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WELCOME SPRING!
Spring is the time of year that inspires our creative minds and awakens our hearts to new possibilities. With the days getting warmer, I'm motivated to spend more time outside, go hiking with a dear friend, plant flowers, and enjoy the rejuvenating feeling of spring through the beauty of nature around me.
To inspire you, we've collected some of FTM's favorite things about spring...so please enjoy the quotes, art, tales, music, and folklore below that highlight this most enchanting season!
Image by Frank Dicksee
Air waited impatiently, stamping her feet on the ground.
Fire wondered aloud why they were always kept waiting.
Earth said it had always been this way.
Winter moved off on the horizon and disappeared.
All was still.
A curtain of mist fell across the landscape, and the assembled Elementals all held their breath.
Then, the curtain parted, and she stepped from the Beyond in a delicate shimmering cloak that glittered with all the power of starlight and dreaming. Droplets of water most pure intertwined to form the sheer silver fabric that took four maidens to hold up
It was time for the flowers and the land to be awakened, and only her touch could do it.
All bowed before her when she walked by, and she nodded in their direction.
Where she passed, gentle rain called the flowers forth.
Air, Fire, and Earth all sighed. They knew they were in the presence of pure endless beauty, and their beloved one had returned.
The wait had been worth it, and the world bloomed into its Ethereal Spring.
The Spring has come again
For the grass is growing green,
And among the fields of clover
Bright butterflies are seen.
The little birds are singing sweetly
As they fly from tree to tree...
The busy bees are gathering
The honey from the flowers,
And the merry birds are building
Their nests in sheltered bowers...
--Josephine D.C., Spring
The Full Moons of Spring
The Worm Moon
March 7, 2023
The Worm Moon is the third full moon of the new year, and the first full moon of meteorological spring. it is named the Worm Moon because March is the month when the Northern Hemisphere begins to warm and the soil starts to stir again. This full moon signals the time of year to start thinking about planting new shoots in the garden.
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The Pink Moon
April 5, 2023
The Pink Moon gets its name from the pink Phlox flower that blooms at this time of year.
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The Flower Moon
May 5, 2023
The full moon for May is named the Flower Moon for the simple reason that many spring flowers
are in bloom during May.
"Spring adds new life and
new beauty to all that is."
~ Jessica Harrelson
There is no winter without snow,
no spring without sunshine,
and no happiness without companions.
~ Korean Proverb
R A I N B O W S
Rainbows are a beautiful symbol of spring as the rains fall on the awakening spring landscape, and the rainbow is a reflection of the perfect balance of the physical world. The rainbow spectrum also helps us understand the physical nature of the universe, and the colors of the rainbow, seen in a spectroscope, takes the universe apart to the smallest detail. Everyone enjoys rainbows, so check out some rainbow trivia below!
Iris was the Greek goddess of the rainbow
A rainbow is light refracted through millions of droplets of water
Each wavelength of light has a rate of vibration and produces the colors of the rainbow
The angle of light refraction to create a rainbow is 42 degrees to the eye of the observer
The order of the rainbow spectrum is red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet
Roy G. Biv - The way to remember the colors of the rainbow
Sir Isaac Newton discovered the seven distinct colors of the visible spectrum seen in the rainbow
The seven colors of the rainbow correspond to the seven energy centers of the body
What we see, feel, hear, taste and smell exists between the frequencies of red and violet
Rainbows are positive energy
Rainbows have relaxing and healing qualities
Rainbows are the universal symbol of peace and harmony
Rainbows and music are made of the same stuff just vibrating at a different frequency
It takes both the sun and rain to make a rainbow
Rainbows in the environment create good Feng Shui
The true shape of a rainbow is a complete circle
Easy Rainbow Desserts
Try these simple rainbow snacks by watching the recipe below:
May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun
And find your shoulder to light on,
To bring you luck, happiness and riches
Today, tomorrow and beyond.
~ Irish Blessing
STORY INSPIRATION:
Real-life Fairy Tale Castles in Spring
to inspire your own stories & dreams
Arundel Castle - UK
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Drum Castle - UK
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Sakura and Himeji Castle Main Keep- Japan
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Château de Sully-Sur-Loire -France
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Leeds Castle- UK
And the Spring arose on the garden fair,
And the Spirit of Love fell everywhere;
And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast
Rose from the dreams of its wintry rest...
~ Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Sensitive Plant
BLODEUWEDD
Blodeuwedd is the Welsh Goddess of spring. Her name means, "flower face," since the great magicians, Math and Gwydion, created her from broom flowers, meadowsweet, and oak.
Folktales say that because she was unfaithful to her husband, she was turned into an owl by the same magicians that made her, to forever remain in that form, reminding people of the fragility of love and beauty.
This Welsh Goddess represents the themes of hope, beauty, relationships, and charity. Blodeuwedd also embodies the temporary beauty of spring and the bright blooming that ends up coming full circle through the seasons. She is the promise of autumn visible in spring.
OUTDOOR SPRING READING GOALS
because it's a valid excuse to stay home when it's a lovely spring day
just to enjoy reading outdoors...
"Spring is the time of plans and projects."
~ Leo Tolstoy
SOME SPRING FOLKLORE
April showers bring May flowers - is a reminder that even unpleasant things, such as the heavy rain in April, can bring about enjoyable things, such as the abundance of flowers that bloom in May.
Dandelion predictions - When dandelions bloom early in spring, there will be a short season. When they bloom late, expect a dry summer.
Spring & Daisies - Don't say spring has come until you can put your foot on nine daisies.
The shapeshifting hare - Not only is this animal associated with spring, but magic as well. The hare is linked to rebirth and intuition, bringing the secret gifts of the underworld up into the ordinary world as the light of the sun increases during springtime. The Celts believed the hare to be a shapeshifting being, and thus was sacred to them...so much so, that it was taboo to kill one up until Victorian times.
Weather lore & trees - If the oak is out before the ash, then we are in for a splash. But, if the ash is out before the oak, then we are in for a soak.
3 Spring Superstitions from Transylvania - 1) Tying a trinket to a tree in spring brings wealth and good luck. 2) Listening to a cuckoo bird sing brings prosperity. 3) Farmers who work their land on May 21st will lose their crops.
Celebrating Beltane - Beltane (on May 1) is a celebration of nature and marks the start of the traditional planting season. It's a time for feasting and merry making. People can write a wish upon a ribbon and tie it to a tree, in the hopes that it will be granted. Hawthorn, ash, thorn and sycamore trees are believed to be the best wish making trees. And dew gathered on Beltane is thought to have special properties for increased beauty and youthfulness.
"Is the spring coming?" he asked.
"What is it like?" "It is the sun shining on the rain
and the rain falling on the sunshine."
~ Frances Hodgson Burnett
Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,
The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;
And 'tis my faith that every flower,
enjoys the air it breaths.
The birds around me hopped and played,
Their thoughts I cannot measure--
But the least motion which they made
It seemed a thrill of pleasure...
- William Wordsworth, Lines Written in Early Spring
Looking to make a simple DIY wreath for spring?
Then click on the tutorial video below:
SPRING ART GALLERY
Flora Scattering Flowers, Arnold Böcklin,1875
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A Woman Walking in a Garden, Vincent van Gogh, 1887
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Windswept, John William Waterhouse, 1903
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Springtime, Pierre Auguste Cot, 1873
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The Rose, John William Waterhouse, 1903
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Women in the Garden, Claude Monet, 1867
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Primavera, Sandro Botticelli, 1482
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Spring, Franz Xaver Winterhalter, 1850
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HAPPY SPRING TO ALL!
Share what you love about this season in the comments section below
The Fairy Tale Magazine's contributing editor, Amanda Bergloff, writes modern fairy tales, folktales, and speculative fiction. Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Frozen Fairy Tales, After the Happily Ever After, and Uncommon Pet Tales. Follow her on Twitter @AMANDABERGLOFF
Quotes/Various Graphic Design: Amanda Bergloff