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to perform the part of a prophet. This person was wrapped in the warm smoking hide of a newly-slain ox or cow, commonly an ox, and laid at full length in the wildest recess of some lonely waterfall. The question was then put to him, and the oracle was left in solitude to consider it. Here he lay for some hours with his cloak of knowledge around him, and over his head, no doubt, to see the better into futurity; deafened by the incessant roaring of the torrent; every sense assailed; his body steaming; his fancy was in ferment; and whatever notion had found its way into his mind from so many sources of prophecy, it was firmly believed to have been communicated by invisible beings who were supposed to haunt such solitudes.
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The divination by the taghairm was once a noted superstition among the Gael, and in the northern parts of the
Lowlands of Scotland. When any important question concerning futurity arose, and of which a solution was, by all means, desirable, some shrewder person than his neighbours was pitched upon,
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Other variations practiced have been recorded, and the same name has also been applied to other ritual customs. One variation of the ritual was said to summon a demonic cat called Big Ears, who would grant the summoners answers to their questions and fulfill their wishes. The last ceremony of this
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in a 1772 account of the region, and a number of closely matching accounts with hides and waterfalls can also be found, with some additionally including the diviner being beaten for a while with a pole or a staff after being covered by the animal skin.
114:, and getting unlawful wishes gratified, the ritual included roasting cats alive, one after the other, for several days without tasting food. This version of the taghairm supposedly summoned a legion of
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in the 17th century. All involved acts which were supposed to summon spirits or demons in the form of animals which would answer questions concerning the future.
159:. He further adds that it could involve another situation "where the scenery around him suggested nothing but objects of horror." However, Scott could not speak
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Meyrink links the ritual to perhaps a fictional goddess, “the Black Mother, Isaïs.” Meyrink, p. 70.
260:] (in German). Translated by Mitchell, Mike (2nd ed.). UK: Dedalus Books. pp. 67–71.
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In one version of the taghairm said to be one of the most effective means of raising the
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A Gaelic dictionary in two parts. To which is prefixed, a new Gaelic grammar
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in the beginning of the seventeenth century, and was recorded in the London
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describes three different ways of consulting spirits common in the
Scottish
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scornfully described a third method in a footnote to his influential poem
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The animal skin and waterfall method of divination was also known in
384:"Caterwauling and Demon Raising: The Ancient Rite of the Taghairm"
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and his concepts of Gaelic culture were sometimes distorted.
418:. Pantheon Books. pp. 23 ("Big Ears"), 388-9 ("Taghairm").
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kind is said to have been performed on the island of
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A tour in
Scotland, and voyage to the Hebrides, 1772
209:A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland
141:A similar description was given for taghairm in
360:Scotland and Scotsmen in the eighteenth century
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132:An 1825 text described a different technique:
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69:Learn how and when to remove this message
32:This article includes a list of general
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318:Dwelly's Illustrated Gaelic Dictionary
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471:This article incorporates text from
290:Armstrong, Robert Archibald (1825).
451:Folk-lore and folk-stories of Wales
363:. Edinburgh: Blackwood. p. 460
296:. London: James Duncan. p. 535
16:Ancient Scottish mode of divination
38:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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338:. Chester: John Monk. p. 360
149:Scottish historical novelist Sir
254:Der Engel vom Westlichen Fenster
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258:The Angel in the Western Window
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321:. Fleet: Dwelly. p. 920.
128:The Angel of the West Window.
436:The London Literary Gazette
101:MĂ rtainn MacGille MhĂ rtainn
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454:. London: Stock. p. 5
416:An Encyclopedia of Fairies
414:Briggs, Katharine (1976).
448:Trevelyan, Marie (1909).
212:(2nd ed.). pp.
382:Wiseman, Andrew (2010).
332:Pennant, Thomas (1774).
252:Meyrink, Gustav (1927).
315:Dwelly, Edward (1918).
206:Martin, Martin (1716).
53:more precise citations.
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357:Ramsay, John (1888).
99:The Scottish writer
438:March 1824, p. 172.
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394:: 174–209.
143:Trotternish
51:introducing
498:Divination
487:Categories
458:24 January
424:0394409183
367:24 January
342:24 January
300:23 January
228:"taghairm"
193:References
120:black cats
90:divination
34:references
94:sacrifice
59:July 2015
474:Dwelly's
124:John Dee
105:Hebrides
88:mode of
86:Scottish
82:Taghairm
237:18 June
47:improve
478:(1911)
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116:devils
36:, but
256:[
216:–113.
187:Wales
112:devil
460:2023
420:ISBN
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344:2023
302:2023
262:ISBN
239:2015
169:Mull
396:doi
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