FEY RINGS

A great deal of folklore surrounds fairy rings. In France, they are known as "sorcerers’ rings," and in German tradition, fairy rings were thought to mark the site of witches dancing, while the Dutch superstition claims that the circles show where the devil set his milk churn. In Tyrol, folklore attributed fairy rings to the fiery tales of flying dragons. Once a dragon had created such a circle, nothing but toadstools could grow there for seven years. European superstitions routinely warned against entering a fairy ring. French tradition reported that fairy rings were guarded by giant bug-eyed toads that cursed those who violated the circles. In other parts of Europe, entering a fairy ring would result in the loss of any eye.
Scandinavian and Celtic traditions claimed that fairy rings are the result of elves or fairies dancing. Such ideas dated to at least the medieval period. A Scottish resident believes that fairies sit on the mushrooms and use them as dinner tables. A Welsh woman claimed that fairies used the mushrooms as parasols and umbrellas.
An Irish legend tells how a farmer built a barn on a fairy ring despite the protests of his neighbors. He is struck senseless one night, and a local "fairy doctor" has to break the curse. The farmer said he dreamed that he must destroy the barn. Even collecting dew from the grass or flowers of a fairy ring can bring bad luck. Destroying a fair ring is unlucky and is fruitless. Superstition says it will just grow back.
Numerous legends focus on mortals entering a fairy ring and the consequences. One superstition is that anyone who steps into an empty fairy ring will die at a young age. Most often, someone who violates a fairy perimeter becomes invisible to mortals outside and may find it impossible to leave the circle. Often, the fairies force the mortal to dance to the point of exhaustion, death, or madness. Some legends say that if mountain sheep eat the grass of a fairy ring, they will flourish and that crops sown from such a place will prove more bountiful that those from normal land. Another folk belief claims that a house built on a fair circle will bring prosperity to its inhabitants.
Celtic legends often tell that the only safe way to investigate a fairy ring is to run around it nine times. This affords the ability to hear the fairies dancing and frolicking underground. According to a 20th century tradition of Northumberland, this must be done under a full moon, and the runner must travel in the direction of the sun. To circle the ring a tenth time is foolhardy and dangerous. Another superstition says that wearing a hat backwards can confuse the fairies and prevent them from pulling the wearer into their ring.
Superstition calls fairy circles sacred and warns against violating them lest an "interloper" (such as a farm with a plow) anger the fairies and be cursed. A tale was told about a farmer who tied a rope around himself and enlisted four men to pull him from the circle as he went in to save his daughter who had disappeared inside a circle. The rescue could not take place until a year and a day had passed from the point where the daughter entered the ring.

William Shakespeare, an English poet and playwright, and regarded as the world’s greatest writer in the English language, was familiar with fairy rings. Here’s what he has written:

If you see a fairy ring
In a field of grass,
Very lightly step around,
Tiptoe as you pass;
Last night fairies frolicked there,
And they're sleeping somewhere near.
If you see a tiny fay
Lying fast asleep,
Shut your eyes and run away,
Do not stay or peep;
And be sure you never tell,
Or you'll break a fairy spell.
The Literature of Mushroom Rings

Fairy rings have appeared in literature for many centuries and continue today. Do a simple search on Amazon.com for "Fairy Ring" and you'll be given a list of more than 160 modern offerings. But the rings have appeared in older literature and fairy tales as well. One of the most notable, Shakespeare mentions the ring in A Midsummer Night's Dream.
One of the connections for Fairy rings today associates them specifically with the Mid-summer festival sabbat. There's little in fairy legend to make this specific connection, other than it being a common growing season for mushroom. However, that hasn't stopped many pagan traditions, especially Fairy traditions utilizing these rings as part of their holiday.
The Witch's Almanac by Elizabeth Pepper, suggests practitioners seek out a mushroom ring. For communion with the energy left behind. The thought there being, the magikal energy is still fresh from the dancing and celebrations during the previous nights ritual. Like most plants, mushrooms can be utilized in various ways. From eating on a salad, to simmering into a tea. But it's very important to know which mushrooms are safe and which ones are poisonous. You really need to know what you're doing with these mushrooms before using them in food, creams or teas. Not all mushroom rings contain non-poisonous varieties. If you decide to pick a mushroom; make sure you know what it is and if it's safe for using in potions, salves and alike.