Bonjour from Brittany

At the turn of the 20thC, women anxious to obtain favourable winds for their sailor husbands would strike the cupules of Roc’h-en-Aud dolmen; a ritual that needed to be done alone at night and without being seen in order to be successful. #mythologymonday bonjourfrombrittany.wordpres…

Legend tells that the sound of the wind whistling between the stones of the world’s largest dolmen, La Roche-aux-Fées, are the lamentations of souls no longer visited by the fairies who built it and who disappeared with the demise of the forest. #MythologyMonday

A black cat with one white hair was considered most auspicious; any who could pull this hair without being scratched would receive great riches. One Breton belief warned against swallowing a cat hair as it could turn into a snake in and cause a most painful death. #FolkloreSunday

It was said that if one injured a toad, it would return at night to suffocate its attacker. The toad never forgot its enemy & could wait years before enacting its revenge; it even threw venom on the grave of the tormentor who died before it #FaustianFriday bonjourfrombrittany.wordpres…

Up until the 1920s, people would come from afar to buy the ashes of Motreff's midsummer bonfire whose miraculous properties were widely believed to help corn grow. It was also said to help make the best poultices for treating chest ailments! #FaustianFriday

If a Breton girl danced around 9 midsummer fires or found a vantage point that allowed her to see the flames of 9 fires at once, she would marry before next midsummer. But to swing a baby before the flames of 3 midsummer fires was to forever protect it from fear. #WyrdWednesday

Midsummer’s Day was believed to be the most auspicious occasion for gathering the plants that made the strongest love potion, namely: Marjoram, Myrtle, Thyme and Verbena. The dried leaves were ground to a powder and taken as a snuff. #FairyTaleTuesday bonjourfrombrittany.wordpres…

Many plants picked on Midsummer or on St John's Day were said to possess marvellous properties. Mugwort provided protection against disease & evil spirits; Chicory thwarted any evil spells cast against you; Fern spores allowed you to know hidden secrets. #FairyTaleTuesday

Tales tell of fairies marrying mortal men. In one, the object of a fairy’s affection was an old man who had been long baptized, the fairies baked him in an oven to reduce him to ashes before kneading him anew; a ritual that made the new husband young and handsome. #FolkloreSunday

Breton tales describe fairies as educated, wise & beautiful but some had teeth as long as a man’s hand & backs covered with seaweed and barnacles. The fairies of nearby Cotentin, were reputed very small with elongated breasts that they threw over their shoulders. #FolkloreSunday

So sad that the destruction of Brittany's ancient standing stones has not been consigned to the past! Two rows of 39 stones likely erected over 7,000 years ago have been destroyed just to extend a retail park at Montauban, Carnac! #StandingStoneSunday bonjourfrombrittany.wordpres…

This Neolithic menhir or standing stone on the small north coast island of Île Aval in Brittany is traditionally said to mark the spot where King Arthur lies buried; awaiting his re-awakening which will restore peace to the Celtic lands. #FaustianFriday

One charm to protect against evil spells cast against you called for a coin, nine grains of salt and nine stems of nine plants, namely: chickweed, common daisy, dovesfoot geranium, fumitory, greater celandine, ground-ivy, spotted medick, pilewort and verbena. #FairyTaleTuesday

For centuries, the Breton chapel of Saint-Yves-de-la-Vérité was visited by those in dispute seeking the adjudication of the saint. After a small ritual, the parties invoked the saint to condemn the other and mete out death within the year! #FolkloreSunday

In Brittany, one way to break a curse was to visit another parish. Such advice was given to those whose butter did not churn or whose horses were sick. Twas even said that when one was no longer in the same parish as their wife, they had the right to be unfaithful #FolkloreSunday

The shade of the Chestnut was said to cause diseases of languor to those who rested under it; Ash also cast the same sinister effect. But a branch of Beech protected against evil and broom of Birch was believed enough to counter any curse! #FaustianFriday bonjourfrombrittany.wordpres…

An account of Brittany written by one of the Church Inquisitors in the 13th century tells of a vampire who appeared at night as an old woman riding a wolf in search of the blood of a one year old infant to drink. #WyrdWednesday

One of the strongest claims to be source for the Bluebeard tale is the 6th century Breton warlord Conomor; an ambitious tyrant who is reputed to have murdered all his many wives. However, one legend tells that Triffin, his last wife, married King Arthur instead! #FairyTaleTuesday

The Île-de-Groix was once said to be haunted by two ferocious sea monsters; a furred beast with the head of a man & fingers made of abalone shells and a vicious mermaid who crushed children against rocks for sport. #FairyTaleTuesday