Iron

The great protection against the Fairy race is iron, or preferably steel.  The metal can be in any form : a sword, a knight, a pair of scissors, a needle, a nail, a ring, a bar, a fish-hook. On entering a Fairy dwelling, a piece of steel stuck in the door, takes from the Fairies the power of closing it till the intruder comes out again. A knife stuck in a deer carried home at night keeps them from laying their weight on the animal. A knife or nail in one's pocket prevents his being `lifted' at night. Nails in the front bench of the bed keep elves from women `in the straw', and their babes. As additional safe-guards, the smoothing iron should be put below the bed, and the reaping-hook in the window. A nail in the carcass of a bull that fell over a rock was believed to preserve its flesh from them. It should be noted that in the case of vampires’ superstitions that roughly belong to the same period, it was silver that repelled the nosferatu.

Fire

Fire thrown into water in which the feet have been washed takes away the power of the water to admit the Fairies into the house at night; a burning peat put in sowens to hasten their fermenting (greasadh gortachadh) kept the substance in them till ready to boil. Martin says fire was carried round lying-in women, and round about children before they were christened, to keep mother and infant from the power of evil spirits. When the Fairies were seen coming in at the door burning embers thrown towards them drove them away.

Oatmeal

Another effective safe-guard against Faeries is oatmeal. When sprinkled on one's clothes or carried in the pocket no Fairy will venture near, and it was usual with people going on journeys after nightfall to adopt the precaution of taking some with them. Oatmeal, taken out of the house after dark, was sprinkled with salt, and unless this was done, the Fairies might through its instrumentality take the substance out of the farmer's whole grain. Oakmen are created when a felled oak stump sends up shoots. One should never take food offered by them since it is poisonous.

To keep them from getting the benefit of the meal itself, housewives, when baking oatmeal bannocks, made a little thick cake with the last of the meal and put a hole through it with the forefinger. When given to children, as it usually is, a piece should be broken off it.

Urin

Stale urin, or Maistir, when sprinkled on the cattle and on the door-posts and walls of the house, kept the Fairies, and indeed every mischief, at a distance. This spinkling was done regularly on the last eveing of every quarter of the year.

The Bible and holy symbols

Stories representing the Bible as a protection must be of a recent date. It was the result of the Church attempts to “demonize” the old folklores and replace it by its own dogma.

Various

Many devices are employed to thwart Fairy inroads. A burning ember was put into “sowens” and left there till the dish was ready for boiling, about three days after. A sieve should not be allowed out of the house after dark, and no meal unless it be sprinkled with salt. Otherwise, the Fairies may, by means of them, take the substance out of the whole farm prouce. A nail driven into a cow, killed by falling over a precipice, was supposed to keep the elves away.