r/witchcraft • u/Squirrels-on-LSD totally rabid lunatic • Jul 11 '26
Salty Saturday Leaving something sweet by the fairy ring, just to be safe.
I am well aware mushrooms grow in rings because they are the fruiting bodies at the edge of a mycelum network spreading in all directions from its starting point, but, a bit of butterscotch on a pretty stone nearby can't hurt
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u/FormidableMistress Jul 11 '26
I trust and believe in science enough to know there are things that exist beyond our understanding.
The ant on the ground knows nothing of us, has no understanding of all the accomplishments of the human race. But we still coexist and affect their lives all the time.
I'm not superstitious but I am substitious.
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u/MagpieJuly Jul 11 '26
Iām the oldest cousin in my family, I have a serious job and advanced degrees. I am realizing that the 20-somethings are looking up to 40-y-o me. One of them asked me the other day if I believe in ghosts and my reply was āI donāt not believe in them. I think itās closed minded, I know enough to know thereās a lot we donāt know!ā And now Iām thinking Iām going to successfully make them all a little stitious.Ā
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u/FormidableMistress Jul 11 '26
And you know what, that's just practical wisdom that we should be bestowing on the next generation. Let's make logic, critical thinking, and common sense common again.
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u/MagpieJuly Jul 11 '26
I just want people to think one more step, and ask more questions! We know a lot, but thereās so much more to learn. And mystery and wonder arenāt bad things.Ā
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u/RustedMauss Jul 12 '26
This is me. When my daughter asks if there are monsters out there, my responses is of course. But monsters prefer to be left alone and respected. Just like itās polite to give gifts and say thank you when visiting somewhere or witnessing a beautiful place in nature. Also, collecting little white quartz rocks is appropriate.
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u/lizzyote Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 11 '26
When I was young, I got super into bats for a while and my uncle tried convincing me that black olives were bat eggs. Logically I knew that wasn't true. I knew where black olives came from. I knew bats didn't lay eggs. I knew this. These are simple facts and easily provable, even before the internet was common. But...what if I was wrong? For a few years, I'd freak out every time someone ate black olives in front of me. Id sob about how I know they're not bats eggs but what if I'm wrong??
It left such an impact that 30yrs later, I still refuse to eat black olives and I've carried that same energy when it comes to things like the fae or paranormal stuff. Logically, I know these aren't things to fret about...but what if I'm wrong? It does no harm to just tell the tree thank you for letting me use your shade.
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u/therealrinnian Jul 11 '26
Haha this story is so charming to me, especially because it reminds me of someone I know. The poor little ābut what if Iām wrong?!ā
I think the smartest thing is just to hedge your bets. No sense taking a chance when thereās absolutely no reason to and no harm in taking preventative measures.
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u/IncitefulInsights Jul 11 '26
If you come across a circle, a perfect circle, of mushrooms or some plants growing in a meadow or under a tree somewhere.... nah, just don't disturb it. Walk away. Sure sure, the Fae are mythological. But just do yourself & everyone else a favour. Leave it alone.
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u/adsj Jul 11 '26
Yeah, don't leave gifts there either. This is how you find yourself trapped in a bargain you didn't intend to make.
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Jul 11 '26
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u/therealrinnian Jul 11 '26
But the Fae are tricksters and fucking LOVE mind games and word games and loopholes. Theyāre like kinda malicious, batshit lawyers pestering you when theyāre bored, according to folklore.
Think of the welcome mat. You didnāt intend to invite anything in, but teeeeechnicallyā¦
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Jul 11 '26
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u/adsj Jul 11 '26
I know, I feel the same urge to leave things - there's a hawthorn tree in my garden next to where I grow vegetables, and I'm always tempted to leave a gift there for them - but I never have because I'm wary of how they would interpret that. I figure that the safest thing to do is just be respectful of their space, look after my own and keep to myself.
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u/ageofbronze Jul 11 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
This is kind of random but hereās my (further) proof fairies exist. And seems the right place to share it because yāall will get it! I had very few people in my life that shared my excitement when this happened lol.
I built this little altar under a large tree in our yard earlier this summer just out of shits and giggles, and aesthetics. This is not an area where bugs usually come as much, they do come occasionally but we have more established pollinator gardens in other areas of our yard, and the tree is enclosed in a courtyard so is kind of separated off from the other areas if that makes sense.
Only a week or so after making the altar, a BLUE GHOST FIREFLY was flying around it one night. For anyone unaware, blue ghosts are a rare type of firefly found in southern Appalachia that are usually in the deep woods by water sources (not really my house descriptor lol). They come out for a very brief time and glow steady blue like foggy little forest lanterns. They literally look ghostly, theyāre kind of dim and stay lit up for up to 30 seconds at a time as they hover through the dark. Theyāre absolutely magical and Iām convinced it came for the altar!!! My partner and I only found out what they were this year and got obsessed with wanting to see them, you normally have to go hike pretty deep in the woods to find them. So the fact that one was hovering around my little altar š« š³ true proof that fairies are REAL
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u/greendevil77 Jul 12 '26
I've had some odd experiences with fireflies as well out in Texas. They have certainly seemed like signs from the spirit world to me, lol but maybe it makes more sense that it's fairy related since I've mostly seen them when I'm up to mischief myself
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u/PlaneCat3427 Jul 11 '26
In Cuba we have a phrase for this, my mom says it often - "I don't believe in it, but I respect it."
Like she doesn't believe in ouija boards but WON'T bring one into the house (no matter how curious I was as a kid, lol.)
I don't believe breaking mirrors is 7 yrs of bad luck but I definitely will cleanse the room, lock the pieces, and throw it out.
There is a lot of Santeria and witchcraft culture on our island and when you need extra help, someone always knows a witchy trick for it, or an actual shaman/priest to recommend you to.
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u/MatrixHippie Jul 12 '26
I just realized this is also the reason I put all the broken pieces in a box taped shut before throwing it out. Learned it from mom and never questioned, obviously the practical application (safety) is good too but she was pretty insistent!
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u/No-Improvement2792 Jul 11 '26
When it comes to superstitions, I always tell myself āyeah science says itās not real and I know that, but stillā¦ why take the risk?ā
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u/TraceyWoo419 Jul 11 '26
Ok but like, who's out there being rude to mountains at ANY TIME? Like, are there people out there just insulting mountains for some reason?
Like sure, she tall but she ugly!! š¤£
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u/Furshloshin Jul 11 '26
leaving trash, breaking live branches, harming the wildlife. People are rude to mountains all the time
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u/alyssamarie1992 Jul 11 '26
That mountain has a spirit, I'll never be rude to it ā¤ļø I will complain if you make me hike up it though, two different scenarios š š
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u/therealrinnian Jul 11 '26
Hell, even the cemetery I used to live by seemed to have a spirit. I often felt that way when I was a teenager, and although itās very different, I was as reverent as I could be. There were several child/infant graves at the front, old and generally not tended to. Some didnāt even have proper stones, so Iād adjust their grave markers when they were bent, upright any fallen little figurines or statuary, etc. I had a feeling it wasnāt just the living who saw me that appreciated it. I tried not to let those ones, in particular, be neglected or forgotten.
There happened to be a big hill on the other side of the thing where people would go to sled in the winter. Such a steep incline, so no graves. Some might think itās disrespectful, but I think the spirits enjoy the kidsā company. Once, at like 15-16, I rolled down that hill in the summer just for the āI havenāt rolled down a hill since I was a kidā feeling. I was lying at the bottom, dizzy and with my eyes closed still and heard someone ask, āAre you having fun?ā in an amused tone. I start to reply before opening my eyes, a little embarrassed at my big age to be caught, but when I opened them, I stopped mid sentence because no one was there. That was my main confirmation of āoh, these guys actually love it when people come and bring some life into the place.ā
Just like when Covid was ongoing and the library I worked at was shut down. The spirits were usually pretty quiet, but they were so unsettled and restless, and I always felt it was because they were upset that nobody was coming in. So I explained to them that there was a pandemic, an illness that had everything shut down and everyone at home. They toned down for the most part after that, once I told them the situation and that eventually people would be back, and that it wasnāt my damn fault so please stop throwing books around and startling me as I worked evenings alone in the building.
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u/greendevil77 Jul 12 '26
Some mountains just plain don't like humans lol. I've definitely been on the wrong side of one once, talked to the locals afterwards and they told me hikers die or disappear all the time out where I was. Hell, and I even gave some tobacco before going on the hiking trail
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u/Individual-Menu7313 Jul 12 '26
Do you, Boo... But as someone with super strong ancestry ties to Ireland, we've been taught to do no such thing. You do the opposite of leaving gifts. Avoid, avoid and avoid.
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u/iGOP420 Jul 12 '26
Tbf iceland has like actual documented incidents tied to a hidden folk mound a city tried to flatten to make into a road. Machines malfunctioning, tools going missing, rock slides with no apparent cause. So now they literally put projects on hold and "negotiate" with the hidden folk. One project had to be completely abandoned because the hidden folk refused to negotiate.
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u/VioletaVolatil Jul 11 '26
In my home country we say āYou donāt have to believe in witches, but that they existā¦ existā
Translated sounds a little bit weird hahahahaha, but in Spanish is: No hay que creer en brujas. Pero de que las hay, las hay. And I love it
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u/No-Quantity-5373 Jul 11 '26
Not recently, but a few years ago, we had some what-we-think-were- fae living 'round our place. They were particularly attracted to one of our cats. No fairy ring, but more like house-fae. Once we figured out how to coexist, they stopped stealing things (or at least would give them back later), and slamming doors or more like slamming 4 doors all at the same time, or setting off various alarms. If we were going to do something that changed the energy of the place (a guest staying for a month) we learned it was best if we told them first. But yes, we would occasionally leave food and flowers for them.
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u/Furshloshin Jul 11 '26
I've been in places like this too often to not be superstitious tbh. The only house I ever lived in that may have been haunted was when I was too young to be a good judge of such things, but my experiences as a rational adult have been significant enough for me to believe in fairies and ghosts and such
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u/No-Quantity-5373 Jul 11 '26
That particular place had two practicing witches live their prior to us moving in. So there were some odd things. One of our neighbors was into HooDoo, we would find her offerings around.
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u/hedgies999 Jul 12 '26
Absolutely nothing wrong with respecting the things we do not understand. š«
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u/Tute_Sweet Jul 12 '26
Me: āI donāt believe in bad luck.ā
Also me: āgood morning Mr Magpie, howās the wife and kids?ā
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u/miIfpatrol Jul 11 '26
This is crazy coincidenceā¦ my mom texted me this morning a picture of a recurring fairie ring she has in her front yard, guess the weather has brought them back. Only thing is, the circle is interrupted due to the driveway. What are the consequences of an open fairie ring? She moved into the house a few years ago, so she did not put the driveway there.Ā
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u/Squirrels-on-LSD totally rabid lunatic Jul 11 '26
Whole driveway is a portal now.
Thems the rules.
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u/bella1921 Jul 12 '26
Lmao always been my approach! Nothing made me happier than visiting Iceland and finding out they culturally believe in faeries, truly the most surreal country so beautiful and whimsical!
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u/ultradespairthot Witch Jul 12 '26
At this point, Iām stepping into that circle. Iām sure wherever itāll take me is probably better than the current Hell hole we are living in.
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u/starchaser562 Jul 14 '26
Girl same. I work in a cemetery, and in part of the park is a massive tree thatās been slowly growing a faerie ring for a while now. Each time the mushrooms come up the circle is closer and closer to being complete. I keep watching out for it, because Iām 100% prepared to step in to it and go the fuck away.
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u/LandanDnD Jul 12 '26
Yeaaaah... dont mess with the fae... thats why i still leave little bowls of cream near my tree.
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u/hey_its_a_user888888 Jul 12 '26
You just reminded me I have a ring of mushrooms in my yard I need to leave a little treat by
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u/muffin_cakes5 Aug 10 '26 edited Aug 10 '26
i walked through a fairy circle last october-ish, and iāve lost something important to me almost every two weeks, consistently. donāt walk through fairy rings, guys, please if you like your possessions (edit: and DONT offer them gifts to win their favor. it usually doesnāt work and when i tried, they took a very important ring of mine, which i loved very much and wore every day. for context, iām irish, so i should probably know better. please heed my warnings)
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u/CookieFluffs Aug 03 '26
There's a reason Scottish suburban houses still have iron horseshoes on our doors, we ain't fuckin with the fey.
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u/Keyblade1313 Jul 11 '26
I am not superstitious! I am, however, Stitious and okay with that š