LL-L "Folklore" 2006.01.31 (02) [E]

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31 January 2006 * Volume 02
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From: Paul Tatum <ptatum at blueyonder.co.uk>
Subject: LL-L "Folklore" 2006.01.30 (06) [E]

Ron wrote:

> By the way, the raven stands for wisdom and cleverness in the indigenous
> mythologies of the North American Pacific Northwest.

And of course Odin had Hugin and Munin, his eyes and ears. I like
ravens, when I lived on Lundy island in the early eighties, there was a
particularly sociable specimen who would come and have a caw at you,
named the Old Major. So not just the ominous companions of the Morrigain.

Paul Tatum.

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From: Heather Rendall <HeatherRendall at compuserve.com>
Subject: LL-L "Folklore" 2006.01.30 (08) [E]

Message text written by INTERNET:lowlands-l at LOWLANDS-L.NET
> many examples of charms
allegedly to handle witchcraft but originally against malevolent fairies.<

A sign of witchcraft was dug up in the 20th century on Anglesey, North
Wales.
A farmer decided to plough out a hump in the middle of the field.

His share struck a large stone. He got down to investigate and found a
stone cist.
He removed the large slab on top and found an earthenware jar, inside which
was a toad stuck through with 12 iron needles
Scratched on the clay pot were the words " Nany Roberts"

!!

I wonder whether it worked?

Heather

PS
To get rid of a wart, impale a slug on a hawthorn. As it shrivels, so will
the wart.
Tho' my Mum swore by an old copper halfpenny - which certainly worked for
me.

In Sussex, it's only the wind having to change to fix an ugly face

Money spiders must not be killed in the house

And of course you have to greet a magpie with "Good morning, Mr Magpie" or
so a chauffeur to a army general reported in a letter to a newspaper: he
would watch in the rear mirror as the General, sitting in the back, turned
to the window and whispered the words, whenever they passed a magpie!

Or recite: "One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl and four for a
boy, five for silver, six for gold and seven for a secret never to be
told."

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Lexicon

Paul wrote above:

> I like ravens,

So do I -- but then again, I like all warm-blooded fellow-creatures, and 
I've been known to pet fish.  (No, I don't *hate* reptiles and insects, just 
choose to stay out of their way.)

> when I lived on Lundy island in the early eighties, there was a
> particularly sociable specimen who would come and have a caw at you,
> named the Old Major. So not just the ominous companions of the Morrigain.

"Old Major" ... Nice one!

Ravens are quite intelligent and can make great companions.  One thing many 
people these days don't seem to know is that you can teach ravens to 
"speak," like parrots.  I suppose this made them special in the eyes of our 
ancestors, hence all the mythology.

Wow, Heather!  Thanks for all that info!  From what time period was the 
find?

> To get rid of a wart, impale a slug on a hawthorn. As it shrivels, so will
> the wart.
> Tho' my Mum swore by an old copper halfpenny - which certainly worked for
> me.

When I grew up in Northern Germany you had to cut or shave off a small piece 
of a wart and bury it in soil (which could be in a flower pot on a window 
sill) at night during full moon.  Apparently there used to be a spell that 
went with it, but that seemed to be lost, perhaps had been tabooized.  I'm 
not sure if this was a local custom or if it had been imported by my eastern 
ancestors.  It was difficult to find out such things because you didn't 
discuss them outside the family.

Tom:

> In Edinburgh during my childhood when a kid pulled a face some elder would
> tell him/her ...
> 'If a crow flies ower a hoose an' the wind changes Yer face'll stey like
> that.'

Wow!  That's so much more elaborate than our tradition, which was simply 
that your face stayed like that if while pulling a face you happened to get 
startled!  This is why people would go mockingly "Boo!" whenever a child 
pulled a face.  Children knew the story, so the "Boo!" would suffice.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron 

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