Carpe Diem #611, Sylph, spirit of the wind

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

I hope you did like our little Vission Quest of the last three days. I liked it a lot and I have seen, read and re-read wonderful haiku, however ... I am behind with commenting on all of your nice posts, so be patient, because I will comment a.s.a.p.

Today we are going to explore the realm of spirits and the one I like the most, because of my country I think, we have here a lot of windy days, I have chosen for Sylph, spirit of the wind. I am a big fan of Celtic culture, spirituality and religion (I even have written a novel in which I have used a lot of this wonderful culture) ... so I have "dived into" the Celtic culture of spirits and Sylph, the spirit of wind, I have found the following about:

Sylphs are the spiritual beings that inhabit the spirit realm of the element Air. Their activities are manifest in the gatherings of clouds, in the blowing of the wind, the downpour of rain and the formation of snow. They are also responsible for the growth and maturity of all the plant life we see around us. In folklore, Sylphs appeared in many myths and legends. Some tales tell us that if you listened carefully, they would talk to you on the wind as it passed through caves and caverns.

It’s been suggested that the Muses of Greek mythology were Sylphs who had assumed human form in order to guide humans on a spiritual path. They are associated with the activity of the mind and can influence and inspire human actions. It is generally though that they are attracted to poets and artists and instills them with visions of spiritual beauty. Sylphs are ruled by a King being (known as Paralda), and in form they appear to humans as in the classic image of the fairies.

Credits: Sylph, the spirit of the wind

 

The name Sylph comes from the Greek word "silphe", meaning "butterfly" or "moth". They were first named by the Rosicrucian's and Cabalists in their folklore. The sylph is a female spirit of the element, air. Sylphs are like invisible angels, whose voices could be heard in the wind. Sylphs defend the high mountain peaks and wilderness mountains that are home to them. Sylphs look like tall, lithe humans with huge, feathered wings sprouting from their backs. These wings are almost two times it’s body length, but they fold up behind the sylph. They have large, hawk-like eyes and sharp, angular faces. A sylph can live to be hundreds of years old, often reaching one thousand, but never seeming to grow old. The smaller sylph are sometimes called cherubs or fairies. Sylphs are loners, and are content to fly with the birds.

Air is traditionally assigned to the East, the direction of dawn. The Goddesses Danu, Arianrhod, Athena and the God’s Mercury and Buddha, among others, are associated with Air.

Air represents intelligence, inspiration, freshness and freedom.

What an awesome creatures they are, Sylphs ....

whispering through leaves

the sweet sound of the spirits of the wind -

butterflies dance

© Chèvrefeuille

I hope you did like this episode about Sylph, the spirit of the wind. Sylphs stand also for inspiration .... so let the Sylphs inspire you to write/compose an all new haiku ...

This episode will be open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until November 26th at noon (CET). Have fun!