What secrets are kept by old English castles. Here and there in the dusty basements, new artifacts are discovered. This happened in 2014 as well. The amazed owners of a castle in Yorkshire found a mummified human hand in an old archive. The examination showed that the hand had already been cut off from a dead person.
After a serious study of ancient documents, it became clear that the discovered artifact is an ancient magical amulet, the so-called "Hand of Glory". A similar amulet was used throughout Western Europe and Russia. The only difference was the Russian name. In Russia, such an amulet was called "the hand of fate." It is interesting that in French such a hand is called "Main de Gloire", which according to some scientists can be paraphrased as mandrake. The worst thing about this story is the way the artifact was prepared.
To make the amulet, the hand of a man who had just been hanged was used, and if we consider that such an execution was a frequent occurrence in those days, there was enough material for making it. As a rule, after a public execution, when the people dispersed, the magician paid the executioner a small amount of money, and with his tacit consent he cut off the brush. The most important thing was to cut off the hand from the dangling one in the noose. If the gallows was removed, then such a hand was no longer suitable.
Then the mummification process began. For a month the hand lay in a solution of salt and horse urine. Sometimes dog or female urine was used instead of horse urine. Tanning bark and various poisons were added to the fetid slurry. Then the hand was hung on an oak tree and dried for three days. After that, the hand had to be imperceptibly hung over the door of the church.
After these procedures, the hand was abundantly soaked in wax or fat of the deceased. So she became like a candle. And only after the first ignition, it acquired real magical power.
But the most amazing thing is that all this was done only in order to successfully steal. This amulet was ordered and bought only by thieves. Before the dark deed, the thief lit his fingers on his hand and spoke a special spell. After that, it was believed that incredible luck awaited him. The more terrible the crime was committed by the owner of the hand, the more successful the thief who possessed it became. Over time, this was forgotten, and the hand began to be considered a very powerful talisman, bringing good luck.
BUKHRANSKY SERGEY