The writing’s on the wall, so they say.
In an age before most of the population were not literate and few knew exactly what the priest was on about, in the Latin tongue, to one thing everyone could agree and definitely understand, bad spirits.
We might use the term vibes or superstition, but to the mind of those from an time of darkness at sundown, light at the break of dawn, there certainly was a lot of leg-room for the devil and his demons to fester in the details in-between.
I try (as i might) to put myself in the leather boots of those who carved these hexes, passionate enough to hack at their church walls, with reason on their side to vanquish the terrible demons, seduce them towards and trap them in these scratchings.
The thinking was always the same, to entice the dastardly devil in, towards the allure of patterns and spirals, for passed down knowledge told that this is exactly what attracts little devils the most. I do hope it worked, their pious mind calm at the entrapment of the evil spirit. Free at last to go about their day in peace, the badness locked up within the walls of the holy church. I reckon i’d’ve probably given it go, with nothing to lose when the demon festers within.
Fortunately many churches still retain these etchings, but accident more than planning, brash Victorian reordering simply not making it as to those which remain.
And here’s another, at Compton church in leafy Surrey. These compass markings are set as a trap, as demons are apparently tempted within, and once inside the circle, can never back out.
So next time you find yourself perched on a pew, look around, and if the place looks old then, there’s a good chance that it might have one or two swirls creeping up the walls.