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How to please the spirits: Santos Santa Marta

She is the wielder of the serpents, and all that is badass. Legend has said she protected a child from snakes that were sure to kill him, and made them her companions. She is the darkness, the mystery, the unflinching strength of womanhood. She is stealth and silence wrapped in green and purple, and I love her like she was my momma. Santa Marta is an incredible ally to have if you are trying to develop a backbone. She is the one who will put the heat on your tongue to make you speak up for yourself, or send a nasty wave of karma to those who dare to fuck with you. But she’s also the warmhearted friend that will remind you of your worth and check you into remembering who you are. She’s extremely gifted with witchcraft, and if ever there’s a need for protection, look no further than her altar. Pleasing her can become one of the simplest of rituals if you allow yourself to get over the intimidating task of speaking to her. She can be very quiet, which can lead the inquiring spiritualist to feel like they’re doing wrong. But that’s just her; observing. Watching. Teaching you to do the same. She is also very honest. I can’t tell you the amount of times she’s told me ways I’m blocking myself, or that I need to clean my room, or has made something fall in my room thus make more of a mess to make me clean now. She’s funny like that (most spirits are!), but she is also not to be trifled with. When you make a promise to her, like with any spirit, make sure you understand what that entails. If you ask her for something, like abundance of wealth (which she manifests, QUICKLY), offer something back. Some material things she likes include coffee grounds, eggshells, rum, and purple flowers. Obviously these are things that are mostly very easy to come by; you can serve yourself a cup of morning bustelo & give her the grounds. If you’d like to offer something else, offer something more elevation based. Spirit guides love knowing they are helping you shirk away harmful habits, bringing you closer to your highesr self. Do something she has been suggesting to you. Meditate more. Dive into that bag of traumas you’ve been letting rot in the corner of your mind. Do more things that scare you and challenge your ego, for that is how you truly begin to blend with the universe…like she has. Be specific about the amount of time in which you will do/give whatever you offer, and allow it to manifest.

• BONDING WITH MARTA •

Lesson of the Colors Wear more purple! It’s the color of royalty and divinity, and the main color of the crown chakra. Green is aligned with the heart chakra, and wearing a dark shade of it is sure to help you feel like an earthy goddess seeing growth. Marta is usually depicted wearing purple and green, which are both ultra calming. Tune into your upper chakras and get groovy!

Meditating with Marta Sit in a comfortable position, preferably cross legged, and sit as still as you can. Measure your breaths evenly, and feel a column of white light fill you, flooding out of your body. Contrary to popular believe, you don’t have to play Palo music to tune into Marta (although that shit gets me hype odee). Imagine yourself in a dense forest, peaceful and cool. See yourself sitting, surrounded by trees and plants, maybe a lake full of pretty fish. When you’re comfortable in your setting, see her sitting across from you. Ask her to come forth, and animate your imagery of her. When you feel her, be polite! Say hi. If this is your first time, simply ask to learn about her; become familiar with her energy. If you’re wanting more for answers, ask for the best solution to a situation that is bothering you. Be open to whatever she shows you, and don’t be surprised if the first few things are a little unsettling. This is her way. She is unafraid, and veiless. Allow yourself to objectively pay attention, and continue on. If you’re unsure after observing, ask for clarification. Write down your visions, feelings, and any other significant moments you make have stumbled upon.

Altar Creating a space for a spirit in your home is a simple way of staying connected with them and keeping their energy by you. A nook in your bedroom or living room (or even by the house door) would be ideal–as long as it’s on the floor. Marta is basically a snake, and she’s much more comfortable on the ground. A basic altar can include a statue of her (can be bought at any botanica that caters to 21 divisions–she’s usually depicted wearing green with two snakes around her and a child in her lap), and items you’d like her to empower or offer. Try to make it a space of beauty, zest it up; mine has a purple silk sheet beneath the statue, and saint Martha incense. I leave some flowers for her as well, and most mornings I make it a habit to leave some offerings and say wassup. This is the space I go to when I light a candle for something I might want; where I go when I have some deep meditation to do, or when I’m trying to understand the aspects of myself that are strong but shrouded in fear or ego. This is where I go to crack myself open.

Offerings Giving to Marta is honestly the simplest offrenda I do. She doesn’t ask for much, and you can give her a lot in just a morning! Make enough coffee for everyone in your home (this is also a friendly gesture–if you’re like me and your family leaves the strainer in the pot, you can just use that!) Serve yourself a cup, keep a teaspoon of grounds inside, and put the rest in a tin bowl specifically for her. If you wanna bless your family (or just yourself, you already made them niggas coffee) crack some eggs and clean the shells out. You can arrange them in the tin as they are, or get creative. An old friend used to glitter them up; another popular option is placing sugar in or around the shells. When you give them to her, say nice things! Talk to her. At first it feels a little odd. Most people arent used to speaking to a statue or representation of an etheric being, but as you become more sensitive to her energy you will be able to pick up on her responses.

Lesson one: Las Copas Focus on a question you’ve been pondering on as you drink a cup of coffee with a teaspoon of grounds inside; put the rest in a tin bowl specifically for her. Thank the spirit of the beans for their power. Open your mind up to her guidance, ask yourself to be protected, and ask whichever form of Creator you believe in to help you connect with her. If it helps, envision the picture of her above. When you start to feel her presence, simply say hello. Most people find her energy to be very sobering, protective, and strong; the way you perceive her is in alignment with the aspects of her you need. Ask for help on how to read cups, and allow your intuition to do the rest. If you get frustrated or feel like you’re hearing more of your ego, remind yourself to let the thoughts pass. You can also ask for signs, and ask for help focusing. Allow the imagery in the cup to guide you, and her presence to align you.Enjoy!

*warning: always approach the saints with respect. They are elevated beings and friends, not servants, and you can get a nasty set of repercussions if you treat them otherwise.

aj-rromale

Various Prayers

I, honestly, thought there were more prayers in this, but I think, because they were clumped all into two chapters, that there were more.

Anyway — enjoy these if you may. Later today, or tomorrow, I’ll type up just some dialogues. There’s a Romani Kris, a short dialogue about the Porajmos (Holocaust), and some other conversations.

さらに読む

splendidgeryon

Javier Trelis: "ANATOMICAL STUDY" Soft pastel and sanguine on wooden panel. 40x30 cm (12'x16")

gothredy

theinternetarchive

california mountain ranges by wilson davis ellis, american c. 1940s-50s.

funeral

東京暮色 / Tokyo Twilight (1957) dir. Yasujirō Ozu

dionysianivy

Dionysus Anthios

“The Flowering One”. An epithet especially used during the Anthesteria festival, honoring Dionysus as the Blooming God who brings the return of spring, awakens the fertility and restores nature back to life.

ponzonyera

Saint Martha and Martha the Wicked in folk magic

Saint Martha is a well-known figure of Catholic Christianism, appearing in the New Testament as the sister of Lazarus and Mary of Bethany. Her name comes from the feminine form of the Aramaic “mar” meaning “mistress” or “lady”. This could refer not only to power but also to activeness, according to the Oxford English Dictionary she was busy and had control over domestic affairs.[1] We will see that she is portrayed as a woman in charge of house matters, in the sense of a commanding and destacated figure. This could be indicated even in her own name. She is “hospes Christi”, showing hospitality to Jesus in her house two times. A recurrent role of women among the first Christians was hosting reunions and rites in their houses and properties.[2]

The famous “Golden Legend” situates Martha of Bethany in Tarascon (France), coming from Palestine with the Three Marys. There she discovered that a dragon or snake-monster (The “Tarasque”) was attacking the local people so with her prayers (in some versions she also uses blessed water, a crucifix, etc) she subdued and domesticated the creature.[3] The ability to control animals was a common feature of ancient deities, but the whole scene of the snake-domination resembles the Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius. Medea, priestess of Hekate, uses charms and invocations to Sleep and to the night-wanderer queen of the Underworld and spreads a potion with a juniper branch to bewitch and make sleep the dragon/serpent that guarded the golden fleece. Elements like charms/prayers, juniper branch/cross and potion/blessed water create a similar ritual imagery. Precisely it’s the legend of the Tarasque that made popular Saint Martha among sorcerers and folk magic practitioners, specially in love spells. The capacity to control, coerce, subdue and command was a highly valuated one in this type of magic, even in classical times. Other miracles attributed to the saint in the golden legend include the resurrection in Avignon of a drowned boy.[4] Powers associated with dead-communication/calling not only resemble that of Jesus (that resurrected her own brother, Lazarus of Bethany) but it is part of the thaumaturgical portrayal of magical and divine figures in ancient times (like Medea, Erictho or the “Witch” of Endor).

Eventually the folk magic worship of the saint bifurcated into two different entities: Saint Martha (depicted as pure, blessed, good and dear to the Virgin) and Martha the Wicked (depicted as a flying demoness). Although some authors argue that could be the same. The attribution of the dragon/serpent miracle and the power to dominate identifies one with the other. The evil Martha is conflated in a few cases with the biblical Eve, mentioning her as a companion of Lucifer. The popularity of the two Marthas did not avoid that the folk prayers and spells calling on her for love matters were forbidden. An Spanish catalogue of prohibited and superstitious prayers written in 1632 included formulas calling to Saint Martha and formulas calling to Martha the Wicked. The latter was a famous spell or charm with some variations, that usually begins with “Marta Marta a la mala digo que no a la santa a la que por los aires anda…” “Martha Martha the wicked one not the saint, the one that goes by the air…”[5]

In Murcia and Sevilla are also attested some variations of the folk prayer to Martha the Wicked. (Blázquez Miguel, 1989, pp.282-284).[6]

In my region, Aragon, there are plenty of references concerning Saint Martha and Martha the Wicked in folk magic. The historian María Tausiet specially consider the saint popular among sorcerers in Zaragoza. Non authorized religious stamps or prints of Martha are mentioned in the trials of Ana María Torrero and Jorge Núñez Piñeiro (Zaragoza, 1636) for sorcery, spells and invocations (Tausiet, 2007, pp.114-115).[7] Gracia Andreu, condemned for witchcraft and sorcery (Zaragoza, 1656), described before the Inquisition her own ritual to call on Martha and petition her in love spells. She took nine bites of bread and nine bites of cheese saying “No muerdo pan o queso sino el coraçon y los sentidos de Fulano” “I don’t bite bread or cheese but the heart and feelings of NN”, later she stepped three times with his right foot the pieces of food and said three times the Lord’s prayer, the Ave María or Hail Mary and the Gloria Patri. After that she invoked Martha saying “Marta Marta no la buena sino la mala (…) al Monte Olibán subistes con tres cabras negras encontrastes, tres gotas de leche les sacastes, tres quesos negros de ellas hicistes, con tres cuchillos que llebabais los cortastes” “Martha Martha not the Good one but the Wicked, to the Mount Olivet you went, three black goats you found, three drops of milk you got from them, three black cheeses you made with those drops, with three knives that you carried you cut them”. The bites of bread and cheese were thrown out the window saying “No arrojo pan y queso sino el coraçon y los sentidos de Fulano” “I don’t throw bread and cheese but the heart and feelings of NN”. To finalise the ritual she invoked Satanas, Lucifer and Barrabas to eat the offering. When dogs came to eat the bread and cheese, she saw them as demons. (Tausiet, 2007, p.113).[8]

The implication of the saint in magical deeds concerning love lasted even to 1706, because in the Convent of the Franciscan Conceptionists in Ciudad Real was found a paper of that time together with a recipient and a knife. The paper, blood stained, contained the inscription “Santa Marta, devuélveme a Manolo” “Saint Martha, give me back/make return Manolo”. (Blázquez Miguel, 1989, p.156).[9]

Personally I see Saint Martha as a figure of power, someone to call in spells as a giver of potency. Simaitha references the potions of Medea in the second idyll of Theocritus as a medium to strength her own magic deeds, and I think that Martha can do similar. The folk prayers of Martha the good and Martha the Wicked evoke miracles and powers to assure efficacy in spells through sympathy.

[1] Oxford English Dictionary. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/martha_n?tl=true&tab=meaning_and_use Etymology and Meaning. (Consulted in January 2025).

[2] : Sánchez Herrero, José. 2022. “La mujer en la historia del cristianismo”https://www.upo.es/revistas/index.php/bajoguadalquivir/article/view/6852/5889

[3] For a transcription of the Golden Legend extract referring to Saint Martha https://www.medieval.eu/tarascon-and-the-tarasque/

[4] Llorca-Tonda, Mª Ángeles, “Reescrituras de la vida de Santa Marta en la tradición hagiográfica medieval catalana y francesa”. For a comparative analysis of the medieval French and Catalan editions of the Golden Legend https://rua.ua.es/dspace/bitstream/10045/123605/1/Llorca-Tonda_2021_Hagiographica.pdf

[5] Londoño, Marcela. 2022. “«Hombre que hable o perro que ladre». Extrañas peticiones, usos y abusos de la oración de santa Marta”. https://forpral.hypotheses.org/642

[6] Blázquez Miguel, Juan. 1989. “Eros y Tanatos. Brujería, hechicería y superstición en España”.

[7] Tausiet, María. 2007. “Abracadabra Omnipotens. Magia urbana en Zaragoza en la Edad Moderna”.

[8] Tausiet, María. 2007. “Abracadabra Omnipotens. Magia urbana en Zaragoza en la Edad Moderna”.

[9] Blázquez Miguel, Juan. 1989. “Eros y Tanatos. Brujería, hechicería y superstición en España”.

vitsa-didicoy

what is romanipen? is it defined universally, or is it different for every subgroup? who is considered to have romanipen, and can non-romani people have it?

romanipen is the connection that one has to romani community

its generally defined the same across subgroups, but different groups may have different attitudes about those without romanipen, especially didicoy. some groups may welcome a didicoy as roma, some will not and consider that didicoy a gadjo

people born within a romani community who is raised by roma, can speak romani chib, follows romani traditions, etc. are considered as having romanipen and yes, gadje adopted by or raised by roma can have romanipen and be considered as romani

a gadji marrying in to her romani husbands family can also be claimed by his family and considered romani (i dont know if its the same for gadjo/romni relationships especially for more traditional families)

florida.florian on tiktok and youtube (he's kalderaš from romania) talks on what makes someone romani in his shorts, including these that i basically summarized

0jiro

reminder; Saint Sarah/Sara isn't her full name. Its Sara-La-Kâli

songs-of-the-east

Baxt: Photography Project by Andrew Miksys About Lithuanian Roma

nofixedstars

“drabarni”

dianasson

Imbolc Festivities

Lá Fhéile Bríde Sona Duit!!!

(Law leh BREEJ-uh SUN-uh ditch) Happy St. Bríd’s Day To You!

Gabhaim molta Bride Ionmhain í le hÉireann Ionmhain le gach tír í Molaimis go léir í Lóchrann geal na Laighneach ‘Soilsiú feadh na tire Ceann ar óghaibh Éireann Ceann na mban ar míne

Tig an gheimhreadh dian dubh Gearradh lena ghéire Ach ar Lá ‘le Bríde Gar dúinn Earrach Éireann Gabhaim molta Bride Ionmhain í le hÉireann Ionmhain le gach tír í Molaimis go léir í I praise Brigid Beloved in Ireland Beloved in all countries Let us all praise her The bright torch of Leinster Shining throughout the country The pride of Irish youth The pride of our gentle women The house of winter is very dark Cutting with its sharpness But on Brigid’s Day Spring is near to Ireland

– traditional Gaelic song for Bríd Today is the Feast Day of Saint Bríd! The festival date of Imbolc on February 1 stretches back to the Iron Ages in Ireland, but the ancient context of the festival is relatively enigmatic. It is very likely a celebration of the beginning of the pastoral season as this is when the ewes start to produce milk. However, being one of the four ancient feast days, the 1st of February and the night before are the focus of many supernatural occurrences and ceremonial traditions. In the last few hundred years these now focus on St. Bríd – who shares a name with a preChristian figure – who is worshipped and petitioned for blessings and favor. This would include a large feast of primarily dairy-based dishes in honor of the new agricultural season, so whip out the butter and cheese! There are many legends about St. Bríd in Ireland, legends that mix the values of ancient Irish heroes with the pious and monastic values of early Irish Christianity. “Brigit is the perfect example of Irish hospitality: she can (by a miracle) milk her cows three times in one day to provide a meal for visitors; she can outwit a king (in the cause of charity), as well as any pagan hero could have done and with far more charm.” (Hughes) She is a great leader of women “Indeed St Brigit’s foundation at Kildare was unique in sixth-century Ireland in being a double monastery for both men and women, each group following the same rule and using a common church, with the government of the whole community held jointly by the Abbess and the bishop-abbot.” (Hughes)

One way of celebrating her was to make a doll or Brideog in her image, which was escorted into or around the house in various manners varying village to village. Usually she was laid to rest inside the house, and divination ensued. “There [in Ireland] the churn staff, not the corn sheaf, is fashioned into the form of a woman, and called ‘Brideog,’ little Bride. The girls come clad in their best, and the girl who has the prettiest dress gives it to Brideog. An ornament something like a Maltese cross is affixed to the breast of the figure. The ornament is composed of straw, beautifully and artistically interlaced by the deft fingers of the maidens of Bride. It is called ‘rionnag Brideog,’ the star of little Bride. Pins, needles, bits of stone, bits of straw, and other things are given to Bride as gifts, and food by the mothers.Customs assume the complexion of their surroundings, as fishes, birds, and beasts assimilate the colours of their habitats. The seas of the ‘Garbh Chriocha,’ Rough Bounds in which the cult of Bride has longest lived, abound in beautiful iridescent shells, and the mountains in bright sparkling stones, and these are utilised to adorn the ikon of Bride. In other districts where the figure of Bride is made, there are no shining shells, no brilliant crystals, and the girls decorate the image with artistically interlaced straw.The older women are also busy on the Eve of Bride, and great preparations are made to celebrate her Day, which is the first day of spring. They make an oblong basket in the shape of a cradle, which they call 'leaba Bride,’ the bed of Bride. It is embellished with much care. Then they take a choice sheaf of corn, generally oats, and fashion it into the form of a woman. They deck this ikon with gay ribbons from the loom, sparkling shells from the sea, and bright stones from the hill. All the sunny sheltered valleys around are searched for primroses, daisies, and other flowers that open their eyes in the morning of the year. This lay figure is called Bride, 'dealbh Bride,’ the ikon of Bride. When it is dressed and decorated with all the tenderness and loving care the women can lavish upon it, one woman goes to the door of the house, and standing on the step with her hands on the jambs, calls softly into the darkness, 'Tha leaba Bride deiseal,’ Bride’s bed is ready. To this a ready woman behind replies, 'Thigeadh Bride steach, is e beatha Bride,’ Let Bride come in, Bride is welcome. The woman at the door again addresses Bride, 'A Bhride! Bhride thig a stench, tha do leaba deanta. Gleidh an teach dh’an Triana,’ Bride! Bride, come thou in, thy bed is made. Preserve the house for the Trinity. The women then place the ikon of Bride with great ceremony in the bed they have so carefully prepared for it. They place a small straight white wand (the bark being peeled off) beside the figure. This wand is variously called 'slatag Bride,’ the little rod of Bride, 'slachdan Bride,’ the little wand of Bride, and 'barrag Bride,’ the birch of Bride. The wand is generally of birch, broom, bramble, white willow, or other sacred wood, 'crossed’ or banned wood being carefully avoided. A similar rod was given to the kings of Ireland at their coronation, and to the Lords of the Isles at their instatement. It was straight to typify justice, and white to signify peace and purity–bloodshed was not to be needlessly caused. The women then level the ashes on the hearth, smoothing and dusting them over carefully. Occasionally the ashes, surrounded by a roll of cloth, are placed on a board to safeguard them against disturbance from draughts or other contingencies. In the early morning the family closely scan the ashes. If they find the marks of the wand of Bride they rejoice, but if they find 'long Bride,’ the footprint of Bride, their joy is very great, for this is a sign that Bride was present with them during the night, and is favourable to them, and that there is increase in family, in flock, and in field during the coming year. Should there be no marks on the ashes, and no traces of Bride’s presence, the family are dejected. It is to them a sign that she is offended, and will not hear their call. To propitiate her and gain her ear the family offer oblations and burn incense. The oblation generally is a cockerel, some say a pullet, buried alive near the junction of three streams, and the incense is burnt on the hearth when the family retire for the night.” (Carmichael - SLOINNTIREACHD BHRIDE)

Another tradition on Imbolc is to create a Cros Bríde or Bríd cross out of reeds that were pulled on the eve of the festival. These grant protection throughout the end of winter and the rest of the year until new crosses are made in their place the following Imbolc. “But the entire round of the year is liberally sprinkled with days of festival, and if we begin with St. Briget it is not merely because she was Irish-born but because her feast marks the beginning of the pastoral year. The blessed Bridie was a cowherd and is therefore associated with cattle and with such flowers as the dandelion–the Plant of Bride–yielding a milky juice which was believed to nourish the young lambs in spring. St. Briget’s Feast was very popular and many superstitious practices, more or less Christianized, cling to the preparations made on St. Briget’s Eve, the last day of January. On that day rushes are fashioned into protective charms known as Briget’s Crosses, a name which illustrates how the church has won over pagan symbols*, for the ‘crosses’ take the form of either [sun wheels] or lozenges, and comparative evidence suggests that they are magic symbols of suns or eyes…A three legged [sun wheel], presumably an old form, is reserved for use in the byre: its shape may be compared with the Celtic triskele. The lozenge-shaped charms have their counterparts in many parts of the world… Briget’s Crosses are believed to protect the house and the livestock from harm and from fire. No evil spirit could pass the charm, which was therefore hung above the door of the house and byre. The rushes must be pulled, not cut, on St. Briget’s Eve, and care must be taken to fashion the crosses from left to right, with the sun. As a rule they are left in position until replaced the following year, though I have seen byres with many crosses thrust into the underthatch, the decaying accumulation of annual offerings. In Co. Galway similar crosses made of wood or straw were also placed in the rafters at Hallowe’en, and the discovery of a partly burnt rush cross which had been deposited in a megalith in Co. Limerick points to a more general cult of the ‘cross’. A ‘love-knot’ of similar shape, fashioned out of sedge leaves, is known from South Wales.

It was popularly believed that the saint wandered through the countryside on the eve of her feast day. Bread was left on the doorestep, and in some districts it was the custom to prepare a small bed of rushes or birch twigs and place it by the fire so that Bridie might come in and rest. Sometimes the last sheaf of harvest was used for the purpose. In south-western Ireland a doll made of straw–or decorated churn-staff–was carried from house to house by ‘Biddy Boys’, wearing straw masks such as are used by mummers and by strawboys at weddings, and singing songs in honour of the saint. they would solicit gifts and end the day in jollification. The evening was celebrated by a supper of pancakes [bannocks] taken from a plate laid on a rush cross, and as on the other quarter-days prognostications were made. A ribbon or piece of cloth exposed on St. Briget’s Eve became endowed with curative powers. It was believed that no work which involved the turning of a wheel should take place on the saint’s day. The placing of a periwinkle in each corner of the kitchen likewise hints at a remote pre-agricultural origin for the festival,* but it came to be associated with the pastoral promise of spring, of warmth, new grass, lambs and milk. It is said that the saint placed her foot in water on her feast day so that on that day it begins to warm up each year.” (Evans) *presumptuous *no it doesn’t The * above are obviously my notes on the passage, which is valuable but yikes.

It is traditional to observe the weather on the morning of Imbolc to divine the coming seasons. If it is rainy and cold then the winter crone, An Cailleach, will not be able to gather enough fire wood for her to continue her foray in this world, creating the sharp winds and snows of winter. Winter would be shorter, and the following seasons would bring good fortune! However, if it is warm and sunny the firewood supply of An Cailleach will be great, and she will continue her reign over winter for many more weeks until she turns back to stone before Summer. This could also mean sickness and trouble for the household. Sing the saint a song today, recite her genealogy and tell her stories. Make a cross, or a dollie for her, and eat lots and lots of cheese. Lá Fhéile Bríde Sona Duit!!! References: The Golden Age of Early Christianity in Ireland (7th and 8th centuries) by Dr Kathleen Hughes, in The Course of Irish History ed. Moody and Martin. Irish Folk Ways, by E. Estyn Evans The Carmina Gadelica Vol.I, by Alexander Carmichael

dianasson

[Image descriptions: (1) stained glass depiction of Saint Bríd / Brigid. (2) painting of a lamb suckling from its mother. (3) photo of a cluster of snowdrop flowers growing. (4) photo of a green Brigid’s cross made of reeds against a pale stony background. End descriptions.]

dianasson

Lektionen (The Lesson) by Malin Mellryd Acrylic painting on wood (2020) via @ malinmellryd on Instagram

"This is a painting I made of my relative Ingeborg Andersdotter (1623 – 1689) - accused of being a witch. As the story goes, the people in her village had noticed that Ingeborg could both read and write very well (which was a bit strange in those days) so they asked her - “When and where did you learn to read and write so well?”

“A black dog taught me.”- she replied.

Soon thereafter she was accused of being a witch. During the long interrogations, she constantly denied all accusations of witchery, even when some of the children swore that they had seen her fly on her way to Blåkulla (where the devil held court). Eventually, most of the children withdrew their accusations, all but the oldest sister who still claimed that she really had seen Ingeborg on her way to the devil and his court. The other siblings had to put their hands over her mouth to stop her from talking.

Eventually, Ingeborg was freed of all charges, which probably had something to do with the fact the judge in her case was her husband.

There are more stories in the archives of history about this Ingeborg, and I intend to do more paintings of her in the future."