The Burn Doctor

In my work in progress -- Under the Skin-- there's a scene with a 'witchy woman' back in 1887 healing a burn. I needed information on Appalachian folk medicine and Cavender's book is packed with it.

The book gives the following charm: "There came an angel from the east, bringing fire and frost. In frost, out fire. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."





I also checked with my friend Byron, a hereditary Appalachian witch, who gave me the charm she uses. Come three angels from the North, take both fire and frost.

I used Byron's shorter version in the scene I wrote. But what I found really interesting was this post from England clearly pointing to a pagan origin for the charm -- before it was 'sanitized' by the invocation of the Trinity. (You'll have to scroll through a bunch of interesting stuff about blackberries before you get to the charm.)

One English version is Three ladies came from the east. One with fire and two with frost. Out with fire, in with frost. The three ladies are said to be an invocation to Brigit, the Celtic goddess.

You can find these survivals in every culture -- where an older religion is supplanted by a newer -- but the deities of the old religion are transformed into devils or angels or saints -- there is a St. Brigit, isn't there?

Got My Mojo Working . . .

That's a horse shoe (well, actually probably a mule shoe) over the door -- for good luck. My grandparents had one over their back door and they insisted it had to be in the UP position 'to hold in the good luck.'

They never mentioned witches but my reading has revealed that the horseshoe, as used in the British Isles, was a charm to keep witches from entering your house at night. (Bad witches, it goes without saying -- not like my friend Byron, The Village Witch.)

It had to be a used horseshoe because the way the charm worked was that before the witch could pass under it, she had to retrace every step that shoe had taken. So the householder would take care to choose a very worn shoe to insure that the witch couldn't complete the task before sun up. After which, evidently, all bets were off and the witch would have to start over.

And then there's the witch bottle . . .

Unlike some of those in old times, this one is meant only for protection on the house. And only contains nails and pins.

Do I believe this stuff?

Not exactly . . . but I like keeping some of the old ways alive.