Egyptian Eye of Horus Amulets, Ptolemaic, C. 323-30 BC

The Eye of Horus or wedjat-eye is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power and good health. The eye is personified in the goddess Wadjet. It is also known as “The Eye of Ra.” The wedjat-eye was supposedly the eye that Seth tore from Horus during a battle over who would lead the gods. Thoth healed the injured eye, returning it to Horus as the “sound one.” Wedjat-eye amulets were used from the Old Kingdom through the Roman Period and whether worn for everyday wear or tucked among mummy wrappings, this amulet was believed to be an effective source of protection and a symbol of strength and perfection.

Made of electrum.

In Brazilian folklore, Encantado is a term for mythical creatures comparable to fairies of European folklore.The term in Brazil is used for creatures who come from a paradisiacal underwater realm called the Encante. It may refer to spirit beings or shapeshifting snakes, but most often it designates dolphins with the ability to turn into humans. - Hauket

Source

The Cat Sìth (Scottish Gaelic: [kʰaht̪ ˈʃiː]) or Cat Sidhe (Irish: [kat̪ˠ ˈʃiː], Cat Sí in new orthography) is a fairy creature from Celtic mythology, said to resemble a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. Legend has it that the spectral cat haunts the Scottish Highlands. The legends surrounding this creature are more common in Scottish folklore, but a few occur in Irish. Some common folklore suggested that the Cat Sìth was not a fairy, but a witch that could transform into a cat nine times.

As proposed by British cryptozoologist, Karl Shuker, in his book Mystery Cats of the World (1989), it is possible that the legends of the Cat Sìth were inspired by Kellas cats, which are probably a distinctive hybrid between Scottish wildcats and domestic cats only found in Scotland (the Scottish wildcat is a subspecies of the European wildcat, which is absent from elsewhere in the British Isles).

Typical Kellas cats (pictured here) resemble large black wildcats, but with some peculiar features closer to domestic cats, and have probably been present in Scotland for centuries, maybe even some two millennia or more. Others believe that the Cat Sìth was inspired by the Scottish wildcat itself.

In the British folk tale The King of the Cats, a man comes home to tell his wife and cat, Old Tom, that he saw nine black cats with white spots on their chests carrying a coffin with a crown on it, and one of the cats tells the man to “Tell Tom Tildrum that Tim Toldrum is dead.” The cat then exclaims, “What?! Old Tim dead! Then I’m the King o’ the Cats!” Old Tom then climbs up the chimney and is never seen again.

@willow-wife

The Indonesian Walking Dead

Toradja people do practice something akin to the rising of the dead. It seems that the people believe that death is a long process, sometimes taking years as the deceased gradually work their way toward Puya (the afterlife). Very elaborate measures must be taken during the funeral to ensure that the loved one makes it safely to that destination. Because the funeral arrangements are so extensive, they are also very expensive. For this reason, a body is sometimes placed in a temporary coffin. During this time, the family can accumulate the necessary funds to pay for a proper funeral, which includes a cave or hanging casket, a multi-water buffalo slaughter, chanting, singing, music, stone and wooden effigies to protect the soul during travel, and so on.

Once the funds are raised, so is the dead. It seems that the Toradja genuinely believe that the dead are able to walk themselves to their new burial site. More likely, and what we are seeing depicted in the picture, is that the somewhat mummified corpse is removed from its temporary coffin and transported upright to the permanent site. As “corpse walking” is part of the tradition, the body is held in the standing position to simulate ambulation.

They say the corpse is agreed using black magic. They do this because the cemeteries are in mountain regions, so no one wants to lead the deceased to the place they must walk alone.   The body follows, guided by an “expert" in black magic, which takes them to the site. However there is a rule, if called by name, the body falls and will not raise again.

A little bit of reading today. Always enjoy and appreciate reading about other folk traditions.

“The earliest evidence for powerful rites intended to affect the physical or spiritual world in some way comes from the very earliest Western civilizations to leave written records. Curse tablets and spells have been found among the cuneiform writing of the great Mesopotamian city-states. The production of this fragmentary evidence was obviously limited to the small, literate class of priestly scribes that dominated these cities, and these sources must mask a much larger and no doubtless unrecoverable world of common or popular spells, charms, and other rites.”

-Micahel D. Bailey, from his book  Magic and Superstition in Europe

Harry Houdini and the Ghost of Abraham Lincoln Mary Lincoln passed away on July 16, 1882, but it appears that, even as late as 1924, there was some curiosity about the spirit realm still surrounding Mary’s descendants. Enough curiosity, it seems, that world-renowned magician Harry Houdini helped to dispel the notion of at least one “spirit photograph” featuring himself and Abraham Lincoln.

On Feb. 13, 1924, just one day after what would have been Abraham Lincoln’s 115th birthday, Houdini typed out a letter to Mary Edwards Lincoln Brown, the grand-daughter of Ninian and Elizabeth Edwards, Mary Lincoln’s sister. The letter reads:

                                                                                  State Lake Theatre,                                                                          Chicago, Ill. Feb. 13, 1924.    

Mrs. Mary Edwards Lincoln Brown, Lincoln Homestead, Springfield, Ill.  

My dear Mrs. Brown:

Enclosed you will find Spirit Photograph of your renowned ancestor, and although the Theomonistic Society in Washington, D.C. claim that it is a genuine spirit photograph, as I made this one, you have my word for it, that it is only a trick effect.

Mrs. Houdini joins me in sending you kindest regards,  

                                                Sincerely yours,

                                                            Houdini

the punishment of witches, again

historical photography, beginning of 20h century

Bojnice Castle, Slovakia - rated as one of the 25 most beautiful castles in Europe

It is one of the most visited medieval Romantic castles in Slovakia with original Gothic and Renaissance elements built in the 12 th century and also being a popular filming stage for fantasy and fairy-tale movies.

Location on MAP : GPS: N48°46’48.15”   E18°34’40.31”

Architecture : Gothic, Renaissance

Bojnice Castle was first mentioned in written records in 1113, in a document held at the Zobor Abbey, Nitra, Slovakia. Originally built as a wooden fort, gradually Poznan family. Its next owners included Matúš Čák of Trenčín ”Lord of the river Váh and the Tatra Mountains“, who received it in 1302 from the King Ladislaus V;  15th century - owned by King Matthias Corvinus, who gave it to his illegitimate son John Corvinus in 1489. Later owned by famous noble families (Zapolya, Thurzos). From 1646 on, the castle’s owners were the Palffys, who created today’s beautiful imitation of French castles of the Loire valley. Today there is a museum (part of Slovak National Museum) and the castle is surrounded by the castle park, which contains the Bojnice Zoo (the oldest and one of the most visited zoos). The castle park continues in the form of a forest park in the Strážov Mountains.

The castle is renowned for its attractions, including the popular Castle Fairytale, the International Festival of Ghosts and Spirits, Summer Music Festival, Day and Night Tours and Special Christmas, Easter and Valentine`s Programmes. The romantic castle is also a popular location for filming fairy tale movies, such as Fantaghirò. It hosts the single most popular museum in Slovakia.

Witch Bottles

woodcutting of punishment to witches

Always with a story to tell….

Engraving of occultists John Dee and Edward Kelley ”in the act of invoking the spirit of a deceased person” (1806)

16th Century Necromancers

Edward Kelley was an ambiguous figure in Renaissance occultism, a self-declared spirit medium who worked with John Dee in his magical investigations. Besides the professed ability to summon spirits in a crystal ball, which Dee so valued, Kelley claimed to possess the secret of transmuting base metals into gold. Dee was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I. He devoted his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy, straddling the worlds of science and magic just as they were becoming distinguishable.

Kelley approached Dee in 1582. Dee had unsuccessfully been trying to contact angels with a crystal ball but Kelley professed the ability to do so, impressing Dee with his first trial. They subsequently devoted huge amounts of time and energy to these “spiritual conferences”. A year later, Kelley appeared with an alchemical book and some red powder which, he claimed, he had been led to by a “spiritual creature”. With the powder Kelley believed he could prepare a red “tincture” which would allow him to transmute base metals into gold. He reportedly demonstrated its power a few times over the years.

Dee and Kelley lived a nomadic life in Europe, seeking the patronage of various monarchs but ultimately failing to impress. Eventually their involvement in necromancy caught the attention of the Catholic Church, and they were required to defend themselves in a hearing with the papal nuncio. Dee handled the interview with tact, but Kelley infuriated the nuncio by criticising the “poor conduct of many … priests.” The nuncio noted in a letter that he was tempted to toss Kelley out of the window, defenestration being a common tradition in Prague at the time.

Then, possibly as an act to end the fruitless spiritual conferences so that he could concentrate on alchemy, which was beginning to make him wealthy, Kelley revealed to Dee that the angels had ordered them to share everything they had—including their wives. Anguished, Dee broke off the conferences, though he did share his wife. This “cross-matching” occurred in 1587, as noted in Dee’s diary. Nine months later Dee’s wife gave birth to a son and although there was speculation that the child was actually Kelley’s, it was raised as Dee’s.

Though it seems the two shared a basically cooperative and innocent partnership, it was often characterised as “quarrelsome” and “tense”. Kelley left Dee at Trebon in 1589, possibly to join the emperor’s court at Prague and Dee returned to England. They did not see each other again.

The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancashire

A somewhat Hallowe’en themed oddment. It’s a bit of a long read but it’s pretty interesting:

The 1612 Pendle Witch trials are perhaps the most famous in English history, involving twelve individuals accused of murdering ten people by witchcraft. Two families were primarily concerned, each with octogenarian matriarchs: Demdike, her daughter, and grandchildren, then Chattox and her daughter.

The Justice of the Peace for Pendle Hill in Lancashire, a county “fabled for its theft, violence and sexual laxity,” was tasked by James I to seek out religious nonconformists, and it was with this attitude that he heard allegations made by a John Law, who claimed to be the victim of witchcraft.

Walking along a quiet path Law encountered Alizon, the infamous Demdike’s granddaughter, who asked him for some metal pins. Such pins were often used for magical purposes – healing, treating warts, divination, and for love magic, which may be why Law refused. A moment later he slumped to the ground. Initially he made no accusations against Alizon, but she appears to have been convinced of her own powers, later confessing to Law, who convalesced at a nearby inn.

At court Alizon confessed she had sold her soul to the Devil and she told him to lame Law after he had called her a thief. Her mother said Demdike had a mark on her body, which many would have regarded as having been left by the Devil after he had sucked her blood.

Alizon was also questioned about Chattox, another suspicious figure, and, seeing an opportunity for revenge, as there was much bad blood between their families, she accused Chattox of murdering five men by witchcraft, including her father. She claimed her father had been so frightened of Chattox that he gave her oatmeal each year so she wouldn’t hurt his family. On his deathbed he claimed that his sickness had been caused by Chattox because he missed a payment. 

Demdike, Chattox and her daughter Anne, were summoned to court. Both elderly and blind Demdike and Chattox provided damaging confessions. Demdike claimed that she had given her soul to the Devil 20 years ago, and Chattox that she had given her soul to “a Thing like a Christian man”, who promised “she would not lack anything and would get any revenge she desired”. A witness claimed her brother had fallen sick and died after having had a disagreement with Anne, and that he had frequently blamed her for his illness. All three were committed to gaol to be tried for maleficium.

Then Demdike’s daughter organised at meeting at their home, Malkin Tower. Those sympathetic to the family attended, but when officials heard they investigated to determine the purpose of it. As a result, eight more people were accused of witchcraft, including Demdike’s daughter.

All but two were tried in Lancaster in August 1612, along with the Samlesbury witches and others, in a series of trials that have become known as the Lancashire witch trials. One was tried in York, and another died in prison. Of the eleven who went to trial ten were found guilty and executed by hanging; one was found not guilty.

[Written with (a lot of) help from Wikipedia]

But the peasants, hearing of the dog’s conduct and of how it had been killed, although innocent, and for a deed for which it might have expected praise, visited the place, honoured the dog as a martyr, prayed to it when they were sick or in need of something, and many there fell victim to the enticements and illusions of the devil, who in this way used to lead men into error. Above all, though, it was women with sick or weak children who took them to this place. They would go and seek out an old woman in a fortified town a league distant, and she taught them the rituals they should enact in order to make offerings to demons, and in order to invoke them, and she led them to the place.