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Swan Feathers linked to Cornish Witches' Fertility Rituals
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Swans are crown property in Britain.
Jacqui Wood, a British archaeologist has been digging at the site at Saveock Water, where remains of what appears to be witchcraft rituals have just been discovered. Swan feathers, human hair, the remains of 57 unhatched eggs and nail clippings are among some of the offerings found in a 17th century stone-lined pit that could have been a "holy well." There was additional evidence that the well had been filled to hide what went on there.
Pagan rituals had been all but wiped out in 17th Century Britain, but not in Cornwall. There such pagan "bird rituals" appear to have continued and many were thought to be linked to fertility spells. It is possible that these offerings, such as the unhatched bird eggs were left and then nine months later, if there was a conception, the person would return to empty the pit.
These, and many other findings were shared by Wood, when he delivered a paper on the feather pits at the World Archaeology Conference in Dublin in June. Many concluded that the practices had not yet died out. Since all swans belong to the monarch, harming or killing a swan in Britain these days is an offense that could earn you a fine, or in some cases, jail time. The first Witchcraft Act was passed in 1541, but the death penalty ended in 1745 (according to the BBC). Only recently the Scottish Parliament was asked to approve a bill pardoning the 4,000 people (alleged witches) who were burnt, drowned or hanged during this period. So clearly, this is a matter still taken fairly seriously by the witches' families and descendants. As late as 1944, Jane Rebecca Yorke, a medium who claimed to contact dead soldiers was fined five pounds. Yorke was the last person to be convicted under this law. (BBC).
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