Fairies Myths & Magic 11

by

Colleen Chesbro

I don’t know about you but I find the world a very confusing place at the moment. There is so much in the news and online which baffles me. Especially what people believe and take for the truth from social media without doing any research first.

So, when Colleen’s latest book Faieries, Myths & Magic 11 came out I was delighted to delve into its pages. The folklore research is superb and there is something from every corner of our magical world.

I was so happy to see that one of my favourite stories by Colleen, The Changling, was included. My background is Orcadian where stories of changling babies abound. It is a wonderful story.

What I love about Colleen’s writing and beliefs is that she knows that the good folk are not as the Victorians painted them, not at all and she goes back to a time when our cultures knew this.

One of my favourite poems in this collection is dedicated to The Morrigan who has been part of my belief system for a very long time.

The line “the Great Queen chooses her own,” is so very true.

“Swift Passage” is dedicated to our friend Sue Vincent whose wit and wisdom and friendship we all miss.

Trows:

So delighted to see the Trows of Orkney and Shetland being mentioned. The farmhouse I called home was on the island of Rousay and Tommy, my uncle was a farmer. Right next to the side of the house was one of his fields with a “trow Knowe” a trow hill, he would never plough over or disturb that knowe, and I was brought up to respect and learn the rules of dealing with trow folk.

Fairies Myths and Magic is a treasure trove of wisdom, wit and magic. Open with joy and read the many tales and poems with a cosy mug of hot chocolate, curled up in your favourite armchair in front of a crackling fire. Guaranteed magic.

Thank you, Adele, for the opportunity to share the news of my new book, just in time for the winter solstice and Yule.

Adele, you and I have always shared a love for myths and magic, especially stories of the gods and goddesses. In Fairies Myths & Magic II, I share a story about the Irish version of the Irish Goddess of Winter – The Cailleach Béara.

After you read the book, you shared a video with me about the Scottish version of the Goddess of Winter – Beira. Here’s the video that tells the story of how this goddess created Scotland.

Just from this video, you get a sense of how amazing it is for an ancient myth to become part of the travel dialogue of a country like Scotland. These creation myths are helpful to civilizations by revealing a worldview that helps the people of the society identify with their culture.

When I researched the Cailleach Béara, I found many different versions of the same tale. I literally had to choose a version to share.

Basically, Cailleach is an old hag with blue skin and white hair who is responsible for creating some of the largest mountains and hills in Scotland.

Around the 1st of February, she emerges with the intent of making winter last as long as possible. It’s said she does this by gathering firewood which will keep her outside for the rest of the season.

If the weather is good and she can collect plenty of wood, then the winter will be a long one. However, if the weather is bad and she can’t leave her home, the cold season will soon end.

For a myth, this all seems very logical to me. Please enjoy my version of the tale in Fairies, Myths, & Magic II – A Winter Celebration.

About the Book:

In this second book in the Fairies, Myths, & Magic series, step into a world where dark fairies and other magical beings converge in a collection of poetry and short stories inspired by winter and the celebration of the winter solstice.

From Autumn’s scary fairies to the forgotten female characters of Yule, prepare to embrace the magical winter solstice myths from around the world. Meet Frau Holle in the Wild Hunt, Befana—the Christmas Witch of Italy, and the Japanese goddess Ameratasu who controls the springtime. Prepare to embrace the Scottish trows, The Irish Goddess of Winter—the Cailleach Béara, and Snegurochka—the Snow Girl.

Learn how to make Yuletide rituals part of your celebration by embracing the symbols of Yule by decorating with evergreens and crystals.

Fairies, Myths, & Magic II Links:

Colleen’s Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Colleen-M-Chesebro/e/B01N9MV2RX

Amazon Universal Link: https://mybook.to/FairiesMythsMagicII

About the Author:

An avid reader, Colleen M. Chesebro rekindled her love of writing poetry after years spent working in the accounting industry. These days, she loves crafting syllabic poetry, flash fiction, and creative fiction and nonfiction.

In addition to poetry books, Chesebro’s publishing career includes participation in various anthologies featuring short stories, flash fiction, and poetry. She’s an avid supporter of her writing community on Word Craft Poetry.com by organizing and sponsoring a weekly syllabic poetry challenge, called #TankaTuesday, where participants experiment with traditional and current forms of Japanese and American syllabic poetry.

Chesebro is an assistant editor of The Congress of the Rough Writers Flash Fiction Anthology & Gitty Up Press, a micro-press founded by Charli Mills and Carrot Ranch.

In January 2022, Colleen founded Unicorn Cats Publishing Services to assist poets and authors in creating eBooks and print books for publication. In addition, she creates affordable book covers for Kindle and print books.

Chesebro lives in the house of her dreams in mid-Michigan surrounded by the Great Lakes with her husband and two (unicorn) cats, Chloe & Sophie.

Find Colleen here:

Word Craft Poetry: https://wordcraftpoetry.com

Colleen M. Chesebro, Author, Poet & Unicorn Cats Publishing Services: https://colleenmchesebro.com

Facebook Page: Colleen M. Chesebro, Poet & Author: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100085941528913

LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/colleen-m-chesebro-6b856b237

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