Debbie Gallagher
Pagans pronounce it ‘Sow-ayne,’ but we know it better as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween – and it’s tomorrow!
There are more spooky traditions connected to this time of year than any other. Far away and long ago Halloween was considered the prime time for magic, especially love spells!
One famous love spell was to peel an apple’s skin in one long piece at midnight on Halloween, and throw the peel over the left shoulder. The peel would twist into the initial of one’s future lover! And if one had too many to choose from? Well, you would peel another apple and place a wet seed, named for each romantic option, on your cheeks, and the one to fall off last would be the next big deal in your love life!
One easy spell I recall was the old ‘When I my true love wish to see, I cross my shoes in the shape of a T!’ The idea was that you did this before going to bed, and sure enough you were meant to dream of your future lover.
Another tradition was for a lady to go to her mirror on Halloween light with a single candle lit. On the stroke of midnight the lady should start combing her hair or eating an apple… it was said that if her focus was strong enough, a reflection of her future husband would be seen in the mirror, but if she turned to face him, he would fade away, as would her chance of ever finding him.
Then there’s a fishier method…try a heavilly salted sardine before you go to sleep – an apparition of your future spouse was meant to turn up to quench your thirst!
So much hard work to see the future when all you need is a decent psychic! It’s that time when the veil between the worlds is very thin indeed, and if there is ever a specially favoured moment for a reading, this is it. Spells may be fun, but how many apples can anyone eat in an evening? And sardines? Tell you something, getting a reading from one of us on the show is probably easier, though it lacks the spook factor!
Here’s to Halloween! Woooooooh!
Copyright Debbie Gallagher 2009