Anyone heard of these?

[Maggie]

When I was a child, I walked into a room and found my grandmother using a pendulum to "guess" an unborn baby's sex. She came from a German background, but I have no idea if this came from there.

My maternal grandmother was always very insistant that when a purse is given as a gift it have at least a penny in it--an empty purse as a gift meant the recipient would lose their money. She was SO insistant about this that my sisters and I still do it, we actually feel uncomfortable about empty purses given as gifts. Any ideas about where this came from?

[Astara Seague]

sounds like Gypsy folklore to me

[omar]

We done that when I was little. We tryed it on young & old mothers & it told each child in order of there birth. Male-female,it worked. We used thread on a needle stuck in the top of a pencle in the erasere. It swung oneway for maleS & the other way for females.

[Against The Tide]

When I was a child, I walked into a room and found my grandmother using a pendulum to "guess" an unborn baby's sex. She came from a German background, but I have no idea if this came from there.

My maternal grandmother was always very insistant that when a purse is given as a gift it have at least a penny in it--an empty purse as a gift meant the recipient would lose their money. She was SO insistant about this that my sisters and I still do it, we actually feel uncomfortable about empty purses given as gifts. Any ideas about where this came from?

I've heard of both. I give purses out with a penny sewed into them 'may your purse never be empty...' as money attracts money. Its just a nice tradition.

I'm not sure about the origins of the pendulim but I've seen it practiced in the UK.

[RainInanna]

Yeah the pendulum one is very common in pregnancy folklore, the purse one is newer to me but it certainly makes sense. Rather like bringing bread or salt and water as the first things into a new home to help ensure food and drink would be abundant in it. If nothing else they're charming ideas.

[~Elise~]

We do the bread, salt, wine thing... the first people through the door are the inhabitants of the house. Bread to never hunger, wine (or sparkling grape juice) to never thirst and salt for protection.

I have a container of salt that is never opened that has been through four moves with me and soon to be another

Elise

[VelvetBlade]

I've heard of both, too...and would NEVER gift a purse without a penny in it..lol...


~VB

[VelvetBlade]

We do the bread, salt, wine thing... the first people through the door are the inhabitants of the house. Bread to never hunger, wine (or sparkling grape juice) to never thirst and salt for protection.

I have a container of salt that is never opened that has been through four moves with me and soon to be another

Elise


I love that!! Thanks for sharing...

[_Banbha_]

I found a link about Pending (http://www.psipog.net/show.php?id=19) which included this:
In theory, any small object that can be hung on some kind of string should work for this. A pendant necklace is ideal, for example. Traditionally, women would use their wedding ring suspended on one of their own hairs to pendle the sex of their unborn baby. Supposedly, it helps if the pendant is connected in some way either to the person who is doing the pendling or to the object of the inquiry: a pendant that you wear often, a piece of a mineral you are trying to find more of, etc. If you push a bit of your own energy into the pendant that you use for this, it may help. On the other hand, I personally have had my best results with this technique using a string of small sodalite beads which I had not yet worn and which had nothing whatsoever to do with any of the questions.

Here's an article on Dowsing: Ancient History (http://neholistic.com/articles/0008.htm) that includes pendulums and looks pretty interesting. :)

[suit and tie]

a pendulum is a very open source to attract danger to ones self both spiritually and physcially!(I have known once case and heard of two others in which deviners were struck by lightning during storms using pendulums)

[~Elise~]

what the heck are they doing outside in a storm anyway? Anyone doing divination outside in storm is a bit nuts, IMO.

As for spiritually...NEVER heard of a pendulum attracting bad things. it's not like it's a Oujia board or something.

Elise

[Ivyrose]

I was bought up with both of the traditions you mentioned, the pendulums for sexing babies (I was always taught to use a strand of the mothers hair with a ring tied to it) and the purse with the penny inside. My parents also hold by the idea that you should never give knives or scissors as a present 'lest the friendship be severed' so they have always made people 'buy' them in (they will often hand someone a penny before trhey hand over the present and then ask for the penny back)

[Maggie]

I was bought up with both of the traditions you mentioned, the pendulums for sexing babies (I was always taught to use a strand of the mothers hair with a ring tied to it) and the purse with the penny inside. My parents also hold by the idea that you should never give knives or scissors as a present 'lest the friendship be severed' so they have always made people 'buy' them in (they will often hand someone a penny before trhey hand over the present and then ask for the penny back)


The pendulum incident was a very long time ago--when the children started coming into the room they all stopped!

I am curious mostly as to the area of origin. My grandmother with the pendulum came from Bavarian German families, although they were Lutheran. The grandmother with the purse was English/German Jewish.

I really was curious more about possible origins. Posters here are the first people I've come across who have heard of the purse/money custom.

Maggie

[Oonagh]

Well, I was raised with both practices, except as said, we used a ring or a wedding ring on a silver chain or cord. Money in a wallet or purse to ensure that the person would never be without.

I'm as Irish as they come. So I'm not sure where either tradition came from orginally.

[Tanya]

From my German and Polish background both are quite familiar. The pendulm I think is connected to dousing... and the penny is "so you will never be poor"


We also are big on salt over the shoulder, and leaving milk and butter out for the faries.

But then again we are supposed Romany blood so I don't know where it comes from in my family exactly...

[cydira]

A huge amount of what's described in this thread has been done in my family for a very long time in my paternal line. There's a combination of the folk-magic of the Pennsylvania Dutch here and other older practices from the "old world" that's carried forward.

Now, I can't say honestly that I'm of German descent because when the person who founded this branch of my family in the United States emigrated, Prussia was still around. There's probably some Gypsy elements here, but a large amount of this is Germanic folk-magic.

We have some limited use of making 'hex' designs, but it has been of a purely decorative purpose over the last few generations. And alot of those folk remedies have been used around these parts too. I'll confess I have used many of them as well, it just seems to work better then many of the other things I've tried. I am generally reluctant to go to the doctor unless I've no other choice. ;)

That said, I can't think of anything else to add... so enjoy. :) :wave:

[Maggie]

A huge amount of what's described in this thread has been done in my family for a very long time in my paternal line. There's a combination of the folk-magic of the Pennsylvania Dutch here and other older practices from the "old world" that's carried forward.

Now, I can't say honestly that I'm of German descent because when the person who founded this branch of my family in the United States emigrated, Prussia was still around. There's probably some Gypsy elements here, but a large amount of this is Germanic folk-magic.




Location is interesting. The father of my grandmother with the purse money came from a Prussian Jewish family. The grandmother with the pendulum came from Bavaria. I was curious because while there were a lot of German families around I had never encountered anyone else who insisted on money in a gift purse.

Maggie

[Seren_]

I was bought up with both of the traditions you mentioned, the pendulums for sexing babies (I was always taught to use a strand of the mothers hair with a ring tied to it) and the purse with the penny inside. My parents also hold by the idea that you should never give knives or scissors as a present 'lest the friendship be severed' so they have always made people 'buy' them in (they will often hand someone a penny before trhey hand over the present and then ask for the penny back)

Same here. The baby thing was a strand of hair and specifically the wedding ring (not just any ring). My nan very pointedly didn't do it for my sister when she was pregnant ;)

One year my uncle gave my mum some knives for Christmas and my nan and dad flew into a fit about it until mum gave my uncle a penny. It's fairly common lore in Britain I think - I don't know where it's from originally but I have a book about superstitions, published in 1939, and they're all in there.

[WitchCraftWeaver]

My family also did the pendulum to predict a baby's sex. Also, I knew about the knives belief and severing friendships. I've not heard of the purse one, but I also grew up with this one...

Never buy a pair of shoes for someone you love, lest they walk out of your life.

[Shanti]

My grandmother was the purse tradition or whatever you call it. She was Persian, I don't it came from there. Her parents did live in Poland for a time after they left Persia so they may of picked it up there?
Or maybe my grandmother picked in up from my grandfathers family, he was Russian.

My moms friend did the pendulum thing but I don't know what her ancestry was.

[Willow Rosette]

I have never heard of the purse idea but I remember when I was young my Grandpa used to use the needle on a piece of thread for anyone. In fact I was adament that he do it to me LMAO I dont care weather it is right or wrong but the tradation needs to continue. It was back and forth for a boy and a circle for a girl.

[RubyRose]

Yep I've heard it done and seen it done. Money boxes are also supposed to be given with a little money inside.