Here are some ways to foretell your love-life in the coming year. Remember, these methods only work on Hallowe'en night:
Using Apples
Stand in front of a mirror by candlelight, and eat an apple that has been cut in half. and you will see the face of the person you are to marry in the glass.
Peel an apple carefully so that the peel comes off in one long spiral. Throw the peel over your shoulder and the peel will fall into the shape of the first letter of the name of your future love.
You can also recite this incantation while peeling:
"I pare this apple round and round again
My sweetheart's name to flourish on the plain:
I fling the unbroken paring o'er my head,
My sweetheart's letter on the ground to read.'
Other love charms involving apples (these you can use anytime of year)
Using Nuts
Hazelnuts are the nut of preference for these operations:
If you and your sweetheart put two nuts in the fire side by side and watch them burn, you can tell whether you should get married or not. If the two nuts burn quietly to ashes without moving, the marriage will be harmonious. If the nuts burst or fly apart when the fire hits them, the match will be quarrelsome.
A single person can also put nuts in the fire to represent each of their sweethearts. Whichever nut burns the brightest, that one is the true heart's desire and love will flourish. In another version of this custom, the true love is represented by the nut that pops: 'If you love me, pop and fly; if you hate me, burn and die.'
Using Snails
Place a snail in the ashes of the hearth and encourage it to crawl. The snail will then spell out the first letter of your future love's name.
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