Author: A Solitary Pagan
Bellarmine Jugs and their Connection to Witchcraft2
When used as a witch-bottle, these vessels have been found with highly unpleasant contents, such as human hair entangled with sharp nails, cuttings of human finger-nails, a piece of cloth in the shape of a heart and pierced with pins ; and sometimes human urine and salt. The bottle was well sealed up, and then buried in some secret place, or thrown into a river or ditch. One of these bottles was r...
Bellarmine Jugs and their Connection to Witchcraft3
Believing that a magical link existed between the witch and themselves, they tried to put the magic into reverse, and turn it back upon the sender. They used their own hair, nail-clippings, urine, etc., as the magical link ; and a heart, cut probably from red cloth, to represent the witch’s heart, which they pierced with pins. Sharp nails were added, to nail the witch ; and salt, because witches w...
Bellarmine Jugs and their Connection to Witchcraft4
In Christian times, sculptors tried to work it into Church decorations by calling it a symbol of the Holy Trinity; but in the sixteenth century, it was banned by the Council of Trent, who declared it to be pagan. It is in fact one of the ways in which the Celtic Horned God, Cernunnos, is depicted. Probably because of its old associations with paganism, the triple face was one of the attributes oft...
Benandanti 1
Participants in the lingering remnants of an ancient agrarian cult in northern Italy, which came to the attention of the Inquisition in the late 16th century because of the cult’s nocturnal battles with witches and warlocks over the fertility of the crops and livestock. The term benandanti means “good walkers.” The cult flourished in the Friuli region of Italy, an isolated area where Italian, Germ...
Benandanti 2 The Unknown Origans
The origins of the benandanti cult are unknown; the roots are probably ancient. The leaving of the body and doing battle in spirit, in the guise of animals, is shamanic in nature. The benandanti may be an offshoot of the cult of Diana, which was known in Italy from the end of the 14th century. Followers of Diana held peaceful sabbats at night and were not associated with diabolical rites until lat...
Benandanti 3 The Church
The benandanti came to the attention of the church in 1575, when a priest in Brazzano heard rumors of a man in Civdale, Paolo Gasparutto, who could cure bewitched persons and who “roamed about at night with witches and goblins.” Summoned and questioned by the priest, Gasparutto admitted the Ember Days’ outings, adding that in addition to fighting, there was leaping about, dancing and riding on ani...
Lucius Apuleius1
Lucius Apuleius is best known to us as the author of The Golden Ass, one of the most famous romances in the world, containing as it does the story of Cupid and Psyche. His importance to the study of witchcraft rests on the fact that The Golden Ass is a romance of witchcraft, and illustrates the beliefs which were held about witches in the pre-Christian world. This work of Apuleius proves that witc...
Lucius Apuleius2 The Golden Ass
His book The Golden Ass was translated into English by William Adlington in 1 566 (Simpkin Marshall, London, 1 930 and AMS Press, New York, 1 893), and in our own day by Robert Graves in 1 950. It pretends to be an autobiography, telling how Lucius as an adventurous young man found himself in Thessaly, a region in Greece notorious for witchcraft. After hearing from his traveling companions various...
Lucius Apuleius3 The witches in The Golden Ass
The witches in The Golden Ass have many of the characteristics attributed to those of the Middle Ages. They can change their shape by means of magic unguents; they steal parts from corpses to use in their spells; they bewitch men by obtaining pieces of their hair; they can cast a glamour over the senses, and charm people asleep; they can pass through a hole in a door by changing themselves into a ...
Herbal Folklore & Old Fashioned Tips, Thyme.
Herbal Folklore & Old Fashioned Tips, Thyme. Burning thyme gets rid of insects in your house. A bed of thyme was thought to be a home for fairies.
Herbal Folklore & Old Fashioned Tips, Tarragon.
Herbal Folklore & Old Fashioned Tips, Tarragon. Put in shoes before long walking trips to give strength. It has been used to relieve toothache and as an antifungal.
Herbal Folklore & Old Fashioned Tips, Summer Savory.
Herbal Folklore & Old Fashioned Tips, Summer Savory. It was believed to be an aphrodisiac. Some thought it was a cure for deafness.