Highland Superstitions Connected With the Druids Fairies Witchcraft

The following pages on "Highland Superstitions" by the late Rev. Alexander Macpregor,' M.A., Inverness, first appeared as a series of articles in Volume II. of the Celtic Magazine, and subsequently as an appendix to the second, third, and fourth editions of " The Prophecies of the Brahan Seer." They were published separately for the first time in 1891, and now reprinted, 1901.

This is lamentable that mankind in all ages of the world have been prone to the most degrading superstitions. The enlightened ages of antiquity were no more exenipi from them than the most ignorant We know from the Bible how difficult it was to restrain the Jews from the most idolatrous and superstitious observances, and to confine them to the worship of the only living and true God, This remarkable tendency of the Hebrew nation was caused, in all likelihood, by their sojourning for the loi^ period of 400 years among the Egyptians, whose system of religion was a mass of idolatrous observances. They had a number of ideal gods, to whom they erected temples of prodigious size and architectural splendour. Their principal deities, were Osiris and Isis, whom they considered typical of the sun and moon. But they had a great variety of other deities, animals of all kinds -- (hence the golden calf of the Hebrews), the dog, the wclf, the hawk, the stork, the cat, and several other creatures. They also adored their great river, the Nile, personifying it in the crocodile, to which they erected temples and appointed priests to serve at their altars. The Egyptians also believed in dreams, lucky and unlucky days, charms, omens, and magic -- in short, they were grossly superstitious !

About the author

Alexander MacGregor (1806-1881), Church of Scotland minister and writer of Scottish Gaelic prose.

Alexander MacGregor Partial Bibliography:

- The Celtic Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 1, November 1875: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Literature, History, Antiquities, Folk Lore, Traditions, and the Social and Material Interests of the Celt at Home and Abroad., also ed. by Alexander Mackenzie and Alexander Macbain
- The Celtic Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, December 1875: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Literature, History, Antiquities, Folk Lore, Traditions, and the Social and Material Interests of the Celt at Home and Abroad, also ed. by Alexander Macbain and Alexander Mackenzie
- The Celtic Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 3, January 1876: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Literature, History, Antiquities, Folk Lore, Traditions, and the Social and Material Interests of the Celt at Home and Abroad, also ed. by Alexander Macbain and Alexander Mackenzie
- The Celtic Magazine, Vol I, No. IV, February 1876: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Literature, History, Antiquities, Folk Lore, Traditions, and the Social and Material Interest of the Celt at Home and Abroad., also ed. by Alexander Macbain and Alexander Mackenzie
- The Celtic Magazine, Vol. I No. V: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Literature, History, Antiquities, Folk Lore, Traditions, and the Social and Material Interests of the Celt at Home and Abroad, also ed. by Alexander Macbain and Alexander Mackenzie
- The Celtic Magazine, Vol. I, No. VI, April 1876: A Monthly Periodical Devoted to the Literature, History, Antiquities, Folk Lore, Traditions, and the Social and Material Interests of the Celt at Home and Abroad, also ed. by Alexander Macbain and Alexander Mackenzie
- The feuds of the clans, by the Rev. Alexander Macgregor, M.A. Together with the history of the feuds and conflicts among the clans in the northern parts of Scotland and in the western isles from the year MXXXI unto MDCXIX; first published in 1764 "from a ms. wrote in the reign of King James VI. (Stirling, E. Mackay, 1907)
- Highland superstitions, connected with the druids, fairies, witchcraft, second-sight, Hallowe'en, sacred wells and Lochs, with several curious instances of Highland customs and beliefs. By the Rev. Alexander MacGregor ... (Stirling, E. MacKay; [etc., etc.], 1901)
- The life of Flora Macdonald. (Inverness, A. & W. Mackenzie, 1896)
- The prophecies of the Brahan seer (Coinneach Odhar Fiosaiche) (Inverness, A. & W. Mackenzie, 1882), also by Alexander Mackenzie and Kenneth Mackenzie