Water
From Traditional Witchcraft Wiki Project
Water is a very special fluid, and is essential to human life. It has been speculated by linguists that the Proto Indo-European language had two root words for water, one of these being *ap, which refers to water as a living animate force. In folk belief water is believed to have a memory.
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Water As A Purifier And Ward
Water in many cultures is considered as purifying and cleansing, hence its use in washes, ablutions, lustrations and bathing. Indeed, baptism into water is a central sacrament of many faiths, representing a death to an old way of living and rebirth into a new life; some suggest that such a thing is depicted on the Gundestrup Cauldron (a large figure holding a man over a cauldron).
Water & Witches
Water, being pure and holy, was said to reject a witch, hence the old custom of throwing the bound witch into water to see if they would sink like a good christian or float like the godless; witches, being agents of the Devil would of course float!! Such would be a rejection of the person by the waters of baptism. Holy water, that is to say a mixture of salt and water blessed by a priest, was also believed to expel witches and their evil hoards, driving them back from wherever it was cast. Accordingly, such waters were used to ward witches from properties, and protect places, people and animals from harm, evil spirits, lightening, blight, infertility and so forth. Linked to this line of thought is the old folk belief that a witch, or their magic, couldn't cross running water; thus it is also said that those pursued by malicious spirits or fairies should cross running water.
Bodies Of Water
There are many bodies of water, some moving and some still, and each of these is believed to have its own peculiar qualities, which are further affected by their environment. Amongst such bodies are those where water comes up from below, such as wells and springs; those where water flows freely from one place to another, such as streams, rivers and waterfalls; and those contained bodies of water, such as ponds, dewponds, lakes and the sea. Other bodies of water include the rain, dew and those that collect in hollows in tree and [[stone], those that collect on leaves and those collecting in footprints (such are considered especially potent if it should be a hoof-print).
Gods And Spirits Of Water
Many bodies of water are believed to have attendant gods and patron spirits, sometimes linked with those of the faerie. Amongst these are those hungry river spirits who collect their tithe with every drowned victim, the mermaids and sirens on the rocks, the kelpie, Jenny Greenteeth, Shellycoat and so forth. Such spirits and gods are often petitioned by those seeking aid from the waters, and libation is often first given (such as the coin thrown in the wishing well).
Water & Philtres
Water is a basic medium of many philtres, and may be used to extract the various virtues of plants through dissolving, decoction and infusion. The waters should be carefully chosen depending upon the type of potion being compounded.
See also the flood.
