![]() ![]() ![]() The animal’s lifeblood was sprinkled on the hands of the murderer where impure blood had shed, and then washed away. ![]() It wasn’t the physical blood of violence that needed cleansing, so much as the foul vengeful spirit of the person and the event, what we might now call ghosts and trauma. A murderer might suck out the blood of their victim and spit it forth repetitively to expiate the corruption of their crime. It is important to note that not all blood was considered holy or ‘pure.’ In fact, the prime example of this kind of purification in Greece was almost a balancing of bloods: the sacrificial blood washed away the miasma or “pollution” of immoral bloodshed, such as murder. Purification with sacrificial blood would be accompanied by many rituals: supplications, prayers, offerings, and a disposal of the polluted remnants or lumata. In ancient Greece, it was used to purify a shrine or temple 1 - frequently pig’s blood was applied as in Apollo’s case, while doves were common for Aphrodite, who abhorred swine. Clearly, these tools were integral to the regular ceremonies of the temple.īlood from a sacrificed animal is also a powerful, though complex, agent of purification. In chapter four of The Eyrbyggja Saga, the description of the temple notes that the bowl and rod used for sprinkling blood were kept on the altar-like stall in the center of all the god representations. The sprinkling might be executed with a branch, rod, or sprig of a sacred herb. ![]() The blood gathered from a living sacrifice might be poured or sprinkled onto statues, walls, animals, or people. In fact, the English word “blessing” likely traces back to the word bledsian or ‘blood-sain’ (i.e. Sacrificial blood, being inherently hallowed, is an ancient and widespread tool for blessing. In many traditions, the blood of a sacrificed animal is sacred in itself – and the sacred is useful. Frequently, the blood is collected instead. The blood may be spilled onto or into an altar or sacrificial pyre, or let flow into the water or soil at a sacred site such as a bog, hill, or field of repute. The moment of death is often celebrated by onlookers or participants, or else mourned as if their beloved were being slain. This is a difficult and powerful act that must be overseen by someone trained in sacrifice, which is definitely practical to an extent – you have to know how to cut a throat – but I think the status of the officiant is mostly indicative of the intimacy and sanctity of such an offering. While it is common in domestic and in secretive ceremony to offer up your own animal, in public or temple ritual the process of bringing the animal to the spirits and collecting its blood is almost always officiated by a priest or high-level initiate of some kind. The animal might also be adorned with special ritual garbs, garlands, or ointments for the slaughter. Sacrificial blood is most often spilled from the neck of an animal – which is usually raised, treated, or traded in a sacred or special way. A simple and broad-sweeping discussion is best applied here but I promise to not speak so generally in the following sections. The most common and widespread use of blood is as an offering to a spirit or deity. Witches, magicians, folklorists, classicists, and anyone who has seen a violent movie about cults will be familiar with a few topics covered here – if not in detail, then at least in dramatic atmosphere. Some of these traditions have carried on, even if secluded to remote regions of Europe’s mountains, while others have truly fallen into obscurity. The manners in which blood has been used in religion and mythology, or for magic and power, are both varied and continuous throughout European cultures. Many traditional uses of blood are inherently related to animal sacrifice or drawing blood from animals – I am not suggesting or condoning violence towards animals or people, only presenting the history and traditions as they have survived and as I best understand them. Even this is limited by what has been written in English or Italian, which means I’m missing a lot of material! Of course, some of the following will be gory, bloody, or violent so please read with discretion (and TW: blood, animal abuse, violence). By Zeph dear friend of mine, Marz ( on Tumblr) asked me about how blood has been used traditionally in witchcraft and magic and I decided to go all out with my response! Naturally, the traditions I’ll talk about here are from around Europe and European-derived cultures in the Americas, as these are the areas with which I have the most experience and feel qualified to speak about. ![]()
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