Post by Icarus on Mar 26, 2008 9:12:34 GMT -5
Albatross
In the days of sail, an albatross flying round a ship in mid-ocean was an omen of wind and bad weather to come. It was very unlucky to kill it because it was thought to embody the restless soul of some dead mariner. Echoes of these time-honored traditions were heard in July 1959 when the cargo liner, Calpean Star, docked at Liverpool with engine trouble, after a voyage from the Antarctic that had been dogged by many misfortunes. The crew blamed these on the presence on board of an albatross destined for a zoo. Fifty of the crew staged a sit-down strike because they were unwilling to continue their unlucky voyage. The captain is reported in the Daily Telegraph of July 7, 1959 that it had required some courage on his part to bring the albatross on board in the first place. And most of his crew still believed that the bird would bring bad weather or misfortune, or that it was connected with the souls of the dead.
Bats
A bat means long life and happiness, a good omen, to the Chinese and Poles. If a bat lands on your head, you should hope the Cricket sees rain coming because the bat won't get off until it hears thunder. When you see a bat, you might actually be seeing the Devil, a witch, a ghost, or Dracula.
Bats have always had a connection with witches, and can have good or bad connotation, depending on the tradition. According to one, if a bat flies three times around a house, it is a death omen. Conversely, when bats come out early and fly about playfully, it is a sign of good weather to come.
Bees
If a bee enters your home, it's a sign that you will soon have a visitor. If you kill the bee, you will have bad luck, or the visitor will be unpleasant.
Bees have often been regarded as wise and even holy insects, having foreknowledge as well as knowledge of many secret matters. In antiquity they were sometimes divine messengers, and their constant humming was believed to be a hymn of praise. Because of their status it is still considered unlucky in some places to kill a bee. If a bee flies into the house it is a sign of great good luck, or of the arrival of a stranger; however, the luck will only hold if the bee is allowed to either stay or to fly out of the house of its own accord. A bee landing on someone's hand is believed to foretell money to come, while if the bee settles on someone's head it means that person will rise to greatness. They were once considered to deliberately sting those who swore in front of them, and also to attack an adulterer or unchaste person; it was once held to be a sure sign that a girl was a virgin if she could walk through a swarm of bees without being stung.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
There is believed to be a very strong link between bees and their keepers; bees cannot prosper in an atmosphere of anger or hatred, and will either pine away and die, or fly away. There is still a common belief that bees should be told about deaths that occur in the beekeeper's family; in past times this was extended to include every birth, marriage or other notable event in the life of the family. It was especially important to inform the bees of the death of their owner; traditionally this was done by the eldest son or widow of the owner, who would strike each hive three times with the door key and say 'The master is dead!'. If the procedure was not followed, the bees would die or fly away. In many districts the hives were put into mourning by having black crepe draped around them, and at the funeral feast sugar or small amounts of the food eaten by the mourners were brought out for the bees.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
An old country tradition states that bees should not be purchased for money, as bought bees will never prosper. It is acceptable to barter goods of the same value in exchange for bees, and in some districts gold was an acceptable form of payment. A borrowed swarm or one given freely is more likely to do well; a stock of bees was often started from a borrowed swarm on the understanding that it would be returned if the giver was ever in need of it.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Bee-stings were once thought to prevent rheumatism, and in some places a bee-sting was also thought to cure it.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Birds
A bird that flies into a house, foretells an important message.
The white bird foretells death.
A bird call from the north means tragedy; from the south is good for crops; from the west is good luck; from the east, good love.
"An old friend I met in college was from Ireland... She told me that it is a superstition there that if a bird poops on your car, it is good luck. I think I heard that somewhere else too."
Source: Suzanne896, Dog Hause Visitor
"I heard that if you have bird droppings land on your head it is good luck."
Source: Christopher Husenitza, Dog Hause Visitor
Butterfly
If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, you will have good luck all year.
Calf
If the first calf born during the winter is white, the winter will be a bad one.
Source: Icelandic Folktales
Cat
A Norse legend tells of the chariot of Freya, the witch, that was pulled by black cats that became black horses. They were exceedingly swift and surely possessed by the Devil. After serving Freya for seven years, the cats were rewarded by being turned into witches, disguised as black cats. This seems to have led to the belief in the Middle Ages that black cats were familiars of witches, and after seven years, became witches themselves. They believed if a black cat crossed your path, Satan was taking notice of you.
Butter your cat's feet when you move to keep it from running away from the new house.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
If a cat crosses or jumps over the coffin, the dead person's spirit will return as a ghost.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
A black cat is lucky or unlucky, depending on where you live.
Cats were sacred to the goddess, Isis in Egyptian mythology.
Bast or Pasht, the daughter of Isis, was represented with the face of a cat. Anyone who killed a cat was put to death.
Archaeologists in Egypt found cat cemeteries from which a shipment of embalmed cats was taken to England. In Egypt it was believed that a black cat crossing one's path brought good luck.
In East Anglia, England, they used to mummify cats and place them in the walls of their homes to ward off evil spirits.
If a black cat walks towards you, it brings good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Keep cats away from babies because they "suck the breath" of the child.
Source: Old Wives Tales
A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Cattle
Cattle were highly regarded by the Celts, being the most important animal for their sustenance and welfare and also a basis for wealth and prestige. They were also believed to have close ties with their human owners and to be aware of human activities and festivals. In some areas it is thought that cattle should be informed of any deaths in their owners' household, or the cows, sensing that something was wrong, would sicken and probably die. During mediaeval times the superstition arose that cattle would kneel at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve; in some parts of Europe they were also believed to gain the ability to speak on this night, although it was considered dangerous for any human to hear their speech as misfortune would befall anyone who overheard them.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
There are many English, Irish and Welsh tales of fairy cows who gave never-ending milk until their generosity was abused by some greedy human, causing a loss of the cow or her powers. A Lancashire tale tells of a dun cow that appeared during a famine to save the people with her unending milk supply, until one person tried to get more than her fair share by milking the cow through a sieve, leading to the cow's death from exhaustion and sorrow at the trick. Fairy cattle could be dun or red but were more usually white with red ears.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
It was once considered unlucky if an offer were made to purchase cattle which were not for sale, leading to their illness and perhaps death. In some districts it was also considered unlucky to strike cattle with human hands; a stick should be used to drive them from place to place, and should be thrown away once the destination was reached. Cattle who stand close together in low ground, and feed hard together, are said to be foretelling rain, but if they stand on high ground the weather will be fair.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Cattle diseases were often attributed to the machinations of fairies, elves or witches, and many charms were used to fend off these magical attacks. Horseshoes or holed stones hung above the door of the byre, or crosses made of rowan wood fixed over cattle-stalls, were believed to ward off evil influences. In the sixteenth century wax from a Paschal Candle would be moulded into a special candle, and wax from it dripped between the ears and horns of the beasts; the remaining wax was then set over the main door, or on the threshold, so that all the cattle had to pass the spot. Written charms were also obtained from local wise-women or cunning-men to ward off evil, and concealed in the roof or under the floorboards.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
It was traditional to drive cattle over the embers of the Beltane and Midsummer fires, as a magickal protection against cattle plague and other dieases. As recently as the nineteenth century, some farmers would sacrifice one healthy calf or cow (sometimes burying it under the threshold of the byre with feet pointing upwards) as a symbolic sacrifice that the herd might be spared from cattle plague.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Cows
If a plow kills a daddy long legs the cows will go dry
If you see nine cows in a shed with a gray bull next to the door, and all of them lie on the same side, you are in luck, because you will be granted one wish.
Source: Icelandic Folktales
Cricket
A cricket is a lucky house spirit that takes it's luck away when it leaves.
A cricket can tell of oncoming rain, death, and x-lovers.
It's bad luck to kill a cricket.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Crow
One's bad,
Two's luck,
Three's health,
Four's wealth,
Five's sickness,
Six is death.
Daddy Long Legs
If a plow kills a daddy long legs the cows will go dry.
"When I was a kid on a farm in Ohio, somewhere we were told when we picked up a Daddy Long Legs to ask it "Where are the cows?" and it would point (with it's feelers) in the direction of the cows. I remember thinking this usually worked!"
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Alicia Ann Walls
If you kill a daddy long legs, there'll be rain soon.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Dogs
Greeks thought dogs could foresee evil.
"Usually superstitions about dogs are somewhat ominous. But here's one my grandmother believed--if you have your new-born baby licked by a dog, your baby will be a quick healer. We all believe this because I was not licked, and I'm a slow healer and my brother, who was licked, is a quick healer--go figure."
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Lyn Taliaferro
Howling dogs mean the wind god has summoned death, and the spirits of the dead will be taken.
A dog eating grass - rain
Source: oldsuperstitions.com
A howling dog at night means bad luck or somebody close to you will be very sick or worse.
According to Matt Groening, a dog with seven toes can see ghosts.
When a dog is staring intently, at nothing, for no apparent reason, look between the dog's ears and you'll see a ghost.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Dogs have always been credited with the power of sensing supernatural influences, and seeing ghosts, spirits, faeries or deities which are invisible to human eyes. In Wales only dogs could see the death-bringing hounds of Annwn; in ancient Greece the dogs were aware when Hecate was at a crossroads foretelling a death. Dogs are believed to be aware of the presence of ghosts, and their barking, whimpering or howling is often the first warning of supernatural occurrances.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
There are many instances of black dog ghosts which are said to haunt lanes, bridges, crossroads, footpaths and gates, particularly in Suffolk, Norfolk and the Isle of Man. Some black dogs are said to be unquiet ghosts of wicked souls, but others are friendly guides and protectors to travellers; the Barguest of northern England could also appear as a pig or a goat, but was most commonly a huge black dog with large eyes and feet which left no prints. Packs of ghostly hounds have also been recorded all over Britain, often heard howling as they pass by on stormy nights rather than actually seen; these hounds generally foretell death, or at least disaster, if they are seen and the proper action is to drop face-down onto the ground to avoid spotting them.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
When a dog howls in an otherwise silent night, it is said to be an omen of death, or at least of misfortune. A howling dog outside the house of a sick person was once thought to be an omen that they would die, especially if the dog was driven away and returned to howl again. A dog which gives a single howl, or three howls, and then falls silent is said to be marking a death that has just occurred nearby.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Dogs were feared as possible carriers of rabies; sometimes even a healthy dog was killed if it had bitten someone, because of the belief that if the dog later developed rabies, even many years afterwards, the bitten person would also be afflicted. Remedies for the bite of a mad dog often included the patient being forced to eat a part of the dog in question, such as its hairs or a piece of its cooked liver. Dogs were also used to cure other illnesses; one old charm which was often used for childrens' illnesses was to take some of the patient's hairs and feed them to a dog inbetween slices of bread and butter; the ailment was believed to transfer to the animal, healing the patient.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
In Scotland, a strange dog coming to the house means a new friendship; in England, to meet a spotted or black and white dog on your way to a business appointment is lucky. Three white dogs seen together are considered lucky in some areas; black dogs are generally considered unlucky, especially if they cross a traveller's path or follow someone and refuse to be driven away. Fishermen traditionally regard dogs as unlucky and will not take one out in a boat, or mention the word 'dog' whilst at sea.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Dog Hause visitor Tom (from Sioux Falls) says: "Just thought I would add to your animal superstitions with one I learned from a elder South Dakota Lakota Sioux Indian was that if a member of the tribe would get sick they would lay with a dog and the sickness would transfer from the tribal member into the dog. On some of the reservations, among the elders, this practice is still taking place." Thanks Tom!
Donkeys
Christian tradition stated that donkeys originally had unmarked hides, and that it was only after Christ's entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey that they recieved the dark cross on their backs. The hairs from the cross were widely believed to cure a number of ailments, and were often worn in a charm around the neck to guard against whooping-cough, toothache, fits, and to ease teething pains in babies. Sometimes the hairs were eaten in a sandwich instead. Riding a donkey was also believed effacious, especially if the rider faced the donkey's tail end, and was sometimes used as a preventative for toothache, measles and other children's complaints. One cure for whooping-cough and ague stated that the patient should be passed under a donkey and over its back either three or nine times; the trick of feeding an animal some of the patient's hair to transfer the illness was also used with donkeys. The donkey was also used to help cure the complaints of other animals; letting a black donkey run with mares in a field was thought to stop the mares miscarrying.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
An old saying claims that no-one ever sees a dead donkey; however, there is also a tradition that to see a dead donkey means great good fortune, and even as recently as this century it was considered a good-luck charm to leap over the carcass of a dead donkey three times.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Elephants
In Siam, white elephants were rare and not made to work for their upkeep, so a White Elephant is an item that is a non profit expense. Considering the value of space in our homes, items kept as memorabilia could be considered White Elephants.
Fish
Throw back the first fish you catch then you'll be lucky the whole day fishing.
It's bad luck to get married when the fish aren't biting, according to the custom of some fisherfolk.
A fish should always be eaten from the head toward the tail.
Dream of fish: someone you know is pregnant.
If you count the number of fish you caught, you will catch no more that day.
It's bad luck to say the word "pig" while fishing at sea.
Frogs
Frogs, like toads, were once thought to have peculiar properties, and were frequently used in healing charms, and in others of a slightly less innocent nature.
A well known country cure for thrush was to hold a live frog with its head in the patient's mouth. As it breathed, so it drew the disease away and into itself. Warts could also be cured by rubbing a frog across them.
The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averted epilepsy and other fits. Frogs were also used in love-magic. In one tale, a girl, whose lover was untrue stuck pins all over a living frog and then buried it. The young man suffered extreme pains and eventually returned to her. She dug up the frog and removed the pins, after which the pains ceased. The man, perhaps rather unwisely, married her.
A frog brings good luck to the house it enters.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Hens
A hen which crows is considered to be unlucky, as is a hen with tail-feathers like those of a rooster; previously these birds would be killed on most farms. Hens which roost in the morning are said to be foretelling a death, usually that of the farmer or someone in his household. A hen which enters the house is an omen that a visitor will arrive, and this is also the case if a rooster crows near the door or comes inside.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Hornets
If the hornets build their nests high in trees during the summer, it will be a bad winter. If they build their nests low in bushes, it will be an easy winter.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Horses
A white horse could warn of danger, and lived longer than a dark horse, so was considered a living amulet against early death.
Spotted horses are magical.
Grey horses and horses with four white socks are unlucky.
Horses have been sacred animals in Indo_European cultures from very early times, and it is easy to see why; their great importance in farming, travel and warfare would make them extraordinarily important. The Celtic goddess Epona presided over horses, and the Norse Odin was said to ride through the heavens on an eight-footed white horse. Horses were used as valuable sacrifices by many ancient peoples, including the Romans, and their bones were concealed in the walls of houses, or horse skulls placed on the gables of houses, as a protection.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Inhaling a horses breath - cure for whooping cough
Source: oldsuperstitions.com
In some places it is lucky to meet a white horse; in others, unlucky; either way, tradition states that upon meeting a white horse one should spit and make a wish, or cross one's fingers until a dog is seen. In many places it is lucky to lead a horse through the house; this belief may stem from the association of horses with fertility and crops, which has lasted in form of hobby-horses which were originally part of Beltane (May Day) revels.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
It was once thought that whooping-cough could be cured by going to the stables and inhaling the breath of a horse; being breathed upon by a piebald horse, or riding upon its back, was another supposed cure. Horse-hairs, chopped very finely and fed to a child in bread and butter, were thought to be a certain cure for worms, and the horse-spurs (callouses which appear on the sides of a horse's leg) were believed in the eighteenth century to be a cure for cancer if dried, ground and drunk frequently with new milk.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Horseshoes
A circular ring made from an iron horseshoe nail gives the same protection against evil as the horseshoe itself. The horseshoe or crescent moon shape was seen as a sign of good fortune and fertility. One legend says that the Devil called on St. Dunstan, who was skilled in shoeing horses. St. Dunstan recognized him and fastened him to a wall. He then set to work with such roughness that the Devil roared for mercy. St Dunstan turned the Devil loose after making him promise never to enter a home on which a horseshoe was fixed. Witches fear horses, so they are also turned away by a door with a horseshoe mounted on it, The horseshoe must be hung with the points up to keep the luck from spilling out.
Horseshoes are considered lucky for their healing powers (cures hiccups) and for their protective influence (specifically against witches). It resembles the crescent moon and is thought to protect against the evil eye. Similar-shaped charms were used among the Chaldeans and the Egyptians. Related to animal worship, it approaches the form of a serpent biting its own tail-a universal symbol of eternity. There is a time-honored belief in the magical power of iron. Blacksmiths were often identified as sorcerers and the efficacy of fire as a bane to demons supported this idea.
A horseshoe, hung above the doorway, will bring good luck to a home. In most of Europe protective horseshoes are placed in a downward facing position, but in some parts of Ireland and Britain people believe that the shoes must be turned upward or "the luck will run out."
Source: Old Wives Tales
A horseshoe hung in the bedroom will keep nightmares away.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Jaybirds
Jaybirds go down to the devil's house on Fridays to tell all the bad things that have happened during the week. Jaybirds who remain on Friday are checking up on what people are doing.
In the days of sail, an albatross flying round a ship in mid-ocean was an omen of wind and bad weather to come. It was very unlucky to kill it because it was thought to embody the restless soul of some dead mariner. Echoes of these time-honored traditions were heard in July 1959 when the cargo liner, Calpean Star, docked at Liverpool with engine trouble, after a voyage from the Antarctic that had been dogged by many misfortunes. The crew blamed these on the presence on board of an albatross destined for a zoo. Fifty of the crew staged a sit-down strike because they were unwilling to continue their unlucky voyage. The captain is reported in the Daily Telegraph of July 7, 1959 that it had required some courage on his part to bring the albatross on board in the first place. And most of his crew still believed that the bird would bring bad weather or misfortune, or that it was connected with the souls of the dead.
Bats
A bat means long life and happiness, a good omen, to the Chinese and Poles. If a bat lands on your head, you should hope the Cricket sees rain coming because the bat won't get off until it hears thunder. When you see a bat, you might actually be seeing the Devil, a witch, a ghost, or Dracula.
Bats have always had a connection with witches, and can have good or bad connotation, depending on the tradition. According to one, if a bat flies three times around a house, it is a death omen. Conversely, when bats come out early and fly about playfully, it is a sign of good weather to come.
Bees
If a bee enters your home, it's a sign that you will soon have a visitor. If you kill the bee, you will have bad luck, or the visitor will be unpleasant.
Bees have often been regarded as wise and even holy insects, having foreknowledge as well as knowledge of many secret matters. In antiquity they were sometimes divine messengers, and their constant humming was believed to be a hymn of praise. Because of their status it is still considered unlucky in some places to kill a bee. If a bee flies into the house it is a sign of great good luck, or of the arrival of a stranger; however, the luck will only hold if the bee is allowed to either stay or to fly out of the house of its own accord. A bee landing on someone's hand is believed to foretell money to come, while if the bee settles on someone's head it means that person will rise to greatness. They were once considered to deliberately sting those who swore in front of them, and also to attack an adulterer or unchaste person; it was once held to be a sure sign that a girl was a virgin if she could walk through a swarm of bees without being stung.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
There is believed to be a very strong link between bees and their keepers; bees cannot prosper in an atmosphere of anger or hatred, and will either pine away and die, or fly away. There is still a common belief that bees should be told about deaths that occur in the beekeeper's family; in past times this was extended to include every birth, marriage or other notable event in the life of the family. It was especially important to inform the bees of the death of their owner; traditionally this was done by the eldest son or widow of the owner, who would strike each hive three times with the door key and say 'The master is dead!'. If the procedure was not followed, the bees would die or fly away. In many districts the hives were put into mourning by having black crepe draped around them, and at the funeral feast sugar or small amounts of the food eaten by the mourners were brought out for the bees.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
An old country tradition states that bees should not be purchased for money, as bought bees will never prosper. It is acceptable to barter goods of the same value in exchange for bees, and in some districts gold was an acceptable form of payment. A borrowed swarm or one given freely is more likely to do well; a stock of bees was often started from a borrowed swarm on the understanding that it would be returned if the giver was ever in need of it.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Bee-stings were once thought to prevent rheumatism, and in some places a bee-sting was also thought to cure it.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Birds
A bird that flies into a house, foretells an important message.
The white bird foretells death.
A bird call from the north means tragedy; from the south is good for crops; from the west is good luck; from the east, good love.
"An old friend I met in college was from Ireland... She told me that it is a superstition there that if a bird poops on your car, it is good luck. I think I heard that somewhere else too."
Source: Suzanne896, Dog Hause Visitor
"I heard that if you have bird droppings land on your head it is good luck."
Source: Christopher Husenitza, Dog Hause Visitor
Butterfly
If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, you will have good luck all year.
Calf
If the first calf born during the winter is white, the winter will be a bad one.
Source: Icelandic Folktales
Cat
A Norse legend tells of the chariot of Freya, the witch, that was pulled by black cats that became black horses. They were exceedingly swift and surely possessed by the Devil. After serving Freya for seven years, the cats were rewarded by being turned into witches, disguised as black cats. This seems to have led to the belief in the Middle Ages that black cats were familiars of witches, and after seven years, became witches themselves. They believed if a black cat crossed your path, Satan was taking notice of you.
Butter your cat's feet when you move to keep it from running away from the new house.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
If a cat crosses or jumps over the coffin, the dead person's spirit will return as a ghost.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
A black cat is lucky or unlucky, depending on where you live.
Cats were sacred to the goddess, Isis in Egyptian mythology.
Bast or Pasht, the daughter of Isis, was represented with the face of a cat. Anyone who killed a cat was put to death.
Archaeologists in Egypt found cat cemeteries from which a shipment of embalmed cats was taken to England. In Egypt it was believed that a black cat crossing one's path brought good luck.
In East Anglia, England, they used to mummify cats and place them in the walls of their homes to ward off evil spirits.
If a black cat walks towards you, it brings good fortune, but if it walks away, it takes the good luck with it.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Keep cats away from babies because they "suck the breath" of the child.
Source: Old Wives Tales
A cat onboard a ship is considered to bring luck.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Cattle
Cattle were highly regarded by the Celts, being the most important animal for their sustenance and welfare and also a basis for wealth and prestige. They were also believed to have close ties with their human owners and to be aware of human activities and festivals. In some areas it is thought that cattle should be informed of any deaths in their owners' household, or the cows, sensing that something was wrong, would sicken and probably die. During mediaeval times the superstition arose that cattle would kneel at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve; in some parts of Europe they were also believed to gain the ability to speak on this night, although it was considered dangerous for any human to hear their speech as misfortune would befall anyone who overheard them.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
There are many English, Irish and Welsh tales of fairy cows who gave never-ending milk until their generosity was abused by some greedy human, causing a loss of the cow or her powers. A Lancashire tale tells of a dun cow that appeared during a famine to save the people with her unending milk supply, until one person tried to get more than her fair share by milking the cow through a sieve, leading to the cow's death from exhaustion and sorrow at the trick. Fairy cattle could be dun or red but were more usually white with red ears.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
It was once considered unlucky if an offer were made to purchase cattle which were not for sale, leading to their illness and perhaps death. In some districts it was also considered unlucky to strike cattle with human hands; a stick should be used to drive them from place to place, and should be thrown away once the destination was reached. Cattle who stand close together in low ground, and feed hard together, are said to be foretelling rain, but if they stand on high ground the weather will be fair.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Cattle diseases were often attributed to the machinations of fairies, elves or witches, and many charms were used to fend off these magical attacks. Horseshoes or holed stones hung above the door of the byre, or crosses made of rowan wood fixed over cattle-stalls, were believed to ward off evil influences. In the sixteenth century wax from a Paschal Candle would be moulded into a special candle, and wax from it dripped between the ears and horns of the beasts; the remaining wax was then set over the main door, or on the threshold, so that all the cattle had to pass the spot. Written charms were also obtained from local wise-women or cunning-men to ward off evil, and concealed in the roof or under the floorboards.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
It was traditional to drive cattle over the embers of the Beltane and Midsummer fires, as a magickal protection against cattle plague and other dieases. As recently as the nineteenth century, some farmers would sacrifice one healthy calf or cow (sometimes burying it under the threshold of the byre with feet pointing upwards) as a symbolic sacrifice that the herd might be spared from cattle plague.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Cows
If a plow kills a daddy long legs the cows will go dry
If you see nine cows in a shed with a gray bull next to the door, and all of them lie on the same side, you are in luck, because you will be granted one wish.
Source: Icelandic Folktales
Cricket
A cricket is a lucky house spirit that takes it's luck away when it leaves.
A cricket can tell of oncoming rain, death, and x-lovers.
It's bad luck to kill a cricket.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Crow
One's bad,
Two's luck,
Three's health,
Four's wealth,
Five's sickness,
Six is death.
Daddy Long Legs
If a plow kills a daddy long legs the cows will go dry.
"When I was a kid on a farm in Ohio, somewhere we were told when we picked up a Daddy Long Legs to ask it "Where are the cows?" and it would point (with it's feelers) in the direction of the cows. I remember thinking this usually worked!"
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Alicia Ann Walls
If you kill a daddy long legs, there'll be rain soon.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Dogs
Greeks thought dogs could foresee evil.
"Usually superstitions about dogs are somewhat ominous. But here's one my grandmother believed--if you have your new-born baby licked by a dog, your baby will be a quick healer. We all believe this because I was not licked, and I'm a slow healer and my brother, who was licked, is a quick healer--go figure."
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Lyn Taliaferro
Howling dogs mean the wind god has summoned death, and the spirits of the dead will be taken.
A dog eating grass - rain
Source: oldsuperstitions.com
A howling dog at night means bad luck or somebody close to you will be very sick or worse.
According to Matt Groening, a dog with seven toes can see ghosts.
When a dog is staring intently, at nothing, for no apparent reason, look between the dog's ears and you'll see a ghost.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Dogs have always been credited with the power of sensing supernatural influences, and seeing ghosts, spirits, faeries or deities which are invisible to human eyes. In Wales only dogs could see the death-bringing hounds of Annwn; in ancient Greece the dogs were aware when Hecate was at a crossroads foretelling a death. Dogs are believed to be aware of the presence of ghosts, and their barking, whimpering or howling is often the first warning of supernatural occurrances.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
There are many instances of black dog ghosts which are said to haunt lanes, bridges, crossroads, footpaths and gates, particularly in Suffolk, Norfolk and the Isle of Man. Some black dogs are said to be unquiet ghosts of wicked souls, but others are friendly guides and protectors to travellers; the Barguest of northern England could also appear as a pig or a goat, but was most commonly a huge black dog with large eyes and feet which left no prints. Packs of ghostly hounds have also been recorded all over Britain, often heard howling as they pass by on stormy nights rather than actually seen; these hounds generally foretell death, or at least disaster, if they are seen and the proper action is to drop face-down onto the ground to avoid spotting them.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
When a dog howls in an otherwise silent night, it is said to be an omen of death, or at least of misfortune. A howling dog outside the house of a sick person was once thought to be an omen that they would die, especially if the dog was driven away and returned to howl again. A dog which gives a single howl, or three howls, and then falls silent is said to be marking a death that has just occurred nearby.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Dogs were feared as possible carriers of rabies; sometimes even a healthy dog was killed if it had bitten someone, because of the belief that if the dog later developed rabies, even many years afterwards, the bitten person would also be afflicted. Remedies for the bite of a mad dog often included the patient being forced to eat a part of the dog in question, such as its hairs or a piece of its cooked liver. Dogs were also used to cure other illnesses; one old charm which was often used for childrens' illnesses was to take some of the patient's hairs and feed them to a dog inbetween slices of bread and butter; the ailment was believed to transfer to the animal, healing the patient.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
In Scotland, a strange dog coming to the house means a new friendship; in England, to meet a spotted or black and white dog on your way to a business appointment is lucky. Three white dogs seen together are considered lucky in some areas; black dogs are generally considered unlucky, especially if they cross a traveller's path or follow someone and refuse to be driven away. Fishermen traditionally regard dogs as unlucky and will not take one out in a boat, or mention the word 'dog' whilst at sea.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Dog Hause visitor Tom (from Sioux Falls) says: "Just thought I would add to your animal superstitions with one I learned from a elder South Dakota Lakota Sioux Indian was that if a member of the tribe would get sick they would lay with a dog and the sickness would transfer from the tribal member into the dog. On some of the reservations, among the elders, this practice is still taking place." Thanks Tom!
Donkeys
Christian tradition stated that donkeys originally had unmarked hides, and that it was only after Christ's entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey that they recieved the dark cross on their backs. The hairs from the cross were widely believed to cure a number of ailments, and were often worn in a charm around the neck to guard against whooping-cough, toothache, fits, and to ease teething pains in babies. Sometimes the hairs were eaten in a sandwich instead. Riding a donkey was also believed effacious, especially if the rider faced the donkey's tail end, and was sometimes used as a preventative for toothache, measles and other children's complaints. One cure for whooping-cough and ague stated that the patient should be passed under a donkey and over its back either three or nine times; the trick of feeding an animal some of the patient's hair to transfer the illness was also used with donkeys. The donkey was also used to help cure the complaints of other animals; letting a black donkey run with mares in a field was thought to stop the mares miscarrying.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
An old saying claims that no-one ever sees a dead donkey; however, there is also a tradition that to see a dead donkey means great good fortune, and even as recently as this century it was considered a good-luck charm to leap over the carcass of a dead donkey three times.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Elephants
In Siam, white elephants were rare and not made to work for their upkeep, so a White Elephant is an item that is a non profit expense. Considering the value of space in our homes, items kept as memorabilia could be considered White Elephants.
Fish
Throw back the first fish you catch then you'll be lucky the whole day fishing.
It's bad luck to get married when the fish aren't biting, according to the custom of some fisherfolk.
A fish should always be eaten from the head toward the tail.
Dream of fish: someone you know is pregnant.
If you count the number of fish you caught, you will catch no more that day.
It's bad luck to say the word "pig" while fishing at sea.
Frogs
Frogs, like toads, were once thought to have peculiar properties, and were frequently used in healing charms, and in others of a slightly less innocent nature.
A well known country cure for thrush was to hold a live frog with its head in the patient's mouth. As it breathed, so it drew the disease away and into itself. Warts could also be cured by rubbing a frog across them.
The dried body of a frog worn in a silk bag around the neck averted epilepsy and other fits. Frogs were also used in love-magic. In one tale, a girl, whose lover was untrue stuck pins all over a living frog and then buried it. The young man suffered extreme pains and eventually returned to her. She dug up the frog and removed the pins, after which the pains ceased. The man, perhaps rather unwisely, married her.
A frog brings good luck to the house it enters.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Hens
A hen which crows is considered to be unlucky, as is a hen with tail-feathers like those of a rooster; previously these birds would be killed on most farms. Hens which roost in the morning are said to be foretelling a death, usually that of the farmer or someone in his household. A hen which enters the house is an omen that a visitor will arrive, and this is also the case if a rooster crows near the door or comes inside.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Hornets
If the hornets build their nests high in trees during the summer, it will be a bad winter. If they build their nests low in bushes, it will be an easy winter.
Source: Dog Hause Visitor Martha Conolley (heard in West Virginia)
Horses
A white horse could warn of danger, and lived longer than a dark horse, so was considered a living amulet against early death.
Spotted horses are magical.
Grey horses and horses with four white socks are unlucky.
Horses have been sacred animals in Indo_European cultures from very early times, and it is easy to see why; their great importance in farming, travel and warfare would make them extraordinarily important. The Celtic goddess Epona presided over horses, and the Norse Odin was said to ride through the heavens on an eight-footed white horse. Horses were used as valuable sacrifices by many ancient peoples, including the Romans, and their bones were concealed in the walls of houses, or horse skulls placed on the gables of houses, as a protection.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Inhaling a horses breath - cure for whooping cough
Source: oldsuperstitions.com
In some places it is lucky to meet a white horse; in others, unlucky; either way, tradition states that upon meeting a white horse one should spit and make a wish, or cross one's fingers until a dog is seen. In many places it is lucky to lead a horse through the house; this belief may stem from the association of horses with fertility and crops, which has lasted in form of hobby-horses which were originally part of Beltane (May Day) revels.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
It was once thought that whooping-cough could be cured by going to the stables and inhaling the breath of a horse; being breathed upon by a piebald horse, or riding upon its back, was another supposed cure. Horse-hairs, chopped very finely and fed to a child in bread and butter, were thought to be a certain cure for worms, and the horse-spurs (callouses which appear on the sides of a horse's leg) were believed in the eighteenth century to be a cure for cancer if dried, ground and drunk frequently with new milk.
Source: Vanessa's Pagan Place Folklore Page
Horseshoes
A circular ring made from an iron horseshoe nail gives the same protection against evil as the horseshoe itself. The horseshoe or crescent moon shape was seen as a sign of good fortune and fertility. One legend says that the Devil called on St. Dunstan, who was skilled in shoeing horses. St. Dunstan recognized him and fastened him to a wall. He then set to work with such roughness that the Devil roared for mercy. St Dunstan turned the Devil loose after making him promise never to enter a home on which a horseshoe was fixed. Witches fear horses, so they are also turned away by a door with a horseshoe mounted on it, The horseshoe must be hung with the points up to keep the luck from spilling out.
Horseshoes are considered lucky for their healing powers (cures hiccups) and for their protective influence (specifically against witches). It resembles the crescent moon and is thought to protect against the evil eye. Similar-shaped charms were used among the Chaldeans and the Egyptians. Related to animal worship, it approaches the form of a serpent biting its own tail-a universal symbol of eternity. There is a time-honored belief in the magical power of iron. Blacksmiths were often identified as sorcerers and the efficacy of fire as a bane to demons supported this idea.
A horseshoe, hung above the doorway, will bring good luck to a home. In most of Europe protective horseshoes are placed in a downward facing position, but in some parts of Ireland and Britain people believe that the shoes must be turned upward or "the luck will run out."
Source: Old Wives Tales
A horseshoe hung in the bedroom will keep nightmares away.
Source: Old Wives Tales
Jaybirds
Jaybirds go down to the devil's house on Fridays to tell all the bad things that have happened during the week. Jaybirds who remain on Friday are checking up on what people are doing.