Superstition of the Week - Dragonflies

Dragonflies

• If a fisherman has a good heart, a dragonfly will show them where all the fish are.
• If a fisherman’s heart is filled with ill will, then the dragonfly will hover over empty waters.
• Dreaming about a dragonfly landing on you means you will hear exciting news from someone far away.
• Finding a dead dragonfly means there will be sad tidings in the future.
• In England, the wings of a blue dragonfly placed in a missal or a book of gospels is believed to bring good luck; however, it is also considered bad luck to kill such a dragonfly.
• Anyone who catches a dragonfly will marry in a year.
• The dragonfly was also thought to be the love goddess Freya's symbol.

Yet, despite their association with love, folklore also associates them with the supernatural and the Devil.

• A long time ago people in Sweden believed dragonflies were the twisting tools of hobgoblins. They were called hobgoblin files.
• In England, the dragonfly was given the name of “Devil’s Darning Needle” because of a folklore belief that a dragonfly would sew the mouths shut of lying children, scold women and curse men as they slept.
• Italians believed that Satan sent dragonflies up from hell to cause mischief in the world.
• In Germany, dragonflies were sometimes called Devil’s horse, Devil’s needle, snake killer, and water witch. They were also known as Devil’s horse in Spain and Devil’s needle in France.
• Another Swedish folklore says when a dragonfly flew around someone’s head it was weighing it for the Devil.

Now, the Encyclopedia Britannica states that in reality, dragonflies present no danger to humans. So we are sure you have nothing to worry about. No really, one flies around your head, we are sure that doesn’t mean anything.

Sigur Ros - Odin's Raven Magic

Sneak Peek - Edible Raven Magazine Cover

Here is the cover we are working on for the premier issue of our Edible Raven magazine coming out this summer.


We can hardly wait either.

Mortimer's Memorial Day

Mortimer accompanied our family this Memorial Day to the Lynn Grove Cemetery.

Here he is after planting flowers at our Grandparent’s grave.

He thought this shot could be reference material for future magazine editions.

Leave it to Mortimer to find the most intriguing of stones.

Superstition of the Week - Ladders

LADDERS

A common superstition claims that walking under a ladder will bring bad luck. Where did this idea of bad-luck ladder come from? One thought says it dates back to the time when hanging was the most common punishment for a crime. Before gallows were invented, criminals were hung from the top rung of a ladder. Thus, it was considered bad luck walking beneath the ladder because the bad spirits that lingered there would be disturbed.

Other folklore says the bad luck has to do with walking through an open ladder or a ladder leaned against a wall. In these cases, the ladder acts as part of a triangle. One belief is the triangle is associated with the Holy Trinity and to break that triangle meant one was in league with the Devil. However there is another belief that this goes back even further to Ancient Egypt when the priest placed ladders in the tombs for the dead to ascend upwards. During these times it was thought the geometric shape of the triangle was sacred, evil as well as benign spirits may be resting there and it should be avoided.

More importantly though, if one has inadvertently found themselves to have walked under a ladder, don’t panic. To placate the disturbed spirits, one can immediately place their thumb between their index and middle finger. This is supposedly an age-old method of warding off bad luck. Other warding off methods include crossing your fingers and spitting over your left shoulder (for courtesy, please check behind you first) or keeping silent until you see your first 4-legged animal. We did find what you should be spoken to the animal, but we recommend saying “I read it on the Edible Raven blog.” We are sure that should score you some good luck.

Invocation of Raven by Susa Morgan Black

Invocation of Raven
by Susa Morgan Black

Morgana of the Dark Moon Night
Onyx bird, bold in flight
Raven, come to us now!

Keeper of the sacred well
Where the faerie spirits dwell
Raven, come to us now!

Guardian of the Blackthorn Tree
Home of the feared Banshee
Raven, come to us now!

Teacher of warriors, and of sex,
spells that heal and spells that hex
Raven, come to us now!

Bean Sidhe by the river bed
Washing shrouds of the newly dead
Raven, come to us now!

Twin birds of memory and thought
Who brought the knowledge Odin sought
Raven, come to us now!

Raven with his bag of tricks
Always getting in a fix
Raven, come to us now!

Stalwart guardian of the Land
The sacred bird of mighty Bran
Raven, come to us now!

Wise One of the Second Sight
Who foretells our human plight
Raven, come to us now!

Raven, Oldest of us All
Watch over us and hear our call
Raven, come to us now!

Superstition of the Week - Umbrellas

UMBRELLAS

A well known superstition is you should never open an umbrella inside or it will bring bad luck. But ever wondered why? One thought is that this superstition originates back when umbrellas were mainly used for a sunshade versus a shield from the rain. Opening the umbrella inside was considered a direct insult to the sun gods, particularly Ra. This would result in the sun gods inflicting their wrath on the entire house and all those who lived in it. A less common belief is that an umbrella acts as a protector against the storm of life. Thus if you open an umbrella in your home, the guardian spirits of your house think you feel their protection is lacking and in anger, will leave causing everyone in the house to be cursed. Boy, you obviously don’t want to get on the bad side of those sun gods or guardian spirits. Another variation is that opening an umbrella inside isn't bad luck in and of itself; it's only bad luck if someone else gave the umbrella as a gift, if it has never been used outdoors before, if it is black and especially if there's already an ill or injured person inside the house. Here are a few other superstitions attached to umbrellas:

• It is bad luck to give an umbrella as a gift (I think this is more of a karma thing, because it goes without saying they will so be opening it indoors)
• If you drop an umbrella, do not pick it up. Instead, have someone else do it for you, or you will be the recipient of bad luck.
• If a single woman drops an umbrella, she will never marry.
• If an umbrella is opened outside when it is not needed, bad weather will follow.
• Never place your umbrella on a table or a bed.

A Few Tidbits on Ravens

The Raven, also known as the Common Raven or the Northern Raven, is the largest bird in the Corvidae or Corvini family. Close relatives of the Raven include crows, jackdaws, and rooks. More distant cousins are Choughs, Treepies, Nutcrackers, Magpies and Jays.

There are many species of Ravens around the world - Australian Raven, Little Raven, Forest Raven, New England Raven, Chihuahuan Raven, Dwarf Raven, Brown-necked Raven, White-necked Raven and Thick-billed Raven.

The Raven is a striking black bird, 22 - 27 inches from beak to tail. It is believed that the black plumage helps them absorb and retain heat in colder climates. Distinctive features are their large size, heavy bill, shaggy throat hackles, long fingered wing tips and long wedge shaped tail. The throat feathers are long and pointed, the tail is long and graduated. The entire body is glossy black, as are the bills, legs and feet. Their eyes are dark brown. In an aerial silhouette their longer features easily distinguish them from crows. A Raven can live more than thirty years.

The voice is normally a distinctive deep, harsh croak, or hollow croaking honk. Ravens have a large, complex vocabulary of sounds in their repertoire including a high knocking "toc toc toc", a dry, grating "Kraa", low guttural rattles, and some more musical calls. Captive birds have even been taught to speak.

They are omnivorous eaters, preferring to scavenge, but able to kill when necessary. They prefer carrion - dead sheep, cattle, rabbits and fish, but will also eat nestling birds and eggs, rodents, shellfish, insects, seeds, berries and grain. They have been known, in Greenland, to hunt and kill ptarmigan in flight and to kill puffins emerging from their burrows. Ravens will also hide and store food for later use. Near human habitations, they scavenge in garbage dumps for house scraps.

In northern regions they have been observed to hunt cooperatively with wolves. Ravens will alert wolves to prey, wait for the kill, then feed. Wolves and ravens have also been seen to engage in playful behavior with each other, ravens swooping down at the wolves, who will chase them playfully.

I think we may need to start keeping closer tabs on who Mortimer is spending his play time with...

Superstition of the Week - Spoons

SPOONS

• If a spoon accidentally falls onto the floor a child will come to visit.
• If two teaspoons are accidentally put into one saucer, it is a sign of a wedding; however, if the two spoons are set in a girl’s saucer, it means she will marry twice.
• If a fallen spoon lands with the bowl upwards, there will be a pleasant surprise coming. Conversely, if the spoon lands with the bowl downwards, there will be great a disappointment coming.
• If anyone pours liquid back-handed from any type of spoon, a quarrel will soon erupt.
• It was thought to bring good luck to the bride to give her a wooden spoon on her wedding day.

Why the Crow Shouldn't Cross the Road

There is an old folklore that says finding a dead crow on the road is good luck. However, we are not quite sure the crow would feel the same way about that.

Superstition of the Week - May Day

May Day is celebrated in many parts of the world. Its roots can be traced back to the Roman Festival, Floralia, and the Celtic celebration, Beltane, also known as Beltain or Bealtaine. Floralia was a five-day festival to honor the Goddess Flora with dancing, ringing bells, May Queens, flowers, and the Maypole. The Beltane ceremony honored the god of the sun and the rebirth of the earth, a celebration of fertility, flowers, sensuality, and delight. Bonfires lit the hillsides and there were games, dancing, feasting, and merrymaking. The Celts also celebrated with the Maypoles. It was said if the dancers wove a perfect pattern with the ribbons, it would be an excellent harvest, but if the ribbons became entangled, the harvest would not be as bountiful.

Other May Day traditions include, decorating windows and doorsteps with flowers to keep out mischievous fairies, filling baskets with flowers to leave on the doorsteps of the sick or elderly to bring good health for the coming year, children hanging baskets on their neighbor's doorknob, knocking and then running away, and in some areas it is said if they get caught, then they are suppose to get a kiss. In some countries it is still a tradition for boys to secretly plant a May pine tree under the window of the girl they love. In England they still choose a Queen and King of May and dance around the Maypole. Since the Puritans did not celebrate May Day, it was never celebrated with as much enthusiasm in the United States. However in some towns, children still make paper baskets, fill them with flowers and candy to leave on their neighbors' doorknobs.