Witch Lore

[Flar's Freyja]

Some interesting lore I received in an e-mail from The_Enchanted_Garden@yahoogroups.com:

*Witch Lore*

It is believed witches wore black to be like the night.

Native Americans associated black with learning and wisdom.

The cone shape of the witch's hat was believed to direct energy from higher dimensions to her mind and down through her body.

Witches carried lanterns to illuminate the world above and below.

Cats in North Africa and Greece, have been a symbol of the hearth, or spirit of place.

The buds of the willow branch were thought to resemble the paws of the cat, a favorite pet of witches.

The moon was believed to be a symbol of mysteries.

The besom was believed to be the chosen mode of transportation for witches. The besom was thought to symbolize the ability to blend home life with travel to other spiritual dimensions.

[HallsOfAvalon]

Hmmm, those are very interesting.

I knew the one about the cone shaped hats.... but the rest are nice little tidbits. :)

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Yes, thanks for sharing.:)

[Skye]

Thanx for the post :)

Interesting info.

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Skye where have you been?
I've missed you.
How's Mike?
PM me!

[Flar's Freyja]

Anyone have any to add?

[Witchy Cowgirl]

Would the stuff I posted about the Bell Witch be approiate to add with your thread?
If you think so I'll post that link here as well.
She was actually a spirit though.
Think I'll just bump up my thread.

[flar7]

Originally posted by Witchy Cowgirl
Would the stuff I posted about the Bell Witch be approiate to add with your thread?
If you think so I'll post that link here as well.
She was actually a spirit though.
Think I'll just bump up my thread.

no, because the bell witch stuff is about a witch, and some lore...
and....hmmmm. Ok, so maybe it fits. heheheheh;)

[Flar's Freyja]

:rolleyes:

The besom, or broom, was also used to hide other magickal tools in the home, such as wands.

Surprised Flar didn't come up with some lore about living with a witch ;)

[Sowelu]

I like:) ...interesting info

[Flar's Freyja]

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd add this. Here's some interesting info on Irish Samhain rituals and traditions that I received in an e-mail today from pagan_connections_oklahoma@yahoogroups.com:

Irish Halloween Traditions - An article provided by
The Information about Ireland Site.


IRISH HALLOWEEN TRADITIONS

The Celts celebrated Halloween as Samhain, 'All
Hallowtide' - the 'Feast of the Dead', when the dead
revisited the mortal world. The celebration marked the
end of Summer and the start of the Winter months.

During the eighth century the Catholic Church
designated the first day of November as 'All Saints
Day ('All Hallows') - a day of commemoration for those
Saints that did not have a specific day of
remembrance. The night before was known as 'All
Hallows Eve' which, over time, became known as
Halloween.

Here are the most notable Irish Halloween Traditions:

Colcannon for Dinner: Boiled Potato, Curly Kale (a
cabbage) and raw Onions are provided as the
traditional Irish Halloween dinner. Clean coins are
wrapped in baking paper and placed in the potato for
children to find and keep.

The Barnbrack Cake: The traditional Halloween cake in
Ireland is the barnbrack which is a fruit bread. Each
member of the family gets a slice. Great interest is
taken in the outcome as there is a piece of rag, a
coin and a ring in each cake. If you get the rag then
your financial future is doubtful. If you get the coin
then you can look forward to a prosperous year.
Getting the ring is a sure sign of impending romance
or continued happiness.

The Ivy Leaf: Each member of the family places a
perfect ivy leaf into a cup of water and it is then
left undisturbed overnight. If, in the morning, a leaf
is still perfect and has not developed any spots then
the person who placed the leaf in the cup can be sure
of 12 months health until the following Halloween.
If not.....

The Pumpkin: Carving Pumpkins dates back to the
eighteenth century and to an Irish blacksmith named
Jack who colluded with the Devil and was denied entry
to Heaven. He was condemned to wander the earth but
asked the Devil for some light. He was given a burning
coal ember which he placed inside a turnip that he had
gouged out.

The tradition of Jack O'Lanterns was born - the bearer
being the wandering blacksmith - a damned soul.
Villagers in Ireland hoped that the lantern in their
window would keep the wanderer away. When the Irish
emigrated in millions to America there was not a great
supply of turnips so pumpkins were used instead.

Halloween Costumes: On Halloween night children would
dress up in scary costumes and go house to house.
'Help the Halloween Party' and 'Trick or Treat' were
the cries to be heard at each door. This tradition of
wearing costumes also dates back to Celtic times. On
the special night when the living and the dead were at
their closest the Celtic Druids would dress up in
elaborate costumes to disguise themselves as spirits
and devils in case they encountered other devils and
spirits during the night. By disguising they hoped
that they would be able to avoid being carried away at
the end of the night. This explains why witches,
goblins and ghosts remain the most popular choices for
the costumes.

Snap Apple: After the visits to the neighbours the
Halloween games begin, the most popular of which is
Snap Apple. An apple is suspended from a string and
children are blindfolded. The first child to get a
decent bite of the apple gets to keep their prize. The
same game can be played by placing apples in a basin
of water and trying to get a grip on the apple without
too much mess!

The Bonfire: The Halloween bonfire is a tradition to
encourage dreams of who your future husband or wife is
going to be. The idea was to drop a cutting of your
hair into the burning embers and then dream of you
future loved one. Halloween was one of the Celt 'fire'
celebrations.

Blind Date: Blindfolded local girls would go out into
the fields and pull up the first cabbage they could
find. If their cabbage had a substantial amount of
earth attached to the roots then there future loved
one would have money. Eating the cabbage would reveal
the nature of their future husband - bitter or sweet!

Another way of finding your future spouse is to peel
an apple in one go. If done successfully the single
apple peel could be dropped on the floor to reveal the
initials of the future-intended.

Anti-Fairy Measures: Fairies and goblins try to
collect as many souls as they can at Halloween but if
they met a person who threw the dust from under their
feet at the Fairy then they would be obliged to
release any souls that they held captive.

Holy water was sometimes anointed on farm animals to
keep them safe during the night. If the animals were
showing signs of ill health on All Hallows Eve then
they would be spat on to try to ward off any evil
spirits.