Ring on a String
If you, or someone you are close to, is pregnant this is an auspicious time to predict the sex of the child. Take a gold ring and suspend it from a chain or string and hold it over the mother’s belly. Should the string move in a circular motion it signifies that the baby is a girl. If, on the other hand, it swings back and forth the baby will surely be a boy.
In old English folklore the 11th of January was Hogmanay, the day after Christmas, when Witches were supposed to become active again.
The York Castle Trial Records of January 11, 1655, revealed the following charm to ward off bewitchment of cattle:
Put a pair of breeches upon the cow’s head, and
beat her out of the pasture with a good cudgel upon
a Friday, and she will run to the Witch’s door and
strike threat with her horns.
–Reginald Scott,
The Discovery of Witchcraft, 1584
Witches Of The Craft® 