Living With Fairies by Amber S.

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Most witches' households have spirits that are welcome into their home. These spirits are beneficial to their owners. House spirits protect the home and prevent evil from entering. They help locate lost items, keep the pets happy and alert the home's owners to any danger. Garden spirits, or fairies watch over the garden. They do a number of things from protecting the plants to driving away harmful insects and tending to the plants. Spirits are easily attracted to your home and garden and if you respect them, they will remain with you for years to come. Here are some ways to attract spirits to your home:

- Witchballs are glass balls that you hang in your windows to protect your home from evil influences. These balls can be colored or contain trinkets such as feathers, sand, glitter, or tinsel. Witchballs will also attract beneficial spirits such as fairies to your home.

- A shrine should be erected to the spirits that protect your home. This can be a small altar or area in your home that is dedicated to the spirits. The shrine is where you will leave your offerings and say your prayers to the spirits. It can be decorated with statues, pictures, plants or whatever you can find. You may want to keep one or two small dishes on  your shrine. One can contain shiny coins and the other is used for gifts and offerings of milk, alcohol, or honeycakes and candies. In ancient Rome and Greece, vases were placed on the shrines for fresh flowers. You can also add a censer for some incense if you like. many shrines incorporate a statue of a spirit or fairy.

- Purifying your living space will make your home more inviting to spirits so be sure to do cleansing rituals at least once each spring.

- House spirits are especially fond of pets and children. Cats seem to attract them more than anything. You can tell you have a spirit in your home when you see your cat romping around the house and playing with invisible things. Cats can see fairies and spirits that we cannot.

- You can invite fairies into your garden by planting certain types of plants. See the Fairy Gardening Page for different types of flowers and herbs that will attract them to your garden and your home.

- Creating special places in your garden will also attract fairies and spirits. You can create simple things such as stone circles, little trails, fairy houses and also ponds, fountains and birdbaths. A sanctuary with a clear pool, small caves and paths are inviting to all types of nature spirits.

- You can also erect a small shrine in your garden for the little people. Use a central theme such a s a statue of an angel, fairy, maiden, or child. Leave offerings of coins, milk, alcohol and sweets for the little people here and be sure to change them periodically. You do not need to leave flowers if the shrine is outside.