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In re: my plans to work with Frigga, I found this article by the Viking Answer Lady. I'm planning to make and use a spindle as a meditative aid and a devotional instrument, so this was all very interesting...
From the article:
'Christian commentators railed against this type of women's magic. Eligius of Noyon preached that a woman should not "name other unfortunate persons either at the loom, or in dyeing, or in any kind of work with textiles," while the Corrector of Burchard of Worms, ca. 1010, sets the following penance for magical weaving:
Have you been present at or consented to the vanities which women practice in their woollen work, in their weaving, who when they begin their weaving hope to be able to bring it about that with incantations and with their actions that the threads of the warp and the woof become so intertwined that unless someone makes use of these other diabolical counter-incantations, he will perish totally? If you have been present or consented, you must do penance for thirty days on bread and water (Meaney, 185).
The colors red and blue were considered to be especially magical, and cloth of these colors was prized for straining medicinal infusions. The Dutch word toverij, the German word Zauber, and the Old English term teafor all mean "magic" and are related to the Norse word taufr, used for an amulet or talisman: all these terms are derived from a Germanic root meaning "red, vermillion" (Storms, 102-103). Red thread was used in medical applications, being used to bind off the umbilicus of the newborn, or to tie packets of herbs to an afflicted body part to encourage magical healing.'
Oooh, those evil women. Not big on the destruction personally, but I really like the concept of literally weaving spells. I will look into this further.
I can tell you one reason why red and blue might've been prized and seen as magical, besides the rather obvious blood association: They're bastard hard to make, that's why! Red can be got from certain lichens, but it's not easy. Use the wrong mordant (that's a fixative for dyes BTW) and you end up with a bucket of red water and some faintly pink wool. Blue can be got from woad, but that's a long haul--it is not until the second year of life that the woad plant gives a blue dye. The first year's seeds yeild brown. (Yes, it's the seeds you use; woad flowers are bright yellow. Really true.)
I note that the seidh-kona is described as wearing a cloak of blue. I'm wondering about the black clothes attributed to witches in modern folklore and pop-culture; black would have been a mighty hard colour to achieve. Maybe that's significant? |
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