# folklore mythologymonday fairytaletuesday wyrdwednesday folklorethursday faustianfriday swampsunday japanesefolklore yokai ukiyoe caturday celtic trees ireland celticmythology irish fairies

MARA An old English name for a DEMON that survives in the word NIGHTMARE🎨Iconic Gothic images of Nightmares from Henry Fuseli 1781 to Tartini's Dream by Louis Leopold Boilly 1824 & John-Pierre Simon's Perturbed Woman, 1764

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2022-01-22

🍀🦇🍀Bats, being night creatures, were believed to bring bad luck, so this rhyme was said to charm them...
"Airy mouse, airy mouse, fly over my head
And you shall have a crust of bread
And when I brew and when I bake
You shall have a piece of my wedding cake."

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2022-01-15

London Bridge is falling down,
Falling down, falling down.
London Bridge is falling down,
My fair lady.

It was believed that a bridge would collapse unless a human sacrifice was buried at the foundations. The practice is called immurement.

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2022-01-15


“Sing before breakfast – and cry before dinner!” is an old Welsh saying.

Better to be like little Tommy Tucker and save the singing for your supper.

🎨Mary Evans

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2022-01-15


An old Irish custom is the ringing of bells at weddings to ward off evil spirits, encourage good fortune, and ensure a happy and blessed marriage. Brides often sewed tiny bells into their bridal gowns or veils and attached small bells to their bouquets.

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2022-01-08

The Japanese yokai, the Bakeneko, has skills that range from dancing with a napkin on its head to necromancy. If you've raise your cat for 3 or more years, be on the lookout in case it tries to bewitch you!

🖼️ Clara Tessier (I:_claratessier_)

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2022-01-01

Mistletoe lore is ancient. It survived winters as an evergreen & was thus seen to heal fertility, vitality, & ailments during mid winter. Greek, medieval, & Norse lore adored it. In the 18thc, the pagan & sacred met to make it a Xmas-time fertile, kissing plant

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2021-12-19


For prosperity and good fortune all family members should take a turn in stirring the Christmas pudding. And do remember to stir it from east to west, the direction travelled by the Magi on their journey to visit the baby Jesus.
🎨Tasha Tudor

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2021-12-18

In Finland jackdaws who lived in the church towers were believed to be a bringers of the death messages. The omen was especially bad if the bird landed on the roof of the house.

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2021-12-05

- Spirits were rulers of the underground kingdom, and they took the souls of the miners who died while working in the mine.
Underground spirits were guardians of miners and Earth’s treasures. More - https://t.co/pT2GCK8PQP

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2021-12-04

According to Roman historian Justinus, there
was a sacred mountain in Galicia on which extracting gold with iron instruments was forbidden. But when ⚡ cracked the slopes, exposing the ore vein, gold could be caught, since it was considered a present of the gods.

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2021-12-04

🌿🌗🌿Hawthorn trees are beloved of the Fae, and it's said that if you sit under one when the veil between the worlds is thin - at Beltane, Midsummer Eve or Samhain - you run the risk of being enchanted or stolen away.

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2021-11-28

- To ancient Celts, nature and animals were sacred.
The Tree of Life served as a portal to invisible worlds and a source of sacred knowledge, guarded by the most enlightened ones.
More - https://t.co/pjf8FCbxDg

🎨Green Man - markt3000 - Devian Art

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2021-11-27

The Irish god, the Dagda, had 2 pigs, one of which was always growing whilst the other was always roasting, & fruit that were always full of fruit! Perfect! As his "un-dry cauldron" said to be bottomless!🎨Jane Brideson ©Recenseo (pigs), mine

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2021-11-27

The Alder Fairy by Cicely Mary Baker

In alder trees are symbols of balance between male and female because they have both catkins on the same branch.

In Myths the first man was made of the 🌳 and it was protected by

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2021-11-27


In Ireland it is unlucky to cut down a lone hawthorn tree. The tree is considered sacred and thought to be a secret meeting place for the “wee folk” or fairies. Leaving a small offering there ensures good fortune from the fairies in return.
🎨Cicely Mary Barker

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2021-11-27

The kitchen represents the center of the house where the cooking of ingredients take place as if in an alchemical transformation. That's why the kitchen is linked w/ the magic cauldron where a person's raw ideas & passions can be cooked into a tangible meal.

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2021-11-13

Key to a number of potions and balms is mandrake, which had to be handled carefully so it wouldn't scream you to death. Mandrake root was a key ingredient for making a homunculus, for flying ointments, for love potions, and indeed, to prepare for Black Sabbath.

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2021-10-30

Witches of Scandinavian folklore came up with a clever way to get free milk. They made troll cats out of nails and hair. They were often shaped as cats or hares and would steal milk or cream for the neighbours and spit it out into a manger.

🎨Arthur Rackham

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2021-10-30