Linchetto dream spirits and the Sunflower

Posted by Luminakisharblaze on April 11, 2011 at 2:50pm in Dreamscapes

In  Strega tradition, a spirit called a Linchetto may come by night into a house and cause annoyances and nightmares.  Legends say that such a spirit may sit on the chests of sleepers, stifling them.  If an individual shows fear, the folletto will tear all the coverings from the bed and pull him or her out onto the floor, departing with a roar of laughter.

To prevent the type of acts described, legends prescribe that an offering be made to the spirit.  The Linchetto are fond of flowers. The best offering is to place three sunflowers outside the windowsill, and say:

In the window sunflowers three

 I put; and may the spirit be

here no longer to torment me

and with that I will content be,

if so long as the sun goes round

he may ne'er in my house be found,

let at least his troubling cease

so that I may sleep in peace!

When this is done and said, the spirit will cease troubling the home and the weary household members will be at rest.

The tradition of laying sunflowers on the windowsill, according to ancient symbolism, is to detect or discover the offender of any act against the home or its inhabitants.  Long ago it was the custom to place three sunflowers in the window as a sign to the offender that their identity was known.  In the Folk Magick tradition, if anyone is robbed, the offender will appear in a dream if their victims sleep with sunflowers under their pillow.  This flower has long been an emblem of the sun that shines on the world.  Therefore the spirit of the sun who sees all in his journey across the sky imparts to his symbol the power to see and search out all things.  As a symbol of the power of light, it also frightens away the spirits of darkness.

Web design software by PersonalWebKit