Taradh

From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project

The Taradh is the Scottish name for the fetch and is the ghostly double or shade of a living person.

When a person strongly wishes to be anywhere, as for instance when a person on a journey at night wishes to be at home, his footsteps coming to the house, or the sounds of his lifting the door latch are heard, or a glimpse of his appearance is seen, at the time of his conceiving or expressing the wish, and even withoutany wish being present to the absent person's mind, sights or sounds indicative of his coming may be seen or heard. This previous intimation is called his taradh and his double or shade, which is the cause of it, his taradh.

These mysterious intelligences are also called manadh nan daoine bko, "the omens of living men."The taradh may be that of a complete stranger, who is not thinking of, and perhaps does not even know the place to which his taradh has come. It was the Taradh who is seen in Samhuinn rite by the maidenwho desired to see the image of her future husband.