Magical Healing: Folk Healing Techniques from the Old World - Hexe Claire 2018

The Right Time
Healing and Healers

It’s always fascinating to see that common things like the names of the weekdays, which most people never would think about, can tell us so much about history and the intellectual world of our ancestors.

Of course, we live our lives in the modern day. It would make no sense to transfer old traditions into our time unaltered. Nevertheless, knowledge of the old ways can be a great resource, especially in our fast-paced world that is constantly breaking up old rules and structures. Which is in itself not bad and gives us more freedom, but it also tends to overburden the individual.

Living in tune with the knowledge about the old days of the week and the moon keeps one grounded. Moon calendars have recently become very popular again in many households (and it’s not just people interested in spirituality who are buying them).

Some old calendars are centuries old, like the German Steinhausers Kempter Kalender, an old traditional folk calendar, which has been printed continuously since 1692. It’s similar to The Old Farmer’s Almanac in the US, which has been printed since 1792.

Many people say, “Well, I don’t stick to it meticulously, but I like to plan with it because it gives things a natural order.” And why not? Moon calendars help us slow down and give back a healthy feeling for the natural cycles of life.

The Days of the Week in Traditional Folk Magic

The old lore of the days of the week still clearly shows a mixture of Greco-Roman, Celto-Germanic, and Christian traditions. In the fourth century the Germanic peoples adopted the Roman week, and the energy of the Romans gods, linked with the days of the week (as we will see in a moment), still echoes in rural and folklore traditions.

Monday

Monday is linked to the moon and its energies. As the moon phases change constantly, the day of the moon is also seen as a changeable day and it’s better not to start new things on this day. As the old German saying goes, “Monday beginnings—no good proceedings.”

Another saying is that what you start on Monday “won’t grow old”—in other words, it won’t last. This knowledge is common to this day. In Germany, if a particular device is full of bugs and doesn’t work properly we call it a “Monday model,” and it’s been proven that the error rate at work is actually higher on Mondays, resulting from the break of the weekend, as our bodies and minds need their time to readjust to working mode again.

The old traditions state that on a Monday you should not lend money, wear new clothes for the first time, bake, send the children to school for the first time, cut your hair or nails, or create or sign contracts. You should also avoid starting a trip or moving into a new home, and for heaven’s sake you should not marry on that day! Everything that can wait one more day should be left to rest on Mondays.

For healing work this special day has its advantages, though. It’s not the best day for things that you want to develop with stability, but it’s very helpful if one hopes for a change. This means that everything that is intended to initiate a shift of the current situation can be done on this day. If changes have come to a halt, if things are at a standstill, then Monday is a great day to give it a nudge.

Tuesday

Tuesday is the day of Mars in the Roman week. Old traditions say that everything which is better avoided on Mondays can be done on a Tuesday, because heaven smiles on new endeavors on this day. Whether one plans to marry, to start a new business or to move in a new home, Tuesday is a great day for all new beginnings.

In the old days Tuesday was also a favorable day for taking a healing bath (with herbs and essences) because this day quickens and revives the body. But with one restriction: “warlike” or aggressive interventions to the body—things like operations—would best be avoided, if possible.

Tuesday is a very good day for magic meant to strengthen or bring an initial energy boost. It’s a favorable day for all spiritual healing work. While Mondays have a hazy and gently mutable energy, Tuesday is more like banging a fist on the table.

Wednesday

Wednesday is the day of Mercury and, like the moon, he is seen as a vague energy; because Mercury is so flexible, it can turn in any direction. So, Wednesday is also not a good day for things meant to last but a very good day for things to change, and this should be mirrored in the direction your healing work takes. It is similar to Monday, but Wednesday is male (or androgynous) and has a more bustling energy due to the connection to Mercury.

In old traditions Mercury reigns over the nerves, so one should take care to avoid overwork and stress that would result in headaches on this day, and in general steer clear of stress and never overwork. Rather, Wednesdays are wonderful days to strengthen the nerves with meditations, relaxation exercises, or aromatherapy massages. Everything that brings you back to your center is favorable, and scents and herbs are especially beneficial on this day.

Thursday

Thursday is the lucky day of the week, ruled by jovial Jupiter and outshined only by Sunday. Medicines are thought to be doubly effective if taken on a Thursday.

Strength and health are multiplied through everything one does on this day. It is also a good day for healing baths and seen as a wonderful day for detoxing, since Jupiter is astro-medically linked to the liver.

This is also found in old hints that one should never fertilize (or spread manure) on Thursdays; it’s a day of clearing out, not of absorption.

If that seems contradictory, that’s just the nature of folk traditions. The general sense of Thursday is that it is a day of metabolism. Some people interpret it in the negative sense (don’t fertilize) while others in the positive sense (medicines are doubly effective). Both approaches co-exist.

Friday

Friday is Venus’ day and everything relating to the skin and beauty is very favorable on that day. But as with Monday and Wednesday, one should not start big and important things on this day.

But in contrast to Monday and Wednesday, it is a very good day to get married and to play the lottery or gamble, because Venus is the “small luck” in classical astrology (and Jupiter is the “big luck”).

Venus’s day is also very good for cartomancy and predicting the future. Roots for healing magic were often dug on Fridays or Sundays.

The changeable energy of Venus can also be used to “turn” illnesses for the better (more about that in the section on old healing methods). This was done by conjuring up the climax of an illness to abate it from there on.

This day is also good to go to the hairdresser and cut your nails. (In the old faith it was important to cut the nails if one wanted to get rid of an illness, so that only healthy things would grow from then on. The nails were burned or buried under a tree.)

Since the rise of Christianity this day is fifty-fifty a lucky and an unlucky day. Lucky because of the goddess Freya (giving it the name Fri-day or Frei-tag as we have it in German). Unlucky because of the Christian Good Friday. In folk belief, even in modern times, it is a day that evokes mixed feelings depending on the perspective: the enchanting Freya or the day of suffering of Christ in the later religion.

Of course, the day of the fertile goddess was a favorite to sow and plant. This can also be an interesting aspect for healing work: invoking creative energies and preparing a fertile ground.

Saturday

Saturday, it’s not difficult to guess, is the day of Saturn and very favorable for long-term and chronic matters and our bodily structure in general (bones, teeth, ligaments, joints). In the old days this was the preferred day to do cupping and blood-letting.

Today we often appreciate gentler methods: detoxing tea, for example, with nettle and horsetail is very beneficial on this day. Visiting a sauna or steam bath is also a very good idea on this day.

Saturday is called Sonnabend in some regions of Germany, meaning “evening of the sun” or “Sunday eve” and the evening of this day was especially holy. This has a link to the old Celto-Germanic custom, when the new day started at dusk and not at dawn, as we know it today. On Saturday evenings it was forbidden to work, because the Sunday day of rest already applied to it.

In German we have two words for this day, showing how history comes into play even with things as ordinary as names for the days of the week. Besides Sonnabend there is also the word Samstag for this day, coming from the Old High German word sambztac which was introduced during Christian proselytization along the Danube River. So, to this day in western and southern Germany the word Samstag is used most often and in north and eastern Germany the old Germanic Sonnabend is used more often. In Low German along the coast it’s called Saterdag (quite close to the English Saturday, isn’t it?), and there we have a clear link to Saturn.

Sunday

Even nowadays Sunday is the holiest and luckiest day of the week. Sunday’s children are seen as especially lucky people because they are close to the spirit world. Unfortunately, many clinics today tend to induce labor on weekdays because of financial reasons (Sunday premium pay) so far fewer children are born on this lucky day.

But a glimpse into history is interesting here, too. Until the thirteenth century, the lucky Sunday’s children were Saturday children, because the Jewish Sabbat was the lucky day of the week. These Saturday children were seen as natural spirit seers and were consulted when inexplicable things happened (in some Eastern European regions this custom is still alive). The link between Sunday and lucky children came later when the belief in spirits was diminished. Depending on the region, spirit seers were much-respected advisors and healers, but in some regions they were also feared and had to live a life on the edge of society.

Sunday is the best day for healing work, but it has to be done in a relaxed manner. Sunday is the day of sacred rest in the old traditions. People who’ve just recovered from an illness should not be active on Sundays, but rest until Monday before resuming work and daily duties.

It brings bad luck to be in a rush of hustle and bustle on this day. These old rules of luck and misfortune were often wise guidelines to avoid pathogenic stress. Clothes sewn on Sundays were said to bring illnesses, but we can’t translate this old custom literally to today, because in the old days sewing was work while today (for most) it’s a relaxing hobby. One was also not supposed to cut trees, fingernails, hooves, or plants on Sunday. Humans, animals, or plants—everything was seen holistically in those days.

Today we should see these old rules as inspiration, and maybe bring back the good old Sunday walk through the park or nature again. Many people are a little tense on Sundays because, as we say in German, “they stand with one leg already in the work week to come.” Our wise ancestors knew better: because, as we have seen, they didn’t start anything important on Mondays anyway, it was a much gentler start into the new week.

One more thing: Sunday was a very good day for a wedding, for that’s not work but a celebration.

Please Keep in Mind

When it comes to weekdays and the choice of fortunate days in general, it’s important to use common sense, too. An important operation or an urgent treatment should never be rescheduled or delayed just because of the day of the week, the moon phase, or other things. Life is influenced by many factors, not only the moon or the day.

I am adamant about this because blind superstition is not helpful. In my work as a spiritual consultant I’ve heard many stories of people shifting important treatments, for example because their astrologer was against it—and who suffered damage because of it.

Please always keep in mind: it’s good to know and apply the old knowledge, but it should never be misused carelessly or as a substitute for common sense.

The Phases of the Moon

The fundamental rules about the moon phases are easy and many will know them already. If the moon is waning you treat things that should vanish, minimize, and disappear, like warts for example. If the moon is waxing, it’s a good time to strengthen the body and to nourish it.

The new moon (meaning the dark moon, not the new crescent) is a good time to start new things and initiate positive changes.

This is the view most of us have today, but you can also go by the old rule of new moon: a day that is taboo for any magical work. This wasn’t meant as negative, as we tend to perceive these limiting rules today. It was simply a day of “moon rest” in the old days. So even the good old moon had a day for privacy and quiet—when it could rejuvenate, so to speak.

The full moon, on the other hand, is the moment of maximum strength and can be used for any kind of luck and blessings. But folk magic often prefers to work in the days prior to that (usually one to three days before full moon) so the energy is still rising and “pulls up” the magic with its increasing energy.

Besides the waxing and waning of the moon, the signs of the zodiac were also of interest in folk magic healing. Please keep in mind here, too: urgent treatments should never be delayed because of the moon. Today some folks tend to overstate these old rules in unhealthy ways, but even the old healers taught that the moon can facilitate many things, but in times of upheaval you have to do what has to be done.

Following the path of the moon through the zodiac is very easy: the zodiac starts with Aries, which is linked to the head and so it goes on step by step—or rather sign by sign—down the body. Certain signs, such as Taurus with its ruling planet Venus, also have additional meanings. So, Taurus is not just the neck but also (typically Venus) especially good for skin and beauty matters.

The Signs of the Zodiac and the Planets

In the following list I refer to traditional astrology, as our ancestors used it. In matters of healing this is also useful because the “new” planets Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto are so-called transpersonal planets, meaning that they influence the fate of whole generations. This section will examine the moon’s journey through the zodiac signs and their respective planets.

Aries and Mars

Aries rules the head and everything concerning it, like headaches, migraines, and the brain, as well as everything that can affect the head, like sinusitis. The ruler of Aries, Mars, is associated with the blood and traditional “blood cleansing” (today it’s called detox), but also can be used to improve blood circulation.

Mars is the planet of power and when in Aries this gets heightened further. So, if one suffers from listlessness and a lack of vigor, the days of Aries should be used for spiritual work.

Taurus and Venus

The areas Taurus rules are the neck and the throat. As it was said above, its ruler Venus also makes it a wonderful day for beauty treatments of any kind. Since Taurus is an earth sign, applications of healing earth, rhassoul (Moroccan clay), or mudpacks are especially effective. You can take this link to earth literally in your healing work.

Gemini and Mercury

Gemini rules the arms, the shoulders and the lungs (as these come in pairs). Since Mercury is the ruler of this sign it is also linked to the nervous system and troubles like restlessness, jitteriness, and insomnia. Try reducing your coffee input on Gemini days (when the moon passes through Gemini); you are already alert on these days and too much might overshoot the mark. As an air sign, Gemini doesn’t tend to calm down Mercury’s high-flying energy. But if you are in need of some good brainstorming, these are your days!

Cancer and the Moon

Cancer rules over the stomach, gallbladder, spleen, and liver—all innards between the lungs and intestine and bladder, to put it simply. The Moon also adds a link to all things feminine, like fertility, the female cycle, and hormonal balance. So, everything concerning these topics is also very fortunate on these days (especially if the moon is waxing).

Leo and the Sun

Heart and circulation are the main healing areas of Leo energy. If one wants to alleviate troubles in this area it’s also important to remember one’s own Leo lion-strength and move, work out, and take life into one’s own hands again.

Many illnesses of the heart and circulation have their roots in unhealthy food, not enough exercise, and a constant lack of time coupled with stress. The lion—and in small form cats, too—are wonderful reminders of being the queen or king in one’s own realm and making a new set of priorities.

As a male sign of the Sun, Leo also supports any kind of men’s health issues, as Cancer does for the women.

Virgo and Mercury

Virgo supervises digestion, which includes the bowels and all metabolic processes that are linked to them. Virgo’s planetary ruler Mercury links it to the nervous system as well, and while this may be surprising at first glance, our ancestors already knew what science is just beginning to discover: the bowel has an entire nervous system of its own, the enteric nervous system. The “gut feeling” is not just proverbial, it is very real and is sometimes called our “second brain.” Sometimes we make decisions based on gut reactions, with our brain in the belly.

Libra and Venus

Libra rules over the kidneys, the bladder, and (just like Taurus, who’s also a Venus sign) everything concerning beauty and attraction.

If we look at attraction and beauty not in a superficial way, but in a deeper sense, we see that they have to do something with harmony. It’s all about coming to terms with yourself and respecting your own unique balance. And what could be more appropriate for this as a symbol than the two scales of Libra?

Scorpio and Mars

Scorpio is the sign of the sexual organs, and, due to his ruler Mars, is also linked to strong elemental powers. As we already saw with Aries, this is about blood, the life force itself, and the energy that makes life continue.

Mars is not just about fighting, and this is often overlooked. He’s also about vitality, vigor and assertiveness.

Sagittarius and Jupiter

Sagittarius is the sign of the upper leg and its veins. Its planetary ruler Jupiter also links this sign to the liver and the muscles. This makes Sagittarius days especially effective when it comes to sports, workouts, or just a good long walk in fresh air outside, to refresh and rejuvenate.

Capricorn and Saturn

Capricorn is an important sign in the old moon traditions because it rules the knees, skin, bones, and joints. This comes from rigid Saturn, being the ruler of everything firm, supporting, and defined (like the skin that encompasses the body).

Because Saturn is linked to the earth element and also attributed to cold, warming applications are especially good on these days and it’s also important to wear warm clothing so as not to catch a chill.

Aquarius and Saturn

Aquarius rules the lower leg and the veins in it. Contrary to Capricorn, Aquarius does not link the Saturn energy with more of the earth element, but with the element of air, and this combination is much easier, not so stiff.

Aquarius days are the best for working with chronic ailments of any kind, because Saturn represents stability and the element of air brings changing energies, or the proverbial fresh air, into it.

Pisces and Jupiter

Pisces rules the feet and is especially good for reflexology and our inner grounding in general. Also—as with Sagittarius—Jupiter brings the areas of musculature and detox (the liver) into play.

But where Sagittarius (being a fire sign) is more about the dynamic and sporty aspect, Pisces as a water sign tends more to the emotional side of life.

Psychosomatic problems can be addressed especially well on Pisces days. And psychosomatic does not mean imaginary, a common misconception. It means that it’s rooted in the soul, but the illness itself is manifest.

It’s also a good day to help find solutions for unclear problems, where the reason has not been found yet.

Because Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, it was (and is) traditionally used to get rid of things and to banish them before the next moon cycle through the zodiac begins. Many still know that this is especially effective to get rid of warts, but you can adapt this for any problem you want to banish.