Emma Alvarez Blog: Pixies And Saint Patrick's Day

Pixies And Saint Patrick's Day

Pixies are considered guardians of Nature as fairies, elfs and gnomes. They come from the Viking and Celtic mythology. And have always been associated with witches, fairies, and druids, because they use them as spies because of their small size. Following the tradition, their magic can't affect someone who carries a four-leaf clover, or an image of Saint Patrick. The legend tells that Saint Patrick threw the pixies out of the house of God. In the 17th March, the day of Saint Patrick, it is said that the pixies and all the other magical beings come back from their hidden places to make pranks. That's why in the day of Saint Patrick it's mandatory to carry a four-leaf clover, as it is a protection element against magic. When Saint Patrick founded the first church in Ireland, he invited the Celts to convert to Christianism. The legend says that the Druids, worrying about loosing their power over people, invoked a legion of mischievous Pixies to complicate the life of Saint Patrick, so he leaves Ireland. The tradition says that the pixies entered the church doing their pranks. But Saint Patrick faced the pixies and threw them out. The pixies were very upset and felt hurt for this offense, and they abandoned the church of Saint Patrick. They never could stand again his image or his name. So in the so called exorcisms of pixies, they use the image of Saint Patrick. Following the mythology, pixies live amongst the flowers and forests. They differ from the gnomes in that pixies have magical powers. Many times, they are depicted as childlike figures. It is said that the pixies approached human beings because they saw in them a source of fun for their pranks. They are attributed the power of being invisible and imitate the voices of animals. It's also said that they have a very touchy and sensible personality, and are easily offended and can be very resentful. These mocking beings enjoy telling each other their dirty tricks, and laughing hearing them. These legends of pixies have been a strongly inspirational in all kinds of artistic artworks. William Shakespeare or Goethe did small references to these small creatures in some of their books. In Faust, Lord Oberon married the fairy queen Lady Titania, who was in company of a little pixie. The Gimm brothers give the pixies a more pleasant personality, sometimes helping the humans. But most of the times, pixies are described by the majority of legends as mocking beings, fun, curious, like eternal children. -Emma Alvarez- © 2008 by Emma Alvarez. Link to this post without copying the text. If you liked this post, find more in categories: Mythology and Fantasy Some Related Posts: If you liked this post, subscribe to Emma Alvarez Site give yourself a gift

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