Autumnal Folklore

[tufftie]

Just thinking that Autumn is a bit low on myths and folklore etc and wondered whether anybody can add to my scant knowledge!!

The one I can think of quickly is that falling leaves have magical qualities and that if you catch one before it touches the ground good luck will come your way.

[village wench]

Originally Posted by tufftie

Just thinking that Autumn is a bit low on myths and folklore etc and wondered whether anybody can add to my scant knowledge!!

The one I can think of quickly is that falling leaves have magical qualities and that if you catch one before it touches the ground good luck will come your way.

The only autumnal ones I can recall are these two.........must be hitting the autumn of my life,poor memory and all that

Much rain in October
Much wind in December


"Frost in November to hold a duck The rest of the winter is slush and muck."

[tufftie]

Originally Posted by village wench

The only autumnal ones I can recall are these two.........must be hitting the autumn of my life,poor memory and all that

Much rain in October
Much wind in December


"Frost in November to hold a duck The rest of the winter is slush and muck."

I didn't know the first one! Thank you

[Hedge Witch]

If ducks do slide at Hallowtide
At Christmas they will swim
If ducks do swim at Hallowtide
At Christmas they will slide


When birds and Badgers are fat in October, expect a cold winter


If the October moon comes without a frost, expect no frost till the moon of November


Always will there be
Twenty-nine fine days in October


When berries are many in October
Beware a hard winter


And my personal favourite:

In October dung your field
And your land its wealth shall yield

[Hedge Witch]

On St Francis Day, 4 th October, swallows were supposed to fly to the bottom of ponds and hibernate through the winter.

I could find some for November, but I don't think it's time

[naturegirl]

I was picking some rose hips to make wine a couple of years ago when an elderly local farmer pulled up in his tatty old pickup much tied up with baling twine.

He said "you don't wanna be picking them 'til we've had a frost girl!" (I'm in my 50's!)

I asked him why not and he replied: "'cos the witches have spat on 'em and the frost renders their poisen useless!"

What could I say?!!!............

Naturegirl

[Hedge Witch]

Originally Posted by naturegirl

I was picking some rose hips to make wine a couple of years ago when an elderly local farmer pulled up in his tatty old pickup much tied up with baling twine.

He said "you don't wanna be picking them 'til we've had a frost girl!" (I'm in my 50's!)

I asked him why not and he replied: "'cos the witches have spat on 'em and the frost renders their poisen useless!"

What could I say?!!!............

Naturegirl

This made me laugh, Naturegirl, thanks for posting that

[tufftie]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't pick blackberries after the end of September as the Devil casts a spell on them.

[tufftie]

Originally Posted by Hedge Witch

This made me laugh, Naturegirl, thanks for posting that

..and me

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by tufftie

..and me

me too.

[village wench]

Originally Posted by tufftie

I seem to remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't pick blackberries after the end of September as the Devil casts a spell on them.

We were always told the devil piddles on them It is a good way to stop kids eating maggoty ones I suppose

[NickCantle]

Nothing wrong with the odd maggot. This nanny culture

[LoveT]

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Nothing wrong with the odd maggot. This nanny culture

Mmmm..... extra protein !

Interesting thread this, keep them coming they're fascinating !

If not already done, perhaps we should do a thread each for the other three seasons !

Thea

[village wench]

I know this isn't really an autumn one,but the kids found it somewhere yonks ago and it amuses me,especially with the particularly wet weather this year.

Dirty days hath September
April June and November
From January up to May
The rain it raineth every day
All the rest have thirty-one
Without a blessed gleam of sun
And if any of them had two-and-thirty
They'd be just as wet and twice as dirty.

This one is a more seasonal one.


If the moon shows a silver shield,
Be not afraid to reap the field,
But if she rises haloed round,
Soon we'll tread on deluged ground.

Originally Posted by NickCantle

Nothing wrong with the odd maggot. This nanny culture

You haven't seen me cutting round the worms in my current glut of victoria plums

[naturegirl]

Mmmmmm, Victoria plums make delicious wine, hic!!!!

Just ask Kayleigh, hic!!

Naturegirl

[Dutchess]

A handful of country sayings about Autumn Taken from Under the Hawthorn, by Sybil Marshall:


“If 24th August be fair and clear, look for a prosperous autumn that year”

“Even fools grow fat in September”

“In Autumn if the leaves still hold, the Winter will be wet and cold”

“If there’s ice in November to bear a duck, there’s nothing after but slush and muck”



D.

[Dutchess]

And further to the discussion about blackberries, here is what I found in Touchwood by Isha Mellor:

“Blackberries should not be gathered after 11th October. This was the old Michaelmas Day, the day Satan was thrown out of heaven. He had the added misfortune of falling into a bramble bush, so took his revenge by spitting and piddling on the fruit on each anniversary of his disgrace. By this time of year, the fruit is decidedly past it’s best, shrivelled and spoilt by insects, so this amusing story is not essential to prevent us from picking the late fruit.”

D.

[Dutchess]

And from the Hávamál (the Words of the High, or the words of Óðinn, the chief god of the old Æsir religion of the Northern people of Europe.):

A man should know how many logs
And strips of bark from the birch
To stock in autumn, that he may have enough
Wood for his winter fires.

D.

[mykonik]

Originally Posted by tufftie

Just thinking that Autumn is a bit low on myths and folklore etc and wondered whether anybody can add to my scant knowledge!!

The one I can think of quickly is that falling leaves have magical qualities and that if you catch one before it touches the ground good luck will come your way.

But only if they are not still attached to a large branch Tufftie !

Nick

[Hedge Witch]

Originally Posted by mykonik

But only if they are not still attached to a large branch Tufftie !

Nick

Good one!

[ron1863]

"The stillness of October gold
Went out like beauty from a face."

[tufftie]

Originally Posted by mykonik

But only if they are not still attached to a large branch Tufftie !

Nick

Depends who's under the branch - lol

[Pam_M]

A great thread, Tuftie!

"Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring."
- Anonymous

[tufftie]

Originally Posted by Pam_M

A great thread, Tuftie!

"Autumn is a season followed immediately by looking forward to Spring."
- Anonymous

Thanks Pam

Very apt now as our winters are all slush and muck. I used to love the snow and crisp, clear, sunny days