The mysteries and secrets of magic / by C.J.S. Thompson.

  • Charles Thompson
Date:
1928
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: The mysteries and secrets of magic / by C.J.S. Thompson. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    might be invoked. They also consulted its phases on all important occasions. They generally accompanied the armies in time of war and claimed to be able to heal the wounded by magical power on the battlefield. They were said to be able to make themselves invisible at will and assume any shape. The prieStesses of Sena took the form of birds, and the “ Children of Ler ” became swans through the arts of their Stepmother, the daughter of the god Bodb Derg. They appear to have praftised hypnotism, as it is said they could cc make persons motionless, and cause them to reveal secrets ” when in that State. They also claimed to be able to induce a magical sleep by means of music from Dagdas’ harp, which first caused mirth, then tears and afterwards sleep. They also produced sleep by means of a draught they concofted called the “ drink of oblivion,” which they probably made from some narcotic herbs with which they were doubtless familiar. To cause a man or woman to waste away and die, they modelled a figure of the person and Stuck pins or thorns into it or placed it in running water. The practice of making an image called the “ corp creadh,” for this purpose, survived in Ireland for centuries afterwards. Stones took a prominent part in the rites of the Druids, and their magical Stones were believed to have the power of producing wind or rain ; while certain pebbles when dipped in water were supposed to have curative properties in the case of men and animals. All the details of ritual, the chanting of Runes, the prayers and the offering of sacrifices, were carried out
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