The Stob

If you promise something, I think it's best to "keep your word", as much as possible.  I'm not defining the concept in a moral way, but in a "spiritual" way.  I.e., if you have told someone you will give them a "ride" to the doctor, find some information for them, bring them something, etc.;  then you must do it and try your best to fulfill your word.  There are a few reasons why I believe this idea.  It has been said/ written about that spirits (i.e. Ghosts, 'The Mighty Dead', 'Seelige Leute', The Good Folk (Fairies), find humans fickle.  So, one might acquire merit to the ancestors when one speaks "true".  "Common/Vulgar" speech is a problem, as you are constantly damning this one, cursing this one, using "foul language".  So by "cursing" or constantly speaking ill of others, you have lost the perception and power of actually "cursing" someone who has threatened Life, Limb, and Fa...

Banned from the Bible Part II

Banned from the Bible...Books for some reason or another, that were left out?

La Cheville -The Peg (Stob) was considered to be one of the tools of Norman (Norman- Northern French Shepherds).  Les Bergers (Shepherds) were viewed as magicians, apparently based on folklore.  Different wood stakes carried certain natural potencies and were said to be used by some Bergers (Jesus was a figurative Shepherd and carpenter). 

If it rains before and during a funeral, the deceased has ascended to heaven.  (Anglo-Irish American belief).  If it is sunny during a funeral, the deceased has ascended to heaven. (African-American belief).  I point out that both are Folk-Christianity, as the Bible speaks of 'sleep' before the Resurrection.  I surmise, the opposite African-American belief has it's roots in antinomian ("outlaw", being correct in my opinion) beliefs formed during slavery.  Opposition has it's power.

Today, I was surprised by some old lore I hadn't heard since the 1980's.  I was in the convenience store and we were discussing the weather.  The woman, next in line said, "it's sunny and raining, so the Devil is beating his old lady."  A bit of old East Tennessee, English (or German or Irish?) misogynistic 19th century folklore, which I never expected to hear again in the 21st. Surprising.  Once the Devil, was thought of as the power of air (Biblical).  In the old South, and England, the Devil and Giants were said to have 'Castles' in the air (i.e. Jack the Giant Killer).  Lightning, was considered a force of God or the Devil, equally, since the Medieval Period.  Therefore, a lightning struck tree was the special repository of 'magia/mantic power', in the South the burned/blackened portion was considered a charm to scare away thieves.  A lightning struck tree could be a special meeting place for Witches ( American Ch...

My neighbor, who is Welsh-American (Evans), has told me that older family members (1890's to 1950's?) once used Carbide, from a miner's headlamp (C2H2) for tooth abscess.  Obviously, the pain and danger were extreme, but it seemed to work for people who had no access to dentistry or funds to pay for dentistry.  The nerves were literally, burned out (over-excited and deadened) from the "cure".  People were made of stronger 'stuff' back then, apparently!