11th Century Scotland and Witchcraft
Throughout history, tales of witchcraft and spells have been passed on for generations. Each culture has its own variations of certain amulets. A few common phrases, syrabols, and signs that we use today are also used in 11th century Scotland. Often such things are often seen in horror movies or pieces of literature, such as Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, you are introduced to three witches, in the first scene of act 1, they are described to be ugly beings with no definite determination of gender. While researching it was stated that these three witches were "black witches". Two different types of witches were black and white witches. Generally, black witches were more devious than white witches. White witches were doctors and used their spells for doing good deeRAB. They were also known to aid in romances. To know that a black witch was present, there was always the sudden death of a victim’s animal. The black witches most commonly performed the religious traditions of Voodoo.
The practice of Voodoo enabled witches to put spirits and evil demons into one’s head. The movie "The Exorcist" was a fictional horror movie based on a young girl being possessed by the devil, coincides with the 11th century practice of Voodoo. As in the movie, when Voodoo was performed the victim would go into convolutions and lose control of movement. They would start to sway, stagger, trerable, pant, sweat, and act wildly. After the spirit would leave the body, they would have no memory of the demon, as did the child in "The Exorcist".
A familiar phrase you might recognize is Abracadabra. This is often heard in magic shows when a magician performs a trick. According to 11th century Scotland, this had meant "take away fear". To ward off demons or spirits, the star of David was used.
This five pointed star was worn also by Jewish descendants during World War II in the early 1940’s. In Germany, the Jews were forced to wear this on their clothing in order to keep each other segregated.
Another sacred amulet was any type of ring. They believed that there was a mysterious connection between the ring and the wearer. If a wife neglected to wear her weeding ring, she would then be abandoned by her husband.
Today, we see the mistletoe plant as a holiday decoration that where ever it is hung ,and two lovers are standing beneath, it is tradition to kiss. During 11th century Scotland it was believed a healer and ward off diseases. Hand motions also had meaning to those who practiced witchcraft. When one would place their thurab in between their index and middle finger, and then make a fist with the remaining fingers. This would ultimately harm those of the male gender and their genitals. A sign of blessing, would be extending your index and middle finger. Another gesture involved extending their index and middle finger, was a representation of a devil.
In researching 11th century Scotland and its witchcraft I observed several relationships between present day traditions and Scotland’s history. Although meanings may be different, such as the practice in Voodoo that takes place in the horror film "The Exorcist". I also realized that Shakespeare got most of his idea from the environment, for it was not uncommon for people to believe in witchcraft.
Throughout history, tales of witchcraft and spells have been passed on for generations. Each culture has its own variations of certain amulets. A few common phrases, syrabols, and signs that we use today are also used in 11th century Scotland. Often such things are often seen in horror movies or pieces of literature, such as Macbeth. In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, you are introduced to three witches, in the first scene of act 1, they are described to be ugly beings with no definite determination of gender. While researching it was stated that these three witches were "black witches". Two different types of witches were black and white witches. Generally, black witches were more devious than white witches. White witches were doctors and used their spells for doing good deeRAB. They were also known to aid in romances. To know that a black witch was present, there was always the sudden death of a victim’s animal. The black witches most commonly performed the religious traditions of Voodoo.
The practice of Voodoo enabled witches to put spirits and evil demons into one’s head. The movie "The Exorcist" was a fictional horror movie based on a young girl being possessed by the devil, coincides with the 11th century practice of Voodoo. As in the movie, when Voodoo was performed the victim would go into convolutions and lose control of movement. They would start to sway, stagger, trerable, pant, sweat, and act wildly. After the spirit would leave the body, they would have no memory of the demon, as did the child in "The Exorcist".
A familiar phrase you might recognize is Abracadabra. This is often heard in magic shows when a magician performs a trick. According to 11th century Scotland, this had meant "take away fear". To ward off demons or spirits, the star of David was used.
This five pointed star was worn also by Jewish descendants during World War II in the early 1940’s. In Germany, the Jews were forced to wear this on their clothing in order to keep each other segregated.
Another sacred amulet was any type of ring. They believed that there was a mysterious connection between the ring and the wearer. If a wife neglected to wear her weeding ring, she would then be abandoned by her husband.
Today, we see the mistletoe plant as a holiday decoration that where ever it is hung ,and two lovers are standing beneath, it is tradition to kiss. During 11th century Scotland it was believed a healer and ward off diseases. Hand motions also had meaning to those who practiced witchcraft. When one would place their thurab in between their index and middle finger, and then make a fist with the remaining fingers. This would ultimately harm those of the male gender and their genitals. A sign of blessing, would be extending your index and middle finger. Another gesture involved extending their index and middle finger, was a representation of a devil.
In researching 11th century Scotland and its witchcraft I observed several relationships between present day traditions and Scotland’s history. Although meanings may be different, such as the practice in Voodoo that takes place in the horror film "The Exorcist". I also realized that Shakespeare got most of his idea from the environment, for it was not uncommon for people to believe in witchcraft.