Water Spirits, offerings? Options

Is there anything typically found to be used as an offering to water elementals? Something to appease them in asking for their help, or something. Most of what I've read says that various incenses are the most common offerings to misc. spirits, but I somehow don't see burning smoke as the best option for water dwellers... any ideas? :S Thanks a lot.

How about water? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I'm not joking, LOL. Seriously, herbs that relate to water might work well too. Get an earthen bowl for example, or glass, get rain water o stream water (bottled water will do if you can't get those things), put some herbs in there that relate to water (don't look at correspondences, look in agrippa book 1), and offer that. Simple (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Whatever you do though, be extremely respectful. Don't demand anything, don't be rude. Otherwise you might end up with years of bad plumbing and other horror stories to tell your grandchildren about, LOL.

I read an account of two magicians in Greece (a few years ago) who used a large glass bowl and incantations. Apparently the spirit was a trouble to them, but the whole thing was "experimental" rather than an established routine.

There are legends of water spirits being given gifts as if they were women, with jewels or gold being left in the pools and springs where they reside. Treating them as women seems is a major theme in European water-spirit legends, where they are attached emotionally to the one who calls them. They are considered dangerous by all accounts.

I have known more than a dozen women to offer them tears, shed for true grievances and dropped naturally into their pools, to bring about anything from floods and purification of rivers to arousal of negligent men.

I have also known people to threaten them with vials of mercury.

[/color]I did consider the jewelery thing, which makes a lot of sense given the lore about mer-spirits and such. The only thing I was worried about was putting little shiny things into places where fish hang out. [color=#990000]

The bit about the tears is interesting. I guess water spirits are generally regarded as very feminine and sympathetic to women's troubles:P Anyway, thanks for the help:)
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Elemental kings and such like actual offerings, but most pure elementals seem to like you to do something for their element. Gnomes like you to plant something etc. Offer to clean up a local creek or river, then go pick up trash along the banks.