Painstakingly chiselled into century-old stone stable walls, tucked away in the back of a blacksmith's workshop, lies a forgotten piece of Victoria's colonial history.
Key points:
- Researchers are searching for traces of folk magic dating back to colonial times
- Hexafoils, burn marks and hidden clothing have been found in properties around the country
- The symbols were widely used to keep bad luck and tragedy at bay
It is a hexafoil — small, white, circular, and intricately carved with a witch's mark.
It is one of many thought to be hidden in south-west Victoria, according to historian and Australian Magic Research Project Director Ian Evans.
"It's a circular mark, probably about six inches across, and within the mark there are a number of arches made with the use of a protractor or compass and these look like the petals of a flower," Dr Evans said.
"They're placed on walls, they're found on furniture — you just never know where you're going to find them."
Burn marks and hidden boots
Dr Evans said magic symbols like the hexafoil were often used by tradespeople and farm workers to protect buildings and animals without the knowledge of the property owners.
"It was not a case where there were wizards roaming around, this was the magic of the ordinary people of the cities, towns and countryside," he said.
"Members of the building trades were involved, as were blacksmiths and grooms working in large stables."
Stables and homesteads were common places to find signs of magic and superstition, but this is the first instance where researchers have looked at colonial-era buildings around Victoria to trace the lineage of Australia's folk history.
Already, the researchers have found burn marks in more than 20 stables in the southern midlands of Tasmania and a boot beneath the floor of one of Brisbane's oldest homes — both symbols of folk magic thought to ward off evil spirits and offer protection against misfortune and disease.
"The belief was if you hid, for instance, a child's shoe in the house ... that that would protect the child while the child lived in the home," said Dr David Waldron, a senior history lecturer at Federation University.
Filling in the forgotten chapter
Hexafoils, burn marks and hidden clothing are part of a set of ancient superstitions that date back to the Roman times, carried to Australia by the colonialists in the 18th century — especially the impoverished Irish.
"You get a lot in the papers at the time about trying to stamp out superstitions amongst the poor Irish Catholics," Dr Waldron said.
The symbols could relate to deeply personal fears — those of mothers who worried they would lose their children to typhus, or farriers concerned for the safety of their horses.
Medical advancements and institutionalised education saw a decline in superstitious thought in the 19th century, but the ancient magic symbols still hide on homesteads and colonial properties around Australia.
In Victoria, these symbols have already been found on farming properties near Terang and Mortlake, close to Warrnambool.
Dr Evans said he was especially keen to hear from property owners from south-west Victoria with intact stables and farm buildings in the hopes of uncovering the truth about Australia's folk magic past.
"It's a lost and secret history," he said.
"A forgotten chapter in Australian history."
Editor's note 18/07/2019: This article has been updated from its original publication date of 17/07/2019