powers to attract affection and is used in love spells or at times of high emotion, like the break-up of a relationship or a bereavement. Along with amethyst, no person serious about crystals would be without this versatile, powerful stone, believed to emit a form of electrical energy that helps to stimulate psychic powers. Many people believe that wearing quartz crystals benefits a person’s health and spiritual wellbeing. Quartz is typically used to rid an environment of unhealthy vibrations and electromagnetic toxins. In magic quartz is used as a protective amulet against evil and for spells, and for centuries quartz has been used to enhance a person’s ability to foretell the future.
Practitioners of modern-day crystal therapy believe that the stones’ ability to work as conductors allow them to focus energy by way of a person’s thoughts to stimulate healing - both physical and non-physical - and thousands of people worldwide swear by the use of crystals to help a variety of mental, emotional and physical problems.
Many people who work with crystals believe that the stones choose whom to work with, not the other way round. But whatever you believe you need to be selective with the stones you use. Once selected it is suggested that you should never let anyone touch your crystals, and should programme’ it to attune to your particular energy. Each crystal should be cleansed before use to clear any stored energy, by either soaking it in salted water or by wrapping it in silk and burying it in the ground for 24 hours.
CURSES
Associated with black magic and intended to cause someone harm, curses are deliberately malevolent or vengeful oaths, spells or invocations of spirits directed against another person by psychic means.
See also Psychic attack.
DACTYLOMANCY
An ancient form of divination involving rings. A ring was tied to a string, or dropped into a bowl of water, with the position of the ring at the end of the string, or at the bottom of the bowl, determining the answer or response to the question asked. Dactylomancy is thought to be one of the earliest forms of divination involving the use of pendulums.
DAGG POLTERGEIST
Poltergeist activity that eventually manifested itself as a speaking entity in 1889 on a farm in Quebec owned by George Dagg.
According to records the activity began with streaks of animal faeces or manure appearing on the floor of the house. A young boy, Dean, was blamed; however, when the boy was out of the house the stains continued to appear, proving that he was not the cause. Soon the activity increased: windows were smashed, objects were thrown and fires broke out. This time the focus was identified as 11-year-old Dinah McLean, an adopted child of the family.
In November 1889 an investigator named Percy Woodstock asked Dinah to take him to the woodshed where she had reported seeing a strange man. To Woodstock’s amazement, from the middle of the empty shed a few feet away came the clearly audible voice of an old man. It cursed them both in a deep, gruff voice, using language Woodstock would not record. It said, ‘I am the devil, I’ll have you in my clutches, I’ll break your neck.’ Woodstock talked to the voice for several hours, during which it admitted causing the fires, spreading the manure, smashing the windows and moving objects. Eventually it calmed down and admitted it was only doing the haunt-ings for fun.
A crowd soon heard about the phenomena and gathered around the house and woodshed, where the entity allegedly performed incredible feats for the audience. Woodstock organized a statement signed by 17 witnesses acknowledging that they had seen the phenomena of flying stones and a mouth organ playing by itself:
To whom it may concern:
We, the undersigned, solemnly declare that the following curious proceedings, which began on the 15th day of September, 1889, and are still going on, on the 17th day of November, 1889, in the home of Mr George Dagg, a farmer living seven miles from Shawville, Clarendon Township, Pontiac County, Province of Quebec, actually occurred as below described.
1st, That fires have broken out spontaneously through the house, as many as eight occurring on one day, six being in the house and two outside; that the window curtains were burned whilst on the windows, this happening in broad daylight whilst the family and neighbors were in the house.
2nd, That stones were thrown by invisible hands through the windows, as many as eight panes of glass being broken; that articles such as waterjug, milk pitcher, a wash basin, cream jug, butter tub and other articles were thrown about the house by the same invisible agency; a jar of water being thrown in the face of Mrs John Dagg, also in the face of Mrs George Dagg, whilst they were busy about their household duties, Mrs George Dagg being alone in the house at the time it was thrown in her face; that a large shelf [mouth organ] was heard distinctly to be played and was seen to move across the room on to the floor; immediately after, a rocking chair began rocking furiously. That a washboard was sent flying down the stairs from the garret, no one being in the garret at the time. That when the child Dinah is present, a deep gruff voice like that of an aged man has been heard at various times, both in the house and outdoors, and when asked questions answered so as to be distinctly heard, showing that he is cognizant of all that has taken place, not only in Mr Dagg’s family but also in the families of the surrounding neighborhood. That he claims to be a discarnated being who died twenty years ago, aged eighty years; that he gave his name to Mr George Dagg and to Mr Willie Dagg, forbidding them to tell it. That this intelligence is able to make himself visible to Dinah, little Mary and Johnnie, who have seen him under different forms at different times, at one time as a tall thin man with a cow’s head, horns and cloven foot, at another time as a big black dog, and finally as a man with a beautiful face and long white hair, dressed in white, wearing a crown with stars in it.
What is of particular interest is that
