Charms, Spells, and Curses. V. J. Banis

ease the pain a baby suffers in teething, hang around its little neck a tooth extracted from a live mouse.

      If the body is afflicted, take an eggshell and stuff it with horsehair; rub this on the afflicted part and it will absorb the disease, after which the eggshell and the disease may be easily discarded.

      Betony, any plant of the figwort tree, gives relief from toothache.

      Rue, a bitter woody perennial herb, is successful as an antidote for poison.

      Those diseases of the breast which plague women can be made to disappear by the simple method of applying sedative cataplasms made of henbane. Henbane is a fetid Old World herb that contains a poison especially deadly to fowls; its leaves yield an extract used in medicine which has properties similar to those of belladonna.

      Henbane is effective for irritable conditions; it can be used as a sedative in asthma or whooping cough.

      For breast complaints of women, red clover is advised.

      A sachet of belladonna applied to the stomach will ease the pain and convulsions of difficult childbirth. Belladonna is effective also for the gout and rheumatism.

      If one has been bitten by a mad dog or by any venomous beast, he must drink wine in which verbena stalks have been boiled. Or he may apply to the wound directly leaves of the verbena plant.

      Vervain and plantain are fine nerve tonics and can be used for feverish colds, fits, convulsions, and other complaints.

      Take myrtle berries, dry and pound these, and preserve with the white of egg. When applied in the form of a plaster to the mouth and the stomach, they prevent vomiting.

      Myrtle leaves applied in compresses on the forehead, as well as the temples and feet, will bring calm and healing sleep to sufferers of fever. Stubborn colds and severe head pains can be relieved by inhaling the warm vapors of an infusion of myrtle leaves. Myrtle is effective as well for chest complaints and night sweats.

      Abscesses which often prove mortal under the scalpel of surgery can be cured by bean flour, applied to the breast. Some use ordinary white flour and honey for the same purpose.

      Marshmallow, a European perennial herb, is the best cure for abscess.

      To cure abscess, apply any of the following, alone or in combination—red clover, slippery elm, and aconacia, but only these.

      Onyx has properties similar to those of jasper; also, it increases saliva in boys and sometimes brings terrible shapes to the dreamer, from which the future can be divined. If applied to the eye, onyx acts as if alive, creeping about and removing noxious matter.

      Opal is said to recreate the heart, to preserve from contagion in the air, and to be fine for weak eyes, making them quickly stronger.

      Mugwort is a cure for gout and for fever.

      Lodestone is universally known to possess diverse magical properties. If one is ill, one has to hold the lodestone in one’s hands and shake it well. This will cure most wounds, snakebites, headaches, weak eyes; it will restore lost or weakened hearing.

      Limachie is squeezed out of the head of a slug, which must be done the instant it is seen. This is an amulet highly effective against fever.

      Red bezoar is known to have magical properties and is highly prized by all healers. It is a certain remedy against any poison and against contagion, whether it is taken internally or worn about the neck. There are nine varieties of bezoar and these differ greatly in composition, although all are found in the alimentary organs of animals; but generally these may be listed as those which consist mainly of mineral matter and those which consist mainly of organic matter. As to the origin of this stone, it is said that the stags of the Orient, when they became oppressed with years, fed upon certain serpents which restored their youth. But it was necessary to counteract this poison which was quickly absorbed into their systems, and for this purpose they plunged into running streams, keeping their heads above the water. A viscous fluid was distilled from their eyes, which was indurated by the sun’s heat and formed bezoar. But whether such is true or not does not lessen the effect of these stones.

      Emerald can be seen to be an excellent preservative against decay; it promotes childbirth, and arrests dysentery. Also it heals the bites of venomous animals. It is good for the eyes.

      Live earthworms should be placed on an infected wound to cause a cure.

      To prevent food poisoning, unicorn horn is most favorable.

      Mummy powder is regarded by most physicians as powerful in curing disease. For the best results this must be from the mummy of a saint, or that of a very healthy young person who has recently been drowned, or has been killed by a fall. Somewhat less effective, but still to be desired, are thieves cut down from the gallows or beheaded rebels. As this flesh yet radiates life power it can regenerate failing spirits.

      If a red-haired person will boil children’s hair, this will produce an effective treatment for frost blisters.

      Live toads are effective against bubonic pustules.

      For very foul wounds, heap them with three handfuls of steamed pigeon’s dung.

      Moss grown on a skull is sometimes effective for hemorrhage.

      Frog’s eggs can be used as a disinfectant.

      To bring forth the occult virtues in pearls, boil them in meat, then they will heal the quartan ague (malaria).

      If pearls are bruised and taken with milk they will be beneficial to ulcers and will clear the voice. Worn in necklaces, these gems make their wearer chaste; as to their other properties, if they are crushed to a fine powder and mixed with milk, this drink will sweeten irritable temperaments; and crushed and mixed with sugar, they cure pestilential fevers.

      Amber heals throat disease.

      Cornelian which has been engraved with a man’s figure holding a scepter in his hand will stop hemorrhages.

      Engrave on red coral a man bearing a sword; this will heal hemorrhages.

      Rely upon agapis to cure sting and venomous bite, if it is dipped in water and rubbed over the wounds.

      Agate stone is the very best healing for scorpion bite or serpent bites.

      Here is a recipe for restoring lost youth, which should be used every seven years: On the first day of this performance, a plaster made of one ounce of saffron, two of sandalwood (which also is red), half an ounce of red roses, a measure of aloe wood, and a similar quantity of fine amber should be placed on the heart during sleep. These shall have been ground into a very fine powder and mixed with a half-pound of white purified wax, and then worked up with a sufficiency of oil of roses. This plaster must be taken off on wakening and then kept in a leaden box until used again. Now, the subject will live for some time on fowls, and these must be prepared in a certain way: for sanguine temperaments sixteen days is the prescribed time; for phlegmatics, twenty-five days are needed; and for melancholics, thirty days. He will obtain the number of fowls dictated by these times and by his appetite. These are to be kept in a large and airy yard with clear water but where there is no grass or any other kind of food for them, because they are to be given only the food which is here described: Make this of as many vipers as there are fowls. These are to be whipped in a tub until their heads and tails fall off. Then they will be skinned, and they must be soaked in vinegar and rubbed with coarse salt shaken onto a piece of rough material. Cut into small pieces, they are thrown into a large pot with half a pound of rosemary and the same of fennel, calamint, and spignel, and add half a pound of cumin. With pure water fill the pot two-thirds full and then bring gently to a boil and continue until the vipers are cooked. Add then a quantity of wheat finely sifted and of sufficient quantity to feed the fowls for the length of time which has been previously determined according to the subject’s temperament; this must be slowly poured in. This wheat is to be cooked until the essence of the reptiles has soaked in. The pot must be kept covered during this time lest the quality be affected, and it should be on a tripod so that it receives gentlest heat. The mixture will in time thicken, and if it is needed, a little water may be added to spare