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Page 36
To meet a sow the first thing in the morning boded bad luck for the day.
If a male cat came into the house and shewed itself friendly to any one,
it was a lucky omen for that person.
To meet a piebald horse was lucky. If two such horses were met apart,
the one after the other, and if then the person who met them were to
spit three times, and express any reasonable wish, it would be granted
within three days.
If a stray dog followed any person on the street, without having been
enticed, it was lucky, and success was certain to attend the errand on
which the person was engaged.
CHAPTER IX.
_SUPERSTITIONS CONCERNING PLANTS._
Superstitions connected with plants were more numerous than those
connected with animals. We have already noticed widespread prevalence of
tree worship in early times. The Bible is full of evidence bearing upon
this point, from the earliest period of Jewish history until the time of
the captivity. Even concerning those Kings of Judah and Israel who are
recorded to have walked in the ways of their father David, it is
frequently remarked of them that they did not remove or hew down the
_groves_, but permitted them to remain a snare to the people. In several
instances the word translated grove cannot properly be applicable to a
grove of trees, but must signify something much smaller, for it is in
these instances described as being located in the temple. It can
therefore refer only to a tree or stump of a tree, or it may be only the
symbol of a tree. The story of the tree of good and evil, and the tree
of life, has been the origin of many superstitious notions regarding
trees. The notion that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was an
apple tree, caused the apple to have a great many mystic meanings, and
gave it a prominent place in many legends, and also brought it into
prominence as a divining medium. In many parts of Scotland the apple was
believed to have great influence in love affairs. If an apple seed were
shot between the fingers it was understood that it would, by the
direction of its flight, indicate the direction from which that person's
future partner in life would come. If a couple took an apple on St.
John's eve and cut it in two, and if the seeds on each half were found
to be equal in number, this was a token that these two would be soon
united in marriage; or if the halves contained an unequal number of
seeds, the one who possessed the half with the greater number would be
married first. If a seed were cut in two, it denoted trouble to the
party holding the larger portion of the seed. If two seeds were cut, it
denoted early death or widowhood to one of the parties. If the apple
were sour or sweet, the flavour indicated the temper of the parties.
There was a practice common among young people of peeling an apple in an
unbroken peel, and throwing the peeled skin over the right shoulder in
order to ascertain from the manner in which it fell, first, whether the
person who threw it would be married soon, and second, the trade or
profession of the person to whom they would be married. If the skin
after being thrown remained unbroken, they would be married soon, and
the person to whom they would be married was ascertained from the form
which the fallen skin presented; this form might assume the shape of a
letter, in that case it was the initial letter of the unknown parties
name, or it might assume the form of some trade tool, &c. Imagination
had free scope here. The apple tree itself was considered a lucky tree
to have near a house, but its principal virtue lay in the fruit.
_Holly_. This name is probably a corruption of the word holy, as this
plant has been used from time immemorial as a protection against evil
influence. It was hung round, or planted near houses, as a protection
against lightning. Its common use at Christmas is apparently the
survival of an ancient Roman custom, occurring during the festival to
Saturn, to which god the holly was dedicated. While the Romans were
holding this feast, which occurred about the time of the winter
solstice, they decked the outsides of their houses with holly; at the
same time the Christians were quietly celebrating the birth of Christ,
and to avoid detection they outwardly followed the custom of their
heathen neighbours, and decked their houses with holly also. In this way
the holly came to be connected with our Christmas customs. (See chapter
on Festivals.) This plant was also regarded as a symbol of the
resurrection. The use of mistletoe along with holly is probably due to
the notion that in winter the fairies took shelter under its leaves, and
that they protected all who sheltered the plant. The origin of kissing
under the mistletoe is considered to have come from our Saxon ancestors,
who regarded this plant as dedicated to _Friga_, the goddess of love.
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