By Susan A. Sheppard
From which the Scottish word “glamour” is derived, glamoury is an ability that witches and fairies have to alter themselves into another form by a type of transformational magic.
The word glamoury comes from the old French word gramaire and the Middle English word gramere, but the Scottish were the first to spell it as glamour or glamoury. Interestingly, the roots of the word glamour originally had to do with language (as in grammar school) rather than beauty transformations by witch spells. Perhaps it is the connection to magical incantations that may have inspired the Scottish to use the word glamoury that really meant in the Middle Ages, to “recite or to weave a spell.”
The word glamoury comes from the old French word gramaire and the Middle English word gramere, but the Scottish were the first to spell it as glamour or glamoury. Interestingly, the roots of the word glamour originally had to do with language (as in grammar school) rather than beauty transformations by witch spells. Perhaps it is the connection to magical incantations that may have inspired the Scottish to use the word glamoury that really meant in the Middle Ages, to “recite or to weave a spell.”
By her powers of glamoury the witch can change herself into a beast of the forest, a younger more sexually desirable person, or even into the opposite sex. The witch Queen in Snow White transforms herself into an old hag to offer Snow White a poison apple through such witch or glamoury powers. Cinderella is also transformed into something more alluring by the fairy godmother’s glamoury powers.
Real glamoury is an illusion that can be achieved by physical means, such as changing the style of clothing, hair or even the color of the your eyes into something entirely magical, such as making others see us in the way that we want them to. Thus, movie stars were once considered glamorous by a certain lighting, make-up or effect. In our present day the power of glamoury is all about shimmering mirages and star power, the ability to hold attention with one’s beauty. Yet once glamoury was an enchantment the witch had within her very nature -- she could cast glamoury upon anyone she chose and she could own it for herself by which she influenced others. It's no surprise that the meaning for the word glamour has evolved into explaining a star’s appeal over the masses. But in the beginning, weaving a spell of glamour, which meant you could be anything you wanted to be, was only possible for fairies and witches...**
I love this article! Ever since I discovered that my mother taught me the art of glamoury at a young age, I've been looking around for explanations. This was one of the best!!!
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