Unicorn

Symbolic of chastity and also an emblem of the sword or of the word of God. Tradition commonly presents it as a white horse with a single horn sprouting from its forehead, but according to esoteric belief it has a white body, a red head and blue eyes. Legend has it that it is tireless when pursued yet falls meekly to the ground when it is approached by a virgin.

This seems to suggest that it is symbolic of sublimated sex. In China, the animal known as Ch'i-lin is identified by some writers with the unicorn, whereas there are others who dispute this because it has two horns.

It is an attribute of high-ranking army officers and an emblem of uprightness and high birth. Its skin is of five colors red, yellow, blue, white and black; its cry is like the sound of bells. In legend it is reputed to live for a thousand years and to be the noblest of animals. Jung in his work on the relationships between psychology and alchemy, has studied a great many aspects of this faboulous animal, concluding that broadly speaking, it has no one definite symbolic character but rather many different variants embracing single-horned animals, both real and fabulous, such as the sword-fish or certain types of dragon.

He notes that the unicorn is at times transmuted into a white dove, offering the explanation that on the one hand it is related to primordial monsters while on the other it represents the virile, pure and penetrating force of the spiritus mercurialis. He quotes the remark of Honorius of Autun in his Speculum de Mysteriis Ecclesiae, as follows; "The very fierce animal with only one horn is called unicorn. In order to catch it, a virgin is put in a field; the animal then comes to her and is caught, because it lies down on her lap. Christ is represented by this animal, and his invincible strength by its horn. He, who lay down in the womb of the Virgin, has been caight by the hunters; that is to say, he was found in human shape by thise who loved him.' However, in Anitquity the unicorn appears on occasion with certain evil characteristics.

The Physiologus Graecus comments that it is in "an animal fleet of foot, single-horned and harbouring ill will towards men". As Jung has observed, the Church does not recognize this negative side of the unicorn. On the other hand, the alchemists made use of its ambivalent implications in order to symbolize the Monstrum Hermaphroditum.

The Goddess in the Kingdom of Death

In this world, the Goddess is seen in the moon, the light that shines in darkness, the rain bringer, mover of the tides, Mistress of mysteries. And as the moon waxes and wanes, and walks three nights of its cycle in darkness, so, it is said, the Goddess once spent three nights in the Kingdom of Death.

For in love She ever seeks Her other Self, and once, in the winter of the year, when He had disappeared from the green earth, She followed Him and came at last to the gates beyond which the living do not go.

The Guardian of the Gate challenged Her, and She stripped Herself of Her clothing and jewels, for nothing may be brought into that land. For love, She was bound as all who enter there must be and brought before Death Himself.

He loved Her, and knelt at Her feet, laying before Her His sword and crown, and gave Her the fivefold kiss, and said,"Do not return to the living world, but stay here with Me, and have peace and rest and comfort."

But She answered, "Why do you cause all things I love and delight in to die and wither away?"

"Lady," He said, "It is the fate of all that lives to die. Everything passes; all fades away. I bring comfort and consolation to those who pass the gates, that they may grow young again. But You are My heart's desire -- return not, but stay here with Me."

And She remained with Him three days and three nights, and at the end of the third night She took up His crown, and it became a circlet that She placed around Her neck, saying:"Here is the circle of rebirth. Through You all passes out of life, but through Me all may be born again. Everything passes; everything changes. Even death is not eternal. Mine is the mystery of the womb, that is the cauldron of rebirth. Enter into Me and know Me, and You will be free of all fear. For as life is but a journey into death, so death is but a passage back to life, and in Me the circle is ever turning."

In love, He entered into Her, and so was reborn into life. Yet is He known as Lord of Shadows, the comforter and consoler, opener of the gates, King of the Land of Youth, the giver of peace and rest. But She is the gracious mother of all life; from Her all things proceed and to Her they return again. In Her are the mysteries of death and birth; in Her is the fulfillment of all love.

~Source Unknown~
*Traditional Craft Myth

Cat Superstitions

A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity. - Scottish superstition

A cat sneezing is a good omen for everyone who hears it. - Italian superstition

It is bad luck to see a white cat at night. - American superstition

Dreaming of white cat means good luck. - American superstition

When you see a one-eyed cat, spit on your thumb, stamp it in the palm of your hand, and make a wish. The wish will come true. - American superstition

If a cat washes behind its ears, it will rain. - English superstition

A cat sleeping with all four paws tucked under means cold weather ahead. - English superstition

English school children believe seeing a white cat on the way to school is sure to bring trouble. To avert bad luck, they must either spit, or turn around completely and make the sign of the cross.

A black cat crossing one's path by moonlight means death in an epidemic. - Irish superstition

It is bad luck to cross a stream carrying a cat. - French superstition

A cat on top of a tombstone meant certainly that the soul of the departed buried was possessed by the devil. Two cats seen fighting near a dying person, or on the grave shortly after a funeral, are really the Devil and an Angel fighting for possession of the soul. - Old English superstitions

To see a white cat on the road is lucky. - American superstition

To kill a cat brings seventeen years of bad luck. - Irish superstition

If cats desert a house, illness will always reign there. - English superstition

In Normandy, seeing a tortoiseshell for tells death by accident.

In the Netherlands, cats were not allowed in rooms where private family discussions were going on. The Dutch believed that cats would definitely spread gossips around the town.

When moving to a new home, always put the cat through the window instead of the door, so that it will not leave. - American superstition

In the early 16th century, a visitor to an English home would always kiss the family cat.

When the pupil of a cat's eye broadens, there will be rain. - Welsh superstition

In 16th century Italy, it was believed that if a black cat lay on the bed of a sick man, he would die. But there's also a belief that a cat will not remain in the house where someone is about to die. Therefore, if the family cat refuses to stay indoors, this is regarded as a very bad luck

Food Folklore

Apple

Apples have apparently been regarded as sacred or magical in almost every country in which they grow, and from very early times. In ancient Ireland the apple-tree was one of three things which could only be paid for by living objects. To destroy an orchard was in many parts of England almost sacreligious, and it was said that if an orchard was destroyed to make way for another crop, the crop would never prosper. In Yorkshire it was considered unlucky to strip an apple-tree completely, and an apple or two (even deformed or inedible fruit would do) was always left as a gift for the birds (or faeries).

An old Samhain charm was for all the district's unmarried young people to tie an apple onto a piece of string and whirl it around before a fire. The one whose apple fell off first was said to be the first to marry; the last left with an apple was fated to die unmarried. An apple could also be peeled in one long strip and tossed backwards over the left shoulder, and the shape made by the peel was said to show the initial of the future spouse.

An old cure for warts was to cut the apple into as many pieces as there were warts, rub each piece on a wart and then bury the pieces in the earth. A variant of this stated that the apple should be cut in half and each half rubbed on each wart, after which the apple should be tied together and buried.As the fruit rotted, the warts would disappear.

The ancient custom of Wassailing the apple trees was intended to awaken the sleeping tree-spirit, drive away bad luck, and ensure a good harvest. It usually took place around Yule, and involved the farming folk choosing one tree in the orchard to represent all. The people would drink to the tree with cider, throw cider over its roots and put a piece of bread or toast soaked incider into a fork of the tree's branches. Guns were fired through tht top most branches of the trees and much noise was made by blowing cow-horns and beating on pots and pans. Often the trees were danced around, and in most places some variant of the Wassailing Song was sung. Omitting the ritual was thought to bring bad luck and a poor yield of apples that year.

Bread

The making of bread is laden with ancient beliefs and portents. Not only has bread been sacred as the representation of the entire harvest, but it has always had a deep religious significance for Christians because of its associations with communion. At one time it was universally considered to be bad luck to throw away bread, and it was said that whoever did so would live to know hunger.

In some parts of Scotland, it was considered ill-omened to sing while baking bread, or to bake while a dead body lay in the house. Bread must be put into the oven by one person only, as if two people share the task they will quarrel. During the baking, no other bread must be cut or the fresh bread will be spoilt; bread that is required during baking should therefore be broken,not cut. If a loaf of bread comes apart in a girl's hand, she will not be married until the next year; in some places this portends a quarrel in her family. It is ill-omened to put a loaf of bread on the table upside down, to cut it at both ends, or to grab the bread while someone else is cutting it.
Charms and spells in which bread was used often involved healing. In the sixteenth century it was considered to cure toothache if a piece of whitebread marked with a cross was laid against the aching tooth. A piece of bread wrapped in cloth and buried for three days, then dug up and eaten, was supposed to cure whooping-cough in Suffolk.

It is unlucky for anyone to take the last piece of bread and butter from a plate without its being offered first; if an unmarried girl does this, it is said that she will never marry. However, if the last slice is offered it should always be taken, as this is said to guarantee good luck in love and money.

Butter

The making of butter is also surrounded by charms and omens; it was considered that fairies could overlook the dairy and enchant the cream from a distance to prevent it turning to butter and many charms were used to nullify their power. A churn made of rowan wood, or with rowan set about the handle, was considered to protect the cream; in England salt was thrown onto the fire beforehand to neutralise evil, and in Ireland a smouldering turf under the churn was held to purify the butter-making. A silver coin, or three hairs from a black cat's tail, thrown into the cream would also help; plunging a red-hot poker into the cream when the butter would not come was also considered to be effective,burning out the evil. A dairymaid would often murmur a special charm while churning the cream, such as:

Churn, butter, dash
Cow's gone to the marsh
Peter stands at the toll-gate
Begging butter for his cake,
Come, butter, come!

Nuts

Nuts are ancient symbols of fertility, and have therefore been used as fertility charms, intended to promote healthy childbirth, in wedding rituals in many cultures. In France they were once thrown at weddings as rice or confetti are today; in ancient Rome and in some parts of England they were offered to a bride and groom as they left the church after marrying. In Britain a good crop of nuts in a district is said to herald a large number of births there during the next year; an old country saying states 'Good nutting year, plenty of boy-babies'.

Nuts have often been used in charms and fortune-telling. One old love-divination was for a girl to take two hazelnuts, name one for herself and one for her lover, and set them both on the grate of the fire. If the nuts burned together their love would last, but if they failed to burn, or flew apart, her lover would not be true. A way to tell whether a wish would be granted was to toss a nut onto the fire; if it flared up and burned the wish would be granted.

A nut with two kernels in a single shell was always a lucky sign. An old charm to gain the love, friendship or favour of someone was to offer them one of the kernels of a double-kernelled nut; if they ate it and the giver ate the other at the same time, both in silence, the charm would succeed. The double-kernelled nut could also be wished on by eating one kernel and tossing the other over the left shoulder while wishing; this had to be done in silence,and silence must be kept until the wisher was asked a question to which he or she could answer 'yes'.

Onions

A raw onion carried in the hand is supposedly a preventative against snakes,who are commonly believed to dislike their smell. A peeled onion was supposed to attract germs, and therefore they were often left about in a house to prevent everything from plague to the common cold (although in the latter caseeating the onion would have been more effective!) Another cure involved peeling an onion in a house where a sick person lay, and then burying the onion far from the house; it was believed that the onion would draw germs and diseases into itself and then carry them from the house. Onions are still usedin poultices for chilblains; they were also used in cough syrups, and even as hangover remedies.

Peas

An old cure for warts involved taking a pod with nine peas in it, rub it on the warts and then throw it away, saying 'Wart, wart, dry away'. Another wart remedy was to touch each wart with a different pea on the first day of the new moon, wrap the peas in a cloth and throw it away backwards, or to wrap each pea separately in a piece of paper and bury it. As each pea decayed, the wart it had touched would disappear.

When shelling peas it is considered good luck to find a pod containing just a single pea, or a very large number of peas, and a pod with nine perfect peas in it is by far the luckiest pod.

Salt

Since it is incorruptible and also preserves other things from decay, salt is a symbol of immortality and eternal life, and also means the creating of bonds. To eat another person's salt was to forge a mythical bond between guest and host which was always binding; in Scotland the First Foot, who is the first person to enter a house in the New Year, usually carries salt with him. One of the first things carried into a new home was often a plate of salt,along with a piece of coal and loaf of bread; they represent prosperity and health, warmth and plenty. Salt was also amongst the first gifts given to a newborn baby, and was frequently carried in the pocket as a protective charm.

Spilling salt is a bad omen, and many people today will still throw a pinch of salt over their left shoulder if they spill it. An old saying states that a tear will fall for every grain spilt, and a salt-shaker that overturns between two friends means they will quarrel.

Witchcraft Superstitions

Just a forewarning ... Some of these are weird, some are gross and some are just downright wicked.

A cow licks her hair and that hair goes down in the left side of the pouch and forms a ball, and if you have one of those in your hand you can bewitch anyone.

An evil person can take the length of your fingers and hoodoo you in two days, to make you do what ever they want.

A hoodoo bag can contain salt, pepper, chicken feet, a rabbit foot, ashes and a piece of a razor.

A hoodoo can rub their hand over your head and make you bald-headed inside of two weeks.

A hoodoo person can let you bite a piece of an apple and all your teeth will fall out of your head.

A hoodoo person can take your old clothes and run you insane.

A hoodoo woman could rub her hands over your eyes and you will go blind in one night; and she can rub them again over your eyes and you can see.

A love powder is a half teaspoonful of sugar, teaspoonful of peppermint and a teaspoonful of grated candied orange peel; give a teaspoonful of this mixture in a glass of wine and the person will love you forever.

A person can take some of your hair and make you go crazy.

A person can take one of your shoes and bury it and make you walk all the time.

A person can make you get very thirsty by putting a whiskey bottle under your porch for three weeks, and then throwing the bottle into a fire which will make you very thirsty for whiskey.

A sure way to hoodoo a person is to catch their eyes when talking to them and don't let them go.

A witch can cure her pain by rubbing sugar, salt, vinegar and hot water over her pain.

A witch doctor can tell if you are bewitched when he looks at you, for if you are, he will see white clouds floating around you.

A witch is one that sells her soul to the devil and she has to keep someone in her power all the time; if not, the devil will make her suffer untold agony.

A woman should take her first urine on Monday morning, put it in a jar and place it under the bed for nine days and it will hold her husband.

Always carry a black cat's bone in your pocket, if you think someone is bewitching you.

As you eat the wing of a chicken, take the little bone that is near the end and drop it into the pocket of the fellow you are going with, without him knowing it, and he will ask you to marry him.

Boil a black cat until all the meat comes off and take the bones to the four corners of the road and you will meet the devil.

Burn a black cat up and there will be one bone that will not burn up; that is called the lucky bone, and if you carry that bone you will never have bad luck.

Burn your shoes as soon as you are through with them and you will never be bewitched.

Bury some hair from the top of your husband's head under the front doorstep and he will never leave home for good.

Bury your husband's shoes in the front yard with the toes toward the door and he will never leave you.

Carrying a rabbit's foot keeps all evil away.

Clean out the stables between Christmas and New Years, and the witches will not hurt your stock during the year.

Cut some of your hair and some from your man's head, and tie it all together to wear in your left shoe and make him crazy about you.

Every seven years the witches come to life.

Get a pair of old shoes and put pepper inside, then send them to a person and it will give them rheumatism.

Grave dust is what a witch uses to hoodoo you, and you will conquer her if you get some and wear it.

Hang black coats over all the outside doors at night, to keep witches out of the house at night.

If you don't want your man to talk to another woman, take a nail and drive it at the end of his heel prints, and he will run from her the next time he sees her.

If you take a strand of hair out of a person's head and wear it in your pocket for two days, it will give that person the headache.

If your husband is running around, take some of his hair and a piece of his necktie and put them in a bottle, then throw that in the river; and when that necktie rots, that will change him.

If a hoodoo person wants to show you something, let them put their own hand on it, for if you touch it they can poison you.

If a man carry a gun all the time, he will kill someone soon; because a gun can hoodoo him.

If a man get your hair and put it in a bottle of vinegar, it will make you crawl on your stomach for him.

If a man loves you and you love him, don't let him get a strand of your hair; for if you do, he will run you crazy.

If a man sees a woman he wants, he can get her by taking a picture of her and sleeping with it face down under his head for a week; and she will look for him until she finds where he lives.

If a man wants to get rid of his wife, he should make a hole in a tree, then put her monthly rags in that hole and stop it up; which will kill the tree and his wife will die.

If a man wants to run a woman crazy, he can take a strand of her hair and wear it in his shoes for a week.

If a person is bewitched and the witch dies, the witch must be dead a year before the spell is broken.

If a person is in bed and you don't want them to wake up, just hang your nightie over their head so they can inhale the perfume and they will sleep until morning.

If a person kill somebody and get way, a hoodoo can take one of their letters and make them surrender in one week.

If a person keeps coming to your house and you don't want them to come back any more, just pour some salt over the doorway and they will never come back again.

If a person leaves you and you want them to come back, just take their picture and turn it upside down, and they will come back to you.

If a person try to hoodoo you in leap year, put a horseshoe over your door and they can't hoodoo you.

If a person wear your coat and give it back to you before the time is up, they have hoodoo the coat; and if you wear it you will get hoodoo.

If a witch comes to your house, say, "Kiss my ass" three times under your breath, and she can't harm you.

If a woman can get a little of your blood on a piece of cloth and tie it up in a bag and wear it on her leg, she will run you crazy in nine days.

If a woman don't know you and try to rub her jaw against you, she will hoodoo you if you let her.

If a woman kisses you twice on one cheek and once on the other cheek, she is trying to hoodoo you.

If a woman sprinkles some salt from her house to yours, it will give you bad luck until you clean the salt away and put pepper over your door sill.

If a woman wants her husband to stay away from other woman, she can do so by putting a little of her blood in his coffee, and he will never quit her.

If a woman's husband dies and you don't want her to marry again, cut all of her husband's shoes all in little pieces, just as soon as he is dead, and she will never marry again.

If another girl is after your boyfriend, get some of her clothing with monthly stains on it and throw the clothing in running water; when the stain fades she will fade out of his mind.

If anyone finds your monthly cloth and buries it, when the cloth rots you will die.

If anyone puts your hair up in a tree when the sap is coming up, you will be hoodooed and not get well.

If someone always comes to the house at dinner time, place a bottle of castor oil by their plate which will make them so sick they will never impose on you again.

If someone bewitched you, put a piece of red flannel in hot water on the back of the stove and let it boil; so the one that has a spell over you will come and ask for forgiveness.

If someone comes to your house and you don't want them to come back, find their tracks and nail them full of nails and they will just keep walking and walking; and will not be able to come back.

If someone dislikes you, break an egg into a glass half full of water, put a needle in it and place the glass under your bed to take that person's anger away.

If someone does you harm and you wish they would live a lot to suffer, they will die before you.

If someone does you dirty and you don't want them to come to your house, drop some salt back of them.

If someone has put something down for you to walk over, place a brown paper packet of red pepper in your shoes so walking will do you no harm.

If someone hoodoo or bewitch you, if you are a woman, you must go to a man to take it off; and if a man, you must go to a woman.

If someone is going with your husband or beau and you don't want them to go, go to their house and throw red pepper and salt in front of the door so they will walk over it; which will start them quarreling and they will fall out.

If someone is putting an evil spell on you; sit for an hour and close your eyes while imagining that everything around you is orange in color; which will break the spell.

If someone is bothering you, take a handful of salt and call their name and throw it over your right shoulder, and they will not bother you.

If someone shit in your front yard, take it up on a shovel, put turpentine on it, burn it, and their ass will burn forever.

If the law is after you, go and sleep in a cemetery overnight; and the next morning you can get up and the law will not be looking for you.

If the wife doesn't like her husband and she is pregnant, she should turn her back to him and make a wish for the child not to like the father, and the child will never care for the husband.

If two people are running around together and you want to break them up, take salt and pepper and mix it good, then put it down for them to walk over; and it will start them to fussing.

If you are blind a hoodoo woman can make you see in two days.

If you are going with a man and you don't want him to come back, get some of his hair and put it in a bottle, then go to the river and throw it in, and the man will go whichever way the bottle goes.

If you are going with someone and want to stop, get a can of acid and pour over their picture; and it will burn you apart.

If you are going with a young man and you don't want him to come back, put some red pepper and salt right in his foot tracks, and he will never come back again.

If you are going with a fellow and you can get one of his socks he has worn but never washed, and sleep with that under your pillow, he can never get away from you.

If you are going with a man and you want him to come back, spit on his back just as he is leaving the door.

If you are rich, a hoodoo woman could put her hand on you, and you will get poor in one hour.

If you can bury anyone's dirty clothes down by a stream of running water, when that cloth rotes they will start to fade and die.

If you can get someone's hair and bury it by a running stream, it will make them fade away and die.

If you can keep chickens with the feathers turned back the wrong way, you will never be hoodooed.

If you can't sleep at night, put some blessed water under your bed, and the witches will not bother you.

If you chew gum and lay it down around and a person don't like you, they can take your gum and hoodoo you if they want to.

If you do something to a person they don't like, they can drive a nail in your footprint and it will make you walk yourself to death.

If you don't like someone, take some of their hair and nail it on a tree; when that hair starts to grow, they will die.

If you don't like someone, take a rattlesnake and kill it, dry the snake and make a powder of it which, when placed in their coffee, will make them full of little snakes.

If you don't want anyone to live in a house, put rusty nails under their front doorstep and they will not live in that house over three days.

If you don't want someone to come back to your house, stick three nails in their heel of their shoe where they leave a track in the yard.

If you don't like someone and don't want them to come to your house, hang a bottle of blue vitriol by the porch or door and they will not come in your house.

If you don't like someone and can get a tintype of them, and put it in the cemetery, they will die.

If you don't want your friend to come back to your house, put his picture in the ground in salt, with the face down touching the salt and the head away from the house, and he will not come back.

If you don't want a girl to marry another man, just get her engagement ring and wear it for three days, then give it back to her; and she won't marry that man.

If you don't want your husband to have any nature for you, when he is sleeping measure his privates with a cord string and tie three knots in it; hide the string in the house and he will not have any desire for you.

If you don't want someone to come to your house, put red pepper, black pepper and salt under your door, and they will not come back.

If you don't want enemies to come around your house and put a spell on you, wash your front doorstep every Monday morning with urine.

If you fall out with your sweetheart, get up on a Friday night at midnight and put his picture on a cross and burn it up, and he will come back to you.

If you fall out with someone, and want them to come back, place their picture upside down while looking through a glass of water in front of a looking glass; which will make them come back.

If you find a rag in your feather bed with needles and thread just stuck in it, some old woman will come dressed in black and want to buy bottles or fruit jars at your house.

If you get a man's foot prints and put a rusty nail in it, his foot will burn him all the time.

If you get someone's sick clothes that you don't like, and bury them in an old hollow tree, they will start to bloating and never will come sick again unless you take the rags out of the tree.

If you get the eye of anyone and can hold it, you can make them do anything.

If you get the hat of someone and put vinegar and red pepper in it, then bury it, that will make them never satisfied with anything.

If you go somewhere and think you will be hoodooed, always carry a piece of bread in your pocket.

If you hang a bottle of bluing down a fireplace, it will keep Satan away.

If you have an enemy and don't want them to come around your house, wear salt and pepper in your shoes.

If you have a woman and don't want her to go with anyone, just give her a stick of powder chewing gum, and she can't leave you.

If you have a beau and he leaves and you don't want him to come back, throw a small bag of salt at him as he leaves the house.

If you have company and you don't want anyone to stay, try and get back of them and sprinkle a little salt on their left shoulder and they will leave.

If you have got it in for someone, take their dress or (if a man) pants and bury them; and when the clothes rot the person will die.

If you have it in for someone, get red pepper and have it cursed, and sprinkle it around their house so they can walk in it; it will make them very sick.

If you have not seen anyone for a long time, take their picture and set it up against the wall on the floor and you will see them soon.

If you have not seen anyone for a long time, take their picture and put it behind the looking glass and they will come soon.

If you have trouble with your beau and want him to come back, take his photo and bury it face down, wishing he will come back; and he will sure come back in three days.

If you keep a silver dime in your mouth, no one can poison you.

If you like someone and you want them to return, take a pin and lay it down with the point toward your front door, and leave it there nine days; and they will return.

If you love someone and they are indifferent to you, get a piece of their clothing that they have worn next to them and pin it next to the clothing you wear next to you, and they will soon grow to love you again.

If you love someone and want to bring them back, take a piece of cream cheese and some flour and make a ball of it, and drop it in their pocket without them knowing it.

If you meet someone with whom you are not acquainted, and he wants to pin a lower on you, he intends to bewitch you.

If you put your stockings on wrong side out, the witch will get you.

If you put a horseshoe over your door with the points down, a witch will never come under your door.

If you put salt and pepper in front of a house, it will bring bad luck to the people that live in the house.

If you put some vinegar and pepper in a man's pants, he won't be able to sit down for four weeks.

If you room at a house and leave your clothes there, they can fix you so you can't leave if you wanted to.

If you rub hot ashes on the inside of a person's shoes, it will make their arches fall.

If you see a witch coming, run and put the broom down in front of the door and say, "Kiss my ass" three times and she will not be able to step over the broom.

If you see someone on the street and they are very beautiful and look real strong at you, you had better turn around and spit three times, for they may have the evil eye and will throw a spell on you.

Weather Folklore

The moon and the weather may change together, But a change of the moon, will not change the weather.

A ring around the sun or moon, means rain or snow coming soon.

When grass is dry at morning light Look for rain before the night.

Dew on the grass, rain won't come to pass.

Sea gull, sea gull, sit on the sand, It's never good weather while you're on the land.

When sea-gulls fly to land, a storm is at hand.

Rain before seven, fine before eleven. Evening red and morning gray, two sure signs of one fine day.

The sudden storm lasts not three hours The sharper the blast, the sooner 'ties past.

The higher the clouds the better the weather.

Cold is the night when the stars shine bright.

Sound traveling far and wide, a stormy day betide.

When the forest murmurs and the mountain roars, Then close your windows and shut your doors.

When leaves show their undersides, be very sure that rain betides.

Chimney smoke descends, our nice weather ends.

When the night goes to bed with a fever, it will awake with a wet head.

When stars shine clear and bright, We will have a very cold night.

When the ditch and pond offend the nose, Then look out for rain and stormy blows.

Three days rain will empty any sky.

The farther the sight, the nearer the rain.

Rain long foretold, long last, Short notice, soon will pass.

The sharper the blast, the sooner 'tis past.

If bees stay at home, rain will soon come, If they flay away, fine will be the day.

The first and last frosts are the worst.

When clouds look like black smoke a wise man will put on his cloak.

A rainbow afternoon, Good weather coming soon.

A rainbow in the morning, is the shepherd's warning A rainbow at night is the shepherd's delight.
When the chairs squeak, it's of rain they speak.

Catchy drawer and sticky door, Coming rain will pour and pour.

The winds of the daytime wrestle and fight, Longer and stronger than those of the night.

Dust rising in dry weather is a sign of approaching change.

Sun sets Friday clear as bell, Rain on Monday sure as hell.

No weather's ill if the wind be still.

The squeak of the snow will the temperature show.

When smoke hovers close to the ground, there will be a weather change.

When down the chimney falls the soot Mud will soon be underfoot.

When the sun shines while raining, it will rain the same time again tomorrow.

When the wind blows from the west, fish bite best. When it blows from the east, fish bite least.

If salt is sticky, And gains in weight; It will rain Before too late.

Red sky at night, sailor's delight; Red sky in morning, sailor take warning.

When clouds appear like rocks and towers, The Earth's refreshed by frequent showers.

When the wind is in the east, 'tis neither good for man nor beast.

The more cloud types present, the greater the chance of rain or snow

Valentine's Day and Love Divinations

Peel an apple in one unbroken peel and throw it over your shoulder; it will reveal the initial of your soul mate.

Brush your hair in front of a mirror on Valentine's day or Halloween and you will see the reflection of your future partner.

If you already have a partner and you want to know if they're the 'one', carve their name into a leaf and put it in your shoe overnight. If the initals are clearer they'll marry you, if not they won't.

If three unmarried women sit at a table at the same time and say "White Horses", one of them will be married within a year.

St. Agnes's Eve Maidens who fasted and prayed to this patroness of chastity and retired without eating their supper would eagerly expect to dream of the man they were destined to marry. An alternative method was to put a slice of wedding cake under their pillows before retiring.

Sprinkle licorice herb over the footprints of your lover or spouse....this will keep them faithful.

Mix cumin in your lover's food or drink to keep them faithful, especially if you're going to be separated from them for a long time

Brew Senna herb into a tea, mix in your lover's bath will also keep them faithful.

Place your fingernail filings into your lover's coffee or tea will keep him/her faithful.

Be careful using any of these methods ... and be careful what you wish for!