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Cailleachs Herbarium
Exploring Scottish Folk Practices and Traditions
Folk Magic
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The Sacred Circle of Home and Hearth
Our homes were round once – a sacred circle. Imagine. A home with no corners. A roundhouse. Folk say the Romans made houses rectangles and introduced the cross-cutting corners of bureaucracy. The ideal Roman city was a regular grid of…
The Legacy of the Evil Eye in Scottish Folklore
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…
The Scottish Folk Magic of Healing Wells, Springs and Lochs
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…
Scottish Cosmology of the Three Realms
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…
Scottish Cultural Appropriation – Revisited
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…
Folk Devils and Saints in Scottish folk magic
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,…
Divination by shoulder blade – scapulimancy–Slinneanachd/Slinnairachd
scapulimancy – Slinneanachd - Slinnairachd - divination by shoulder blade in Scottish Folk magic an exploration of the evidence and method.
ByScott
Self-making – Disability in Scottish Folk Magic – Gods in Wheelchairs
I ‘m currently obsessed with the idea of parts of the self in Scottish folklore. Not just our bodies but what our spiritual DNA or what our sprit was once thought to be made of. It’s not just a mind,…
A Memory of Water – Folk Magic is Community Magic
The below is the introduction for the event Dreaming Bread and Skyrie Stanes on the 11th of November 2018. I thought I’d share it on the website for folk who can’t make the day. I’m also nervous about public speaking…
Interview – Isobel Gowdie Concept Album – with Stone Maiden Art and Ex Reverie
My folks have always told me I have more a face for radio than I do TV. I also don’t like associating myself with my writing to any great degree. I’m no brand – I think I’m still scarred by the…
When the Spirit Moves You – Moving House and Animism in Scottish Folklore
They say moving house is one of the most stressful things. It’s right up there with death and divorce. Having moved to a new house over the Bealtainn weekend I can agree. Though luckily no one got killed and we…
The Cailleach – Scotland’s Midwife – Tigh Na Bodach
The struggles and revelations of Scotland’s people are stamped into the landscape, like wrinkles on the palms of old lady history some say put there by the Cailleach herself. Some experiences deep ravines. Other lines the soft touch of poetry…
Scottish Folk magic and the dead (part three) – folk charms, herbs for the dead and second sight
The mist the dew, the dew the mist The mist, the dew, in the eye of my love In the eye of my love, Thou who didst open the young eye Close it tonight in the sleep of death In…
Scottish Folk Magic and the dead (part two) – The dead as a witch familiar
It is the familiar spirit of the place; It judges, presides, inspires Everything in its empire; It is perhaps a fairy or a god? (No, in fact it was a cat, ed) – Charles Baudelaire (the flowers of evil, 1857)…
Scottish Folk Magic and the Dead (part one) – Funerary customs and death related lore.
Introduction I introduced a series of writing exploring the role of the oft neglected dead in Scottish folk magic. If you haven’t read it I suggest you have a wee read. It sets the tone of the rest of the…
Scottish folk magic and the dead (an introduction)
Dondering around the countryside, sauntering through glen, dirt track, woods and burns. Battling the wind and falling leaves. Passed graveyard and sacred stones. An idea presented itself. To write a series of posts embracing the theme of the season. The…
Plant Communication | Animism & Genius Loci | Terroir & Phenomenology.
I have recently been reflecting about a conference I spoke at a while ago. A few people were discussing a problem they felt they had in getting to know plants. What is plant communication, the delegates were asking? What does…
The Colours of the Seasons – red, black and white
The ever-changing colours of the seasons and hue of the year is something that’s always fascinated me. When I lived in cities it was something that didn’t seem so clear. I would catch the greening and browning of trees and…
The Frith – Divination from Augury
I have discussed the Frith – Gaelic divination charm practice before but omitted the augury signs which i have included below. Scottish folks had many ways of finding things outside of the second sight. One of these techniques is called…
Who the hell is Sidhe? – Fairy Faith and Animism in Scotland. A Challenge to Divinity
This post about the fairy faith been a long time in the coming. I can only apologise for that, I have been busy researching for a new book that explores these issues in more detail. I was asked to discuss…