Witches and Devils

The Dorsetarian

Candlemas
Candlemas: The Festival of Light and Purification By Robert Newland The 2nd February has long been held in the Christian calendar as “The Feast Of Our Lady, The Blessed Virgin Mary” otherwise known as Candelora or Candlemas. It derived from the ceremony which the Church of Rome di...

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Ghosts and Hauntings
Ghosts and Things that go Bump in the Night by David Kingston The word Ghost is described in the Oxford dictionary as, "a person's spirit appearing after his or her death." But then what about the reports of horses galloping down the lanes on a dark night and other such apparitions? Why do ce...

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Skulls in Folklore
Skulls By Sabine Baring-Gould In medieval churches, castles, and mansions where there is a parapet rising from the wall and obscuring a portion of the roof, this parapet is supported at intervals by corbels, that usually represent heads of either men or beasts, very frequently grotesque. These ...

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Spectre Dogs
Spectre-Dogs by Edwin Sidney Hartland Neither Brand in his Popular Antiquities, nor Sir Walter Scott in his Witchcraft and Demonology, mentions spectre-dogs [1] as a peculiar class of apparitions, yet they seem to occupy a distinct branch of English mythology. They are su...

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Lammas Tide
Lammas Tide & Harvest Home: The Festival of the First Fruits By Robert Newland The 1st August is the ancient festival of Lammas Tide, which traditionally is the start of the harvest calendar: - A time of giving thanks to mother nature for all her fruits and reaping what has been sown.The ...

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Events

Hardys Night - Chapter & Verse
Friday 12th March 2010
Hardys Night-Chapter and Verse On the 13th February, a mock Skimmington Ride took place in South Street, Dorchester, to publicise “Har...

Bonny Sartins Smugglers Tal
Wednesday 24th March 2010
Bonny Sartins Smugglers Tales Wednesday 24th MarchThe Town Hall, East Street, BridportThis year's show by The Yetties front man will explore the...

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Witches and Devils

witch

• noun 1 a woman thought to have evil magic powers. 2 a follower or practitioner of modern witchcraft. 3 informal an ugly or unpleasant old woman.

— ORIGIN Old English.

devil

• noun 1 (the Devil) (in Christian and Jewish belief) the supreme spirit of evil. 2 an evil spirit; a demon.

— ORIGIN Greek diabolos ‘accuser, slanderer’.