The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

Gaelic Incantations. i 2 i
A woman with fair hair (fait
ban)
A woman with black hair {fait
Not lucky.
dubh) Lucky.
A woman with brown hair (fait
donn) Luckiest.
Fowls without a cock in their
midst Not a good sign.
Stonechat ( Clachran) Untoward (rosadach )—
Chunnaic mi 'n t-seilcheag an talamh toll,
Chunnaic mi 'n clachran air lie luim,
Chunnaic mi 'n searrach 's a chul rium,
Dh' fhaithnich mi nach reachadh a' bhliadhna leam
Chain mi bean-an-tighe 's a' chlann.
A lark 1 A good sign.
A dove A good sign.
A crow or raven - A bad sign ; death.
A sparrow (g/atseu?i) Not lucky—but blessed. (It fore-
A wild Duck (Lack) A good sign.
tells the death of a child).
Y)\x(:k.% ( Tu7Ui.aga7i)"' Good. (For sailors especially
A dog
meaning safety from drowning).
Good luck.
A cat Good for Mackintoshes only. To
—
—
others it is considered rosadach^
or untoward. The cat is re-
garded as evil, as shown by the
fact that witches are believed to
assume this form.
^ The lark was considered sacred, and to it the endearing term of Uiseag
Mhoire (the lark of the Virgin Mary) was frequently applied.
- The raven is always regarded as ominous. In the Saga of '" Howard the
Halt," for instance, it is referred to as " hawk of slaughter " and " blood fowl."
In Ireland, as Lady Wilde tells us, " when a raven is seen hovering round a
cottage, evil is near, and a death may follow, or some great, disaster ; therefore,
to turn away ill-luck, say at once : " May fire and water be in you, bird of
evil, and may the curse of God be on your head for ever and ever."
^ IHicks are considered lilessed. Tradition informs us that on a certain
occasion Jesus had to take refuge, and that he was concealed under straw.
Hens scraped the straw away, thus exposing him, but the ducks pushed it back
again. The duck has since bee;i considered blessed.