In times of old, women were taught to rely on superstition in order to seek out a husband. Elaborate rituals and ceremonies were routine.
Here are a few favorites:
Bird Spotting: A theory as old as the Greeks and Romans themselves
The first bird an unmarried woman comes across on Valentine’s Day will predict the personality of the man she is bound to marry.
Spot a Robin: You will marry a sailor of ships
Spot a Sparrow: You will marry a poor man, but you will be the happiest.
Spot a Goldfinch: You will marry rich.
Spot a Woodpecker: You will never be married at all.
Pillow Egg: A recipe for the husband of your dreams
Popular in Great Britain in the 1700s, this ritual promised a glimpse of your future husband would arrive to you in a dream via the following steps:
Step 1: Pin 5 bay leaves doused with rose water to your pillow. Arrange one in the center and one in each corner.
Step 2: Consume multiple salted eggs without the yolks.
Step 3: Chant the following: “Good valentine, be kind to me; in dreams, let me my true love see.”
Step 4: Sleep tight.
A Trick for the Eager
If you visit a graveyard on the eve of Saint Valentine’s Day, chant a special chant and run around a church 12 times, your future husband will appear in a vision before you, lucky girl.
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