House Faeries

My house has faeries. At least I have a very strong suspicion that it does. We first moved in here on February 1st of last year, and the signs of the presence of a beneficial sprite were somewhat in doubt at first. Or perhaps it was just that we had a boggart in the house, considering that we stuck our garage door remotes in the garage on the first night here, and wound up having to smash in a window to open the garage again. In any case, over the course of the year we've owned our house thus far, we've treated it with reverence and loving care in maintaining it and updating things that should have been done a long time ago. And slowly, we could feel the energy of the house shifting from distrustful to appreciative, as the house itself and the spirits who protected and cared for it realized that we intended to love and care for it as well. Mushroom rings appeared in our yard. Our cat would meow at corners of the room that were empty. And the Hawthorne tree in the back yard learned to appreciate the offerings I would bury among its roots, and gave us full displays of blossom and cardinals.

Unfortunately, the previous two owners who had the house before us seem to have mostly neglected it, so we likely have years of mistrust among the fey to make up for in our own time here. But we're doing the best we can. Also unfortunate is the fact that I collect and love wrought iron, since "iron" is one of the substances the fey supposedly hate.* Some types of house fey are said to dislike the presence of a cat in the house too. I hope they can forgive me my faux pas, and see that they are indeed more than welcome here, but the iron and the cat aren't going anywhere either.

*research may suggest however that "iron" more referred to iron blades, rather than any and all iron. After all...there is a story of a faerie borrowing a cast iron pot from a farmer's wife to use, and there are faerie blacksmiths who forge iron!

It makes me wonder about the legends and lore of house faeries. What types are there, and how can we attract them or keep them in good spirits? I first started thinking about this question when we moved into the house, and it wasn't long after I started this blog that I realized it would make an enjoyable subject for a post or a series of posts. Just the most basic research, however, and I realized that it was far too huge a topic to write about in one single post or one single set of posts. Rather, I am starting to accept that the topic of house faerie lore is one that we will be returning to time and time again on this blog as new stories and legends are uncovered, new types of house fey in different lands are shared. But as a very, very inadequate primer, I thought I would list a few of the better known types of house faeries, and some tidbits of their habits and preferences.

I'll be doing this over the next few days. And please...if you know any faerie house lore, do share it here or in the Facebook group!

(above photo is not my own, but isn't it a lovely faerie ring?)