Pegomancy in Northern Britain
By Mike Haigh from Northern Earth 70
Pegomancy is a method of divination which uses the waters of a spring as a speculum. The Ancient Greeks were known to use this form of divination, and it was recorded by Pausanias that anyone who gazed into the waters of a spring at the oracle of Apollo Thyrxeus, near Cyaneae in Lydia, would see visions of whatever they desired.
He also knew of a well in front of the sanctuary of Demeter at Patrae that could be used to predict the outcome of an illness. A mirror was tied to apiece of fine cord and lowered on to the surface of the water. After prayers and incense were offered to the Goddess Demeter, the diviner looked into the mirror on the water and should have seen the victim of the illness appearing either dead or alive.
Pausanias also mentions a third pegomantic spring at Taenarum, where people at one time would see visions of the harbour in the water. This however came to an end when local women began to use the well for washing clothes!
Another chronicler, Macrobius, recorded that certain small but deep lakes in Sicily were used for scrying1. In around 860 CE Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims, reported that he knew of people who claimed to be able to see images of entities on the surface of water and have audible communications with them. As you might expect, the Archbishop believed them to be demons2. Much later, Lady Wilde reported that those with 'fairy vision' could see the realms of a fabulous fairy city if they gazed into the waters of Lough Neagh in Ireland3. The Armenians were known to practice divination by staring into the smooth waters of a well2. They used pegomancy to diagnose illness. The waters were studied and the cause of the illness divined from the appearance of the spirit (peri) seen in it.
A few examples of pegomancy are known scattered about northern Britain. Fairy's Pin Well on a hill named Brayton Barff, near Selby, was noted at one time as a place where one could go to see visions of a future lover4. The girls of North Kelsey, Lincolnshire, could also see the image of a future sweetheart if they walked three times backwards around Maidens Well and then gazed into the water1. It was again the desire to see the face of one's husband-to-be which led Manx women to visit Berry Dhones Pool on Hallowe'en and stare into its waters5.
As well as pools and lakes, rivers could be used if they were placid enough. One spot on the banks of the River Ouse near York was especially regarded. The scryer had to go to this spot at the first hour of the morning on the first of may and drop five white pebbles into the slowly moving waters. If all these conditions were met, then a vision of the past, present or future would appear projected on to the calm water. There is a legend of a young knight of York who desired to see a vision of his bride-to-be, who lived at Scarborough. Early on the first of May he went to the designated spot and dropped his five pebbles into the water. Shortly afterwards, he was rewarded with a vision of a masked figure wrapped in a heavy cloak descending from his lover's bedchamber by a ladder. Overcome with jealousy, the knight leapt on to his horse and rode away to Scarborough. He arrived at her house just as the masked figure was preparing to ascend the ladder. Without asking questions, the knight rushed up to the figure and plunged a knife into its heart - only to discover then that the heavy cloak disguised his own sweetheart, returning from a masked ball6.
Although pegomancy has a long history and a wide geographical range, there does not seem to be a continuous tradition of activity. Examples are scattered about the relevant literature, but each seems to be an isolated and chance discovery. Perhaps there is some property in the atmosphere surrounding certain bodies of water that enhances the induction of visions. Although I have not come across any recent examples, there are still some contemporary pegomants. Robin ellis, for example, recently described how modern pagans use rock pools on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall to induce visions of the local snake goddess7.
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