Nihtern @nihtern - Tumblr Blog

Perchta mask, Austria, early 20th century

“weird”

From Old English wyrd "fate, destiny", ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wert “to turn” (related to the word “versus”, meaning “turned against”). The literal meaning is something like, “what will become” and in German, this root forms the future tense (sie wird trinken “she will drink”).

The modern sense of weird developed from the use of “The Weird Sisters”, the goddesses who controlled human destiny. They were odd in appearance, as in “Macbeth,” which led to the meaning “odd-looking”. Source: etymonline.com

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This is an electronic resource for the history of witchcraft and witch-hunting in Scotland. It is in two parts: an interactive database, and supporting web pages.

The database contains all people known to have been accused of witchcraft in early modern Scotland—nearly 4,000 of them. There is information on where and when they were accused, how they were tried, what their fate was, and on a wide range of themes relating to social and cultural history. You can use the database to conduct all sorts of searches. For instance, you can find all known cases involving neighbourhood quarrels, or demonic possession, or fairies. You can find all the male or female witches. You can create graphs or maps showing how witchcraft cases were distributed; this is important because prosecutions tended to come in short bursts in particular localities.

There is also supporting material. An ’Introduction to Scottish witchcraft’ explains some of the findings from the database and puts them in context. The ’Further Reading’ section is also important; the database won’t tell you everything on its own. However, it will tell you some things that you could find out in no other way. We hope you find it a useful tool. All this should help you think about the history of witchcraft and what it means to us today.

Hardanger fiddle.

Source: Hardanger og Voss Museum

#hardanger fiddle #norway #hardingfele

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New hand forged steel Thor’s hammer pendant I made today! Available at my Etsy shop just click the photo.

#mjolnir #thor #mjollnir

Stull, Kansas.

Remains of the Evangelical Emmanuel Church at Stull, built ~1867.

"Legend also has it that glass won’t break if thrown against the stones of the church.... It was claimed that despite not having a roof, no rain would fall inside the old church on the hill. People said they have been subjected to a strong wind that held them down on a still night and sinister growls that came out of thin air encircling passersby. Almost everyone you speak to has a story about how ‘something’ happened to them at Stull. Almost everyone that is, except for the 30 or so residents of Stull, Kansas. They claim the only thing special about that cemetery is the fact their loved ones are buried there...." darkendofthestreet.net

#witchcraft #folklore #stull #kansas

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#moon #luna #selene

medieval

nihtern

medieval:

Adiantos, Mandragora feminea.

12th C. MS. Ashmole 1462

#medieval #mandrake #mandragora

Harford Farm Disc Brooch, ~7th century.

"This Anglo-Saxon brooch dates from about 610-650AD. It was found in a grave at Harford Farm in Norfolk.... Inscribed either side of the pin mounting are two snake-like creatures, head to tail, biting each other’s feet...."

Source: www.museums.norfolk.gov.uk

#anglo-saxon #medieval #england

fenwolf

nihtern

Tyr and Fenrir by John Bauer.

#fenrir #tyr #john bauer

#scotland #jennifer westwood #sophia kingshill

linnaeite

nihtern

Phoenix by F.J. Bertuch (1747-1822).

#bestiary #firebird #mythology #phoenix #greek

orphic-hymn

The hag of the mist originates in Celtic folklore as a sort of banshee-like creature. Her wails can foretell anything from a minor misfortune to death. If the hag finds the person with whom the misfortune will fall, she may try warning him. By trying to warn him, she might even smother him to death. She cannot speak, she can only wail. So when her point fails to come across as anything other than madness, she’ll resort to physical signs of letting the unfortunate-in-question know what’s to happen.

#hag #cailleach #scotland #ireland #cetic