Witches and their Plants by Hilderic Friend (Medical Folklore) 1884
I HAD no idea when I commenced the study of flower-lore that it would ever be possible to write a chapter on the connection which witches have had with our common plants; but as I traced the footsteps of the tiny fairy through mead and border, then came to the haunts of Puck, and, lastly, resorted to the use of magic, I was alarmed to find how thoroughly firm a hold the belief in witchcraft must once have had upon the population of our happy isle. I shall not need to repeat what I believe I have already stated, that there is a close and intimate association between magic and witchcraft; and the consequence which follows from this-viz., that plants which could be employed for magic purposes would naturally be regarded as peculiarly suitable either for the use of witches, or for employment against their charms. The belief in what we call witches dates from very early times, and something of interest may be learned from the study of a subject which gives the truest insight into the credulity of our forefathers, their degraded condition, and anxiety to know something about the hidden future more than it is permitted to ordinary mortals to know.
Witches have been divided into three kinds-black, white, and grey. The black or bad witch is always mischievous; but the white witches-of whom more than one still exists in Devonshire- are kindly disposed, and can tell who it is that has bewitched cattle, or render assistance to people who have been subject to the power of witchcraft. The grey witch is a mixture of the white and the black, and can hurt or help at will. "Among the branches into which the moss-grown trunk of superstition divides itself," writes one, "may be reckoned witchcraft and magic. These, though decayed and withered by time, still retain some faint traces of their ancient verdure. Even at present witches are supposed, as of old, to ride on broom-sticks through the air. In this country [Scotland] the 12th of May is one of their festivals. On the evening of that day they are frequently seen dancing on the surface of the water of Avon, brushing the dews off the lawn, and milking cows in their folds. Any uncommon sickness is generally attributed to their demoniacal practices. They make fields barrer or fertile, raise or still whirlwinds, give or take away milk at pleasure. The force of their incantations is not to be resisted, and extends even to the moon in the midst of her aerial career. It is the good fortune, however, of this country, to be provided with an anti-conjuror, who defeats both them and their sable patron in their combined efforts."
There has been a great deal of discussion respecting the origin and meaning of the word "witch." We find Shakspeare using the word of a male person. "He is such a holy witch, that he enchants societies into him." So the white witch usually consulted by the credulous Devonian is a man. In China the word which is employed means either the male or female operator, witch or wizard.
I some time ago had occasion to study the question of the origin of the Chinese word, and though this is not the place to go into it again, it may perhaps interest my readers to know one or two facts respecting it, as it will show how the superstitious Briton and the heathen Chinese are, at the bottom, more alike in their sayings and doings and reasonings than we are usually apt to suppose. The word for wizard, witch, or sorcerer in some parts of China is Shing, which is derived from two other words, being pictures of an eye, joined to the older and more classical word for a witch, enchantress, or wise woman. Now the question is, what has the picture of an eye to do with the word? This problem is best solved by analogy, and it will be found that the words employed in Latin (fascinare), Greek (BASKAINEIN), Hebrew, and many other languages for setting forth the idea of a sorcerer's mystic doings, are more or less intimately connected with the eye, and the "Evil Eye." The Chinese regard the European as a "foreign devil," and I have often seen the superstitious mothers draw their children up into a corner and cover their faces as I passed, lest I should "fascinate" them by a glance of the eye. This must suffice as an illustration of the present part of our subject. A witch is a wise woman, one who can see spirits, and in virtue of her supernatural gaze can enchant, or bewitch, or fascinate those on whom she may fix her eye.
Mr. Conway--who, by the way, does not seem to have a very strong esteem for the laws of the philologist--tells us in his interesting papers on "Mystic Trees and Flowers" (which would have been much more valuable, and not less interesting, perhaps, had he regarded philology a little more) that "the common name of the witch, hag, is the same as haw, the Hawthorn being the Hedgethorn; this coincidence may not, however, be due to the magical craft of the witch, but only to the habit of those presumed to be such, of sitting under the hedges."1 If the reader will bear in mind that the witch or wizard was, for all practical purposes, whatever the origin of the names, looked upon as the "wise one"; and that their connection with the evil eye, and their power to "fascinate," or "overlook," was marked and emphatic, he will have learned enough to enable him to appreciate the connection of the witch, magician, or sorcerer with plants and flowers.
In order that we may present our facts in as clear a manner as possible, let us first take those flowers and plants of which witches are supposed to be specially fond. After writing at some length respecting the plants by means of which these uncanny beings may be held at bay, Mr. Henderson remarks: "But witches have their favourite plants as well. They love the Broom and the Thorn, as well as the Ragwort, which is called in Ireland the Fairies' Horse, and use them all as means for riding about at midnight. They are also fond of Hemlock, Nightshade, St. John's Wort, and Vervain, and infuse their juices into the baleful draughts prepared for their enemies. This statement, however, contradicts that in St. Colne's charm, as sung by Meg Merrilies, at the birth of Harry Bertram:
"'Trefoil, Vervain, John's Wort, Dill,
Hinder witches of their will.'"
"It contradicts, also, the old rhyme given in the notes to the Demon Lover, in the 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.'
"'Gin ye wud be leman mine,
Lay aside St. John's Wort and Verveine;'
"for here these plants appear as counter-charms, protecting the maiden from the approach of a very uncannie sprite in the form of a lover." This need cause us little surprise, for it is well known that the superstitious people of Eastern and heathen countries firmly believe that the plants and materials employed by magicians, sorcerers, shamans, tombas, and other similar dealers in the black arts, are equally efficacious if employed against their charms and spells.
If we take up the plants and flowers one by one we shall find, in nearly every case, that those which are supposed to be beloved of witches are also spoken of as "holding witches of their will." Although we read of witches riding on broomsticks, and still meet with aspiring little urchins who try to emulate them and share their enjoyment, neither Shakespeare, nor any other of our early poets, so far as I have yet found, refer to the Broom as a favourite plant with witches. Shakespeare, in fact, only names the plant three times, and though Spenser and Chaucer have not passed it by, they speak rather of its sweetness or its use for an arbour than its superstitious uses. There can be no question that witches have always been supposed to have a liking for Hemlock. Its soporific properties would lend themselves to the hand of the worker of evil, and amusing tales are told by the old writers on herbs respecting the powers of the plant. Coles tells us most gravely that "If asses chance to feed much upon Hemlock they will fall so fast asleep that they will seeme to be dead; insomuch that some, thinking them to be dead indeed, have flayed off their skins, yet after the Hemlock had done operating, they had stirred and wakened out of their sleep, to the griefe and amazement of the owners, and to the laughter of others." It was with a draught made from this herb that Socrates is said to have been poisoned. "The great Hemlocke" (says one old writer) "doubtlesse is not possessed of any one good facultie, as appeareth by his lothsome smell and other apparent signes," and with this evil character, as another has remarked, the Hemlock was considered to be only fit for an ingredient of witches' broth. Thus the Third Witch in Macbeth is made to speak of
"Root of Hemlock digg'd i' the dark,"
amongst other things as one of "the ingredients of our cauldron." Ben Jonson says:
"I ha' been plucking (plants among)
Hemlock, Henbane, Adder's Tongue,
Nightshade, Moonwort, Leppard's-bane;"
all of which are magic plants.
The Vervain was a sacred plant among the Greeks, and was regarded by the superstitious Druids with great reverence. It was never gathered without religious ceremonies, almost or quite equal in solemnity to those performed at the cutting of the Mistletoe. It is doubtless due to these superstitions that the plant is still in repute as a medicine, and was long esteemed as a most potent ingredient in love-potions and other magic preparations; although its reputed influence over diseases and passions is probably entirely imaginary. This is one of the plants which could be freely used by, or against, witches. The belief is not confined to England. Drayton joins it with the Nightshade and Dill; but we shall have to speak of it again, and will not, therefore, dwell longer over its properties here.
The Nightshade, or Belladonna, is another very poisonous plant, and is said to be a favourite with the devil. One of the names of this plant, Fair Lady, refers to an ancient belief that the Nightshade is the form of a fatal enchantress or witch, called Atropa; while the common name Belladonna refers to the custom of continental ladies employing it as a cosmetic, or for the purpose of making their eyes sparkle. Dill, too, is an opiate, and on this account would be a favourite with witches. Mothers still use dillwater to sooth the restless infant at night. Jonson mentions Henbane also; and of this plant Gerarde says: "The leaves, seeds, and juyce taken inwardly causeth an unquiet sleepe like unto the sleepe of drunkennesse, which continueth long and is deadly to the party." Mr. Ellacombe thinks that it is this plant to which Shakespeare refers under the name of Hebenon in the following passage:-
"Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed Hebenon in a vial.
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distilment."
Some suppose that ebony, others that yew (hebon) is meant. But this is immaterial; our only concern is with the fact that Henbane was regarded as a magic herb, and as a favourite with witches.
The Mandrake has long been associated with the evil one and his agents, as we have already seen. It is curious to note that the plants for which these have a special liking are either very poisonous, or else possess the supposed property of exciting the passions of love or hatred. The Mandrake moved the former passion, according to the notions of the ancients, and for this reason soon passed over to the jurisdiction of those beings who rule the desires and lusts of men. In 1603 a certain woman, the wife of a Moor, was hanged as a witch at Romorantin, near Orleans in France. The charge which was brought against her was to the effect that she kept and daily fed a living Mandrake-fiend, which was stated to be in the form of a female ape. Mr. Conway remarks that in France the Mandrake superstition seems occasionally to invest some other root. "Thus the author of 'Secrets du petit Albert' (Lyons 1718) says that a peasant had a Bryonia root of human shape, which he received from a gipsy. He buried it 'at a lucky conjunction of the moon with Venus' in spring, and on a Monday, in a grave, and then sprinkled it with milk in which three field-mice had been drowned. In a month it became more human-like than ever. Then he placed it in an oven with Vervain, wrapped it afterwards in a dead man's shroud, and so long as he kept it, he never failed in luck at games or work. The same author says that he saw a figure owned by a rich Jew, which had a human face on a hen's body. The monster lived for a time on worms, and after death its potency continued. The German stories are very curious. One of them relates that a horse-dealer of Augsburg once lost a horse, and, being poor, wandered in despair to an inn. There some men gave him an Alraun (Mandrake), and on his return home he found a bag of ducats on his table. His wife, becoming suspicious, extorted from him the confession that he had some potent charm, and she induced him to return with it to the men, but they could not be found. In the night the wife opened her husband's box; and finding a purse, opened it, whereupon a black fly buzzed out. Soon after the house took fire and was burnt, and the horse dealer killed both his wife and himself. The German poet Rist relates that he saw an Erdmann made with great pains, and more than a century old, which was kept in a coffin. On the coffin was a cloth, on which was a picture of a thief on the gallows, and a Mandrake growing beneath it." The Greeks were evidently acquainted with the dangerous properties of the Mandrake, as we may gather from the names by which they knew it. It was sometimes called Circoea, or Circeium, a word which is derived from Circe, a celebrated witch or enchantress, who changed the companions of Ulysses into swine, and was famous for her knowledge of magic and the use of venomous herbs. In the same way Atropa, the name of the Belladonna, referred to above, is from Atropos, the eldest of the Fates, whose duty it was to cut the thread of life, without regard to sex, age, or quality. Circe's memory has been preserved to us by one of the Roman poets, who in some lines quoted in another chapter tells that the enchantress, having loved a youth in vain, mixed powerful herbs, and thus:-
"She changed his form, who could not change his heart;
Constrain'd him in a bird, and made him fly,
With party-colour'd plumes, a chatt'ring pie."
Lord Bacon refers to the use to which the roots of the Mandrake were applied in his time. In his "Natural History" he remarks: "Some plants there are, but rare, that have a mossie or downie root, and likewise that have a number of threads, like beards, as Mandrakes, whereof witches and impostours make an ugly image, giving it the form of a face at the top of the root, and leave those strings to make a broad beard down to the foot."
Rue was another magic plant. "In reading accounts of the witch trials" (says Mr. Conway), "especially those of the south of England, one can hardly help remarking that in the antics by which so-called witches imposed upon their neighbours the plants used by them are almost always Rue and Vervain. There is now little doubt that the circles and signs of pretended magic used by the hags were relics of early pagan rites. Rue was supposed to have a potent effect on the eye-even more than Euphrasy, or Eye-bright-bestowing second sight; and it is still regarded in some regions as a specific for dim eyes. So sacred was the regard in which it was once held in these islands that we find the missionaries sprinkling holy-water from brushes made of it, for which cause it was called 'Herb of Grace.' There is a reminiscence of this in Drayton's description of an incantation:
"'Then sprinkles she the juice of Rue,
With nine drops of the midnight dew
From Lunary distilling.'
"Milton represents Michael as purging Adam's eyes with it:
"To nobler sights Michael from Adam's eyes the film removed
Which that false fruit which promised clearer sight
Had bred; then purged with Euphrasie and Rue
The visual nerve, for he had much to see."
We shall see that the herb was also employed against the charms of witchcraft. Some people maintain that the Foxglove (Digitalis) was in high repute amongst witches at one time, and that they used to decorate their fingers with its largest flowers; on which account they were known as "Witches' Thimbles." The same name has been given to more than one other flower. The Irish represent the Shefro, one of their various kinds of sprites, as wearing the corolla of the Foxglove on its head. There is a peculiar fungus-like growth which bears the name of Witches' Butter. Dr. Prior says that the name was given it from its buttery appearance, "and unaccountably rapid growth in the night, which has given rise to a superstitious belief, still prevalent in Sweden (where it is called troll sm'or, or Troll's Butter), that witches (and trolls) milk the cows, and scatter about the butter." Brand tells us that in the "Relation of the Swedish Witches" we are informed how "the devil gives them" (the witches) "a beast about the bigness and shape of a young cat, which they call a carrier. What this carrier brings they must receive for the devil. These carriers fill themselves so full sometimes, that they are forced to spew by the way, which spewing is found in several gardens where Colworts grow, and not far from the houses of those witches. It is of a yellow colour like gold, and is called 'Butter of witches.'" It is this same kind of fungus, or one very similar in growth and appearance, which still goes by the name of Fairy Butter.
There are various kinds of trees whose names are, directly or indirectly, associated with witches, such as the Witch-Elm, and Witch-Hazel. We are told that witch in these cases is a mistaken spelling for wych. If the modern English student is ashamed to own that the Elm or Hazel has had any connection with magicians, the German is not; for he freely acknowledges that the Witch-Hazel is known in his own country as Zauber-Strauch, the magic tree, just as the Mandrake is the magic root (Zauberwurzel). Now though the term witch originally had reference to the pliant nature of the wood, and comes from the Anglo-Saxon word wic-en, "to bend," yet it seems clear from the German name, a swell as from the fact that the Hazel was employed in making divining rods, that the trees have long been associated in popular estimation with uncanny beings. This is confirmed, too, from another source; for in America the name is applied to quite a different plant, and for the simple reason that divining rods were made from it (Hamamelis), so that the persons who gave the name evidently associated the divining or magic rod with witches.
Another illustration will perhaps render my meaning more clear. A witch was called wicce by our forefathers, and the Mountain Ash was called wice; is it any wonder that by-and-by the tree came to be regarded as specially related to the beings whose name was so like its own? We do not marvel that Evelyn should have looked upon the name "witchen" as derived from "witch," or that he supposed the Rowan to be so named because "it is reputed to be a preservative against fascination and evil spirits, if the boughs be stuck about the house, or used for walking staffs." Professor Max Muller has shown us how largely the mythologies of various nations are due to mistaken etymologies and forgetfulness of the history and origin of words, and our witch-lore has partly built itself up on this same foundation. Lest I should prove dry, and get too far away from my main subject, I will not discuss these philological questions further, but give some references in the notes which will help the student to a fuller study of the matter if he wishes to follow it out. Mr. Conway gives us a useful hint in his remarks on the trees in question, when he says that "Groves of Hazel or of Elm, which thence may have been called Witch-Hazel (and Witch-Elm), were frequently chosen by the Saxons for their temples (see the Saxon word wig), the Hazel being one of Thor's trees. So deep was the faith of the people in the relation of this tree to the Thunder-god, that the Catholics adopted and sanctioned it by a legend one may hear in Bavaria, that on their flight into Egypt the Holy Family took refuge under it from a storm." I shall have to refer to the use of the Witch-Hazel again as a charm against evil influences. I should remark that this name, Witch-Hazel, as applied in America to the Hamamelis, is by some noted botanists thought to refer to its peculiar mode of blooming, or rather of distributing its seeds. Dr. Cooke says: "The Witch-Hazel of North America (H. virginica) exhibits a peculiar elasticity in the seeds, or embryo of the seeds, which are thrown out with such force as to strike people who pass through the wood violently in the face. Collecting a number of the capsules, and laying them on the floor, Mr. Meehan found that the seeds, or embryos, were thrown out generally to the distance of four or six feet, and in one instance as much as twelve feet." Speaking of the English Witch-Hazel, Dr. Brewer says that it is "a shrub supposed to be efficacious in discovering witches. A forked twig of the Hazel was made into a divining rod for the purpose." This sounds novel, and we certainly were not aware that witches resided underground, or usually transformed themselves into metal.
In Germany the Bird-cherry tree (Padus avium, or Prunus Padus), which bears a fruit only fit for birds, is associated with witches and called Hexenbaum, or hags' tree, a name which will remind us of one of the terms (Hexenmannchen) by which the Mandrake was there known. Strange to say, the Scotch call the Fowl-cherry by the name of Hag-berry, and a similar name is found for the fruit also in Sweden (haggebar). The following notes and extracts are given by Brand, and are too closely associated with our subject to be omitted here:-"The Sabbath of Witches is a meeting to which the sisterhood, after having been anointed with certain magical ointments, provided by their infernal leader, are supposed to be carried through the air on broom-sticks, coul-staves (or cabbage stalks), spits, and so on. Butler in his Hudibras has the following on the subject:
"'Or trip it o'er the water quicker
Than witches when their staves they liquor,
As some report.'
"Reginald Scot speaks of the vulgar opinion of witches flying. Wierus exposes the folly of this opinion, proving it to be a diabolical illusion, and to be acted only in a dream. And it is exposed as such by Oldham:
"'As men in sleep, though motionless they lie,
Fledg'd by a dream, believe they mount and flye;
So witches some enchanted wand bestride,
And think they through the airy regions ride.'
"Lord Verulam tells us that the ointment that witches use is reported to be made (among other things) of the juice of Smallage, Wolf-bane, and Cinque-foil, mingled with the meal of fine wheat; but I suppose the soporiferous medicines are likest to do it, which are Henbane, Hemlock, Mandrake, Moonshade, or rather Nightshade, Tobacco, Opium, Saffron, Poplar-leaves, and the like." About 1649 a poor woman was tried at Salisbury on the charge of being a witch, and was executed. Among the evidence adduced against her it was affirmed that a boy was carried up in the air to a place covered with snow to gather certain plants, and that a "black bore" showed him where he should dig for them. These herbs, it was asserted, were required by the poor woman for a philtre. Colonel Everton is said by Aubrey to have received from a Scotch witch the following recipe for making yeast:-"Take an oaken bough in summer, or in winter a Broom bush, put either of them into the yest that workes, and let it imbibe as much as it will, so hang it up and keep it for your use. When you use it, putt a little of this to a little wort, about two quarts, bloud warm."
Coles, in his "Art of Simpling," tell us that witches "take likewise the roots of Mandrake, according to some, or as I rather suppose, the roots of Briony, which simple folk take for the true Mandrake, and make thereof an ugly image, by which they represent the person on whom they intend to exercise their witchcraft." This they did in various ways, but frequently
"Witches which some murther do intend
Doe make a picture and doe shoote at it;
And in that part where they the picture hit,
The partie's self doth languish to his end."
Some plants confer on the persons who employ them the power of detecting the presence of witches or even of seeing them. Such plants as are associated with St. John's Day seem to be peculiarly endowed with this property. As this saint's day falls at that time of the year when the nights are the shortest, and the greatest amount of light is enjoyed, the period naturally brings the powers of darkness into collision with the gods of the light. In the North the witches held their festivities at this time, and persons who armed themselves with St. John's Wort or some kindred plant would be able to see them, while, by mounting the house-top, many marvellous things might be observed. In Sweden and Norway that plant is still gathered on St. John's Eve, and hung up as an antidote against witches. In Germany and other places, as I have already more than once remarked, this magic plant is possessed of the power of scaring devils, and consequently of putting the agents of the evil one to flight. Hence it was formerly used in wreaths, or planted by the door, or hung up in the house, or carried about on the person, or burnt in midsummer fires. In Germany if one has a four-leaved Clover and carries it about on Christmas Eve, one may see witches.
Speaking of the Rue, Mr. Conway says: "The only region on the Continent where any superstition concerning Rue is found resembling the form it assumed in England, as affecting the eye, is in the Tyrol, where it is one of five plants-the others being Broom-straw, Agrimony, Maiden-hair, and Ground-ivy--which are bound together, and believed, if carried about, to enable the bearer to see witches, or, if laid over the door, to keep any witch, who shall seek to enter, fastened on the threshold." He adds that the people of Swabia assert that if one shall make a small milking-stool out of Fir-wood, and look through the three holes made for its legs into a church on Christmas Eve, he shall see all the witches sitting inverted, with milk pails on their heads. The milkmaids of Scotland trust rather in the Rowan, as we shall presently see. Some people believe, or used to believe, that grassblades give second-sight, while the sod out of which they grow is potent against witches. It has been stated by some that the Elder tree is obnoxious to witches, because their enemies use the green juice of its inner bark for anointing the eyes. Any baptized person whose eyes are touched with it can see what the witches are about in any part of the world. So we find in Denmark the curious belief that if any one should take his stand under an Elder-bush at twelve o'clock on Midsummer Eve, he will be able to see the king of the elves go by, attended by his numerous retinue of unearthly creatures. The Elder is very largely associated with folk-tales at home and abroad, and I have had to refer to these on more than one occasion while writing this work.
The flowers and plants which may be used to avert witchcraft are as numerous as those employed by the witches themselves in their nefarious calling. On the Rhine, for example, it is said that one of the Water-lilies (Nymphoea), is a charm against witchcraft, if gathered aright with magic formulas. The Blackthorn, which on the Continent was used for making divining rods, and is still looked upon as unlucky if brought into the house when in blossom, will keep one safe from all the pranks of witches, if made into crosses and stuck in a heap of manure. At least the people of Bohemia say so, and they ought to know! Twelfth-tide brooms were also held potent against witches. If one of these articles is laid on the threshold over which cattle are driven, it will keep them from evil possessions all the year round. In some places, so we are told, boughs of the Plum-tree are placed over windows and doors, to keep away witches. It is almost universally believed, in Christian countries, that the Aspen was associated with the Crucifixion; but in Russia, where this belief also prevails, we find the tree connected with witches as well. When one of these uncanny beings dies, Aspen wood should be laid upon the grave to keep the witch from riding abroad after death, and thus carrying on the work of evil. The Jews believed that witchcraft and enchantments were to be counteracted by the use of the Lily, probably the White Lily (Lilium candidum), or the White Lotus. It is said that Judith crowned herself with a wreath of these flowers when she went to the tent of Holofernes; or that she wore them around her neck. They may, however, have been artificial ornaments, and were probably made of gold. It is curious that our own peasantry regard it as unlucky to transplant a bed of Lilies-of-the-Valley. In some parts of the East we find that the Hyssop, or Rosemary, as the plant is sometimes called, was hung up in the house, and was also employed in connection with various ceremonies for purging the house of evil, and preventing any ill-intentioned person from fascinating with the Evil Eye. Aristotle raises the question why people regard Rue as good against witchcraft or fascination, and he accounts for it by saying that the Greeks were not in the habit of sitting down to the table with strangers. If at any time they did so, they became nervous and excited, and began to eat rapidly, whereupon they fell a prey to flatulency and indigestion. Then they at once concluded that they had been bewitched, for such ailments as flatulency, nightmare, and other oppressing sensations, are always in the East attributed to the operation of some evil being, and as Rue acted as an antidote, they soon came to the conclusion that it disarmed witches and dispelled their charms. That is perfectly Oriental, and I have many a time listened to the Chinese as they have argued in exactly the same strain.
Another of the many plants in favour among the Greeks and Jews, whose traditional virtues have been handed down to us, was the Alison or Alyssum. An old Greek writer tells us that if this plant were hung up in the house, it was good against fascination. By some the plant was confused with Horehound, to which similar properties were attributed. The Alyssum of the ancients was supposed to have the power of moderating and appeasing anger, and from this it seems to have derived its name. Some have, however, taken the word to indicate that the plant cured hydrophobia and similar raging complaints; on which account we hear of it under the name of Madwort. Some plants diverted fascination by their smell. This was one reason why Lilies and Hyssop were originally employed against witches. Hence, too, the use of Artemisia, Mugwort, Moxa, and similar plants at home and abroad. In some cases they were burned, but at other times merely hung up at the door or window. The Onion was efficacious, because it was said to be respected by the devil on account of its being an object of worship as well as himself. This will help to show on what slender and ridiculous foundations men grounded their faith. It is well known that the Arabs, Chinese, and many others to this day employ Onions, Leeks, or Garlic for preventing witchcraft. I have frequently seen them tied up with a branch of Sago-palm and other plants, and suspended over the doors of Eastern houses for this purpose. Incense, Cloves, Musk, and other fragrant or strong-smelling flowers, plants, and woods had similar efficacy. In China they use large quantities of Sandal-wood for purposes of exorcism. The plant Baccharis, Lady's Glove, or Clown's Spikenard, was supposed to prevent a person suffering injury from overpraise-one of the means employed by the sorcerer for captivating and injuring his victim. Ragwort, which has been already mentioned as a favourite with witches, was by the Greeks and others employed against their charms, and the same may be said of the Orchis, known as Satyrion. The Elder is supposed by people in our own country to protect persons, who carry a piece of it about with them, from the charms of witches. It has been suggested that it was on this account that our forefathers planted it so freely by the side of their cottages. We know that many plants were grown on houses and walls, and in gardens and orchards for this purpose, and we also know that it was considered very lucky for a plant like the Mistletoe to grow of itself on a tree in the orchard. Coles tells us that if people hang Mistletoe about their necks, the witches can have no power against them. The peculiar parasitic growth of this plant would be sufficient to ensure for it a certain amount of reverence among superstitious people, while its association with the sacred Oak added to the feeling. Shakespeare speaks of it as "the baleful Mistletoe," in allusion probably to the story we have related elsewhere from the Norse mythology. But he would also have in mind the association of the plant with the Druids, and the half-sacred character it bore on account of its power to dispel evil spirits. Coles adds that "the roots of Angelica doe likewise availe much in the same case, if a man carry them about him, as Fuchsius saith." For it was held that
"Contagious aire ingendring Pestilence
Infects not those that in their mouth have ta'en
Angelica, that happy counterbane
Sent down from heav'n by some celestial scout
As well the name and nature both avowt."
If Angelica were so virtuous what must Archangelica be? Why the plant or plants received these names at first is not altogether certain, but the popular explanation is that they were so called from their well-known good qualities. Perhaps the latter name refers to St. Michael the Archangel, whose day falls on the 8th of May (old style), when the flower would be in bloom, and consequently supposed to be a preservative against witchcraft, evil spirits, and such diseases in cattle as the elfshot, or Hexenschuss (hag-shot), as the Germans call it.
The little Pimpernel, or Poor-Man's Weather-glass, needs no description, but we may not all have heard what old "Mother Bumby doth affirme "-viz., "that the herb Pimpernell is good to prevent witchcraft." When gathering the plant the following charm should be repeated:
"Herbe Pimpernell, I have thee found,
Growing upon Christ Jesus' ground:
The same guift the Lord Jesus gave unto thee,
When He shed His blood on the tree.
Arise up, Pimpernell, and goe with me,
And God blesse me,
And all that shall were thee. Amen."
If one should say this twice a day for fifteen days in succession, fasting in the morning, and in the evening with a full stomach, no one can predict how much good will follow. Mr. Dyer, from whose little work on "English Folklore" I have taken the foregoing note, adds that "the Snapdragon, which is much cultivated in gardens on account of its showy flowers, is, in many places, said to have a supernatural influence, and to possess the power of destroying charms." Vogel also remarks that the common people in many countries attribute some supernatural influence to this plant, and believe that it not only renders charms powerless, but causes maledictions uttered against the person employing it to fail of their purpose. Brand quotes the following passages from Scot ("Discovery of Witchcraft," pp. 151, 152): "Against witches, in some countries, they nail a wolf's head on the door. Otherwise they hang Scilla (which-is either a root, or rather in this place Garlic) in the roof of the house, to keep away witches and spirits; and so they do Alicium also. Perfume made of the gall of a black dog, and his blood besmeared on the posts and walls of the house, driveth out of the doors both devils and witches. Otherwise, the house where Herba betonica is sown is free from all mischiefs. . . . To be delivered from witches, they hang in their entries an herb called Pentaphyllon, Cinquefoil, also an Olive branch ; also Frankincense, Myrrh, Valerian, Verven, Palm, Antirchmon, etc.; also Hay-thorn, otherwise Whitethorn, gathered on May-day." Here a number of questions are raised, while some of the statements already made receive abundant confirmation. "Scilla" probably refers either to Garlic, or to the Squill, which bears some resemblance to it. Squills are extremely bitter, while wild Garlic, in common with other plants like the Onion, is remarkable for its strong smell. It has been suggested that "it was probably an assumption of austerity, and show of ascetic self-denial, which caused the Egyptian priests to abstain from the use of Onions as food; and this subsequently led to the superstitious reverence with which, by the bulk of the people, they were regarded. Lucian, when giving an account of the different deities worshipped in Egypt, states that the inhabitants of 'Pelusium adore the Onion.' The Egyptians, indeed, were commonly reproached for swearing by the Leeks and Onions in their gardens; for Pliny says 'the Onion and Garlic are among the gods of Egypt, and by these they make their oaths'; an absurdity which did not escape the scourge of Juvenal, whose nation was, however, not less absurdly superstitious than that against which his satire was directed.
"'How Egypt mad with superstition grown,
Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known,
'Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour;
Each clove of Garlic has a sacred power,
Religious nation, sure, and bless'd abodes,
Where every garden is overrun with gods.'
"But while some of the people did not dare to eat Leeks, Garlic, or Onions, for fear of injuring their gods, others fed on them with enthusiasm, excited by the zest of appetite, if not by religious zeal, if we may judge from the distich which declares that
"'Such savoury deities must sure be good,
Which serve at once for worship and for food.'"
The "Alicium" spoken of above probably refers to the Alyssum or Alisson, which, as we have seen, was used as a charm. It may, however, be meant for alicrum, alecorim, or ellegrin, as the Rosemary was variously called in Portugal, Spain, and Denmark. In Spain it is said to be worn as an antidote to the "mal occhio" or Evil Eye, which the Neapolitan calls jettatura. "There was also a widespread belief in the efficacy of the Rosemary as a counter-charm against witchcraft; another reason, probably, for its use at weddings and burials, and for its presence in the dock of the accused in courts of justice." The Cinquefoil, or five-leaved grass, was named Potentilla on account of its potency as a medicine, and as fever was regarded as the work of the magician or evil spirit, a medicine which acted as a febrifuge was looked upon as it still is in the East, as potent against witches.
I HAD no idea when I commenced the study of flower-lore that it would ever be possible to write a chapter on the connection which witches have had with our common plants; but as I traced the footsteps of the tiny fairy through mead and border, then came to the haunts of Puck, and, lastly, resorted to the use of magic, I was alarmed to find how thoroughly firm a hold the belief in witchcraft must once have had upon the population of our happy isle. I shall not need to repeat what I believe I have already stated, that there is a close and intimate association between magic and witchcraft; and the consequence which follows from this-viz., that plants which could be employed for magic purposes would naturally be regarded as peculiarly suitable either for the use of witches, or for employment against their charms. The belief in what we call witches dates from very early times, and something of interest may be learned from the study of a subject which gives the truest insight into the credulity of our forefathers, their degraded condition, and anxiety to know something about the hidden future more than it is permitted to ordinary mortals to know.
Witches have been divided into three kinds-black, white, and grey. The black or bad witch is always mischievous; but the white witches-of whom more than one still exists in Devonshire- are kindly disposed, and can tell who it is that has bewitched cattle, or render assistance to people who have been subject to the power of witchcraft. The grey witch is a mixture of the white and the black, and can hurt or help at will. "Among the branches into which the moss-grown trunk of superstition divides itself," writes one, "may be reckoned witchcraft and magic. These, though decayed and withered by time, still retain some faint traces of their ancient verdure. Even at present witches are supposed, as of old, to ride on broom-sticks through the air. In this country [Scotland] the 12th of May is one of their festivals. On the evening of that day they are frequently seen dancing on the surface of the water of Avon, brushing the dews off the lawn, and milking cows in their folds. Any uncommon sickness is generally attributed to their demoniacal practices. They make fields barrer or fertile, raise or still whirlwinds, give or take away milk at pleasure. The force of their incantations is not to be resisted, and extends even to the moon in the midst of her aerial career. It is the good fortune, however, of this country, to be provided with an anti-conjuror, who defeats both them and their sable patron in their combined efforts."
There has been a great deal of discussion respecting the origin and meaning of the word "witch." We find Shakspeare using the word of a male person. "He is such a holy witch, that he enchants societies into him." So the white witch usually consulted by the credulous Devonian is a man. In China the word which is employed means either the male or female operator, witch or wizard.
I some time ago had occasion to study the question of the origin of the Chinese word, and though this is not the place to go into it again, it may perhaps interest my readers to know one or two facts respecting it, as it will show how the superstitious Briton and the heathen Chinese are, at the bottom, more alike in their sayings and doings and reasonings than we are usually apt to suppose. The word for wizard, witch, or sorcerer in some parts of China is Shing, which is derived from two other words, being pictures of an eye, joined to the older and more classical word for a witch, enchantress, or wise woman. Now the question is, what has the picture of an eye to do with the word? This problem is best solved by analogy, and it will be found that the words employed in Latin (fascinare), Greek (BASKAINEIN), Hebrew, and many other languages for setting forth the idea of a sorcerer's mystic doings, are more or less intimately connected with the eye, and the "Evil Eye." The Chinese regard the European as a "foreign devil," and I have often seen the superstitious mothers draw their children up into a corner and cover their faces as I passed, lest I should "fascinate" them by a glance of the eye. This must suffice as an illustration of the present part of our subject. A witch is a wise woman, one who can see spirits, and in virtue of her supernatural gaze can enchant, or bewitch, or fascinate those on whom she may fix her eye.
Mr. Conway--who, by the way, does not seem to have a very strong esteem for the laws of the philologist--tells us in his interesting papers on "Mystic Trees and Flowers" (which would have been much more valuable, and not less interesting, perhaps, had he regarded philology a little more) that "the common name of the witch, hag, is the same as haw, the Hawthorn being the Hedgethorn; this coincidence may not, however, be due to the magical craft of the witch, but only to the habit of those presumed to be such, of sitting under the hedges."1 If the reader will bear in mind that the witch or wizard was, for all practical purposes, whatever the origin of the names, looked upon as the "wise one"; and that their connection with the evil eye, and their power to "fascinate," or "overlook," was marked and emphatic, he will have learned enough to enable him to appreciate the connection of the witch, magician, or sorcerer with plants and flowers.
In order that we may present our facts in as clear a manner as possible, let us first take those flowers and plants of which witches are supposed to be specially fond. After writing at some length respecting the plants by means of which these uncanny beings may be held at bay, Mr. Henderson remarks: "But witches have their favourite plants as well. They love the Broom and the Thorn, as well as the Ragwort, which is called in Ireland the Fairies' Horse, and use them all as means for riding about at midnight. They are also fond of Hemlock, Nightshade, St. John's Wort, and Vervain, and infuse their juices into the baleful draughts prepared for their enemies. This statement, however, contradicts that in St. Colne's charm, as sung by Meg Merrilies, at the birth of Harry Bertram:
"'Trefoil, Vervain, John's Wort, Dill,
Hinder witches of their will.'"
"It contradicts, also, the old rhyme given in the notes to the Demon Lover, in the 'Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border.'
"'Gin ye wud be leman mine,
Lay aside St. John's Wort and Verveine;'
"for here these plants appear as counter-charms, protecting the maiden from the approach of a very uncannie sprite in the form of a lover." This need cause us little surprise, for it is well known that the superstitious people of Eastern and heathen countries firmly believe that the plants and materials employed by magicians, sorcerers, shamans, tombas, and other similar dealers in the black arts, are equally efficacious if employed against their charms and spells.
If we take up the plants and flowers one by one we shall find, in nearly every case, that those which are supposed to be beloved of witches are also spoken of as "holding witches of their will." Although we read of witches riding on broomsticks, and still meet with aspiring little urchins who try to emulate them and share their enjoyment, neither Shakespeare, nor any other of our early poets, so far as I have yet found, refer to the Broom as a favourite plant with witches. Shakespeare, in fact, only names the plant three times, and though Spenser and Chaucer have not passed it by, they speak rather of its sweetness or its use for an arbour than its superstitious uses. There can be no question that witches have always been supposed to have a liking for Hemlock. Its soporific properties would lend themselves to the hand of the worker of evil, and amusing tales are told by the old writers on herbs respecting the powers of the plant. Coles tells us most gravely that "If asses chance to feed much upon Hemlock they will fall so fast asleep that they will seeme to be dead; insomuch that some, thinking them to be dead indeed, have flayed off their skins, yet after the Hemlock had done operating, they had stirred and wakened out of their sleep, to the griefe and amazement of the owners, and to the laughter of others." It was with a draught made from this herb that Socrates is said to have been poisoned. "The great Hemlocke" (says one old writer) "doubtlesse is not possessed of any one good facultie, as appeareth by his lothsome smell and other apparent signes," and with this evil character, as another has remarked, the Hemlock was considered to be only fit for an ingredient of witches' broth. Thus the Third Witch in Macbeth is made to speak of
"Root of Hemlock digg'd i' the dark,"
amongst other things as one of "the ingredients of our cauldron." Ben Jonson says:
"I ha' been plucking (plants among)
Hemlock, Henbane, Adder's Tongue,
Nightshade, Moonwort, Leppard's-bane;"
all of which are magic plants.
The Vervain was a sacred plant among the Greeks, and was regarded by the superstitious Druids with great reverence. It was never gathered without religious ceremonies, almost or quite equal in solemnity to those performed at the cutting of the Mistletoe. It is doubtless due to these superstitions that the plant is still in repute as a medicine, and was long esteemed as a most potent ingredient in love-potions and other magic preparations; although its reputed influence over diseases and passions is probably entirely imaginary. This is one of the plants which could be freely used by, or against, witches. The belief is not confined to England. Drayton joins it with the Nightshade and Dill; but we shall have to speak of it again, and will not, therefore, dwell longer over its properties here.
The Nightshade, or Belladonna, is another very poisonous plant, and is said to be a favourite with the devil. One of the names of this plant, Fair Lady, refers to an ancient belief that the Nightshade is the form of a fatal enchantress or witch, called Atropa; while the common name Belladonna refers to the custom of continental ladies employing it as a cosmetic, or for the purpose of making their eyes sparkle. Dill, too, is an opiate, and on this account would be a favourite with witches. Mothers still use dillwater to sooth the restless infant at night. Jonson mentions Henbane also; and of this plant Gerarde says: "The leaves, seeds, and juyce taken inwardly causeth an unquiet sleepe like unto the sleepe of drunkennesse, which continueth long and is deadly to the party." Mr. Ellacombe thinks that it is this plant to which Shakespeare refers under the name of Hebenon in the following passage:-
"Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole,
With juice of cursed Hebenon in a vial.
And in the porches of my ears did pour
The leperous distilment."
Some suppose that ebony, others that yew (hebon) is meant. But this is immaterial; our only concern is with the fact that Henbane was regarded as a magic herb, and as a favourite with witches.
The Mandrake has long been associated with the evil one and his agents, as we have already seen. It is curious to note that the plants for which these have a special liking are either very poisonous, or else possess the supposed property of exciting the passions of love or hatred. The Mandrake moved the former passion, according to the notions of the ancients, and for this reason soon passed over to the jurisdiction of those beings who rule the desires and lusts of men. In 1603 a certain woman, the wife of a Moor, was hanged as a witch at Romorantin, near Orleans in France. The charge which was brought against her was to the effect that she kept and daily fed a living Mandrake-fiend, which was stated to be in the form of a female ape. Mr. Conway remarks that in France the Mandrake superstition seems occasionally to invest some other root. "Thus the author of 'Secrets du petit Albert' (Lyons 1718) says that a peasant had a Bryonia root of human shape, which he received from a gipsy. He buried it 'at a lucky conjunction of the moon with Venus' in spring, and on a Monday, in a grave, and then sprinkled it with milk in which three field-mice had been drowned. In a month it became more human-like than ever. Then he placed it in an oven with Vervain, wrapped it afterwards in a dead man's shroud, and so long as he kept it, he never failed in luck at games or work. The same author says that he saw a figure owned by a rich Jew, which had a human face on a hen's body. The monster lived for a time on worms, and after death its potency continued. The German stories are very curious. One of them relates that a horse-dealer of Augsburg once lost a horse, and, being poor, wandered in despair to an inn. There some men gave him an Alraun (Mandrake), and on his return home he found a bag of ducats on his table. His wife, becoming suspicious, extorted from him the confession that he had some potent charm, and she induced him to return with it to the men, but they could not be found. In the night the wife opened her husband's box; and finding a purse, opened it, whereupon a black fly buzzed out. Soon after the house took fire and was burnt, and the horse dealer killed both his wife and himself. The German poet Rist relates that he saw an Erdmann made with great pains, and more than a century old, which was kept in a coffin. On the coffin was a cloth, on which was a picture of a thief on the gallows, and a Mandrake growing beneath it." The Greeks were evidently acquainted with the dangerous properties of the Mandrake, as we may gather from the names by which they knew it. It was sometimes called Circoea, or Circeium, a word which is derived from Circe, a celebrated witch or enchantress, who changed the companions of Ulysses into swine, and was famous for her knowledge of magic and the use of venomous herbs. In the same way Atropa, the name of the Belladonna, referred to above, is from Atropos, the eldest of the Fates, whose duty it was to cut the thread of life, without regard to sex, age, or quality. Circe's memory has been preserved to us by one of the Roman poets, who in some lines quoted in another chapter tells that the enchantress, having loved a youth in vain, mixed powerful herbs, and thus:-
"She changed his form, who could not change his heart;
Constrain'd him in a bird, and made him fly,
With party-colour'd plumes, a chatt'ring pie."
Lord Bacon refers to the use to which the roots of the Mandrake were applied in his time. In his "Natural History" he remarks: "Some plants there are, but rare, that have a mossie or downie root, and likewise that have a number of threads, like beards, as Mandrakes, whereof witches and impostours make an ugly image, giving it the form of a face at the top of the root, and leave those strings to make a broad beard down to the foot."
Rue was another magic plant. "In reading accounts of the witch trials" (says Mr. Conway), "especially those of the south of England, one can hardly help remarking that in the antics by which so-called witches imposed upon their neighbours the plants used by them are almost always Rue and Vervain. There is now little doubt that the circles and signs of pretended magic used by the hags were relics of early pagan rites. Rue was supposed to have a potent effect on the eye-even more than Euphrasy, or Eye-bright-bestowing second sight; and it is still regarded in some regions as a specific for dim eyes. So sacred was the regard in which it was once held in these islands that we find the missionaries sprinkling holy-water from brushes made of it, for which cause it was called 'Herb of Grace.' There is a reminiscence of this in Drayton's description of an incantation:
"'Then sprinkles she the juice of Rue,
With nine drops of the midnight dew
From Lunary distilling.'
"Milton represents Michael as purging Adam's eyes with it:
"To nobler sights Michael from Adam's eyes the film removed
Which that false fruit which promised clearer sight
Had bred; then purged with Euphrasie and Rue
The visual nerve, for he had much to see."
We shall see that the herb was also employed against the charms of witchcraft. Some people maintain that the Foxglove (Digitalis) was in high repute amongst witches at one time, and that they used to decorate their fingers with its largest flowers; on which account they were known as "Witches' Thimbles." The same name has been given to more than one other flower. The Irish represent the Shefro, one of their various kinds of sprites, as wearing the corolla of the Foxglove on its head. There is a peculiar fungus-like growth which bears the name of Witches' Butter. Dr. Prior says that the name was given it from its buttery appearance, "and unaccountably rapid growth in the night, which has given rise to a superstitious belief, still prevalent in Sweden (where it is called troll sm'or, or Troll's Butter), that witches (and trolls) milk the cows, and scatter about the butter." Brand tells us that in the "Relation of the Swedish Witches" we are informed how "the devil gives them" (the witches) "a beast about the bigness and shape of a young cat, which they call a carrier. What this carrier brings they must receive for the devil. These carriers fill themselves so full sometimes, that they are forced to spew by the way, which spewing is found in several gardens where Colworts grow, and not far from the houses of those witches. It is of a yellow colour like gold, and is called 'Butter of witches.'" It is this same kind of fungus, or one very similar in growth and appearance, which still goes by the name of Fairy Butter.
There are various kinds of trees whose names are, directly or indirectly, associated with witches, such as the Witch-Elm, and Witch-Hazel. We are told that witch in these cases is a mistaken spelling for wych. If the modern English student is ashamed to own that the Elm or Hazel has had any connection with magicians, the German is not; for he freely acknowledges that the Witch-Hazel is known in his own country as Zauber-Strauch, the magic tree, just as the Mandrake is the magic root (Zauberwurzel). Now though the term witch originally had reference to the pliant nature of the wood, and comes from the Anglo-Saxon word wic-en, "to bend," yet it seems clear from the German name, a swell as from the fact that the Hazel was employed in making divining rods, that the trees have long been associated in popular estimation with uncanny beings. This is confirmed, too, from another source; for in America the name is applied to quite a different plant, and for the simple reason that divining rods were made from it (Hamamelis), so that the persons who gave the name evidently associated the divining or magic rod with witches.
Another illustration will perhaps render my meaning more clear. A witch was called wicce by our forefathers, and the Mountain Ash was called wice; is it any wonder that by-and-by the tree came to be regarded as specially related to the beings whose name was so like its own? We do not marvel that Evelyn should have looked upon the name "witchen" as derived from "witch," or that he supposed the Rowan to be so named because "it is reputed to be a preservative against fascination and evil spirits, if the boughs be stuck about the house, or used for walking staffs." Professor Max Muller has shown us how largely the mythologies of various nations are due to mistaken etymologies and forgetfulness of the history and origin of words, and our witch-lore has partly built itself up on this same foundation. Lest I should prove dry, and get too far away from my main subject, I will not discuss these philological questions further, but give some references in the notes which will help the student to a fuller study of the matter if he wishes to follow it out. Mr. Conway gives us a useful hint in his remarks on the trees in question, when he says that "Groves of Hazel or of Elm, which thence may have been called Witch-Hazel (and Witch-Elm), were frequently chosen by the Saxons for their temples (see the Saxon word wig), the Hazel being one of Thor's trees. So deep was the faith of the people in the relation of this tree to the Thunder-god, that the Catholics adopted and sanctioned it by a legend one may hear in Bavaria, that on their flight into Egypt the Holy Family took refuge under it from a storm." I shall have to refer to the use of the Witch-Hazel again as a charm against evil influences. I should remark that this name, Witch-Hazel, as applied in America to the Hamamelis, is by some noted botanists thought to refer to its peculiar mode of blooming, or rather of distributing its seeds. Dr. Cooke says: "The Witch-Hazel of North America (H. virginica) exhibits a peculiar elasticity in the seeds, or embryo of the seeds, which are thrown out with such force as to strike people who pass through the wood violently in the face. Collecting a number of the capsules, and laying them on the floor, Mr. Meehan found that the seeds, or embryos, were thrown out generally to the distance of four or six feet, and in one instance as much as twelve feet." Speaking of the English Witch-Hazel, Dr. Brewer says that it is "a shrub supposed to be efficacious in discovering witches. A forked twig of the Hazel was made into a divining rod for the purpose." This sounds novel, and we certainly were not aware that witches resided underground, or usually transformed themselves into metal.
In Germany the Bird-cherry tree (Padus avium, or Prunus Padus), which bears a fruit only fit for birds, is associated with witches and called Hexenbaum, or hags' tree, a name which will remind us of one of the terms (Hexenmannchen) by which the Mandrake was there known. Strange to say, the Scotch call the Fowl-cherry by the name of Hag-berry, and a similar name is found for the fruit also in Sweden (haggebar). The following notes and extracts are given by Brand, and are too closely associated with our subject to be omitted here:-"The Sabbath of Witches is a meeting to which the sisterhood, after having been anointed with certain magical ointments, provided by their infernal leader, are supposed to be carried through the air on broom-sticks, coul-staves (or cabbage stalks), spits, and so on. Butler in his Hudibras has the following on the subject:
"'Or trip it o'er the water quicker
Than witches when their staves they liquor,
As some report.'
"Reginald Scot speaks of the vulgar opinion of witches flying. Wierus exposes the folly of this opinion, proving it to be a diabolical illusion, and to be acted only in a dream. And it is exposed as such by Oldham:
"'As men in sleep, though motionless they lie,
Fledg'd by a dream, believe they mount and flye;
So witches some enchanted wand bestride,
And think they through the airy regions ride.'
"Lord Verulam tells us that the ointment that witches use is reported to be made (among other things) of the juice of Smallage, Wolf-bane, and Cinque-foil, mingled with the meal of fine wheat; but I suppose the soporiferous medicines are likest to do it, which are Henbane, Hemlock, Mandrake, Moonshade, or rather Nightshade, Tobacco, Opium, Saffron, Poplar-leaves, and the like." About 1649 a poor woman was tried at Salisbury on the charge of being a witch, and was executed. Among the evidence adduced against her it was affirmed that a boy was carried up in the air to a place covered with snow to gather certain plants, and that a "black bore" showed him where he should dig for them. These herbs, it was asserted, were required by the poor woman for a philtre. Colonel Everton is said by Aubrey to have received from a Scotch witch the following recipe for making yeast:-"Take an oaken bough in summer, or in winter a Broom bush, put either of them into the yest that workes, and let it imbibe as much as it will, so hang it up and keep it for your use. When you use it, putt a little of this to a little wort, about two quarts, bloud warm."
Coles, in his "Art of Simpling," tell us that witches "take likewise the roots of Mandrake, according to some, or as I rather suppose, the roots of Briony, which simple folk take for the true Mandrake, and make thereof an ugly image, by which they represent the person on whom they intend to exercise their witchcraft." This they did in various ways, but frequently
"Witches which some murther do intend
Doe make a picture and doe shoote at it;
And in that part where they the picture hit,
The partie's self doth languish to his end."
Some plants confer on the persons who employ them the power of detecting the presence of witches or even of seeing them. Such plants as are associated with St. John's Day seem to be peculiarly endowed with this property. As this saint's day falls at that time of the year when the nights are the shortest, and the greatest amount of light is enjoyed, the period naturally brings the powers of darkness into collision with the gods of the light. In the North the witches held their festivities at this time, and persons who armed themselves with St. John's Wort or some kindred plant would be able to see them, while, by mounting the house-top, many marvellous things might be observed. In Sweden and Norway that plant is still gathered on St. John's Eve, and hung up as an antidote against witches. In Germany and other places, as I have already more than once remarked, this magic plant is possessed of the power of scaring devils, and consequently of putting the agents of the evil one to flight. Hence it was formerly used in wreaths, or planted by the door, or hung up in the house, or carried about on the person, or burnt in midsummer fires. In Germany if one has a four-leaved Clover and carries it about on Christmas Eve, one may see witches.
Speaking of the Rue, Mr. Conway says: "The only region on the Continent where any superstition concerning Rue is found resembling the form it assumed in England, as affecting the eye, is in the Tyrol, where it is one of five plants-the others being Broom-straw, Agrimony, Maiden-hair, and Ground-ivy--which are bound together, and believed, if carried about, to enable the bearer to see witches, or, if laid over the door, to keep any witch, who shall seek to enter, fastened on the threshold." He adds that the people of Swabia assert that if one shall make a small milking-stool out of Fir-wood, and look through the three holes made for its legs into a church on Christmas Eve, he shall see all the witches sitting inverted, with milk pails on their heads. The milkmaids of Scotland trust rather in the Rowan, as we shall presently see. Some people believe, or used to believe, that grassblades give second-sight, while the sod out of which they grow is potent against witches. It has been stated by some that the Elder tree is obnoxious to witches, because their enemies use the green juice of its inner bark for anointing the eyes. Any baptized person whose eyes are touched with it can see what the witches are about in any part of the world. So we find in Denmark the curious belief that if any one should take his stand under an Elder-bush at twelve o'clock on Midsummer Eve, he will be able to see the king of the elves go by, attended by his numerous retinue of unearthly creatures. The Elder is very largely associated with folk-tales at home and abroad, and I have had to refer to these on more than one occasion while writing this work.
The flowers and plants which may be used to avert witchcraft are as numerous as those employed by the witches themselves in their nefarious calling. On the Rhine, for example, it is said that one of the Water-lilies (Nymphoea), is a charm against witchcraft, if gathered aright with magic formulas. The Blackthorn, which on the Continent was used for making divining rods, and is still looked upon as unlucky if brought into the house when in blossom, will keep one safe from all the pranks of witches, if made into crosses and stuck in a heap of manure. At least the people of Bohemia say so, and they ought to know! Twelfth-tide brooms were also held potent against witches. If one of these articles is laid on the threshold over which cattle are driven, it will keep them from evil possessions all the year round. In some places, so we are told, boughs of the Plum-tree are placed over windows and doors, to keep away witches. It is almost universally believed, in Christian countries, that the Aspen was associated with the Crucifixion; but in Russia, where this belief also prevails, we find the tree connected with witches as well. When one of these uncanny beings dies, Aspen wood should be laid upon the grave to keep the witch from riding abroad after death, and thus carrying on the work of evil. The Jews believed that witchcraft and enchantments were to be counteracted by the use of the Lily, probably the White Lily (Lilium candidum), or the White Lotus. It is said that Judith crowned herself with a wreath of these flowers when she went to the tent of Holofernes; or that she wore them around her neck. They may, however, have been artificial ornaments, and were probably made of gold. It is curious that our own peasantry regard it as unlucky to transplant a bed of Lilies-of-the-Valley. In some parts of the East we find that the Hyssop, or Rosemary, as the plant is sometimes called, was hung up in the house, and was also employed in connection with various ceremonies for purging the house of evil, and preventing any ill-intentioned person from fascinating with the Evil Eye. Aristotle raises the question why people regard Rue as good against witchcraft or fascination, and he accounts for it by saying that the Greeks were not in the habit of sitting down to the table with strangers. If at any time they did so, they became nervous and excited, and began to eat rapidly, whereupon they fell a prey to flatulency and indigestion. Then they at once concluded that they had been bewitched, for such ailments as flatulency, nightmare, and other oppressing sensations, are always in the East attributed to the operation of some evil being, and as Rue acted as an antidote, they soon came to the conclusion that it disarmed witches and dispelled their charms. That is perfectly Oriental, and I have many a time listened to the Chinese as they have argued in exactly the same strain.
Another of the many plants in favour among the Greeks and Jews, whose traditional virtues have been handed down to us, was the Alison or Alyssum. An old Greek writer tells us that if this plant were hung up in the house, it was good against fascination. By some the plant was confused with Horehound, to which similar properties were attributed. The Alyssum of the ancients was supposed to have the power of moderating and appeasing anger, and from this it seems to have derived its name. Some have, however, taken the word to indicate that the plant cured hydrophobia and similar raging complaints; on which account we hear of it under the name of Madwort. Some plants diverted fascination by their smell. This was one reason why Lilies and Hyssop were originally employed against witches. Hence, too, the use of Artemisia, Mugwort, Moxa, and similar plants at home and abroad. In some cases they were burned, but at other times merely hung up at the door or window. The Onion was efficacious, because it was said to be respected by the devil on account of its being an object of worship as well as himself. This will help to show on what slender and ridiculous foundations men grounded their faith. It is well known that the Arabs, Chinese, and many others to this day employ Onions, Leeks, or Garlic for preventing witchcraft. I have frequently seen them tied up with a branch of Sago-palm and other plants, and suspended over the doors of Eastern houses for this purpose. Incense, Cloves, Musk, and other fragrant or strong-smelling flowers, plants, and woods had similar efficacy. In China they use large quantities of Sandal-wood for purposes of exorcism. The plant Baccharis, Lady's Glove, or Clown's Spikenard, was supposed to prevent a person suffering injury from overpraise-one of the means employed by the sorcerer for captivating and injuring his victim. Ragwort, which has been already mentioned as a favourite with witches, was by the Greeks and others employed against their charms, and the same may be said of the Orchis, known as Satyrion. The Elder is supposed by people in our own country to protect persons, who carry a piece of it about with them, from the charms of witches. It has been suggested that it was on this account that our forefathers planted it so freely by the side of their cottages. We know that many plants were grown on houses and walls, and in gardens and orchards for this purpose, and we also know that it was considered very lucky for a plant like the Mistletoe to grow of itself on a tree in the orchard. Coles tells us that if people hang Mistletoe about their necks, the witches can have no power against them. The peculiar parasitic growth of this plant would be sufficient to ensure for it a certain amount of reverence among superstitious people, while its association with the sacred Oak added to the feeling. Shakespeare speaks of it as "the baleful Mistletoe," in allusion probably to the story we have related elsewhere from the Norse mythology. But he would also have in mind the association of the plant with the Druids, and the half-sacred character it bore on account of its power to dispel evil spirits. Coles adds that "the roots of Angelica doe likewise availe much in the same case, if a man carry them about him, as Fuchsius saith." For it was held that
"Contagious aire ingendring Pestilence
Infects not those that in their mouth have ta'en
Angelica, that happy counterbane
Sent down from heav'n by some celestial scout
As well the name and nature both avowt."
If Angelica were so virtuous what must Archangelica be? Why the plant or plants received these names at first is not altogether certain, but the popular explanation is that they were so called from their well-known good qualities. Perhaps the latter name refers to St. Michael the Archangel, whose day falls on the 8th of May (old style), when the flower would be in bloom, and consequently supposed to be a preservative against witchcraft, evil spirits, and such diseases in cattle as the elfshot, or Hexenschuss (hag-shot), as the Germans call it.
The little Pimpernel, or Poor-Man's Weather-glass, needs no description, but we may not all have heard what old "Mother Bumby doth affirme "-viz., "that the herb Pimpernell is good to prevent witchcraft." When gathering the plant the following charm should be repeated:
"Herbe Pimpernell, I have thee found,
Growing upon Christ Jesus' ground:
The same guift the Lord Jesus gave unto thee,
When He shed His blood on the tree.
Arise up, Pimpernell, and goe with me,
And God blesse me,
And all that shall were thee. Amen."
If one should say this twice a day for fifteen days in succession, fasting in the morning, and in the evening with a full stomach, no one can predict how much good will follow. Mr. Dyer, from whose little work on "English Folklore" I have taken the foregoing note, adds that "the Snapdragon, which is much cultivated in gardens on account of its showy flowers, is, in many places, said to have a supernatural influence, and to possess the power of destroying charms." Vogel also remarks that the common people in many countries attribute some supernatural influence to this plant, and believe that it not only renders charms powerless, but causes maledictions uttered against the person employing it to fail of their purpose. Brand quotes the following passages from Scot ("Discovery of Witchcraft," pp. 151, 152): "Against witches, in some countries, they nail a wolf's head on the door. Otherwise they hang Scilla (which-is either a root, or rather in this place Garlic) in the roof of the house, to keep away witches and spirits; and so they do Alicium also. Perfume made of the gall of a black dog, and his blood besmeared on the posts and walls of the house, driveth out of the doors both devils and witches. Otherwise, the house where Herba betonica is sown is free from all mischiefs. . . . To be delivered from witches, they hang in their entries an herb called Pentaphyllon, Cinquefoil, also an Olive branch ; also Frankincense, Myrrh, Valerian, Verven, Palm, Antirchmon, etc.; also Hay-thorn, otherwise Whitethorn, gathered on May-day." Here a number of questions are raised, while some of the statements already made receive abundant confirmation. "Scilla" probably refers either to Garlic, or to the Squill, which bears some resemblance to it. Squills are extremely bitter, while wild Garlic, in common with other plants like the Onion, is remarkable for its strong smell. It has been suggested that "it was probably an assumption of austerity, and show of ascetic self-denial, which caused the Egyptian priests to abstain from the use of Onions as food; and this subsequently led to the superstitious reverence with which, by the bulk of the people, they were regarded. Lucian, when giving an account of the different deities worshipped in Egypt, states that the inhabitants of 'Pelusium adore the Onion.' The Egyptians, indeed, were commonly reproached for swearing by the Leeks and Onions in their gardens; for Pliny says 'the Onion and Garlic are among the gods of Egypt, and by these they make their oaths'; an absurdity which did not escape the scourge of Juvenal, whose nation was, however, not less absurdly superstitious than that against which his satire was directed.
"'How Egypt mad with superstition grown,
Makes gods of monsters, but too well is known,
'Tis mortal sin an Onion to devour;
Each clove of Garlic has a sacred power,
Religious nation, sure, and bless'd abodes,
Where every garden is overrun with gods.'
"But while some of the people did not dare to eat Leeks, Garlic, or Onions, for fear of injuring their gods, others fed on them with enthusiasm, excited by the zest of appetite, if not by religious zeal, if we may judge from the distich which declares that
"'Such savoury deities must sure be good,
Which serve at once for worship and for food.'"
The "Alicium" spoken of above probably refers to the Alyssum or Alisson, which, as we have seen, was used as a charm. It may, however, be meant for alicrum, alecorim, or ellegrin, as the Rosemary was variously called in Portugal, Spain, and Denmark. In Spain it is said to be worn as an antidote to the "mal occhio" or Evil Eye, which the Neapolitan calls jettatura. "There was also a widespread belief in the efficacy of the Rosemary as a counter-charm against witchcraft; another reason, probably, for its use at weddings and burials, and for its presence in the dock of the accused in courts of justice." The Cinquefoil, or five-leaved grass, was named Potentilla on account of its potency as a medicine, and as fever was regarded as the work of the magician or evil spirit, a medicine which acted as a febrifuge was looked upon as it still is in the East, as potent against witches.
Frankincense and Myrrh fall under the head of herbs having a strong smell. Valerian and Vervain are famous plants, and are scarcely ever mentioned, especially the latter, without reference being made to their mystic character. The Greeks employed one kind of Valerian, under the name of Phu, for hanging up at doors and windows as a charm. I have named the Vervain already on more than one occasion, and shall therefore say as little about it here as possible. Several suggestions have been made respecting the origin of the word, Professor Max Muller being of opinion that it is connected with brahman, a word intimately associated with India. Although a favourite with witches, it was at the same time one of the plants which hindered them from carrying out their evil designs. Among other plants,
"Vervain and Dill
Hinder witches from their will;"
if we may once more ride a willing horse without running it off its legs. Among the ancients Vervain was sacred to the god of war, and was borne by ambassadors when they went to defy or challenge the enemy. It became associated with the god of war and thunder in Germany also, and was thus supposed to be capable of protecting houses from lightning and storm. Mr. Conway remarks that even yet, in some districts of England, children may be seen with Vervain twined about their necks, little knowing how nearly it has been related in times of witchcraft to a halter. Pliny tells us that the Druids made use of it in casting lots, in drawing omens, and in other pretended magical arts.
"Dark superstition's whisper dread
Debarr'd the spot to vulgar tread;
'For there,' she said, 'did fays resort,
And satyrs hold their sylvan court,
By moonlight tread their mystic maze,
And blast the rash beholder's gaze.'"
Sir Walter Scott.
But although it was once so famous, the plant has lost its glory. Among ourselves it has fallen into disuse, in spite of the fact that a pamphlet was some years ago written expressly to recommend it, directing the root to be tied with a yard of white satin ribbon round the neck, and to be allowed to remain there till the patient recovered.
On the Continent we are told that the three essential plants for composing a magic wreath are Rue, Crane's-bill, and Willow. Here we find two new plants introduced. Yet we have already seen how the Crane's-bill, under the name of Herb Robert or Robin Hood, is associated with the bold spirits of the past, while the Willow is connected with lovers. The magic wreath is made by lovers who wish to ascertain their fate, hence the appropriateness with which the Willow is here introduced. The Black Hellebore was another magic plant, and by strewing their apartments with it, or perfuming their rooms by burning it, the ancients believed that they were able to drive away evil spirits. With it, too, they broke the spells of witches and magicians, when they had reason to fear that their cattle had been charmed, bewitched, or overlooked. What a pity our Devonshire friends do not know the virtue of this and other plants! I was informed the other day that a farmer's colts had been bewitched, the hags having cut off their tails, and in one case tied two horses' tails together, so that one tore the other's out by the root. In another case the witches had thrown vitrol over a harmless cow, and caused it excruciating pain. That is witchcraft indeed; and hanging would not be too severe a punishment for the brutal and inhuman creatures who could from sheer malice inflict such an injury on innocent, dumb animals. If witchcraft has passed away, when will barbarity cease?
In Scotland the round-leaved Campanula [Campanula rotundifolid) is called Witch-bells, a name that reminds us of the Swedish designation; it being in Scandinavia regarded as the "bell of the mare" or incubus. The Scotch used to place branches of Honeysuckle in their cow-houses on the 2nd of May, to keep their cattle from being bewitched. In most places it seems to have been believed that if herbs were burnt or boiled so as to produce an unpleasant perfume, all demons and witches would leave the place. Scot (not Sir Walter Scott, but Reginald, the author of a work on Witchcraft) tells us, p. 152, "that never hunters nor their dogs may be bewitched, they cleave an oaken branch, and both they and their dogs pass over it." It is worthy of notice that the Oak was once largely associated with witchcraft. As Mr. King reminds us, the Cross was supposed to have been made of this tree, when the Oak was withdrawn from the dominion of Thor or Odin, to whom it had long been sacred; and being connected with the Christian religion, not only afforded help and protection to human beings, but even to some tribes of the elfin world. Such, at least, was the belief in the old land of the Teutons, as the following story will show:-
As a peasant was one day at work on a heath near Salzburg, we are told, a little wild or moss wifekin appeared to him at noontide, and begged that when he left his labour he would cut three crosses on the last tree he felled. This, however, he forgot to do, so the next day she appeared again, and said to the peasant, "Ah, my man, why did you not cut the three crosses yesterday? It would have been of use to me and to you. In the evening, and at night, we are often hunted by the Wild Huntsmen, and are obliged to allow them to worry us, unless we can reach a tree with a cross on it. From there they have no power to move us." The man answered churlishly, "Of what use can that be? How can the crosses help you? I shall do no such thing to please you, indeed!" On hearing this the wifekin flew upon him, and squeezed him so hard that he became ill after it, "though he was a stout fellow," as Praetorius says, who tells the story.
In England it was thought that Oak trees were mysteriously protected, and many superstitions clung around the sacred tree. The reverence with which the Oak was regarded was by no means confined to Druids and Kelts. "The tree, as we have seen, was dedicated to Thor. St. Boniface, who, in his native Devonshire, must have been well acquainted with the heathen superstitions that were still in force about the sacred trees and well-springs, waged a sharp war against them during his wanderings in central Germany. There was a Thor's Oak of enormous size in the country of the Hessians, greatly reverenced by the people, and which, by the advice of some of the Christian converts, St. Boniface determined to cut down. Accordingly he began to hew at the gigantic trunk, whilst the 'heathen folk' stood round about, prodigal of their curses, but not daring to interfere. The tree had not been half cut through, when, says Willibald, the biographer of Boniface, who was himself present, a supernatural wind shook the great crown of its branches, and it fell with a mighty crash, divided into four equal parts. The heathen, he continues, recognized the miracle, and most of them were converted on the spot. With the wood of the fallen tree St. Boniface built an oratory, which he dedicated in honour of St. Peter. The destruction of the great Thor's Oak was by no means an unwise step. The numerous decrees and canons set forth in various councils, and mentioned in different penitentials as late as the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, against such as practised witchcraft and did heathen ceremonies under great trees and in forests, prove how difficult it was to separate the ancient creed from such living memorials of it."
It has already been incidentally noticed that the Hawthorn used to be hung up at the entrance to houses in May, to guard the dwelling from witches. The plant owes its character to its association with the crown worn by Christ at the time of His trial; and we find that the same belief in its power against evil beings clung to the Thorn on the Continent. Aubrey, one of our leading authorities on the folklore of two centuries ago, tells us that "'Tis commonly say'd, in Germany, that the Witches doe meet in the night before the first day of May upon an high mountain, called the Blocks-berg, situated in Ascanien, where they together with the devils doe dance, and feast; and the common people doe the night before ye said day fetch a certain Thorn, and stick it at their house-door, believing the witches can then doe them no harm." In Scotland, if two nuts grow together in one husk, it is believed that the person who possesses it will be secure against witchcraft. This will remind us of the nuts called Molluka Beans, which in the same country were formerly worn as amulets against the Evil Eye and the charms of witches. These nuts, brought from the Azores, are also called Fairy-eggs. The Scotch have another magic plant in the Globe-flower, which they call Witches' Gowan. In Devonshire, where witches and wizards have had great popularity, and still retain a fair share of it, a common recipe for breaking the spell of a witch is as follows:-Take certain medicines at stated times, and a bundle of herbs. "The paper of 'arbs is to be burnt, a small bit at a time, on a few coals, with a little Bay and Rosemary, and, while it is burning, read the two first verses of the 68th Psalm, and say the Lord's Prayer after." Herb Trinity, or Trefoil, was as "noisome to witches" as any plant, no doubt because its leaves testified of the doctrine of the Trinity, and served St. Patrick for a text. Charlotte Elizabeth tells us in her "Chapters on Flowers," that, with a Shamrock in her hand, she has gained access to many an Irish heart, while her auditors eagerly listened to whatever she might preach upon the text of St. Patrick. Some of us, who cannot carry flowers into the pulpit and found our discourse upon them, may be inclined to envy her the success she achieved. Sermons on flowers and flowery sermons will be popular when such as are more practical cannot command attention.
In Italy it is unlucky to sleep under the Witches' Tree, as the Walnut is called, and the Mentonese have a very pretty story in which this tree is made the scene of a witch-sabbath, or gathering. Here is a French story:-" A bum-bailiff went to a village to perform his duty. Passing through an orchard, and being very thirsty he plucks three blooming, red-velveted Peaches from a tree, and eats them. On his returning home he is taken with such excruciating pains that he doubts not but the fruit has been bewitched. He calls for a wizard, by whose order three leaves from the enchanted tree are brought to the bum-bailiff; he places them under his pillow, and for the first time, after two days of the greatest misery, he falls into the arms of sleep (his complaint having passed to another), but is soon awakened by a hand knocking at the door. 'Oh, Sir' (says the visitor), 'let me say a few words to you; I am tortured, I am dying.' The poor devil is admitted, and confessing that a much more clever sorcerer had put him in this terrible plight, desires the pain-working leaves to be removed from under the pillow. This prayer is complied with; he feels instantly relieved; and walks home free from both pain and fear." It is still believed in some parts of England that Elderwood possesses the same power of working on a sorcerer, and so causing him to release his spells. The same tree possessed other magic powers as well.
I had intended saying something more respecting the Witch-elm, or Hazel, but must pass on to the Rowan. Many are the occasions on which this famous tree is employed by the superstitious. The Rowan is the dread of witches, as we learn from the following couplet:
"Rowan-tree and red threed
Put the witches to their speed.',
Mr. Wilkie alleges the following very good reason for their apprehension. The witch who is touched with a branch of this tree by a christened man will be the victim carried off by the devil, when he comes next to claim his tribute. This tribute is alluded to in the ballad of young Tamlane:
"Oh, pleasant is the fairy-land,
And happy there to dwell;
But aye, at every seven years' end,
We pay a tiend to hell."
Mr. Kelly considers the Mountain-ash or Rowan (the names are used indifferently) to be the European representative of the Indian Palasa, which it resembles in its light, luxuriant foliage and red berries, or of the Mimosa, a tree of the very same genus, as well as general character. These Indian trees are in as high repute in Hindostan as preservatives against magic as is the Rowan in Scotland, in Cornwall, or in Yorkshire. In Cornwall it is called "care;" and if there is a suspicion of a cow being "overlooked," the herdsman will suspend it over the stall, or wreath it round her horns. That it is still in repute in Yorkshire, this little anecdote will witness. I give it in the words of the narrator, as he told it to the Rev. J. C. Atkinson:-
"A woman was lately in my shop, and in pulling out her purse brought out also a piece of stick a few inches long. I asked her why she carried that in her pocket. 'Oh,' she replied, 'I must not lose that, or I shall be done for.' 'Why so?' I inquired. 'Well,' she answered, 'I carry that to keep off the witches; while I have that about me, they cannot hurt me.' On my observing that I thought there were no witches nowadays, she observed quickly, 'Oh yes! There are thirteen at this very time in the town; but so long as I have my Rowan-tree safe in my pocket they cannot hurt me.'"
This good dame evidently agreed with the old rhymer who said:
"If your whip-stick's made of Row'n,
You may ride your nag through any town;"
but, on the contrary
'Woe to the lad
Without a Rowan-tree gad!"
A bunch of Ash-keys is thought as efficacious as the Rowan-stick. An incident mentioned to me by the Rev. George Omsby may be introduced here. "The other day I cut down a Mountain-ash (or Wiggan-tree, as it is called here) in my carriage-road. The old man who gardens for me came a day or two after, and was strangely disconcerted on seeing what 'master' had done in his absence; 'for,' said he,' wherever a Wiggan-tree grows near a house, t' witches canna come.' He was comforted, however, by finding, on closer investigation, that a sucker from the tree had escaped destruction."
Mention of the bunch of Ash-keys reminds me that in Scotland boys prefer a herding-stick made of Ash to that made of any other wood, because it is sure not to strike any vital part of the animal at which it may be thrown. In some of the old rhymes the Ash is actually joined with the Rowan as one of the plants which hold witches and devils in dread. Mr. Conway remarks that when Christian ideas began to prevail over the mythology of the North, the old deities were transformed into witches, while the Ash became their favourite tree. From it they plucked branches on which to ride through the air. In Oldenburg it is said that the Ash appears without its red buds on May day, the witches having bitten them off during the preceding night, as they have been on their way to the festival, in honour of St. Walpurgis.
Having given Mr. Henderson's notes respecting the Rowan, let us hear what others have to say respecting it. The Rev. W. Gregor says that in Scotland, "to keep the witches at a distance, there were various methods, and all of approved value. On bonfire night (1st May, O.S.) small pieces of Rowan-tree and Woodbine were placed over the byre doors inside the house. Sometimes it was a single rod of Rowan, covered with notches." There is a wellknown rhyme:
"The Rawn-tree in the widd-bin
Haud the witches on cum in."
Another, and even more effectual method, was to tie to each animal's tail by a scarlet thread a small cross made of the wood of the Rowan-tree; hence the rhymes:
"Rawn-tree in red-threed
Pits the witches t' their speed."
And
"Rawn-tree in red threed
Gars the witches tyne their speed."
Mr. Farrer gives a most interesting summary of the folklore associated with the Rowan, in a paragraph already quoted, to which I will be content here to refer the reader, rather than overburden this book with quotations. Aubrey tells us that when he was a boy, which was more than two centuries ago, the people of Herefordshire, where the Rowan was common, used "to make pinnes for the yoakes of their oxen of them, believing it had vertue to preserve them from being forespoken, as they call it; and they used to plant one by their dwelling-house, believing it to preserve from witches and Evil Eyes."
Witches abhor the Yew also, while the Holly is equally obnoxious. It is suggested that the reason for this is that the Yew is generally found in churchyards, while the word Holly is but another form of "holy," so that the tree is regarded as sacred. This explanation, although very generally maintained, is rather popularly than strictly correct, and it is rather the supposed connection between the words than their actual relationship, which has led to the Holly receiving this character. We have, however, seen how the Hawthorn has been associated with the hag, through a similarity in the sound of the words; how Rowan and Rune are associated may be read in the works quoted in the notes; while witches and the Wych-elm or Hazel have also by the same road met and parted. The thorny foliage and red berries of the Holly cannot fail to remind of the crown of thorns and the drops of blood falling down to the ground; and these Christian associations would be enough to cause the witches to flee from it. Besides, is not the plant still employed, as it has been for ages, as one of the chief decorations at Christmastide?" The Bracken also they detest" (says Mr. Henderson), "because it bears on its root the character C, the initial of the holy name Christ, which" (says Mr. Wilkie) "may plainly be seen on cutting the root horizontally. A friend suggests, however, that the letter intended is not the English C, but the Greek X, the initial letter of the word XRISTOS, which really resembles very closely the marks in the root of the Bracken (Pteris aquilina)."
It used to be customary not long since in Scotland, and doubtless still is so in out-of-the way places, to throw the besom at a cow, when it was being led away to market, as a preservative against harm from witches, the "ill-ee," or "forespeaking." The question has recently been asked why it is customary in some places to throw an Onion after a bride. A gentleman residing at Torquay states that he heard a discussion carried on one day in reference to a wedding which was about to be celebrated, and one of the speakers said, "We must throw an Onion after her." I think the simplest and most probable explanation is, that the Onion served the same purpose for the bride as the besom did for the cow; it kept off the Evil Eye and other powers of evil. Any one who has lived in the East will know what minute attention is paid to such observances; and should they be neglected, evil will surely follow. But here we must draw to a close; for though there are yet several plants and flowers popularly associated with witches that have not been discussed, I think we have glanced at the most important facts, and opened up a field for future study for some, while we have said enough to give others a general idea of the influence which the belief in magic, witchcraft, and the Evil Eye has exerted upon our popular manners, customs, and beliefs. Interesting as the study proves, we shall none of us regret that the English nation is daily becoming more and more intelligent and enlightened, and is leaving such follies to the heathen and to the past.
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