Clootie Well

Clootie Wells ( also cloutie or Cloughtie wells - cloth or rags sources) are pagan cult places primarily in the Celtic regions of the British Isles but also eg Cyprus ( fig tree in front of the Agia Solomoni Catacombs ) are to be found. Some wells or springs are accompanied by a so-called " rag " or "Wish tree", which is recently hung with strips of cloth or rag with mascot.

• In Cornwall ( Sancreed ), Scotland ( Munlochy ) and Wales, a strip of cloth or rag called Clootie or Cloot and with respect to a, as brought "holy" classified source.
• In Ireland, the Rag Tree ( rags tree ) is indeed at the center of the cult, but there are also the source sanctuaries without the rag tree like St. Brigid 's Well; with them the cloth strips and other near to walls etc. landfilled.

When cult to Clootie Wells usually cloth strips are immersed in the water of the spring and hung on a branch while a prayer is addressed to a god, a goddess or a nature spirit. The whole is seen as ritual action, which are mostly intended to bring healing and persists to this day in a Christianized form (Lourdes ). A well-known tree is the " tree Rag ", near the Cathedral of Clonfert. In addition, there are far more saints sources (Holy wells), the (now ) exist without tree cover.

In practice, there are many local variations. In some wells, it is tradition to wash the affected area with the wet cloth and then to hang in the tree. Just as the cloth dissolve over time, the suffering will disappear. At some wells are definitely " rags " used in other colored stripes of fine cloth.

An unusual form is to coins to nail into the tree ( Wish Coin or trees ). The sacred trees are usually hawthorn species ( Crataegus ), but also ash ( Fraxinius ) and beech ( Fagaceae ) are common. The most popular time for the pilgrimages to Clootie Wells and other holy wells, are the ancient Gaelic festivals of Imbolc Day (February 1 ), Beltane (May 1), Lughnasadh (August 1 ) or Samhain (November 1 ).

Detached from sources or trees exist from Central Asia to Western Europe, forms of worship, in which hung pieces of fabric in different meanings play a ritual role.