Fairy protection is sometimes necessary. If you are a friend of the fay like me, you’ve seen their beauty and wonder. They might have helped your garden grow or give you a healing remedy in your dreams. You’ve seen the good that fairies do for Mother Earth; however, every once in a while you may run into a fairy that’s not so nice. The reasons for their distrust towards us are many-fold, but the main thing is to learn how to protect yourself from trickster fairies.

First, Are There Really “Evil Fairies”?

Well, are there really bad spirits? Bad human beings? When you start working with the fairy realm, you’ll quickly realize not all fairies are friendly to humans. In fact, there are some that kidnap and eat humans according to folklore. While others may not be particularly cannibalistic but have a tendency to play tricks on their human encounters. In addition, there are household fairies that may first be friendly and helpful that turn malevolent or angry for one reason or another. There are even fairies, namely the will o’ the wisp, that are known to lead human beings off a cliff and to their tragic end.

But, to answer the question are there evil fairies, understand the faery realm follows its own rules. So what we find “evil” isn’t one thing or another in the faery realm. Still, there are some who enjoy working and living alongside human kind. Learn more about the types of fairies here. So that you’ll be aware and be able to discern between them.

Fairy Protection: 9 Ways to Protect Your Home & Yourself

Fairy protection dates back thousands of years and consists of many different practices. If you are working with fairies in your magickal practice or trying to attract them to your home or garden, these methods of protection should not scare the benevolent fairies away. These methods of fairy protection should only keep potentially malevolent fairies from your home, as long as your intention is pure.

1. Iron Protection from Malevolent Fairies

It’s been said for centuries that fairies fear iron, hang an iron horseshoe above your front door to ward off evil fairies. This belief could be due to the idea that fairies were originally a small neolithic people who lived in Ireland and were driven out of their homes by the Celts, specifically in the Iron Age (hence the fear of iron – iron weapons). Cast iron in the kitchen protects from trickster fae spoiling or overturning food. Wearing an iron troll cross, like the kind they wear in Sweden, wards off evil elves, trolls and the like. Or hang iron troll crosses around the home and garden. Carrying a nail in your pocket was also said to ward off the fae if you plan on traveling on foot at night.

2. Bells and Chimes

Bells frightened off evil spirits in Medieval Ireland and elsewhere in Europe. Specifically the big, deep-sounding Church bells that would ring to draw the people to Church. Apply this tradition by hanging deep-toned chimes on your front porch, or by using deep sounding bells during magickal ritual. Use bells to clear your space should there be trickster spirits about.

3. Protection from Fairy Raids and Rings

If going out walking at night or during twilight hours, or if you go out on one of the eight holy days, it’s imperative to protect yourself from getting caught up in one of the fairies raides (rides) or fairy rings. Old Irish folklore says that one is to turn their coat inside out to keep from being “pixie-led” away from a safe path. Also, NEVER take food from the fay! If you are caught in a fairy ride or ring, or if you take food from the fay, you could very well find yourself lost in a strange place. When you return, YEARS could have gone by even though it only felt like minutes (according to folklore).

4. Don’t Traipse Into Their Territory

The easiest way to prevent getting caught in a fairy raid or being dragged to the depths of a pond is fairly simple. Stay out of their way. Stay out of their territory. Most people can feel when they’re teetering closely to the Otherworld or a company of fairies. You’ll hear harp or flute music, seemingly far away yet close by. And the world around you will seem to shift. Or feel unstable. There are sometimes known fairy haunts in certain places throughout the world. It’s best to leave these places alone. If you happen to enter their territory unbeknownst to you, tell them you mean no harm and leave promptly.

5. Appeasing the Fay

Leave a pail of fresh milk, butter, or cream outside of your front door on the eight holy days to appease the fay and keep them from wreaking havoc on garden and home. Leaving fairy offerings and libations dates back hundreds of years, and if you have any Celtic ancestors, you probably have ancestors who partook in this tradition. Some people in Europe still do! This is a preventative method of protection from trickster fairies. Make them happy at the back door so they don’t intrude. Fairies are also particularly active in the days leading up to Samhain and during the Twelve Days of Yule.

6. Fairy Protection: The Circle of Light

Another effective yet simple technique of fairy protection consists of using one’s mind and energy. If you are used to using visualization in your meditations, rituals, and spells, this method of fairy protection should be familiar to you. It’s what I like to call the Circle of Light. You can do this visualization exercise any time of the day, any day of the week and as often as you’d like. For me particularly, I do it every night as I’m lying in bed and before I go to sleep to continue to build the circle’s strength around my home.

Circle of Light Visualization Tutorial

Just relax your entire body. Let all thoughts and chatter of your mind fade away until all you picture is a blank screen. Then see your home and property on the screen, see its colors and details. Focus on the image of your home and property, then look into the window at yourself and/or your family members. Then gradually picture a circle of white light engulfing your home, starting from the ground and going up and over, forming a dome of light. See this light as being transparent, but totally impenetrable by negative forces. Picture a branch or rock being thrown at the dome of light and watch it bounce off. Then picture an evil fairy trying to cross the circle of light’s boundary and watch them be pushed away. Repeat this visualization technique every night for at least a week, and then repeat whenever you feel necessary.

7. Ancestral and Deity Protection from Malevolent Fairies

One of the MOST effective forms of protection against trickster fairies (and other spirits in general) is to invite your ancestors and gods into your home. Once your guides and guardians take up residence in your home, they do most of the work of keeping out negative forces like malevolent fairies and the like. In fact, my ancestors are SO good at protection, I have to ask their permission to allow any other spirits inside the home.

8. Warding Your Property

Warding your property is an effective way to shield yourself and your family from pretty much every spirit you don’t want intruding. Except the ones you invite in. This is an effective way to ward off malevolent fairies, as well. I recommend reading our article on warding here. But, essentially, a circle of salt will ward off fairies, railroad spikes in the four corners of your property, as well as certain stones that contain iron like hematite and red jasper. Another tip – if you choose to use a circle of salt, Himalayan pink salt is even more effective than regular. Why? It has the largest amount of iron…which is actually what gives it its pink color.

9. Avoiding Travel On Their Days

It’s well-known through Ireland and other old countries that the fae are more active on certain days, nights and holidays during the year. Some of those days include the high Celtic holy days Imbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain. But if you travel further Northeast in Europe to Norway and Sweden, the elves are quite active during the Winter holidays of Yule and during the 12 days of Christmas. And no, I don’t necessarily mean Santa’s cute, toy-making elves. I’m talking the danger, sometimes malevolent alfar. During these days, it’s best to avoid traveling on roads by yourself during twilight hours and at night. Lest you stumble upon them and be swept away.

Read More About the Fay:

• How to Find a Fairy In Your House
• Fairy Witches: The Ages-Old Connection Between the Fay and Witchcraft