Land spirits can be mysterious to many practitioners, often seen as something to fear. In my years of teaching, speaking, and writing about the magic of working with land spirits, I have found that much of this fear people have around land spirits stems from the expectation that land spirits and faeries are the same thing, and therefore something to be wary of. Faeries are one type of spirit of place, but in my definitions, they are not land spirits. Land spirits are the spirit of the land itself, the oldest living spirit in any given place—the primordial essence of life, an elder beyond age. Having a connection to them is a gift, and never something to fear unless you live at odds with the health of the earth.

Land spirits are everywhere, and deeply rooted; every place is a spiritual place if we can connect to the land spirits there. And land spirits, like faeries, only need to be feared if the work you do and the life you live is hurting the environment. When we establish the right relationship with the land around us, the land spirits become our greatest allies for protection, magick, and our health.

To begin a relationship with land spirits, the first step is understanding their existence. They don't usually have names, like deities or human spirits might; and they don't show up in our meditations with physical form (at least in mine or my students' experience). They are subtle, quiet, yet palpable when you're patient and actively listening with all of your senses.

Land spirits are the foundational spirit of the spirits of place. From an animist perspective (required, by the way, in working with land spirits), it is understood that trees, stones, places, and of course animals and people are enspirited—they hold a soul, a consciousness, or are otherwise spirits. Any given place is inhabited with many, many types of spirits, layered like a cake. At the top is the human egregore—the most present energy in a place. This is the hustle and bustle of people going about their day. Next is the extended version of this egregore, like the first layer of icing between the cake's layers. They are still very human: like ghosts of people who once lived there, or the impressions of energy left behind by historic events like battles, or even recent things like an argument or a wedding proposal. Next is the animal spirits, then the insects, then the plants, then the rocks. Some of these plants or rocks might be very, very old trees or boulders, spirits of this place that have witnessed much of its history. I call these Guardians, and they are great access points to the land spirits.

Beneath all of that is, optionally, fae creatures or nymphs—nonhuman spirits that have never lived in an organic form, but that live with the land. These spirits are different from land spirits because they have a wider awareness of humans than land spirits do; they engage with us, in often childlike, playful ways. These are feared in some cultures and contexts because they can be tricksters. In my experience, they are more likely to simply not understand how we are inhibited in ways they aren't.

I recall a time earlier this year on the island of Crete where the fae wanted me to "play with them" by jumping off the cliff's edge and being swept back onto the land. I couldn't join in this activity without falling to my death! But it's easy to see how these lighthearted, excitable spirits can lure people by accident into dangers. They were disappointed and saw it as my loss that I didn't engage in that particular game with them, but they weren't angry. I find that the fae, and land spirits for that matter, are only dangerous if we are first aggressive towards them—using pesticides that hurt the bees and plants they love, or hacking away at perfectly healthy trees.

Beneath these faeries, sprites, nymphs, or whatever term you use for such creatures, is the land spirits themselves. They are a steady, constant energy, a deep-brown hum of grounding incarnate. They are absolutes, in a sense: so pure and cleansing to be around that they will ground you on first contact. There's not big, bold messages from the land spirits the way there is from a deity, a spirit guide, or even occasionally animal messengers. They won't usually visit you in your dreams, and they won't weigh in with detailed advice about your life.

But the land spirits will ground you. They will work with you on healing and transmuting negative energy. Anything that needs to be released in your life can be released to the land spirits. They can take it; you will not overburden or upset them. The land will simply transmute your negative energy, whether it be fear, grief, anxiety, or anything you need to release, back into the neutral, positive energy of healthy land.

So how do you begin a relationship with them? Listening actively, with every sense that you have. The land will show you ways to help. To start listening, make time to be present with the land. In my book, Sacred Wild: An Invitation to Connect to Spirits of the Land, the first exercise I recommend is starting your day with your land spirits and a cup of coffee or tea. Bring a cup of water for the land, and bring both your mug and the land's water with you outside. Pour it out at a tree that needs it, a new garden you're planting, or simply at your feet as an offering. You can speak aloud telling the land good morning, tell the land spirits about your day ahead, or any worries or tasks you're working on that you'd like to tell it about.

You might find yourself surprisingly moved by this seemingly simple activity, but the land is a great listener. It will actively begin transmuting any lingering sadness or worry in your words, and that can lead to a beautiful release of tears. Let it happen—it's more water to offer the earth at your feet. Instead of speaking, or afterwards, you can do some deep breathing with the land, recognizing in each inhale that you are accepting the oxygen, an offering from the trees around you, and offering in return carbon dioxide to the plants to feed on. This draws attention to the reciprocity that already exists in your world, and invites conscious awareness of the give and take that is our existence on planet earth.

Once you've opened that connection in words or simple presence, close your eyes and place your feet flat on the ground, barefoot if possible. It might happen instantly, or take a few minutes, but begin imagining your breath coming up through your feet, up your legs, your pelvis, through your torso, and all the way up through your body into your lungs. Imagine your exhale doing the same in reverse, sending that energy down to the land through your feet.

When this feels natural, begin pulling up the land's energy with each inhale; it can help to visualize this as a green light, igniting your body as it rises. If you have anything you need to release, release it down into the earth on your exhale through your feet.

If at first this feels performative, keep trying. It can be hard to trust that simple practices like this really work, but they do, because they are practices: they are meant to be done again and again for best results. Often, the human egregore of energy is more present in cities than other places, because more energy passes through a more densely-inhabited place than a rural one. Reaching beneath these egregores is harder in cities, but never impossible. You might have to be patient with yourself if you're in a densely-populated urban area, but the land spirits are still there. In Sacred Wild, you'll find a large chapter on urban land spirits work particularly; I lived in Baltimore for four years and made it work, so I promise you can, too! In fact, it'll make you a stronger practitioner to begin your journey in an urban environment. You'll feel the land spirits at more rural places even more readily. Once you've felt this connection flowing, begin walking around your yard or local street while you continue your connection. Send out verbally or spiritually your intention of aiding the land: "What do you need from me?" or, "What can I do for you?" The land spirits will guide you to pick up trash, or show you an area of the garden that needs extra water. It can help to use your palms to direct your energy at things that need your healing, like those dry plants, or to pull in earth's healing energy for yourself from Guardians like trees or rocks. This is the essence of land spirits work: sacred reciprocity. It is never transactional, but a meaningful give-and-take filled with gratitude on both sides. This becomes deeper and more powerful with every repeated encounter.

Once this reciprocity exercise is over (and it can be as short or as long as it needs to be each day) you can then do deeper magical or personal workings. I recommend inviting the land spirits into your protection magick most of all, as they are already on the same page with you; they want to keep the land safe, and you by extension. This could be a very helpful practice for introducing your rituals when you can hold them outdoors.

So, next time someone says they're afraid of faeries, ask them if they've tried connecting to land spirits. Because the healing, grounding, and protection that awaits a deep connection to land spirits is manifold, and nothing for a loving animist to fear.