Eye of God...

[RuslanPashayev]

brilliant description - country people with some knowledge on some herbs...and yeah I like the eye's explanation as well, as a protector of graves, which were robbed, I am assuming not just by witches. I hardly can imagine there was any kind of "witch-craft" in the 1600's Lancashire, like any sort of organized society of local witches. We have to remember all ancient rites, cultures, customs were called and identified as of  "demonic nature" by church authorities in medieval Europe. So I am not surprised that anything which didn't quite fit the mold was called - diabolique.

[Rena]

My schooling was in the 1940s-1950s on the east coast, where we were taught that modern CofE rituals and religious calendar dates were most probably a mixture of ancient folklore, druids, and the teachings of Jesus.  We learnt generally about so called witches who most probably had countryside knowledge of which plants were medicinal and  to test whether they were telling the truth that they were not witches of the devil they would suffer the "ducking pool" - if they were guilty they survived the ducking and if they were innocent they drowned.

It's documented that ancient foreign merchants arrived in Britain to buy tin from Cornwall and copper & lead from Glastonbury in Somerset.  One such rich merchant was Joseph of Arimathea, who was the brother of Mary and thus the uncle of Jesus.  It is believed he took Jesus as a boy on his trips in the pursuit of his business and on one such trip to England it is believed the boy Jesus was with him.    From early Pagans to modern times, it is believed ley lines have some religious connotations.  There are leylines in Glastonbury, Somerset where Joseph of Arimathea is believed to have visited and thrust his staff into the ground which burstinto leaf and grew into an ash tree.

[Rena]

BTW - did you know there are some people who believe all of us have a third Eye?  It's in the middle of our foreheads and has a spiritual connection.

[KGarrad]

There are leylines in Glastonbury, Somerset where Joseph of Arimathea is believed to have visited and thrust his staff into the ground which burstinto leaf and grew into an ash tree.

Thorn tree, Rena!
The Glastonbury Thorn still flowers twice a year.

[Rena]

There are leylines in Glastonbury, Somerset where Joseph of Arimathea is believed to have visited and thrust his staff into the ground which burstinto leaf and grew into an ash tree.

Thorn tree, Rena!
The Glastonbury Thorn still flowers twice a year.

Thanks for the correction - I hadn't imagined walking sticks made from prickly hawthorn hedgerows, have surfed and discovered I was wrong - was tickled pink to see an Irish company advertising themselves as "Derry Hick Sticks" 

[KGarrad]

I'm a Somerset boy - so I know the tales of Glastonbury well
And visited many times.

You should look at Jersey, and their Cabbage walking sticks!

[Rena]

I'm a Somerset boy - so I know the tales of Glastonbury well
And visited many times.

You should look at Jersey, and their Cabbage walking sticks!

  Have surfed - my little brassicas are nothing compared to them 

My grandfather had several types of walking sticks in his hallstand but nothing compared to the one a fellow at work owned - the previous owner being a bull, that I'm sure was sorry to lose his pride & joy.

[Maiden Stone]

Dear Viktoria, thanks again for all the details, appreciate !!! I wonder what was the real reason of all those Lancashire trials...obviously witches do not exist neither Santa does, hahaha

One important reason was that the newish king of England, James 1st of England & 6th of Scotland was very anti-witch. He definitely believed in them. Some scholars think that Shakespeare wrote "Macbeth" with its' 3 witches, to please him. So anti-witch feeling was encouraged. 
Another theory to add to the mix is that Alice Nutter, the only one of the Pendle Witches who wasn't a peasant was a Catholic and was on her way to a secret Mass when she went to/by Malkin Tower. When she was arrested and interrogated she didn't want to betray any Catholic associates. 1612 was only a few years after Robert Catesby's plot to blow up Houses of Parliament and stage a Catholic-led coup'd'etat. Lancashire was a Catholic heartland. Some of the so-called covens may have been groups of Catholics meeting secretly for Mass, in out-of-the-way places, sometimes outdoors.
Lack of knowledge of medical matters had a massive bearing on what happened with the Pendle witches, same as with other "witches". One of the so-called victims probably had a stroke.
There were commemorative events in Lancashire in 2012 for the 400th anniversary including an exhibition in the centre of Lancaster.

[Maiden Stone]

According to folklore rowan deters witches. It was customary to plant one near a house to keep witches away.