The names of the faeries in this deck

I noticed something a while back and was wondering how many people have noticed it as well. Many of the names of the faeries seem to have meanings in English when you sound them out phonetically. These meanings seem to point to the faeries' function. E.g.

1) Ilbe the Retriever=I'll be the Retriever
2) G. Hobyah=phobia (if you make it one word and sound it out, "gh" making an "f" as in "laugh")
Then there are others that seem to allude to things
3) Ekstasis=combination of ecstacy and stasis (ecstacy from stasis? coming from loving and totally accepting things just as they are, not constantly trying to change everything?)
4) Ta'Om the Poet=has the word Om in it, implying something meditative about him.
5)The Glanceoner=looks to me like a combination of "glance" and "one", like it is his habit to glance just once at something and then form decisions. It says he is about illusion and delusion. Perhaps he ought to take more time befcre coming to conclusions.
6) Indi= short for indecision
7) Gawtcha=Got ya
8) and I was wondering....Nelys (the Alchemist) has the name Lys (of the Shadows) right in her name. Does anyone think that implies a connection between them???

Those are the main ones I see, does anyone see anything differently or see any other meanings in other names?

Babs

gh=f!!!

I noticed the 'Indi' and 'Gawtcha' ones, but I would never in a million years have thought of 'G. Hobya' as phobia...that's fantastic! It's like the gh=f thing that I would never have worked out on my own in that ghoti/fish puzzle that pops up now and then. Ilbe the Retriever...I'll BE the retriever...yes I am persuaded on that nice bit of wordplay too!

But the Glanconer....he is based on the 'Gean-canogh' or Love Talker of Gaelic lore...it seems it is hard to translate into English, being written variously Garconer/Ganconer/Garcanagh...I don't speak Gaelic, so I don't know if the 'l' sound should be there or not...it is very possible that Brian and Jessica- given their love of wordplay- put it in there to imply that 'one glance and you're hooked' or similar...but I feel a bit too ignorant linguistically to say so! If only there was a Gaelic speaking linguist handy!

Oh, now I feel so pernickerty, but I love your list, I really do! I don't have any good ideas like that I'm afraid, except we have a saying that 'many a mickle makes a muckle'. I don't know if that brings more insight to Mikle a Muckle or not!

Thanks greenbeans

I find their names and the wordplay fascinating. G. Hobya is certainly one of the hardest to get. I don't know how I stumbled on it myself. One of those moods struck me one day to start sounding out their names, probably after I saw some of them had meaning. Most people I talked to about it didn't see it at first,

Really cool about the Gaellic stuff. Thanks for telling me about all that. I love things about word origins and language. One of them you mentioned "Garconer" sounds a lot like the word for "boy" in French with is "garcon" (with an accent under the "c"). Seems to be a connection there as well. Well if there IS a Gaellic speaking linguist here, let us know. LOL

Btw, no need to feel persnickity.LOL I asked you for the info. Although I am very impressed with your knowledge. I am sure you are right though now about your expression "many a mickle makes a muckle" That must be intended. Please tell me that that expression means greenbeans. I am actually about to talk to Mickle in the next few days and knowing what the expression means could well alter my understanding of what he has to tell me.

I am currently doing a reading with them on how to learn to be more carefree as they are. I chose all the faeries I thought could help me most (with the cards spread out and face up). There were 15, would have been 17 but I already asked that question of two more in my last readign with them.

Anyway, I now am just taking the next few days to sit down with each of the 15 one at a time and see what wisdom they have for me on the topic. I have spoken with 3 since I started yesterday....and they were very enlightening so far (as I knew they would be). Mickle is on the list of faeries I want to ask advice of on that in the next few days....so if you can, what does that expression mean???

Thanks so much,

Babs

I am glad you did not think I was being critical, 'cos I just happened to have been reading about the gean-canogh and its various translations. And Garconer/Garcon! *ponders* like a seductive french lad! But then I think everything french is seductive, lol!

As for 'many a mickle makes a muckle' according to Brewer's Phrase and Fable it is a Scottish phrase for 'Little and often fills the purse'- Mickle being little, Muckle being a lot.
In my family though we always used it in a joky type way, like a nonsense saying! I never actually considered what it might mean before. Perhaps Mikle is a Scottish fairy. Or thrifty. Or both! Perhaps he will tell you...

Oh! I just remembered where I saw that scottish word before:

"Dinnae call me a fairy/I'll wark ye muckle tarrie"

That line definately comes from a fairy poem or ballad-it is on the tip of my tongue...I will doubtless remember when away from the computer...

No, of course I did not think you were being critical. And this is all symbolic stuff and what one sees in a names of symbols is very personal. It's not like I expected everyone to see the same things I saw in the names. That's the fascinating part, to hear other people's ideas of what you see in symolism or word play.

So glad you came along too knowing the expression about Mickle's name. Thanks again. Apparently it is not an expression here in Canada. I personally have never heard it before and I'm almost 50. That's what's so cool about being able to talk to people here from all over the world.

I guess it is an expression over there in England, where Brian is from as well. It never occured to me till now that I might be missing things because of being Canadian, some "in" jokes and things.

I've seen that somewhere "Dinnae call me a fairy/I'll wark ye muckle tarrie", for sure in one of Brians' books although I forget which one. Maybe in Faeries. I wonder what "tarrie" means. Like "tarry" to take your time/be slow at something? Well then "muckle" means a lot and "wark" most likely means "work" ....like giving someone a good throrough working over...? Dinnae I am sure means "don't"...

Babs

It is a bit obscure- don't know if everyone in the UK has heard of that saying, but I'll bet Brian has! I was thinking of how it could fit into the carefree topic you are exploring- how can this character, who seems so playful and comical, be named after a 'thrifty' saying?

Then I thought, you could see the 'little', as not monetary, but actions. Less 'little and often fills the purse', more 'small joyful actions fill the soul'. As you said, this is my personal take and I do not expect anyone else to agree with it-I would be just as persuaded that Brian found the phrase funny-sounding and therefore well matched to the funny-looking faery!(I mean that in the best possible way Mik!)

Oh, and I do not think people in the UK have an advantage at all- I for one knew nothing about our mythology before reading Brian's books and getting hooked- as a Canadian you will have a fresh insight. Maybe there are a couple of our daft British phrases/words lurking in there...they don't jump out at me, of course!

"Guid Neighbour!"

It is in Chamber's Popular rhymes of Scotland:

Gin ye ca' me imp or elf,
I rede ye look weel to yourself;
Gin ye ca' me fairy,
I'll work ye muckle tarrie;
Gin guid neibour ye ca' me,
Then guid neibour I will be;
But gin ye ca' me seelie wicht,
I'll be your freend baith day and nicht.

Obviously Scottish fairies do not appreciate the some of the names we give them!

SunChariot and greenbeans-
It took me awhile to get my thoughts in order for this.
HOW COULD I HAVE MISSED THIS!!!!!
I guess on one level I knew Ilbe was a dog faery (ok so Drizzy told me), but it never occurred to me to say their names out phonetically.
I must have gotten an extra dose of faery dust and slept through that class.
As my guys in the background snicker at me....

Don't worry about it Diane,

I am sure a lot of people never noticed it. It's the kind of thing you only see if you're looking for it. I started cause I notices Gawtcha sounded like Got ya....and I wondered if any others sounded like something. And started sounding them out. But it's the kind of thing that isn't evident unless you look for it.

One reason I started looking may be also because in Good Faeries/Bad Faeries Brian says that there are hidden messages everywhere related to them, and some images are reversable, as the Oak Men....just put the idea in my head to try things in new ways. If I had not read that book first it would likely not have occured to me either.

Did you notice that the Oak Men have a different face and mood when you reverse them???? It's so clear to me now, but I never thought to reverse the card until I saw Brian do it on the Faeries CD. It was amazing how he can paint images that tell one story right side up and another upside down....It's one of those things. I never thought of it till I saw Brian do it, and it's so obvious now...

And btw thanks for filling in that missing piece. I didn't know Ilbe was a feary dog.

Babs