Mushroom Monday: Faerie Rings

It is always a genuine thrill to find a ring of mushrooms in the forest. Though they are purported to be portals to the Faerie Realm, through which one might enter, never to return, or to return years later, I always risk it, usually to record the marvelous phenomenon with my trusty camera. The faeries had, however, set their poison ivy snares all around this ring. There is much folklore about faerie rings, differing from country to country and changing throughout time. This article HERE is great at exploring all of these myths & legends. One of the more common beliefs about the rings is that they are a place where faeries dance in the round, holding festivities. It's also believed that it is best not to disturb these rings. Oddly enough, the ring in my woods, beneath a towering cedar tree, arose on the evening of August 1st, which happens to be the Celtic Festival Day of Lughnasadh (or Lunasa). Lunasa marks the beginning of harvest, halfway between the summer solstice and the autumn equinox, and a time for celebrating the Earth and it's magnificent ways. Perhaps there were faeries celebrating the coming of Autumn. I'm sure ready for it.