Tradition

Posted by kitperriman on December 16, 2022

“In forgetting the past

we lose the powers from whence we came.”

(Traditional Wisdom)

(Photo: Kit Perriman)

Old Demdike’s Charme

Posted by kitperriman on December 15, 2022

A Charme to Cure the Bewitched.

(Painting: Francisco de Goya y Lucientes)

“Upon Good-Friday, I will fast while I may
Untill I heare them knell
Our Lords owne Bell,
Lord in his messe
With his twelve Apostles good,
What hath he in his hand
Ligh in leath wand:
What hath he in his other hand?
Heavens doore key,
Open, open Heaven doore keyes,
Steck, steck hell doore.
Let Crizum child
Goe to it Mother mild,
What is yonder that casts a light so farrandly,
Mine owne deare Sonne that’s naild to the Tree.
He is naild sore by the heart and hand,
And holy barne Panne,
Well is that man
That Fryday spell can,
His childe to learne;
A Crosse of Blew, and another of Red,
As good Lord was to the Roode.
Gabriel laid him downe to sleepe
Upon the ground of holy weepe:
Good Lord came walking by,
Slep’st thou, wak’st thou Gabriel,
No Lord I am sted with sticke abd stake,
That I can neither sleepe nor wake:
Rise up Gabriel and goe with me,
The stick nor the stake shall never deere thee.
Sweete Jesus our Lord, Amen.”

(Taken from Jennet Device’s testimony against her brother, James – August 1612)

(Painting: Public Domain)

The First Temptation

Posted by kitperriman on December 14, 2022

Do you think a look

in the crystal vault of wanting

can secretly covet

without red’s betraying blush –

that some unsteady charm

will fool a close observer

and open the portal

on all of that heady rush?

(Kit Perriman)

(Photo: Public Domain)

Kit’s Crit: The Hangman’s Daughter (Potzsch)

Posted by kitperriman on December 13, 2022

The Hangman’s Daughter is the first of a seven-book series set in medieval Germany. It tells the tale of Martha Stechlin, a local midwife and herbalist accused of witchcraft. Several children die in a small Bavarian town and each has a strange witch-mark tattooed on their shoulder. The local hangman, Jakob Kuisl, is sent to torture a confession from the accused, even though he does not believe in her guilt.

Jakob’s daughter – Magdalena – is an intelligent young woman in love with the local physician’s son. They both know Martha Stechlin is not a witch, and together they set on a mission to uncover the truth behind the false accusations.

The Hangman’s Daughter is an interesting read, steeped in the local superstitions and folklore of the period. Oliver Potzsch paints a vivid portrayal of an oppressive, patriarchal society where everyone’s lives are pre-ordained at birth. But against this stifling backdrop, he makes the hangman a compassionate, human, multi-faceted character, who remains loyal to friends and family even in personal adversity.

There is little difference between Martha Strechlin’s craft, the hangman’s renowned herbal cures, and the local doctor’s medicine – except the female practitioner is the only one selected as the scapegoat. This irony is not lost on the reader. And many parallels of misinformation, personal bias, malicious gossip, and fear skillfully demonstrate how “witch hunts” still gain traction in our sophisticated, high-tech society today.

There are, however, several unfortunate modern colloquialisms in the text that jar the reader out of the Seventeenth-Century setting, but I trust this is a by-product of translation and not an inherent flaw in Potzsch’s writing.

Dark Magic

Posted by kitperriman on December 12, 2022

From my voluntarie Confession and Examination (April 2, 1612)

” . . . the speediest way to take a mans life away by Witchcraft, is to make a Picture of Clay, like unto the shape of the person whom they meane to kill,& dry it thorowly: and when they would have them to be ill in any one place more then the other; then take a Thorne or Pinne, and pricke it in that part of the Picture you would so have to be ill: and when you would have any part of the Body to consume away, then take that part of the Picture, and burne it. And when you would have the whole body to consume away, then take the remnant of the sayd Picture, and burne it: and so thereupon by that meanes, the body shall die.”

(Thomas Potts. The Wonderfull Discoverie of Witches in the Countie of Lancaster, 1613)

(Pictures: Public Domain)

Chris de Burgh’s A Spaceman Came Traveling

Posted by kitperriman on December 9, 2022

A Spaceman Came Traveling

(Chris de Burgh)

A spaceman came traveling on his ship from afar,
‘Twas light years of time since his mission did start,
And over a village he halted his craft,
And it hung in the sky like a star, just like a star.

He followed a light and came down to a shed
Where a mother and child were lying there on a bed.
A bright light of silver shone round his head,
And he had the face of an angel, and they were afraid.

Then the stranger spoke. He said, “Do not fear,
I come from a planet a long way from here,
And I bring a message for mankind to hear.”
And suddenly the sweetest music filled the air.

And it went “La la la la la la la la la,
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la.
Peace and goodwill to all men and love for the child.
La la la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la, oh!”

This lovely music went trembling through the ground
And many were awakened on hearing that sound,
And travelers on the road
The village they found,by the light of that ship in the sky
Which shone all around.

And just before dawn at the paling of the sky,
The stranger returned and said, “Now I must fly!
When two thousand years of your time has gone by
This song will begin once again to a baby’s cry.”

And it goes “La la la la la la la la.
La la la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la.
Peace and goodwill to all men,and love for the child.”
And I hear “La la la la la la la la la la la,
La la la la la la, la la la la la la la la la la la la,
This song will begin once again to a baby’s cry.”

Oh the whole world is waiting – waiting to hear that song again
Standing on the edge of the world.
And the time is nearly here . . .

That song will begin once again, to a baby’s cry.

Check out this imaginative video version by Artwayfarer:

(Photo: Public Domain)

(Video: YouTube)

Tarot Cards

Posted by kitperriman on December 8, 2022

Tarot Cards

Tarot Cards originated in the Middle Ages, probably in 15th Century Northern Italy.
They were first designed as a pastime to play games with.
The first cards were rare and hand-painted. They became widespread with the invention of the printing press.
By the late 18th century, Tarot Cards used for telling fortunes and special custom decks appeared.
Etteilla made the first pack of occult cards around 1789 based on Ancient Egyptian themes.
The Tarot pack is divided into two parts – the Minor Arcana (suited cards), and the Major Arcana (unsuited cards).
The four suits are usually SWORDS, CUPS, COINS (pentacles / discs) and BATONS (wands / rods / staves).
The unsuited cards are: The Magician, The High Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Lovers, The Hierophant (Pope), Strength, The Hermit, The Chariot, Justice, The Hanged Man, The Wheel of Fortune, Death, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Sun, The Moon, Judgement, The Fool, The World, and Temperance (Angel).
There is a “spread” for every occasion. Different types of “reading” serve different purposes: A three-card reading can represent past / present/ future; a single card signifies the day ahead or can answer a specific question; a seven-card spread may represent the coming week.
Many people use Tarot Cards to guide their personal daily decisions.
Do they predict the future? Or do they merely help focus our thoughts to deal with everyday events? What do you think?

Sources:

“A Beginners Guide to Tarot Cards.” The Cut at http://www.thecut.com/article/tarot.cards

“A Q&A With Colleen McCann.” Goop at http://www.goop.com/wellness/spirituality/how-to-use-tarot-cards-to-guide-daily-decision-making

“Tarot.” Wikipedia at http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot

(Photo: Public Domain)

The Last Wolf In England

Posted by kitperriman on December 7, 2022

“. . . now witchcraft celebrates

Pale Hecate’s offerings; and wither’d murder,

Alarum’d by his sentinel, the wolf,

Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,

With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design

Moves like a ghost.”

—Macbeth Act 2 Scene 1

According to Roman and Saxon chronicles, the British Isles were once overrun with wolves. But a combination of deforestation and hunting virtually exterminated all traces of the Eurasian grey canis lupus by the end of the medieval period. At a time when wool production was the major industry, anything that threatened sheep farming was a serious public threat. So between 1066 and 1154, Norman rulers awarded land to official wolf-hunters, on the condition that they controlled the predators in their area. And as part of a plea-bargain to avoid execution, certain criminals could elect to provide an annual number of wolf tongues to escape the gallows.

By Henry Vi’s reign, wolves were found only in Scotland, Wales, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and Lancashire. But they lived on in the public imagination, and were often one of the familiars associated with witchcraft.

Eurasian wolf (Photo: Public Domain)

Legend claims that the last English wolf was killed at Humphrey Head, north of Morcambe Bay, at a place that used to be called Lancashire Over Sands. At some time during the Fourteenth Century a royal bounty was offered for each wolf pelt captured, and during one of the local hunts Sir Edgar Harrington became separated from his companions and rode for the top of Humphrey Head to look for them. On his way through the forest he heard the terrified shrieks of a young girl cowering behind a rock, hiding from an enormous growling wolf. Taking his spear Harrington battled the wolf, rescued the maiden, and took her back to safety. Apparently, when her gratitude turned into love, the couple were married and they lived happily thereafter with a healthy batch of children. They put an image of a wolf’s head on their family crest and today lie buried together in Cartmel Priory, with a stone wolf carved at their feet.

How refreshing to have a romantic tale about wolves at a time when they were generally associated with witchcraft and evil!

Sources:

Ashworth, Elizabeth. Tales of Old Lancashire (Berkshire: Countryside, 2007)

Wikipedia: “Wolves in Great Britain” available http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolves_in_Great_Britain (2/24/2015)

Kit’s Crit: Wicked Enchantments (Froome)

Posted by kitperriman on December 6, 2022

What if the Lancashire Witches were actually guilty of practicing magic? Joyce Froome’s book, Wicked Enchantments: a history of the Pendle Witches & their magic (Lancaster: Carnegie,2010) explores this possibility from the prespective of the two teenagers involved, James and Alizon Device.

Froome’s website describes her methodology. She uses “quotations from a wealth of original sources, such as trial records and books of magic,” alongside “photographs of magical artifacts.”

This unique compilation – based on the sound scholarly research of an assistant curator at the Museum of Witchcraft in Cornwall – focuses on the seventeenth-century rituals and spells that the poor cunning folk of Pendle may have used to eek out a living: love potions, healing tonics, protection charms, curses, good-luck talismans, fertility magic, and fortune-telling paraphernalia. In addition to multiple illustrations, there are also photographs of a modern family recreating many of the ancient rituals.

The only negative comment I have is that the binding of my book fell apart from frequent reading! But aside from this, Wicked Enchantments is a fascinating, well-documented, alternative portrayal of the Device family. Their spells are clearly explained. And I fully concur with Froome’s conclusion that centuries later “there were still cunning folk around Pendle Hill . . . . Magic had survived both demonisation and ridicule” (310).

Wicked Enchantments could have become a dry, intellectual, historical examination, were it not for the clever organization, and Froome’s subtle humor shining through the pages.

I love her opening warning: “You are strongly advised NOT to attempt any of the spells described in this book – particularly the one that involves removing a tooth from a live wolf” (iv). Reader beware!

More information is available at Joyce Froome’s website: http://www.joycefroome.com/wicked_enchantments.htm

On Edge

Posted by kitperriman on December 5, 2022

EDGE

(Sylvia Plath)

“. . . The moon has nothing to be sad about,

Staring from her hood of bone.

She is used to this sort of thing.

Her blacks crackle and drag.”

(Photo: Kit Perriman)