Have you ever seen a Fairy lounging on a Fly agaric toadstool? The Amanita muscaria is a type of toadstool that the fae love to sit upon.
Fairy rings are also called elf, pixie or witches rings that can be quite large. Most fairy rings are outlined with mushrooms Folklore tells of fairy feet that create these rings in order to gather outdoors and frolic amongst the circle.
This type of fairy is called an Elemental that cares for the eco-system it dwells in.
If a person enters a pixie ring the fae will punish them making them dance till they die! According to German lore folks believed a witches ring was evidence a coven danced during Walpurgis night. Some tales speak of fairy portals, a person that wanders into the middle of the ring will vanish to the fairy world never to be found again. Spirits tend to bury their treasure in them. In the fairy world what seems like an hour is years in earth time. The dew that forms on the fairy ring is said to have healing powers.
If you see a fairy ring
in a field of grass,
Very lightly step around,
Tiptoe as you pass;
Last night fairies frolicked there,
And they’re sleeping somewhere near.
If you see a tiny fay
Lying fast asleep,
Shut your eyes and run away,
Do not stay or peep;
And be sure you never tell,
Or you’ll break a fairy spell.
~ William Shakespeare
Source & Reference:
- Keightley, Thomas (1905).The Fairy Mythology: Illustrative of the Romance and Superstition of Various Countries. London, United Kingdom: George Bell & Sons.
- Ramsbottom, John (1953). Mushrooms & Toadstools. Collins. ISBN 1-870630-09-2
- Arthur Rackham’s illustrations to Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
- illustration: An elf and a fairy kissing, from In Fairy Land (1870) by Richard Doyle illustrator 1824-1883. Author of picture William Allingham 1884-1889 Public Domain Wikimedia Commons.
- William Shakespeare, If You See a Fairy Ring (1564-1616) Public Domain.
- Fairy Ring Photo in Public Domain
*Folklore, poetry & fiction writer 