Corvismorelike00corvis - Corvis

Folklore - Changelings

Warning - This post will briefly discuss infanticide, discrimination against people with physical and mental disabilities, and the physical abuse of children. Reader discretion is advised.

Please note that this is not the be all and end all account of Changelings. This is a vast and complex feature, one that I'd be naive to think I could fit into a single tumblr post.

What this will be is an introduction to the topic, heavily leaning on Dr Katharine Brigg's 'A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures', a wonderful book you can find here on the Internet Archives:

A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, and Other Supernatural Creatures

The other two main sources of information will be 'A Dictionary of English Folklore' by Jacqueline Simpson and Steve Roud, and 'Changling' by J. A. MacCulloch.

That all out of the way, let's explore the being known as the Changeling.

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An important concept to come to terms with when dealing with folk belief is this; It is far easier to believe there is a reason behind tragedy than that nature is without reason. Folklore gives an explanation for the unexplainable.

This does not mean our forefathers or contemporaries are or were less intelligent than we are today. We in the 21st century are not the peak of human development, one brief trip around any social media platform will show you we are not above fabrication for the sake of comfort.

For those already familiar with the concept of a Changeling, you may have found it odd that I use the word comfort here. Is it not comforting, though? To have something to blame for what was often seen as a misfortune?

Many of us live today in societies where assistance and support is given for the care and wellbeing of children and adults with disabilities. As a neurodivergent woman in the UK, I am afforded certain aids and accommodations in order to support my place in society. This did not exist in the past.

While not as wholly absent as is often portrayed in popular media, medicine as we understand it was a very different field, even just a little over 100 years ago.

The first x-ray under clinical conditions took place in Birmingham on the 11th of January 1896. The first neuroimaging technique used to look at the ventricular system in the brain was in America in 1918 where filtered air was injected into the lateral ventricles of the brain. The first use of neuroimaging to look at blood vessels within the brain was in Portugal in 1927. The first commercial ultrasound machine was not produced until 1963. The first not invasive CAT scan did not come about until 1973.

Dissection of deceased persons could be used to examine the body, but while the patient was living, medicine was almost entirely blind.

What does all this talk of medicine have to do with Changelings?

"In societies where the belief in fairies was strong, it was held that they could steal human babies and substitute one of their own race; the latter would never thrive, remaining small, wizened, mentally abnormal, and ill-tempered. A baby whose defects were not obvious at birth but appeared in the first year or two could thus be explained as not truly human."

Wilson and Round. A Dictionary of English Folklore. 2016

A Changeling was an individual, more often a child but not always, who was though to be an imposter, a fairy sneaked in and swapped for the human. While often associated with Gaelic regions today due to their strong tradition of fairy folklore, stories of Changelings can be found right across Europe, though their exact supposed parentage shifts from region to region.

A Changeling child (or adult) would be sickly, weak, often paralysed, fuss and cry incessantly, display erratic emotions, either refuse food or never cease from eating, be 'mentally and (or) physically deformed'.

The method for dealing with this 'imposter' individual is often to torment them into fleeing and returning the 'stolen' human. The recorded incidents of this range from the purely cruel to the absolutely horrific.

Warning the extracts below are not pleasant reading, you have been warned.

Briggs. A Dictionary of Fairies: Hobgoblins... 1976

Exposing in the above circumstance means to leave the child outside alone, either overnight, or for longer stretches of time until they perished, or in this circumstance the human baby was returned.

MacCulloch. Changling. 1908.

I hope I am stating the obvious here when I say that these children were not in any way shape or form anything but human children.

Some may have been suffering from infantile diseases and conditions such as infantile paralysis, some might have had Down's Syndrome, or been on the non-verbal part of the Autism Spectrum, or Epileptic, or suffered from a hearing impairment. The list of conditions and causes of what might have been seen as 'Changeling' behaviour could fill pages upon pages of text.

I believe at this point it is important to restate my initial point:

It is far easier to believe there is a reason behind tragedy than that nature is without reason. Folklore gives an explanation for the unexplainable.

These children were supposedly born 'normal' before 'changing'. When you remove all ability to examine what is happening within the human body, when you also remove the ability for individuals to communicate and share information quickly and easily over great distances, when you live in a time and place where there is no support at all for children and adults with additional needs, you are confronted with a set of pressures and desperations utterly unfamiliar to a large proportion of the readership of this post.

I am not in any way shape or form condoning what was done to these children. I aim only to give context, and describe circumstances surrounding these practices.

For more information I would like to direct you to the three sources mentioned above, as well as 'A History Of Intelligence And Intellectual Disability The Shaping Of Psychology In Early Modern Europe' by C.F. Goodey which can also be found on the Internet Archive here:

A History Of Intelligence And Intellectual Disability The Shaping Of Psychology In Early Modern Europe

I hope that proved informative, if not overly pleasant.

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corvismorelike00corvis

1 year ago

Beginner Witch Tips - Kitchen Witch Edition

The oven can be your hearth. If a spell or ritual requires a hearth, your stove is just that. That being said, do not set anything on fire in your oven. Bad! No!

You don't need separate kitchen and altar herbs, although it is handy.

Some crystals can be used in kitchen magic, but I don't recommend putting them in or on anything other than a crystal on top of firm dough as it rests/rises. Secure crystals onto mixing equipment or spoons, or forgo using them at all.

Listen to witchy music as you cook or bake. I promise atmosphere is almost everything! It helps me focus. I recommend Peter Gundry.

While pets are cute and certainly carry spiritual energy with them, try to keep them out of the kitchen while you cook, especially if you have a certain intention you're trying to carry into your food. Their presence can distract you, throw off the energy you have accumulated, or otherwise disrupt the process. Once you're more confident with your kitchen witchery, their presence won't be such a big deal.

Take your time. It's okay. Sometimes it takes a while to truly clock into your spiritual energy while you're actively moving about and busy working, especially if you're used to practicing while sitting or standing in one spot. Remember - energy flows with you, not just around you.

Start small. Start with something simple like pancakes. For example: add a dash of vanilla to your pre-made batter mix to invoke self-love.

Write down things as you continue to work. Document what you're comfortable with, what you feel like you're good at, your project, and everything you feel you might want to. As you continue to work on that journal, you can go back and see how you've progressed!

Happy baking! Remember, your mood affects your project; negative emotions = negative influence.

As always, blessed be <3

Support your local witch on Ko-Fi!

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