Exercise: Building a Faery Shrine
As you have already read, there are no dictatorial rules for your shrine. Indeed, the more personal it is to you, the better. However, here are some ideas to get you started…
The first consideration must be location. Will yours be an outdoor or an indoor shrine, or will you have both? Outdoor shrines are preferable as good focal points for offerings, and indoor shrines are useful places to keep sacred objects that wouldn’t last outdoors, as well as a focus for meditation. You should choose somewhere that will be undisturbed, easy to keep clean, and as peaceful as possible.
Gather the items that you wish to form the foundation of your shrine, bearing in mind that natural materials are preferable. If you have been working your way through all the exercises and activities in the book so far, you should have a number of objects with which to build your shrine. It is a good idea to have a single focal point, such as a painting or statue, and then build around that, adding objects in such a way that are aesthetic and meaningful. Before you begin, be sure that the area is clean and free from clutter. You will also need a chalice or bowl of water (from a natural source such as a spring, lake, river, or the sea, if possible) and some incense. You may use these initially to cleanse the energy of the space (see next chapter for more details if you are uncertain), and you will also need them at the end.
The placing of each object should be done with focus, positive intent, and significance. To use the objects from your previous activities and exercises as an example (this works best for an indoor shrine; use your judgement as to what items will withstand being left outdoors), you may wish to use your creative piece based around the symbol of your choice as a central focus. To the north of this, you may wish to place your clay object that you made to represent your experiences of the element of earth, with your painting of water to the west, your poem or song for air written neatly and placed in the east, and a candle in the south. Choose which direction best suits your Faery ally, and place the object that you found and decorated for them in an appropriate place. This gives you a good starting point, and shrines do tend to grow and change over time—for example, an indoor shrine may be an excellent place to keep your Faery tools, which will be covered in the next chapter, Magick.
Once you are happy with the way that your shrine looks, light your candle and call your Faery ally to you to help with the dedication. With incense burning, take your water and, using your fingers, sprinkle it lightly three times over your shrine. Words or a song of dedication or even a dance may come to you as you do this. Ask your ally for inspiration. It may be as simple or as elaborate as you wish, but it should be heartfelt, dedicating your shrine to your Faery Craft. If at this stage you feel drawn to make any promises connected to your ally and your work with Faery, be sure that you will be able to keep them. If your shrine is outdoors, this is a good time to make a hearty offering of wine or mead!
Once you have completed this work, sit quietly in contemplation with your shrine for some time before blowing out your candle and thanking your allies.
Offerings
One of the most practical and effective ways of strengthening or building your connection with the Faery realm is through offerings. This is an area that seems to prompt far more questions than it does helpful answers, so I will address this issue in detail here. Let’s start with the fundamentals.
An offering is a gift of energy from you to the beings you wish to build a relationship with. It is therefore important to consider what you can give that they will appreciate and respect. It is also extremely important to consider the impact of your offering upon the physical environment, as the spirits of that place will not work with you if you do not show respect for the area over which they are guardians. For example, if you are leaving a plate of food for them, remember to be certain that any creature that comes along will not be harmed by eating any of that food. Faery beings will sometimes take the form of physical creatures, “borrowing” their bodies or sending them as representatives, and of course it is of utmost importance to live with awareness and respect for all living things when working with Faery. Continuing with this example, once the food has been out for one night, then the offering is complete. If it has been accepted it will either have been consumed by creatures or the energy inherent in the food will have been taken out by the Faery beings. Any food that remains the next day must be either buried, burnt, or disposed of appropriately and not left to rot on the shrine or site. Any remains or debris left on a shrine or sacred site detracts from the purity of the energy, gives disrespectful signals to the spirits of the place, and can only attract negativity.
For offerings to be most effective, it is helpful to really put some thought into them. Think about what it is that you contribute creatively to the world, what your strengths are, and how you can incorporate that into your offerings. For example, if you enjoy baking, then you could make cakes or bread with appropriate herbs (remembering, of course, to burn or bury them after one day/night). A writer may wish to write and recite a poem, an artist may paint or draw something in their honour,
