crystalwhimsey

Welcome to Fairyland where we will explore the vast landscape of fairytales, legends, myths and the long term effects they might have on our health, lifestyle, and the way in which we view our world.

Hello, I’m Crystal Whimsey, Author of ”The Fairy’s Tea”, and I love fairies. I love to entertain children with tales of the enchanting garden fairies that live in Wisteria Woods. I’m Irish on my mother’s side so I come to my love of the fairies quite naturally. They have been most companionable over the years and I cannot imagine life without them.
So, just how do you get to Fairyland, to the enchanted isle of Tir na nOg? Well, you need a guide, preferably one who despite her years has stoically and stubbornly refused to grow up. That would be me. I’ll show you the way through the magic, the myth, and the mystery. The Magic of Tir na nOg is eternal youth, health and happiness. It is based on the Irish legend of Oisen and many believe that the doorway is in the beautiful Glens of Antrim near Ballycastle in Northern Ireland. Kenneth North wrote in 1950,

Far across yonder blue lies a true fairyland
With the sea rippling over
the shingle and sand.
Where the gay honeysuckle is luring the bee
And the
green glens of Antrim are calling to me.

You must believe me though, when I tell you that the doorway is just within your reach, no matter where you are. It only takes the proper mindset to open it.  Very young children know instictively how to open it, they wander in and out at will. But as society presses skepticism upon us we begin to age and the gateway slams shut, locked tight like the Wicket to the Silvan Dells in the Wizard of Wisteria Wood.  But, I am determined to help you gain the golden key, unlock the wicket and enter once more the land of eternal youth. I have the perfect place to start.

The Silver Bough

The apple tree is sacred to fairies. They call it the Silver Bough. Wherever an apple tree grows the fairies will gather. Often, their wands are made of apple wood which is famed for its mystical, magical properties.  Maybe the fairies have it right. The Scientific community is absolutely awash with good news these days regarding the scrumptious fruit. Apples make a delicious dessert baked into fruit pies
and cobblers, a tasty side dish tossed into salads and a nutritious snack fresh off the tree.

September, October and November are all designated National Apple Months. From the Garden of Eden to the Mystic Avalon no fruit is more celebrated in literature and myth than the apple.  Hippomanias won his bride, Atalanta, with golden apples given to him by Aphrodite and in Hera’s orchard in the Garden of Hesperides grow the Golden Apples of immortality. The apple tree has been referred to as the tree of knowledge and in point of fact a study showing that apple juice improved mood, memory and behavior in a group of
nursing home patients was cited in the June, 2010 issue of the “American Journal of Alzheimer Disease and Other Dementias”.

In addition to positive cognitive effects, apples have a low glycemic index which is good news for diabetics. Two separate studies, one in 2005  from Cornell University and one in 2011 from Scientists at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research in Perth suggests the phytochemical nutrients in apples may inhibit breast cancer and have an anticarcinogenic effect on the lower colon and it doesn’t stop there.

Results of a ten year study by Dutch researchers, September 16^th,  2011 edition of Science Daily, found eating apples reduced the risk of stroke by as much as 52%.  Immortality? Maybe not, but it sounds like an apple a day can certainly help keep the doctor away. So go ahead, take a bite. Or better yet; bake a pie.  You will find  an easy recipe at my website;
http://crystalwhimsey.com/

Let your children or grandchildren help and while you are waiting for it to bake I’ll read to them a story about one of my favorite fairies; Fairy Ella Willow Wise.