This list is not exhaustive by any means, and it beggars belief how they remembered it all!
Water.
People were warned not to spurt or scatter the water from their hands after washing the first thing in the morning, else they would also scatter their good luck for the day.
To spill water while carrying it home from a spring or a brook was an omen of sorrow and unlucky.
Two persons should not wash in the same water without first making the sign of the cross over it.
Water and corpses are said to disagree.
The body of a drowned man always floats face downward, but a woman's keeps face upwards.
Rainwater baths will make babies talk early.
Water that will not readily boil is bewitched. To make this cursed water boil, you must use three different kinds of sacred wood to make the fire.
Money washed in clear rainwater cannot be stolen.
If a person bitten by an adder, viper, or any kind of serpent leapt across the nearest puddle of water before the reptile vanished, he would fight the venom successfully and not die. If it was only a small rain pool, it would still suffice as long as the serpent was still in sight when he leapt over it.
If you parted from a friend beside a bridge, you would part for ever. To avert the possibility of this, it was customary to cross together and say farewell on the other side.
In getting water from a brook, it is lucky to draw it with a pitcher downstream.
Pigs bathed in water in which killed swine have been scalded will thrive better and grow well.
The water in which a babe is washed for the first three months of its life used to be thrown under a green tree to make the child thrive.
There was an old belief in Wales, that if a man, wrapped up in the skin of an animal ‘just killed’ was then laid down alone beside a waterfall, he would have the future revealed to him by the sound of those crashing waters.
It is said that if anybody began childhood by taking a dose of seawater immediately upon getting out of bed every day, he would live to attain a great age.
People born near the sea were supposed to be brave.
A bunch of seaweed kept hanging in the back kitchen scared and kept away evil spirits.
It was customary for a newly married wife to drop a pin or pins into the house-well immediately after entering her new home. If she neglected to do so, the first year of her married life would be unlucky.
To pass a pin well without dropping a contribution in the shape of a pin or needle was regarded as very unlucky.
In some places, contributions of rags were expected as well as that of pins. Several wells or springs at Llancarfan in the Vale of Glamorgan were renowned as pin and rag wells.
Springs and wells in some districts were supposed to be guarded by serpents and dragons, and the killing or removal of this guardian was always attended by dire consequences, frequently by an epidemic which swept away whole families.
To offend a well or a spring was regarded as dangerous and extremely foolish.
Washing day lore:
If a new garment is washed for the first time when the moon is new, it will not wear well.
If the washerwoman pulls out any garment from the tub upside down or to the left, the wearer of the article will never be bewitched.
It is very unlucky to wash garments on New Year's Day.
To wash any articles on Good Friday was considered very unfortunate.
Garments washed with the ‘right side out’ would soon lose their good colour.
When the water boiling is ready for washing, it makes a great deal of steam, and so strangers may be expected.
If it boils quickly it is lucky, and when it boils slowly there will be a delay in business.
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The Sun and the Moon.
In Welsh folk-stories, all magical herbs must be gathered before sunrise.
All healing waters should also be drawn and quaffed before sunrise.
A superstition of very old standing was to say of the sun: 'He is going to rest, and he is awaking’.
In Bel’s morning splendour, especially at dawn of the great festivals, the sun was always described as dancing.
In many superstitions, the sun is described as laughing and being joyful. This evidently gave rise to the expression prevalent in many parts of rural Wales, ‘I can see the sun dancing before my eyes’. Meaning that it glittered.
‘Toriad-y-dydd’ (daybreak) and ‘Y seren ddyd’ (the day star) both waited upon the sun and heralded its rising.
People born at sunrise were regarded as likely to be very clever. Those born in the afternoon or about sunset are described as likely to be lazy.
During an eclipse of the sun, people in Wales covered their wells, fearing the water would turn impure.
May flowers gathered just before sunrise keep freckles away.
Dragons and flying serpents were supposed to count their gold at sunrise.
The new moon is considered propitious for all fresh undertakings. Thus, in Welsh lore it is mentioned that if you move into a new house or change from one residence to another at the time of new moon, you will have ‘plenty of bread and plenty to spare’.
If you count your money at the time of a new moon, you will never have an empty purse.
Wedded happiness and household stores will thrive, and money will increase if you gaze at the moon on the first new-moon night.
Never look at the new moon through glass or trees however, for it is unfortunate.
It is lucky to cut the hair and the nails on new moon lights.
If one member of a family dies at the time of new moon, three deaths are likely to follow.
Healing herbs and dew should be gathered at new moon.
Trenches made at new moon time will fall together.
To turn your back on the new moon when wishing for anything is unlucky.
Wood cut at new moon is hard to split, but at the full, it is easily cut.
The full moon, as opposed to the new, was propitious to all operations needing severance.
Grass should be mown at the full of the moon. In this way the hay dries quickly.
If a bed is filled with feathers when the moon has passed the full, the newly plucked feathers will lie at rest.
Trenches made at full moon will grow wider and deeper.
Winter crops must not be sown in the moon's idle or third quarter.
The pale new moon is indicative of rain, especially when surrounded by a cloud film.
A red full moon means a coming storm of wind.
A single ring, or halo around the moon was indicative of a storm. A double ring meant very rough weather.
A triple ring indicated a spell of highly unusual weather. If, when three days old, the moon appears very bright and clear, fine weather is promised.
A clear moon denotes frost, but a dull moon indicates rain.
If the new moon looks high, cold weather may be expected, but when it seems to be low down, warm weather is promised.
When the moon is clearly seen in the daytime, cool days may be expected.
If the new moon appears with points upwards, the month will be dry, but if her horns point downward, the month will be more or less rainy.
The Welsh say that when the moon looks like a golden boat or is on her back, the month will be wet.
The boat-like appearance of the moon is possibly a remnant of the Cerridwen myth.
It is considered very dangerous to sleep in the moonlight, and especially for moon-rays to fall on a sleeping child's face.
Moonlight falling on the eyes of any sleeping person causes blindness, and this is difficult to cure.
People say sleeping under the moonlight it will cause the person to become moonstruck, or a lunatic.
There was an old belief in Wales that all lunatics had been moonstruck in infancy, and incessant talkers were moon-led.
If the moon is allowed to shine in through the pantry window, much crockery will be broken.
If you hold a sixpence up to the new moon, you will never be short of money.
If lovers crossed the moon-line together they would never be married.
Fishermen avoided the moon-line when setting out to sea.
Never cross the moon-line without wishing for something.
Plants, herbs, and flowers should not be planted at the time of the waning moon.
Calves weaned at the time of the waning moon grow very lean.
It is unlucky to kill a pig when the moon is waning. The curing will be unsatisfactory, and the meat will shrink in boiling, roasting or toasting. This applies to fresh pork as well as cured bacon and ham.
If in the summer the new moon is seen with the old moon in her arms, the weather will be fine for the next quarter.
Fleecy clouds across the face of the moon are indicative of rain.
A misty moon means wet weather.
A very red moon rising is a sign of great heat.
Thunder and Lightning.
Sometimes, two sheathed and crossed knives were placed outside on a windowsill to prevent the house being struck by lightning.
In former years, when a person heard thunder for the first time in the season, he took a stone and tapped his forehead with it three times to prevent headaches during the next twelve months.
It was considered dangerous to take refuge under an oak during a thunderstorm, for the lightning was thought to penetrate fifty times deeper into it than into any other tree.
Animals struck by lightning were considered unfit for human food, being made poisonous.
Places struck by lightning were cursed.
People struck by lightning must have been very sinful.
When a person was struck by thunder or lightning, the old inhabitants said it was God’s judgment for some secret sin or wickedness.
When thunder was heard and lightning seen between the first day of November and the last day of January, the people said the most important person in the parish would die within the year of the occurrence.
Earth.
In former times it was customary for the farmers in springtime, when they turned up the first furrow with the plough, to take a handful of the earth and sprinkle it in the four comers of the kitchen for ‘luck and peace aplenty’.
Earth placed in the lining of a hat, or a small piece of turf fastened in the hatband was supposed to guard a man from magic and witchcraft.
It was a token of extreme scorn if anybody spat on the earth before another person.
Formerly such an action would end in a ‘free fight’ among villagers and others.
A handful of earth flung after anybody was equivalent to the challenge of the thrown gauntlet.
Gaps in the earth in any person's garden or field were said to foretoken death to the owner or to a tenant.
When the earth sinks mysteriously in a field, or anywhere near the premises of anybody, it is a token of misfortune.
A landslip was formerly avoided by children in their play, for they were told that such a thing never happened without sucking in evil men and naughty children.
Deep hollows in fields were said to have been caused by the curses of witches or the bans of enemies, and children didn’t need telling to stay clear.
If anybody wished to overcome an enemy or discover a thief, they had to cut a piece of sod trodden by the suspected person, wrap it in a rag, then place it under his pillow. That night and in his dreams, the guilty person would appear. This was to be done three nights in succession.
Christmas.
In the early part of the nineteenth century, people firmly believed that between eleven and twelve on Christmas Eve and the first hour of Christmas Day the cattle would kneel down in reverence, but the person who saw them do this would die within a year.
When the Christmas log is burning, you should take notice of the people's shadows on the wall. Those shadows that appear without heads, these are the persons who are to die within a year.
If you tie wet straw bands or hay bands around your fruit trees on Christmas Eve, they will yield plentifully during the next year.
If a hoop falls off a cask on Christmas Eve, somebody in the household will die within a year.
A bright and sunny Christmas foretokens full granaries and barns. A dull and cloudy Christmas promises empty granaries and barns.
If a spinster on Christmas Eve pours melted lead into cold water, it will turn into the shape of the tools her future husband will use.
Put a small heap of salt on the table on Christmas Eve. If it melts during the night you will die within a year. If it remains dry and undiminished, you will live to reach a very old age.
It is considered unlucky to hang up the mistletoe in houses, or to decorate rooms with holly before Christmas Eve.
The morning after Twelfth Night, all the Christmas holly and the mistletoe is burnt. It is unlucky to keep it up longer or to destroy it in any other way.
Everybody tasted as many Christmas puddings as possible during the holidays ‘for luck'.
Fire.
The old people would say, that while a good fire burns on the hearth, lightning will not strike the house.
Never leave a frying-pan on the fire without something in it, or else the wife of the house will have puckers in her face.
If the town clock strikes while the church bells are ringing there will soon be a fire in the parish.
When the fire under the oven hisses, there will be quarrels in the house.
If sparks of fire, fly from the candle when lighted, the person they fly towards will get money that day.
A crackling fire betokens strife; a dull fire betokens sorrow.
When there is a hollow in the fire, people say a grave will soon be dug for a member of the family.
When the fire is slow in lighting, they say ’The devil is sitting on top of the chimney,’ or ‘is in the chimney.’
Plants.
In Wales, like all other places, the mistletoe is an emblem of love, and a kiss given to any matron or maiden under it was regarded as a compliment, and not an insult.
A sprig of mistletoe gathered on St. John's Eve, or any time before the berries appeared, and placed under the pillow would induce dreams of omen, both good and bad. It would also reveal events likely to take place during the coming year.
It was considered particularly unlucky for anybody to bring mistletoe into the house before Christmas.
Holly was regarded with great superstition: If Holly was brought into the house before Christmas Eve, strife, family quarrels and all manner of disputes would ensue. Here it may be mentioned that the old people said, ‘if you pluck a sprig of holly in flower, there will be a death in your family’.
If you bring holly-flowers into the house you live in, or into a friend's dwelling, there will be a death on the premises within a year and a day.
The person who severs the holly-flowers from the bush will meet with misfortune, accident or death.
He who accidentally trod upon Selago, fell asleep and afterwards awoke to be able to understand the language of birds and animals.
People used to say that the man who could gather fern-seed would be able to dodge the devil.
It was formerly customary for waggoners to place a bunch of fern over their horse's ears or on the horse-collar, to ‘keep the devil away’ and to ‘baffle witches’.
Fern-seed was supposed to render people invisible.
Rosemary was regarded as an excellent remedy against chronic drunken habits. For this reason, an infusion of it was often put in the cask or measure of beer. It also kept the beer from turning sour.
The smoke of the burning bark of Rosemary would release a person from prison.
The leaves of Rosemary, pressed and applied as a poultice kept wounds from running.
Placed on the doorpost, Rosemary prevented adders and snakes from entering the house.
Spoons made from Rosemary wood rendered all food placed therein highly nutritious.
Mugwort was connected with several superstitions.
It was asserted that if a man wore a bit of Mugwort in his coat he would never get weary. A bit of Mugwort kept in the house would ‘scare the devil away’ and it would protect the property from fiends and witches. The juice of this plant was regarded as a cure for consumption.
An old rhyme, well known in some parts of South Wales, runs thus: ‘Drink nettle tea in March, and Mugwort tea in May, drink cowslip wine in June, to send decline away’.
Nettles boiled and eaten were supposed to quicken the senses and clear the brain.
If you would cultivate a good memory, use nettles as a vegetable in the spring.
A bunch of nettles in broth was supposed to induce appetite and promote sleep.
Marigolds were used for the same purpose as Nettles.
Vervain was one of the sacred plants of the Druids. With it were associated the trefoil and the hyssop.
The Druids used Vervain for casting lots and foretelling future events.
Also known as the ‘Tears of Isis’, Vervain was considered holy as it staunched bleeding from wounds.
Vervain was also in great request as a love potion.
Valerian had healing and magical powers of high repute.
Girls used to conceal Valerian in their girdles and inside their bodices to secure the admiration of the opposite sex.
In the Middle Ages, Valerian was considered efficacious against the plague. It is still used for various purposes in Wales.
Basil roots were chopped up finely and mixed with pig's wash, to keep them free from disease.
The sow-thistle had magical properties, and people said, he that carried it in his belt or put a leaf of it in his hat would be able to run and never get tired. At the same time, it would take the strength out of his companion, and if by accident a man gave some of the leaves of it to his wife, one of the persons would waste away and die.
Sow-thistle was generally applied to a cut or gash made by the hoof or teeth of a hog.
Sometimes it was thrown in or near the swine-trough so that the pigs might fatten quickly, and formerly, some of it was tied to the tails of horses before a ploughing match.
Neither the devil nor any witch or hag of the night could harm a person who wore a leaf of the sow-thistle on their person.
Betony is known in Welsh as ‘St. Bride's comb’. It was lucky for the girl whose sweetheart was the earliest to find the first betony.
Worn in the hat, Betony was supposed to confound witches and keep evil spirits away.
In some parts of Wales, Betony is still known as the ‘Bishop's flower’.
No Beltain/Beltane/Beltân fire was complete without Betony.
Henbane was regarded as a plant of evil repute, and people told their children that if they ate even a tiny little a bit of it, they would go ‘stark raving mad’.
A decoction of Henbane was given to persons suffering from tendencies to insanity or any kind of mental trouble, and it would quickly work a cure.
There was a belief that if any young child fell asleep near the henbane plant, he would ‘sleep for ever’.
The Periwinkle was known as ‘the plant of the dead’ as it used to be grown chiefly on graves.
It is thought unlucky to uproot the Periwinkle from a grave or to pluck a flower from it, for the dead will appear to the person who takes either, and his dreams for the next twelve months will be very wretched and miserable.
Mandrake; Black Bryony.
In many parts of Wales, the Black Bryony, with its dark green and glossy leaves and its brilliant red berries and which clings to trees and shrubs has no tendrils, and it was known as the mysterious and uncanny Mandrake.
The leaves and fruit of Mandrake were called ‘charnel food’, and formerly it was supposed only to grow beside the gallows-tree or near to a crossroads.
Witches were said to gather the leaves and flowers, and they were known to uproot the plant for magical purposes. When uprooted, it shrieked and groaned like a sensible human being however, and its agony was dreadful to hear. From its stalk a sweat like blood oozed, and with each drop, a faint scream was heard.
There was an old saying that people who uprooted the mandrake would die within a year. They would die groaning as the mandrake died, or approach their death raving, or uttering penitent prayers for having uprooted the unholy plant.
Witches kept the mandrake, and apparently sold portions of it to people who wanted to find out secrets, or to wives who desired offspring, and to people who wished for wisdom.
In some of the old stories, the origin of the Mandrake was curious and mysterious; If an innocent man suffered on the gallows and his tears fell to the earth, there would grow on the spot the broad-leaved, yellow-flowered Mandrake.
Mandrake was also supposed to grow mysteriously near to crossroads where suicides were often buried.
Leeks are associated with victory by the Welsh.
Leeks are one of the national emblems of Wales and were probably used by the early Britons when victorious on the battlefield.
It was at one time supposed, that a person who had leeks or garlic on his body at the time of a fight would be victorious without a wound.
Men, notorious as fighters in Wales wore the leek in their caps and were accustomed to rub their bodies with leeks, wild onions or garlic before encounters with opponents.
In the days of old, a Leek was thrown into the loving cup.
With the Leek, people in Wales made divinations, and when worn, it scared evil spirits and enemies away.
It is considered very lucky to have a bed of leeks growing in the garden.
The Daffodil is called in some places the ‘Leek of St. Peter’, and sometimes the ‘Leek of the Goslings’, and the ‘Leek of the spring’. It is also called ‘Croeso'r Gwanwyn’; the ‘welcome of spring’, and ‘Gwanwyn y brenin’, the ‘king of the spring’.
St. Non the Blessed, the mother of St. David was associated with the daffodil, which grew in profusion in the Vale of Aeron, where the patron saint of Wales was born on March 1st.
In springtime, the Daffodil would be the most prominent flower in the country.
Whatever may be said in favour of the Daffodil, the claim of the common, wild, or cultivated Leek is strongly supported by the assertion that in primitive times, victorious warriors wore it, and so, as late as the last half of the eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth century, champions and fighters of Wales patronized it.
The house Leek, so often seen upon the garden walls and on housetops, or somewhere on the premises was considered to be a protection from thunderbolts, lightning, and fire.
In some parts of Wales, daffodils are known as ‘babies’ bells’. People would say that only infants and very young children can hear them ringing.
It is considered very lucky to find the first daffodil, for you will have more gold than silver that year.
The Lungwort was called the ‘herb of Mary’ and was a proof against witches.
Many flowers and herbs are associated with the Madonna and St. Bridget including the Lungwort, and all of them were worn or used as a protection against witches and evil spirits.
Springwort was supposed to indicate where hidden treasures might be found, and particularly minerals. Enclosed in a man's stick, it would lead the owner to places where iron-ore could be found, and it could also protect him against robbers.
Saxifrage, or Sassafras, was regarded as a rock-breaking plant. People said it would split the hardest stone growing near it.
When worn near the heart, Saxifrage had the power of rendering the wearer victorious over his enemies and removing all obstacles from his way.
Elecampane was considered a lucky plant to wear in the hat or cap, because it had the power to frighten robbers, thieves, and all sly people. If placed in the cap of a deceptive person, the latter would immediately get very red in the face.
Welsh children have a rhyme running thus: ‘Elecampane - what is my name? If you ask me again, I will tell you the same’.
The Common Teasel was a protection against witches.
Water or dew standing in the hollow of the leaves of the Common Teasel was a remedy for freckles.
Stonecrop was seen on many of the thatched and older cottages and farmsteads in Wales. It was originally placed there as a protection against thunderbolts, lightning, and witches.
Ground Ivy, with its small blue flowers, was a sanitary herb or weed, and a safeguard against sorcery. In the past, milk- maids wore it when first milking the cows in the pastures.
An infusion of Ground Ivy grown near eye-wells was considered good for bathing weak eyes.
A poultice made of Ground Ivy leaves applied to sore eyes invariably cured them.
The clover or the shamrock, sometimes called the trefoil was connected with the name Olwen; the beautiful daughter of the ‘hawthorn-headed’ giant. Wherever Olwen trod, a four-leaved shamrock sprang up.
It was considered lucky and a token of marriage to find the four-leaved variety.
Worn upon the person, or placed under the pillow, Trefoil induced cheerfulness of mind, and made people light-hearted.
Trefoil/Clover/Shamrock is given and accepted as an emblem of good luck.
Parsley was regarded as a root, the leaves of which ‘cleared the brain’.
It was considered very unlucky to accept a root of parsley, but you could take the leaves for good luck.
If the parsley withered, there would be a death in the house.
If Parsley grew and flourished, peace and plenty are promised.
If you give away a root of parsley, you will give away your luck.
Lemon-thyme, Thyme, Marjoram, and Savoury were grown in old-fashioned gardens for luck, and these herbs were shunned by witches and fairies. They scared spirits away, and it was customary to scatter them upon the dead and to throw bunches of them on the coffin when in the grave.
Some of the older women would say that when they were girls, they would wear sprigs of those herbs, with mint and lavender added to bring them sweethearts.
Mint and Peppermint leaves were known to be worn for luck in business transactions.
Meadow-sweet is regarded as a fatal flower in Wales.
There is an old story to the effect, that if a person falls asleep in a room where Meadow-sweet flowers were placed, death was inevitable.
Meadow-sweet is known as a death-flower and a poisonous plant, for the effects of which there is no antidote.
It is considered quite dangerous for anybody to fall asleep in a field where Meadow-sweet is to be found in abundance.
Primroses, Apples, and all wild-fruit blossoms were among the sacred offerings of the Druids, with whom the Selago and Crocus were also popular.
Triple leaves, plucked at hazard from the common ash, were in the days of old worn by those who desired prophetic dreams concerning a dilatory lover.
Leaves of the yellow trefoil answered the same purpose.
Lilac blossoms were supposed to indicate changes of the weather. If they remained closed longer than usual, fine and warm weather might be expected. If they opened rapidly, rain would fall soon.
If Lilacs quickly drooped and faded, a warm summer would follow.
Late-flowering Lilacs indicated a rainy season.
May blossoms, buds, and flowers from certain old thorns were never gathered or brought into the house, for fear ‘death would follow’.
Branches of Whitethorn were suspended outside houses on May Day to keep witches away.
For outdoor use and decoration, may blossoms and whitethorn sprays were lucky.
Cowslips are still used as a party test by children in Wales, who make the blossoms into flower balls. These they toss up and catch with the right hand only, while repeating: ‘Pisty, posty, four-and-forty, how many years shall I live? One, two, three, four, and so on, until the ball falls at the fateful number.
Cowslip tea and cowslip wine were said to ‘strengthen the senses’.
In Wales, the Daisy is generally selected by the doubting maiden who is wishful to test the fidelity of her lover. Gathering a daisy, she starts to pluck the petals off, saying with each one, "Does he love me? Much, a little, devotedly, not at all!" And the last petal decides the question.
An old Welsh belief indicated that the Daisy was first planted on a baby's grave by infant angels.
Another belief was that the first Daisy owed its origin to the death of a beautiful and royal infant, who was transformed into a new and lovely flower in the land.
Marjoram, St. John's wort, and White Heather were capable of scaring the devil.
Wild marjoram and Thyme both thrown into a fairy ring would bewilder and confuse the fairies.
St. John's wort blossomed on St. John's Day, and in honour of that festival, people formerly decorated their houses with it, adding thereto, birch, larch, fennel, and the flower of St. John.
In Wales, St. John's wort is frequently called the ‘school or the ladder of Christ’.
The Scarlet Pimpernel; known as the ‘poor man's clock’ which opens at 7 a.m. and closes about 2 p.m.
The Scarlet Pimpernel was regarded as a barometer. On the approach of rain, the flowers will not open, or, if open, they would close at once.
Forget-me-nots were associated in Wales with hidden treasure, and their talismanic power was considerable.
Forget-me-nots promoted prosperity and fidelity. At the same time, they were regarded as unlucky for lovers to give each other forget-me-nots because they indicated estrangement, a severance, or an improbability of marriage between the pair.
Lavender blossoms brought luck to the wearer.
Sprigs of Lavender worn about the person were capable of bewildering witches and confusing evil spirits.
Lavender also quickened the wits or senses of dull minded people, and it cleared the brains of poets and preachers.
Lavender-water purified the face.
Golden broom is called by the Welsh the ‘goldfinch of the meadows’, and it was always among the wedding blossoms.
Golden Broom was also used as a charm, and if waved over a restless person, it induced sleep.
In the parish of Llanganten, Breconshire, it is asserted that the Broom has never grown again on the spot where Llewelyn, the last native Prince of Wales was slain. That dingle was formerly overgrown by Broom.
The old-fashioned bridal flowers of Wales were pansies of all colours and roses of every description, excepting any shade of yellow. Their bridal posies often held, prick-madam, gentle heart, lady's fingers, lady's smock, prickles, blossoming gorse or furze, red clover bloom, scarlet-fuchsia, golden rod, ivy, shamrock, a few straws, and heather, which are all considered very lucky.
May blossoms are unlucky for weddings.
Yarrow, sprigs of yew and box are all funeral tokens in Wales.
The yarrow, sometimes named ‘boy's love’, is called the ‘death flower’ in Wales, where it is considered a token of death if brought into the house.
The Thorn-apple was considered in some mysterious way to be closely connected with, and used by, wizards and witches. It assisted their incantations and helped them to develop the cult of second sight.
In Puritanical times, those who grew Thorn-apple in their gardens were in danger of being persecuted or burnt for wizards or witches.
It is regarded as very unlucky to have in a household, flowers that only flourish in the summer and yet bloom in the winter.
An old Welsh woman once said: "I thought death was coming, because all my geraniums have been in flower from November to February”. Three of her very near relatives died within those months.
On the small islands of the Steep and Flat Holms, Sully and Barry in the Bristol Channel, the blossoming of the Burnet Rose ‘out of its proper season’ was regarded as an omen of shipwreck and disaster.
The blossoming of Christmas Roses late in the spring indicates unexpected events in West Wales.
A Primrose blooming in June, and a summer rose unfolding in November or December are both regarded as signs of trouble and bad luck by people living in Mid-Wales.
If Ivy growing on an old house begins to fall away from the walls or becomes shrivelled, people predict financial disaster or misfortune to the owner of the property, or the property will soon pass out of the present owner's possession.
In a remote village when a certain crab-apple-tree overhanging a well blossomed out of season, there were said to be more births and marriages than deaths during the ensuing year.
Whenever a very old plum tree blossomed in a certain Glamorgan farm, a wedding takes place in the family soon thereafter.
‘Untimely fruit - untimely news’ is an old Welsh saying.
Ancient Herbal Medicines & Remedies:
Autumn Crocus – Used for pain relief.
Bee Pollen – Widely used for energy and healing.
Bee Stings – A truly ancient therapy and used for pain relief but especially arthritis.
Bindweed – Purgative.
Birch bark tar – Chew to relieve tooth ache and used as a disinfectant.
Burdock – Used to combat a Hangover, Headaches and Joint Pain.
Charcoal – Used for Sickness and to relieve Poisoning (still is).
Chickweed – Coughs.
Cornflower – Fever.
Dandelion - Caise (Brigid’s Bloom) – Fevers and Jaundice and a liver tonic (Used at Imbolc).
Ergot - (A purple-black, parasitic blight on Rye & Wheat). Causes hallucinations and eventually gangrene, also used to cause abortion.
Fennel – promotes mother’s milk, hunters consumed it to promote sight and night-vision.
Fraoch - (Whortleberry/Bilberries) – general health (celebrated at the festival of Lughnas).
Henbane – Poisonous but used in small doses by the Uati for hallucinations.
Laurel - (Bay) – stomach cramps and period pains/ also used for divination.
Lavender – aids sleep, lowers tension, headaches and migraines – also a good antiseptic ointment.
Maeg - (Chamomile) – sedative and anti-inflammatory, also used to ward off evil spirits.
Marsh Marigold – (Thought to be sacred. Uati used for spells?).
Milk of the Poppy – Opium/Laudanum/Goshe (Papaver to Romans) Used for pain relief and by Druids to alter mental state.
Nettle - (Neaan) Stops bleeding and known as ‘Devil’s Claws’. They were thought to be the abode of fairies.
Rowan – (Mountain Ash). Sap was given to new-born infants to ward off evil spirits.
Sage – Smudging or burning for ceremonies and to ward off malevolent spirits from the sick
Saille (Willow) – (root) Rheumatism (bark) pain relief (The source of Aspirin) ‘Willow-water’ (a steep) was also used to promote rooting in crops as Willow branches are self-rooting.
Thyme – gets rid of mucus after a cold, clears the chest.
Toadflax – ulcers (usually prescribed alongside a diet of soft-boiled eggs, leeks, curds and surprise-surprise; porridge!)
Vervain – (‘Tears of Isis’ and considered holy) – staunches bleeding from wounds.
Viscum - (Comfrey) – broken bones, wound repair and internal bleeding.
Walnuts - to improve brain function.
Wild Garlic – reduces tension, good for colds and a general tonic for the blood.
For Sties to the eye, take leek and garlic of both equal quantities, pound them well together and mix with wine before applying as a poultice. (Don’t try this at home!)
Sacred Stones.
The Sogranus Stone at St. Dogmells in Pembrokeshire was formerly used as a bridge. On the ‘three spirit nights’ it was frequented by the devil, and at midnight in winter, a white lady haunted it.
On a certain day in the year, the dancing-stones of Stackpool were said to meet and to come down to Sais's Ford to dance. If anybody witnessed this performance, it meant exceptional good luck to him. The witches held their revels, and the devil played the flute occasionally around the dancing-stones.
Carreg y Lleidr near Llandyfrydog in Anglesea has the ‘Robber's Stone’. A man once stole the bells from the village church and was turned into stone for his theft.
Lechlaver; the ‘talking stone’ of St. David's was a marble slab placed where the bridge over the brook now stands. Once, when a corpse was carried over it, the stone broke into speech and cracked the coffin.
Not far from Aber, and about two and a half miles from Llanfairfechan, and in one of the wildest and most lonely valleys in North Wales is the celebrated ‘Arrow Stone’, upon which the chieftains of old sharpened their battle-axes and other implements of war. Labourers going home from field work and people living near the valley declared that if ever the sound of any instrument being sharpened upon the stone reached them, it was an omen of bad luck to the hearer, and it foretokened an epidemic in the country or some disaster in Wales.
Arthur's Quoit, at Lligwy near Moelfre in Anglesea is one of the stones of a cromlech, once very important, and to it curious stories were formerly attached.
Animals.
It was said that if a man were stung by a snake, and could very soon afterwards catch it, or another serpent, and cut the body open lengthwise, he would find a long roll of white fat within, which, when applied to the wound was a certain cure.
According to an old tradition, whenever a snake is found under or near a hazel-tree on which the mistletoe grows, the creature has a precious stone on its head.
The ash-tree is said to have a ‘spite against snakes’.
In the heads of toads and adders, stones of varied powers were said to be engendered, and they were always associated with witchcraft and magic.
In stories told by aged people, both men and women, it was said that the person who could muster up enough courage to eat the flesh of the white snake, he would soon be able to understand the language of ‘beasts, birds, reptiles, and the fish’.
One of the oldest beliefs was that, when a dragon or a winged serpent was discovered in the act of conveying treasure, food, or a babe to its den, the creature would drop them all if the name of Christ were repeated several times.
Another old superstition was that all lizards were formerly women.
It was said in Wales that a snakeskin plaited into a whip and used by a waggoner, or a carrier of any kind, it would enable his horses to draw the heaviest load.
A stone of the snake or adder placed in the bottom of a goblet of wine, or any kind of spirit or alcoholic liquor prevented intoxication.
The heart of a snake or adder, or a frog, encased in a locket and worn around the neck will insure luck in any speculative game or business.
If snakes, toads, frogs, or adders enter a house in May, they bring sickness or misfortune.
Snakes, toads, frogs, and lizards seem to have played important parts in magic. Witches were supposed to have the bridles for their midnight rides made of snakeskin.
If on your way to market you see a snake, a toad, or a frog crossing your path, you will not have luck in buying or selling that day.
If the first frog you see in spring leaps into water and not on land, you will have more loss than gain during that year.
Toads, frogs, and adders were called the ‘flocks of the witches’.
If an adder is seen in a house, somebody will die within a year.
In some parts of the Principality there was formerly a tradition that every farmhouse had two snakes; a male and a female. They never appeared until just before the death of the master or the mistress of the house, and then the snakes died.
How on earth did they remember all that in their daily lives?
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