Victorian Halloween SpellsFolk Magic spells were very commonly used on post cards in the 18th and 19th centuries. They survive as beautiful historical records of an eariler time, when witchcraft wasn't as taboo as it became in more recent history. Such as the popular spell for fortelling one's future husband by throwing an apple peel over one's shoulder, and seeing which letter, it forms when it lands, thus revealing the inital of your husband-to-be.
The above card's spell reads; Fill your mouth with water, shut it tight, pray for good luck on this magic night, cross your fingers and go forth and greet the first man you meet on the street. And no matter how odd your actions may seem, He's bound to purpose to you Hallowe'en.The card below reads: At the witching hour hang a bell of gold, round a cat's neck and he'll do as he's told. It's an old spell to make the cat into both a familar and a wishing charm.  As you can see many of these halloween spells deal with divanation of a maiden's future husband. Young ladies looked forward to using these spells all year long as they were said to work best upon Halloween at midnight. As Witches know this is a time when the veil between both time and death are the thinnest so these spells probably would work well. 
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You will notice that these Witches aren't ugly and green, but instead as shown as glamorous and beautiful. Rarely are they shown wearing black, or being old hags, those stereotypes seemed to have developed later on, not in the middle ages, as it is often assumed. |
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