Kirstin has complied here a short selection of some of the many histories of and musings upon the subject of mermaids or merfolk: a vast topic that has remained shrouded in mystery and filled with many legends and sightings.

Mermaids, or more properly, merfolk, as there are male mer-people as well, have long haunted the tales of sailors and coastal towns with their exotic allure, captivating beauty and the deep mystery that accompanies their dwelling within one of humankind's last unknowable frontiers: the ocean depths. While humans float above, bobbing on the surface in their boats and ships, or dive in the shallows with their masks and goggles, the merfolk inhabit the unknown regions, the shoals and watery caverns beyond our view: the depths beneath our human reach.

Tales of mermaids are almost universal: many cultures make mention of such half-human and half-fish creatures, who, like the well-known Sirens of mythology, were though to lure sailors to their deaths by singing out at sea, or to drown men while taking them to their ocean kingdoms, forgetting that they could not breathe underwater. Many fairytales also make mention of them, the most famous being Hans Christian Anderson's "The Little Mermaid", which was also made into a popular Disney film.

Symbolically, mermaids represent a state of twilight between the human and animal worlds. Somewhere between both, they symbolize the mysterious connections between humanity and the rest of the earth's animals. Simultaneously existing above and below the water, they can penetrate the watery depths of our dreams and bring its knowledge to wakeful daylight. Their allure and mystery is captivating: they are at once familiar and humanistic while strange and otherworldly. When we stand at the ocean's edge with the waves lapping at our bared toes, or peer over the edge of our boat as it floats and bobs, are they in there looking out at us? As our divers and probes move deeper into the seas, wondering its secrets, do they hide in the depths, looking back out at us with a curiosity of their own?

Fairy Lore
Dragon Lore
Australian Animals & Environment
Kirstin's Inspirations
Kirstin's Business Ethos
Environmental Care Practices
Licensing Kirstin's Art
Image Usage Terms
Contact Information
More Links
Website Credits