#irish folk magic

[witchwood-inn]

Irish Folklore: Blackberries

Blackberries are a symbol of Autumn in Ireland and have quite the folklore surrounding them! -When people see the first blackberry of the season, they express a wish - " Go mbéimid beó ar an am seo arís" which translates to “May we live for this time again“ - A large supply of Blackberries predicts that the coming winter will be severe! - Some farmers do not like any blackberries to grow on their land as they believe the fairies live beneath the branches, and may steal children that reside in the home. (Source: https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4427960/4361020/4465508?HighlightText=blackberry&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga) -Blackberries should not be eaten after October 31st (Samhain, Beginning of winter) as the Púca (or the Devil) spits on them and makes them go bad. (Source: https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4605952/4605430?HighlightText=blackberries+puca&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga) https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5260406/5247489/5276864?HighlightText=blackberries&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga -Boiled blackberries (Blackberry tea) was consumed to cure a bad cough -Alternatively, The juice of blackberries mixed with brown sugar and taken morning and night cures the cough

(https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4701759/4700069?HighlightText=blackberries&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga) https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4798682/4789939/4923304?HighlightText=blackberries&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga -Blackberries were commonly used to make jam and wine! (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4921616/4885357/5149606?HighlightText=blackberries&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga)

(https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4583305/4578181/4591884?HighlightText=blackberries+jam&Route=stories&SearchLanguage=ga)

#irish witchcraft #irish folklore #blackberry #blackberries #irish folk magic

[maevefinnartist]

An Bhuarach - The Spancel in traditional Irish magic, from @ScoilBheanFeasa on ig

"In traditional Irish magic there are two main types of spancels each going by several names in Irish. A buarach (spancel made from cow tail hairs that is used to magically steal the milk and good luck of a farmer). Or a buarach bháis (spancel made from a strip of skin from a human corpse used to magically make a person fall in love).

A spancel is described as a length of rope used to hobble an animal, especially a cow while milking. In earlier Irish a spancel is known as búarach (bó + árach, cow binding) but also means milking time or early morning time. In modern Irish there are many names for a spancel. A loncaird, luncairt or gad coise are other general names for a spancel. Then there is a buarach (spancel for milking a cow), buairichín (small spancel), iodh fhada (long spancel), iodh (chain spancel). Then there is a coiseagán (calf spancel), cornasc (horn and leg spancel), speir (spancel for an animal's houghs/shins), urchall (spancel for front legs).

In Irish folklore a minichin (pronounced mweenaheen and meaning to make quiet or still) was a spancel made of hair cut from a cow or horse's tail). This hair was boiled and then twisted very hard into a rope known as a súgán, with an eye at each end. A small stick or bone called a buairicín, buarai or buarín is put through the loop and turned underneath to securely fasten the spancel. Though in some accounts a minichin is a stick and buarín a spancel and some spancels were made of rope or straw.

If a spancel was made by the farmer, it was often taken to church to be blessed, especially on Palm Sunday and used on Bealtaine (May Day morning) to milk their cows. If the spancel was made as a piseog to steal a farmer's milk or luck, a hair from each cow was stolen and it was used on Bealtaine Eve or before the Sun rose on Bealtaine Day. There are accounts of women seen in farmers fields going around with a spancel and bucket collecting a hair from each cow or milking one cow from each local farmer along with collecting morning dew from the farmers fields.

Full article on Scoil Bhean Feasa's Facebook page or on beanfeasa.com under draíocht."

#irish folk magic #gaelpol

[hare-beneath-pine]

Generally though, in Ireland, cursing’s power was derived from more than mystic phrases alone. Rituals and a certain style were required to launch maledictions, ‘to give them energy’ as the antiquary William Carleton put it.62 A ‘solemn curse’ was uttered with poise and determination, with a hair-raising seriousness seldom found in everyday life. This was how Catholic priests imprecated grievous sinners, from the altar, with an open Bible or chalice in hand, and candles  flickering.63 Beggars shooed away from cottages empty-handed could curse just as ostentatiously. Some unleashed maledictions whilst brushing the dust from their feet, as Christ told his disciples to do when they were shunned.64 Irish cursers of various types fell to their knees, in conspicuously public places like the middle of a road or marketplace.65 With locals watching — including, preferably, their victims — these cursers beat the floor and looked to the skies, put their hands together and besought God to blight their opponents. Other cursers stood up high, on rocks above island shores for instance, as policemen and bailiffs sailed away. With outstretched arms and windswept hair, they roared maledictions using ‘magnificent words and gestures’ that were totally uncharacteristic of their usually reticent temperament.66 Flowing hair, incidentally, was important. In nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Ireland, women usually wore headscarves when outdoors, to keep warm and as nods to strong patriarchal conventions of modesty and respectability. But when they cursed, women literally let their hair down.67 It marked a new if temporary status, their unwillingness to be restrained by ordinary gender norms, and their intention to unleash hidden powers.

Thomas Waters, Irish Cursing and the Art of Magic, 1750-2018

#baneful #cursing #folk magic #irish folk magic #irish cursing and the art of magic #thomas waters #tradcraft

[folkmagick]

CHARM AGAINST ENEMIES

From Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms & Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Wilde, 1919.

#folk magic #folk magick #irish folk magic #against enemies

[edge-walkers]

#writing #irish folk magic #witchcraft #witches

[echoparkwitch-blog]

Anybody have any good resources for Irish Folk Magic? HMU!

#irish folk magic #research #pagan #pagan*

[maevefinnartist]

The Full Moon in the Irish Tradition, According to Duchas.ie Entries

since the full moon is in about 3 days I wanted to share some of the things I've seen on Duchas and scribbled in my notebook. (for those who don't know, Duchas.ie is a massive collection of folktales, folk medicine, local customs and happenings, and more from all over Ireland, compiled by schoolchildren from their community members. it's the most valuable resource anyone interested in Irish folk magic or medicine could possibly have access to.)

people tended to avoid planting anything on the full moon, it was considered bad luck in areas of Co. Galway and Co. Roscommon

skin restorative cures were said to be most effective under the full moon according to some accounts in Co. Donegal

it was said that if you have plenty of money in your pocket when the full moon rose in the sky, you would have plenty of money on every full moon, according to a man from Cork

in Co. Sligo there were many stories of fairy sightings under the full moon

one informant from Louth says that if the full moon fell on a Thursday, it was thought to be lucky for money matters

there are some folktales from Meath about sacrifices made or offerings given to the 'old gods' at the stone cross in Kells under the full moon (please clean up after yourself if you plan on doing this)

multiple people in multiple counties claim that a ring around the full moon is a sign of bad weather to come

one folk charm from an informant in Co. Donegal says that for the pain of lovesickness one should gather a handful of cherry leaves under the full moon, and boil them in the blood of a black rabbit. fast for 3 mornings in a row and the sorrow will leave you

on the night of the full moon some people brought their sick community members close to the lakes so that the moon would shine brightly on them, and it's implied that the idea was the moonlight reflecting off the water had curative powers. the informant says that the old folk of the area called this night "All-Heal". (duchas.ie/en/cbes/492268/4849492/4954329 since there's much more to this one)

accounts from Kilkenny say its unlucky to observe the full moon for the first time through a window

if a Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday falls on a full moon, or very close to, it's a good day to gather herbs, according to an informant from Co. Cork

it was considered unlucky for a child to be born on a full moon

#full moon #irish folk magic #duchas #gaelpol

[maevefinnartist]

An Scuab - The Besom in the Irish Tradition - from @ScoilBheanFeasa on instagram, compiled from Dúchas accounts

"A Scuab (pronounced skoo-ab) meaning besom, broom or brush in Irish. A Crann scuaibe is a broomstick. A Scuab Chaillí (witches broom) is a deformity in a tree that resembles a witches broom or bird's nest. Giolcach Shléibhe (mountain reed) is similar to Gorse but without spindles, known commonly as Broom. Giolcach Nimhe Butcher's Broom or Knee Holly, as butchers would clean their chopping blocks with it.

There are many accounts on Dúchas about the common trade of broom making. People would gather long bundles of Heather or Heath in the mountains or bogs to pluck and dry out. Tie them to a birch pole with a yard of dethorned briar, to be sold at market for a ha'penny. Many of the old people preferred to use Heather instead of the Broom plant as it was often thought witches travelled on broom sticks.

Damhsa ar an Sean Nós/ Damhsa na Scuab - Old Style Dancing/ The Brush Dance still performed today, involves dancing over a broom on the floor.

At Imbolg (Lá Fhéille Bride) the house was completely swept out and a broom was dressed up for people to dance with.

On Bealtaine morning dew was collected on a broom and each cow was struck three times for good luck. In olden days a broom was often built into the wall of a house to bring good luck.

At matchmaking events and weddings young people or the bride and groom jumped a broom or the groom carried the bride over a broom.

In Sídhe lore if a woman or child is rescued from being 'away with the fairies' a broom would often appear in place of the changeling or in their coffin. Other tales of the Sídhe taking people to rid out at night. If they praised the fairy horse they were on, it would turn into a broom.

An old Irish curse known as Burying the Bridóg was said to be performed by dressing up a heath broom to represent the person being cursed. Then 12 women with the same Christian name sat and keened over it. It was then buried, as it decayed the person's health faded. The broom was dug up before the person died.

An Irish saying when using a new broom, Scuab úr scuabann sí glan. (skoo-ab oor skooab-awn shee glahn). Meaning, a new broom sweeps clean."

#irish folk magic #duchas #besom #gaeilge #irepol

[maevefinnartist]

I just finished this, I'm gonna give it 4/5 stars

the majority of the contents of this book can be easily found in the Duchas.ie archive, so if you've spent a lot of time looking through those, this book might not be incredibly useful to you

BUT it does compile all of that valuable information (folk magic, folk remedies, sacred days, festival customs, saints days, pilgrimages, etc) all very neatly into a season-by-season order beginning with Imbolc, covering every significant day & its customs until the next year. it also has a chapter on birth, marriage, and death customs, followed by one on general spiritual well-being, and concluding with supernatural entities. I also love that the author does not shy away from some of the more grisly customs that would be unpalatable, or frankly illegal, by today's standards.

some issues I had with the book: the author is often redundant and repeats things, the writing is a little stilted, obviously this isn't really a big problem. there were also a few instances of the author comparing aspects of Irish folk magic to voodoo that were...uncomfy and ill-informed.

#irish folk magic #gaelpol #irepol #book recs

[maevefinnartist]

An Gealach Úr - The New Moon in the Irish Tradition, from @ScoilBheanFeasa on Instagram, complied from Dúchas accounts

In Astronomy, a New Moon is when the Sun and Moon are aligned, with the Sun and Earth on opposite sides of the Moon. During this phase, the moon is not visible to the naked eye. This phase is known in Irish as Gealach Dorcha (dark moon) or Gealach Marbh (dead moon).

In Irish tradition a New Moon is described as when the Corrán Úr (new sickle) first appears in the sky again. The new moon is known as a Gealach Úr/Nua (meaning fresh/new moon).

In Ireland each month it is tradition to greet the first visible crescent seen in the sky. According to Dúchas accounts when you see the new crescent moon for the first time you should bless yourself and that you could wish for something and it would come true. A common blessing was, I see the moon, the moon sees me, god bless the moon and god bless me*.

It is said to be unlucky to see the first crescent through glass and it is considered lucky to see the new moon over the right shoulder. People would go outside saying "Go mbeirim beo ar an am seo arís" (guh mayr-ihm byoh air on am shuh ah-reesh). Translation (may I draw breath at this time again) meaning may I live through this month.

What ever you held in your hand or what ever you were doing when you saw the first crescent you would multiply or spend the rest of the month doing. People greeted it with money in their hand and avoided working.

If the full outline of the moon is seen with the new crescent it is said the old moon is hugging the new moon and seen as a bad omen.

After this moon phase it is known as Líonadh Na Gealaí - The Waxing Moon (filling moon). Also known as An Ghealach Dheirceach - The Crescent Moon (pitted/hollow moon). The crescent after it reaches a full moon it is described as waning crescent - an corrán ag dúl ar gcúl (crescent is going backwards/ retreating).

*My variation: Feicim an Gealach Úr, feiceann an Gealach Úr mise, beannachtaí don Gealach agus beannachtaí dom".

#irish folklore #irish folk magic #new moon #gealach úr #gaeilge #gaelpol

[hare-beneath-pine]

Yet though their utterers may have been unconscious of it, non-literal curses were also vital preparation for the high art of real cursing. Carefully calibrated to absolutely ruin enemies, real cursing differed in many ways. Whereas metaphorical curses were daily occurrences, real cursing was deeply serious and comparatively rare. To signify this, real cursing used scarier and more complicated wordplay. Basic maledictions like ‘hell’s cure to you’, ‘the divil’s luck to you’, and ‘high hanging to you’ were easy to remember and quick to say.50 Sometimes, for real cursing, they were piled on top of each other, as if to multiply their effect. ‘That ye may never have a day’s luck! That all belonging to ye may die with the hunger!! That yeer eyes may fall out of yeer head!!!’.51 But workaday curses were not particularly suitable for proper cursing because they invited easy retorts. It mattered because curses were believed to be most powerful when their victims remained silent, as if dumbstruck  by the lyrical ingenuity of the dreadful utterances.52 By contrast, people who instantly countered with clever replies could turn curses back on their authors. Something obvious like ‘bad luck to you’ invited the reply ‘good luck to you, thin; but may neither of them ever happen’. ‘Your soul go to the Devil’ might be nullified with ‘my soul from the Devil’.53 To make a curse stick, it was best to say something dreadful, complex and difficult to rebut. ‘May you never die till you see your own funeral’, for example — an obscure allusion to a hanged man watching the spectators at his execution.54 ‘May she and her friends who in any way caused this marriage, be forever without the grace or favour of God — may their offspring unto their latest generation be unhealthy and attended with every misfortune that can befall mankind’. Such was the nasty curse pronounced, in 1829, by a Catholic priest from Tarbert, County Kerry, on discovering that one of his flock was marrying a Protestant.55 Often though, it can be difficult to uncover the exact wording employed by Ireland’s greatest cursers, because journalists censored horrible maledictions … Neither novelists nor journalists mentioned sexual maledictions. Yet it is probably safe to assume that, in nineteenth-century Ireland as in the ancient world and elsewhere, special curses existed for attacking penises, breasts, vaginas and arses.

Thomas Waters, Irish Cursing and the Art of Magic, 1750-2018

#baneful #cursing #folk magic #irish folk magic #irish cursing and the art of magic #thomas waters #tradcraft

[witchwood-inn]

Healing in Irish Folk Magic Pt.1

In Irish folk magic, there are an abundant of cures and healing charms. All info here comes from the book Irish Folk Medicine by Patrick Logan. Part 1 is all about healing magic. Part 2 will include old herbal remedies! Just a disclaimer, healing magic never replaces medical care, medications or visiting doctors. If you are sick please visit a medical professional, these magical charms can go alongside medical care and both together can be very effective!

Healing Magic: 🌿 9 is a very sacred number in irish magic. It was common to repeat healing charms and cures for 9 days until the healing was done.

🌿 Take a twig of gooseberry and break off the thorns until there are only 9 left. Make sure each thorn points in the opposite direction of the one next to it. Then point the first thorn at the sick person/ wound/ infection/ sore area and slowly turn the twig, and point each thorn at them as you move down the twig. You can say a prayer or chant while you do this. The pointed thorns direct healing energy at the specific area that needs healing.

🌿 A charm against illness “I save myself from (illness) Save me cunning birds, bird flocks of witches save me!” This charm can be said aloud or written down and placed somewhere significant (Inside a healing charm bag or poppet maybe?) Old Example: This charm written down for urinary disease, the slip of paper would be placed by the urinal or toilet.

🌿 Healing waters: The first snow of the year is collected carefully and the water is kept. It was often used to treat scalds (but can be used for anything!) Washing charm: To remove warts or illness, bathe the affected area in well water. If there is no well nearby, find a hollow stone that has gathered rain water and bathe the affected area with the water. Its said though that it’s better to find the stone when you are not looking for it. Forge water is also used for healing (Water used by smiths to cool hot iron) Bathe affected area in the water every morning for 9 mornings. It’s said to be extra affected if the water is stolen. Before trying this one, just make sure it’s safe to use on the skin. I think this water contains high amount of iron which might make it beneficial but do your research! Running water carries away evil. A river flowing south is very powerful. Bathing in a river or placing a charm in a river can help you get rid of unwanted emotions, thoughts, situations etc (Make sure it’s biodegradable please)

🌿 A charm to remove a thorn, say: “Nothing is higher than heaven, nothing is deeper than the sea. By the holy words that Christ spoke from his cross remove the thorn from me. Very sharp is Goibniu’s science. Let Goibniu’s goad go out before Goibniu’s goad”

This charm is said over butter, which then goes into hot water and then smeared around the thorn but not on the point or wound itself. This charm is very interesting as it is both christian and pagan. Goibniu is an irish deity, the metalsmith of the Tuatha Dé Danann . He is associated with Hospitality. You can always change the words to remove christian association by replacing Christ with another deity. Another thorn charm: “A splendid salve which binds a thorn, let it not be spot or blemish, let it not be swelling nor illness, nor clotted gore, nor lamentable hole, nor enchantment. The sun’s brightness heals the swelling, it smites the disease” This charm indicates using a salve, but there is no record of the salve used. Create your own healing salve and say the charm above when applying it. It doesn’t have to be for a thorn, you can reword it to match any intention! The sun also seems important here so make use of the sun’s energy while using this charm. 🌿 Transference magic was a popular form of healing. Transference usually meant taking away an illness and giving it to something else. There are numerous methods:

Take a piece of raw meat, and make the sign of the cross (pentacle/ any protective symbol) over the person you wish to heal (Sometimes it was done over each wart to get rid of warts). Then the meat was buried. As it rotted, so too will the illness. It was common to use bacon for this one. In Dublin, the same method was used with a potato. Cut it in half or in 3s and rub one half of the potato on to the area you wish to heal. Then the next day and day after, rub the other pieces on the area and then bury them. As the potato rots so too will the illness.

In Trim, the same method was used by using a pin. Point the pin at each wart (or at the person) and it was common to throw the pin into water (In Trim it was at Newton Bridge tomb). As it rusts away so too will the warts (illness) Hanging an ivy leaf over the fireplace to represent illness. As it dries and shrivels up, so too will the illness in the home. For children suffering from loosing teeth and dealing with pain. In a natural area, The child should throw a fallen tooth over the left shoulder and not look back to see where it went. The pain and discomfort caused by the tooth is transferred to the earth where it landed. To get rid of warts (or illness) Gather pebbles for each wart or problems you have and place them at a crossroads. The first person who comes and picks up the stones will get the warts or illness. 🌿 To heal a sprain (or any muscle/ bone injury) Tie 9 knots into a piece of string or twine and tie it around injured area. Extra power if it is a red string (Red expels demons) 🌿 Healing charm (Say it over a person/ injury to manifest healing) “Brigid (or Dian Cécht or any healing deity) Fared into a wood and their foals foot he sprain. Then charmed Brigid As well as she knew how ‘Bone to bone, blood to blood, nerve to nerve, and every sinew in thy proper place as though they were glued’“

Check out Part 2 soon!

#irish folk magic #witchcraft #witchblr #celtic #magick #magic #charms #cures #gaelic #mine #healing

[witchwood-inn]

Irish Folk Magic Pt2

🌾The irish would sweep their floors from the door to their hearth, to bring in good luck rather than sweep it out. (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428251/4388467/4465967)

🌾Soak your bed sheets and pillows in lavender and rosemary water to help with sleep! (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4666586/4664150/4668362)

🌾Tie a red rag or ribbon around the neck (like a scarf) to ward the evil eye. (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4798657/4787663/4923346)

🌾To get rid of the evil eye, write the 26 letters of the alphabet on a piece of paper and burn it under your nose (I’m not a fan of breathing in smoke so I would change this method to burning the piece of paper along with some cleansing herbs (garden sage, cedar, juniper etc) treating it as incense and waft the smoke over you, taking in the scent indirectly) (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4658430/4654747/4659635)

🌾Another cure was to burn a piece of clothing worn by the possessor of the "evil eye". (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4798707/4792016/4924255)

🌾Charm for Protection: “The Deer’s Cry” I arise today through the strength of heaven the light of the sun the brilliance of the moon the splendor of fire speed of lightning depth of the sea stability of the earth and the firmness of rock. (https://illustratedprayer.com/2018/03/17/saint-patrick-and-the-cry-of-the-deer/)

🌾Garlic boiled in milk is good for colds (A soup made with garlic and milk among other ingredients would be perfect too!) (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5070791/5064262/5096665) Along with garlic, onions and wild sage is good for colds too (Add them to your soup!) (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/5009200/4997255/5103281) (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4701685/4692572/4728101)

🌾Hanging a brigid’s cross up over the door or in the house prevents fires. The cross is burned each year in the hearth and a new one is made on Imbolc to continue that protection. (https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4769994/4764934/5013850)

🌾On Bealtaine before sunrise cut the branches of whitethorn and mountain ash. They are wreathed around the door for good luck.

🌾Mountain ash is the safeguard against all witchcraft!

🌾If a branch of mountain ash cut on Bealtaine is woven into the roof of your house, your home will be safe from fire for at least a year. If the branch of mountain ash is woven into the timber of a boat, no storm will upset it and no man will drown for at least a year.

🌾Bind the twigs of the mountain ash cut on Bealtaine around valuable objects to protect them from witchcraft/ hexes and curses (Traditionally bound around milk pails and butter churns)

🌾Herbs picked on Bealtaine will have especially potent magickal healing properties! Especially the Yarrow which is picked for divination. On Bealtaine, find a yarrow plant and dance around it singing: “Yarrow, Yarrow, Yarrow, I bid thee good morrow, And tell me before to-morrow, Who my true love shall be” Then the herb is placed under your head at night and your true lover will appear in your dreams! (https://www.libraryireland.com/AncientLegendsSuperstitions/May-Festival-2.php)

🌾Protection charm for travel: Pluck 10 blades of yarrow, keep 9 and cast the 10th away to the spirits. Put the 9 under your heel in your stocking on your right foot before you travel. (https://www.libraryireland.com/AncientLegendsSuperstitions/Charm-Safety.php) 🌾To attract bees: On May day, gather foxglove (it’s poisonous, be careful), raspberry leaves, wild marjoram, mint, chamomile and velarian and mix them with butter and boil them together with honey. Rub this mixture on to any vessel you wish bees to gather. (https://www.libraryireland.com/AncientLegendsSuperstitions/Attract-Bees.php) Thanks for reading! :D

#witchcraft #irish folk magic #irish witch #folk magick #bean feasa #celtic witch

[witchwood-inn]

Irish Folk Magic: Resources

Hello! So I've been asked by a few people about where to find resources on irish folk magic so I thought I'd share where I get my info from in a post.

Remember that Irish folk magic is not an organized practice, so there is no one book or one place to go for it (Though I would love to write a book on it in the future!) At the moment bits and pieces of the practice are found within folklore, charms and cures, superstitions, passed down through Christian families and within tales of the Bean Feasa (Wise woman), irish cunning folk and Fairy Doctors. Use these terms when you're searching for more info in the future!

Note: I recommend you have a good understanding of witchcraft in general before you delve into these resources so you'll know what to look for. Although Christianity is very tied to irish folk magic, you can look past it and pay close attention to what herbs, plants or items they are using, how they use it and what they use it for. These resources are not going to spoon feed you irish folk magic, you need to look for it within the texts and take note of it yourself if it's useful to you. For example, In the book "Ancient Cures, Charms and Usages of Ireland", there is a story of a Priest who performs an exorcism on a possessed man. The Priest beats the man with a stick of Blackthorn to banish the demon from his body. From this, I then took the note "Blackthorn is used for banishing demons or negative spirits". If you keep this in mind while you research, you'll find lots of useful stuff!

Either way, I will still be making more posts on irish folk magic when I find more useful info!

Books: ***Some links here you can read the whole book for free!

Irish Folk Ways by E. Estyn Evans

***Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms and Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Wilde.

Ancient Cures, Charms and Usages of Ireland by Lady Wilde (A lot of stuff in here is unsanitary, immoral or silly despite them being legitimately used and believed in. Take things in this book with a grain of salt but make use of the herbal, edible and tree usages! Do research on the plants before you use them yourself. Always be cautious with unknown plants)

***Irish Druids and Old Irish Religions by James Bonwick

The Book of the Cailleach : Stories of the Wise Woman Healer

Witchcraft and Magic in Ireland by Andrew Sneddon

***Irish Cursing and the Art of Magic by Thomas Waters

Irish Superstitions by Daithi O hOgain

Irish Witchcraft from an Irish witch by Lora O'Brien (The title for this book is misleading. It's more irish paganism than witchcraft but it's useful if you're looking to practice both irish folk magic with irish paganism)

Fairycraft by Morgan Daimler (This is more of a modern take on how to incorporate the irish Fairy Faith into modern witchcraft practices, kinda like a modern version of the old Bean Feasa or Fairy doctors did)

Online:

Duchas https://www.duchas.ie/en Duchas is a huge collection of irish folklore, gathered and written down here in Ireland. Collected from old folk who still practice folk magic, superstitions, folk medicine or remember their own grandparents doing so.

It's confusing at first but type in a word you'd like more info about and many documents relating to the word will pop up. Example: Lavender- https://www.duchas.ie/en/src?q=lavender If you click on the title, it'll open the page up for you and the digital version of the document will be on your right which makes things easier to read. From this search I learned that soaking your bed sheets in lavender and rosemary water will help fight sleeplessness! Very useful for magickal workings :) If you search around and try different words, you'll find hidden gems!

The Witch, the Bean Feasa, and the Fairy Doctor in Irish Culture By Morgan Daimler https://www.academia.edu/17823067/The_Witch_the_Bean_Feasa_and_the_Fairy_Doctor_in_Irish_Culture Check out Morgan Daimler's books on irish paganism, her stuff is fantastic!

Bean Feasa https://beanfeasa9.wordpress.com/ This website is a modern take on the irish Bean Feasa. There's a bit of valuable info on there that I think would be good to know. Bean Feasa were irish wise women (Woman of knowledge) known to heal using herbal remedies and help from the otherworld.

Biddy Early https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biddy_Early Biddy Early was a famous irish wise woman and possible witch. Research on her could be very beneficial when researching irish folk magic. There's a book on her that's probably out of print so it's expensive, but have a look around and try to find a different copy if possible. https://www.amazon.com/Biddy-Early-Wise-Woman-Clare/dp/1856353168

Others:

https://ogham.celt.dias.ie/menu.php?lang=en&menuitem=03 This website is a good quick way to write in Ogham

Podcasts:

Folklore Fragments by UCD (They have loads of episodes on youtube and they are very useful! Keep a pen and paper ready to write down useful info)

#irish folk magic #witchcraft #witchblr #magick #witch #celtic #gaelic #gaelpol #mine

[witchwood-inn]

Irish Folk Magic: Curses

In Irish, the word for curse or evil spell is “Piseog” (Pee-show-g). It is usually a form of sympathetic magick, meaning the magickal use of an object or action to symbolically represent a person, event or place. Piseogs were often cast on May Eve (Bealtaine)

It was common to bury an egg in your targets garden. The egg represented the household. When the egg begins to rot, so too will the households wealth, health or fortune.

Placing raw meat (bacon or chicken for us modern folk, or traditionally a pig or chicken carcasses) was said to ruin your targets crop and cause misfortune. In turn however, the person who casts the piseog gains the wealth, fortune and a successful crop.

Wake up before sunrise on May morning and visit a spring well situated under an old oak tree and skim the top of the water with a saucer while chanting your targets name. This piseog prevents the targets milk from having cream and it will give you all their cream instead.

If you stand in front of your targets property while holding a long rope and swing it to and fro while saying “leath mo chuid ime-se agus lán do chuid ime-se" which meant "half of my butter and all of your butter” you will get all your targets butter.

**Butter, milk and cream can represent wealth or success in modern workings.

Note: Milk and butter was extremely valuable to the irish. It was the difference between life and death, wealth and poor. Irish witches were often called “Butter Witches” as many of their curses or actions within the christian era revolved around stealing milk and butter. The witches were also said to turn into a Hare as a disguise when stealing the goods. These piseogs can be cast with the intention of taking away wealth/ success from a person, using butter or milk symbolically to represent it.

Here’s some simple irish curses:

Fán fada ort Long may you be astray

Léan ort Sorrow betide you

Briseadh agus brú ort Strife and stress upon you

Lagú cléibh ort Weariness of heart upon you

Nár eirigh an lá leat That you may not be successful on the day

Náire agus aithir chugat That you may be shamed and disgraced

Go n-imi an droch aimsir leat That the bad weather leaves with you Dul go h-olc ort Bad luck to you

#witchcraft #irish folk magic #witchblr #curses #baneful magic #mine