Britain has an interesting religious history. Celtic Paganism was the dominant religion in Britain before Christian patriarchal monotheism entered the fray.

and:

In Antiquity (pagan-animist-magical) every tree, every spring, every stream, every hill had its own genus loci, its guardian spirit. These spirits were accessible to men, but were very unlike men; centaurs, fauns, and mermaids show their ambivalence. Before one cut a tree; mined a mountain, or dammed a brook, it was important to placate the spirit in charge of that particular situation, and to keep it placated..

Now this is, of course, relatively common knowledge. Animism is well-known and accepted as one of the original forms of early religious practice. But I got to wondering - what evidence do we have within the myths and tales of these sorts of practices existing or perhaps even surviving? Perhaps some of the answers will be a little clearer as our series gets under way. Any thoughts?