Gypsy Dreams Pre-Party Post

My thoughts ran to an incredible array of images and topics for the Gypsy Dreams Blog Party.  The research was entertaining, so I decided to do a short series, culminating with a post about a deeply beautiful entity for the real blog party post.

Let's get going with the pre-party. As a frequent browser of The Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, I went to the Judika Illes tome for help: of course she gives it!

The actual people called Gypsies prefer to be called Romany or Romani as their ethnicity. Judika never uses the word gypsy in her book, and suggests interesting parallels between the Romany & Faeries!
"Based on frequent descriptions of Fairies as nomadic, wandering folk, dwelling in wild forested areas in temporary beehive-like structures, some consider that the Romany were understood to be Fairies by the sedentary people who observed them. Fairies are described as supernatural, dark, small, people in an area mostly populated by tall, fair people, brightly dressed in glad-rags during a time of conservative repression." (p. 60) And it seems that the Romany have a complex & wide-ranging Faerie tradition of their own, which adds yet another layer. We all travel worlds within worlds.

The Encyclopedia includes a fair collection of Romany spells. I thought this Headache Cure looked hopeful for chronic sufferers:

Romany Headache Cure Spell

1. Obtain water from nine distinct sources and mix them together.

2. Add glowing charcoals.

3. If you have enough water, bath the sufferer's entire body. If there's not enough water, just bathe the person's head, neck and feet.

4. Repeat daily for up to nine days.

5. To cement the charm, embroider symbolic designs on the patient's clothing and bed linens. Romany designs would include roosters, roses, suns, cakes, knives, snakes & acorns. These must be done by hand, infusing the cloth with intentions & blessings. If you aren't a needlewoman, hand painting the images would be the next best choice.