> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Rik NA <[log in to unmask]>
>
> > Probably an aside, but:
> >
> > Don' know about the divination side (although it is inferred from
> > salmon/acorn/Segais link in Irish mythology), but communication is
> evident
> > in Sequanna - Requests for healing, Bath - Requests for healing and
> > vengeance, Llyn Fawr and Llyn Cerrig Bach - Requests for help in the
> face
> of the Romans or another threat (perhaps), Coventina's Well - Cult
> worship,
> > Well of the Three Nymphs - localised deity worship.
> >
The folk tradition --which is, of course, Christian era--has
numerous customs in which water is used as a divinatory channel. For
example, scrying was done with a pool of water or a basin of water from a
well. Brenneman & Brenneman mention a woman who told them she went to a holy
well in conjunction with her wedding to find out whether her future would be
blessed or unhappy; she saw the golden trout who was said to live in the
well and be a sign of special blessing so she was happy. Perhaps one of the
clearest distinctions between healing request/action and divinatory ritual
is the nineteenth century description of a Manx custom: first one attached a
clootie to a well-side tree as a healing ritual. Then one tossed a coin or
button into the well as an offering and divinatory sign. Depending on how
the coin or button landed in the well, one could discern whether the patron
of the well had accepted the offering and would grant the healing request.
Francine Nicholson.
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