Post by Elise on Jan 28, 2007 20:37:16 GMT -8
(Kith info from an Encyclopedia of Spirits, Faeries, Lephrechauns, and Goblins by Carol Rose 1996 Copyright!)
Seelie/Unseelie Courts - In British folklore the Seelie Court are those Trooping Faeries who are generally engaged in their own society with royalty, nobility, and a community existing relatively peacefully within the human world. They enjoy feasting, hunting, and dancing in the earth's rural idyll. The Unseelie Court comprises those malignant spirits whose purpose is the destruction of humans at every opportunity, and these are usually of ugly appearance, usually having a solitary existance in the wilderness areas and places associated with bloodshed.
Sidhe - This is the name most often used for the faery people in the folklore of Ireland. The name is derived from the mounds or ancient barrows known as sidh which they are said to inhabit. These beings beings may also be known as Aes Sidhe, Shee, Si, Sidh, or Sith. These Little People of Ireland, also sometimes referred to as the Sheehogue, are decended from Tuatha de Danann of mythology. Tradition tells how they followed their leader, the Dagda, into the ancient hill forts and barrows after their defeat by the Milesians. They are the Trooping Faeries of Ireland, with their own regional kings and queens who owe allegiance to Finvarra and Onagh.
Sluagh - This is the name of the Unseelie Court or the evil faeries in the folklore of Scotland. The name means the Host, which is a euphemism to avoid invoking them with the mention of their name and deter them from inflicting harm. They are believed to be the Fallen Angels that roam the midnight skies of the Earth searching for lost souls. The Sluagh are also believed to be responsible for causing sickness and death among domestic animals and to lead humans astray.
Eshu - The trickster spirit of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Eshu is known as Elgeba and Legba to other people of West Africa. He caused discord and misery through his pranks and mischief-making but was also a proctor of mankind against evil spirits and other dangers. As such he is the patron of mothers in childbirth and the miners of the Nigerian coalfields. Eshu is depicted as having an enormous lock of plaited and sculpted hair resembling a penis, adorned with the fruit of the oil palm, extending from the back of his head. Initiates into this cult both in West African countries and the Americas wear a mask or their hair resembling this feature.
Satyr - The name of a group of nature spirits or demons in the classical mythology of Greece that were equated with the fauns of Roman mythology. They were depicted in the shape of men with the legs of a goat, short horns on their heads, and hairy bodies. The Satyrs were the attendants of Dionysus, and their leader was Silenus. They inhabited the woods, mountains, and countryside, where they pursued the nymphs in drunken amorous play and were adept at music and dancing. These spirits were noted for their lechery, rudeness, and love of playing pranks; their attitude toward humans was unpredictable and could be harmful. The humorous and often derisory plays in which they were featured after performances of the Greek tragedies are the origin of our present satire.
Ghillie Dhu, Gille Dubh - Ghillie Dhu is a black-haired elf or sprite who's name means Black Gillie. This sprite was described as being dressed much like the Green Man, in leaves and green moss. Often inhabited the woods and thickets around Loch a Druing and Gairlock, where they were regarded as benevolent beings.
Boggans - (Hobgoblin definition) - A nature spirit in English folklore, the Hobgoblin is described as being like a very ugly little elf. They can be helpful and well-disposed to humans, like a brownie. Though usually good natured and not malicious like the goblin, he can nevertheless be easily offended and is capable of playing spiteful pranks.
Knockers - In the folklore of miners of Cornwall, England, these are benevolent goblins or mine spirits. Although they were rarely seen, they were described as little sprites dressed as human miners. It was believed that these spirits were extracting the tin or gold ore for their own use but were happy to indicate to the humans where the rich deposits lay by tapping on the gallery walls. The Knockers would also hammer furiously in all directions to warn the humans when a rockfall was imminent. In order to keep a favourable relationship with their spirit colleagues, the miners would refrain from swearing, whistling, or making the sign of the cross in the galleries. The Knockers could be offended by any of these things and were known to bring showers of stones or even rockfalls on the work face of any miner who did not respect them.
Red Caps - An evil sprite or goblin in the folklore of the Borders between England and Scotland. Red Caps inhabited the ruins of castles and peel towers, the sites of previous skirmishes and bloodshed. This evil spirit looks like a very small old man with long grisly hair, fiery red eyes, protruding teeth, and hideous talons on his skinny fingers. He wears iron boots, a red blood-soaked cap, and carries a pikestaff. If any travelers who have lost their way are foolish enough to shelter in one of these old ruins, the Red Cap is waiting to butcher them and catch their blood in his cap. The only way to protect oneself from his intentions is to recite the scriptures, where upon the Red Cap will shriek and disappear, leaving one of his fangs behind.
Trolls - In Scandanavia the Trolls were originally described as large, hairy shaped with a malignant character; they are now considered to appear somewhat like a gnome or dwarf, but as shapeshifters they can assume any guise. These supernaturals hate noise and have been driven away from places with church bells. Their attitude toward humans is sometimes benevolent, and they will endow a family they like with riches and good fortune. At other times they will be malicious, bring bad luck, and be destructive. They will also steal women, children, and property. A branch of mistletoe is used to protect humans and animals from being taken. The Trolls are considered to be expert metal-workers and expert healers with herbs and magic, but will only be seen between dusk and dawn, as they will turn to stone if the sun shines on them.
Pooka, Pouka - This is the name of the shape-shifting spirit in the folklore of Ireland. This supernatural is also known as Phooka. It most usually takes the form of a horse or a shaggy-haired colt that may be hung about with chains. They are said to haunt wild places, the edge of lakes, and streams. This is where they will try to entice small children to mount their back, and if they do, will race off with them straight over a precipice. Curiously there is an account of a pooka doing work as a horse in the fields for a poor farmer. As a household spirit they may work like the English brownie but, a Pooka is more aligned with the English Puck in his mischievous attitude toward humans. When a Pooka was rewarded by the present of a new coat, like all such spirits, it was offended and vanished. On the Celtic Feast of Samhain (1 November) the Pooka, in the shape of a horse, was said to trample the remaining blackberries and to give prophetic answers to those humans who might consult them.
Seelie/Unseelie Courts - In British folklore the Seelie Court are those Trooping Faeries who are generally engaged in their own society with royalty, nobility, and a community existing relatively peacefully within the human world. They enjoy feasting, hunting, and dancing in the earth's rural idyll. The Unseelie Court comprises those malignant spirits whose purpose is the destruction of humans at every opportunity, and these are usually of ugly appearance, usually having a solitary existance in the wilderness areas and places associated with bloodshed.
Sidhe - This is the name most often used for the faery people in the folklore of Ireland. The name is derived from the mounds or ancient barrows known as sidh which they are said to inhabit. These beings beings may also be known as Aes Sidhe, Shee, Si, Sidh, or Sith. These Little People of Ireland, also sometimes referred to as the Sheehogue, are decended from Tuatha de Danann of mythology. Tradition tells how they followed their leader, the Dagda, into the ancient hill forts and barrows after their defeat by the Milesians. They are the Trooping Faeries of Ireland, with their own regional kings and queens who owe allegiance to Finvarra and Onagh.
Sluagh - This is the name of the Unseelie Court or the evil faeries in the folklore of Scotland. The name means the Host, which is a euphemism to avoid invoking them with the mention of their name and deter them from inflicting harm. They are believed to be the Fallen Angels that roam the midnight skies of the Earth searching for lost souls. The Sluagh are also believed to be responsible for causing sickness and death among domestic animals and to lead humans astray.
Eshu - The trickster spirit of the Yoruba people of Nigeria, Eshu is known as Elgeba and Legba to other people of West Africa. He caused discord and misery through his pranks and mischief-making but was also a proctor of mankind against evil spirits and other dangers. As such he is the patron of mothers in childbirth and the miners of the Nigerian coalfields. Eshu is depicted as having an enormous lock of plaited and sculpted hair resembling a penis, adorned with the fruit of the oil palm, extending from the back of his head. Initiates into this cult both in West African countries and the Americas wear a mask or their hair resembling this feature.
Satyr - The name of a group of nature spirits or demons in the classical mythology of Greece that were equated with the fauns of Roman mythology. They were depicted in the shape of men with the legs of a goat, short horns on their heads, and hairy bodies. The Satyrs were the attendants of Dionysus, and their leader was Silenus. They inhabited the woods, mountains, and countryside, where they pursued the nymphs in drunken amorous play and were adept at music and dancing. These spirits were noted for their lechery, rudeness, and love of playing pranks; their attitude toward humans was unpredictable and could be harmful. The humorous and often derisory plays in which they were featured after performances of the Greek tragedies are the origin of our present satire.
Ghillie Dhu, Gille Dubh - Ghillie Dhu is a black-haired elf or sprite who's name means Black Gillie. This sprite was described as being dressed much like the Green Man, in leaves and green moss. Often inhabited the woods and thickets around Loch a Druing and Gairlock, where they were regarded as benevolent beings.
Boggans - (Hobgoblin definition) - A nature spirit in English folklore, the Hobgoblin is described as being like a very ugly little elf. They can be helpful and well-disposed to humans, like a brownie. Though usually good natured and not malicious like the goblin, he can nevertheless be easily offended and is capable of playing spiteful pranks.
Knockers - In the folklore of miners of Cornwall, England, these are benevolent goblins or mine spirits. Although they were rarely seen, they were described as little sprites dressed as human miners. It was believed that these spirits were extracting the tin or gold ore for their own use but were happy to indicate to the humans where the rich deposits lay by tapping on the gallery walls. The Knockers would also hammer furiously in all directions to warn the humans when a rockfall was imminent. In order to keep a favourable relationship with their spirit colleagues, the miners would refrain from swearing, whistling, or making the sign of the cross in the galleries. The Knockers could be offended by any of these things and were known to bring showers of stones or even rockfalls on the work face of any miner who did not respect them.
Red Caps - An evil sprite or goblin in the folklore of the Borders between England and Scotland. Red Caps inhabited the ruins of castles and peel towers, the sites of previous skirmishes and bloodshed. This evil spirit looks like a very small old man with long grisly hair, fiery red eyes, protruding teeth, and hideous talons on his skinny fingers. He wears iron boots, a red blood-soaked cap, and carries a pikestaff. If any travelers who have lost their way are foolish enough to shelter in one of these old ruins, the Red Cap is waiting to butcher them and catch their blood in his cap. The only way to protect oneself from his intentions is to recite the scriptures, where upon the Red Cap will shriek and disappear, leaving one of his fangs behind.
Trolls - In Scandanavia the Trolls were originally described as large, hairy shaped with a malignant character; they are now considered to appear somewhat like a gnome or dwarf, but as shapeshifters they can assume any guise. These supernaturals hate noise and have been driven away from places with church bells. Their attitude toward humans is sometimes benevolent, and they will endow a family they like with riches and good fortune. At other times they will be malicious, bring bad luck, and be destructive. They will also steal women, children, and property. A branch of mistletoe is used to protect humans and animals from being taken. The Trolls are considered to be expert metal-workers and expert healers with herbs and magic, but will only be seen between dusk and dawn, as they will turn to stone if the sun shines on them.
Pooka, Pouka - This is the name of the shape-shifting spirit in the folklore of Ireland. This supernatural is also known as Phooka. It most usually takes the form of a horse or a shaggy-haired colt that may be hung about with chains. They are said to haunt wild places, the edge of lakes, and streams. This is where they will try to entice small children to mount their back, and if they do, will race off with them straight over a precipice. Curiously there is an account of a pooka doing work as a horse in the fields for a poor farmer. As a household spirit they may work like the English brownie but, a Pooka is more aligned with the English Puck in his mischievous attitude toward humans. When a Pooka was rewarded by the present of a new coat, like all such spirits, it was offended and vanished. On the Celtic Feast of Samhain (1 November) the Pooka, in the shape of a horse, was said to trample the remaining blackberries and to give prophetic answers to those humans who might consult them.