Celtic tree Lore 1st Moon

BIRCH LORE

· 1st Moon of the Celtic Year - (Dec 24 - Jan 21)
· Latin name: Yellow birch - betula alleghaniensis; black birch - betula lenta; canoe or common birch - betula papyrifea.
· Celtic name: Beth (pronounced: beh)
· Folk or Common names: Beithe, Bereza, Berke, Beth, Bouleau, Lady of the Woods, Birth, Canoe Tree, Paper Tree, Silver Birch, White Birch. "Birch" is derived from the meaning "Bright" or "Shining" in Indo-European and Sanskrit terminology. Quite possibly it came from the Anglo-Saxon term "Beorgan" meaning "to protect or shelter"
· Parts Used: Leaves, bark, wood, sap, branches.

· Herbal usage: Birch leaves can be used to make an infusion that is good for breaking up kidney or bladder stones. Birch bark is an astringent and can be used to treat non-hereditary baldness. Birch tea can be made from the inner bark and leaves and this is good for rheumatism or as a sedative to aid sleep. Birch sap can be harvested the same way maple sap is, and then boiled down into birch syrup.
· Magical History & Associations: The bird associated with the Month of the Birch is the pheasant. Birch's color is white, its day is Sunday and its gemstone is red chard. The Celtic symbol of Birch is the White Stag with a rack with seven tines. Birch is associated with the element of water, is a tree of the sun and the planet Venus, and its Herbal Gender is feminine. The Birch tree is sacred to the God Thor and the Goddesses Diana and Cerridwen. Birch is considered to be a Goddess tree, the symbol of summer ever-returning. The Birch is also a special tree to the Celts ("On a switch of birch was written the first Ogham inscription in Ireland, namely seven B's, as a warning to Lug son of Ethliu, to wit, 'Thy wife will be seven times carried away from you into fairyland or elsewhere, unless birch be her overseer." - Robert Graves, The White Goddess) and Birch wood is one of the nine traditional firewoods to be added to the Belfire that is burned at Beltane. It is one of the three pillars of Wisdom (Oak, Yew, Birch) and often symbolizes the first level of Druid working. Birch trees often have Otherkin spirits attached to them and the "Lieschi" or "Genii of the Forest" are said to dwell in their tree tops. The Ghillie Dhu (pronounced "Gillee Doo or Yoo") are guardian tree spirits who are disguised as foliage and dislike human beings. They prefer birch trees to all others, and jealously guard them from humans. If the spirit of the Birch tree touches a head it leaves a white mark and the person turns insane. If it touches a heart, the person will die.

· Magickal usage: The month of Birch is a good time to do magick associated with new beginnings. Magickal work done in this moon adds strength and momentum to any new choices made. The Birch has applications in magick done for protection, creativity, exorcism, fertility, birth, healing, Forest Magic, Inner Authority/Self-Discipline, Lunar workings, love, and purification. Magickal protective uses of Birch include tying a red ribbon around the trunk of a birch to ward off the evil eye. Also, gently whapping someone with a Birch twig drives out negative energy, and Birch branches hung near a cradle will protect the newborn from psychic harm. In fact, cradles can be made from Birch wood to further protect a newborn. Many farmers plant Birch around their houses to protect against lightning. For magical parchment, gather Birch bark from a tree that has been struck by lightning (chosen by Thor) - and the Birch paper will keep the writings safe. Because Birch wood has the qualities of exorcism and protection, its twigs are traditionally used to make witches' brooms. Brooms made of a mixture of Ash, Birch and Willow are said to be especially powerful in magick. Birch rods are also used in rustic rituals to drive out the spirits of the old year. Birch is also perfect to use to make a 'Goddess' wand, since Birch is the tree known as 'the Lady of the Woods' and a grove of Birch trees is an excellent place to communicate with the Goddess. Birch wood is also a good choice for making rune sets to use for divination. Be sure to harvest your branch for the rune set during the waxing moon, and make sure you ask Odin or Byarka to inspire your work. Also ask the tree if it will allow you to take a branch and be sure to leave the tree an offering of thanks when you are done. Birch trees especially appreciate gifts such as pretty stones, sea shells, flowers or herbs.

(Please note: never take bark off a living Birch tree, since this will kill it.)

Merry Christmas 2007

Hi to all,

I wish you all a very Happy Holiday. Here is a new picture of My Sunny..

Today I call him "Sunny Clause"

I also included a photo of my Holiday card exchange display.

Much Joy

Bee

Celtic Tree; Day after Winter Solstice

Mistletoe Lore

· Tree of the day after the Winter Solstice (Aprox. December 23)
· Latin name: Viscum Album
· Celtic name: It is said that Mistletoe is too sacred to have a written word
· Folk or Common names: Mistletoe, Birdlime, All Heal, Golden Bough, Loranthaceae Phoradendron flavescens
· Parts Used: leaves, berries, twigs
· Herbal usage: **CAUTION: Mistletoe berries are extremely poisonous and have been known to cause miscarriage.** Mistletoe can be used as a stimulant to soothe muscles and to produce a rise in blood pressure. It increases the contraction of the uterus and intestine. Mistletoe has been recommended as an oxytocic in postpartum hemorrhage and menorrhagia. It is also used as a circulatory and uterine stimulant. This plant can induce menstruation. It has shown effective in treating tumors in some animals. It is recommended that due to the toxicity of this plant that ingestion of this herb be avoided.

· Magical History & Associations: Mistletoe is one of the Druid's most sacred trees - as Ovid said, "Ad viscum Druidae cantare solebant. (The Druids are wont to sing to the Mistletoe.)." In Druidic lore Mistletoe is an herb of the Winter Solstice and is the special plant for the day after Yule. The Druids gathered their Mistletoe at Midsummer or at the 6th day of the moon. The Druid priests or priestesses would wear white robes while gathering the plant and would use a golden knife, taking extreme care not to let the plant touch the ground. Two oxen were often sacrificed for the harvest. The Druids considered that the Mistletoe that grew on Oak trees was the most potent and sacred. Mistletoe is a plant of the sun and also of the planet of Jupiter. It is associated with the element of the air. The colors of Mistletoe are green, gold and white, and its herb is hyssop. The gemstones associated with Mistletoe are Black Quartz, Amber, Pearl and green Obsidian. Mistletoe has the immortal creature the Gryphon-Eagle associated with it and also the plain eagle is its bird association. There are many deities associated with Mistletoe: Loki, Blader, Hercules, Shu, Osirus, and Aeneas are a few of those deities.

· Magical usage: Romans, Celtics, and Germans believed that mistletoe is the key to the supernatural. Mistletoe will aid and strengthen all magical works but is best called upon for healing, protection, and beautiful dreams - dreams which will unlock the secrets of immortality. Mistletoe is a good wood to use for making wands, other ritual tools and magical rings. The Berries are used in love incenses, plus a few berries can be added to the ritual cup at a hand fasting. Boughs of Mistletoe can be hung for all purpose protection around the house. Sprigs of Mistletoe can be carried as an herb of protection - plus amulets and jewelry can be made out of Mistletoe wood as protective talismans. Hung over the cradle, Mistletoe will protect the child from being stolen by the fey and Mistletoe that is carried will protect the bearer from werewolves. Mistletoe stood for sex and fertility - hence our tradition of kissing under the mistletoe. It is traditionally hung in the home at Yule, and those who walk under it exchange a kiss of peace.

Celtic tree; The day of Winter Solstice

SILVER FIR LORE

· Tree of the day of the Winter Solstice ( DEC 22)
· Latin name: Abies alba.
· Celtic name: Ailim (pronounced: Ahl' em).
· Folk or Common names: Common Silver Fir, Balm of Gilead Fir, Balsam Fir, American Silver Fir.
· Parts Used: Needles, wood, sap.
· Herbal usage: The Silver Fir is one of the tallest trees native to Europe, sometimes exceeding 160 feet tall. The wood of the Fir is beautiful and is often used in making musical instruments and in the interior of buildings. The sap from the Silver Fir can be manufactured into a turpentine like oil that is a pale yellowish or almost water-white liquid of a light, pleasant fresh turpentine like odor. It is a diuretic, and stimulates mucous tissues if taken in small doses. In large doses it is purgative, and may cause nausea. The oil also has some uses as perfume and in essential oils that can be added to homeopathic bath and beauty products.

· Magical History & Associations: The Silver Fir is associated with the moon and with the planet of Jupiter. Its colors are piebald and light or pale blue. Its birds are the eagle and the Lapwing, and its animal association is the red cow. Its stones are Tourmaline and Amber - and it is a feminine herb. This tree belongs to the triple aspect Goddess in Celtic lore, offering learning, choice and progress. The tree is sacred to many Goddesses: Artemis (the Greek Goddess of Childbirth), Diana and Druantia among them. It is also sacred to the Gods Osiris and Attis, both who were imprisoned in Fir/Pine trees.

· Magickal usage: the Silver Fir is used for magick involving power, insight, progression, protection, change, feminine rebirth, and birth. The Silver Fir and the Yew are sisters standing next to each other in the circle of the year and their foliage is almost identical. However the Yew is known as the tree of death and the Silver Fir is the tree of birth or rebirth. The Silver Fir was a sacred tree to the Druids who felt that it stood for hope. The Silver Fir wood is used for shape-shifting and magic involving change, since it offers a clear perception of the present and the future. The wood chips are sometimes used as incense and the wood can be used in the construction of magickal musical instruments. Burning the needles of the Silver Fir or sweeping around the bed with a branch that has been blessed will protect a new born baby and its mother. In the Orkney area of Scotland, the new mother and baby are 'sained' by whirling a fir-candle three times around her bed. For a 'Weather Witch' the cones of the Silver Fir warn of wet weather and foretells when a dry season approaches. Charms made of Fir can be given as good luck tokens to departing friends. In its appearance (and in its current, and undoubtedly ancient, use) the Silver Fir is the quintessential Yule tree. Its branches can be used as decorations at Yule time either as wreaths or as garland, where it will provide protection for the household and its occupants.

JOYFUL YULE TO ALL

Holiday Lore: The Yule season is a festival of lights, and a solar festival, and is celebrated by fire in the form of the Yule log—a log ( with fir needles, yew needles, birch branches, holly sprigs, and trailing vines of ivy. Back porches are stacked with firewood for burning, and the air is scented with pine and wood smoke. When the Yule log has burned out, save a piece for use as a powerful amulet of protection through the new year. Now is a good time to light your oven for baking bread and confections to serve around a decorated table; sweets have an ancient history They are made and eaten to ensure that one would have "sweetness" in the coming year. Along these lines, mistletoe hangs over doorways to ensure a year of love. Kissing under the mistletoe is a tradition that comes down from the Druids, who considered it a scared plant.

Blessed Be to everyone!!

Sparkles Bee

Celtic tree; The day before Winter Solstice

YEW LORE

· Tree of the day before the Winter Solstice (Aprox. December 21)
· Latin name: Taxus baccata.
· Celtic name: Idho (pronounced: Ih' huh).
· Folk or Common names: English Yew.
· Parts Used: Needles, wood, berries.
· Herbal usage: CAUTION - THIS PLANT IS POISONOUS AND SHOULD BE USED WITH CAUTION. The needles and branch tips have been used to treat lung diseases and bladder problems. recently a new cancer drug, Taxol, has been derived from its bark and berries.

· Magical History & Associations: The name "Yew" is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon word 'eow'. The word 'Taxus' is from the Greek word 'Taxon', meaning 'bow'. The 5000 year old "Ice Man", discovered in the Alps, had a bow and axe handle made of Yew. The Yew is known as the 'Tree of Death' through out Europe and is associated with the season of winter. It is sacred to many Dark Goddesses: Banbha, Amalthea (mother of the horned Dionysus), Morrighan, The Erinyes, Cailleach Beara, Berchta, and Hekate. Shakespeare recognized the relationship of Yew and Heckate and referred to the contents of her cauldron as "slips of yew, silver'd in the moon's eclipse..." (Macbeth) - and elsewhere Shakespeare makes 'hebenon, the double-fatal yew' the poison which Hamlet's uncle pours into the king's ear. Heckate's sacred tree of death is said to root in the mouths of the dead and release their souls, and also absorbs the odors of death itself. Bulls are associated with this tree, as are female goats. The bird associated with Yew is the eaglet, since the eaglet's appetite is insatiable, and the bones of its nest are white like the snow on its cliff-ledge. The Yews colors are white and silver and it is associated with the element of water. The Yew is associated with the planet Saturn and with the metal lead. In Old England the Yew was known as "The Witches Tree" since it is associated with sorcery and magick.

· Magickal usage: The time of Yew is known as a time of death, and so on the day before Yule it said that is not a good idea to do actual spell work, instead it is suggested to do rituals of the season concerned with reincarnation. Because the Yew grows to such an old age, it has become a symbol of stability in Celtic areas of the world and so is often used as the central "World Tree" in ritual spaces. As one of the three magickal trees (along the Alder and the Black Poplar) associated with death and funerals, the Yew has often been planted in graveyards. Yew sends up new trees from its roots, so is a powerful symbol of death and reincarnation. Yew wood is appropriate for magickal tools such as wands and staves. In ancient times Yew sticks were carved with the Ogham characters as tools of divination. The Futhark features a 13th Rune, which is considered one of the most powerful Runes and represents a stave cut from a yew tree. This Rune is regarded as the stave of life and death. Yew can be dried and burned as an incense to contact spirits of the dead - and even to raise the dead.

Christmas is Near...

Hi to all, I have posted some pictures of a couple of my new ornaments and my tree this year. Also a updated picture of my "Sunny" sleeping near the tree base. I bought a Scottish Santa, an two beautiful sparrow ornaments I added to my tree this year..

I have started to receive some beautiful Christmas cards and i will soon post a picture of my display...

Much joy to all!!

Bee

ITs Snowing!!

I love this !! Such big flakes !! Making it feel a lot like Christmas around here.

I was decorating my tree when it started snowing yesterday.

Sparkling snow flakes

Bee

13 Moon of Celtic year

ELDER LORE

· 13th Moon of the Celtic Year - (Nov 25 - Dec 23)
· Latin name: Dwarf Elder - sambucus ebulus; Elderberry - sambucus canadenis.
· Celtic name: Ruis (pronounced: roo ish).
· Folk or Common names: Lady Elder, Elder, Elderberry, pipe tree, bore tree, bour tree, Eldrun, Hyldor, Hyllantree, Ellhorn, Sambucus.

· Parts Used: Bark, leaves, flowers, berries, wood.
· Herbal usage: The Elder has many medicinal uses, and can be used to treat over 70 conditions. The bark can be used fresh for headaches and to promote labor, or can be dried and powdered and used in small doses as a diuretic. The leaves and flowers can be made into drinks, poultices and salves. Elderberry flower water is useful for soothing sunburns. The berries are safe to eat when eaten ripe, and they can be used to make wines, jams and teas.

· Magical History & Associations: The Elder is a tree of Venus and is associated with the element of air. The bird associated with the month of Elder is the rook, the color is blood-red, and the gemstone is dark green malachite. The Elder also is associated with Black Horses, Ravens, and Badgers. The Elder is linked to the eternal turnings of life and death, birth and rebirth, and creativity and renewal. It represents the end/beginning and beginning/end. It is sacred to the deities of Bran, Venus, Hel, Callech, Holda, the White Goddess, the Great Goddess, and Pryderi (The Celts believed that it was during the time of Elder that their sun or solar spirit was held prisoner, just as Pryderi was forced into exile). The Elder is the Old Crone aspect of the triple Goddess, wise old energy at the end of the year's cycle, and is sometimes called the "death tree" because of this. Funerary flints found in megalithic long barrows were Elder leaf shaped, suggesting the association of Elder with death goes back a long way. Elder is also called the "witch's tree" and certainly the village hedge-witch would have used the elder in healing and Magick. The Elder is also associated with a dryad (tree spirit). Early European legends tell of a dryad called Hylde-moer, The Elder Tree Mother, who lives in the Elder tree and watches over it. Should the tree be chopped down and furniture made of the wood, Hylde-moer would follow her property and haunt the owners. Similar tales tell that if a child's cradle were made of Elder, Hylde-moer would pinch the child black and blue and give it no peace or rest, therefore it is considered unlucky to make a cradle out of Elder wood. The Elder is also seen in a negative light by the Christian religion, since Judas supposed to have hanged himself from an Elder tree and the cross used to crucify Jesus was supposed to be made of Elder.
· Magickal usage: The month of Elder includes the Winter Solstice, which is celebrated as the Sabbat of Yule, a day to mark the return of the Sun. Therefore, calling upon the Sun God or Goddess is good to do during this month. Elder has the Magickal powers of Healing, Visions, Faery Magick, Spirituality, Cleansing, Sleep, Exorcism, Offering, Love, Protection, and Prosperity. Elder is often used to produce visions. At Samhain, the last of the Elderberries were picked with solemn rites. The wine made from these berries was considered the last sacred gift of the Earth Goddess, and was valued and drunk ritually to invoke prophecy, divination and hallucinations. Elder twigs were woven into head-dresses to enable the wearers to see spirits. The Elder is very useful in Magick dealing with Nature Spirits and the Fae. Wood spirits are said to live in Elder forests, and wood elves are said to come to listen to music played by flutes made with Elder wood. The Elder has strong protective qualities. Tiny twigs of Elder or dried Elderberry can be worn in a bag around the neck as a charm for protection against physical or psychic attack. As a protection against evil (and later against witchcraft) Elder branches were hung in doorways of houses and cowsheds. Elder can be used to bless a person, place or thing by scattering leaves and berries to the four directions, and over the thing or person being blessed. It is said that if you stand under an Elder tree, you will never be struck by lightening. Elder was also buried in graves to ward off evil spirits, and is considered protection against earthbound, "physical" spirits like vampires. Elder as Vampire-Repellent is older folklore than the lore about garlic. When you put Elder on a threshold or windowsill, you can force a vampire to count over the thorns and the berries until morning comes, because vampires are obsessive-compulsive about counting things. Also, Elder blossom were worn at Beltane to signify witchcraft and magic, and Elder twigs can be used to undo evil magic. Elder is a traditional wood for making Magickal tools, like besoms and wands. It is said in Irish folklore that it is Elder and not Ash which is used by witches for their magic 'hobby horses' and besoms. Justice was often dispensed under an Elder, so the hilt of a coven sword was often made of Elder wood. Elder is also a good wood to use to make Protective Wands. There are very strong superstitions about not cutting down or burning an Elder (maybe caused by a fear of releasing the tree's Hylde-moer - or maybe out of a deep respect for the tree), so be sure to remember to ask the tree if it will allow you to take a branch. It is traditional to say this before you cut a branch:
"Lady Ellhorn, give me of thy wood, And I will give thee of mine,when I become a tree."
Some people like to leave a small gift of some kind when they do harvest a branch - or you can do something practical like untangling the tree's ivy, clearing up around the trunk, watering in dry weather, or tidying up trash from around the tree.

Angels are amoung us

Hi To all, This is our new angel, he is truly a gift..

& my Nickie who is forever watching over us all..

A over-whelmed

Bee

Finally Something I like and it worked!!

Hi all, I picked up my new table and chairs yesterday. My Christmas present! I really love this table. I set down in the seats and it feels like home.. This little antique table comes from the 1930s. It open and shuts up into three sizes like a puzzle box.. It seats 4 to six it came with four chairs. Which is fine with me as it is just hubby and me. It is so cool and soo me!! The eastern oak color match's my buffet too.. The truer color of the table is the photo on the right.. The darn light out of that window is so bright its hard to take a good picture there...

Anyway I really love it!!

Sparkles

Bee

I'm a Little BEE-POT

Hi to all, I had to post these pictures.. Right before my birthday (11-10 ) I received a unexpected box in the mail---Not the first either ! ( I'm so lucky to have wonderful friends) Anyway inside was this wonderful surprise.. A real Bee-Pot !! Thanks Casdo

Several weeks before this I received another surprise box in the mail.. It include a lovely miniature china Bee -Set.. I will not picture it here as I plan on having a real Bee - Party with this 13 piece set. In the spring.. So you will have to wait to see that.. The box also include a bee wind sock and other surprises.. Thanks Brite!

I also received several lovely surprises including some beautiful paper and birthday cards from some fantastic fairy friends.. Thanks to you all..

Sparkling Bee

In Memory of My Beloved Friend & Companion

Nick Dundee Outback Wiz

October 1995 - November2007

Do not stand at my grave and weep.I am not there,

I do not sleep.I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.

I am the gentle autumn's rain.

When you awaken in the morning's hush

I am the swift uplifting rush of birds in flight.

I am the stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,

I am not there, I did not die...

Bee in all her Halloween Splender

Hi to all,

Well another wonderful Halloween Eve.. It was loads of fun. A marathon of scary movies, some ghost hunting, and a very lovely All Hallo's Eve meal; stuffed Cornish game hens, roasted potatoes with baby carrots, home made Rosemary Orange bread and sweet treats for desert!!

So here I am in all my sparkling witch glory!!

Bee

Happy All Halo's Eve

Hi to all on this Glorious Halloween night, Also known as All Halo's eve, Day of the Dead, All Souls Day, Samhain, and the Celtic New Year. If the pumpkin is the obvious vegetable representing Halloween then the fruit is the magical apple. It was believed that this festival of the dead was once called the Festival of the Apples. In the story of King Arthur, upon death he was taken to Avalon. The Isle if the Apples to help wandering souls complete their journey to their own Avalon. Here are some words for apple magic on All Halow's Eve.





Anoint a black and Orange candle with apple juice then light and say these words:

On this night, the sacred

festival of the dead, may

your journey complete

safely once these words

are said..

Please enjoy some Halloween verse written by me -->the Bee !!

1313 Mill House Lane

A hoot, a snap, a creaking stair,
Strange figures flying in the air.
The witching hour as the bell tolls true,
To lure you to the witches brew.
Glowing eyes, in pumpkin fresh,
To help find your way to the Halloween fest...

By, Teresa McNair


Hallow's Eve

As darkness falls the moon shines bright.


A crack, a snap, will still this night.


The sound of silence, the gleaming bright.


Does chill the soul on Halloween night.


By, Teresa McNair



In the Crisp of the Night



The moon is full, shining bright,
Not one cloud anywhere in sight,
A streak of light across the sky,
I see a shape speeding by,
A swishing sound, a creak, a snap,
I turn to look behind my back,
A growl, a hiss, and then a snarl,

WHAT CAN IT BE ?

Oh, its my friend Carl !!



By, Teresa McNair

OCT. 30th 2007

Do You Believe in Ghosts??

Hi to all you ghost hunters and sceptics. I will leave it up to you to decide on what YOU believe. But speaking for myself--- I believe! I have had more than my share of unexpected visits and encounters since I was a girl of ten..

Sparkling bed sheets!

Bee-witched

The History of Ghost and Spirits

Do you know that most of the earliest ghosts were not there to haunt or scare people? Actually, most early ghosts were said to ask the people they interacted with to properly bury the ghost’s body or to give information to help a loved one. Even some of the world’s oldest writings include interacting with the dead. One example of an old ghost story took place more than 2,000 years ago.
A man named Homer wrote The Iliad which included a scene where the soul of the warrior named Patroclos appeared to his friend Achilles. He told his friend to have his body properly buried and warned Achilles that he was going to be killed in the final battle of Troy.

Another takes place in Athens Greece more then 3,000 years ago. A man named Athendorus rented a house that many said was haunted. One night he heard a rattling noise. Then he saw the ghost of an old man in chains. The ghost pointed to the ground then disappeared.
The next day workers dug up the garden and found a skeleton. Athendorus then had the body properly buried in a graveyard and he never saw the old man in chains again.

The movement called Spiritualism started in 1848 in Hydesville, New York. Two sisters claimed they had managed to communicate with a spirit in the house through rapping sounds that meant yes, no or specific letters. Even though in old age the sisters admitted they made it up, it still started a gigantic movement. They toured the country for many years holding seances and speaking to spirits. The Spiritualism Church was founded in 1853 and in two years claimed over 2 million followers.

Nowadays most religions believe in life after death. After death a spirit or soul either goes to heaven or the underworld. Many believe that ghosts are souls that have been unable to leave earth for the afterlife.

Do I believe in ghosts? No--but I'm afraid of them"--Marquise du Deffand, 1697-1780
The popular image of a ghost is of an insubstantial, whitish form floating through an ancient castle accompanied by terrifying moans, groans, and the clanking of chains. It is, of course, the spirit of some long-dead individual, the whole thing is extremely frightening, and sometimes the ghost portends death or tragedy.
Yet every year Fate, a major magazine concerned with the unexplained, receives between 100 and 200 very happy reports of experiences in which it appears that loved ones--people and animals--have in some way returned after death.
What are these apparitions that arouse such varied emotions? Perhaps the clearest understanding can be gained by looking at a number of different, yet typical, sightings.
Most interesting is the ghost with a purpose, like Mr. F.G.'s fair-haired sister, who appeared briefly to him in 1876. A salesman, he was far from home, but this sighting sent him posthaste to tell his parents about the incident. As he described his sister, he mentioned a scratch on her face, upon which his mother burst into tears and explained that while attending to the body after her daughter's death she had accidentally made just such a scratch and then carefully hidden it with makeup so that no one else knew of its existence. Thus the ghost provided comforting evidence of survival after death, and succeeded in prompting F.G. to visit his parents. His mother died shortly afterward, and he might not otherwise have seen her alive again.
Another type of sighting is one in which a dying person seems to see dead relatives and friends waiting to welcome him. This may be mere hallucination (like many other ghost tales), but if he names someone who is believed to be living, but that person is later discovered to have died before the "sighting," then the case becomes more interesting. In one case, a dying woman, Mrs. Blank, said that she saw and heard a young girl who had spent "the happiest week of her life" singing with the Blank daughters some 6 years previously. Mrs. Blank said that this apparition was singing, with others, to welcome her to heaven. There was no reason for her or her family to believe the girl was dead, but it was later discovered that the girl had died 11 days before she was "seen and heard" by the dying Mrs. Blank.
Not all ghosts are so purposeful. Often referred to as "haunts" are cases where one figure is seen to do the same thing time after time. Haunts may be seen by many people, and they usually seem unaware of the living. Equally pointless are the cases in which the noises of past battles are heard, though nothing is seen. Investigation may show that the noises duplicate exactly the progress of the battle concerned, even though the people who hear them have no historical knowledge of what happened. A 1942 Allied Forces landing near Dieppe seems to have been "heard" on the same date in 1951 by 2 English ladies staying in a hotel near where the landing took place, and other similar cases have been reported.

Halloween Triva

Since 1995, trick or treating in the town of Sandusky, Ohio, has been against the law for anyone older then 14.
It is very rare for a full moon to occur at the same time as Halloween. It has only occurred in - 1925, 1944, 1955, and 1974. The next time it is said to occur is 31 October, 2020.
The word Halloween appeared in the Dictionary in the 1700s.
Dunking for apples arose from a practice of divining the future. It was believed that if you could hold an apple between your teeth you would have a fulfilling romance with whomever you choose.
According to ancient superstitions, if you stare into a mirror at midnight on Halloween, you'll see your future spouse.
The pumpkin is one of the best sources of Vitamin A.

Although the bounty of nature and the natural change of seasons were important aspects of Samhain, it was also a festival of the supernatural. Samhain was the turning point of the year for a people who believed that even minor "turning points" -- the change from one day to the next, the meeting of sea and shore -- were magical. The turning of the year was the most powerful and sacred of such junctures. The worlds of the living and of the dead were very close to one another at Samhain, the veil between the two at its thinnest. The living could communicate with those who had gone beyond; the dead could visit the living. In Celtic times, the dead were not considered evil or particularly dreaded so much as consulted and honored as ancestral spirits and guardians of the wisdom of the tribe. Celtic priests, the Druids, contacted the dead in order to divine the future and make predictions for the community. In Halloween lore of the last two centuries or so, references are made to "Samhain" as a deity or Celtic "Lord of the Dead." There is no evidence for such a god. The fallacy seems to have arisen in the 1770s before improved translation of Celtic literary work and modern archeology. It can be traced to the writings of a Col. Charles Vallency (who, for some reason, was trying to prove that the Irish originally came from Armenia) and then was later perpetuated by Lady Jane Francesca Wilde (Oscar's mum) in her mid-nineteenth century book Irish Cures, Mystic Charms and Superstitions. It has gone on to be unquestioningly and inaccurately repeated in many sources over the years.

Although possibly later developed as post-Christian mythology, the Celts may have believed in faeries or similar magical creatures. They did not believe in demons or devils, but they may well have had these not-so-nice entities to deal with. Resentful of humans taking over the world, the faerie-folk were often thought to be hostile and dangerous. During the magical time of Samhain the faeries were even more powerful than usual. Humans might be lured astray by faeries. These unfortunates would then be lost in the fairy mounds and trapped forever.
Faeries or their kind weren't the only ones causing mischief. The yearly turning point was also seen as a suspension of ordinary space and time. For order and structure to be maintained for the rest of the year, chaos would reign during Samhain. Humans indulged in cross-gender dressing, tricks, and high jinks. On the practical side, such behavior was an outlet for high spirits before the confining winter came. We know very little of Druidic religious rituals, but we do know Samhain was one of four "Fire Festivals" of the Celts. Hearth fires were extinguished to symbolize the coming "dark half" of the year, then re-lit from Druidic fires to signify the return and continuance of life. Bonfires were also part of this observance.

As with other pre-Christian practices, Samhain was eventually absorbed by the Church. In AD 609 or 610, May 13 was designated as a day to honor the Virgin Mary and the martyred saints. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III (731-741 then fixed November 1 as the anniversary for all saints (including the martyrs). October 31 became All Hallows' Eve [Hallowmas or Halloween], the evening before All Hallows Day [All Saints Day] on November 1. (The word "hallow" was used in the Middle ages as a synonym for "saint.") Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration of All Hallows Day to the entire Church.
The old beliefs did not die out so easily and just honoring saints was not enough to replace the notion of a time of year when the dead could travel the earth. A more abstract holiday commemorating all the faithful departed on November 2 began to be marked as early as the ninth century. although Odilo, abbot of Cluny (d. 1048) actually instituted the date. By the end of the thirteenth century, it was accepted by the entire Church.
Not only did the Church give the holiday its popular name, it also sanctified the custom of remembering the dead on the eve on November 1. Other pagan traditions and religious practices were adapted by the Church and re adapted by the people. "Soul cakes" were baked and given to the town's poor in exchange for their prayers for the dead. Eventually young men and boys went "souling" from house to house, singing and asking for food, ale and money rather than cakes. The church encouraged parishioners to dress as saints, angels and devils as part of All Saints Day. Spirits of the dead and the supernatural, now associated with evil and the devil, became something to fear. Gifts of food and drink once meant to welcome the dead were now offered to keep them away. Bonfires were now lit to frighten the devil.
On October 31, 1517 Martin Luther, intending to stir debate, posted his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. (An occasion still marked in Lutheran churches on Reformation Sunday.) The religious reformation he sparked eventually did away with the celebration of Halloween for many Europeans. Reformation Protestants did away with the observance of saints' days and without the "hallows" one can not have All Hallows' Eve.
The English, however, managed to preserve some of the secular traditions of the holiday with Guy Fawkes Day. (In 1605 a group English Roman Catholics conspired to blow up Parliament, King James I, and his heir on November 5. They evidently hoped that in the confusion following, the English Catholics could take over the country. What came to be known as the Gunpowder Plot was foiled and in January 1606 Parliament established November 5 as a day of public thanksgiving. The day became known as Guy Fawkes Day for a conspirator who was arrested and, under torture, revealed the names of the other plotters.) Guy Fawkes Day borrowed a great many of the traditions used to mark Halloween that had fallen just six days before. Bonfires, pranks, begging, and dressing in costume became part of the occasion. In some parts of England, the festivities were virulently anti-Catholic.

A Most Special Witch

Well Merry, Merry to all, The air is crisp this morning with a lovely light blue sky. The colors of Autumn surround me. What a lovely day to start the 12th moon of the Celtic Wheel of the Year. I am posting photos of a most precious card I received in the mail yesterday from a dear friend across the pond.

"Free-Spirit" She truly is. As you can tell by this lovely card she made. It expresses her freedom and her friendship.. To take the time to make such a lovely card for me.. "Witch" I will always treasure. The colors did not come out that great in the photos but the card stock in a beautiful turquoise . The images are in the lovely pastel lavenders and greens. She sits upon a ancient peer block surrounded by dragon fly's with her hair flowing in the sea breeze.. I truly love this card, it has made my Samhain celebration very special. I posted two photos so you can see the 3 dimensional look of the images on the card...

I am a Very happy Bee.. Now I need to get on MY creativity cap and make her something as well.

Happy Sunday

B.

Celtic Tree of the Month

REED LORE

· 12th Moon of the Celtic Year - (Oct 28 - Nov 24)
· Latin name: American Elm - ulmus americana; European Elm - ulmus procera; slippery Elm - ulmus fulva.
· Celtic name: Negetal (pronounced: nyettle).
· Folk or Common names: In Britain where the Reed tree is the dwarf elm, it is called the Water-Elder, Whitten, or rose Petal. Since I use the immature Elm tree in place of the Reed tree, the Elm is usually known as Elm, and sometimes Piss-Elm (due to the smell it makes while being burned as a green wood).
· Parts Used: Bark, leaves, wood.
· Herbal usage: The Elm has many medicinal uses. Slippery Elm bark can be powdered and made into a milk for babies that can't tolerate cow's milk. In fact slippery Elm bark is good for many purposes. In tea it can ease insomnia and sooth an upset tummy. It is also useful for enemas and makes good poultice material. This type of poultice can be used on wounds, infections, ulcers, burns, and poison ivy.
· Magical History & Associations: The birds associated with the month of Reed are the owl and goose, the color is grass green, and the gemstone is clear green jasper. Symbols of this Celtic month are The White Hound, The Stone, the Planet Pluto (Pwyll), The Fire Feast of Samhain Dis, Pwyll, and Arawn. Identified with the submerged or hidden dryad, The Month of Reed represents the mysteries of death. In fact the Fire Feast of Samhain celebrates the dead and on Samhain, the boundary between the Other world and this world dissolve. It is a night of great divination. Or in another fashion, it represents the hidden roots to all life. The Month of Reed is associated with being both a savior and custodian. Pwyll, the Celtic ruler of the Other world was given "The Stone" , one of four treasures given to him for safekeeping. The Stone represents the right of the kings and queen to have divine power. Thus the Reed is also the symbol of Royalty. The White Hounds represent the dogs that guard the lunar mysteries. The Elm tree is a tree of Saturn and is associated with the element of earth. It is sacred to Odin, Hoenin and Lodr. The elm is also associated with the day of Tuesday.
· Magic usage: The month of Elm / Reed is a good month for using music in magic, especially music made by bagpipes and flutes, and also for doing divination. Elm is sometimes said to symbolize the dark side of the psyche and so can be used in psychic workings. The Elm is commonly known as "the elf friend". If you desire to have contact with wood elves, pick a grove of Elm trees and sit under them and sing. Around about dawn, the elves will have gotten over their initial shyness and come out to join in the singing. Elm trees are also thought to provide a channel for the communication with divas. To get an Elm tree to help you in this quest, offerings can be brought to a favorite tree and left. The best offerings are wine, mead, tobacco, coins and sage. Tiny twigs of Elm can be worn in a bag around a child's neck as a charm to produce eloquent speech in later life. Elm wood may be bound with a yellow cord and burned to prevent gossip. The Elm represents primordial female powers and therefore the Elm is a tree with great protective qualities. The wood from the Elm can be made into talismans and charms that can be worn for protection. The Elm also has the qualities of regeneration, boldness and fidelity, and so added to its protective qualities, it is excellent when given as a good luck token to departing friends. Using Elm is spell work adds stability to the spell.

REED MOON TEA - Fertility, love, protection

1 part red clover,1 part hyssop,1 part boneset, pinch of slippery elm

**Note: Please be very, VERY careful when taking this teas! These are powerful herbs, meant to be used by more or less experienced herbalists and witches. Boneset is toxic in large doses or if taken over long period of time. To use, put in a tea ball and steep for 5 or 6 minutes.

Please listen to the Bee about this one..

Halloween Verse -N- Vixen's

Charm Against Witches

Bring the holy crust of bread,Lay it underneath the head:'tis a certain charme to keep Hags away, while children sleep.

By, Robert Herrick


Hey-How for Halloween

Hey-how for Hallowe'en!

A' the witches tae be seen,

Some are black, an' some green,

Hey-how for Hallwe'en.

Scottish Traditional

The Spunky

The Spunky he went like a sad little flame,All, all alone.All out on the zogs and a-down the lane,All, all alone.A tinker came by that was full of ale,And into the mud he went head-over-tail,All, all alone.
A crochety farmer came riding by,All, all alone.He cursed him low and he cursed him high,All, all alone.The Spunky he up and led him astray,The pony were floundered until it were day,All, all alone.
There came an old Granny - she see the small ghost,All, all alone."Yew poor liddle soul all a-cold, all a-lost,All, all alone.I've give 'ee criss-cross to save 'ee hide,Be off to the church and make merry inside. "All, all alone.
The Spunky he laughed, "Here, I'll galley no more! "All, all alone.And off he did wiver and in at the door,All, all alone.The souls they did sing for to end his pain,There's no little Spunky a-down the lane,All, all alone.

Traditional Scottish

Magic Spider Bolo Necklace

Hi to all, I had posted on KF forums about this Bolo style necklace I have. I got this necklace out of a KF grab bag in 2000 I think? It is a lovley Russian gold color with Amber topaz colored stones. It adjusts like any bolo, or lariat style necklace. It is my favorite Halloween necklace.
Sparkling spider webs
Bee

Famous Witch's

Joan of Navarre 1370-1437. Duchess of Brittany who was the wife of King Henry IV of England was accused of being a witch and wanting to bring down the king. Later she was pardoned and reinstated.

Tamsin Blight 1798-1856. Famous English witch healer and a person who is able to remove curses or spells from a person. She was also said to have put spells on those who did not please her. Also known as Tammy Blee and Tamson.

The North Berwick Witches a group of men and women who were accused of witchcraft in Scotland in the 16th century. On minimal evidence they were condemned and tortured and burnt. They were supposed to have created a storm to the drown the King James 1.

Mary Butters late 18th century-early 19th century. She is known as the Carmoney Witch and narrowly escaped trial for the killing of a cow and three people. She claimed at her inquest she saw a black man who killed the three people and that she was knocked unconscious causing the ingredients to become toxic. The incident was made into a humorous ballad.

Old Dorothy Clutterbuck 1880-1951. Clutterbuck was allegedly the high priestess of a coven of witches and was suppose to have initiated Gerald B. Gardner into witchcraft. It also said that Clutterbuck was actually not the high priestess but a protector of the high priestess that the real high priestess was a woman by the name of Dafo. She was a woman of high respect and wealth. When she died she left a hefty amount of money more than 60,000 pounds.

Mother Shipton a 15th Century Yorkshire witch. She was said to have powers of healing and spell-casting, and her prophecies about modern time such as those of airplanes and cars has come true. Also scientific inventions, new technology, wars and politics.

Isobel Goldie ?-1662. It is said that she had wild sexual escapades with the devil who had initiated her into the art of witchcraft. She confessed this several times but many thought that it was just a story she had made up and that it was just a game that had gotten out of hand. There are no records as to what had happened to her or other people she confessed to being witches as well. In all likelihood they were all hung as her confessions were so obscene for the time.

Joan of Arc 1412-1431. She was not charged as most people have said for practicing witchcraft but for being a relapsed heretic who denied the authority of the church.

Margaret Jones ?-1648. The first witch to be executed in Massachusetts Bay Colony, she was accused of being a witch after patients under her care as their physician had gotten sicker. The reason why many patients got worse was because they refused to take medicines prescribed for them.

Lady Alice Kyteler ?-1324. Lady Alice was a wealthy woman from Ireland who was accused of witchcraft as a result of the fact that her fourth husband and his family believed she had lured him into marrying her more money. These charges were dropped and

Florence Newton mid 17th Century. A trial most famous in Ireland was that of Florence Newton also known as "the Witch of Youghal". She was accused of bewitching people into fits and of killing them with these fits. Her trial unlike most trials involved no torture. One young lady who was bewitched by her went through fits of which many things were vomited up by her and many different things were thrown at her. If Florence Newton was left unhand cuffed the young lady would have fits and fall ill but if handcuffed would remain calm and have no fits.

Dolly Pentreath 1692-1777. Was born in Cornwall, England. Never married but had a son. She was accredited with the knowledge of astrology and possessed magical powers which people would come and use her for. She was able to use her powers for good and bad.

Elisabeth Sawyer ?-1621. Elisabeth Sawyer also Known as "Witch of Edmonton" was accused of bewitching her neighbors children and cattle because they refused to buy her brooms. When she was being harassed she finally confessed to being a witch. She was hanged for confessing to be a witch.

Marie Lavau 1794?-1881 and 1827-1897. The most renowned voodoo queen in North America was actually a mother and daughter. Their appeal was their magical powers, control of one’s lovers and enemies, and sex. Marie I was a most powerful women who was told all the secrets by women and was able to use these to increase her powers. Marie II was feared more and inspired subservience.

Joan Wytte 1775-1813. Cornish woman also known by the name of the Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin. She was said to be clairvoyant and that people would seek her services as a seer, diviner and healer. She was known to visit a holy well where she tied clouties (a charm that is a strip of cloth taken from a sick person. Which would decay and was suppose to heal the person in a magical way. Still done today.) On the branches of trees.
Later on as a result of a tooth abscess she became very ill-tempered and would shout at people. She became involved in a large fight with people where she used her remarkable strength and bashed people and threw them across a room. She was arrested and sent to jail where she died as a result of the poor conditions. When she died her body was dissected and the skeleton was placed in a coffin, later on it was recovered and used as a joke in a séance which went wrong as it was alleged the lid of the coffin in which the skeletal remains was placed, flew open and started going around and assaulting the people taking part in the séance. After this the bones were to pass onto an antique dealer, and later on a founder of a Museum of Witchcraft. It was later said that while on display in the museum they started to experience poltergeist at which a witch was bought in to consult them of what to do and it was said that Wytte's spirit said that she wished to be laid in a proper burial.
The empty coffin remains on display along with a plaque accounting her story.

Whats Halloween Without : WereWolfs?

The Wolf Stone
Alexander Schöppner
Germany

In a valley in the Fichtel Mountains a shepherd tended his flock in a green meadow. Several times it happened that after driving his herd home he discovered that one of the animals was missing. All searching was in vain. They were lost and they remained lost.
Watching more carefully, he saw a large wolf creep out of the forest thicket and seize a lamb. Angrily he chased after him, but the enemy was too fleet. Before he could do anything about it, the wolf had disappeared with the lamb. The next time he took an expert marksman with him. The wolf approached, but the marksman's bullets bounced off him. Then it occurred to the hunter to load his weapon with the dried pith from an elder bush. The next day he got off a shot, and the robber ran howling into the woods.
The next morning the shepherd met an old neighbor woman with whom he was not on the best of terms. Noticing that she was limping, he asked her: "Neighbor, what is wrong with your leg? It does not want to go along with you."
"What business is it of yours?" she answered, hurrying away.
The shepherd took note of this. This woman had long been suspected of practicing evil magic. People claimed to have seen her on the Heuberg in Swabia, the Köterberg, and also on the Hui near Halberstadt.
He reported her. She was arrested, interrogated, and flogged with rod of alder wood, with which others suspected of magic, but who had denied the charges, had been punished. She was then locked up in chains. But suddenly the woman disappeared from the prison, and no one knew where she had gone.
Some time later the poor, unsuspecting shepherd saw the hated wolf break out of the forest once again. However, this time it had not come to attack his herd, but the shepherd himself. There was a furious struggle. The shepherd gathered all of his strength together against the teeth and claws of the ferocious beast. It would have been his death if a hunter had not come by in the knick of time. In vain he fired a shot at the wolf, and then struck it down with his knife. The instant that blood began to flow from the wolf's side, the old woman from the village appeared in the field before them, writhing and twisting terribly. They finished killing her and buried her twenty feet beneath the earth.
At the place where they buried the woman they erected a large stone cross, which they named the "Wolf Stone" in memory of these events. It was never peaceful and orderly in the vicinity of the stone. The Malicious Messenger (der Tückebote) or the Burning Man (der brennende Mann), in the language of the people, still goes about his dangerous business here.

The Werewolf: Another Legend
Karl Lyncker
A married couple in Hessen lived in poverty. To the husband's amazement, the wife nevertheless was able to serve meat for every meal. For a long time she kept it a secret where she got the meat, but finally she promised to reveal it to him, under the condition that he not call out her name as it was happening. Together they went to a field where a herd of sheep was grazing. The woman walked toward the sheep, and as she approached them, she threw a ring over herself and instantly turned into a werewolf. She fell upon the sheep, seized one of them, and fled. The man stood there as though petrified. However, when he saw the shepherd and the dogs running after the werewolf, thus endangering his wife, he forgot his promise and called out: "Margaret!" With that the wolf disappeared, and the woman was left standing naked in the field.

The Werewolf in Hindenburg
J. D. H. Temme
One still believes in werewolves in the Altmark. Even today in the village of Hindenburg they tell about a man who could turn himself into a wolf, and there are people still alive who knew him during their childhood.
He had a strip of leather made from wolf skin which still had its hair. Whenever he tied it around his body, he turned into a wolf. Then he had such extraordinary strength that he could pull an entire load of hay by himself or grab a whole ox in his mouth and carry it away.
In this state he had the nature of a wolf. He strangled cattle and even ate humans. He once pursued one of his neighbors, who narrowly escaped from him. But however furious he became, he did spare his wife. She knew a magic charm that brought him under control, a charm that he himself had taught her. Then she would take off the leather strip, and he would become a reasonable human once again.

Bela Lugosi / Dracula

"I - am - Dracula...." was the phrase of evil in Hollywood. Bela Lugosi started it all with a heavy deliberate, imitateable accent. In 1927 he played Dracula on Broadway for a year or two on the road, but when he introduced himself to the film audiences of the silver screen, it was like seeing evil for the first time.
He was born Bela Blasko on October 20,1882 in Logos, Hungary. He had training at the Budapest Academy of Theatrical Arts. Sometimeshe used another name, Arisztid Olt during 1918. It was the collapse of the Hungarian Monarchy, and during that time, he organized an actors union.When the Leftists were defeated in 1919, he fled to Germany where he appeared in a number of films, but in 1921 he came to America.
With superior screen ability, he shared the stage with another great, Boris Karloff. Cinema had boomed, and people were flocking to the movies, so Lugosi had many roles to choose from,but Dracula made him famous. The vampire image became part of his real life. He even took interviews while in his coffin.
As is well-known, Bela Lugosi was buried in his cape, tuxedo, and wearing his Dracula crest ring after a career in movies, none of which came close to the fame brought to him as Dracula.
in Dracula and played the infamous count for 265 performances. In 1931, Lugosi starred in the film version of Dracula, replacing the late Lon Chaney, Jr., for whom the rights had been originally purchased.
Lugosi only made $500 a week for a seven week shoot, a ridiculously low figure even then. But Dracula both made him a star and typecast him forever at nearly 50 years of age. He made dozens of movies, many of them regrettably bad, but some of them quite good though they may not be well-remembered today.
Martin Landau gave an Academy Award-winning performance as Lugosi in Ed Wood, the Johnny Depp biopic about the director of the abysmal Plan 9 From Outer Space which notoriously included casual footage shot of Lugosi at his home before his death. Landau would observe that no matter how bad a movie might be, Lugosi's mere presence in the cast brought some stature to the production.
Following a lifetime of career ups and downs, five wives, and a lengthy morphine addiction stemming from a World War I injury he finally kicked, Lugosi died of a heart attack in his bed at his Los Angeles home on August 18, 1956.

There's the strange story connected with his burial. It isn't a very dramatic story, but it is a terrific story.
As the Lugosi funeral procession advanced towards Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City, the driver found the horses drawing Lugosi's coffin suddenly fighting him. The driver wanted them to turn right, but the horses instead drew the hearse left, across Vine Street's oncoming traffic and down Hollywood Boulevard.
It turned out that it was down Hollywood Boulevard that Lugosi took daily on his way to buy cigars, cigarettes, and the daily newspapers.
The driver was unable to explain what had happened.

I love Bella In all his Movies!!!

BOOOOoooooooo BOOOOOOoooooooooo

BEEEeeeeeeeeeee

Vampire's: Vlad VS Dracula

Vampires have supposedly roamed the earth in the darkness of the night for centuries. Although there is no scientific proof of the existence of vampires. Some tend to believe that they were once out there or better yet...still are. Of course there is also the person who believes that vampires still exist ?

VAMPIRE TRIVA;

· The word vampire was first used in 1734: "The bodies of deceased persons animated by evil spirits, which come out of the graves at night time to suck the blood of many of the living and thereby destroy them."
· By 1862 Vampire meant a terrible BORE of a person
· And by 1911 vampire meant "a woman who intentionally attracts and exploits men" and by 1918 (July 9) the New York Times mentions a play called "The Vamp" starring Enid Bennett.
· Also the Verb to vamp means "to behave seductively and exploit" (ca 1920's)
· If vampires are not detected they climb into the belfry of the church and either a) call out names of villagers (who then instantly die) or b) ring the death knell and anyone who hears it dies on the spot
· If a vampire goes undetected for 7 years they can go to another country or place where a different language is spoken and become human again. They can never remarry but when they die the whole family becomes vampires (kids for first time & parent(s) again)
· There are 2 kinds of Vampire: the spirit of a dead person or a corpse reanimated by his own or another person (ie ethereal or physical)
· In some traditions, staking a vampire must be done IN ONE BLOW to do it right .

The Historical Dracula

Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476)

Bram Stoker's Dracula, published in 1897, continues to send shivers down the spine of anyone who reads it. It is dark Gothic at its best, a brilliant, imaginative and can't-put-down work of art. The atmosphere it creates is, in this writer's opinion, spookier than any Stephen King novel.
But...many people who have read the book are not aware that the character Dracula the vampire is based on was a highborn member of a Romanian court, prominent in European history – and much more terrifying than his fictional descendant. While not the black-cloaked, centuries-old, fanged bloodsucker of literary fame, the infamy of the historical figure outperforms that of Stoker's creation.
It was no idle choice that the red-bearded Irish novelist Bram Stoker in 1896 chose the factual Impaler as the model for his nosferatu, his "undead" vampire. Although admittedly never having set foot on Romanian soil, having done most of his research at the London Library, it is obvious that the infamous Count Dracula emulates his historical counterpart. Poring over texts such as An Extraordinary and Shocking History of a Great Berserker Called Prince Dracula, The Historie and Superstitions of Romantic Romania and Wilkinson's Account of Wallachia and Moldavia, Stoker chanced upon the tales of Dracula. (It has been suggested by scholars that such histories would be incomplete without generous space attributed to the man.) In the tomes he studied, Stoker assuredly read of the voivode Dracula, whose atrocities trembled the Christian Western World and whose audacity saved it from Allah.
Prince Vlad, or as he was called even in his own time, Dracula (which means "Son of the Dragon") tops the list of Romania's many, many Christian crusaders who, in the transition years between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, fought to keep the Muslim-faithed Ottoman Turks out of their country.
Odd that a name known for stirring nightmares actually belonged to a crusader of a religious cause!
Still, Dracula was not a saint. He ruled his military kingdom of Wallachia – southern Romania – with a heavy and blood-soaked fist. To not only the Turks but also to many of his own countrymen he was Vlad The Impaler, Vlad Die Tepes (pronounced Tee-pish). Determined not to be overtaken by the intrigue of an intriguing political underhandedness, in a world in which princes fell daily to smiling, hypocritical "allies," paranoia among the aristocracy was, and probably needed to be, utmost in a sovereign's disposition. Dracula built a defense around him that dared not open kindness nor trust to anyone. During his tenure, he killed by the droves, impaling on a forest of spikes around his castle thousands of subjects who he saw as either traitors, would-be traitors or enemies to the security of Romania and the Roman Catholic Church. Sometimes, he slew merely to show other possible insurgents and criminals just what their fate would be if they became troublesome.