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If a young maid will look for the first harebells of spring, which are called "fairy thimbles" and are witch's flowers, and then count them up three times as the sun is rising or the dew is falling, she can summon the fairies. She, on leaving must address them thus:
'Fairies, i have sought your bower; I now must retire, and bless your power.'
She must curtsey three times to the fairies, and the magic of the glade will go with her. |
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If a maid that is deep in love will go with her suitor to a lonely place in the meadows or the woods, or to the moors, and place within her own and her lover's shoe a single oakleaf; and if they both will wait there and contemplate their love, and speak it to one another as evening falls and the stars come out, they will, if their patience is good, behold the fairy host as they come to gambol and sport in the wilds.
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On Midsummer's Eve or Midsummer's Night, or upon any beautiful night of the year, especially when the moon is full, you may offer a gift to the fairies. This, if it is done with a sincere heart, is a sure way to win their confidence and favour. Bake a little oaten cake, or put honey and wine into a pot, or, better still, offer the fairies a song, or a dance, or a verse that you have made up, or that you find pleasing. Say aloud before you begin the work: 'This is for the fairies'; and say it again when the gift is given, which should be done out of doors, in a sequestered place, wild and lonely. Then, very soon, most likely the next day, you will find that the fairies give something back to you; keep your eyes sharp for their gift, but let not your giving be done because you think that such a gift will be given in return, neither expect anything; keep a look~out for it, all the same. It is certain that very soon you will find some curious but lovely object from nature, or you may find some silver money. Whatever you find, keep it forever, because that is a sacred gift, and will bring you good luck and happiness. Most often the item you find will be a toadstone~~a round pebble with mysterious and beautiful mottlings and marks, seeming to glow with many delicate hues. Keep this by you, and sleep with it under your pillow; according to wiselore, these stones are the mystic jewel that is to be found in the head of the toad. She (or he) who holds such a stone will be lucky in love, wise in divination, and blessed in life. |
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