Michelle is co-owner of White Knight Studio.


Symbologist Michelle Snyder
Non-Fiction - Symbology:
Symbology: Decoding Classic Images
Symbology: Decoding Symbols through History
Symbology: Fairy Tales Uncovered
Symbology: Art and Symbols
Symbology: Hidden in Plain Sight
Symbology: ReVision
Symbology: World of Symbols
Symbology: Secrets of the Mermaids

Michelle Paula Snyder
Fiction – Fantasy Wonder Tales:
The Fairy Tales: Once Upon a Time Lessons, First Book
Call of the Dragon and other Tales of Wonder
A Tale of Three Kingdoms, book one: The Lost Unicorn
 A Tale of Three Kingdoms, book two The Lost Mermaid 
A Tale of Three Kingdoms, book three The Lost Dragon