Hand of Glory, Hands (Was "Re: JKR hints at secret")

[Su]

No: HPFGUIDX 73629



The hand of glory thing bugged me too. I did'nt understand why on 
earth they would waste time showing Harry struggling with it (it 
made me jump though). There quite a history to it... long folklore...
 
ok this is quite long... I got carried away.. just I found this on 
the internet

I found a website which has the folklore of the Hand of Glory. Quite 
long but interesting. I did'nt realise it had theif connections. 
http://www.shadowdrake.com/folklore/hand.html 

"An excerpt concerning the Hand of Glory from a book entitled, "The 
Golden Book of the Mysterious": 

A fearsome talisman called the Hand of Glory was prepared by some 
sorcerers for robbers to use as they went about their work. Its 
preparation started with cutting off the hand of a hanged criminal. 
This had to be wrapped in cloth, placed in a pot with various herbs 
and minerals and left for two weeks, after which it was to be dried 
in the sun. 


If someone took the care to rub a potion made from the gall of a 
black cat, the fat of a white hen, and the blood of a screech owl, 
it was believed that the Hand of Glory would be rendered powerless 
to paralyze those to whom it was shown and so the denizens of the 
house would be protected. The strength of the Hand of Glory could be 
doubld by using it for a candle holder. This candle would be made of 
such ingredients as human fat and horse dung among others. 



DeGivry and Waite provide a description of the process in "Secrets 
merveilleux de la magie naturelle et cabalistique du Petit Albert" 
(Cologne, 1722): 



Take the right or left hand of a felon who is hanging from a gibbet 
beside a highway; wrap it in part of a funeral pall and so wrapped 
squeeze it well [to get out all the blood]. Then put it into an 
earthenware vessel with zimat, nitre, salt, and long peppers, the 
whole well powdered. Leave it in this vessel for a fortnight, then 
take it out and expose it to full sunlight during the dog-days until 
it becomes quite dry. If the sun is not strong enough put it in an 
oven heated with fern and vervain. Next make it a kind of candle 
with the fat of a gibbeted felon, virgin wax, sesame, and ponie, and 
use the Hand of Glory as a candlestick to hold this candle when 
lighted. 

There is one Hand of Glory which is stored at the Whitby Museum in 
North Yorkshire. It was found in an attic in a house in Eskdale. The 
hand was a greyish color. This color was the result of a 
preservation technique which involved the draining of the blood of 
the hand of a hanged criminal which had been cut off, and afterward 
using saltpeter and Lapland sesame to preserve it. The blood and fat 
the of the hanged man was then utilized to make a candle which would 
then be placed between the fingers of the Hand of Glory. 

When a thief broke into a house, he would light the candle and 
recite asmall rhyme: 


Hand of Glory shining bright, lead us to our spoils tonight! 

While the candle was lit, it was believed that teh inhabitants of 
the houise would continue to sleep deeply and be unawakened by the 
thief. The candle could only be extinguished by using blood or 
skimmed milk. According to Yorkshire legend, there is a case where a 
maid was able to put out the canlde and thus prevent the thief from 
accomplishing his goals. However, it is also said that if one of the 
fingers of the Hand of Glory will not light, it means that there is 
still someone within the house that is not asleep." 

Found Hand of Glory connections with Mandrakes!!!!! 
Info from www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/ h/hand_of_glory.html 

"The term the "hand of glory" is believed to be derived from the 
French "main de glorie" or "mandrogore" and be related to the 
legends of the mandrake. The mandrake plant was believed to grow 
under the gallows of the hanged man"

I had a look at some mandrake websites to see if there was anything 
interesting I could dig up.
Info from http://www.israelwines.co.il/yaad/passion.html

"Mandrake roots have long been believed to possess the power to 
divine the future. More than one book on medieval Witchcraft and 
sorcery states that the human-shaped roots (both male and female) 
shake their heads to answer yes or no when questions are put to 
them. With the proper incantations, mandrakes can also be made to 
speak out loud or through telepathy.This is another way in which 
they can prophesy the future and reveal secrets."

I'm thinking that the Mandrakes are'nt just for reviving people who 
have been petrified now. Good sources for information. 

"Mandrake roots should be uprooted from the earth only at night 
(especially when the Moon is full) and always by the magician who 
intend to use it, otherwise the root's magickal powers are rendered 
useless. Another legend tells us that a mandrake root shrinks 
whenever a man or woman approaches it, unless, of course, that 
person happens to be a Witch, a Wizard, or someone who is in league 
with the Devil" 

"It is unknown how or where this interesting legend originated. Many 
methods of safe mandrake harvesting were devised over the years by 
practitioners of sorcery and wizardry. The most popular method 
employed was as follows: First the soil around the mandrake plant 
would be loosened with a shovel or other implement. Then one end of 
a rope would be tied around a dog's neck and the other to the plant. 
The dog's master (who places cotton inside his ears to protect 
himself against the plant's deadly shriek) would then walk some 
distance away and command the dog to come to him or offer it some 
food. As the dog ran to its master, the mandrake root was pulled out 
from the ground by the rope. The dog would be instantly killed by 
the evil scream; however, the animal's death was believed to give 
the root of the mandrake the supernatural power to protect its 
possessor against demonic entities."

Ok  I think that's enough from me. I have'nt even had enough room to 
speculate. But the hands thing was enough to go and make me do some 
research.

Su