Note: MIPC stands for Magic in Popular Culture and this is a series of posts in which I take a spell, ritual, belief, or tradition from a work of fiction and analyze it against real work magical beliefs and practices.
The Spell or Ritual - Headache Remedy
Vivian: Oh, this weekend's not a good time, Maude, there's gonna be a full moon.
Maude: A full moon?
Vivian: Oh, yeah. My Grandmother Whitney always said when there's a full moon, evils...
Arthur: Vivian, nobody wants to hear that junk.
Vivian: Arthur always gets uptight when I talk about my Grandma Whitney's special powers.
Arthur: Vivian, stop it!
Maude: Tell us! Tell us about your grandmother's powers.
Arthur: Don't pay any attention, Vivian.
Maude: No, really, I'm dying to hear.
Arthur: Maude is just being polite!
Vivian: No! I think she's really interested.
Arthur: Maude's never polite.
Maude: That's right, so shut up, Arthur! Now come, tell us all about her special powers! Vivian, have a heart! Arthur, we all wanna hear! Vivian, go ahead. And everybody be quiet, and don't interrupt her!
Vivian: Well, my grandmother had mystical powers - she could read minds and foretell the future. But I think the most amazing thing she did was to get rid of headaches. See, if you had a headache, she'd put a glass of water on top of your head. And then she'd hold a lighted match just in front of your mouth. She’d have you breathe on it. But not enough to put it out. And then she'd put the match in the glass of water... ..then she'd throw the water out the window onto the sidewalk and you would feel fine. But... whoever stepped into the puddle would get your headache.
TV Show: Maude Season 6 Episode 3
Episode Title: The Flying Saucer
Air Date: 9/26/77
Commentary
This may seem like an unusual spell but if we look at it in the language of symbols, it is actually quite beautiful! This is actually what we might call a transference spell. Transference spells are spells used when you wish to get rid of something such as a disease or curse by transferring it to another person, animal of even an object.
A famous example of a transference spell in real life occurs in the Jewish Tradition at Yom Kippur when the Rabbi would transfer the sins of the people to a goat which is then released into the wilderness taking the sin with it. Another famous example is the concept of the Sin Eater in which a person ritually consumes a meal over the body of a dead person thus absorbing their sins and releasing the individuals soul from any punishment in the afterlife.
During the Salem Witch Trials, some folks made use of a witch cake by colleting the urine of the afflicting girls, and mixing it with rye to form a cake. The cake is then fed to a dog and if the dog exhibits any fits or other symptoms the girls are suffering it is a sign of witchcraft. In modern times, I recall some old timers saying to get rid of a cold, you rub a piece of bread on your teeth and then feed it to a god. If the dogs eats all the bread your cold will go away.
So in effect, Maude places the glass of water on her head to cool her head (as headaches are seen as heat in the head). Blowing on the match transfers the heat to the match (like attracts like). Then headache is then symbolically extinguished in the cool water. However, we know that energy can neither be created or destroyed so it still exists in the water (in a different form). The water it toss outside to get the energy of the headache away from you and if some unlucky person is unfortunate enough to step in the water then the headache becomes attached to them.
Although this spells was likely made up for the show, symbolically it is sound and I feel it has the capability to work as instructed. If I found that I had a headache and didn't have access to Tylenol or Aspirin, I might try this spell myself to get rid of my pain.
-Carolina Dean
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