Juan

Juan : In Hispanic lore, any man named Juan has the power to catch witches. To do so, he must draw a Magic circle on the ground and sit inside it. Then he takes off his shirt, turns it inside out and says,

“In the name of God I call thee, bruja.”

Immediately, all witches in the vicinity must appear before him and fall helpless into the circle.

Despite this power, men named Juan were believed to seldom use it, for they knew that witches so summoned would beat them to death. The turning inside out of the shirt has a curious association with vampire killing folklore in eastern Europe. The vampire hunter would take off his shirt, turn the sleeves inside out and use a sleeve as a telescope to “find” a vampire.

SEE ALSO:

• Witchcraft Glossary
• Witchcraft

FURTHER READING:

• Lummis, Charles. A New Mexico David. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1891.

SOURCE:

The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca – written by Rosemary Ellen Guiley – Copyright © 1989, 1999, 2008 by Visionary Living, Inc.

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