The Faerie Queen's Creed

Local Author Annie Dowdell

Part of the Witch of the Wood Library

By the Author: "Homage to Mother Nature! “I am the hum of a thousand bees. I am the quiet between the trees.” What does it feel like to stand next to a bush vibrating with bees? The Faeries know, do you?

"I am so pleased to present: The Faerie Queen’s Creed. Each little 4.75x6.75 inch copy contains a poem and 22 black and white fine art illustrations drawn by yours truly. I have the pages printed professionally on high end textured art paper by an employee-owned US printing press before binding them together by hand myself."

"This Ode to Mother Nature is born of my deep desire to help children (and inner children) overcome the severing disembodied nature of our modern screen-driven individualistic lives, and to remember the magical aliveness of what it felt like to be in our ancestor’s bodies. Our ancestors knew that everything has consciousness and lived as a part of, and in relationship with nature, rather than on top of it. In the distinctly Animist Irish Faerie Faith of some of my ancestors, Faeries aren't adorable. “Faerie,” is a place, a realm, a capricious entity, and a way of behaving. There is little to no separation between Faeries, nature, and the underworld (ghosts). The woods have always been their domain. All cultures seem to universally believe in unseen beings of one kind or another, who exist in an unseen realm that surrounds us. We label and manifest them differently from place to place and culture to culture, because the land shapes us and our experience. While I could not resist drawing a few of my beloved fantasy Faeries into this book, my main objective was simply to depict and evoke the amazing magic of being in the woods on a sensory level. Faeries are beautiful to look at, but what if we could be one? What if we could remember that nature is not just a cause, it's the ecstasy of being alive?"