“Moon, moon, tell unto meWhen my true love I shall see?What fine clothes am I to wear?How many children shall I bear?For if my love comes not to meDark and dismal my life will be.”
“Moon, moon, tell unto meWhen my true love I shall see?What fine clothes am I to wear?How many children shall I bear?For if my love comes not to meDark and dismal my life will be.”
“Moon, moon, tell unto meWhen my true love I shall see?What fine clothes am I to wear?How many children shall I bear?For if my love comes not to meDark and dismal my life will be.”
“Moon, moon, tell unto me
When my true love I shall see?
What fine clothes am I to wear?
How many children shall I bear?
For if my love comes not to me
Dark and dismal my life will be.”
Then the girl, cutting three pieces of clay from the sod with a black-hafted knife, carries them home, ties them up in the left stocking with the right garter, places the parcel under her pillow, and dreams a true dream of the man she is to marry and of all her future fate.
Ten leaves of the hemlock dried and powdered and mixed in food or drink will make the person you like to love you in return.Also keep a sprig of mint in your hand till the herb grows moist and warm, then take hold of the hand of the woman you love, and she will follow you as long as the two hands close over the herb. No invocation is necessary; but silence must be kept between the two parties for ten minutes, to give the charm time to work with due efficacy.
The healing art in all the early stages of a nation’s life, and amongst all primitive tribes, has been associated with religion. For the wonderful effects produced by certain herbs and modes of treatment were believed by the simple and unlettered people to be due to supernatural influence acting in a mystic and magical manner on the person afflicted.
The medicine men were therefore treated with the profoundest awe and respect. And the medicine women came in also for their share of veneration and often of superstitious dread; for their mysterious incantations were supposed to have been taught to them by fairies and the spirits of the mountain.
The Irish from the most remote antiquity were devoted to mystical medicine, and had a remarkable knowledge of cures and remedies for disease, obtained through the power and action of herbs on the human frame.
The physicians of the pagan era formed a branch of the Druid priesthood, and were treated with distinguished honour. They had special places assigned to them at the royal banqueting table at Tara, and a certain revenue was secured to them that they might live honourably.
When in attendance on a patient the doctor was entitled by law to his diet, along with four of his pupils; but if he failed to cure from deficiency of skill, he was obliged to refund the fees and pay back all the expenses of his keep; a measure which no doubt greatly stimulated the serious attention of the learned ollamhs of healing to the case in hand.
So great, indeed, was the importance attached to the healing art in Ireland, that even prior to the Christian era, a building of the nature of an hospital was erected at Tara, near to the palace of the king. This was called “The House of Sorrow,” and the sick and wounded were provided there with all necessary care.
On one occasion it is recorded that a great chief and prince out of Munster was brought to “The House of Sorrow” to be treated of wounds received in battle, but the attendant, through treachery,placed poison in the wounds, and then closed them so carefully that there was no external sign, though the groans of the wounded man were terrible to hear. Then the learned Fioneen was sent for, “the prophetic physician,” as he was called, from his great skill in diagnosis; and when he arrived with three of his pupils at the hospital they found the chief lying prostrate, groaning in horrible agony.
“What groan is that?” asked the master of the first pupil.
“It is from a poisoned barb,” he answered.
“And what groan is that?” asked the master, of the second pupil.
“It is from a hidden reptile,” he answered.
“And what groan is that?” asked Fioneen of the third pupil.
“It is from a poisoned seed,” he answered.
Then Fioneen set to work, and having cauterized the wounds with red hot irons, the poisonous bodies were extracted from beneath the skin, and the chief was healed.
In later times the Irish physicians were much celebrated for their learning, and numerous Irish medical manuscripts are in existence, both in Ireland and England, and are also scattered through the public libraries of the continent. They are chiefly written in Latin, with a commentary in Irish, and show a thorough knowledge on the part of the writers of the works of Hippocrates, Galen, Aristotle, and others as celebrated. For after the introduction of Christianity Latin was much cultivated in the Irish schools, and the priests and physicians not only wrote, but could converse fluently in Latin, which language became the chief medium of communication between them and the learned men of the continent. But the most ancient mode of procedure amongst the Irish ollamhs and adepts was of a medico-religious character; consisting of herb cures, fairy cures, charms, invocations, and certain magical ceremonies. A number of these cures have been preserved traditionally by the people, and form a very interesting study of early medical superstitions, as they have been handed down through successive generations; for the profession of a physician was hereditary in certain families, and the accumulated lore of centuries was transmitted carefully from father to son by this custom and usage.
Many of the ancient cures and charms are strange and mystic, and were accompanied by singular mysterious forms, which no doubt in many cases aided the cure; especially amongst a people so imaginative and susceptible to spiritual influences as the Irish. Others show a fervent faith and have a pathetic simplicity of expression, such as we find in “The Charm against Sorrow,” and others, from the original Irish, of equal pathos and tenderness, to be quoted further on. The utterance evidently of a people ofdeep, almost sublime, faith in the Divine power of the Ruler of the world, and of the ever-present ministration of saints and angels to humanity.
Every act of the Irish peasant’s life has always been connected with the belief in unseen spiritual agencies. The people live in an atmosphere of the supernatural, and nothing would induce them to slight an ancient form or break through a traditional usage. They believe that the result would be something awful; too terrible to be spoken of save in a whisper, should the customs of their forefathers be lightly interfered with.
In the Western Islands especially, the old superstitions that have come down from the ancient times are observed with the most solemn reverence, and the people in fact, as to their habits and ideas, remain much the same as St. Patrick left them fourteen hundred years ago. The swift currents of thought that stir the great centres of civilization and impel the human intellect on its path of progress, have never reached them; all the waves of the centuries drift by their shores and leave them unchanged.
It is therefore in the islands and along the western coast that one gathers most of those strange legends, charms, mysteries, and world-old superstitions which have lingered longer in Ireland than in any other part of Europe.
Many of those included in the following selection were narrated by the peasants, either in Irish, or in the expressive Irish-English, which still retains enough of the ancient idiom to make the language impressively touching and picturesque. The ancient charms which have come down by tradition from a remote antiquity are peculiarly interesting from their deep human pathos, blended with the sublime trust in the Divine invisible power, so characteristic of the Irish temperament in all ages. A faith that believes implicitly, trusts devoutly, and hopes infinitely; when the soul in its sorrow turns to heaven for the aid which cannot be found on earth, or given by earthly hands. The following charms from the Irish express much of this mingled spirit of faith and hope:—
A charm set by Mary for her Son, before the fair man and the turbulent woman laid Him in the grave.
The charm of Michael with the shield;Of the palm-branch of Christ;Of Bridget with her veil.
The charm of Michael with the shield;Of the palm-branch of Christ;Of Bridget with her veil.
The charm of Michael with the shield;Of the palm-branch of Christ;Of Bridget with her veil.
The charm of Michael with the shield;
Of the palm-branch of Christ;
Of Bridget with her veil.
The charm which God set for Himself when the divinity within Him was darkened.
A charm to be said by the cross when the night is black and the soul is heavy with sorrow.
A charm to be said at sunrise, with the hands on the breast, when the eyes are red with weeping, and the madness of grief is strong.
A charm that has no words, only the silent prayer.
“O Christ, by your five wounds, by the nine orders of angels, if this woman is ordained for me, let me hold her hand now, and breathe her breath. O my love, I set a charm to the top of your head; to the sole of your foot; to each side of your breast, that you may not leave me nor forsake me. As a foal after the mare, as a child after the mother, may you follow and stay with me till death comes to part us asunder.Amen.”
Another.
A charm of most desperate love, to be written with a raven’s quill in the blood of the ring finger of the left hand.
“By the power that Christ brought from heaven, mayest thou love me, woman! As the sun follows its course, mayest thou follow me. As light to the eye, as bread to the hungry, as joy to the heart, may thy presence be with me, O woman that I love, till death comes to part us asunder.”
“God save thee, Michael, archangel! God save thee!”
“What aileth thee, O man?”
“A headache and a sickness and a weakness of the heart. O Michael, archangel, canst thou cure me, O angel of the Lord?”
“May three things cure thee, O man. May the shadow of Christ fall on thee! May the garment of Christ cover thee! May the breath of Christ breathe on thee! And when I come again thou wilt be healed.”
These words are said over the patient while his arms are lifted in the form of a cross, and water is sprinkled on his head.
“God save you, my three brothers, God save you! And how far have ye to go, my three brothers?”
“To the Mount of Olivet, to bring back gold for a cup to hold the tears of Christ.”
“Go, then. Gather the gold; and may the tears of Christ fall on it, and thou wilt be cured, both body and soul.”
These words must be said while a drink is given to the patient.
“‘The child has the measles,’ said John the Baptist.
“‘The time is short till he is well,’ said the Son of God.
“‘When?’ said John the Baptist.
“‘Sunday morning, before sunrise,’ said the Son of God.”
This is to be repeated three times, kneeling at a cross, for three mornings before sunrise, and the child will be cured by the Sunday following.
Three stones must be charmed by the hands of a wise fairy doctor, and cast by his hand, saying as he does so—
“The first stone I cast is for the head in the mad fever; the second stone I cast is for the heart in the mad fever; the third stone I cast is for the back in the mad fever.
“In the name of the Trinity, let peace come.Amen.”
Three things are of the Evil One—
An evil eye;An evil tongue;An evil mind.
An evil eye;An evil tongue;An evil mind.
An evil eye;An evil tongue;An evil mind.
An evil eye;
An evil tongue;
An evil mind.
Three things are of God; and these three are what Mary told to her Son, for she heard them in heaven—
The merciful word;The singing word;And the good word.
The merciful word;The singing word;And the good word.
The merciful word;The singing word;And the good word.
The merciful word;
The singing word;
And the good word.
May the power of these three holy things be on all the men and women of Erin for evermore.
“The briar that spreads, the thorn that grows, the sharp spike that pierced the brow of Christ, give you power to draw this thorn from the flesh, or let it perish inside; in the name of the Trinity.Amen.”
Take a handful of clay from a new-made grave, and shake it between them, saying—
“Hate ye one another! May ye be as hateful to each other as sin to Christ, as bread eaten without blessing is to God.”
This is a charm I set for love; a woman’s charm of love and desire; a charm of God that none can break—
“You for me, and I for thee and for none else; your face to mine, and your head turned away from all others.”
This is to be repeated three times secretly, over a drink given to the one beloved.
Kill a black cock, and go to the meeting of three cross-roads where a murderer is buried. Throw the dead bird over your left shoulder then and there, after nightfall, in the name of the devil, holding a piece of money in your hand all the while. And ever after, no matter what you spend, you will always find the same piece of money undiminished in your pocket.
“I kill a hound. I kill a small hound. I kill a deceitful hound. I kill a worm, wherein there is terror; I kill all his wicked brood. Seven angels from Paradise will help me, that I may do valiantly, and give no more time to the worm to live than while I recite this prayer.Amen.”
“Take away the pain, O Mary, mother, and scatter the mistfrom the eyes. For all power is given to the mother of Christ to give light to the eyes, and to drive the red mist back to the billows whence it came.”
Rub the part affected with flax and tow, heated in the fire, repeating in Irish—
“In the name of a rough man and a mild woman, and of the Lamb of God, be healed from your pains and your sins. So be it.Amen.”
This custom refers to the tradition that one day the Lord Christ, being weary, asked leave to rest in a house, but was refused by the master of the house, a rough, rude man. Then the wife, being a mild woman, had pity on the wayfarer, and brought Him in to rest, and gave Him a cup of water to drink, and spake kindly to Him. After which the man was suddenly taken with severe pains, and seemed like to die in his agony.
On this Christ called for some flax and tow, and, breathing on it, placed it on the part affected, by which means the man was quite healed. And then the Lord Christ went His way, but not before the man had humbly asked pardon for his rudeness to a stranger.
The tradition of this cure has remained ever since, and a hot plaster of flax and tow is used by the peasantry invariably for all sudden pains, and found to be most efficacious as a cure.
“May Christ and His saints stand between you and harm.Mary and her Son.St. Patrick with his staff.Martin with his mantle.Bridget with her veil.Michael with his shield.And God over all with His strong right hand.”
“May Christ and His saints stand between you and harm.Mary and her Son.St. Patrick with his staff.Martin with his mantle.Bridget with her veil.Michael with his shield.And God over all with His strong right hand.”
“May Christ and His saints stand between you and harm.Mary and her Son.St. Patrick with his staff.Martin with his mantle.Bridget with her veil.Michael with his shield.And God over all with His strong right hand.”
“May Christ and His saints stand between you and harm.
Mary and her Son.
St. Patrick with his staff.
Martin with his mantle.
Bridget with her veil.
Michael with his shield.
And God over all with His strong right hand.”
“O Mary, who had the victory over all women, give me victory now over my enemies, that they may fall to the ground, as wheat when it is mown.”
“Who will heal me from the red, thirsty, shivering cold disease that came from the foreigner, and kills people with its poisonous pain?” “The prayer of Mary to her Son, the prayer of Columbkill to God; these will heal thee.Amen.”
Another.
Say this oration three times over the patient, making the sign of the cross each time—
“Bridget, Patrick, Solomon, and the great Mary, banish this redness off you.”
Then take butter, breathe on it quite close, and give it to the person to chafe himself therewith.
To ascertain if he will recover, put a handful of yarrow in his hand while he is sleeping; if it is withered in the morning he will die; but if it remains fresh the disease will leave him.
Whisper the Creed in his right ear on a Friday, and again in his left ear on a Wednesday. Do this weekly till he is tamed; for so he will be.
“The poison of a serpent, the venom of the dog, the sharpness of the spear, doth not well in man. The blood of one dog, the blood of many dogs, the blood of the hound of Fliethas—these I invoke. It is not a wart to which my spittle is applied. I strike disease; I strike wounds. I strike the disease of the dog that bites, of the thorn that wounds, of the iron that strikes. I invoke the three daughters of Fliethas against the serpent. Benediction on this body to be healed; benediction on the spittle; benediction on him who casts out the disease. In the name of God.Amen.”
To be said in Irish, while a piece of butter is rubbed over the breast—
“O Son, see how swelled is the breast of the woman! O, you that bore a Son, look at it yourself! O Mary! O King of Heaven, let this woman be healed!Amen.”
Close the wound tightly with the two fingers, and repeat these words slowly—
“In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Mary. The wound was red, the cut was deep, and the flesh was sore; but there will be no more blood, and no more pain, till the blessed Virgin Mary bears a child again.”
This is a charm Mary gave to St. Bridget, and she wrote it down, and hid it in the hair of her head, without deceit—
“If a fairy, or a man, or a woman hath overlooked thee, there are three greater in heaven who will cast all evil from thee into the great and terrible sea. Pray to them, and to the seven angels of God, and they will watch over thee.Amen.”
“The fire of earth is hot, and the fire of hell is hotter; but the love of Mary is above all. Who will quench the fire? Who will heal the sick? May the fire of God consume the Evil One!Amen.”
Get a raven’s heart, split it open with a black-hafted knife; make three cuts and place a black bean in each cut. Then plant it, and when the beans sprout put one in your mouth and say—
“By virtue of Satan’s heart,And by strength of my great art,I desire to be invisible.”
“By virtue of Satan’s heart,And by strength of my great art,I desire to be invisible.”
“By virtue of Satan’s heart,And by strength of my great art,I desire to be invisible.”
“By virtue of Satan’s heart,
And by strength of my great art,
I desire to be invisible.”
And so it will be as long as the bean is kept in the mouth.
“I kill the evil; I kill the worm in the flesh, the worm in thegrass. I put a venomous charm in the murderous pain. The charm that was set by Peter and Paul; the charm that kills the worm in the flesh, in the tooth, in the body.”
This oration to be said three times, while the patient is rubbed with butter on the place of the pain.
Another.
A happy mild charm, a charm which Christ discovered. The charm that kills the worm in the flesh.
“May Peter take, may Paul take, may Michael take, the pain away, the cruel pain that kills the back and the life, and darkens the eyes.”
This oration written, and tied to a hare’s foot, is always to be worn by the person afflicted, hung round the neck.
In the Western Isles the following charm is used for a sprain—
A strand of black wool is wound round and round the ankle, while the operator recites in a low voice—
“The Lord rade and the foal slade,He lighted and He righted;Set joint to joint and bone to bone,And sinew unto sinew.In the name of God and the Saints,Of Mary and her Son,Let this man be healed.Amen.”
“The Lord rade and the foal slade,He lighted and He righted;Set joint to joint and bone to bone,And sinew unto sinew.In the name of God and the Saints,Of Mary and her Son,Let this man be healed.Amen.”
“The Lord rade and the foal slade,He lighted and He righted;Set joint to joint and bone to bone,And sinew unto sinew.In the name of God and the Saints,Of Mary and her Son,Let this man be healed.Amen.”
“The Lord rade and the foal slade,
He lighted and He righted;
Set joint to joint and bone to bone,
And sinew unto sinew.
In the name of God and the Saints,
Of Mary and her Son,
Let this man be healed.Amen.”
A similar charm was used in Germany in the tenth century, according to Jacob Grimm.
Golden butter on a new-made dish, such as Mary set before Christ. This to be given in the presence of a mill, of a stream, and the presence of a tree; the lover saying softly—
“O woman, loved by me, mayest thou give me thy heart, thy soul and body.Amen.”
An oration which Colum-Cille set to a wound full of poison—“Arise, O Carmac, O Clunane, through Christ be thou healed. By the hand of Christ he thou healed in blood, in marrow, and in bone.Amen.”
This oration to be pronounced over a man or a woman, a horse or a cow, but never over a hog or a dog. The wound to be rubbed with butter during the oration.
Go to a graveyard; kneel upon any grave; say three paters and three aves for the soul of the dead lying beneath. Then take a handful of grass from the grave, chew it well, casting forth each bite without swallowing any portion. After this process the sufferer, were he to live a hundred years, will never have toothache any more.
Another.
The patient must vow a vow to God, the Virgin, and the new moon, never to comb his hair on a Friday, in remembrance of relief should he be cured; and whenever or wherever he first sees the moon he must fall on his knees and say five prayers in gratitude for the cure, even if crossing a river at the time.
Another.
Carry in your pocket the two jaw-bones of a haddock; for ever since the miracle of the loaves and fishes these bones are an infallible remedy against toothache, and the older they are the better, as nearer the time of the miracle.
Also this charm is to be sewn on the clothes—
“As Peter sat on a marble stone,The Lord came to him all alone,‘Peter, Peter, what makes you shake?’‘O Lord and Master, it is the toothache.’Then Christ said, ‘Take these for My sake,And never more you’ll have toothache.’”
“As Peter sat on a marble stone,The Lord came to him all alone,‘Peter, Peter, what makes you shake?’‘O Lord and Master, it is the toothache.’Then Christ said, ‘Take these for My sake,And never more you’ll have toothache.’”
“As Peter sat on a marble stone,The Lord came to him all alone,‘Peter, Peter, what makes you shake?’‘O Lord and Master, it is the toothache.’Then Christ said, ‘Take these for My sake,And never more you’ll have toothache.’”
“As Peter sat on a marble stone,
The Lord came to him all alone,
‘Peter, Peter, what makes you shake?’
‘O Lord and Master, it is the toothache.’
Then Christ said, ‘Take these for My sake,
And never more you’ll have toothache.’”
To avoid toothache never shave on a Sunday.
Anoint a freckled face with the blood of a bull, or of a hare, and it will put away the freckles and make the skin fair and clear. Also the distilled water of walnuts is good.
There is a pretty secret to cure a burn without a scar: “Take sheep’s suet and the rind of the elder-tree, boil both together, and the ointment will cure a burn without leaving a mark.”
The whitest of frankincense beaten fine, and drunk in white wine, wonderfully assisteth the memory, and is profitable for the stomach also.
Take a hank of grey yarn, a lock of the patient’s hair, some parings of his nails, and bury them deep in the earth, repeating, in Irish, as a burial service, “Let the great sickness lie there for ever. By the power of Mary and the soul of Paul, let the great sickness lie buried in the clay, and never more rise out of the ground.Amen.”
If the patient, on awaking from sleep, calls out the name of the person who uttered these words, his recovery is certain.
If a person crosses over the patient while he is in a fit, or stands between him and the fire, then the sickness will cleave to him and depart from the other that was afflicted.
A griddle cake made of meal, to be given, not bought or made; but a cakegivenof love or of charity, not for begging; a cake given freely, with a prayer and a blessing; and from the breakfast of a man and his wife who had the same name before marriage; this is the cure.
The touch of a piebald horse. Even a piebald horse pawing before the door helps the cure.
The child to be passed seven times under and over an ass while a red string is tied on the throat of the patient.
Nine hairs from the tail of a black cat, chopped up and soaked in water, which is then swallowed, and the cough will be relieved.
“One day when out snipe shooting,” a gentleman writes, “I saw a horrid-looking insect staring up at me. I called to a man close by, and asked him the name of it. He told me it was called theThordall, and was reckoned a great cure for thechin-cough; for if any one got it safe in a bottle and kept it prisoner till it died, the disease would go away from the patient. It was just the time to try the cure, for my child was laid up with the epidemic. So I bottled my friend and daily examined the state of his health. It lasted for a fortnight, and at the end of that time the child had quite recovered, and the horrible-looking insect creature lay dead.”
The operator makes passes, like the mesmerist, over the member affected by the rheumatic pain, never touching the part, but moving his hand slowly over it at some distance, while he mutters a form of words in a low voice.
Point a gooseberry thorn at it nine times, saying, “Away, away, away!” and the stye will vanish presently and disappear.
On meeting a funeral, take some of the clay from under the feet of the men who bear the coffin and apply it to the wart, wishing strongly at the same time that it may disappear; and so it will be.
Rub the part affected with unsalted butter, and make the sign of the cross seven times over the place.
A decoction of the flowers of daisies boiled down is an excellent wash, to be used constantly.
Cover the head well with wool, then place oil-skin over, and the water will be drawn up out of the head. When the wool is quite saturated the brain will be free and the child cured.
Take three green stones, gathered from a running brook, between midnight and morning, while no word is said. In silence it must be done. Then uncover the limb and rub each stone several times closely downwards from the hip to the toe, saying in Irish—
“Wear away, wear away,There you shall not stay,Cruel pain—away, away.”
“Wear away, wear away,There you shall not stay,Cruel pain—away, away.”
“Wear away, wear away,There you shall not stay,Cruel pain—away, away.”
“Wear away, wear away,
There you shall not stay,
Cruel pain—away, away.”
Wrap the child in a blanket, take it to the pigsty, rub the child’s head to the back of a pig, and the mumps will leave it and pass from the child to the animal.
Another.
Take nine black stones gathered before sunrise, and bring the patient with a rope round his neck to a holy well—not speaking all the while. Then cast in three stones in the name of God, three in the name of Christ, and three in the name of Mary. Repeat this process for three mornings and the disease will be cured.
Take nine pieces of young elder twig; run a thread of silk of three strands through the pieces, each piece being an inch long. Tie this round the patient’s neck next the skin. Should the thread break and the amulet fall, it must be buried deep in the earth and another amulet made like the first, for if once it touches the ground the charm is lost.
Another.
Take nine pieces of a dead man’s skull, grind them to powder, and then mix with a decoction of wall rue. Give the patient aspoonful of this mixture every morning fasting, till the whole potion is swallowed. None must be left, or the dead man would come to look for the pieces of his skull.
When a person becomes low and depressed and careless about everything, as if all vital strength and energy had gone, he is said to have got a fairy blast. And blast-water must be poured over him by the hands of a fairy doctor while saying, “In the name of the saint with the sword, who has strength before God and stands at His right hand.” Great care being taken that no portion of the water is profaned. Whatever is left after the operation, must be poured on the fire.
Fairy darts are generally aimed at the fingers, causing the joints to swell and grow red and inflamed. An eminent fairy-woman made the cure of fairy darts her speciality, and she was sent for by all the country round, and was generally successful. But she had no power unlessaskedto make the cure, and she took no reward at the time; not till the patient was cured, and the dart extracted. The treatment included a great many prayers and much anointing with a salve, of which she only had the secret. Then she proceeded to extract the dart with great solemnity, working with a small instrument, on the point of which she finally produced the dart. This proved to be a bit of flax artfully laid under the skin by the malicious fairies, causing all the evil, and of course on seeing the flax no one could doubt the power of the operator, and the grateful patient paid his fee.
There is a book, a little book, and the house which has it will never be burned; the ship that holds it will never founder; the woman who keeps it in her hand will be safe in childbirth. But none except a fairy man knows the name of the book, and he will not reveal it for love or money; only on his death-bed will he tell the secret of the name to the one person he selects.
The adepts and fairy doctors keep their mysteries very secret, and it is not easy to discover the word of a charm, for the operatorloses his power if the words are said without the proper preliminaries, or if said by a profane person without faith, for the operator should not have uttered the mystery in the hearing of one who would mock, or treat the matter lightly; therefore he is punished.
Some years ago an old man lived in Mayo who had great knowledge of charms, and of certain love philtres that no woman could resist. But before his death he enclosed the written charms in a strong iron box, with directions that no one was to dare to open it except the eldest son of an eldest son in a direct line from himself.
Some people pretend that they have read the charms; and one of them has the strange power to make every one in the house begin to dance, and they can never cease dancing till another spell has been said over them.
But the guardian of the iron box is the only one who knows the magic secret of the spell, and he exacts a good price before he utters it, and so reveals or destroys the witchcraft of the dance.
The juice of deadly night-shade distilled, and given in a drink, will make the person who drinks believe whatever you will to tell him, and choose him to believe.
A bunch of mint tied round the wrist is a sure remedy for disorders of the stomach.
A sick person’s bed must be placed north and south, not cross ways.
Nettles gathered in a churchyard and boiled down for a drink have the power to cure dropsy.
The touch from the hand of a seventh son cures the bite of a mad dog. This is also an Italian superstition.
The hand of a dead man was a powerful incantation, but it was chiefly used by women. The most eminent fairy women always collected the mystic herbs for charms and cures by the light of a candle held by a dead man’s hand at midnight or by the full moon.
When a woman first takes ill in her confinement, unlock instantly every press and drawer in the house, but when the child is born, lock them all up again at once, for if care is not taken the fairies will get in and hide in the drawers and presses, to be ready to steal away the little mortal baby when they get the opportunity, and place some ugly, wizened changeling in the cradle beside thepoor mother. Therefore every key should be turned, every lock made fast; and if the fairies are hidden inside, let them stay there until all danger is over for the baby by the proper precautions being taken, such as a red coal set under the cradle, and a branch of mountain ash tied over it, or of the alder-tree, according to the sex of the child, for both trees have mystic virtues, probably because of the ancient superstition that the first man was created from an alder-tree, and the first woman from the mountain ash.
The fairies, however, are sometimes successful in carrying off a baby, and the mother finds in the morning a poor weakly little sprite in the cradle in place of her own splendid child. But should the mortal infant happen to grow up ugly, the fairies send it back, for they love beauty above all things; and the fairy chiefs greatly desire a handsome mortal wife, so that a handsome girl must be well guarded, or they will carry her off. The children of such unions grow up beautiful and clever, but are also wild, reckless and extravagant. They are known at once by the beauty of their eyes and hair, and they have a magic fascination that no one can resist, and also a fairy gift of music and song.
If a person is bitten by a dog, the dog must be killed, whether mad or not, for it might become mad; then, so also would the person who had been touched by the saliva of the animal.
If, by accident, you find the back tooth of a horse, carry it about with you as long as you live, and you will never want money; but it must be found by chance.
When a family has been carried off by fever, the house where they died may be again inhabited with safety if a certain number of sheep are driven in to sleep there for three nights.
An iron ring worn on the fourth finger was considered effective against rheumatism by the Irish peasantry from ancient times.
Paralysis is cured by stroking, but many forms and mystic incantations are also used during the process; and only certain persons have the power in the hands that can effect a cure by the magic of the stroke.
The seed of docks tied to the left arm of a woman will prevent her being barren.
A spoonful ofaqua vitæsweetened with sugar, and a little grated bread added, that it may not annoy the brain or the liver, will preserve from lethargy and apoplexy and all cold diseases.
The juice of carrots boiled down is admirable for purifying the blood.
Clippings of the hair and nails of a child tied up in a linen cloth and placed under the cradle will cure convulsions.
Tober Maire(Mary’s well), near Dundalk, has a great reputation for cures. And thousands used to visit it on Lady Day for weak eyesight, and the lowness of heart. Nine times they must go round the well on their knees, always westward. Then drink a cup of the water, and not only are they cured of their ailment, but are as free from sin as the angels in heaven.
When children are pining away, they are supposed to be fairy-struck; and the juice of twelve leaves of foxglove may be given: also in cases of fever the same.
A bunch of mint tied round the wrist keeps off infection and disease.
There is a well near the Boyne where King James washed his sword after the battle, and ever since the water has power to cure the king’s evil.
When a seventh son is born, if an earth-worm is put into the infant’s hand and kept there till it dies, the child will have power to charm away all diseases.
The ancient arrowheads, called elf-stones by the people, are used as charms to guard the cattle.
It is not safe to take an unbaptized child in your arms without making the sign of the cross over it.
It is unlucky to give a coal of fire out of the house before the child is baptized. And a piece of iron should be sewn in the infant’s clothes, and kept there till after the baptism.
Take a piece of bride-cake and pass it three times through a wedding-ring, then sleep on it, and you will see in a dream the face of your future spouse.
It is unlucky to accept a lock of hair, or a four-footed beast from a lover.
People ought to remember that egg-shells are favourite retreats of the fairies, therefore the judicious eater should always breakthe shell after use, to prevent the fairy sprite from taking up his lodgment therein.
Finvarra, the king of the fairies of the west, keeps up the most friendly relations with most of the best families of Galway, especially with the Kirwans of Castle Hacket, for Finvarra is a gentleman, every inch of him, and the Kirwans always leave out kegs of wine for him at night of the best Spanish wine. And in return, it is said, the wine vaults at Castle Hacket are never empty, though the wine flows freely for all comers.
If a living worm is put into the hand of a child before he is baptized, and kept there till the worm is dead, that child will have power in after life to cure all diseases to which children are subject.
After being cured from a sickness, take an oath never to comb the hair on a Friday, that so the memory of the grace received may remain by this sign till your death. Or whenever you first see the new moon, kneel down and say an ave and a pater; this also is for memory of grace done.
People born in the morning cannot see spirits or the fairy world; but those born at night have power over ghosts, and can see the spirits of the dead.
Unbaptized children are readily seized by the fairies. The best preventive is a little salt tied up in the child’s dress when it is laid to sleep in the cradle.
If pursued at night by an evil spirit, or the ghost of one dead, and you hear footsteps behind you, try and reach a stream of running water, for if you can cross it, no devil or ghost will be able to follow you.
If a chair fall as a person rises, it is an unlucky omen.
The fortunate possessor of the four-leaved shamrock will have luck in gambling, luck in racing, and witchcraft will have no power over him. But he must always carry it about his person, and never give it away, or even show it to another.
A purse made from a weasel’s skin will never want for money; but the purse must be found, not given or made.
If a man is ploughing, no one should cross the path of the horses.
It is unlucky to steal a plough, or take anything by stealth from a smith’s forge.
When yawning make the sign of the cross instantly over the mouth, or the evil spirit will make a rush down and take up his abode within you.
Never give away water before breakfast, nor milk while churning is going on.
A married woman should not walk upon graves, or her child will have a club-foot. If by accident she treads on a grave she must instantly kneel down, say a prayer, and make the sign of the cross on the sole of her shoe three times over.
Never take an infant in your arms, nor turn your head to look at it without saying, “God bless it.” This keeps away the fatal influence of the Evil Eye.
If a bride steers a boat on the day of her marriage, the winds and the waves have no power over it, be the tempest ever so fierce or the stream ever so rapid.
Do not put out a light while people are at supper, or there will be one less at the table before the year is out.
Never give any salt or fire while churning is going on. To upset the salt is exceedingly unlucky and a bad omen; to avert evil gather up the salt and fling it over the right shoulder into the fire, with the left hand.
If you want a person to win at cards, stick a crooked pin in his coat.
The seventh son of a seventh son has power over all diseases, and can cure them by laying on of hands; and a son born after his father’s death has power over fevers.
There is one hour in every day when whatever you wish will be granted, but no one knows what that hour is. It is all a chance if we come on it. There is also one hour in the day when ghost-seers can see spirits—but only one—at no other time have they the power, yet they never know the hour, the coming of it is a mystery.
In some parts of Ireland the people, it is said, on first seeing the new moon, fall on their knees and address her in a loud voicewith the prayer: “O moon; leave us well as thou hast found us!”
It is unlucky to meet a cat, a dog, or a woman, when going out first in the morning; but unlucky above all is it to meet a woman with red hair the first thing in the morning when going on a journey, for her presence brings ill-luck and certain evil.
It is unlucky to pass under a hempen rope; the person who does so will die a violent death, or is fated to commit an evil act in after life, so it is decreed.
The cuttings of your hair should not be thrown where birds can find them; for they will take them to build their nests, and then you will have headaches all the year after.
The cause of a club-foot is this—The mother stood on a cross in a churchyard before her child was born—so evil came.
To cure fever, place the patient on the sandy shore when the tide is coming in, and the retreating waves will carry away the disease and leave him well.
To make the skin beautiful, wash the face in May dew upon May morning just at sunrise.
If the palm of the hand itches you will be getting money; if the elbow, you will be changing beds; if the ear itches and is red and hot, some one is speaking ill of you.
If three drops of water are given to an infant before it is baptized, it will answer the first three questions put to it.
To know the name of the person you are destined to marry, put a snail on a plate of flour—cover it over and leave it all night; in the morning the initial letter of the name will be found traced on the flour by the snail.
If one desires to know if a sick person will recover, take nine smooth stones from the running water; fling them over the right shoulder, then lay them in a turf fire to remain untouched for one night. If the disease is to end fatally the stones in the morning will emit a clear sound like a bell when struck together.
A whitethorn stick is a very unlucky companion on a journey; but a hazel switch brings good luck and has power over the devil.
A hen that crows is very unlucky and should be killed; very often the hen is stoned, for it is believed that she is bewitched by the fairies.
It is asserted that on Christmas morning the ass kneels down in adoration of Christ, and if a person can manage to touch the cross on the back of the animal at that particular moment the wish of his heart will be granted, whatever it may be.
When taking possession of a new house, every one should bring in some present, however trifling, but nothing should be taken away, and a prayer should be said in each corner of your bedroom, and some article of your clothing be deposited there at the same time.
Place two keys on a sieve, in the form of a cross. Two men hold the sieve, while a third makes the sign of the cross on the forehead of the suspected party, and calls out his name loudly, three times over. If innocent, the keys remain stationary; but if guilty, the keys revolve slowly round the sieve, and then there is no doubt as to who is the thief.
“O Star of Heaven, beloved of the Lord, drive away the foul constellation that has slain the people with the wound of dreadful death. O Star of the Sea, save us from the poison-breath that kills, from the enemy that slays in the night.Amen.”
“O aged old woman of the grey locks, may eight hundred blessings twelve times over be on thee! Mayest thou be free from desolation, O woman of the aged frame! And may many tears fall on thy grave.”
Take nine leaves of the male crowfoot, plucked on a Sunday night; bruise them on a stone that never was moved since theworld began, and never can be moved. Mix with salt and spittle, and apply the plaster to the ear of the sick beast. Repeat this three times for a man, and twice for a horse.
Pluck ten blades of yarrow, keep nine, and cast the tenth away for tithe to the spirits. Put the nine in your stocking, under the heel of the right foot, when going a journey, and the Evil One will have no power over you.
(FROM A MANUSCRIPT OF DATE 1770.)
Two ounces of cochineal, one ounce of gentian root, two drachms of saffron, two drachms of snakeroot, two drachms of salt of wormwood, and the rind of ten oranges. The whole to be steeped in a quart of brandy, and kept for use.
Six ounces of rue, four ounces of garlic, two ounces of Venice treacle, and two ounces of pewter filings. Boil for two hours in a close vessel, in two quarts of ale, and give a spoonful fasting each morning till the cure is effected. The liquor is to be strained before use.
Never tell your dreams fasting, and always tell them first to a woman called Mary.
To dream of a hearse with white plumes is a wedding; but to dream of a wedding is grief, and death will follow.
To dream of a woman kissing you is deceit; but of a man, friendship; and to dream of a horse is exceedingly lucky.
To dream of a priest is bad; even to dream of the devil is better. Remember, also, either a present or a purchase from a priest is unlucky.
The fairy doctors are generally females. Old women, especially, are considered to have peculiar mystic and supernatural power. They cure chiefly by charms and incantations, transmitted by tradition through many generations; and by herbs, of which they have a surprising knowledge.
The fairies have an aversion to the sight of blood; and the peasants, therefore, have a great objection to being bled, lest “the good people” would be angry. Besides, they have much more faith in charms and incantations than in any dispensary doctor that ever practised amongst them.
The charms by crystals are of great antiquity in Ireland—a mode of divination, no doubt, brought from the East by the early wandering tribes. Many of these stones have been found throughout the country, and are held in great veneration. They are generally globular, and appear to have been originally set in royal sceptres or sacred shrines. A very ancient crystal globe of this kind, with miraculous curative powers, is still to be seen at Currahmore, the seat of the Marquis of Waterford, and it is believed to have been brought from the Holy Land by one of the Le Poers, who had it as a gift from Godfrey de Bouillon. The ball is of rock crystal, a little larger than an orange, and is circled round the middle by a silver band. It is still constantly borrowed by the people to effect cures upon cattle suffering from murrain or other distempers. This is done by placing the ball in a running stream, through which the cattle are driven backwards and forwards many times.
The peasants affirm that the charm never fails in success, and the belief in its miraculous powers is so widespread that people from the most distant parts of Ireland send to Currahmore to borrow it. Even to this day the faith in its magic power continues unabated, and requests for the loan come from every quarter. The Marquis of Waterford leaves it in the care of his steward, and it is freely lent to all comers; but to the credit of the people it may be noted, that the magic crystal is always brought back to Currahmore with the most scrupulous care.9
Should a person be bewitched by an evil neighbour, he must take two black cocks, lay a charm over the head of one and let it loose; but the other must be boiled down, feathers and all, and eaten. Then the malice of the neighbour will have no effect on him or his.
Ancient Egypt and Greece had likewise superstitions on the subject of sacrificing a cock. Even the last words of Socrates had reference to this subject. It is remarkable also that in the Christian legend it was a cock that testified indignantly by his crowing against Peter’s treachery and cowardice, and aroused in him the remorse that was evidenced by his tears.
It is on Fridays that the fairies have the most power to work evil; therefore Friday is an unlucky day to begin work, or to go on a journey, or to have a wedding; for the spirits are then present everywhere, and hear and see everything that is going on, and will mar and spoil all they can, just out of malice and jealousy of the mortal race.
It is then they strike cattle with their elfin arrows, lame a horse, steal the milk, and carry off the handsome children, leaving an ugly changeling in exchange, who is soon known to be a fairy sprite by its voracious appetite, without any natural increase in growth.
This superstition makes the peasant-women often very cruel towards weakly children; and the trial by fire is sometimes resorted to in order to test the nature of the child who is suspected of being a changeling. For this purpose a fairy woman is usually sent for, who makes a drink for the little patient of certain herbs of whose power she alone has the secret knowledge; and a childless woman is considered the best to make the potion. Should there be no improvement in the child after the treatment with herbs, then the witch-women sometimes resort to terrible measures to test the fairy nature of the sufferer.
A child who was suspected of being a changeling, because he was wasted and thin and always restless and fretful, was ordered by the witch-woman to be placed for three nights on a shovel outside the door from sunset to sunrise, during which time he was given foxglove to chew, and cold water was flung over him to banish the fire-devil. The screams of the child at night were frightful, calling on his mother to come and take him in; but the fairy doctor told the mother not to fear; the fairies were certainlytormenting him, but by the third night their power would cease, and the child would be quite restored. However, on the third night the poor little child lay dead.
Auguries and prophecies of coming fate may also be obtained from the flight of birds, the motion of the winds, from sneezing, dreams, lots, and the signs from a verse of the Psalter or Gospels. The peasantry attach great importance to the first verses of St. John’s Gospel, and maintain that when the cock crows in the morning he is repeating these verses (from the 1st to the 14th), and if we understood the language of animals and birds, we could often hear them quoting these same verses.
A charm against sickness is an amulet worn round the neck, enclosing a piece of paper, on which is written the first three verses of St. John’s Gospel.
To stick a penknife in the mast of a boat when sailing is most unlucky.
To meet a man with red hair, or a woman with a red petticoat, the first thing in the morning.
To kill the robin redbreast.
To pass a churn and not give a helping hand.
To meet a funeral and not go back three steps with it.
To have a hare cross your path before sunrise.
To take away a lighted sod on May days or churning days; for fire is the most sacred of all things, and you take away the blessing from the house along with it.
The Irish are very susceptible to omens. They say, “Beware of a childless woman who looks fixedly at your child.”
Fire is the holiest of all things. Walk three times round a fire on St. John’s Eve, and you will be safe from disease for all that year.
It is particularly unlucky to meet a red-haired man the first thing in the morning. There is a tradition that Judas Iscariothad red hair, and it is from this the superstitious dread of the evil interference of a red-haired man may have originated.
Never begin work on a Friday.
Never remove from a house or leave a situation on Saturday.
Never begin to make a dress on Saturday, or the wearer will die within the year.
Never mend a rent in a dress while on, or evil and malicious reports will be spread about you.
Some days are unlucky to certain families—as Tuesday to the Tudors. Henry VIII., Edward, Mary, and Elizabeth all died upon a Tuesday.
To throw a slipper after a party going a journey is lucky. Also to breakfast by candle-light on Christmas morning.
It is fatal at a marriage to tie a knot in a red handkerchief, and only an enemy would do it. To break the spell the handkerchief should be burned.
The first days of the year and of the week are the luckiest. Never begin a journey on a Friday or Saturday, nor move from your residence, nor change a situation. Never cut out a dress or begin to make it on a Friday, nor fix a marriage, for of all days the fairies have the most malific power on a Friday. They are present then, and hear all that is said, therefore beware of speaking ill of them, for they will work some evil if offended.
Never pay away money on the first Monday of the year, or you will lose your luck in gaining money all the year after.
Presents may be given on New Year’s Day, but no money should be paid away.
Those who marry in autumn will die in spring.
The yew-tree, the ash, and the elder-tree were sacred. The willow has a mystery in it of sound. The harp of King Brian-Boru was made of willow-wood.
When a servant leaves her place, if her mistress gives her a piece of bread let her put by some of it carefully, for as long as she has it good luck will follow her.
Gather foxglove, raspberry leaves, wild marjorum, mint, camomile, and valerian; mix them with butter made on May Day, and let the herbs also be gathered on May Day. Boil them all together with honey; then rub the vessel into which the bees should gather, both inside and out, with the mixture; place it in the middle of a tree, and the bees will soon come. Foxglove or “fairy fingers” is called “the great herb” from its wondrous properties.