The Witch Pits - fertility rituals

Strange, but interesting findings. Archaeologists have found a dozen shallow rectangular holes near the hamlet of Saveock, which is near Truro - Cornwall, UK. It seems these particular holes were made by a secret coven of Cornish witches; a group formed in the mid XVII century (1640s to be more precise). Archaeologists dug pits lined with animal skins, bird carcasses and feathers. These archaeological findings go as recently as the 1970s. Such findings seemed to have been part of a fertility ritual, as it was revealed by the archaeologists.

The more recent hole dug with still fresh archaeological deposits, contained animals bones wrapped in a synthetic twine only used in Cornwall since the late 1970s, which indicates that the people who made it (and made such rituals) are likely to still be alive.

The earliest "witch pit" dates back to the 1640s and is lined with a slaughtered swan turned inside-out, claws from other birds and a small pile of stones were also a part of the finding. This particular finding in this specific pit is quite interesting, even though being a bit grotesque. It so happens that in ancient folklore shared by many European cultures, the swan was a symbol of fertility and new life. This may indicate that the rituals held were linked to fertility, and quite possible to help the people who did this, or close relatives, to get pregnant. It is believed that the items found in such pits may have been offerings to St Brigid of Kildare in Ireland, which is the patron saint of newborn babies.

Other pits were lined with the skins of animals like cats and dogs, and many have large numbers of birds' eggs buried as the chicks were about to hatch. Quite remarkably are the piles of pebbles often found in such pits, and these small and round stones can only be found at swanpool beach, which is near Falmouth, 15 miles or so away from these archaeological findings.

Every pit is very different but also remarkably similar. The items involved are always fur and feather, as well as birds' eggs in most cases with this peculiarity - the chicks in every egg were ready to be born, so it wasn't just any egg picked at random. Some pits also contained bones and the heads of goats and/or pigs.

The Hell Hound of Suffolk

In the ruins of Leiston Abbey, in Suffolk - England, archaeologists discovered the skeleton of a huge, massive canine-like creature that would have stood seven feet tall on its hind legs. There was a legend in these parts which spoke of a hellhound named Black Shuck. The creature with flaming red eyes and a rugged black coat, used to terrorize the villagers of that area, and the remains of the creature found by the archaeologists are precisely near the area of the legend.

The name Shuck derives from the Old English word scucca, which means a "demon". The creature is one of the many ghostly black dogs recorded across the British Isles.  Its alleged appearance during a storm on the 4th of August, 1577 at the Holy Trinity Church, Blythburgh, is a very famous account of the creature, in which legend says that thunder caused the doors of the church to burst open and the snarling beast crashed in and ran through the congregation, killing a man and a boy before it fled when the steeple collapsed.

The remains of the massive canine creature which was found in the dig site, which is estimated to have weighed 200 pounds, were found just a few miles from the two churches where Black Shuck killed the worshippers. It appears to have been buried in a shallow grave at precisely the same time as Shuck is said to have been on the loose, primarily around Suffolk and the East Anglia region.

Radio carbon dating tests will be carried out to give an exact age for the bones. There is still no proof that these remains belong to a legendary creature, maybe it was probably a huge hunting dog. Regardless of the outcome, it is unlikely to change the iconography of the local area, which relies on stories of Black Shuck to attract curious visitors and tourists.

William the Conqueror

On the 3rd of July of the year 1035, William the Conqueror became the Duke of Normandy. 

William the I, usually known as William the Conqueror was the very first Norman King of England, and his reign went from the year 1066 to his death in 1087. He was a descendant of the Vikings who raided northern France and Settled there, becoming the Normans. William had been duke of Normandy since 1035 under the name of William II. After a long struggle to establish his power, by 1060 his hold on Normandy was secure, and he launched the Norman conquest of England in 1066. William built a large fleet and invaded England, decisively defeating and killing the powerful English Earl, Harold Godwinson. After further military efforts William was crowned king on the Christmas Day of 1066, in London. Several unsuccessful rebellions followed, but by 1075 William's hold in England was secure, allowing him to spend the majority of the rest of his reign in the continent. The conquest of William had a profound impact in England, such as changes in the Church, aristocracy, culture and of course, the language of the country persisted into modern times.

King Frost Day - Curiosity

King Frost Day was celebrated in England, to be more accurate, in London at the 4th of February. The people of London along the River Thames used to celebrate this event between the 15th century to the early years of the 19th century. The temperatures were lower than they are now and the river was much wider, so during this period the river was completely frozen for two months, people would easily walk from one side of the river to the other. This was a day of fun and merriment, all kinds of games where made on top of the frozen River Thames, sliding with skeetes, races with horses or on foot, singing, making all kinds of snow sculptures, people would even cook and mount fairs in the place, well.. you can imagine all kinds of funny things you can make on top of frozen water. People called this day, King frost day in honor to the shadowy sovereign of winter, and this has a much older tradition associated with the trickster spirit of winter who can be a friendly and a fierce enemy at the same time, symbolizing both the beauty of winter and its harsh deadly coldness, a figure often called Jack Forst, a very familiar character portrayed as friendly, but he can also be wrathful when he dislikes something, he can even kill. This figure has its roots in the deep Anglo-Saxon traditions and also the Viking Traditions, telling us about a god called Jokul Frosti or Icicle Frost, commonly known as Old Man Winter in European Paganism, the historical ancesor of Father Christmas or Santa Claus.

Just a tiny curiosity for this day, something most people forgot in time. Another evidencia which shows us that most of our festivities which became so common in our lifes, came from much older pagan traditions.

Mythology around Runes: Ehwaz

Ehwaz

Mythology:

The most obvious mythological link with Ehwaz is Sleipnir, the steed of Odin, which was said to have eight legs reminiscent of the runic symbolism of eight hooves pounding the ground. However, there is a semi-legendary link to be found in early English History. The first Anglo-Saxons to come to England during the reign of King Vortigern were called Hengist and Horsa. These names mean "stallion" and "horse" respectively. To this day, the symbol of the English country of Kent, the Landing place of Hengist and Horsa, is still a white horse. Thissymbol is seen on a vast scale in southern England as well, where the equine form has been cut into chalk hillsides. It is also interesting to note that England itself may take its name from a horse god named Ing, who was considered to be an aspect of fertility god Frey. It is therefore likely that when Hengist and Horsa landed on the shore of England, a land that was unknown to them, they bore a banner that was emblazoned with the rune Ehwaz.

Mythology around runes: Raido

Mythology:
The most obvious mythological connection with the rune Raido is Odin's famous horse, Sleipnir, a fabulous steed with eight legs, which could carry his master to all of the nice worlds of creation. However, tradition states that the rune is intimately connected with an obscure Teutonic fertility God called Ing, Who may well have been imagined as a powerful stallion. Ing was a god of great importance to the early Anglo- Saxons. When they first came to the shore of Britain during the 5th and 6th centuries AD, they bore the banner of the white stallion, which remains the emblem of the country of Kent, in southern England, to this day. It is likely that ing would have been completely forgotten by now were it not for the fact that the country of England owes its very name to Him.

Note: This was scheduled to this day.