🌞LITHA LOOSE INCENSE🌞

"Hag Stones."

A Stone with a hole in it's center, or as the Celtics reffered to it as a "Hag Stone." A seeing stone.

Seen in popular media such as "Coraline." and "Spiderwick chronicles."

In Coraline it was used to find 'Lost' things, helping Coraline find the three missing ghost eyes to beat the other mothers game. But when first told Miss Spink and Forcible and two differing opinions. "It's good for BAD things." > April "It's good for LOST thing." > Miriume.

"In Spiderwick chronicles, it was a tool used to help a human see Fearies. Because only people with the sight or allowed to see the Fea can see them while most of the time they remain hidden. Only a "Seeing stone." Can help someone see the Fea clearly.

But thats in Fictional Media, what about real Hag Stones and their superstitions in real life?

"Celtic in origin. Referred as Hag Stones. Also known as Holey Stones or Witch Stones, are stones that have naturally occurring holes and usually found near oceans or other bodies of water. They are said to be powerful protection tailismans and when worn or carried they protect the bearer from curses, hexes negative spirits and harm. They have also been used to prevent nightmares, being strung on a bedpost or placed underneath pillows. It is also believed that if you peer through the hole of the stone that you can see the Fae Folk and otherworldly entities. If one broke, it is thought to have used its power to protect life.

*With that last addition, it makes sense on why this was used in media such as Spiderwick Chronicles and Coraline from it's tie to the Fea and other supernatural entities.

KITCHEN WITCHERY

HAPPINESS - Chamomile, Lemon Balm, St Johns Wort, Oregano

MONEY- Spearmint, Basil, Cinnamon, Ginger

SUCCESS - Bay Laurel, Lemon balm, Lovage

BANISHING - Chilli Pepper, Mandrake, Frankincense, Mugwort, Rosemary

WISDOM - Thyme, Cinnamon

LOVE - Jasmine, Rose, Meadowsweet, Coriander, Basil, Marjoram

FERTILITY - Myrtle, Geranium, Mandrake, Mistletoe, Clary Sage, Fennel

HEALING - Calendula, Allspice, Elderberry, Ginger, Eucalyptus, Lavender

PROTECTION - Angelica, Lavender, Aloe Vera, Agrimony, Star Anise, Salt

PSYCHIC POWER - Frankincense, Yarrow, Bay Laurel, Mugwort

PURIFYING - Rosemary, Juniper, Sweetgrass

Lughnasadh (sometimes written Lughnasa or Lúnasa) is a festival originating from Ireland that celebrates the start of the harvest season.

It is traditionally celebrated on August 1st (in the northern hemisphere) or halfway between the summer solstice and the fall equinox.

The festival is named for the Irish God Lugh and it is said that the festival started as a funeral feast and athletic competition to honor his mother or foster-mother Tailtiu who had died of exhaustion after clearing the plains of Ireland for agriculture.

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Waulking Songs and the Loireag | Scottish Folklore

A waulking song is a traditional song that was sung for a group to keep in sync while rhythmically beating newly-woven fabric on a surface. This motion shrinks the fibers of the fabric, which makes it better at repelling water.

“There would often be 24 of them at one table, singing songs for four to five hours at a time, during which 300-400 yards of cloth would be waulked.” Audio Recording Transcript: “WAULKING THE CLOTH, ” Track ID: 65191, Date: 1961. Source: tobarandualchais.co.uk

This could be done sitting around a table and moving the fabric with your hands, but in some places the fabric was waulked using feet.

As they sing, they both beat and move the fabric a clockwise direction.

Related to this practice is a water fairy called Loireag(lorryack). She was a rather mischievous fairy that is often described as having an obsession with tradition.

“The ‘loireag’ presided over the warping, weaving, waulking, and washing of the web, and if the women omitted any of the traditional usages and ceremonies of these occasions she resented their neglect in various ways.” Carmina Gadelica, Volume 2, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900]

Not only did she make sure things were done in the right order, but she also disliked people singing out of tune, and hated hearing the same waulking song twice.

” If a song were sung twice at the waulking, the ‘loireag’ would come and render the web as thin as before, and all the work of the women of no avail. They had to begin anew and waulk the web over again, taking special care not to repeat the offence. “ Carmina Gadelica, Volume 2, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900]

The loireag had such a great love of milk that people would leave out offerings of it for her. If this was forgotten, she would take matters into her own hands by enchanting the milking animals to be as still as a statue while she drank her fill.

In one story where this occurred, a girl in Benmore discovered a loireag sucking a cow. The girl tried to drive the fairy away, but nothing worked so she went to fetch her father. It turns out her father was a Carle. Carle can be a derogatory term for a commoner man, but it can also be an alternative name for the "Bodach," which they may be intending in this case.

“The little Carle leapt out at the door in sparks of red fire, swearing at the impudent ‘loireag,’ and at the cow. He threw a boulder at the ‘loireag,’ wishing to kill her, but struck the cow instead and nearly killed her!” Carmina Gadelica, Volume 2, by Alexander Carmicheal, [1900]

He then grabbed the very point of one of the cows horns in the name of “Columba the kindly,” who was “the best leech of man and beast in Alban in his day.” With those words, the cow broke from the enchantment and leapt away. At the same time, the loireag took off running while singing back insults.

“Little carle of Corrie-foot, Little carle of the short coat, Little carle of the foot of the Pass Much I praise your aim.” Highland Mythology by Watson, E. C. (1908)

WAULKINGS SONG EXAMPLES:

(link) In this waulking song a man mourns the fact that another is courting his beloved while he sails the seven seas.

(link) This is a short fragment from a waulking song with a love theme.

(link) The composer describes going through the strath and seeing a herd of hinds. A man was driving them down the hill. He had a bow and arrow and a gun.

(link) This is a waulking song of the type found at the start of a waulking. The chorus refers directly to waulking the tweed, which is unusual in waulking songs.

(link) In this waulking song a sailor tells of his feelings, as the girl he loves is unfaithful. He expresses the hope that his beloved will not take the tailor, the shoemaker, the shepherd or the herdsman.

(link) In this waulking song, the composer lists by their occupation the men who are unsuitable, and then gives details of the one she would accept.

(link) In this waulking song, a woman longs for the man she loves, but his family disapprove of the relationship.

The…Other Children of Lir

Lost princes || A family dynasty || Judgment 

Continuing my (very very slooow and overly specific) journey through Irish tradition, I wanted to talk about some of the more mysterious personages.  Tw for two (brief) mentions of assault/dubious consent, without detail. Manannan mac Lir is probably one of the better known figures (which is why he’s the jumping off point for so much of my writing) alongside his foster son Lugh and his pupil Aengus - but he’s also given an extensive family of children, including Mongan, Eachdond Mor, and Gaidiar. None are quite as well-known or have stories so well-preserved (apart from possibly Niamh of the Golden Hair) but what we do know about them is interesting. Niamh could probably do with her own post so I’ll respectfully leave her out of this one. Aine is also given as Manannan’s daughter in certain sources but I couldn’t verify this and she would also need her own feature.

Mongan is interesting in that in most stories of his birth he’s half human, half tuatha de - if such a division can be considered clear cut. In The Voyage of Bran, Manannan stops Bran (another appearance of Lough Foyle) at sea to tell him that he’s going to concieve a son who’ll be a great hero. Stories vary but generally, Mongan’s father Fiachna (meaning crow) is fighting in Scotland. He’s losing, until Manannan shows up and says he’ll help, for a price. Fiachna makes the old mistake - “I’ll give anything” - and Manannan asks for his wife. In other (nicer) versions, Fiachna’s wife is well aware and the all three people involved consent. Mongan is raised in the Otherworld until his late teens, when he returns to start his job as King. Interestingly, he doesn’t seem that interested in ruling and spends his time drinking wine and playing games. He has to be prompted into making decisions by his father, and even then he retains a sense of ennui and longing to return to the Otherworld. He shapeshifts into children, a washerwoman, a priest - he has as many faces and is as fluid as you’d expect.

Eachdond Mor, Mongan’s older brother, is pictured sitting as Manannan’s left hand, accompanied by his ally Abartach, a trickster who shares a name with a character from the story of the Gilla Decair and a “wizard”/sidhe lord/creature from Garvagh in Ulster, and may be connected with Midir.

Gaidiar is Eachdond’s brother, and commits “adultery” with Becuma, a “woman of the sidhe” (in some tellings he assaults her, in others it is consensual) while they are both in prior relationships, for which she is expelled from Tir na Nog beginning a saga involving a king falling in love with her and accidentally cursing Ireland. Becuma, as the woman, is treated as solely responsible while Gaidiar - and the king - seemingly avoid repercussions. 

Both brothers in their very brief appearances are portrayed as powerful lords or kings in their own right, rubbing shoulders with Aengus, the Dagda, Finbhara and Bodb Derg. 

((I’ll probably come back and edit this since I know there’s a story I’m forgetting, but I’m too tired to remember it properly now, but hopefully somebody finds it interesting!))

Helpful website

While not as popular to celebrate today, Midsummer was once an important celebration in Scotland.

The day was eventually renamed “St. John's Day” by the church and major attempts were made to remove the old traditions associated with Midsummer.

Many of the old traditions involved using the purifying nature of fire, so a statute was enacted in 1581 forbidding the practice. Much to the annoyance of authorities at the time, even that did not stop the fires completely.

"...and in 1665, the Presbytery of Dingwall ordained that their congregations should be abjured to 'desist from the superstitious abuses used on St. John's Day by burning torches through their cornes and fires in their towns, and thereafter fixing their stakes in their kail-yards." The Silver Bough Vol 2 by F. Marian McNeill

How the fire was used could change slightly depending on the place. Some would light a fire by their door, while others would carry torches around their properties or light fires in a location that ensured the smoke would carry over their fields.

"On Midsummer Eve people in the Isle of Man were wont to light fires to the windward of every field, so that the smoke might pass over the corn; and they folded their cattle and carried blazing furze or gorse round them several times." The Golden Bough by Sir James George Frazer [1922]

Since the veil between our world and the Otherworld was thought to be thin at this time, that meant not only where more fairies around, but also that the magical protective properties of plants were at their strongest.

Birch branches might be hung over a door for protection, alongside elderberries and St. John's Wort.

"On Midsummer Eve, when their power is at its height, flowers and herbs are the only barriers to their incursions, and these are regularly spread at the doors of the houses to protect the inmates." The Folk-Lore of the Isle of Man by A. W. Moore[1891]

One of the strangest things folklore said you could gather are fern seeds, but you only have one night to do it. According to science, ferns spread through spores, but according to folklore, you can collect fern seeds on midsummer eve. Collecting them was a dangerous act since they were protected by fairies, but getting fern seeds could give you the ability to turn invisible.

Other common traditions are fortune-telling, collecting morning dew, feasts, dances, and weddings or betrothals.

"Midsummer Eve" by Edward Robert Hughes (1908)

Want more research and citations? I have a longer list on my website (scroll to the bottom of the post).

Four-Leafed Clover

Although the four-leafed clover is now only associated with Ireland, it also has folklore in Scotland. This is perhaps not surprising when you consider that in one location, Ireland and Scotland is only 12 miles apart. Despite this obvious opportunity at trading folklore, I still think it is worth sharing the Scottish-side of this folklore.

“The four-leaved Clover had extraordinary influence in preserving its possessor from magical and witch influence, and enabled their possessors also to see through any deceit or device which might be tried against them. I have seen a group of young women within these few years searching eagerly for this charmed plant.” "Folk Lore: Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland within This Century" by James Napier (1879)

Perhaps the oddest bit of folklore related to this involves taking the afterbirth of a horse, and burring it. Supposedly, this will help develop a four-leaf clover which will give you a lock-picking superpower.

"Let a mare’s first secundines be taken and buried, and let the spot under which it lies be searched from time to time till a four-bladed clover is found. Whoever finds it and eats it has the power of opening the most intricate lock simply by breathing upon it." "Notes on the folk-lore of the north-east of Scotland" by Walter Gregor (1881)

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If you haven’t given an offering to your deities/spirits/ancestors/etc in a while because you feel icky mentally or physically, here are some quick and easy options:

- water (drinkable, preferably)

- make a playlist of at least 3 songs (you can add more later if you’d like)

- talk to them, just say hi, tell them what’s going on in your life

- if you’re physically able, dance or exercise a bit!!

- read or re-read stories about them if they’re a deity

- recall fond memories you’ve had together, tell them why these memories are fond

- Buy or pick a flower/plant, put it on your offering space

- buy a lil pastry and offer it to them

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