Hair Folklore From ~ http://www.longhairlovers.com

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Hair Folklore From ~ http://www.longhairlovers.com

 

" The Celts believed hair to have magickal powers, especially a

woman's

hair. For this reason, women were forbidden to go about at night,

outside

of their houses, with their hair unbound. All that magick was too

wild and

tempting, and could attract evil spirits to her and her family.

Braiding

the hair can also be a magickal act; for centuries women would braid

their

hair and cast love spells, protection spells, and other such things.

They

might strengthen the spell by weaving flowers or ribbons into the

braid.

The idea was that, since a braid is a kind of knot, the spell was

tied

into the hair with the braid, and utilized the natural magick of the

hair.

This was the *real* reason the ancient Jews, and the early church

required

women to cover their hair: fear of the power inherent in the hair of

a

woman.

 

Also, the Cree Indians believe that the hair is an extension of the

soul.

This was relevant not only regarding length, but in the way one

wears

one's

hair; it is an expression of the inner you. "

 

--Courtesy of 00goddess, a Longhairlovers visitor.

 

 

" Hair has traditionally held healthy magic for young mothers around

the

world. Irish women once believed that their hair, which had grown so

abundantly in pregnancy, must therefore possess special powers. So

they

pulled skeins of it from their heads and wove it into amulets for

their

babies. "

 

-- The Body Shop Book: Skin, Hair and Body Care. Penguin Books,

1994.

 

 

" The Victorians believed that long, lush hair was a sign of a

woman's

fertility. Sparse, short or thin hair was considered a sign that a

woman

would not bear many children. With infant mortality rather high,

being

able

to have gobs of kids was essential. As an example, read Hedda

Gabler, by

Ibsen. "

 

--Courtesy of Laura, a Longhairlovers visitor.

 

 

" The Knight of La Tour Landry, who wrote a book for his daughter's

edification around 1370, was extremely strict when it came to

talking

about

fashion and used the Biblical story about Kind David and the

beautiful

Bathsheba to warn against the evils of hairdressing.

 

'This sin stemmed from . . . her pride in her beautiful hair, the

source

of

numerous evils. Every woman should therefore groom and dress in

secret;

she

should not take pride in her hairdo.'

 

" Throughout the Middle Ages, showing hair went in and out of

fashion.

Hairstyling was, however, a favorite pastime of fashionable women in

the

Middle Ages. Because a high forehead was considered particularly

attractive, hairlines often needed to be plucked back, removed with

pitch,

or even scalded with a hot needle. Dark or red hair could be

bleached to

achieve the desired blondness; in particular, red-haired women had

to be

careful, for popular lore held that 'one cannot find a quiet

redhead/That

all are violent cannot be gainsaid.'

 

" Egg white was often used as a sort of gel to keep elaborate

hairstyles in

place. Spices such as fennel, anise, cardamom, and cinnamon could be

put

in

one's hair to make it smell sweet. The 13th-century romance Roman de

la

Rose offered this advice: 'If [a woman] has not a beautiful face,

let her

use common sense and offer to the eye the beautiful tresses that

fall upon

her neck, because she knows that her hair is beautiful and nicely

braided.' "

 

-- Excerpt from Medieval Woman: An Illuminated Calendar. Workman

Publishing,

New York, 1999.

 

 

" In myth, a woman with masses of hair was seen as positively

terrifying.

India's Tantric sages warned that unbinding a woman's hair would

unleash

catastrophe. Medieval Christians believed witches unbraided their

hair to

brew up tempests. Scottish girls from seafaring families still honor

that

conviction, leaving their hair alone on the nights when their

brothers set

out to sea. Even today, the quaintly folkloric tradition of the

maypole

dance

refers to the mythical properties and the power of plaiting and

unplaiting

hair. . .

 

" Fear of another kind motivated the early Christian church. It was

believed

that bats, the devil's own messengers, would become ensnared in it,

which

is why women had to wear hats to church. "

 

-- The Body Shop Book: Skin, Hair and Body Care. Penguin Books,

1994.

 

 

" A lock of hair is a traditional token of love. A medieval knight

would

ride

to battle with a lock of his lady's hair, anonymously given because

milady

would often be married to another long before the knight returned

home

from

his adventure. "

 

--The Body Shop Book: Skin, Hair and Body Care. Penguin Books, 1994