Faries Herb & Garden

* Bluebells *
Said to attract faeries to dance in your garden. On Beltane eve, make an ankle bracelet of "Bluebells" and "jingle" bells to attract helpful fae folk to you.

* Clover *
A sacred faery plant, clovers of all kinds will attract them. Lay seven grains of wheat on a four-leafed clover to see the Faery.

* Elderberry *
Used to make Faery wine, these berries can be burned on a fire to invite the Good Folk to a gathering. Make a homemade brew of Elderberry Wine and you are sure to have some thirsty visitors. It is said that if a human drinks the wine, she will be able to see the Faery. If a human should drink Elderberry wine from the same goblet as a Faery being, he will be able to see them forever after.

* Elecampagne *
Also known as Elfswort. This root can be scattered around the home to attract the Sidhe. It can be added to any Magic or spell to invoke Faery blessing.

* Foxglove *
The source of the modern heart drug Digitalis, Foxglove can have seriously dangerous results if taken internally. DO NOT INGEST!! Instead, plant Foxglove near your front door to invite the Faery in. Put a dried sprig of Foxglove in a talisman to keep you surrounded in Faery light.

* Heather *
Heather is said to ignite faery passions and open portals between their world and our own. Make an offering of Heather on "Beltane" eve to attract good fae to your garden or house.

* Lilac *
The sweet scent is said to draw Fae spirits to your garden. Lilac and primroses for midsummer's eve, will please the Fae.

* Mistletoe *
The most sacred herb of the Druids. Mistletoe is a Magical activator. In Faery spells, use a dash of Mistletoe taken on Summer Solstice to empower your workings with Faery Magic.

* Milkweed *
Both Monarch butterflies and fairies like milkweed. If Milkweed is planted in a Witches garden, the fey will always be in the area. The silky tassels of the Milkweed pods can be added to a dream pillow to not only make it softer but also to make you dream of fairies. In the Autumn when the pods are bursting and the fluffy seeds are flying across the fields, a wish is granted for each seed that can be caught and then released again.

* Peony *
Peony seeds were once used to protect children from faeries. A garland of the seeds were placed around the child's neck to keep them safe from kidnapping. In this day and age, with faery contact so drastically diminished, I doubt that anyone would want to don this faery banishing herb unless they were living smack dab in the middle of a circle of crazed Fae!!

* Poppies *
Said to invoke the faery into your dreams Make a dream pillow of fresh poppies to entice the fae to your dreams.

* Primrose *
When planted in a garden or hung dried on the front door, primroses will attract the company of Faeries. If you have them growing under your care, do not let them die! The Faery will be deeply offended by your carelessness. Primroses are great in container gardens. Tie a pink ribbon around your container of Primroses while chanting; "Sacred roses, hear my cry
for your protection, this I tie"

* Roses *
Roses attract the Faery to a garden. Their sweet scent will lure elemental spirits to take up residence close by. Roses can be used in Faery love spells. When performing the spell, sprinkle rose petals under your feet and dance softly upon them while asking the Faery for their blessing on your Magic. Roses are loved by the fey so you can plant Roses in your garden to attract fairies. Wild Roses are best for this purpose and you need to say the following spell as you plant your baby Rose bush:
"I ask a fairy from the wild,
To come and tend this wee rose-child.
A babe of air she thrives today,
Root her soul in the Goddesses' good clay.
Fairies make this twig your bower,
By your magic shall time see her flower!"

* Thyme *
Wearing thyme will increase your ability to see the Sidhe. Sprinkle it at the base of your door, and on window sills to invite the Faery to enter your home. (From: witchwoman <[email protected]>)

Let's get one thing straight here, fairies are not cute. Shakespeare made them seem cute, and Disney finished off the job. The Fey are capricious, mischievous, arrogant, menacing, and sometimes downright evil and dangerous to humans. The Fey include elves, fairies, gnomes, trolls, goblins, and a host of other supernatural beings who are somewhere 'between men and angels'. Almost all of these beings have a very close connection to nature.

So what plants do you plant in a Garden for the Fey?

Rosemary - Sicilians thought that this was a favorite plant of the fairies, and that young fairies would take the form of snakes and lie amongst the branches, and the baby fairies would sleep in the flowers.

Ragwort - Also known as St. John's Wort, this plant has a strong connection with the fey. In Ireland, it's called Fairy's horse, since supposedly fairies would ride through the air on it. Leprechauns are supposed to have buried their treasure underneath the roots of this plant. And on the Isle of Man, there is the belief that if you stepped upon a ragwort plant on St. John's eve after sunset, a fairy horse would spring up out of the earth and carry you off until sunrise, at which time it would leave you wherever you happened to be.

Elder - Almost all trees are home to some sort of Elven kind, including elm, oak, willow, yew, fir, holly, etc. However, elder trees have the highest elf population. The Elder Mother who dwells within the tree is very protective of her domain, and it is taboo to cut part of the tree without asking her permission first. Stories tell of the Elder Mother tormenting children who were in cradles of elderwood (which had not been asked for) by pulling them by the legs. The chant for asking permission is:
Old Woman, Old Woman,
Give me some of your wood
And when I am dead
I'll give you some of mine
And if you stand under an elder tree at midnight on Midsummer eve in Denmark, you will see Toly, the King of the Elves, go by.

Oak - In Germany, this is the fairies' favorite dwelling place, and they are especially fond of dancing around it

Barley - A common grain, but one of the main foods of the fairy. Fairies would often borrow oatmeal from storehouses, and returned a double measure of barley as repayment.

Silverweed - Also known as silver cinquefoil, the roots of this plant were another of the fairies' favorite foods, which they called brisgein. However, it likes to grow in marshy areas, so cultivating it might be a problem.

Heather - This is another of the fairies' favorite foods.

Wild Thyme - Another herb that was thought to be home to fairies, since they liked the aromatic flowers, and spend their leisure time among them. If you picked the flowers from a patch of wild thyme where the little folk did live, and placed them on your eyes, you would be able to see the fey.

Cowslip - This flower is also known as Fairy Cups in Lincolnshire, and was often a hiding place for frightened fairies. At dawn, as the light shines on the dewdrops, the fairies "hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear."

Ferns - This plant was guarded by Oberon on Midsummer night, since this is when the fern would flower--a beautiful sapphire blue--and Oberon wanted to prevent mortals from obtaining the fern seed. If you managed to collect it despite him, you would be under the protection of spirits, and while you carried the seed it would render you invisible.

Clover - Finding a four-leafed clover grants you a wish, and gives you the power to see the fairies dancing in their fairy rings. This is also the main ingredient of fairy ointment, which gives you the power to penetrate the fairies' glamour and see them as they truly are. Be careful, though: if you unknowingly carry a four-leafed clover (in a bundle of grass) the fairies have the power to enchant you.

Foxglove - The flowers serve as petticoats for the fairies and in Ireland, they serve as fairies' gloves. Also, flowers are used as thimbles when fairies mend their clothing.

Furze Bushes - The cobwebs collected on its branches are used to make fairies' mantles.

Stichwort - In Devonshire, people do not pick this for fear they be "pixy led." Held in special honor by fairies.

Strawberries - In Bavaria, fairies are very fond of strawberries and peasants will tie a basket of them between cows' horns to assure an abundance of milk.

Rose - In Germany and Scandinavia, this plant is under special protection of dwarfs and elves, both who are ruled by King Laurin, Lord of the Rose Garden.

Cabbage stalks - Also serve as transportation for fairies, who ride these like horses.

Cuscuta Epithymum - In Jersey, known as "Fairies' Hair."

Peziza Coccinea - Used for fairies' hats.

Elecampane - In Denmark, this is known as 'Elf-Dock'.

Toadstools - These are thought to be 'Stylized Pixy Stools' and in the north of Wales are called 'Fairy Tables'.

Pyrus Japonica - Used as kindling for fairy fires.

Tulips - The flowers are used as cradles for fairy children. A folktale from Devon tells of a woman who grew many tulips in her garden because she once went out at night and saw the babes sleeping in them. After she died, the man who moved into her cottage dug up all the tulips because he thought they were useless, and instead planted vegetables and parsley. This so enraged the fairies that every night they would dance on the vegetables and tear their roots out of the ground and shred the parsley leaves. Only on the woman's grave were the tulips still big and beautiful and fragrant. In time, though, the grave became forgotten, the tulips were trampled, and the fairies withdrew far away. Since then, tulips have lost their size and splendor.

Wood Anemone - Shelters fairies in wet weather.

Wood Sorrel - From Wales, its white flowers are known as "fairy bells" and are used to summon fairies to their reveries.

Mallow - The fruit of this plant is called "Fairy Cheeses" in the North of England.

Nightwort - Evil elves prepare poison in this plant. It is also one of the sacred plants of the Dutch Alven, along with elf-leaf, which they watered and strengthened against the coming day. The Alven would sicken or kill people or cattle that touched the plants.

Globe Flower - Also called the "Troll Flower", trolls are supposed to unlock the flower at night and drop venom in the cup to poison dairymaids and herdsmen.

Hawthorn - In Brittany and Ireland, also called "Fairy Thorn", this tree is the trysting place of fairies. To pick a branch or leaf from a hawthorn is to court the displeasure of the fairies.

Wormwood - This is 'Dian's Bud' which Oberon used to remove the enchantment from Titania. Wormwood is also protection against the Rusalky of Russia, who will tickle you to death if they find you in the woods without some of this in your pockets.

Flax - The flowers are not only protection against sorcery, but also are beloved of Queen Hulda, who leads a procession through the valley between Kroppbuhl and Unterlassen while the flax is blooming.

Fairy-flax - is used by the fairies to weave all their linen. Poludnitsa, the Noon Woman, interrogates women she finds in the flax fields at noon, to make sure they know how to cultivate and spin flax. If they answer incorrectly, she kills them.

To prepare a sleeping place for Queen Titania, you should plant these flowers:
'Where oxlips and the nodding violet grows,
Quite over-canopied with lush woodbine,
With sweet musk-roses and with eglantine.
There sleeps Titania sometime of the night
Lull'd in these flowers with dances and delight.'

Any fruit out of season or remaining after the harvest is the property of the fairies. In the West of England, strays are left to assure fairy goodwill. Fairies, like witches, don't like yellow flowers and will go out of their way to avoid them. (From: Gothic Gardening is copyright (c) 1995-1999 by Alice Day (mAlice). All Rights Reserved.--unless otherwise attributed--)

There are many stories of faery wrecking havoc on a home or enchanting humans, stealing babies etc. Faerie folk live by their own set of rules and often have a double standard when it comes to humans. While many faerie are messy, prone to theft, drunkenness or many other bad habits they detest them in humans.

Some house fairy will cause mischief should they come into your home and you are not living according to their standards. What's a person to do?

If a fairy you invited in suddenly turns on you or one decided to take up residence invited or not here are a few things you can try to out them.

Bells- Many of the wee folk don't like bells. Hang them on your doors so they jingle when opened. Walk through your home shaking them.

If you don't have bells take a pot and spoon and walk through your home banging loudly. Most fae will gladly leave such a loud and annoying environment.

Cats- these furry friends are excellent deterrents. With their keen eyesight and sense of smell most fairy can't hide from them. Most fairy won't stay in a home with a cat.

Once you've outted the pesky fae place the metal iron around doorways and windows. Nails are good for this. Hang an iron horse shoe above the door. (from: Lady Domnu)