Motif
purifying and protective fire for people and livestock
purifying_and_protective_fire_for_people_and_livestock
A motif of the Sacred Fire and Divine Light family, within the sub-family Purifying, Protective, and Boundary Fires. Every row below is a tagged passage; each rests on a quote in its source text.
1 occurrences
1 traditions
comparative
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The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 2 of 2) / CONTENTS; lines 5934-6013 confidence: high
In England, Wales, Cornwall, and the Isle of Man, midsummer bonfires, torches, and firebrands are reported in streets, fields, hills, villages, and near cattle; practices include leaping, blessing apples, carrying torches village to village, placing smoke over corn, and carrying blazing furze or gorse around cattle.
The passage reports leaping over or passing through fire, carrying fire around cattle, and a torch circuit believed to purify flocks and herds and prevent diseases; one Irish account explains the rite as purifying the air from harmful beings.
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