Folk Magic

In the mountainous highlands and rugged borderlands of Scotland, the ancient belief in the evil eye, known as the “uncannie eye” or “ill eye” still lingers, casting a shadow over folklore and daily life. For centuries, Scottish folk have whispered of the malicious power carried by envious glances, capable of withering crops, souring milk, or striking down livestock. Rooted in both Gaelic and non-Gaelic traditions, the evil eye, air-an-cronachadh has been blamed for misfortune, illness, and mysterious deaths, making it a central theme in Scottish folk magic. From rowan charms to self-deprecating blessings, generations have crafted rituals and protections to ward off…

Scottish healing wells or stroopie wells hold a deep and long history. Stroopie comes from the Gaelic word tobar-shrùbaidh meaning healing well the last word shrùbaidh sounds like stroopie. We know from archaeology and other deposits throwing of gifts and offerings into bodies of water, wells, bogs, lochs, rivers and springs has been going on for a very long time and its still present in some living traditions today. Water is also part of the ideas of Scottish Cosmology and deep reverance in our myths and lore. In Scotland a lot of wells once associated with healing have been associated with…

Introduction – Celtic cosmology  To understand why Scottish folk practice includes a focus on nature – earth, sky and waters spirts and its animated world we need to understand the roots of this island and its associated cosmology. This post explores Scottish cosmology and “Celtic” and Gaelic cosmology ideas and hypothesis in an attempt to unpick some of the more modern elemental systems found in Scottish folk magic. Scotland is a small part of a larger nation and has been influenced by many different cultures- some though war and raids some through colonisation and settling and then the march of…

I have written a lot about my views on Scottish spirituality and folk belief before, but I’ve never really spelled out the position – why of things. I’ve explored Scottish cultural appropriation and appreciation through a story you can find here and I’ve touched on Scottish cultural appropriation a wee bit here but having been sitting with these ideas and thoughts for as long as I’ve been writing about it, I feel now is a time to be bit more prescriptive about my feelings around this and where I find myself positioned in these discussions. I no longer want to…

Folk devils and saints in Scottish folk magic occur time and time again. Folk devils are tied to stories in our land and demonise our past folk traditions. Saintly spirits (along with folk devils) are called up for healing, cursing, childbirth, protection, and everyday life. Other stories tell how we could call upon them to place ourselves into the devil’s care as a form of initiation. Folk devils and saints are the agents in a lot of operative folk magic. Scottish Folk Magic Practitioners embrace them as part of a syncretic approach to folk magic quite rightly as sometimes this…

scapulimancy – Slinneanachd – Slinnairachd – divination by shoulder blade in Scottish Folk magic an exploration of the evidence and method.