Guest post by Faedom co-authors Agnes Monod-Gayraud and Lorna White
Agnes Monod-Gayraud (author, featured left) is an award- winning translator of children’s books, and language editor at the Astronomy and Astrophysics academic journal. Lorna White (author, featured right) is a writer and researcher whose focus and expertise is Ancient Mythology and Folklore.
About Faedom: Enter The World of Faeries: Faedom will take you on an enchanting ride through fascinating fairy facts and fictions, revealing the secrets of where fairies come from and what lies behind their spectacular powers and personalities.
Every village, town and even city has its magical spaces, welcoming us through their wrought-iron gates or burnished doors to discover something new and unexpected, to meet people along on our way and make conversation. These spontaneous interactions offer something the human soul craves most of all – an act of kindness and a meeting of minds to conjure up new ideas.
There’s no lack of wonderful green spaces across Britain, even the city of London offers residents a range of lush parks. From Hyde Park, Regents’ Park and Belize Park to even wilder parks of Richmond and Bushy Park, where spotting a deer is as common as seeing a squirrel. Every time the city feels a bit too much to bear, we can head to the park, feel the dirt beneath our feet, the satisfying crunch of leaves and grass, the comforting shade of the trees. What’s better than to sit back and watch the breeze flutter through the leaves, observing the ducks, geese and other creatures amble by…
As such, nature is a big part of what inspired the fairies of Faedom. Part of our motivation in creating this book was to inspire readers to reconnect with the magic of the natural world. Each fairy reveals a distinct ritual or spell that is meant to lift the spirit out of the mugginess of the everyday. There’s Esmeralda, the Moss and Meadow fairy, who offers a simple Earthing ritual, connecting us to the Earth, for a moment of peace, stillness and grounding. Rowan, the Tree Fairy reminds us of the importance of nurturing ourselves and making sure we indulge in a bout of tree bathing as soon as we feel ourselves getting bogged down by the weight of too many emails and conference calls. No matter how trite it sounds, hugging a tree can make a person feel better after a rough day. And looking up at the Moon and stars is how we remind ourselves of the infinite possibilities of the universe.
Like the Fairies, we can indulge in our frivolous sides, spontaneously breaking out in dance or song, grabbing a paintbrush or putting pen to paper so our imaginations can run wild. Something that we don’t get to do very often anymore (because our purchasing choices are so well-informed by all the newsletters and social media posts falling into our lap) is dropping into a bookshop at random. With no specific title in mind, browsing the selection at our leisure and choosing a book we might not have heard of. Exploring sections of the bookshop we might not typically be drawn to, finding ourselves escaping to a new world of imagination, transporting us to a realm of awe and escapism. There is nothing more therapeutic than cosying up with a good book to the sounds of the rain falling outside as we sip on a comforting cup of sizzling hot tea.
As the weather gets colder, we can find inspiration in the warmth and generosity of the Kitchen Fairy, treating ourselves and loved ones to food and merriment. The Fire Fairies of Faedom are a sociable bunch overall, encouraging us to connect with our own sense of power and confidence, which can sometimes be frayed in the melee of duties and obligations.
What else are fairies, witches, elves and other fantastical creatures but curious beings who are mindful of the magic in the world? Mindfulness may have become a new age buzzword, but when we come back to the essence of it, it’s a simple way to remember who and where we are and to appreciate the fact that we exist. Taking walks through our towns, villages and cities to explore places we haven’t been to in a while. Walking through doorways we might otherwise have ignored, having conversations we might have otherwise felt too rushed to indulge in. We need to make sure that our careers and obligations don’t keep creeping into our designated time for rest and recreation. Because enjoying the world with others is our main purpose here on Earth.
And if you step outside your comfort zone, you might just find a lucky four-leaf clover, like we did one day when we were conjuring up the fairies of Faedom.
