Magical Creatures

Today I'm thinking about magical creatures, those beings that "live" at the edge of reality and Nature, as it is commonly understood. Fairies, dragons, mermaids, unicorns, and the phoenix are all examples that come to my Celtic-American mind and play a powerful role in human consciousness; across other cultures there are countless more. Some people wholeheartedly still believe in their existence, others want to believe but seem to perceive them more as benevolent sources of fantastical protection, and others are convinced they are purely mythical. I wonder what you believe.

In some cultures, these magical creatures were at one time believed to be real, and a significant population still perceive them as such, with frequent sightings and interactions reported by people who wouldn't ordinarily seem to buy into the world of fantastical beings. In the United Kingdom, consideration of and respect for the fairy folk is still an accepted part of their cultural practices and an expression of a larger connection to Nature. Through my years as a psychotherapist I've had numbers of clients, especially Latinx, who spoke of river spirits, tree spirits, and naughty fairy-type household spirits affecting them and their families; these spirits were at times spoken of with reverence, and at other times with fear, if they were associated with malevolent behavior. Dungeons and Dragons has been a thriving fantasy game of role-play and adventure since 1974, and the How to Train Your Dragon movie series has become a beloved franchise over the last 16 years. Many recall that the Harry Potter book and movie series featured Dumbledore's phoenix and the unicorns of the forest, among countless other magical creatures. And how much more enduring could The Little Mermaid be? A dark Hans Christian Andersen fairytale from 1837, it evolved into a child-friendly 1989 Disney version that has since been re-made four times.

Existing as they do on the periphery of our "real lives," it is simple enough to discount magical creatures as merely fantastical, the stuff of children's play-filled landscapes. But how do we really know whether they're real or not? I've read some allegedly historical accounts of their ancient existence and move into the hidden realms as humans devolved into a more energetically dense state, waiting to return once we are able to again perceive and welcome them back into our everyday consciousness. The stuff of fantasy? Very possibly. But what if it's true? They have endured spectacularly as vibrant cultural symbols, exemplars of magical Nature, each of them imbued with their own powerful, associated meanings. They seem to be serving a positive purpose for us as a human collective. I look forward to watching their stories evolve.