To greet the spirit of a river, open your heart to the flow of energy, and listen intently to the sound of the water. Allow music to rise up within you, and let your song join the sound of the water, linking your energies.
Lakes and Ponds
Naturally formed lakes and ponds are clear gateways to the otherworld, with many having their own ancient folklore attached to them, such as Dozmary Pool in Cornwall, England, which was said to be the home of the Lady of the Lake. There are many tales of faery queens and ladies whose realm is beneath the surface of a great lake, and, as in many of the old stories, there is a magickal truth hidden within. Lakes and ponds of still water are nature’s magick mirrors, full of memory and mystery. If you are able to visit a lake during a full moon, when the moon is reflected in the water, this can be a particularly potent time to experience otherworldly energies.
Wells and Springs
Wells and springs, where the waters of the primal underworld emerge into our own surface realm, are extremely important in Faery Craft. They are sources of purity and healing and are usually under the guardianship of at least one Faery being, sometimes in partnership with an elemental. Both site and being/s should always be treated with the utmost respect; given time and attention, they can become powerful allies.
It would be wise to discover if you have a well or spring within reasonable travelling distance of your home, as this would be an excellent source of water for any magickal work you wish to perform, including consecrations and purifying space. Find your own way of greeting the well and its guardian/s, perhaps including a phrase, song, and a physical gesture of peace and honour such as the triple salute as mentioned in the previous section on trees. Offerings that leave no debris are also appropriate, but nothing should be placed actually in the waters themselves unless there is a justified long-standing tradition of doing so specific to that site. There are many wells and springs that have established connections with ancient Faery lore and myth, but in truth they are all connected and all sacred. All wells are one well, and when your awareness and sense of connection grows, you will start to feel the power that is held by their network of energies and the powerful link to the renewing energies of the underworld.
Hills
The Faery nobility are said to dwell within the hollow hills, and there are many examples throughout the world of high places where the power of the spirit of the land can be felt. Throughout folklore there are tales of people being taken into Faery through entrances in hills, often relating to genuine cases of real disappearances or mysterious deaths. One of the most famous of these hills is Doon Hill in Aberfoyle, Scotland, which is where it is said the Reverend Robert Kirk, author of The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Faeries, was taken into Faery to become a mediator between the worlds. Another famous example of a Faery hill is Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, England, beneath which it is said dwells Gwyn Ap Nudd, the Faery king.
Ancient hill forts also are particularly powerful locations for contact with Faery and the ancestors. Not all places of power have such established folklore associated with them, but they often seem to stand out from the landscape and can easily be spotted. Faery hills radiate a certain charisma that is difficult to explain but is readily felt, in the same way that charismatic people stand out from the crowd. Often sites of ancient power may have hill forts or churches built upon them, as people throughout history have been drawn by their natural magnetism.
To connect with the spirit of a hill, spend time in stillness and contemplation, preferably at the top of the hill or within close proximity. The experience will most likely vary according to each hill’s history and nature, so allow your intuition and allies to guide you.
above: Dozmary Pool, Cornwall
below: St. Torney’s Well, Cornwall
Stone Circles
It is difficult to say whether the ancients used the thousands of stone circles, henges, monoliths, and avenues across the landscape of Britain and Europe as ways of honouring preexisting sacred spaces or intentionally created them as places of power, but what is certain is that they stand today as places between the worlds where the veil is thin and the power of the land can be keenly felt.
When approaching a stone circle or henge, it is appropriate to seek out the gateway, or guardian stones of the circle, and greet them before entering. It will normally be obvious which these are, but if it is not, walk around the outside of the circle in a clockwise direction and see if you feel drawn to enter in a particular place, then greet the two stones that create that entrance. To sit with your back against an ancient stone under a starlit sky is to touch the magick of the Old Ones.
above: Chalice Well
below: Glastonbury Tor (both in Glastonbury)
Chalk Figures and White Horses
In the chalk downs of Southern England there are a large number of chalk figures carved into the landscape. These are mostly of white horses, which were sacred to the ancient Celts and Britons as symbols of sovereignty and were associated with a number of gods and goddesses as well as with Faery. There are also giants such as the Cerne Abbas giant in Somerset, which is said to mark the final resting place of a real giant and is still to this day
