Taboo

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

At its most basic, a taboo (or sometimes tabu) is a prohibited or forbidden practice or behaviour, which separates or sets the thing apart as sacred. However, such things are sometimes only taboo for general use or occasions, and thus the action may become acceptable during non-mundane occasions and for non-mundane use.

In the Irish and Scottish myths a taboo is referred to as a geas (the plural being geasa). Such taboos may originate from many sources, the most popularly understood being those of a cultural nature. However, there are also magical prohibitions, and these most often arise from conditions set at birth, from offices held, and from treasures won; these taboos relate to one's fate.

There are also certain actions that are prohibited by the spirits of certain places, plants, stones, and so forth. For example, it is tabu to expose the roots of some plants to sunlight, it is tabu to take some woods without first making the correct greeting, it is taboo to pluck some stones from the earth without first performing certain libations; to break these is to disrespect the sacredness of the spirit. Many of these taboos relate to the predilections of the Fair Folk, who are greatly offended when their taboos are broken. Indeed, in all taboos, to break them is to meet one's doom, that is to say in flouting prohibited actions, judgement is brought to bear. Magic may also be used to set taboos in place, and thereby place people, places, flora & fauna and actions under the ban.

The word taboo came to Britain via Captain James Cook, who discovered it in use amongst the Polynesians as a word for a prohibited behaviour or practice.