G, GORT, ivy in the Ogham alphabet. The bird ... - Rodney Mackay

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Isabel Gowdie said, quite plainly, "I had a little horse, and would say, :Horse and Hattock, in the Divellis name!" And then he would fly away, where he would even as straws fly upon the high-way." Witches lacked wings, and so did honest fairies until co-opted by the tale- writers. J.F. Campbell, researching Popular Tales of the West Highlands, lived for a time with the Lapps. He thought that their manners and customs were similar to those ascribed to elves. He located a northern dwelling, "round, about twelve feet in diameter, and sunk three feet in the ground, the roof made of sticks and covered with turf", which he thought answered the description of a fairy, elf, or sidh hill. He noted that this "hollow-hill" looked like a conical green mound. At home in Scotland he found a very similar abandoned dwelling in the sand dunes at South Uist. This made him suspect that the fay-people must have had human counterparts. He was particularly struck by the fact that the average Lapp, "even wearing a high peaked hat", fit neatly beneath his armpit. Most significantly he said that they moved from place to place using long birch vaulting poles. The tradition that witches flew probably has something like this at its base. It is noteworthy that witches usually departed their hovels through the chimney, like the wind-god Odin and Father Christmas, who can be traced to him. Exiting through a modern chimney would be a considerable feat, but house construction has changed since the days of weems, or sod huts. The souterrains of the Gaels in Ireland and Scotland were beehive shaped chambers made of rock covered with earth. Many of them incorporated long underground entryways protected by traps or obstructions. Almost all had secondary exits for an emergency, but there must have been cases where residents "magically" vanished up the hearth-chimney. Surprisingly, local "Scots" still claim that if you enter by one door and leave by another strangers will come to visit and bad luck will follow.
If it is assumed that witches and fairies took their common characteristics from a prehistoric race who lived beneath ground, then their sudden exits in the face of an enemy might have been misconstrued as "flying". Again, this may have resulted from an altered state, for the witches who flew always anointed themselves with a "Flying Ointment". One recipe required "the fat of yoong children" seethed "in a brasen vessell". Almost incidentally the recorder noted that aconite, and one or two herbs should be blended in. No known chemical can countermand the law of gravity, and fat from any source has no effect when rubbed on the skin. Aconite, commonly called monkshood, yields a white crystalline alkaloid from its leaves and roots, a chemical described as a respiratory and cardiac sedative." In high concentrations it is a lethal poison when introduced into the human circulatory system. At least, it produces an irregular heartbeat and even small doses bring on dizziness and a sense of falling or treading water. Other recipes incoroprate belladonna, which derives from the plant called deadly nightshade. "Persil" recommended by some "pharmacists" was deadly hemlock. These drugs are as bad as they sound, small amounts being capable of producing excitment and delerium. Rubbing such mixtures on the skin was an inefficient way of getting it into the blood, but much more plausible in other times, when people were manual labourers and vermin infested, and had a body surface peppered with scratches and bites. The Flying Ointment may explain why some witches said that only their astral bodies went to sabats, while their physical body remained at home in bed. This is alos consistent with fairy-lore. When a fairy-rade carried off Orfeo's queen to their land, they left her mortal body swooning under a tree. Witches did not have to leave their bodies recumbent when they "flew away" but a woman who visited with a witch several times each week noted that her friend was often present in body while "her soul would be wandering".
Page 1 and 2: G, GORT, ivy in the Ogham alphabet.
Page 3 and 4: also, bolla, a bowl or vessel. simi
Page 5 and 6: GAFANN, henbane, gaf, a hook, gafal
Page 7 and 8: was dominated by Gaelic-speakers (e
Page 9 and 10: of the Altai family, as for instanc
Page 11 and 12: of prodigious diversity of sound an
Page 13 and 14: the land." Neither will the Gaels s
Page 15 and 16: generally to the Celts. See next. G
Page 17 and 18: his English cousin pair off immedia
Page 19 and 20: For the sake of the Trinity. And ea
Page 21 and 22: Also stain, disease, flaw,, especia
Page 23 and 24: celebrated in a similar way, the Wo
Page 25: Equally traditional was the tale of
Page 29 and 30: number of trees. Setting them ablaz
Page 31 and 32: There are also records of men who b
Page 33 and 34: which helps the corn (grains) to ri
Page 35 and 36: isolation of the Otherworld or in a
Page 37 and 38: day of each month, and the word "ra
Page 39 and 40: follow three red horsemen. Fergus m
Page 41 and 42: Incarnate human gods were truly bet
Page 43 and 44: was later realized that any woman m
Page 45 and 46: warriors named Goll retreated to Gl
Page 47 and 48: this peeping-tom peered through a w
Page 49 and 50: which was always on foot, and doled
Page 51 and 52: of leaving a bit of work to be done
Page 53 and 54: obtained that it was retrieved from
Page 55 and 56: GIUTHAS, fir, EIr. gius, root gis,
Page 57 and 58: as the bracken. Turn grey in childh
Page 59 and 60: y Cian, an apprentice to the smith.
Page 61 and 62: actually non-existent but served to
Page 63 and 64: after it to see if they could find
Page 65 and 66: conscience, sometimes seen material
Page 67 and 68: After this, the three goddesses esc
Page 69 and 70: monster was overcome by Cúchulainn
Page 71 and 72: Bellenger who went first to Cape Br
Page 73 and 74: to the daughter of Cormac ard-righ,
Page 75 and 76: petitioned the widow, and she event
Page 77 and 78:
day to the western earth and reborn
Page 79 and 80:
Daoine sidh. GRIBH, obs. Griffin, w
Page 81 and 82:
GRUGACH AN UBHAIL. The “apple mon
Page 83:
GURAICEACH, a plucked bird, a block
show all

G, GORT, ivy in the Ogham alphabet. The bird ... - Rodney Mackay

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?