Nocturnal Charms and Omens

Medicine and magic have never lived wholly apart, and they certainly mingle amongst the charms, superstitions and omens associated with the bedroom.

“Go to bed with the skin of a mole wrapped around your left thigh” Magic or Medicine?

Parson Woodford allegedly cured his nightly cramp by taking a piece of brimstone to bed with him and holding it near the effected parts with miraculous results. Some proclaim that a roasted mouse is a remedy for all manner of ailments and that rheumatism and cramp can be cured by laying a bag of corks between the sheets.

Effective? Possibly. Uncomfortable? Almost certainly!

In medieval times, it was widely rumoured that two buckets of fresh spring water placed under the bed every day would prevent bedsores – but never use cold boiled water, which angers the Devil and brings bad luck.

Speaking of the Devil, check under the bed before retiring, to ward him off (although not in any hope of seeing him!), and remember that that no good hand of cards ever contains the four of clubs, this being a picture of the Devils  four poster bed.

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