PARTY REVELS

"Emerald Forest" by Arwen's Grace

Yesterday I promised you I'd tell you about my Enchanted Souls/Birthday Eve party. As the participants gathered, we remarked on our beautiful enchantments and costumes. After we were all there, we entered the Enchanted Forest -or Emerald Forest, as it is also called - through this magical portal.

As we walked, fairy orbs led the way.



"Faeries' Path", Artist Unknown

The sight of fairy lanterns means we're almost there!



"Pan" by Michele Lee Phelan

The party begins! A faun played tunes on his pan flute.

Arthur Rackham illustration

And of course, there were fairies making music everywhere one looked.

Cicely Mary Barker?



"Rose Fairy Bunny" by Pamela Silin Palmer

And a bunny fairy played a flower trumpet.

We dined upon giant toadstools for chairs and tables, seated under more fairy lanterns.

Oh how we feasted! Fairies love sugar, of course, so I had baked dozens of fairy cakes (called cupcakes in the U.S.) For those who like their treats a little healthier, I served oat cakes with honey. Like fairies, the house and barn elves love milk and butter, so of course I had plenty of those items on hand. We had lots of fresh berries, mushrooms and acorns, too. However, we did not eat any meat - I wanted my forest friends as guests, not dinner!

Selkie Girl, artist unknown

I asked the selkie girl if I should provide some fish for her, but she said when she is in human form she eats human food! I did not need to bring any food for the unicorn, as he nibbled on the tiny violets that were underfoot.

The fairies sipped on dew or nectar from the flowers, and some of us had something a little stronger - mead, ale or elderberry wine.

When we were done feasting, the dancing began. A Cornish piskie came out of the woods to join in the dancing. We let him stay on the condition that he perform no mischief!

 

Later, we had a huge bonfire. This baby dragon doesn't have much flame yet, but when it came time to light the fire, he had just the right amount.

"The Snow Princess" by Meredith Sanderson

If partygoers had stood too close to the fire, or became overheated from dancing, they went to stand by the Snow Princess, as she brought a refreshing breath of Arctic air with her.



"White Stag", Shauna Finn

Because there are so few of his kind, the magical White Stag was a very special guest. White Cloud, the North Dakota white buffalo, had to decline my invitation because in the summer he is too busy posing for tourists at the Buffalo Museum in Jamestown.

I counted at least three unicorns, and Pegasus flew through the trees to find our hideaway.



"Pegasus" by Shelly Grund

What a grand party it was. We celebrated all night long. And what about that visitor of  mysterious ways that I promised would join us for musings and revelations at the spellbound hour before dawn? Aah, that is only for us partygoers to know.