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<div style="vertical-align: top;background-color: #E0DFFB;text-align: left;padding: 10px;border: 3px solid #A1B09F;margin: 0px 0px 20px 0px;">[[Image:Featured_ribbon.png ]]'''''Featured Article'''''
<div style="vertical-align: top;background-color: #E0DFFB;text-align: left;padding: 10px;border: 3px solid #A1B09F;margin: 0px 0px 20px 0px;">[[Image:Featured_ribbon.png ]]'''''Featured Article'''''


=== Unicorn ===
===Fairy===


====Description====
[[Image:Fairfacefairy.jpg|thumb|100px|''Take the Fair Face of Woman...'' by Sophie Anderson]]
[[Image:Justina.jpg|right|100px]]
A '''fairy''' (also '''fairie''' or '''faerie''') is a [[spirit]] or supernatural being that is found in the legends, [[folklore]], and [[mythology]] of many different cultures. They are generally humanoid in their appearance and have supernatural abilities such as the ability to fly, cast spells and to influence or foresee the future. Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, females of small stature, they originally were of a much different image: tall, angelic beings and short, wizened trolls being some of the commonly mentioned fay. The small, gauzy-winged fairies that are commonly depicted today did not appear until the 1800s.
The '''Unicorn''' is a mythical creature. Strong, wild, and fierce, it was impossible to tame by man. Pliny, the Roman naturalist records it as "a very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, a deep, bellowing voice, and a single black horn, two cubits in length, standing out in the middle of its forehead." Also known as : Re’em, Ki-lin, Kirin


===== Powers =====
==Etymology==
The words '''''fae''''' and '''''faerie'''''  came to English from  Old French which originated in the Latin word  "Fata" which referred to the three mythological personifications of destiny, the Greek [[Moirae]] (Roman Parcae, "sparing ones", or Fatae) who were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life. They were usually described as cold, remorseless old crones or hags (in contrast to the modern physical depiction). The Latin word gave modern Italian's ''fata'', Catalan and Portuguese ''fada'' and Spanish ''hada,'' all of which mean ''fairy''. The Old French ''fée,'' had the meaning "enchanter." Thus féerie meant a "state of fée" or "enchantment." Fairies are often depicted enchanting humans, casting illusions to alter their emotions and perceptions so as to make themselves at times alluring, frightening, or invisible. Modern English inherited the two terms "fae" and "fairy," along with all the associations attached to them.


It was traditionally believed that only a naked virgin sitting beneath a tree could lure and tame the unicorn, which craves purity. It would be irresistably drawn to the girl and lie down with its head in her lap. While it slept, the hunter could capture it. If, however, the girl was merely pretending to be a virgin, the unicorn would tear her apart.
A similar word, "fey," has historically meant "doomed to die," mostly in Scotland, which tied in with the original meaning of fate. It has now gained the meaning "touched by otherworldly or magical quality; clairvoyant, supernatural." In modern English, the word seems to be conjoining into "fae" as variant spelling. If "fey" derives from "fata," then the word history of the two words is the same. [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=fey|1]


Throughout the mythology of the unicorn, its horn, the ''alicorn'', was believed to have great medicinal powers. In Ctesias’ writings, the dust filed from the horn was supposed to protect against deadly diseases if mixed into a potion. Or, if you drank from the hollowed horn, you would be protected against any poison. Often, a narwhale tusk was sold as an alicorn, and it was commonly ground up and used for its magical properties.
Strictly, there should be distinctions between the usage of the two words "fae" and "faerie." "Fae" is a noun that refers to the specific group of otherworldly beings with mystical abilities (either the elves (or equivalent) in mythology or their insect-winged, floral descendants in English folklore), while "faerie" is an adjective meaning "of, like, or associated with fays, their otherworldly home, their activities, and their produced goods and effects." Thus, a leprechaun and a ring of mushrooms are both faerie things (a fairy leprechaun and a fairy ring), although in modern usage fairy has come to be used as a noun.
 
===== Symbolism =====
 
Its white coloring made it a natural symbol for purity, chastity and virginity. The horn of the unicorn was the weapon of the faithful and of Christ. The mythological unicorn was a symbol of chivalry with qualities befitting this status, proud and untamable.
 
In heraldry, a unicorn is depicted as a horse with a goat's cloven hooves and beard, a lion's tail, and a slender, spiral horn on its forehead. Whether because it was an emblem of the Incarnation or of the fearsome animal passions of raw nature, the unicorn was not widely used in early heraldry, but became popular from the fifteenth century. Though sometimes shown collared, which may perhaps be taken in some cases as an indication that it has been tamed or tempered, it is more usually shown collared with a broken chain attached, showing that it has broken free from its bondage and cannot be taken again.
 
It is probably best known from the royal arms of Scotland and the United Kingdom: two unicorns support the Scottish arms; a lion and a unicorn support the UK arms. The arms of the Society of Apothecaries in London has two golden unicorn supporters.
   
   
'''[[Unicorn|Read more...]]'''
'''[[Fairy|Read more...]]'''


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Revision as of 22:05, 5 September 2006


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Featured ribbon.pngFeatured Article

Fairy

Take the Fair Face of Woman... by Sophie Anderson

A fairy (also fairie or faerie) is a spirit or supernatural being that is found in the legends, folklore, and mythology of many different cultures. They are generally humanoid in their appearance and have supernatural abilities such as the ability to fly, cast spells and to influence or foresee the future. Although in modern culture they are often depicted as young, sometimes winged, females of small stature, they originally were of a much different image: tall, angelic beings and short, wizened trolls being some of the commonly mentioned fay. The small, gauzy-winged fairies that are commonly depicted today did not appear until the 1800s.

Etymology

The words fae and faerie came to English from Old French which originated in the Latin word "Fata" which referred to the three mythological personifications of destiny, the Greek Moirae (Roman Parcae, "sparing ones", or Fatae) who were supposed to appear three nights after a child's birth to determine the course of its life. They were usually described as cold, remorseless old crones or hags (in contrast to the modern physical depiction). The Latin word gave modern Italian's fata, Catalan and Portuguese fada and Spanish hada, all of which mean fairy. The Old French fée, had the meaning "enchanter." Thus féerie meant a "state of fée" or "enchantment." Fairies are often depicted enchanting humans, casting illusions to alter their emotions and perceptions so as to make themselves at times alluring, frightening, or invisible. Modern English inherited the two terms "fae" and "fairy," along with all the associations attached to them.

A similar word, "fey," has historically meant "doomed to die," mostly in Scotland, which tied in with the original meaning of fate. It has now gained the meaning "touched by otherworldly or magical quality; clairvoyant, supernatural." In modern English, the word seems to be conjoining into "fae" as variant spelling. If "fey" derives from "fata," then the word history of the two words is the same. [1]

Strictly, there should be distinctions between the usage of the two words "fae" and "faerie." "Fae" is a noun that refers to the specific group of otherworldly beings with mystical abilities (either the elves (or equivalent) in mythology or their insect-winged, floral descendants in English folklore), while "faerie" is an adjective meaning "of, like, or associated with fays, their otherworldly home, their activities, and their produced goods and effects." Thus, a leprechaun and a ring of mushrooms are both faerie things (a fairy leprechaun and a fairy ring), although in modern usage fairy has come to be used as a noun.

Read more...