Possibly one of the most beloved faery books of all time, Brian Froud and Alan Lee’s Faeries has been reissued as a special deluxe edition to celebrate its 25th anniversary. This collector’s edition includes eight limited edition prints as well as a signed facsimile of a personal letter from Brian and Alan. The book also includes 8 new pieces of art by Froud and Lee, in addition to the original work. More than just a reissue, this deluxe revised and updated edition also contains essays from both Froud and Lee on the influence of Faeries and an introduction by best selling author Jane Yolen.

Buy Faeries from Amazon.co.uk

Possibly one of the most beloved faery books of all time, Brian Froud and Alan Lee’s Faeries has been reissued as a special deluxe edition to celebrate its 25th anniversary. This collector’s edition includes eight limited edition prints as well as a signed facsimile of a personal letter from Brian and Alan. The book also includes 8 new pieces of art by Froud and Lee, in addition to the original work. More than just a reissue, this deluxe revised and updated edition also contains essays from both Froud and Lee on the influence of Faeries and an introduction by best selling author Jane Yolen.

Buy Faeries from Amazon.co.uk

Emily Carding, previously a Featured Artist here on Fae Nation, is something of a genius when it comes to tarot. Her innovative Transparent Tarot, based on the traditional system, was released in 2008 to high acclaim. Now Emily has created the Transparent Oracle, a deck of 70 transparent circular cards which comes with 128 page companion guidebook and a white reading cloth. The Oracle is arranged in 7 sets of ten cards, each representing the 7 directions (east, south, west, north, above, below & within). Within each direction there are cards to represent a season, weather, element, time of day, landscape, guides and elementals (for the 4 compass directions) or aspects such as the planets and senses (in the remaining 3 directions). The deck’s symbolism will be familiar to anyone with a passing interest in folklore, Shamanism, astrology and ceremonial magick – however, that in no way means you need be an expert in any of those things to get a lot from this oracle! The symbols and images are simple and so clear that they can be understood immediately on an intuitive level by virtually anyone.
Aside from this wonderful simplicity, the beauty of this deck comes in the way the cards work together to paint a picture. When the individual cards are laid one on top of another, new and exciting images are born which uncover even greater depth and meaning. The splendid guidebook suggests several ways in which to use the cards, going beyond the usual divination. I’m particularly intrigued with the idea of using the cards to inform storytelling.
My one very small issue is the size of the cards, which I found a little too big to shuffle comfortably (but this could well be my small hands which are to blame!). But otherwise, this is an extremely fascinating oracle system and one I can see myself turning to frequently in the future.

Buy the Transparent Oracle from Amazon.co.uk

Emily Carding, previously a Featured Artist here on Fae Nation, is something of a genius when it comes to tarot. Her innovative Transparent Tarot, based on the traditional system, was released in 2008 to high acclaim. Now Emily has created the Transparent Oracle, a deck of 70 transparent circular cards which comes with 128 page companion guidebook and a white reading cloth. The Oracle is arranged in 7 sets of ten cards, each representing the 7 directions (east, south, west, north, above, below & within). Within each direction there are cards to represent a season, weather, element, time of day, landscape, guides and elementals (for the 4 compass directions) or aspects such as the planets and senses (in the remaining 3 directions). The deck’s symbolism will be familiar to anyone with a passing interest in folklore, Shamanism, astrology and ceremonial magick – however, that in no way means you need be an expert in any of those things to get a lot from this oracle! The symbols and images are simple and so clear that they can be understood immediately on an intuitive level by virtually anyone.
Aside from this wonderful simplicity, the beauty of this deck comes in the way the cards work together to paint a picture. When the individual cards are laid one on top of another, new and exciting images are born which uncover even greater depth and meaning. The splendid guidebook suggests several ways in which to use the cards, going beyond the usual divination. I’m particularly intrigued with the idea of using the cards to inform storytelling.
My one very small issue is the size of the cards, which I found a little too big to shuffle comfortably (but this could well be my small hands which are to blame!). But otherwise, this is an extremely fascinating oracle system and one I can see myself turning to frequently in the future.

Buy the Transparent Oracle from Amazon.co.uk

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ONDINE is a lyrical modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. She says her name is Ondine, which means “she came from the sea”. His daughter Annie (Alison Barry) comes to believe that the woman is a selkie, a magical seal/woman creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. In the Celtic myth, a selkie is able to become human by taking off her seal coat, and can return to seal form by putting it back on. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand. Annie hopes that Ondine has come to live on land for 7 years and that she can use her selkie wish to cure Annie’s kidney failure. Whenever Ondine is onboard Syracuse’s fishing boat, she sings a siren song, and his nets and lobster pots are full of fish and seafood in tremendous numbers hard to believe. However, being Irish, Syracuse (or “Circus” the nickname he is trying to outlive, one he has earned for his previous hard drinking ways) is mistrustful of good luck, with it comes bad. Is Ondine really a selkie, will she stay, can love be trusted? What is Ondine’s real secret? And who is the menacing man lurking around town spying on her? Is he her selkie husband come to claim her back to the sea?

Written and directed by Neil Jordan and shot against the Irish coast’s magical backdrop by cinematographer Christopher Doyle – ONDINE is a story of love, hope, and the unwavering belief in the impossible.
(Synopsis from IMDB).

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