CHAPTER IX. 



pPani/ of tRe ©yifcfie/. 



ECATE, the Grecian goddess of the infernal 

 regions, presided over magic and enchantment, 

 and may fairly be styled the goddess, queen, and 

 patroness of Witches and sorcerers. She was 

 acquainted with the properties of every herb, 

 and imparted this knowledge to her daughters 

 Medea and Circe. '■• To this trio of classical 

 Witches were specially consecrated the following 

 herbs : — The Mandrake, the Deadly Nightshade, the Common 

 Nightshade, the Wolf's-bane, the Pontic Azalea, the Cyclamen, 

 the Cypress, Lavender, Hyssop-leaved Mint, the Foley or Moun- 

 tain Germander, the Ethiopian Pepper, the Corn Feverfew, 

 the Cardamom, the Musk Mallow, the Oriental Sesame, the 

 rough Smilax, the Lion's-foot Cudweed (a love philtre), and 

 Maidenhair, a plant particularly dear to Pluto. Medea was specially 

 cognisant of the qualities of the Meadow Saffron, Safflower, Dj^er's 

 Alkanet, the clammy Plantain or Fleawort, the Chrysanthemum, 

 and the brown-berried Juniper. All these plants are, therefore, 

 persistently sought for by Witches, who have not only the power of 

 understanding and appreciating the value of herbs, but know also 

 how to render harmless and innocuous plants baleful and deadly. 

 Thus we find that an Italian Witch, condemned in 1474, was 

 shown to have sown a certain noxious powder amidst the herbage 

 near her dwelling, and the unfortunate cows, stricken at first with 

 the Evil E3'e, were at length attacked with a lingering but deadly 

 malady. So, again, in the ' Tempest,' Shakspeare tells us that in 

 the magic rings traced on the grass by the dance of the Elves, the 

 herbage is imbued with a bitterness which is noisome to cattle. 

 These rings, which are often to be met with on the Sussex Downs, 

 are there called Hag-tracks, because they are thought to be caused 

 by hags and Witches who dance there at night. 



It is recorded that, during the period of the Witch persecu- 

 tions, whoever found himself unexpectedly under an Elder-tree 



• Early Greek writers describe Circe as the daughter of Sol and Perseis, and 

 Medea as her niece. 



