Superstition of the Week - Apples Part 3

APPLES AND TRUE LOVE

In a group of unmarried girls and boys, each should mark an apple and place it in a bucket or tub of water. Apples that are not marked should also be added into the group. Each person should try to bite an apple floating in the water without using their hands. The apple one is able to bite is the person who they are fated to marry. This is probably where the custom of bobbing for apples came from.

However, the American custom does not have the apples marked. And, whoever snags an apple first will be the first to marry.

Think of 5 or 6 names of boys or girls you might marry. As you twist the stem of an apple say the names until the stem comes off. You will marry the person whose name you said when the stem fell off. The number of seeds inside an apple you cut in half is the number of children you will have.

Cool Stuff We Found With Ravens On It

A RAVEN WINE THAT'S A KEEPER

2007 Corvidae Wine Co. Cabernet Franc The Keeper

Superstition of the Week - Lucky Cats

LUCKY CATS

Normally it is thought you need to avoid that black cat crossing your path, but there are also cases of lucky cats. You could cure a sty by rubbing it with the tail of a black cat or find a lover by dreaming of a tortoiseshell cat. In France, it was thought black cats were particularly good at sniffing out buried treasure. All you had to do was take a cat to an intersection where five roads connected. Then, you turned the cat loose and moseyed along behind her until she found you a fortune.

Of course those of us who have the honor of being cats' humans, know how lucky we truly are.

Cool Stuff We Have Found With Ravens On It

LAUGHING WINE

Laughing Raven Wine

Superstition of the Week - Apples Part 2

THE APPLE OF MY EYE

The apple has been associated with predictions of love for many years. Apples are thought to help one find true love. There are many superstitions concerning finding out who a future husband will be. To see the image of her future husband, a girl should stand in front of a mirror while eating an apple. She should do this while combing her hair at midnight on Halloween. The image of her future husband will be reflected over her left shoulder.

Another way to find out who she will marry also involved apples and a mirror. The girl should cut an apple into nine pieces at midnight on Halloween. Then, she should pick up each piece with a knife one at a time. This should be done while looking into a mirror. The apple pieces should be held over her left shoulder. As the ninth piece is held up, the image of the future husband will be seen in the mirror.

Apple peels can also predict the identity of a future partner. While peeling an apple, one should do their best to keep it all in one long piece. Again, this should be done at midnight on Halloween night. Take this long piece of peel and toss it over the left shoulder. The shape that the peel lands in will reveal the first initial of one's future partner's name. Or, take that apple peel and hang it by the front door. The first initials of the first man to enter the home will be the same as the future lover.

Cool Stuff We Have Found With Ravens On It

SANGRIA

Raven's Glenn Sangria

Superstition of the Week - Cats, Marriage, Sailors, and the Weather

In the 17th century, a cat washing her face meant a storm was brewing. But if the cat washes her face in front of a group of people, the first person she looks at will get married.

Sailors, believing that they forecast the weather and the hardships of upcoming voyages. A loudly meowing cat meant a dangerous trip; a playful one, easy sailing. If a cat licked her fur against the grain, hailstorms were likely; if she sneezed, there would be rain. Storms were started through magic stored in the animals' tails. Good luck was guaranteed if a cat ran ahead of a sailor; but if she chanced to cross his path, disaster was sure to follow. Aboard ship, the most egregious crime was tossing a cat overboard. Punishment, so the sailors said, was swift and sure: Killer storms that would send the vessel to the bottom.

Cool Stuff We Have Found With Ravens On It

WINE

Corvidae Wine Company, Lenore Syrah, 2006, Columbia Valley, Washington

Superstition of the Week - Apples

APPLES

An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
It is thought this saying may have originated from Wales
as a Prembrokeshire proverb:

“Eat an apple on going to bed, And you'll keep the doctor
from earning his bread."

Cool Stuff We Have Found With Ravens On It

Nevermore Zipper Hoodie

Nevermore Zipper Hoodie from Binarywinter's Shop.

Superstition of the Week - Dogs and Babies

There is an old superstition that says if your newborn is licked by a dog, he or she will always be a fast healer.

Another shout out to FreeKibble.com for this superstition that was one of their trivia questions. Every day you can go to FreeKibble.com and play Meow or Bow Wow trivia. For everyone that plays, they donate free kibble to animal shelters to help feed hungry cats. An easy and fun daily way to support our furry four-legged friends.

Cool Stuff We Have Found With Ravens On It

Golf Courses

The Raven Golf Club At Three Peaks, Silverthorn CO

Cool Stuff We Have Found With Ravens On It

Tea Bags

Eastern Shore darkly delicious blackcurrant Black Raven Tea Bags