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Levibrawn · Joined: 03 Nov 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Usa;- NY

When you think of Norfolk and water , the Norfolk Broads most probably springs to mind. Quite a few Norfolk tales involve water, spirits and witchcraft. There was a belief that by 'ducking' a witch in water would determine indeed if she was a witch. This was usually carried out on a dunking stool, with the victim's right thumb tied to their left toe to inhibit them from making any attempt to swim or otherwise resist being dunked.

This method was deemed to be foolproof as it was so easy to spot the difference between a witch and a normal person:

If the person sank or drowned, they were not a witch. If the person floated then they were definately a witch as their body must have rejected the "baptismal water".

Matthew Hopkins the 17th century Witchfinder General found Norfolk to be quite a hot bed for witches - it is said that in the general area of just Norwich 3000 were murdered, usually by burning at the stake.

You may find that exorcisms and clearance of spirit are unsuccessful or more problematic in Norfolk as opposed to the rest of the country. Why would that be? Well it has what is called a 'high water table', which means that in certain areas, if you dig a hole it will rapidly fill with water. This makes the county quite susceptible to flooding - as well as paranormal activity.

What's that got to do with anything? It has been discovered that water retains its own 'memory' - so if say a building was cleared of unwanted spirit residue, then it could quite easily return again aided by the water under the ground!

It is always a good idea when moving to a new home to psychically seal it to prevent unwanted guests. How many people would seal the walls and windows but not the floor?

How about if the undeground water flowed under a mental institution, a hospital, a pub, a cemetery and then your house? Unsealed, your home will have an open doorway to all sorts of forces that may care to visit. Because of the high water table it may be quite difficult to expel them, which is why the floors need to be given as much attention as the rest of the building.

Pyschics have heard voices calling to them from the depths; these can be quite compelling and it was not unusual in olden times for sailors to be tied to the ship's mast to prevent them from joing the water spirits.

Hydromancy (water scrying) is an ancient form of scrying that has much in common with mirror and crystal ball divination. Water scrying was a common feature of pagan and shamanistic cultures because of its connections with nature. The water concerned was often the surface of a smooth lake and it was common to scry by the light of the moon.

As technology evolved, mirrors provided a more convenient alternative to water scrying, although many modern pagans still prefer the natural connection to water and the feeling of oneness that it gives.