Charm For Unfruitful Land - Modern English
Here is the remedy to improve your fields if they do not grow or if any improper thing is done to them through sorcery or through witchcraft. At night, before it dawns, take four pieces of turf from the four sides of the land, and mark how they were positioned. Then take oil, honey, yeast, the milk of each beast that is on the land, a piece of wood from every kind of tree that is grown on the land (except for hardwood), and a portion of every important plant (excepting only buck-bean), and put holy water on them, and drip it three times on the underside of the turfs, and then say these words: crescite, grow, et multiplicamini, and multiply, et replete, and fill, terre, the earth. In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti sit benedicti [may it be blessed in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit]. And say the Our Father as often as you say the other thing. And then carry the turf to church and let the priest sing four masses over the turfs, and let the green sides be turned to the altar; and afterwards let the turfs be brought to their former places before the sun goes down. And let four crosses of Christ be made from aspen-wood and write on each end: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Lay the cross of Christ in the bottom of the hole and then say: cross of Matthew, cross of Mark, cross of Luke, cross of Saint John. Then take the turf and place it on top of it, and say the word crescite nine times and an Our Father just as often, and then turn to the east and humbly bow nine times, and then say these words:

I stand facing east, I pray for grace.
I pray the glorious Domine, pray the great Lord,
pray the holy Guardian of heaven,
pray the earth and the high heaven
and the true Saint Mary
and the might of heaven and the celestial hall
that I may, with the gift of God, utter
this charm through my teeth, with resolute purpose,
and awaken these fruits for our worldly use,
fill up this earth with firm belief,
beautify this meadow's turf, as the prophet said
that he who gloriously distributed alms
as God wills would have grace in the earthly kingdom.
Then turn yourself three times with the sun, then prostrate yourself, lying full length, and count out the litany, and then say Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus all the way to the end. Then sing Benedicite with arms outstretched and Magnificat and the Our Father three times, and commit it to Christ and Saint Mary and the holy cross for the praise and honor and grace of him who owns the land and all who are subject to him. When all that has been done, let one take an unknown seed from a bedesman and give him two of whatever has been taken from him, and then gather all his plowing equipment together. Then, in a hole bored in the plow-tail, place incense, finnel, hallowed soap and hallowed salt. Then take the seed, place it on the frame of the plow, and say:

Erce, Erce, Erce, mother of earth,
May the Ruler of all, the eternal Lord, grant you
growing and flourishing fields,
increasing and strengthening,
high stalks and lovely fruits,
and the broad barley-crop,
and the white wheat-crop,
and all the fruits of the earth.
May the eternal Lord and his saints
who are in heaven grant it
that its crops be defended from every foe,
and let her be protected from every injury
of witches, sown throughout the land.
Now I pray the Ruler who created this world
that there be no woman so talkative or man so strong
as can turn aside the words thus spoken.
Then drive forth the plow and open the first furrow, and say:

Be well, earth, mother of men!
May you grow in the Father's embrace,
filled with food for the use of men.
Then take every kind of meal and bake a loaf of bread as broad as the palm of the hand, and knead it with milk and holy water and lay it under the first furrow. Then say:

Full field of food for humankind,
brightly blossoming, blessed be
in the holy name of Him who created heaven
and the earth we live upon;
may the God who created this land grant us a growing gift,
so that every grain comes to our use.
Then say three times Crescite in nomine Patris, sit benedicti. Say Amen and Our Father three times.


This page was last
updated on: July 22,
2003