Research source

St as mould from a grave was supposed by the witches of the Middle Ages to be particularly efficacious in…

Date of account: Ancient traditions presented in a work published 1916
Source: Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria
Reference: Myths & Legends of Babylonia & Assyria · selected passage 89
Rights: public_domain
Language: English synthesis of Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian material
Translation: Lewis Spence, with cited translations and retellings
Record updated: 2026-08-24

Record summary

st as mould from a grave was supposed by the witches of the Middle Ages to be particularly efficacious in magic, so was the dust of the temple supposed to possess hidden virtue in Assyria

Published source text

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Source passage

Source text · mention only

st as mould from a grave was supposed by the witches of the Middle Ages to be particularly efficacious in magic, so was the dust of the temple supposed to possess hidden virtue in Assyria. If one pared one's nails or cut one's hair it was considered necessary to bury them lest a sorcerer should discover them and use them against their late owner; for a sorcery performed upon a part was by the law of sympathetic magic thought to reflect upon the whole. A like superstition attached to the discarded clothing of people, for among barbarian or uncultured folk the apparel is regarded as part and parcel of the man. Even in our own time simple and uneducated people tear a piece from their garments and hang it as an offering on the bushes around any of the numerous healing wells in the country that they may have journeyed to.

Historical context

Contextual commentary · mention only

This is a passage from a historical religious or interpretive text. Its genre, manuscript history, translation and place within its own tradition are part of the evidence and must remain visible.

Modern context

Contextual commentary · mention only

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