Love Divination:
Keep a sprig of rosemary and a sixpence under your pillow on Samhain night, and you'll dream of your future spouse.
Ever go bobbing for apples at a Halloween party? In England, everyone knows that the first girl to successfully retrieve an apple will be the first to marry!
In parts of England, it was believed that if a maiden carried a lantern to a well on Samhain night and held the light above the water, she would see the reflection of future husband.
The Spirit World:
People were often cautioned that if they heard footsteps behind them on the night of Samhain, they shouldn't turn back because it may be a spirit following them.
If you host a dumb supper and no one speaks, the spirits are far more likely to show up.
It was believed that ringing a bell on Samhain kept away evil spirits.
Burying animal bones in front of your house on the night of Samhain will keep evil away, according to some legends of eastern Europe.
Samhain is a good time of year to work on communicating with the spirit world.
Birds and Animals:
Black cats were once seen as bad luck.
One old folktale from Appalachia says that owls flew down on Samhain night to eat the souls of the dead.
If the bats come out early on Samhain night, and fly around, it means good weather is coming.
Some people believe that if you see a spider on Samhain, it harbors the spirit of a dead ancestor, watching you... so don't squash it!
By Patti Wigington
Paganism/Wicca Expert
Frogs and toads feature prominently in magical folklore in many societies. These amphibious critters are known for a variety of magical properties, from their ability to help predict the weather, to curing warts to bringing good luck. Let’s look at some of the best known superstitions, omens and folklore surrounding frogs and toads.
- In parts of Appalachia, it is believed that if you hear a frog croaking exactly at midnight, it means rain is on the way. However, in some societies it’s just the opposite - frogs croaking during the day indicate coming storms.
- There’s an old British legend that carrying a dried frog in a pouch around your neck will prevent epileptic seizures. In some rural areas, it’s just the frog’s liver that gets dried and worn.
- Live frogs appear in a number of folk cures. It is believed that putting a live frog in your mouth will cure thrush, and that swallowing live frogs - presumably small ones - can cure whooping cough and tuberculosis. Rubbing a live frog or toad on a wart will cure the wart, but only if you impale the frog on a tree and let him die.
- Some cultures believe that a frog coming into your house brings good luck - others say it’s bad luck - the Xhosa tribe says that a frog in your house might be carrying a spell or a curse. Either way, it’s usually considered a bad idea to kill a frog. The Maori people believe that killing a frog can bring floods and heavy rains, but some African tribes say that the death of a frog will bring drought.
- For the ancient Egyptians, the frog-headed goddess Hekt was a symbol of fertility and birth. If you wish to conceive, touch a frog. The association of the frog with fertility has its root in science - each year, when the Nile river flooded its banks, frogs were everywhere. The annual flooding of the delta meant rich soil and strong crops - so the croaking of millions of frogs may well have been an indicator that farmers would have an abundant season.
- Frogs have only been in Ireland for a few hundred years, since students from Trinity College released them into the wild. However, there are still some frog folktales in Ireland, including that you can tell the weather by the color of a frog.
- Ranidaphobia is the fear of frogs and toads.
- In the Christian Bible, a plague of frogs swarms over the land of Egypt - this was the Christian god’s way of showing dominance over the gods of ancient Egypt. In the Book of Exodus, the following verse details how frogs were sent to frighten the people of Egypt into rejecting their old gods: Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.”
In parts of England, it was believed that if a maiden carried a lantern to a well on Samhain night and held the light above the water, she would see the reflection of future husband.