THE KEY AND BOOK CHARM.

To find out the two first letters of a future wife’s or husband’s name, take a small Bible and the key of your front street-door, and having opened to Solomon’s Songs, chap. viii., ver. 6 and 7, place the wards of the key on those two verses, and let the bow of the key be about an inch out of the top of the Bible; then shut the book, and tie it round with your garter, so as the key will not move, and the person who wishes to know his or her future husband or wife’s signature, must suspend the Bible, by putting the fore-finger of the right hand under the bow of the key, and the other person in like manner on the other side of the bow of the key, who must repeat the following verses, after the other person’s saying the alphabet, one letter to each time repeating them.

It must be observed, that you mention to the person who repeats the verses, before you begin, which you intend to try first, whether surname or Christian name, and take care to hold the Bible steady; and when you arrive at the appointed letter, the book will turn round under your finger, and that you will find to be the first letter of your intended’s name.

Solomon’s Songs, chap. viii., ver. 6 and 7.

"Set me a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm; for love is strong as death, jealousy is cruel as the grave; the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.

“Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it; if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it would be utterly contemned.”

CARD CHARM.

Draw all the face cards from the pack and put them into your stocking on a Friday night, placing the stocking under your pillow. You must find out by the Almanac the precise time the sun rises on Saturday morning, and at that moment draw a card. A king denotes a speedy marriage; a queen means delay or celibacy; a Jack is a gay seducer who will give you trouble. Diamonds are riches, hearts true love, spades thrift, and clubs poverty.

THE SPIDER OMEN.

It is considered an ill omen when one sees a spider in the morning. The earlier in the morning, and the larger the spider, the greater the evil which threatens you. It is within doors, however, and chiefly in one’s own chamber, that the spider has this signification—out of doors they forebode no harm. The wood spider especially, is not much to be dreaded; what I have said above refers particularly to the house spider. Never, on any account, kill a wood spider. By such an act you would only draw upon yourself the hatred of the whole race of witches, and sooner or later you would suffer from it.

When found in the evening, a spider signifies good luck. The smaller the spider, the greater the good fortune. I will here teach you the following rhyme:

Little spiders have much less evil in them than the others, and those called daddy-long-legs are always messengers of good luck.

THE STRING TOKEN.

If your shoe-tie or apron string breaks, your sweetheart is thinking of you.

SIGN WHEN YOUR RIGHT EAR TINGLES.

If your right ear tingles, some one is speaking well of you, if the left ear tingles, some one is speaking ill of you. To find out who this some one is, you must call out aloud the names of your acquaintance, one after another. The name at which the tingling ceases is the name of the person.

SIGN WHEN TOUR NOSE ITCHES.

If your nose itches early in the morning, you will on that very day hear a piece of news.

STRANGE BED.

Lay under your pillow a prayer-book, opened at the matrimonial service, bound round with the garters you wore that day, and a sprig of myrtle on the page that says “With this ring I thee wed,” and your dream will be ominous, and you will have your fortune as well told as if you had paid a dollar to an astrologer.

THE SIGN OF A SNEEZE.

If any one tells you anything, and you are shortly after obliged to sneeze, you may be sure that what was told you is true.

THE DEATH-TICK.

If you hear a wood-tick or death-watch ticking anywhere in the house, you must try to get rid of it as soon as possible, or you will speedily hear of a death which will greatly afflict you.

THE CRICKET.

If there is a cricket in the house, be careful on no account to disturb it. Think of Dickens’ Cricket on the Hearth.

AN OMEN OF RICHES.

When an ant-heap gathers in your house, it signifies coming wealth—you may, however, destroy the nest.

THE FROG PROGNOSTIC.

If the first frog that you see in the spring of the year is sitting upon dry ground, it signifies that, during the same year, you will shed as many tears as the frog would require to swim away in.

THE CANDLE TOKEN.

When a large red token forms in the flame of a candle-wick, it signifies that the one who first sees it will soon receive a letter.

THE STAR AUGURY.

When you are out of doors on a starlit evening, and shooting stars appear, turn your face upward to the stars, and utter in a whisper the wish nearest your heart. If a star shoots while you do this, you may be sure that the wish will be fulfilled.

HOW TO BE SURE OF A PARTNER AT A DANCE.

When you wish to be sure of many partners at a dance or ball, let a little brother or sister, or any other person hold a thumb for you—that is, keep her hand closed like a fist for a quarter of an hour, holding her thumb between the fore and middle finger, while she thinks of you, and wishes you good luck. This proceeding has a wonderful effect.

THE BRIDE’S OMEN.

If you would have fair weather on your wedding day, you must always faithfully feed the cats. It is true it is a common error when persons think that it forebodes evil when it rains upon the bride in her bridal dress. This is no evil omen, but the contrary. But, above all things, let her be careful not to allow her shoes to get wet. If my young readers would take the trouble to read Frederika Bremer’s work called “The House,” they would find in it a confirmation of this warning.

TO KNOW IF A WOMAN WITH CHILD WILL HAVE A GIRL OR BOY.

Write the proper names of the father and the mother, and of the month she conceived with child, and likewise adding all the numbers of those letters together, divide them by seven; and then, if the remainder be even, it will be a girl, if uneven, it will be a boy.

THE CROW SIGN.

If you wish to know how matters will go with you during the year, you must take good heed of the first crow that you see in the spring. If, when you first see it, it is flying, it signifies that you will take a journey that will be longer or shorter, according to the distance which the bird flies before it alights. It may also signify a complete change of abode, perhaps by a wedding. If you first see the bird sitting, you will remain at home; if cawing, much that you do not think of will happen to you; if upon one leg, fortune will not smile upon you.

THE RABBIT AUGURY.

If, when in the open field, or upon the highroad, a rabbit runs across your path, it signifies that something unpleasant will happen to you.

THE SHEEP AND SWINE TOKEN.

If you are going to pay a visit, and you meet with sheep, you will be very welcome; but if you meet with swine, you will be unwelcome.

A CHARM AGAINST NIGHTMARE.

If you wish to be secure against the nightmare in your sleep, place your shoes side by side upon the floor, at the foot of the bed, so that the toes will point not toward the bed, but in the contrary direction, as if they were going from it.

WHAT A SPIDER WEB FORETELLS.

If you are walking with a young man at a time when the so-called gossamer, those snow-white spider’s threads, are floating about in the air, and one of these delicate fibrous veils sweeps by, and forms a band between you and him, it is a sign that feelings of a tender nature will some day bind you to each other.

HOW TO GET A SWEETHEART.

If a thick, long spider’s web hangs anywhere from the ceiling, you must sweep it down as soon as possible, for it signifies a suitor, and the one that gets the web will have him.

WHAT A PRICK IN THE FINGER SIGNIFIES.

If you are sewing upon a new dress, apron, &c., &c., and you prick your finger with the needle so as to bring blood, it is a sign that when you first wear the garment you will receive many kisses.

EASTER WATER.

In speaking of a love potion, I made mention of Easter water; many of my readers have, I suppose, never heard of this singular kind of water. I will explain it to you. It is water which is drawn from the river upon Easter morning, before the sun has shone upon it. To obtain it, therefore, you must rise on Easter morning while it is still quite dark, take your way to the river in silence, fill your pitcher in silence, and then make your way home in silence, without looking behind you. You may then go to bed again and have your sleep out. This Easter water has this peculiarity: it will keep sweet throughout the whole year. You can, therefore, fill as many bottles with it as you please, cork them tightly, and lay them away. Besides its use in the above-named love potion, it is beneficial in various maladies, especially in diseases of the eye, and, in addition to this, it is an approved cosmetic.

THE RYE CHARM.

If you would have bread and cake in plenty during the whole year, hang a full sheaf of rye and a full sheaf of wheat upon a pole outside the door, on Christmas morning, so that the birds may come and feed from it.

NUMEROUS METHODS OF TELLING FORTUNES ON NEW YEAR’S EYE.

The evening which of all others is the most adapted for witchery, is New Year’s eve. It is a very ill practice to spend this evening at a ball, and it is an acknowledged fact that ill luck, more or less, follows a person throughout the year, who has danced the old year out and the new year in.

You should spend New Year’s eve with a small circle of near and dear friends, around a punch-bowl, while you seek to inquire what the future has in store for you. In the first place this may be done with melted lead or wax. Some of you, perhaps, are acquainted with this method of inquiring of the future, yet there may be many among your number who are still ignorant of it. Now, as it is of the highest interest in the world that these should know the process, I will here give, for their benefit, a short explanation of it, which the others may skip over.

THE LEAD AND WAX SPELL.

Take a good-sized piece of lead or wax, (the former is better,) place it in a melting-ladle, and dissolve it over the coals, or over a spirit-lamp, into which you have poured a little alcohol. You must then take a vessel full of water, (a bowl is best, that is not too deep nor too shallow,) and pour into it the lead or wax, and from the various figures which it forms in the water you endeavor to tell your fortune.

THE SAUCER CHARM.

The following is another method: you take four saucers; in one you put a ring, in another a sprig of myrtle, in the third a piece of money, and in the fourth nothing. The individuals composing the company must now walk around the table, blindfold, one after the other, and choose one of the saucers, which, in the mean time, have been changed as to place. Those among the company who choose the ring, will be betrothed in the course of the year; myrtle signifies wedlock, the piece of money wealth, the empty saucer no change of circumstances.

HOW TO TELL THE FIRST LETTER OF YOUR FUTURE WIFE OR HUSBAND’S NAME.

If you wish to know the letter with which your future wife or husband’s name commences, write all the letters of the alphabet, separately, upon small pieces of paper, put these pieces in a box, and draw one out blindfold.

All this may be done before twelve o’clock. Exactly at the stroke of midnight, however, you can summon up your future husband or wife, and behold his or her image up the chimney.

THE CANDLE SPELL.

The following is another method: Take two candles, go a little before twelve o’clock into an adjoining chamber—no one on any account must follow you—place yourself before the mirror, and exactly as it strikes twelve, call out your own name in full, three times. When the last sound has died away, you will see in the glass your future husband looking over your shoulder.

The company may not remain together after twelve o’clock. When the old year is out and the new year in, you must embrace, and kiss each other, and then go home. You must not yet go to bed, however, but must first devote an hour to solitude, to reflect upon all which the past year has brought with it, and to commit to writing the chief occurrences, as well as the state of your minds. It would be well to keep a book for this purpose, in which you should read and write only on a new-year’s eve, and at other times keep carefully stored away. I have always done this, and I can assure you, that it is with a feeling of sad, sweet interest, that I now read, each new-year’s eve, of the eighty-nine years of my life.

THE NUTSHELL WITCHERY.

Among the witcheries which you may perform on a new-year’s eve, there is one to which I have not alluded. Each person of the company, to wit, takes a nutshell, and, after lighting a wax taper, places it in the shell. A basin of water is then brought. You now place the nutshells, with the burning tapers in them, in the basin. Some will incline toward each other as they float along, others will repel each other, until, at last, all are extinguished or sunk. What conclusions in reference to the future, are to be drawn from the various movements of these tiny magic skiffs, your own quick wits will tell you.

THE BRIDGE OMEN.

After you have gone home, and have devoted an hour to the solitary task which I counselled you (see Candle Spell), take a glass of water, cut a small chip of wood, and lay it crosswise upon the glass, so that it stretches like a bridge, from one end to the opposite one. Then place this glass under your bed. The consequence will be that you will dream during the night that you are walking over a bridge, and that you fall into the water. A gentleman, however, appears and rescues you. This same gentleman, whom you will see very distinctly, be careful to remember, for he is your future husband. A gentleman can make the same experiment, and he will dream the same thing, with the difference only, that it is a lady who rescues him, and she is to be his future wife.

THE HAIR SPELL.

If you wish any person to think of you, pluck a hair from your head, and blow it out into the air toward that quarter of the heavens in which the person lives, while, at the same time, you call out the name of this person three times, at the top of your voice. During this you must be entirely alone, and must have thought intently upon the person for, at least, a quarter of an hour beforehand. At the same instant he will experience a strange unearthly shudder or thrill, and his thoughts will turn irresistibly toward you.

SIGN WHEN YOU WET YOUR APRON.

When you are washing, if you are apt to wet your apron a great deal, it is a sign that your future husband will be a tippler. Take good heed therefore!

THE NAIL TOKEN.

If a person has nails that are all bitten to pieces, and gnawed close to the quick, it signifies an evil, malicious character, and you have every reason in the world to be on your guard in your intercourse with such a person.