“I want to work with the Fae, but I’m not sure what to offer them!” We hear this all of the time, and it’s easy to see why picking out offerings for the Fae might be tricky. The fae are often mysterious beings — it’s not always easy to pin down what makes them happy because there are so many different kinds of fae, all with unique tastes and interests, and many of them avoid contact with humans due to their mistreatment in the past. This has left some witches scratching their heads over what to leave out for their faery friends, and no one wants to offer up something that might offend them!
Thankfully, there are a ton of offerings (both physical and energetic!) that are almost universally loved by the beneficial Fair Folk.
Fresh Food & Drink
The Fae love a good party...and what party would be complete without a feast? The next time you pour a glass of wine (or your drink of choice), pour a small cup for the Fae and offer it to them first. Alternatively, you can pour the wine directly onto the ground as an offering. The same goes for food — you can leave out a dish for the Fae, who will consume its essence and leave behind the physical remains, which can then be buried as a way to give it back to the Earth. On an everyday basis, you can give them a portion of whatever you make for yourself. For instance, if you make a sandwich you could offer the Fae the first slice of bread out of the bag. If you bake a pie, offer the first slice to the Fae. Our resident fae witch likes to offer the faeries a small bowl of milk when they make cereal in the mornings, so really anything goes. Here are some more suggestions on fae-approved food:
Bread
Cakes
Honey
Wine
Milk (or cream...or butter...basically, if it’s dairy they’re gonna love it)
Wine and Spirits
Mushrooms
Berries (of all kinds!)
Fresh Fruit
Art & Music
Offerings don’t have to be physical. Faeries love musical offerings, especially if it’s live! As a gift to the Fae, offer a song you’ve made specifically for the Fae. You don’t need to sing on-key or harmonize…the Fae will still have a great time! They also like it when you play instruments for them; the Fae we work with are obsessed with bells, but you could try out instruments such as singing bowls or recorders to see what sound your Fae gravitate towards. That’s a musical recipe for magick right there 🎶
The Fae enjoy all forms of art, so if musical offerings aren’t up your alley, try painting them a picture instead. Doodles work, too. Use your imagination, be creative, and draw whatever comes to your mind when you think of the Faery Realm. Offer this gift to them on your dedicated altar as a sort of backdrop for your magickal workings with the Fae. This also applies to handmade crafts, particularly ones that involve wildcrafting or natural materials. Really, the Fae just like it when we spend time crafting in general. They thrive on that creative energy, so don’t be afraid to offer them gifts that you’ve made out of construction paper and glitter - trust us, they will love it.
Charms & Trinkets
Do you have any old jewelry that you don’t wear? Gift it to the Fae! As long as it isn’t straight-up black iron, the Fae will generally enjoy it. A habit our resident fae witch recently got into recently was gifting the Fae some of the beads and charms when they make jewelry, for instance. If certain objects in your home are repeatedly going missing, take notice of what the items are and try offering something similar or an extra to the Fae. Sometimes it really is the small, seemingly mundane things (to us) that they’re attracted to.
Natural Items & Herbs
Get wild with your offerings. Gift the Fae natural items that you’ve found on your adventures, so long as you were respectful when gathering them. Going to the beach? Bring back a few feathers and shells for the Fae. Take a few fallen sticks and craft a small chair for your faery garden, or create a potion made out of wild berries and offer it to the Fae in a small outdoor ritual. We love to offer them the first clippings from our gardens when we harvest, or any flowers that have fallen off the plants overnight. They also seem to enjoy herbal offerings, such as the leftover herbs from tea or dry herbs sprinkled around their altar. Here are a few of the herbs (and trees) that we've had the most luck with when it comes to Faery magick:
Roses
Bluebells
Oak
Cowslip
Foxglove
Lavender
Mint
Clover
Thyme
Mugwort
Willow
Elder
Birch
Follow Your Intuiton
As always, and we cannot stress this enough, use your intuition and gift the Fae whatever you feel they’d like. All of them are so different and you really can’t anticipate their every desire, so just roll with it. You can offer them physical gifts or energetic; make them little cakes or just spend time meditating on their messages. If you gift them something and you’re not sure if they like it, we would suggest taking time to visit your home in the faery realm and see if they’ve left any messages for you. The more offerings that you leave and visits that you make to the Faery Realm, the more feedback you'll receive and the more natural the gift-giving process will feel. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to attract the Fae into your magickal workings, be sure to check out our other blog posts on Faery Magick Crystals and 5 Plants To Please The Fae.
