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FAIRIES OF THE SEASONS

SPRING FAIRIES

In spring, flower fairies act following the rhythm of nature. They do not need to know the dates on
the calendar, but starting on March 20, when the days are longer, the flowers begin to sprout and
open wide, assisted by their caretaker fairies who transmit their strength and joy. The first to
appear is the tulip fairy, who gently wakes up the small bulbs, encouraging them to show their
little heads. Thus when the first tulips emerge, the fairies realize that spring has arrived. Next, each
fairy stretches along with her respective flower; the zuzón, the daisy, the becabunga, the
primrose, celandine, the dandelion, the nettle or the trompon daffodil. All the fairies are preparing
to celebrate with great joy the multicolored outbreak of spring, on the eve of May 11. The fairies
put on their best dresses, which they decorate with flowers, leaves and twigs. Then, they look for a
clearing in the forest, well lit, and entertain the tulip fairy with crowns and garlands. This fairy is in
charge of presiding over the festival, located in the center of a large circle, inside which thousands
of petals are placed to form a tapestry on the ground. Elves, gnomes and pixies come ready to
participate in the celebration with their jumps and daring capers, which reach the highest
treetops. At the same time, the fairies perform their harmonious and resplendent dance, in which
they hold hands and rotate ceaselessly around the tulip fairy, the inaugural and vigorous symbol of
growing nature. Meanwhile, a virtuoso chorus of robins and haddocks, fluttering in the air, sing a
cheerful and vigorous song. They are accompanied by the soft rustling of the leaves of the trees
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and the calming murmur of the spring breeze. Surely, the traditional May flower festival that is
celebrated particularly in Ireland derives from this iron ceremony. In this festival, people dance
around a flagpole or pole, to commemorate the arrival of spring.

BRAWEN, FAIRY QUEEN OF SPRING

Brawen (Fairy Queen of Spring): Due to her youth and beauty, the ancient Celts considered
Branwen, daughter of the God of the waters Manannan and wife of the legendary Irish king
Mathowch, the symbol of spring full of life and color. In Celtic mythology, Branwen is one of the
three matriarchs of Britain and Goddess of rebirth and regeneration. Therefore, one of its
attributes is the cauldron, which, like the Grail, contains the very essence of awakening and life.
Branwen's brother is Bran, God of the sun and Lord of prophecy and the arts, as well as battles.
Branwen confronts Caillech, the Queen of Winter, at the festival of Beltaine (May Day), which
welcomes spring. In the contest, Branwen emerges victorious, who, seated on her throne of
flowers, presides over the ritual in which bonfires are lit crowned with long poles, symbols of the
sacred oaks. Since spring has traditionally been interpreted as a metaphor for the awakening of
love passion, some compare Branwen with the Greek Goddess Aphrodite (Venus for the Romans),
Goddess of love. The truth is that young lovers go to both goddesses to worship them and receive
their gifts. Aphrodite, like Branwen, also ruled the festival of spring, which in ancient Greece was
celebrated on April 1. In this festival, not only the grace and beauty of nature was celebrated, but
also undying love and amorous desire, which, it was believed, re-emerged strongly at this season
of the year. Due to her identification with the Greco-Roman Goddess, Branwen is also known as
"Venus of the seas and northern lands." In some cultures, the queen of spring is considered the
herald of the Sun God, whom she precedes or follows in her appearance. According to an ancient
legend, equivalent to that of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, Branwen emerged from the waters of
the sea, illuminated by the rays of the sun. The colors attributed to Branwen are pink, green and
sky blue and the precious stones, aquamarine and turquoise, Branwen is also a clearly feminine
symbol and stands as the guardian of fertility. The Summer Fairies: On June 21, when the sun
reaches its maximum northern separation, summer arrives and many plants and flowers, such as
St. John's wort, buttercup, St. Robert's wort, forget-me-not, Poppy, foxglove, white clover,
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nightshade, heather, carpenter grass, scabious, and many others, grow in all their splendor thanks
to the energy of their guardian fairies, who help transmute their chemical elements. Flower fairies
love this season of the year and indulge in all kinds of games. They chase each other, swing from
tree branches or prance in the air to show their summer joy. In the hours of rest, they lie in the
meadows to taste tasty fruits and exquisite cakes, then they take sunbaths, nap or swing on the
waters of the streams, until the great summer festival arrives, the night of San Juan. , the shortest
of the year. This magical celebration begins in the branches of the lime tree, from where the fairies
descend, one by one, to form a ring around a resplendent bonfire of burning and purifying flames
that invite the fairies to dance around the fire. And the fairies spin and spin, faster and faster,
singing songs of joy with their soft voices, until the first light of dawn arrives and each one returns
to her flower or her plant. And the night of San Juan is full of magic: the healing properties of the
herbs are better, the plants grow with greater vigor and all kinds of surprising events can happen;
for example, for humans to see fairies, who remain invisible to them for the rest of the year. This
fairy celebration of the summer solstice has its parallel in Celtic tradition with Lughnasadh or a
festival dedicated to the Irish god Lug, Llew in Wales, and Lugus in Brittany. In other cultures, the
St. John's Eve is still celebrated today with large bonfires, fireworks and thunderous firecrackers,
welcoming summer.

GRAINÉ, FAIRY QUEEN OF SUMMER

In the mythologies of Celtic countries, Grainé sometimes appears as the Goddess of the Sun, and
other times as the daughter of this goddess. Be that as it may, Grainé is, in short, the Queen of the
summer fairies, and represents the hottest season of the year, a magical time that is especially
associated with festivals, rituals and fairy courtships, in which the I manifest all the magic of these
creatures of nature. Grainé presides over these summer rituals, which are celebrated on specific
dates, when it is easier to feel his presence. The best known are St John's Eve, whose magic allows
fairies to meet humans in Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream", as well as August 1st, the
festival of Lug, God of the Sun, which the Celts call Lughnasadh. On the night of Saint John,
especially in Scotland and Ireland, Queen Grainé goes out to the fields surrounded by her entire
court. Between tremulous arpeggio and the sweet notes of the fairy flute, you can hear the sharp
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tinkling of the bridle bells that announce the proximity of the magical procession. A hundred white
steeds, with golden horseshoes and adorned with golden bells, emerge from the forest with their
riders, surrounded by a halo of light. Grainé and his entire court reveal themselves to mortals that
night, in a fleeting vision of their magical world. On the first day of August, at a festival dedicated
to the sun and under the force of its rays, Grainé confronts, for a time unrelated to the passage of
hours and days, her rival Caillech, the Queen of Winter, whom she forces to submit to his designs.
In the Arthurian saga, Grainé appears "humanized" with the name Igrainé or Ygerna, and is the
mother of King Artero and Morgana. During the night of San Juan, which is celebrated at the
beginning of summer, fairies appear briefly to humans, inviting them to visit their magical world.
For the Scots, Grainé belongs to the Seeli Court (Court of the Good) for the favors he provides to
humans. In old Irish folktales, Grainé appears as a captive girl whom young Brian frees. The rescue
or liberation of Grainé is interpreted as a symbol of reincarnation, since it is the sun itself who is
liberated. Grainé, majestic and somber, reflects the intense brilliance of the sun's rays on her
beautiful face. The festival of the sun, dedicated to Grainé, is on August 1 and coincides with the
Celtic Lughnasadh festival, dedicated to celebrating the good harvest.

AUTUMN FAIRIES

In Autumn, when nature changes its color and turns reddish and golden, and the days become a
little shorter and colder, the flower fairies of this season burst into the forests and fields. Large and
deep plants, such as ash, white thorn and elder, oak and graceful blackthorn, and also blackberry
and lantana, take care of their respective plants together with their companions that make the
autumn fruits, fleshy or dried, are delicious and nutritious for humans and animals. The acorn, the
berry, the beechnut, the black mulberry, the chestnut, the hazelnut, the wild apple, the bryony or
the henna, all of them have a fairy that protects them and makes them grow strong. These fairies
mainly dress in the colors of brown, crimson, purple, mauve, characteristics of the trees, plants
and fruits of autumn. Some even touch their heads with the involucra or capsules that surround
the seeds and fruits, revealing their total harmony with them. In the middle of the September
equinox, the autumn fairies celebrate the full moon festival, in which, under its resplendent light,
they gather on a wheat field to give a lavish banquet typical of this season of the year. Before
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beginning to eat, however, the White Thorn Fairy solemnly pours a libation of primrose wine onto
the ground. This type of ritual ensures an abundant harvest for the farmers, who consider the
autumn fairies their best allies. They also participate in the masquerade ball held on Halloween
eve. At midnight the fairies begin a harmonious dance around a bonfire, during which they reveal
their true identities. A ritual similar to the one celebrated on the same date (October 31) by the
Celts, whose priests, dressed in a special way, dance around a sacred bonfire.

"The queen of berries, elves and more elves,

loaded with berries, they adorn a young girl.
Tanned face, red and gold clothes,
A crown of briony surrounds his noble head.
The sweet spring has already arrived, making way for summer.
Now guess the name of this sovereign of the forests."

CARLÍN, FAIRY QUEEN OF AUTUMN

The fields and forests of Scotland, in autumn, transform as if by magic and acquire a beautiful
golden color. Then begins the time of Carlin, the queen of the autumn fairies and spirit of the
magical night of Samhain. Carlin wears a dress made of dried leaves and moss, decorated with
berries, and sometimes a hat with autumn fruits. Wherever it passes, it performs a delicate dance
with which it raises the winds and tears off the dry leaves from the trees, which fall forming a
beautiful tapestry on the ground. Sometimes, the green men and the moss ladies, fervent servants
of the queen of autumn, turn those leaves into resplendent pieces of gold to offer to the
sovereigns as a token of love and respect. In this season, when summer has already ended, the
ancient Celtic people celebrate Samhain Day, one of the most important festivals of the year for
these people. On this date, according to legends, the girls whom the fairies had transformed into
swans and had taken away from their husbands or suitors finally recovered their human
appearance and returned to the person they loved. This is how it is told in the legend of Angus and
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Caer, a very ancient story that dates back to the times of the Tuatha dé Danaan. It tells that on the
eve of Samhain (October 31) the young Caer, daughter of the king of Connacht, who lived under
the guise of a swan in the lake of the Dragon's Mouth, was disenchanted by Angus, son of Dagda,
supreme monarch of the Tuatha. The autumnal day of Samhain was replaced in other cultures by
the festival of All Saints and, more recently, by Halloween, a night in which spirits roam free in an
atmosphere ideal for all kinds of occult and magical activities. On Samhain, fairies kidnap young
wives and do not return them home until a year and a day have passed. Therefore, during this
night, it is good for mortals to light bonfires and dance around them, in order to scare away these
fairies and any other night spirit that tries to harm them. Carlin appears on the eve of Samhain,
hitting the fields with a staff to harden the soil, as the cold of winter approaches. Carlin, an ancient
Celtic goddess, is the spirit of the eve of Samhain, the night when winter announces its
appearance and spirits and other magical beings invade the world of men. Carlin, with his
iridescent palette, paints the leaves of the trees brownish. The fallen leaves of the trees are the
symbol of the fairy creatures that populate the autumn season.

WINTER FAIRIES

Winter brings gray days, cold and snow. Birds migrate to warmer lands and trees lose their leaves.
The peasants do not have as much work as the rest of the year, but the winter fairies undertake
intense activity. They carefully care for trees and perennial plants, such as pine or boxwood, and
check it with their spiritual energy, and prevent or repair damage that snow and cold can cause to
the most fragile shrubs. Like the fairies of other seasons, those of winter are perfectly prepared for
their task, and even their dresses blend with the colors of the winter vegetation. From the clean
whitish tones of the winter lily and blackthorn fairies, the yellow of the yew elves and the little
bonnet fairy, and the violet of the dead nettle elf. And the colors that fairies and winter elves wear
correspond to those of the plants and flowers to which they are linked. But among all of them, the
Christmas tree fairy and the holly elf stand out in a special way as the most representative of the
winter solstice. On the night of December 22, the Christmas tree fairy, carrying a glowing wand in
her hand, leads the procession of the winter carnival of fairyland. The others carry fir branches and
sing Christmas carols except the bonnet fairy and the yew elf, who illuminate the darkness among
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the undergrowth with candles, and the holly elf who, dressed as a wandering jester, with bells in
his cap and shoes, distract the entourage with juggling games. The fairies skate on the frozen
puddles, made by the ice fairies, and drink tasty mint tea to warm up. The younger ones throw
pea-sized snowballs at each other and play at scaring each other with mistletoe twigs.

CAILLECH, QUEEN OF THE WINTER FAIRIES

Caillech, the Queen of the winter fairies, relieved Carlin in the government of nature. Little by
little, the autumn landscape was giving way to the cold winds, frost and ice of winter. The high
peaks were covered with snow and everything seemed to enter a deep lethargy until the
awakening of Beltane, the festival of fire. Every year, the arrival of winter is a magical and
beautiful moment. The ground hardens with ice and Caillech takes over the fields and silent
mountains, only disturbed by the whistling of the wind, and covers the landscape with a white
blanket. In the Nordic plains, Caillech is known as the Snow Queen. She is said to be cold and
implacable, and to drive a white sleigh drawn by two steeds through the lonely winter. In
Germany, the winter season is governed by the kind Frau Hölle, who every year shakes her duvet
vigorously, the feathers coming out from inside and turning into small snowflakes as they fall to
the ground. In Russia, on the other hand, the owner and lord of winter is the cold father, who stirs
the winds and snow storms over the great steppes, with unusual fury. Caillech often uses his court
of fairies and elves to carry out his winter duties. The Vilas, for example, save men who get lost in
the high snowy peaks and something similar happens with the Barbegazi, who sound a powerful
horn to warn men and animals of the danger of the avalanches that are about to happen. to get
rid of. In some places, Caillech is presented as a witch with long white hair and a face bluish from
the cold. In some stories from South West Munster, it is said that, through a spell, Caillech turns
into a beautiful young woman when spring arrives. The icemen, subjects of Caillech, have the hairs
on their beards and the nails on their fingers like sharp icicles, and their breath stirs up furious
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blizzards. Their cold nature can be dangerous for humans, because if they get angry they can turn
them into icebergs or snowmen.