Sheep
: BIRDS AND BEASTS.It was thought that the devil could assume any animal's form excepting
that of the sheep. This saying, however, is somewhat different from what
a farmer friend told me of black sheep. He said his father, and other
farmers as well, were in the habit of killing all their black lambs,
because they were of the same colour as the devil, and the owners were
afraid that Satan had entered, or would enter into them, and that
his knees on the ground and prayed, either before or after he had killed
the black lambs. It is a common saying that the black sheep is the
ringleader of all mischief in a flock of sheep. The expression, He is a
black sheep, as applied to a person, conveys the idea that he is a
worthless being, inclined to everything that is bad.
It is even now in country places thought to be a lucky omen if anyone
sees the head of the first spring lamb towards him. This foretells a
lucky and prosperous year to the person whose eyes are thus greeted.
More
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Pont-y-glyn Ghost
There is a picturesque glen between Corwen and Cerrig-y-Drudion, down which rushes a mountain stream, and over this stream is a bridge, called Pont-y-Glyn. On the left hand side, a few yards from the bridge, on the Corwen side, is a yawning chasm... Pullet's Egg Divination
Mr. J. Roberts, Plas Einion, Llanfair Dyffryn Clwyd, told me the following:--When he was a young man, he, his sister, and the servant man, formed a company to find out by divination their future life partners. They procured a pullet's egg, it was ... Putting Bees In Mourning
This is done after a death in a family, and the bees are put into mourning by tying a piece of black ribbon on a bit of wood, and inserting it into the hole at the top of the hive. ... Putting Hens To Sit
Placing the eggs in the nest for hens, geese, and ducks to sit on was considered an important undertaking. This was always done by the lucky member of the family. It was usual to put fowl to sit so as to get the chick out of the egg at the waxin... Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg Or The Ropes Of The Fairies
Professor Rhys, in his Welsh Fairy Tales--Y Cymmrodor vol. v., p. 75--says, that gossamer, which is generally called in North Wales edafedd gwawn, or gwawn yarn, used to be called, according to an informant, Rhaffau'r Tylwyth Teg, that is to say, ... Rhamanta Or Omen Seeking
Rhamanta was a kind of divination that could be resorted to without the intervention of any outside party, by anyone wishful to ascertain the future with reference to herself or himself. It differed, therefore, from the preceding tales of conjurors... Robin Redbreast
Ill luck is thought to follow the killer of dear Robin Redbreast, the children's winter friend. No one ever shoots Robin, nor do children rob its nest, nor throw stones at it. Bad luck to anyone who does so. The little bird with its wee body en... Rosemary Charm For Toothache
Llosg ei bren (Rhosmari) hyd oni bo yn lo du, ac yna dyro ef mewn cadach lliain cry, ac ira dy ddanedd ag ef; ac fo ladd y pryfed, ac a'u ceidw rhag pob clefyd.--Y Brython, p. 339. Burn a Rosemary bough until it becomes black, and then place it ... Satan And Bell Ringing
Durand, according to Bourne, in his Antiquities of the Common People, ed. 1725, p. 17, was of opinion that Devils were much afraid of bells, and fled away at the sound of them. Formerly, in all parts of Wales, the passing bell was tolled for the ... Satan And Churches
The traditional stories that are still extant respecting the determined opposition to the erection of certain churches in particular spots, and the removal of the materials during the night to some other site, where ultimately the new edifice was ... Satan Appearing As A Lovely Maiden
The following story I received from the Rev. Owen Jones, Pentrevoelas. As regards details it is a fragment. A young man who was walking from Dyserth to Rhyl was overtaken by a lovely young lady dressed in white. She invited conversation, and th... Satan Appearing In Many Forms To A Man Who Travelled On Sunday
I received the following tale from my deceased friend, the Rev. J. L. Davies, late Rector of Llangynog, near Llanfyllin, Montgomeryshire, and he obtained it from William Davies, the man who figures in the story. As a preface to the tale, it shou... Satan Appearing To A Collier
John Roberts of Colliers' Row, Cyfartha, Merthyr, was once going to Aberdare over the mountain. On the top of the hill he was met by a handsome gentleman, who wore a three-cocked hat, a red waistcoat, and a blue coat. The appearance of this well... Satan Appearing To A Young Man
A young man, who had left Pentrevoelas to live in a farm house called Hafod Elwy, had to go over the hills to Denbigh on business. He started very early, before the cock crew, and as it was winter, his journey over the bleak moorlands was dismal ... Satan Frightening A Man For Gathering Nuts On Sunday
The following tale was related to me by the Rev. W. E. Jones, rector of Bylchau, near Denbigh:-- Richard Roberts, Coederaill, Bylchau, when a young man, worked in Flintshire, and instead of going to a place of worship on Sunday he got into the ... Satan Outwitted
In the preceding tales the Evil One is depicted as an agent in the destruction of his own kingdom. He thus shows his obtuseness, or his subordination to a higher power. In the story that follows, he is outwitted by a Welshman. Many variants of ... Satan Playing Cards
A good many years ago I travelled from Pentrevoelas to Yspytty in company with Mr. Lloyd, the then vicar of the latter parish, who, when crossing over a bridge that spanned a foaming mountain torrent, called my attention to the spot, and related t... Satan Playing Cards At A Merry Meeting
It was formerly a general custom in Wales for young lads and lasses to meet and spend a pleasant evening together in various farmhouses. Many kinds of amusements, such as dancing, singing, and card playing, were resorted to, to while away the tim... Satan Playing Cards On Rhyd-y-cae Bridge_ _pentrevoelas
Gwas yn y Gilar a phen campwr ei oes am chwareu cardiau oedd Robert Llwyd Hari. Ond wrth fyn'd adre' o Rhydlydan, wedi bod yn chwareu yn nhy Modryb Ann y Green, ar ben y lou groes, daeth boneddwr i'w gyfarfod, ag aeth yn ymgom rhyngddynt. Gofyno... Satan Snatching A Man Up Into The Air
It would appear that poor Bob was doomed to a sad end. His last exploit is thus given:-- Wrth fyned adre o chware cardia, ar Bont Maesgwyn gwelai Robert Llwyd Hari gylch crwn o dan; bu agos iddo droi yn ol, cymerodd galon eilwaith gan gofio fo... Satan Taking Possession Of A Man Who Fished On Sunday
The following tale is in its main features still current in Cynwyd, a village about two miles from Corwen. The first reference to the story that I am acquainted with appeared in an essay sent in to a local Eisteddfod in 1863. The story is thus r... Sheep
It was thought that the devil could assume any animal's form excepting that of the sheep. This saying, however, is somewhat different from what a farmer friend told me of black sheep. He said his father, and other farmers as well, were in the ha... Snake Rings Or Glain Nadroedd
Mention is made in Camden of snake rings. Omitting certain remarks not connected with the matter directly, he writes:--In some parts of Wales we find it a common opinion of the vulgar that about Midsummer Eve (though in the time they do not all a... Spectral Funerals Or Drychiolaeth
This was a kind of shadowy funeral which foretold the real one. In South Wales it goes by the name toilu, toili, or y teulu (the family) anghladd, unburied; in Montgomeryshire it is called Drychiolaeth, spectre. I cannot do better than quote f... Spider
The long-legged spider, or, as it is generally called in Wales, the Tailor, is an object of cruel sport to children. They catch it, and then handle it roughly, saying the while:-- Old Harry long-leg Cannot say his prayers, Catch h... Spirit Laying
It must have been a consolation to those who believed in the power of wicked Spirits to trouble people, that it was possible to lay these evil visitors in a pool of water, or to drive them away to the Red Sea, or to some other distant part of the ... Spiritualism
The next subject I shall treat of is curious, and partakes of the nature of spiritualism. I hardly know by what other word to describe it, therefore I will give particulars, so as to make the matter intelligible to the reader, and call it Spiritu... Stolen Bees
It was believed that stolen bees would not make honey, and that the hive which had been stolen would die. ... Stopping Of A Clock
The unaccountable stopping of the kitchen clock generally created a consternation in a family, for it was supposed to foretell the death of one of the family. ... Stories Of Satan Ghosts Etc
Although Max Muller, in Chips from a German Workshop, vol. ii., p. 238, states that The Aryan nations had no Devil, this certainly cannot at present be affirmed of that branch of the Celtic race which inhabits Wales. In the Principality the Devil... Story Of A Man Who Spent Twelve Months In Fairyland
In Mathavarn, in the parish of Llanwrin, and the Cantrev of Cyveilioc, there is a wood which is called Ffridd yr Ywen (the Forest of the Yew); it is supposed to be so called because there is a yew tree growing in the very middle of it. In many pa... Swyno'r 'ryri (charming The Shingles)
The shingles is a skin disease, which encircles the body like a girdle, and the belief was that if it did so the patient died. However, there was a charm for procuring its removal, which was generally resorted to with success; but the last person... Tale Of A Corpse Candle
My informant told me that one John Roberts, Felin-y-Wig, was in the habit of sitting up a short time after his family had retired to rest to smoke a quiet pipe, and the last thing he usually did before retiring for the night was to take a peep int... Testing A Lover's Love By Cracking Of Nuts
This divination is common to many countries, but the writer knows that it is resorted to on All Hallows Eve in Denbighshire by young ladies, partly, it may be in fun, and partly in earnest. The plan of proceeding is as follows:--Nuts are placed o... The Apple Pip Trial Of Lovers
The fair lady takes as many pips as she has lovers, and these she places on the point of a knife, which she inserts between the bars of the fire grate. Each pip represents a lover, and the pip that swells out and jumps into the fire indicates tha... The Bee
The little busy bee has been from times of old an object of admiration and superstition. It is thought that they are sufficiently sensitive to feel a slight, and sufficiently vindictive to resent one, and as they are too valuable to be carelessly... The Bible And Key Divination
A key is taken, and placed on the 16th verse of the 1st chapter of Ruth:--And Ruth said, intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee; for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall... The Blind Worm Or Slow Worm
This reptile is a snake, varying from twelve to eighteen inches long. Its head is small, and its movements very rapid. At the slightest noise, it darts away in a moment, and hides among rocks, stones, or rank grass. It is said to have no eyes, bu... The Cambro-briton Version Of The Myddvai Legend
A man, who lived in the farm-house called Esgair-llaethdy, in the parish of Myddvai, in Carmarthenshire, having bought some lambs in a neighbouring fair, led them to graze near Llyn y Van Vach, on the Black Mountains. Whenever he visited the lamb... The Candle And Pin Divination
The process is as follows:--A couple of young women meet, and stick pins in a candle, and if the divination acts properly the last pin drops out of the candle at 12 o'clock at night, and then the future husband of the girl to whom that pin belongs... The Charms Performed With Rosemary
Rosemary dried in the sun and made into powder, tied in a cloth around the right arm, will make the sick well. The smoke of rosemary bark, sniffed, will, even if you are in gaol, release you. The leaves made into salve, placed on a wound, whe... The Cock
Caesar, Bk. v., c.12, tells us that the Celtic nation did not regard it lawful to eat the cock. It was thought that the devil assumed occasionally the form of a cock. It is said that at Llanfor, near Bala, the evil spirit was driven out of the ...