Gift VouchersSPELLS, FOLKLORE AND SORCERY
(Don't forget to visit our Special Seasonal Events page for the relevant ceremonial and seasonal activities and festivities!)
Want to know if a relationship will last?
Place two fresh bay leaves, side by side, on an open fire. If the leaves fly apart, the relationship will not last and will soon end. If the leaves crackle and spit, the relationship will be quarrelsome. If, however, the leaves quietly lay there and burn, then the relationship will be harmonious and last.
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Bubbles floating on the surface of a cup of tea is said to have been 'kissed by the fairies' and is a sign that money will follow soon.
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Want your lover to call?
If you've argued with your lover and want them to make the first move - take a photo of yourself and a photo of your lover and place them face to face. Bind the pictures together with pink ribbon, cotton or wool and place the pictures, undisturbed at the bottom of your underwear drawer. Your lover should soon be in touch with you by phone, mail or in person!
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Never give a gift of knives to a married couple, it is said to cut the bonds of their marriage. Disaster can be averted, though, if a penny is given in exchange for the gift.
SEASONAL SPELL - LUGHNASADH/LAMMAS
LUGHNASADH/LAMMAS CORN DOLLY - (1st August)
At the heart of LAMMAS is gratitude and generosity. Give thanks to The Lady and The Lord for the bounty in your lives - and share that bounty with others in a harvest feast. Make your Corn Dolly as simple, or as intricate as you desire - decorate her or keep her plain, as you desire. Pass the Dolly through the smoke of your ritual fire to bless her. Ask her to protect your household from theft, poverty, illness and disaster. Last year's Corn Dolly (if you have one) should be tossed in the fire with prayers of gratitude for a year's worth of good fortune. Treat this year's Dolly with reverence, and hang her in a highly visible place. Blessed Be!
The best part of the stem is the top length from the ear (the seed head) down to where the last leaf leaves the stem. Leaving the ear intact, strip off the dead leaves and sort the stems according to size: thick, medium, and fine. Dry straw must be soaked flat in cold water for about 15 minutes and then stood upright to drain before plaiting. The Five-Straw Plait is the easiest to work with for a beginner: 1. Tie 5 straws together close to the ears. 2-5. Each time the straw being folded passes over two corners, it is then left and the one at the last corner is picked up and used in its place until the round is completed. The attractive spiral pattern grows as round succeeds round. 6. When completed, the ends are tied to the starting point below the ears, making a decorative circle. To feed in new straws, cut the old straw off after it has passed the second straw. The thin end of the new straw is inserted in the hole, making sure of a firm fit which is hidden under the fold of the straw of the next round. Simple corn dollies can also be made with the standard three-straw plait. More complex corn dollies involve multiple straws, intricate braids, and sometimes the creation of a straw core shape around which the outer straw is plaited.
A Corn Dolly by any other name
- England: Harvest Queen
- Kern Baby
- Corn Doll
- Scotland: Hag
- Old Wife
- Old woman (Cailleac)
- Wales: Hag (Wrach)
- Brittany: Mother Sheaf
- Germany: Kornmutter (Corn Mother)
- Harvest Mother
- Old Woman
- Prussia: Grandmother
- Denmark : Rye Woman
- Barley Woman
- Poland: Baba (grandmother)