Things to Research Before Working with the Fae

Research is the most important thing to do before heading into Faery work and witchcraft. You want to have a lot of in depth and versatile knowledge covering many areas of the topic so you’ll be able to understand and interact with the Fair Folk! If you don’t want to work with the Fair Folk you can use this list to help yourself understand them and take the proper measure if you ever stumble upon them. I know the list could go on forever but I’m compiling the topics I find build a good foundation of understanding. I have compiled this list to give those interested guidance and a push in the right direction, it is best you do your own research before asking other’s personal knowledge and opinions!!

The Basics

*Bonus if you learn Celtic Culture

Getting into Working with Them

Some Good Books :) 

The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries, by W. Y. Evans Wentz  

Encyclopedia of Spirits by Judika Illes 

Enchantment of the Faerie Realm by Ted Andrews 

Faery Craft by Morgan Daimler 

Celtic Mythology: Tales of Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes by Phillip Freeman

**if you have more topics, books or anything else feel free to add some!

Appropriate Offerings for the Fae

Because I just told you to offer things to the fae, I figured I would write up a little list of things that are good offerings.  One thing to note, however, is that whatever you offer them you cannot take back.  Unlike with (some) gods, it’s not a good idea to eat things after you’ve offered them to the fae, and a trinket once theirs can be traded for, but you should never just take it back.  Okay, with that, I give you good offerings, grouped into categories.

FOOD AND DRINK

1. Alcohol is usually good - the sweeter the better, usually, though they also seem to like all kinds of beer.

2. Juice is also good, especially if it’s something a bit exotic.

3. Clean, cool water is good in a pinch, especially if it’s from a well, or filtered - they don’t like water with too much fluoride or chlorine in it, which rules out tap water in a lot of areas.

4. Any kind of cake or pastry is good.  Also bread.  Really just baked goods in general.  And sweeter is usually better here, too.

5. Meat.  Yes, some fae like meat.  Particularly the Wild Hunt types.  Figures, right?

6. Fresh fruit. Pretty much anything is good, so long as it’s not too bruised/shriveled, etc.

7. Honey.  Any kind of honey is good, by itself or drizzled on a baked good, like a piece of bread with butter.

8. Dairy products.  They love milk, cream, buttermilk, buttered bread, you name it.  Probably yogurt too, but I’ve never tried that.

TRINKETS:

1. Old jewelry.  Have an earring missing it’s pair?  Excellent gift for the fae.  Jewelry you used to love but don’t wear anymore? A broken silver chain?  All good.  And here most people will tell you it’s only okay if it’s silver or gold.  And I’m here to tell you that most fae don’t seem to mind a little stainless steel, and nickel and copper were never a problem.  The problem is cold black iron, like the stuff they make railings out of.  Eeesh.

2. Beads.  Plastic, glass, resin - really anything goes.  Strung or single, they seem to love beads.

3. Bits of broken glass or pottery.  Especially if it’s colored and you put it in a jar.  Pretty and interesting and they love it.

4. Bits of string.  Especially ribbon, and especially brightly colored, but twine is also acceptable, as is embroidery floss, or even hair ties.

5. Sequins and confetti.  These are also really quite wonderful when collected in a jar.  Fun shiny things are pretty excellent fae offerings.

6. Origami or other papercrafts.  It might just be the brightly colored and floral papers, but I find that fae like 3D papercrafts.  Just be careful - these cannot be left outside in the weather.

7. Hanging decorations.  I have a mini-mobile with a central prism that casts rainbows that they seem to like.  Things like that, especially with prisms, can be good offerings to the fae.

NATURAL ITEMS:

1. Pretty stones.  Polished or not, just make sure that you didn’t actually take these from the fae in the first place - if you collected it out of a stream or forest, did you leave an offering in return?  Anything you bought is probably fine.

2. Flowers and leaves.  I like to give bits of plants that I’ve grown and tended, because otherwise you usually get into that “did you leave something in return when you collected it?” problem.  Plants you grow you are constantly giving offerings to: care, weeding, watering, etc.  Sometimes I make patterns with leaves and seeds and flowers, similar to a mandala.

3. Bones.  Most fae like bones, whether they are bones from your dinner, or bones you bought, or bones you found - though again, if you find something, give an offering in return.

HOMES:

1. Mini decorative birdhouses.  If you want fae (especially smaller fae like brownies and garden sprites) to move in nearby, try offering them a decorated mini birdhouse.  Just be sure the birds know it’s not for them!

2. Doors.  A lot of people sell little decorated fairy doors - these can be good, too, as long as you keep your Neighbors happy so that they watch the door for you.  It’s likely to become a portal to the fae realms, and not everything on the other side is friendly!

3. Windchimes.  Not exactly a home per se, but a wind chime can function as a sort of little outdoor altar to the fae.  Find one with a pleasing noise.  And again, they don’t seem to mind a little stainless steel, but make sure it isn’t made of cold black iron!

4. Gardens.  Some fae will come and inhabit a garden, or even the pots of a container garden, so make sure your garden is welcoming, if you have one!  They seem to especially like butterfly attractants and medicinal flowers, but for some of them any plant will do!

OTHER:

You can also offer the fae things like: a stream clean-up, reiki, visiting a wild place, or a memory.  It is really up to you and them.  This list is meant to be helpful, not exhaustive, and I recommend finding a way to get messages back from your local fae so that you can learn their particular preferences.

Faeries

How to tell if a faerie is near by:

Offerings for the fae:

Some Favorite Faerie Rocks:

Plants that attract faeries:

Sources: earthenergyhealing.com, mysticfamiliar.com, and earthwitchery.com. 

==Moonlight Mystics==