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How to Break a Spell

Popular belief in the power of witchcraft survived in Brittany long into the modern era; spells and curses, for good or ill, abounded in the common imagination. Thankfully, the unlucky few caught under the malignant shadow of an evil spell were not always doomed but had recourse to wise practitioners able to undo the spells cast by others and to offer their own charms of unbewitchment.

To thwart the evil spells to which one could fall victim, certain practices were once popularly recommended, such as carrying unblessed salt or just nine grains of it, knocking three times on the shell of the eggs that one had just eaten or even spitting on the shoe worn on the right foot before putting it on. The special talismans and rituals designed to keep one safe from malevolent spellcasters and the Evil Eye were often as varied as they were imaginative and generally fell into two categories; proactive and reactive.

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In western Brittany, a morsel of black bread was a widely believed to protect against evil spells and was noted as a talisman to guard new-born babies from evil until they received the protection of baptism. In some parts of the region, it was traditional for one of the women present at the birth of a baby to remove the new mother’s wedding ring and put it in a glass of wine before applying some of the liquid to the lips of the new-born to protect it against the Evil Eye. Additionally, in several parts of Brittany, new-born babies were immediately passed through the fireplace in order to protect them against evil spells.

One well-known charm to protect against any evil spells cast against you called for a sou coin, nine grains of salt and nine stems of nine plants, namely: chickweed, common daisy, dovesfoot geranium, fumitory, greater celandine, ground-ivy, spotted medick, pilewort and verbena. It was first necessary to pronounce the Breton invocation Doue Araog Oll (God Above All) into a linen pouch and to recite the Pater Noster and Ave Maria prayers three times without taking a breath.

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After this supplication, three stems from each of the nine plants were placed crosswise on top of one another before a second layer of three stems each was similarly laid. Again, three Pater Noster and Ave Maria prayers were recited on the same breath ahead of the remaining stems being placed atop each other in the pouch. When the last of the stems was in the bag, it was then necessary to recite another three prayers under the same breathing constraints as earlier, before finally adding the nine grains of salt. The pouch was then sewn shut with a linen thread and stitched into one’s clothing where it would afford protection to the wearer.

Another once popular protection charm involved wearing or carrying in one’s pocket, a small pouch containing a chicory root that had been torn from the ground before sunrise on the morning of Midsummer’s Day. Although some people claimed that carrying the tip of a branch of alder and some of the tree’s bark in a small pouch was an equally protective talisman against the Evil Eye and other misfortunes. The tree’s sap, when collected before dawn on 10 March, was regarded as a powerful weapon in the fight against evil. Sadly, I have not yet been able to confirm the significance of that most propitious date.

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Many plants were also employed in the fight to protect whole households against the evil spells that might be cast towards them. For instance, a branch of beech or, if not readily available, birch was hung in front of the house as a most visible sign of defence. Similarly, a branch of holly was also believed to offer protection against evil spells and poisoning but branches hung in stables were also thought to repel cow sores. Wild celery, gathered by hand, was another plant popularly kept at home in the belief that its presence protected the household against the curse of the Evil Eye and misfortune.

Planting a branch of boxwood in one’s field on Palm Sunday was said to prevent witches from casting any evil spells on the field’s future harvest. However, it was the health and vitality of valuable livestock that was seemingly of most concern to the Bretons of yesterday as many traditional charms to ensure their protection have survived for us today. To guard against witchcraft, branches of elder were hung on stable walls and a double-rooted bramble fastened above the stable door. The presence of a goat in the stable was believed to protect the other animals against evil spells, while toads – a creature frequently associated with the evil spells cast to injure livestock in western Brittany – were often nailed to stable doors in expectation that their presence would ward-off evil. 

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To protect against witchcraft over the year ahead, it was long thought necessary to assemble, at dawn, all one’s sheep at a crossroads on Midsummer’s Eve and smoke them with the Herbs of Saint John picked, before dawn, on the previous Midsummer. Similarly, farmers drove their cattle through the embers of the Midsummer bonfires in order to preserve them from the malice of the magical korrigans over the year ahead. Farmers and their families most often protected themselves against the same threat by wearing a gorse flower and by hanging an inflated pig’s bladder, containing nine grains of wheat, from a ceiling beam in the main room. The latent evil posed by the supernatural creature known as the Bugul Noz or Night Shepherd was thought allayed by placing a cross made of rosehip branches in the stable.

Maintaining the health of one’s livestock and livelihood was a constant concern to the Breton farmer. To help protect one’s efforts from those who, for whatever reason, sought to inflict misfortune, bunches of tansy were hung from the beams in the stable to dispel evil spells and to help ensure cows produced a plentiful supply of milk; bunches of white wormwood and houseleek were also said to have been similarly efficacious. In the west of the region, a branch of Medlar, cut before dawn on the morning of Midsummer, was also thought to provide excellent protection against witchcraft.

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In eastern Brittany, it was believed that witches sometimes cast spells over the cattle at market by mixing the powdered liver of a wolf with their tobacco; in smelling this smoke, the animals suddenly went berserk in their efforts to escape. To combat the influence of such a spell, an amulet of greater periwinkle was placed around the left horn of the beasts. A more widely used charm to protect domestic animals against bewitchment saw them adorned with an amulet containing nine cloves of garlic mixed with a handful of coarse salt.

As late as the middle of the 19th century, washing one’s face, first thing in the morning, with cow’s urine, or your own if one could not obtain that of a cow, was said to protect you all day from evil spells and the wickedness of the Devil because you became invisible to him. If you were unfortunate enough to be visited at home by a witch or anyone else capable of casting the Evil Eye, such as a tailor, throwing a broom made of birch twigs onto the ground in front of them was believed enough to counter any curse. However, if one of your animals had been cursed, it was necessary to invite the one you suspected of having cast the spell to visit your home; their appearance across the threshold was thought enough to nullify their curse.

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Other practices to break spells and lift curses called for significantly more ritual, such as one noted in the east of the region that required the purported victim to purchase an earthenware pot that had never been used. This item needed to be bought, without any bargaining over the price demanded, with a handful of copper pennies that, on no account, were to be counted. It was then necessary to visit the blacksmith or nail maker and invite him to put a handful of nails into the pot, without counting or weighing them; the nails had to be paid for in the same manner as before, with a handful of uncounted pennies. This done, the victim was required to return home, fill the pot with water and set it to boil over the fire. Once the water had started to boil, it was believed that the hot nails now tormented the spellcaster who, to escape this torture, revoked their spell.

A similar ritual to nullify an evil spell recommended that the victim purchase the heart of an ox and a handful of new nails; both items needed to be bought, without any haggling, with handfuls of uncounted pennies. The heart was taken home, hung in the victim’s fireplace and, every morning, nails were driven into it in the belief that the spellcaster would suffer such pain that they would cease their mischief and break the spell that they had cast.

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As with the proactive charms to protect against evil spells, many of the reactive charms once thought invaluable in breaking a cast spell, revolved around livestock and livelihood. If cattle were lost at night, a fire tripod or a knife with a curved blade was thrown into the fields in the expectation that this would preserve the lost beast from a fateful encounter with a wolf and protect it against the witch.

When cows failed to yield the expected amount of milk, it was not long before witchcraft was suspected of having dried the cow. To break the spell and chastise the one who cast it, the owner of the bewitched cow was required to boil a few pins in the animal’s milk; these were then thought to wound the spellcaster who, to escape the pain, lifted their curse. In the north west of the region, another way to break such a spell was to stick several pins into the heart of an ox which was then put into an iron pot hung over the fire; the spellcaster was now believed to feel compelled to present themselves to the accursed party.

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A more elaborate ritual for lifting this type of curse involved cutting some hairs from the cow’s head, withers and tail, soaking them in the animal’s water trough before sunrise on each day of Holy Week before wearing them to mass on Easter Day. In western Brittany, it was thought that such spells could be broken if the cursed animal was walked around a three-sided field. One was even thought able to turn the tables on the spellcaster if, while walking the cow, they threw salt over their shoulder while making certain incantations. Salt was also used in neighbouring Normandy to counter any evil spells suspected of having been cast on a new cow; molten salt was rubbed on the udder and around the base of the animal’s tail to lift the spell.

The influence of some malign spell was often blamed when a cow unexpectedly aborted and several means of countering such spells have survived to this day. One fairly widespread practice called for the farmer whose livestock had been thus affected to bury the dead calf with its legs pointed skywards in a pit in front of the stable. In the east of the region, one way to break the spell called for the heart of the dead calf to be hung in the fireplace of the farmhouse and be pierced with the barbs of a blackthorn tree.

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When farmers encountered difficulties making butter, a supernatural explanation was often the one most immediately reached for. In western Brittany, it was thought necessary to churn the milk in a neighbouring parish in order to break the curse while milkmaids whose butter was slow to take, averted the possible influence of the Evil Eye by immediately changing their churns.

Around the eastern town of Vitré, farmers were more aggressively proactive and would examine their dung heaps; the presence of a flat fungi, popularly known as a fromage blanc, served as confirmation that their cow was bewitched. To counter the spell, it was believed necessary to gather, after sunset, three round stones and throw them as forcefully as possible into the pool that stood closest to the dung heap. This ritual needed to be repeated on three consecutive nights. On the first night, the stones were thought to strike the spellcaster and command their attention. On the second night, the stones would cause the spellcaster severe pain, while on the third night, the spell would be lifted by the caster for fear of receiving more suffering.

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It was also in the district surrounding this town that a most curious character was noted at the end of the 19th century; a sorcerer, dressed in goatskin, who roamed the countryside offering to lift the curses that had been cast upon the area’s farmers. He is reputed to have carried on his shoulder a large plank to which were nailed three other small slats of wood, all affixed with hooks from which hung moles in varying states of putrefaction. These rotting carcasses were carried from farm to farm and sold to those who believed themselves bewitched.

Upon one of the branches were the rotting moles claimed to thwart the spells cast against the making of butter. It was enough to bury one of these corpses at the entrance to the stable and immediately the milk which no longer provided cream gave it in abundance. The second slat carried the bodies said to preserve chickens if buried in the hen house. The final slat carried the animals who supposedly had the ability to prevent cows from aborting.

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There were also many practices recommended to help thwart the evil spells that had been cast against oneself. To counter a spell that had brought about a fever, it was necessary to drink from a bucket of water after a horse had drunk from it or to receive three sprinkles of holy water in three different parishes on the same Sunday. Similar protection was thought to be gained from drinking holy water on the eve of Pentecost or exposing oneself naked to the rising sun while reciting a certain number of Pater Noster and Ave Maria prayers.

Grains of salt, phials of holy water, religious medallions, written charms and pieces of coal were all once widely employed to protect against the power of spells and curses. Although faith or doubt, belief or disbelief, was arguably the strongest weapon wielded for and against the power of the spellcaster.

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Published by Bon Repos Gites

Enjoying life in Kalon Breizh - the Heart of Brittany.

134 thoughts on “How to Break a Spell

    1. Haha, I suspect modern witchy folk would not give me the time of day as there is not a candle or crystal in sight! 😉
      Many thanks for reading this Joanna – I am very glad that you enjoyed it! 🙏 Keep well! 😊😊

      Liked by 1 person

  1. As a girl I had to churn butter, and I can see why someone would blame supernatural reasons for why the butter would not take! This article is so fascinating! Thanks for taking the time to research this interesting subject, and for choosing such beautiful artwork to accompany it. Take care!

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    1. I have only done it once and can only imagine what it must have been like using one of the old tall churns rather than the crank-handle ones! You can get home made butter here but it is eye wateringly expensive!

      You are very welcome!! Thank YOU for reading it!! 🙏 I am happy that you enjoyed it! 😊🤗

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      1. It struck me that the curse is persuading the people to wash their faces with urine, drink from a horse bucket or perform all manner of complex rituals believing that would protect them from the curse but they are, in fact, the curses themselves. The witches are laughing in the woods.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. That makes sense — and right now I completely understand the desire to have some control over sinister events that are out of our control. Like “It might not work, but it might and it’s better than nothing.”

        Liked by 1 person

    1. That is probably worthy of a post in itself! 😉 However, the short answer is that I really do not know. Three was an auspicious number for the Ancient Romans, so, perhaps there is something in that? 🤔

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      1. Spookily, I conducted an English language search and one of the top hits on the significance of three was an article on the site of the Welsh National Opera!! Apparently, it was viewed as a perfect number because it was the base of balance – birth, life, death or past present, future etc. Hmmm

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Haha, curiouser and curiouser (said Alice 😉).
        Three threes are nine of course and that ties into fertility but that does not get us any closer to the Rule of Three! 🤔 A quick search does not either – at least, not what it meant in Carroll’s day.
        EDIT – Of course it does!! I forget that he was a mathematician!! 🙄🙄

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  2. Yikes was the fireplace lit when the baby was passed through! Some of these remedies take a lot of effort like putting smoke from last year’s St John’s on your sheep at a certain crossroads at a specific time. Or are disgusting like washing your face in cow urine. I wonder what they thought and did when these didn’t work? Repeat it or move on to the next one. Maggie

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    1. Yes, I believe it was! The fireplace was regarded as one of the sacred places of the house – not because of warmth and food but because it was literally constantly purified by fire.
      Ha, yes, well, if it didn’t work then someone would likely have pointed out that some tiny and lost detail of the ritual was ignored, such as facing East or something! 🤔😉

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  3. I am trying to imagine myself reciting the Pater Noster and Ave Maria three times in one breath! Maybe washing my face in my own urine wouldn’t seem to bad. Interesting about the nails and pins. Reminiscent of voodoo dolls? If people believe in such things I think it is entirely possible for them to die of fright. I love the chart at the end.

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    1. Agreed! I am not sure that I could have managed it. A lot of the old healing spells also required the healer to make long incantations on the same breath and some even said that the spell would fall back onto the caster if they failed!

      Yes, it does seem to call on the same type of magic with pins in dolls, Must have looked a horrible sight! 😯 As you say, if you believe then anything is possible!!

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  4. Washing your face with cow’s urine would protect you from many things, like being pestered by family and friends. It would seem many suspected curses had to do with livestock vitality or productivity. Lucky that vets came along, would think. Another great trove of myths and superstition. Enjoy your weekend. Allan

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  5. Very cool post … funny you mention

    I have an evil eye 🧿 charm that protects against the evil eye… I can’t remember where I got, but I’m from Massachusetts – so Salem which is touristy now – has a lot of those things – so was probably from Salem, Massachusetts ?

    I also have a dream catcher which is Native American to ward off nightmares or evil spirits as you sleep

    In death – there are beliefs too…

    I actually HAVE holy water at my house lol … but that is mainly because we use holy water 💦 in catholic funerals … a priest gave me a small bottle just to have 😊❤️ I keep it behind glass

    For Jewish burials – we have sand from the Holy Land – Jerusalem

    I can see and understand rituals and beliefs to help bring peace, good things and/or protect against any evil

    I also have done the salt in the corners of my home to cleanse any left over bad energy / not taking any chances lol ✌️

    It’s all how you view something and wish or hope to be protected 🙏

    I’m not really sure who would have been like “hey let’s try washing face with pee, nailing hearts, anything with dung, or rotting carcasses” 😝 that will not ever be a thing for me 😝 I will pass on those lol

    I have a small bag of little teeny tiny people – I also don’t know where I got that from? You are supposed to think of a wish and put them under your pillow while you sleep and supposably they make your wish come true lol – I think that is Native American ? But I’m not sure ?

    In religion – I believe in saints … if you pray to certain saints that pertain to certain moments in life – and you believe in the power of prayer that can be a thing – miracles happen ✌️I am here still ❤️👏

    In life, we want good things and sometimes bad things happen, so if there is anything to try that might help – if makes feel better – whatever works 😊✌️

    Is better than feeling helpless ✌️ and if works – bonus!!! 👏👏

    I don’t know how well I would do following tons of instructions like some of these have lol – if they simple and easy and not gross – then sure – I will take protection lol

    Plus I’m Irish ☘️ lol … we have 4leaf clovers if you lucky – faith hope love and luck 🍀 😘✌️

    But yes I can understand them and their beliefs to a point lol … minus grossness and tons of instructions lol

    Very cool post and very funny you mention the evil eye – I have the protection charm but I just never think about it lol 😮

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    1. It is interesting isn’t it, how we would not really claim to be superstitious yet, if we really sat down to think about it, we still surround ourselves with tiny rituals and things that might just help us. 😉 Or at least things that ‘do no harm’! 😉

      I have no heard of that bag of little people you mentioned! Time to do some internet searching methinks! 🙄😉

      Hope your weekend is a relaxed one! 🤞🙏

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      1. Hahaha yes lol … I am aware I have little superstitions, beliefs or rituals lol

        I am Boston Red Sox forever fan ❤️😘 … we were once curse lol … the curse of the Bambino lol…

        If you from Mass… you grew up hearing all about the curse and Boston fans are extremely loyal and believe – lol – we think we are always hot shit lol – talk a lot of smack lol ❤️

        Have rivalry with Yankees 😝

        You are taught that rivalry and once believed in that curse omg – it was HuGE thing!! Lol

        We wanted so bad after 86 years of curse lol

        So yeah – these things can have heavy beliefs lol … people need some way to explain or deal with things lol✌️👏

        ❤️🙌😄😄 yeah superstitions

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Yes 😄😄 sports, religion, good luck, peace etc

        There is a little superstition or belief everywhere lol 😘✌️

        But belief is a good thing… cause can make you feel stronger in order to get through 😊✌️

        It can be a wild and crazy ride! 😮

        – in all eras – always lol

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Thank you – is sunny absolutely beautiful weekend ❤️ trying to keep peaceful! 🙏

        Oh yeah… those little people are Guatemalan worry dolls ❤️ but I can’t remember how I got or how long I’ve had?? They are old.

        Have a great and beautiful weekend also 🙏✌️☀️🙌

        Liked by 1 person

      4. Yes was beautiful sunny weekend – just cold and windy … but I’m half way there lol 🙏🙏

        Just Tuesday Wednesday be windy cold and rainy … then I should have sun and maybe it will warm up 🙏🙏🙏

        Yeah I don’t know if week be kind ? We see 🙏 hope so!! 🙏 I’ll find out today!!

        Hope you have a good week too – hope it is also kind 🙏🙏🙏

        It’s just the 2020’s so never know 🤷‍♀️ so far they are crazy for me

        Liked by 1 person

      5. We have beautiful ness today too… sunny beautiful … kinda warm and very windy 🌬️

        But rain tmrw and Wednesday 🤦‍♀️

        Then MAYBE? 🙏🙏🙏

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      6. I already had a serious wardrobe malfunction 😮 … thank god it was before I left 😮

        I have/had a beautiful flowy pretty funeral shirt … but the clips on one shoulder broke and exposed everything 😳😮 oh thank you god for not doing that at work!!!

        Ahhh Monday 🙄

        Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you so much!! 🤗🤗 I am very happy that you enjoy them and I appreciate you reading them! 🙏🙏
      Ha, yes, you never know just when a disenchantment spell will prove useful! 😉 Be prepared! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  6. So fascinating article to read still we scaring the truth so beautifully explained 🌹🙏👌
    Now also the just born infants night so much crying means the witch mom disturb
    Ing the baby, so fast we will make one feast for the which mom !!Non vege will be.
    Then the child nicely sleep , also the child’s face big black dot always be there,
    Evel eyes don’t disturb the child 🤔 we Indians so many superstitions still
    Following, we generations for our children and our family 👏🤔 grace wishes 👏

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Interesting how old ways of protecting yourself against witchcraft involved animal parts. Now the emphasis has evolved to using other items, such as plants and gems, which to me is a bit less gross. Also interesting that the number of three was as significant back then as it is now.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Plants were definitely one of the protective charms used but, you are right, so were animal parts and they have certainly dropped out of use nowadays. Well, in the modern spells that I see circulated they have! 😉

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Anna Göldi was executed for witchcraft in Switzerland in 1782, one of the last in Europe and exonerated in 2008, a little late, perhaps. There are all sorts of beliefs regarding witchcraft here, my grandfather had all sorts of rituals he would perform regarding his animals and was very particular about who could handle milk. A sour woman begets sour milk, a child sweet, a harsh man poor milk and so on.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That was late!! We have had self-professed witches on trial here after WW2 but they have been tried on charges of practicing medicine without a licence or fraud and deception. There was a notable case in, I think, the 1970s where a witch was burnt by neighbours who set her house alight! 😔😔

      The milk superstitions are fascinating!! We had some here that said red heads and menstruating women made bad butter and that adulterous could be identified by ill-setting cheese! 😯

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Spring is definitely in the air here also. So many beautiful wildflowers and greenery, I’m getting confused whether I live in the Arizona desert or not. Haha Looks like Ireland! Happy day my friend and God bless you! ❤ 💕 💖

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  9. By sprinkling Holy water and cow’s urine that place becomes pious unaffected by the negative energies.Bon Repos! You really write ✍️ different topics which we haven’t known about that. I will always be eagerly waiting for the next posts

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    1. Yes, who would have thought that such different liquids would command such similar properties! The human imagination is truly a wonderful thing! 🤔😊
      Many thanks for reading! I am happy that you found it of interest! 🙏😊😊

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      1. Thank you too, my dear friend, your writing pen is salvation for me, you’ve got to know it already. But who’s gonna be the superhero to save us from the eternal spells of the new-phileleuphtherism, of the democracy ‘s huge absence, the so unfair sociopolitical systems all over the word, from the global pauvrety and earth’s catastrophe and so many other things even though life is still beautiful through the kids ‘eyes, poetry, nature, animals, seashore and sometimes love and affection between people, the rarest of anything else. Stay well safe and sound you and your beloved ones. Take good care of yourself!😉😊😇🥰😍😘😘😘

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  10. Another great post! I can’t help but wonder how many more practices you read about but didn’t include. Makes me wonder how the people could live normal lives if they were performing all these rituals and ones from your previous posts haha

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    1. Thank you!!! 😊🤗 Haha, I do come across more but I decided some time ago to only include those that were recorded before WW1. That way, I can be sure that they were genuine (else someone would have cried ‘foul’) and from the area rather than something imported for the sake of a good story. Sadly, I have seen such examples! 😦

      I really think that we would have been ok and known what little rituals were important or not. Seeing them collated makes for a daunting list but hearing them from your family and friends from your earliest days would have made them second nature. 😉 Not all families would have observed the same ones I’m sure. 😉

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  11. Wow, that’s a long list of things to do and plants to collect and certain days and certain times of day to collect them and poor unfortunate toads nailed to doors to keep track of.

    The book for the war against witchcraft in Britanny was obviously the size of an encyclopedia.

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    1. Haha, it does seem long when written together but some of these were quite regional and not necessarily practiced across the whole peninsula.

      I suppose that it stands to reason that the list would be long as it had to cover as many eventualities as possible! 😯😉😉

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      1. My grandmother had another one. If a man walk into your houses first on New year day. Good luck. I liked the old ways. Mostly forgotten. Your next book. Protection from Witches and the Monkey Paw tale.

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      2. That is another interesting one! I have heard of similar in parts of the UK where it was called ‘first footing’. It would be fascinating to learn how such superstitions first arose!

        The Monkey Paw is a great tale!!! 🙂 🙂

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  12. I was going to comment on how convoluted (and ridiculous) these anti-spell capers were but then I realized I have a horseshoe at the front door, a crucifix in my car and Teddy has Arabic prayer beads in his. In my purse is a evil eye glass bead and a fairy spell. I have a fairy hanging above my computer.

    I guess I could give these Bretons a run for their money with silly superstitions. God help you if you put new shoes on the table or spill salt.
    Fascinated at the powdered wolf liver… 😂

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    1. Haha, it is funny isn’t it; how we claim to not be superstitious but have these little charms and rituals? 😉 We know they may not work but I suppose keep them because they do no harm and perhaps that was also the case back then? 🤔

      Haha shoes on a table was a thing here too!! 😉😉😯

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  13. Using smoke to purify livestock reminded me of the belief of the Irish method of doing the same with cattle and sheep; taking them between two bonfires in order for the smoke to kill off any parasites and sickness as well as any witchcraft.

    Horse urine!? Oh no! Not after our last discussion, hahaha! 😉🍷

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      1. Fascinating stuff! Here in insular Britain, we also had witches being blamed for affecting dairy produce, especially so with churning butter. There are quite a few stories about witches demanding buttermilk for free, do you have similar tales in Brittany?

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      2. Yes, having a cow that yielded good milk seems to have been a major concern to folks here in the past! It seems that supernatural forces were almost always the first explanation as to why cows’ dried or butter failed to churn.

        Here’s something I put together earlier on this. I will check if I have more info as I have often have to exclude things so as to keep posts to a manageable length.
        https://bonjourfrombrittany.wordpress.com/2020/11/08/brittanys-milk-snatching-sorcerers/

        Liked by 1 person

      3. There’s a lot of boiling of pins isn’t there? I’ll keep an eye out for such things in my own research and let you know if I find anything similar. Somehow I think the naked milkmaid idea was a flight of fancy….. “No dear I didn’t fall asleep churning the cream…. I was bewitched. By one of the milkmaids. Naked. Honest.” 😉

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      4. Ha, yes, pins seem to have been used in all manner of rituals, especially foretelling the future but I do not know whether this was due to some deep symbolism or just that they were convenient. 🤔

        You may well be right! Or maybe one naked milkmaid was spotted once on her way to a dawn bath and somehow a whole legend was built-up. Seeing a maid on her way to her morning ablutions does not carry the same storytelling impact as a naked spellcaster! 😉
        The locale of those tales is not far from me and was once renowned as a centre of the weaving industry here. No sign of milkmaids there nowadays! 🫣

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      5. I know that pins and nails were boiled and bottled up into what were called ‘Witch Bottles’ as a way of preventing them from casting magic about your home. Not sure about the divination aspect, but that’s worth a look!

        That seems quite likely, or perhaps the woman of the house didn’t like younger women being around the house, blaming them for bringing misfortune upon their dairy produce…. 🤔

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    1. Thanks for taking the time to read it Gwen!! 🙏 You are right, we simply can’t escape the fact that we were a deeply misogynistic society. Hopefully, the bloggers (or whatever the equivalents will be 😉 ) of a few centuries for now will not be saying the same of us now! 🙏

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Fascinating and really interesting post. I used to think that spells, evil eye and superstitions were more related to Asian way of thinking, so this was an eye opener, especially since I’m from India. Thanks for broadening my knowledge. The paintings are gorgeous too.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Many thanks for taking the time to read it! 🙏 I am happy that you found it of interest. Most of the old rituals and superstitions have gone now but they lasted here for longer than other parts of Europe. ‘Progress’ eh?

      Kolkata is a wonderful place! Sadly, I have not visited for several years. Keep well! 🙏😊

      Liked by 1 person

  15. I wonder is this the reason the belief in and practices of witchcraft are so strong in Louisiana and New Orleans but profess not to be the case in other states? It exist all over the USA even thus people say they don’t believe in it.

    Liked by 1 person

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