Folklore, Customs, Legends and Mythology Witches, folklore and blackberries.

 

Blackberry (Rubus villosus)

"Celtic lore says that blackberries are fairy fruit and may bring bad luck to people who eat them. Blackberries were also considered protective against earthbound spirits and vampires. It is said that if planted near the home, a vampire couldn't enter because he would obsessively count the berries and forget about the people inside". (1)

"The blackberry in England has a lot of folklore, each pointing to a common piece of wisdom. Blackberry was the bane of all evils, from misfortune to illness. It was used to release people and animals from illness, misfortune, and witchery. There are tales that the Devil was thrown out of Heaven and into a blackberry bush, and such avoids and hates them". (2)

A Witch's Whisk is a bundle of blackberry twigs, bound on one end, and lit to be used as a cleansing smoke. The bound end forms a handle. The unbound end sprays out, giving the appearance of a whisk.

"Cecil Williamson, a well-known English witch and the once owner of the Boscastle Witchcraft Museum wrote this about witch’s whisks:

‘Witch’s whisk made of dried out blackberry stems and with the end bound to form a handle. Here in the south west when a witch decides to make magic she first selects a spot or place where she will work, be the chosen place inside or out. The next thing to be done is that of cleansing the chosen spot of all evil forces. This is where the bundle of blackberry twigs comes in. She sets a light to the twigs and with them smouldering, burning and making smoke, she dances and weaves her way in and around and around over and over again. So this is one might call it: 'a witch’s devil scarer'." (3)

"Blackberry was considered to be sacred to some of the old Pagan deities of Europe, and was used in worship. To the present day, blackberry pies are baked on Lughnasadh (August 2) by some of the Wiccans in commemoration of the harvest.

A bramble bush that forms a natural arch is a great aid to magical healing. On a sunny day, crawl through the arch backward and then forward three times, going as nearly east to west as possible. This will cause boils, rheumatism, whooping cough, and even blackheads to disappear.

The blackberry leaves were used in spells of wealth, as are the berries themselves, and the vines are protective if grown.

The blackberry plant is also used to heal scalds by dipping nine blackberry leaves in spring water and then laying them against the wound gently, while saying the following chant three times to each leaf (27 times in all):

'Three ladies came from the east,

One with fire and two with frost.

Out with fire, in with frost.'

This is an old invocation to Brigit, the ancient Celtic Goddess of poetry, healing, and smithcraft.

Folk Names: Bly, Bramble, Bramble-Kite, Bumble-Kite, Cloudberry, Dewberry, Goutberry, High Blackberry, Thimbleberry

Deity: Brigit

Powers: Healing, Money, Protection" (4)

(1) Mountain Rose Herbs : https://www.google.com/.../herbal-folktales%3Fhs_amp=true

(2) Of Wood and Bone : https://witchbetwixtwaters.tumblr.com/.../the-witchs-whisk

(3) Sarah Anne Lawless; "Witch's Whisks and Spirit Riding"; 04/22/2009

http://sarahannelawless.com/.../witchs-whisks-spirit-riding/

(4) Cunningham, Scott; Cunninghams's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs (2012); Llewelyn Publications; Pg 58-59

Photo source: http://chasingrainbowsforever.tumblr.com/.../colors-black...

STRESS HAS AN ODOUR AND DOGS CAN SMELL IT

 Dogs can smell stress from human sweat and breath, a new study by Queen’s University Belfast researchers has found.

Soot with Clara Wilson (PhD student)

The study involved four dogs from Belfast – Treo, Fingal, Soot and Winnie – and 36 people.

Researchers collected samples of sweat and breath from participants before and after they did a difficult maths problem. They self-reported their stress levels before and after the task and researchers only used samples where the person’s blood pressure and heart rate had increased.

The dogs were taught how to search a scent line-up and alert researchers to the correct sample. The stress and relaxed samples were then introduced but at this stage the researchers didn’t know if there was an odour difference that dogs could detect.

In every test session, each dog was given one person’s relaxed and stressed samples, taken only four minutes apart. All of the dogs were able to correctly alert the researchers to each person’s stress sample.

Clara Wilson, a PhD student in the School of Psychology at Queen’s, explains:

“The findings show that we, as humans, produce different smells through our sweat and breath when we are stressed and dogs can tell this apart from our smell when relaxed – even if it is someone they do not know.

“The research highlights that dogs do not need visual or audio cues to pick up on human stress. This is the first study of its kind and it provides evidence that dogs can smell stress from breath and sweat alone, which could be useful when training service dogs and therapy dogs.

“It also helps to shed more light on the human-dog relationship and adds to our understanding of how dogs may interpret and interact with human psychological states.”

One of the super sniffer canines that took part in the study was Treo, a two-year old Cocker Spaniel. His owner Helen Parks says:

“As the owner of a dog that thrives on sniffing, we were delighted and curious to see Treo take part in the study. We couldn’t wait to hear the results each week when we collected him. He was always so excited to see the researchers at Queen’s and could find his own way to the laboratory.

“The study made us more aware of a dog’s ability to use their nose to “see” the world. We believe this study really developed Treo’s ability to sense a change in emotion at home. The study reinforced for us that dogs are highly sensitive and intuitive animals and there is immense value in using what they do best – sniffing!”

The research findings have been published in PLOS ONE. The study was carried out by Clara Wilson (PhD researcher) and Kerry Campbell (MSc student) in the School of Psychology. They were supervised by Catherine Reeve, with support on collecting the human physiological measures from Zachary Petzel.

Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti

 

Who Has Seen the Wind?

by Christina Rossetti

Art by Maggie Vanderwalle

Who has seen the wind?

Neither I nor you:

But when the leaves hang trembling,

The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?

Neither you nor I:

But when the trees bow down their heads,

The wind is passing by.

Books

 

“Read. Everything you can get your hands on. Read until words become your friends. Then when you need to find one, they will jump into your mind, waving their hands for you to pick them. And you can select whichever you like, just like a captain choosing a stickball team.”

― Karen Witemeyer

: @pigeonpostbooks

Thinking outside of the box

 

Sandy Karl 

"The farther that you think outside of the box, the more effort people will make to put you in one."

~ Craig D. Lounsbrough

"Those who do not think outside the box are easily contained."

~ Nicolas Manetta

Don't get boxed in and have a happy Sunday!

Photo credit: Thank you Belinda Shockley for the photo of Boone dreaming of the next delivery

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940)

 

Dena Bain Taylor

Happy birthday to F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896-1940), American short-story writer and novelist famous for his depictions of the "Jazz Age" (the 1920s), his most brilliant novel being The Great Gatsby (1925). During his lifetime, he published four novels, four story collections, and 164 short stories.

"So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

"The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly."

"Show me a hero, and I'll write you a tragedy."

"I don't want to repeat my innocence. I want the pleasure of losing it again."

"I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life."

***

Penguin Classics

#writer

#OnThisDay

#storytelling

#writingcommunity

The Celtic festival of Mabon - The autumnal equinox

 

The History of Wales

The autumnal equinox is the time when the day and night are of equal length. This solar event was of great importance to the Celts who used the sky as both clock and calendar and as such, was seen as a turning point when it was time to give thanks for the fruits of the earth and get prepared for the colder months to follow.

The 'Harvest Moon' and "Hunter's Moon, are also associated with the autumnal equinox. The former is the full moon closest to the equinox and the later the one following it.

The Celts do not seem to have had a specific name for this time of year, but it has become widely known recently as Mabon, named after the character from the mabinogian, Mabon ap Modron.

Mabon Ap Modron was stolen from his mother when he was only 3 days old and kept hidden for many years. His rescue becomes the task for King Arthur’s adopted brother, Cei and Gwrhyr, a translator of animal languages. They seek out a Blackbird, a Stag, an Owl and an Eagle, each older and wiser than the previous until they encounter the enormous salmon of Llyn Llyw, who carries them to Mabon's prison in Gloucester. King Arthur then mounts an attack, allowing Cei to enter the rear of the prison and rescue Mabon.

Touch for dogs

 

Shelter Playgroup Alliance - SPA

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Have you taught your pup how to "touch"?

What is touch? A cue to get your dog to touch his nose to your hand. Touch can be a useful foundation for many more advanced behaviors and gives you a way to capture the dog’s attention and direct his movements. For example, coming toward you to touch your hand is a great start on recall and touching someone’s hand is a nice alternative to jumping on them. For a shy dog, teaching a dog to touch someone can be a low pressure way of interacting with a novel person as long as the dog is experiencing very low levels of fear and demonstrate a desire to interact. Do not use this practice with dogs experiencing moderate or high levels of fear or who are seeking to avoid interactions with people.

How to teach it.

Step 1. Be prepared with your bait bag, high value treats and your clicker.

Step 2. Present your hand a couple of inches away from the dog’s face. Mark and treat for any interest he shows, whether an actual touch of his nose to your hand or just looking at your hand. After the first few times, click only for a full nose touch.

Step 3. Repeat this until the dog reliably touches your hand.

Step 4. Now add the verbal cue. Before presenting your hand, say, “touch” and then put your hand down. (Be sure to pause for a second between the cue and reaching down.)

Step 5. When the dog responds reliably to the verbal cue, begin to increase the distance of the dog’s head from your hand by a few inches.

Step 6. Keep increasing the distance little by little. Also move your hand to different positions, higher, lower, toward the side of the dog’s head—and try the exercise in different areas.