This list could be incredibly huge however I have narrowed it down and have just focused on the creations which have deeply inspired me in my life, both recently and throughout my life.
Perhaps the most inspiring books I have found to read are those by J.R.R. Tolkien and he writes a beautiful passage here about how he tapped into these realms:
"I would draw some of the great tales in fullness, and leave many only placed in the scheme, and sketched...They arose in my mind as 'given' things, and as they came, separately, so too the links grew. An absorbing, though continually interrupted labour (especially since, even apart from the necessities of life, the mind would wing to the other pole and spend itself on the linguistics): yet always I had the sense of recording what was already 'there', somewhere: not of 'inventing'." From a Letter by J.R.R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman, 1951 in The Silmarillion.
Not only did Tolkien write books but he also created incredible artwork of these worlds and the following article talks about Tolkien as an artist:
Halls of Manwë on the Mountains of the World above Faerie, July 1928.
Tolkien's illustration of Rivendell
Glórund sets forth to seek Túrin
Illustration by Tolkien.
I recently discovered this artist and am in love with her paintings, she has created images of Tolkien's elves as well as the Otherworld of Celtic mythology and she makes beautiful little altar paintings.
I love these images by Agnieszka Lorek, please find her art online: facebook.com/A.M.LorekDimension
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
© A.M.Lorek Photography
Elen Elenna's book The Silver Wheel is a beautiful shamanic journey inspired by her submersion into the forests of Wales and receiving the teachings of the elven elders. "Silver Wheel is composed of 13 glyphs that are the codes for our planetary & personal ascension into the realms of the New Earth. They also correspond to the seasonal moons, the planets of the solar system, the star systems of our galaxy, the intergalactic stargates, and the flames of the celestial, Everlasting Stars." She has lovely elven energy, please find her website here: https://elenelenna.com/
Silver Wheel Cards containing the glyphs available at: https://elenelenna.com/silver-wheel-cards/
The Silver Wheel - https://elenelenna.com/silver-wheel/
Layla May has a great Youtube channel where she shares interviews on the subject of elemental beings: https://www.youtube.com/user/laylaanne/about
In one interview she spoke with Yannick Dubois who is an incredibly talented illustrator who is inspired by druid practices and elemental beings. He creates nature banners, wheels of the year and foraging calendars which show the seasons for edible wild plants and his prints and designs can be bought from his etsy shop.
Oak Tree Banner - http://yannickdubois.com/creations/art
Silver Birch Tree Banner - http://yannickdubois.com/creations/art
Beech Tree Banner - http://yannickdubois.com/creations/art
The Mists of Avalon book by Marion Zimmer Bradley is very much of its time and the characters can be intense, yet I also believe that it is an important book which tapped into the ancient memory of the collective; it depicted the druids, priestesses and ancient goddess culture of the land before it was eventually suppressed by the rise of patriarchal culture - it is set in the time of King Arthur and is written from the perspectives of the women in that age, including Morgan le Fay and Viviane, the high priestess of Avalon. The book is excellent and needs to be treated as a separate piece of art, independent from the life of its author. It portrayed the Otherworld of Avalon - a place of the faery co-existing on the land of Glastonbury. Nowadays incredible art dedicated to Avalon and the Lady of Avalon is being created in Glastonbury.
'The Lady of Avalon' by Caroline Lir
Avalon, as portrayed in the legends of King Arthur is the Otherworld - a place of the faery co-existing on the land of Glastonbury. Many cultures have described such an otherworld, where some are granted access and can bring this knowledge back to our world. In Irish mythology, the Celtic Otherworld was known as TÃr na nÓg (Land of Youth) and in Tolkien's mythology of Middle Earth he describes this 'straight road' or portal into Avallónë in Akallabêth:
"Thus in after days, what by the voyages of ships, what by lore and star-craft, the kings of Men knew that the world was indeed made round, and yet the Eldar were permitted still to depart and to come to the Ancient West and to Avallónë, if they would. Therefore the loremasters of Men said that a Straight Road must still be, for those that were permitted to find it."
A television series was also produced which was loosely based on the book of The Mists of Avalon and although its story-line deviates significantly in parts it creates a wonderful atmosphere and is immersed with beautiful sounds.
This website has a list of great resources and books for those interested in Tië eldaliéva which is the elven spiritual path in Tolkien's books:
A spiritual organisation for Tië eldaliéva will be set up soon and this is being organised by Kimberel from the following channel on Youtube who discusses Tolkien's philosophies in further detail: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW_tW7GpzFcDG7FrpxISVuQ
There are many storytellers out there who are almost shamanic in their approach - it feels as if they can tap into these realms and open up doorways for their audience. These are some storytellers who have inspired me:
Ben Haggarty - he tells Greek and Irish myths and "fairytales for grown-ups." Here is an interview from a really good website called Biology of Story about the art of storytelling:
I recently watched Daniel Morden & Hugh Lupton at the Ancient Technology Centre and heard Ovid's Greek myths including the tale of the nymph Echo and Narcissus who was the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope.
Martin Shaw is wonderful. He has written a few books including Snowy Tower which examines the myth of the holy grail during the time of King Arthur and he also does storytelling:
Some of Jim Henson's creations contain very strong elemental energy such as Labyrinth with its Goblin King and the Dark Crystal with the gelflings who have an elf/faery appearance and are from another planet, Thra. UK-based artist Brian Froud worked on these film sets as a conceptual and costume designer and more of his artwork inspired by the landscapes of Devon can be found in his books and on his website:
There are a couple of faery-inspired magazines, one is UK-based and edited by Karen Kay called Fae Magazine and Enchanted Living (formerly Faerie Magazine) is an American-based magazine with the mission "to bring old-world enchantment to the modern-day romantic."
An issue of Enchanted Living magazine.
Happy exploring and many blessings to you :)
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