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Witch Ball
A witch ball is a hollow sphere of glass. Witch balls were hung in cottage windows in 17th- and 18th-century England to ward off evil spirits, witches, evil spells, ill fortune and bad spirits. The witch ball were used to ward off evil spirits in the English counties of East Sussex and West Sussex. The tradition was also taken to overseas British colonies, such as New England, and remains popular in coastal regions. Examples of the witch ball in use can be seen in the windows of houses from small rural villages to coastal towns and cities. Examples can also be seen in shop windows as well, often not for sale as they are prized. Origin The witch ball originated among cultures where harmful magic and those who practiced it were feared. They are one of many folk practices involving objects for protecting the household. The word ''witch ball'' may be a corruption of ''watch ball'' because it was used to ward off, guard against, evil spirits. They may be hung in an eastern window, pla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curse
A curse (also called an imprecation, malediction, execration, malison, anathema, or commination) is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to one or more persons, a place, or an object. In particular, "curse" may refer to such a wish or pronouncement made effective by a supernatural or spirituality, spiritual power, such as a god or gods, a spirit, or a Natural phenomenon, natural force, or else as a kind of spell (paranormal), spell by magic (paranormal), magic (usually black magic) or witchcraft; in the latter sense, a curse can also be called a hex or a jinx. In many belief systems, the curse itself (or accompanying ritual) is considered to have some causative force in the result. To reverse or eliminate a curse is sometimes called "removal" or "breaking", as the Incantation, spell has to be dispelled, and often requires elaborate rituals or prayers. Types The study of the forms of curses comprises a significant proportion of the s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dreamcatcher
In some Native Americans in the United States, Native American and First Nations in Canada, First Nations cultures, a dreamcatcher (, the Ojibwe language#Grammar, inanimate form of the word for 'spider') is a handmade willow hoop, on which is woven a net (device), net or spider web, web. It may also be decorated with sacred items such as certain feathers or beads. Traditionally, dreamcatchers are hung over a Bassinet, cradle or bed as protection. It originates in Anishinaabe culture as "the spider web charm" – ''asubakacin'' 'net-like' (White Earth Nation); ''bwaajige ngwaagan'' 'dream snare' (Curve Lake First Nation) – a hoop with woven string or sinew meant to replicate a spider's web, used as a protective charm for infants. Dream catchers were adopted in the Pan-Indianism, Pan-Indian Movement of the 1960s and 1970s and gained popularity as widely marketed "Native crafts items" in the 1980s. Ojibwe origin Ethnographer Frances Densmore in 1929 recorded an Ojibwe legend a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Concealed Shoes
Concealed shoes hidden in the fabric of a building have been discovered in many European countries, as well as in other parts of the world, since at least the early modern period. Independent researcher Brian Hoggard has observed that the locations in which these shoes are typically found – in chimneys, under floors, above ceilings, around doors and windows, in the roof – suggest that some may have been concealed as magical charms to protect the occupants of the building against evil influences such as demons, ghosts and witches. Others may have been intended to bestow fertility on a female member of the household, or been an offering to a household deity. Concealed shoes have been found in many types of buildings, including country houses, public houses, a Benedictine monastery and a Baptists, Baptist church. The earliest yet reported was discovered behind the choir stalls in Winchester Cathedral, which were installed in 1308. Northampton Museum and Art Gallery, Northampton ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apotropaic Mark
Apotropaic magic (From ) or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superstition or out of tradition, as in good luck charms (perhaps some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as crossed fingers or knocking on wood. Many different objects and charms were used for protection throughout history. Symbols and objects Ancient Egypt Apotropaic magical rituals were practiced throughout the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt. Fearsome deities were invoked via ritual in order to protect individuals by warding away evil spirits. In ancient Egypt, these household rituals (performed in the home, not in state-run temples) were embodied by the deity who personified magic itself, Heka. The two gods most frequently invoked in these rituals were the hippopotamus-formed fertility goddess, Taweret, and the lion-deity, Bes (wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apotropaic Magic
Apotropaic magic (From ) or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of superstition or out of tradition, as in good luck charms (perhaps some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as crossed fingers or knocking on wood. Many different objects and charms were used for protection throughout history. Symbols and objects Ancient Egypt Apotropaic magical rituals were practiced throughout the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt. Fearsome deities were invoked via ritual in order to protect individuals by warding away evil spirits. In ancient Egypt, these household rituals (performed in the home, not in state-run temples) were embodied by the deity who personified magic itself, Heka. The two gods most frequently invoked in these rituals were the hippopotamus-formed fertility goddess, Taweret, and the lion-deity, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amulet
An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word , which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protects a person from trouble". Anything can function as an amulet; items commonly so used include statues, coins, drawings, plant parts, animal parts, and written words. Amulets which are said to derive their extraordinary properties and powers from magic or those which impart luck are typically part of folk religion or paganism, whereas amulets or Sacramental, sacred objects of Organized religion, formalised mainstream religion as in Christianity are believed to have no power of their own without faith in Jesus and being blessing, blessed by a clergyman, and they supposedly will also not provide any preternatural benefit to the bearer who does not have an Disposition#Religion, appropriate disposition. Talisman and amulets have interchangeable meanings. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christmas Ornament
Christmas ornaments, baubles, globes, "Christmas bulbs", or "Christmas bubbles" are decoration items, usually to decorate Christmas trees. These decorations may be woven, blown (glass or plastic), molded (ceramic or metal), carved from wood or expanded polystyrene, or made by other techniques. Ornaments are available in a variety of geometric shapes and image depictions. Ornaments are almost always reused year after year rather than purchased annually, and family collections often contain a combination of commercially produced ornaments and decorations created by family members. Such collections are often passed on and augmented from generation to generation. Festive figures and images are commonly preferred. Lucretia P. Hale's story "The Peterkins' Christmas-Tree" offers a short catalog of the sorts of ornaments used in the 1870s: The modern-day mold-blown colored glass Christmas ornament was invented in the small German town of Lauscha in the mid-16th century. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bingen Am Rhein
Bingen am Rhein () is a town in the Mainz-Bingen district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The settlement's original name was Bingium, a Celtic languages, Celtic word that may have meant "hole in the rock", a description of the shoal behind the Mouse Tower (German: ''Mäuseturm''), known as the ''Binger Loch''. Bingen was the starting point for the ''Via Ausonia'', a Ancient Rome, Roman military road that linked the town with Trier. Bingen is well known for, among other things, the legend about the Mouse Tower, in which Hatto II, the Archbishop of Mainz, was allegedly eaten by mice. Since the 19th century, the legend has increasingly been attributed to Hatto I, a predecessor of Hatto II. Saint Hildegard von Bingen, an important polymath, abbess, mysticism, mystic and musician, one of the most influential medieval composers and one of the earliest Western composers whose music is widely preserved and performed, was born 40 km away from Bingen, in Bermersheim vor der Höhe. Bi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gasthaus
A Gasthaus (also called ''Gasthof'', ''Landhaus'', or ''Pension'') is a German-style inn or tavern with a bar, a restaurant, banquet facilities and hotel rooms for rent. Gasthäuser are typically found in smaller towns and are often family-owned. It is common for three generations of a family to work together in such an establishment, and many have been owned by the same family for generations. Gasthäuser are common in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and other countries in Europe around Germany. Some are decorated with mural paintings (called Lüftlmalerei) depicting fairy tale stories or local legendary figures. Etymology Specifically translated a Gasthaus means "guest house" in German. Gasthof is a variation of the word, Landhaus means "country house" (though is essentially the same concept, just in a rural setting) and Pension means "boarding house" or small hotel. Lunch and dinner (''Mittagessen und Abendessen'') are usually served to the public, but breakfast (''Frühst� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patrick Leigh-Fermor
Sir Patrick Michael Leigh Fermor (11 February 1915 – 10 June 2011) was an English writer, scholar, soldier and polyglot. He played a prominent role in the Cretan resistance during the Second World War, and was widely seen as Britain's greatest living travel writer, on the basis of books such as ''A Time of Gifts'' (1977).Smith, Helen"Literary legend learning to type at 92" ''The Guardian'' (2 March 2007). A BBC journalist once termed him "a cross between Indiana Jones, James Bond and Graham Greene". Early life and education Leigh Fermor was born in London, the son of Sir Lewis Leigh Fermor, a distinguished geologist, and Muriel Aeyleen (Eileen), daughter of Charles Taafe Ambler. His mother added the "Leigh" before "Fermor" in his surname, although it was not a true double-barrelled name. Shortly after his birth, his mother and sister left to join his father in India, leaving the infant Patrick in England with a family in Northamptonshire: first in the village of Weedon, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
A Time Of Gifts
''A Time of Gifts'' (1977) is a travel book by British author Patrick Leigh Fermor. Published by John Murray when the author was 62, it is a memoir of the first part of Leigh Fermor's journey on foot across Europe from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople (officially Istanbul) in 1933/34. ''A Time of Gifts'', whose introduction is a letter to his wartime colleague Xan Fielding, recounts Leigh Fermor's journey as far as the Middle Danube. A second volume, '' Between the Woods and the Water'' (1986), begins with the author crossing the Mária Valéria bridge from Czechoslovakia into Hungary and ends when he reaches the Iron Gate, where the Danube formed the boundary between the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Romania. The final volume, '' The Broken Road'', completes his journey to Constantinople; drawing from his diary and a draft that he wrote in the 1960s, it was edited by Artemis Cooper and published in 2013. Description Many years after his travel, Leigh Fermor's diary of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
