Wiccan elemental motifs are an integral part of Wiccan beliefs and practices. The Wiccan religion draws inspiration from nature and emphasizes the importance of the elements - earth, air, fire, water, and spirit - in their rituals and spiritual workings. Each element holds its own unique symbolism and meaning, contributing to the overall balance and harmony sought by Wiccans. Earth represents stability, grounding, and fertility. It is associated with the physical body, material possessions, and the realm of the physical world. Wiccans often incorporate the earth element into their rituals through the use of herbs, stones, and physical contact with the ground.

Holmes County Hauntings & Legends

On this page you will find haunted locations and legends of Holmes County. Many of these are genuine and documented haunts, but others may be legend or hearsay. Remember, we do not condone trespassing. Always seek permission before entering private property. If you know of a haunting or legend not listed for this county, please submit them through our Haunting Submission Form.

New posting EVP Recording Video 360º Panoramic Photo Visitor Contribution/Story

Glenmont

Kno-Ho-Co Head Start – Shadowy figures can be seen moving about the halls at night, even though there is nothing casting the shadows. The sounds of someone inside the school can be heard some nights, even when the school is closed. Sometimes a piercing chill can be felt coming through the door, enough to bring a sinking feeling to even the bravest of people. (Credits: Matthew)

Killbuck

Panthers Hollow – A road going through Panthers Hollow was at one time the only road to go through Holmes County. A witch who was burned at the stake supposedly lived along the road in a log cabin. The witch placed a curse on the road and the area surrounding it just before she died. Years later a circus wagon was traveling down the road during a heavy thunderstorm when it was struck by lightning. A couple of panthers got loose from the wagon, killing several people. It is said that during the night, you can sometimes see the ghostly panthers and their victims along the road. (Credits: Mary Grace Yeagley)

Millersburg

Courthouse – A green lantern light has been seen going from window to window on the second floor of the courthouse by passersby. While inside the building on the second floor, you can hear a chanting music sound from time to time. The aroma of decaying flesh has been noticed on the first floor during certain parts of the day. The courthouse was built in the 1880s on the site of the former courthouse and boarding school. The school had caught fire in the 1850s and it is said that everyone in the building perished. It may be the students still singing or a nun carrying the lantern, checking on the children of the boarding school who have been dead for over 150 years. (Credits: Dan Kennedy)

Holmes County Trail – An old horse carriage has passed people walking the trail at night only to vanish once it has passed. (Credits: Brittany LeBlanc)

Millersburg Hotel – This historic hotel is plagues with ghostly activity. Lights turn on and off by themselves and noises can be heard in the hallways where no one is staying. Employees of the hotel do not like to discuss their paranormal experiences.

Nashville

Butler College – Only two buildings exist on what was once land acquired by a family in 1901 to establish a small men’s college in Nashville. The buildings located on Castle Street appear to be garages, but they were originally constructed as a classroom and a dorm to house the young men. Jacob Butler built the two structures but passed away before the second building was finished. His wife wanted to complete the second building. She was struck with an illness and died only three days after the building’s completion. Since their children were too young to inherit the land, the property was turned over to the Nash family who owned the house 300 feet away. The Nash family did not want the small college in the community, so they torched the Butler family homestead and converted the two buildings into storage buildings. The Butler family barn that had been converted into two classrooms is hardly standing in the back field today. Many witnesses have reported the sounds of a woman crying in one of the buildings and a child playing with a ball at the end of the street. One person even reported hearing a young woman calling his name while walking down the street. (Credits: Michelle Brembly)

Center Park – Often referred to as Widows Park, this was the site of an old stagecoach house that burned to the ground in the 1910s. It is believed a woman found her husband in bed with another woman. She left in a torrent, burning down the small building and killing the fifteen people inside. Many nights as motorists drive past the park, a white mist in the form of a woman has been seen standing on the side of the road. (Credits: Michelle Brembly)

Grange Hall – Lights have been seen turning on when no one is in the locked building. When witnesses look back at the window, the light will be off. The buildings has served many purposes during its existence, even being the site of a triple homicide. One of the murder victims has been seen looking out of a window facing Castle Street, his eyes glowing red.

Nashville Cemetery – This cemetery is said to be haunted, particularly by loud thunder-like sounds. Related: Contribution (Credits: Elaine)

Nashville Elementary – The elementary school is said to be very haunted. A staff member who was cleaning her classroom at the end of the day looked up to see an older gentleman standing in the doorway. When she asked if she could help him, he simply vanished. A former principal went to the school late one evening to collect some papers when he heard laughter coming from a front classroom. There was no one in sight when he unlocked the door. The laughter stopped and he closed the door. When the principal turned to head back to his office, the laughter resumed. When he turned around, all of the lights in the hallway began to click on one by one. On his departure, he was pushed down the stairs. Related: Contribution (Credits: Michelle Brembly)

Nashville Post Office – Reportedly one of the oldest postal buildings still standing, but no longer in use, is the Nashville Post Office located on the town square. While most just pass it off as another old building, many in town have heard odd noises coming from inside. One eyewitness claims she saw a man standing in the open door when the building had been locked and the front door sealed for nearly 15 years. Another witness was walking past the building when she heard an unearthly moan coming from the building, followed by someone whispering her name. Upon turning toward the building, a light came on. The lights haven’t been replaced since 1995. (Credits: Michelle Brembly)

Old LIvery – Lights are seen and music is heard coming from this small vacant building that sits next to Nashville Elementary. Electricity has not been connected to the building since 1970. (Credits: Michelle Brembly)

Ripley Township

Ripley – It is said that a small town called Ripley once existed on State Route 514 two miles south of Shreve. The town ceased to exist in 1860 when the railroad decided not to locate there. Nothing remains of the town today except for a small memorial garden paying tribute to the missing town. However, in 1998, at least one passerby approached the ghostly town, seeing a horse-drawn carriage and buildings that no longer exist. When he looked in the rearview mirror, nothing was there. He turned the car around and stopped where he had seen the ghostly town and heard music and smelled the scent of dirt being kicked off the street. On certain nights, the air remains alive even though the town is long dead.

Saltillo

Saltillo Cemetery – This cemetery is located on County Road 310, off County Road 68, just outside of Saltillo. There is a stone statue of an angel here and it is said that if one touches the angel’s hand, it will bring bad luck. It is also said that if you stare into the angel’s eyes, you will die shortly afterwards.

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Witches Brew

Held in October, this event is to honor WICKED Good Women for their WICKED good work in our community!

Presentation of the BREW awards *Bold Recognition of Exceptional Women*
Awards for Business, Service, and Emerging Leader

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Source File: A Family Bewitched: The Clothes-slashing Poltergeist of Wooster, Ohio

In 1871, the Hoffman family in Wooster, Ohio were attacked by a mysterious entity they called “IT,” which, in addition to the usual poltergeist tricks of knockings and throwing items, cut up clothing, sometimes while still on the wearer. Witchcraft, ghosts, and Spiritualist mediumship were all suggested as explanations in the United States newspapers which covered the events extensively. This source file includes many of those articles, in chronological order, covering the events of 1871 and, in an appendix, gives parallel instances of clothes-slashing entities.

Related Papers

Extra-long version of blog post for HARN (https://harngroup.wordpress.com/2016/12/16/darning-socks-and-dressing-ghosts-a-brief-life-of-constance-babington-smith-1912-2000/) - contains additional bits on biography plus bonus endnotes.

In Stamford, Connecticut, in 1692, the teenage Katherine Branch was tormented by visions, fainting spells, convulsions, and crying episodes. She claimed that she was bewitched. Many neighbours came to see her during her affliction, offering their own suggestions and interpretations of what was happening. One woman, Mrs Sarah Bates, suggested that Katherine’s affliction resulted from a natural illness, and advised that feathers be burnt under the girl’s nose. This article proposes that Mrs Bates supposed that Katherine was suffering from hysteria, or ‘suffocation of the mother’, a medical diagnosis proposed by English physician Edward Jorden in 1603 specifically to address cases of apparent witchcraft.

From Shaman to Scientist. Essays on Humanity's Search for Spirits, by James Houran

This chapter does not intend to provide an exhaustive history of the research into hauntings and poltergeist phenomena (Recurrent Spontaneous Psychokinesis or RSPK) or a systematic survey of all phenomena ever reported in such cases. Rather, the aim is to portray a selection of the most prominent and influential figures in the field from the opening years of the twentieth century until today. I am inclined to call these short biographies “intellectual biographies,” as the emphasis is not on the outward life of these personalities but on their reasoning, theory building, and the results of their research. I’ll try to present them in roughly chronological order, area by area, as there is some interdependence between nationals of the same country.

Journal of Popular Culture

I returned from my sister’s funeral wearing her clothes. I was keen to have them and her husband wanted them gone. We were both modern rational people and neither of us understood the power that these abandoned garments were able to exert over us. The clothing the dead leave behind can be talisman or phantom: wearing it gives access to the strengths of its previous owner, but many people find it so disturbing that they have no option but to lock it away. This paper uses material from written accounts of bereavement and from costume history to explain the uncanny power of clothing and the way in which the bereaved seek to harness or escape it.

Folk legends of brave clergymen confronting terrifying apparitions in fields and houses can be heard all throughout rural England. Situated in the early modern period, these tales establish the archetype of the 'conjuring parson' and perpetuate the spiritual tradition of 'ghost-laying': the exorcism of ghosts. Clerical ghost-laying, however, is a spiritual tradition without a well-founded historical or theological precedent. The few extant sixteenth-and seventeenth-century literary depictions of this practice are largely satirical or polemical in nature. Tales of early modern clergymen exorcising restless spirits actually originate from the pens of Victorian authors who developed the sensationalist folkloric exploits of conjuring parsons to fulfil their own literary or political agendas. Through a comparison of early modern and Victorian literary accounts-focusing on the Botathen Ghost haunting-this article illustrates that the genre of clerical ghost-laying lacks any substantial claim to historical, literary, or theological legitimacy.

The following ethnographic and folkloric analysis of American exorcism practices post-1998 centers on four Catholic priest-exorcists currently active in the United States. After a brief commentary regarding the place of Satanism within contemporary Catholic imagination, this article posits that the Catholic Church’s recent institutional support of its office of exorcist must not be viewed separately from its discursive fear of Satanic cults and larger narratives of religious declension. The current era of exorcism practice in America is chiefly characterized as a response to the media sensationalism surrounding not only prior cases of demonic possession but also of Satanic ritual abuse. Moreover, beyond these explicit issues of religious competition (e.g., Catholics versus Satanic conspirators), the current era of exorcism practice is also implicitly characterized by the changing belief systems of contemporary Catholics. Thus, this article ultimately concerns issues related to religious modernization, the apotropaic use of established religious tradition, popular entertainment and the mediatization of contemporary exorcism cases, institutionalized training curricula and the spaces allowing ritual improvisation, and the vernacular religious consumption of unregulated paranormal concepts that possess no clear analogues within official Church theology.

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Wiccans often incorporate the earth element into their rituals through the use of herbs, stones, and physical contact with the ground. Earth also represents the goddess, as it is connected to the nurturing and life-giving qualities of the divine feminine. Air symbolizes intellect, communication, and the power of the mind.

It is associated with thought, knowledge, and the realm of ideas. Wiccans utilize the air element through incense, feathers, and creative visualization to connect with the ethereal plane and access higher levels of consciousness. Air is also linked to the god, representing his communicative and transformative qualities. Fire embodies passion, energy, and transformation. It is associated with action, willpower, and the creative force. Wiccans incorporate the fire element through candles, bonfires, and the use of fiery symbols in their rituals. Fire represents both the goddess and the god, showcasing their dynamic and active aspects. Water encompasses emotions, intuition, and adaptability. It is associated with the subconscious mind, dreams, and the realm of the emotions. Wiccans use the water element through ritual baths, chalices filled with water, and the incorporation of water-based symbols. Water represents the goddess and her nurturing, intuitive qualities. Spirit completes the elemental circle, representing the divine and the interconnection of all things. It is associated with transcendence, spirituality, and the realm of the unseen. Wiccans call upon the spirit element through meditation, prayer, and the acknowledgement of the divine within and outside of themselves. Spirit represents the divine essence that flows through all living beings. The Wiccan elemental motifs serve not only to honor and connect with the natural world but also to create a balance within oneself and one's relationships with the divine. By working with these elements, Wiccans seek to maintain harmony in their lives and in the greater cosmos..

Reviews for "Understanding the Elemental Motifs in Wiccan Astrology and Birth Charts"

1. Jessica - 2 stars

As someone who is not interested in Wiccan beliefs or practices, I found the use of elemental motifs in this book to be overwhelming and hindering my enjoyment of the story. Every chapter seemed to focus on a different element, and it became repetitive and monotonous after a while. I would have preferred a more diverse and dynamic storyline that didn't solely revolve around Wiccan themes.

2. Ryan - 3 stars

While I appreciate the effort put into incorporating Wiccan elemental motifs in the book, I felt that it overshadowed the actual plot and character development. The constant emphasis on the elements made it difficult for me to connect with the story and its characters, as it felt more like a lesson on Wiccan beliefs rather than a fictional narrative. I would have preferred a more balanced approach that allowed for a deeper exploration of the characters' emotions and motivations.

3. Sarah - 2 stars

I found the use of Wiccan elemental motifs in this book to be cliché and predictable. It felt like the author was simply trying to capitalize on the current trend of all things mystical and Wiccan, without adding any originality or depth to the story. The constant references to the elements became tiresome and uninteresting, taking away from what could have been a potentially engaging plot. Overall, I found the book to be lacking in creativity and execution.

4. Mark - 1 star

As someone who is not familiar with Wiccan beliefs, I found the constant use of elemental motifs in this book to be confusing and distracting. The author assumes that the reader has prior knowledge of these motifs, leaving me feeling left out and unable to fully grasp the significance of certain plot points. Additionally, the overemphasis on the elements made the story feel disjointed and fragmented. I would have preferred a more accessible and coherent narrative that didn't rely so heavily on Wiccan themes.

5. Emily - 2 stars

I was excited to read a book with Wiccan elemental motifs, but unfortunately, I found it to be disappointingly superficial. The author simply scratched the surface of these motifs without delving deeper into their meanings and symbolism. It felt like a missed opportunity to explore a rich and fascinating aspect of Wiccan beliefs. The constant references to the elements felt forced and repetitive, and ultimately, the story lacked substance and depth.

The Elemental Motifs in Wiccan Divination and Tarot Readings