Lady Seraphina

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Did you read the part in the link where it said it exorcises evil spirits? Pretty sure that's as explicit as it gets.

Also yes sowing the fields was used, but based upon the original texts and the bible being full of double meanings it was also meant to be a full blown curse.

@Onarax

You linked me to an entire novel for which I have no cultural context. "Evil Spirits" could mean any number of things. Ancient Christianity believed fevers were sent from the devil. It could easily be that salt has some sort of medicinal use in Korean culture but as I have no cultural context I couldn't say for sure. Evil spirits could also refer to things such as bad luck, or witch curses for which salt as a purifying agent would likely have been used. It was never used as a weapon against demonic forces or prevented them crossing the threshold of a house. That was a liberty taken on the part of Supernatural. Salt I will admit played a role in several ancient mythologies similar to how incense does in Christianity today. However it never had any offensive implications towards the demonic element.

And I still don't know anything about Spiderwick so using it as an example doesn't do me much good unless you want to explain exactly how it applied to the discussion.

You can't cite hypothetical double meanings which are completely up to interpretation as a source. You could argue the true meaning of the bible till doomsday and you still wouldn't have any proof of what you think it says.

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Actually Salt has been used to ward off evil spirits in a bunch of Asian cultures. Buddhism and Shintoism coming to mind in particular.

A random book from 1988 makes it easily predate Supernatural (Which Spiderwick did already). I'm also pretty sure that there is some evidence in Roman Tradition as it would be used as an offering to the gods often times to keep malice out of the house.

Christianity has also used it as a curse to keep all things out.

"Abimelech fought against the city all that day, and he captured the city and killed the people who were in it; then he razed the city and sowed it with salt." (Judges 9:45)

@Onarax

Warding off bad luck and actually fighting demons with it are too different things. It was considered a symbol of purity as I've already said so using it in sacrifices or to stave off curses wouldn't be all that unusual. It was never a direct weapon against satanic forces until Supernatural though.

That bit at the end about sowing the city with salt had nothing to do with religious practices or warding off evil. If you salt the earth it ensures that nothing will grow there again. In ancient wars it wasn't an unusual practice to salt enemy farms and cities after conquering if you didn't intend to take them as your own. It ensured that your enemy wouldn't be able to rebuild. At least not easily.

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You've ... never read Spiderwick, have you?

@Crimmy

I've never read them no, but doesn't Spiderwick deal with fairies, goblins and brownies? Salt has a very different connotation with them. There is an old legend that says that if you spill salt in front of a fairy they have to count all the grains immediately (this is related to the superstition about throwing salt over your shoulder if you spill it). In some works of literature this has evolved into fairies having an actual weakness against salt but I've never actually read Spiderwick so I don't know the context with which they use it.

When did we start talking about child soldiers?

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In 'Gugure! Kokkuri-san' the self-proclaimed doll throws salt at Kokkuri-san, a spirit.

@KabenSaal

I looked it up. Gugure! Kokkuri-san was serialized in 2011. Supernatural has been on the air since 2005. By the time Gugure! Kokkuri-san was written Supernatural was well into its sixth season. By that point it was popular enough that its popularization of using salt against demons and ghosts would be known even by those that weren't a fan of the show. More than likely the writer got the idea even if indirectly from Supernatural and not some old mythology or legend.

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Could keep out all manner of demons with it.

@KabenSaal

That's actually a misconception propagated by Supernatural. salt has never had any form of supernatural repelling qualities.

In ancient Jerusalem (as well as other desert areas) salt was used to purify and preserve meat. Because of how fast meat spoiled in desert countries you needed salt unless you were going to butcher and eat the animal immediately. This caused salt to become a symbol of purity and life in many ancient cultures because food was life and salt was necessary to preserve it.

Supernatural took this a step further by saying that since it was a symbol of purity demons, unclean as they are could not abide it and as a symbol of life ghosts being without life could not tolerate it. Before Supernatural salt had no demon slaying or ghost banishing qualities.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Sapphire Rode - Combat Class

Sapphire watched the rest of the fights stony faced. She was angry, with Napoli, with Beacon's combat system but mostly with herself. That match had been a joke. Her opponent had done almost nothing the entire time then one scratch and the win was his. It was ridiculous. It had seemed to Sapphire he'd been more interested in getting a proper introduction than he had in his grade and yet despite that fact that he'd shown no signs of actually trying at all and he'd still come out on top. Not literally Sapphire thought, a small smile of satisfaction alighting the corner of her lips at the memory of the painful gasp that had escaped Napoli's lips when she'd driven her knee into his chest.

Still she could do so much better than that. If she was lucky and kept her grades up there was a chance she could have that particular match scrubbed from her record. It wasn't something she wanted to remember. As the bell rang and students hurriedly picked up their things and shuffled off to the next class Sapphire's mind wandered to the armory. She'd had an idea for a device over the weekend. It wasn't a weapon but it would aid in combat.

Dissatisfied with her performance and thinking of what she would do in armoury class Sapphire was nearly run over by Shiro as he tore down the hall towards the same classroom as the rest of the students. "Blundering idiot." Sapphire muttered to herself her train of thought broken. If she'd had them on her Sapphire no doubt would have practiced assembling and disassembling Morpheus and Phobator. They were of such an intricate design that when she was younger she'd performed this action once a day to ensure that she would know how to repair them if they were ever damaged. Now it served as stress relief, it was something familiar to her and completely within her control. However because of Shiro she didn't even have that anymore.

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Had about a confrontational near sociopath?

Legend of Zelda: A New Story

Navi the Fairy - Castle Courtyard

Navi knew right away who it was that approached her. Though the Princess now wore simple clothing and carried herself more like a lesser noble or well off merchant Navi could feel the power emanating from the Triforce of Wisdom. More knowledge than Navi could ever hope to obtain even in her immortal life just beyond reach. It had always been a point of contention between Navi and the Zelda she had known before being disgraced. It was barely even conscious but whenever Navi was around the Princess of Hyrule she felt that the noble was keeping something from her. Navi as a Fairy of Knowledge had an unquenchable thirst for it. It was not logical but because Zelda held the Triforce left behind by Naryu Navi had never quite trusted her, no matter what happened between them Navi always felt something was just a little off.

Right now however Navi respected the fact that Zelda wished her identity to remain a secret. Though using the name of one of the love interests of the Hero of Twilight seemed rather suggestive to Navi. The blue fairy bowed to the disguised Princess. "Your acquaintance is well met, Ilia." Then Navi turned back to Link. "I suggest the two of you shield your eyes. I am told this can be quite blinding to mortals."

Navi closed her eyes and as she concentrated her skin and hair began to glow brighter and brighter blue, until she was so bright that nothing could made out through the light. Some said if you looked directly at a changing fairy you would go blind. Seconds later the light dissipated and where Navi the young girl had stood moments ago floated a blue ball of energy with glittering wings. "I will meet you on the other side of the gates. The iron is not complimentary to my health, so I shall fly well above it."

Navi took off rising higher and higher, when she was at a decent elevation she crossed over the barrier between the castle and the town outside. She was high enough that the iron in the gates scarce effected her. Once she was passed the little fairy began to distend. As she got closer to the ground Navi could sense black magic, dense and stale and ancient. Something she had felt earlier this morning. As she felt this malevolent presence the heavens opened and it started to rain. Frantically looking round the fairy girl spotted Shadow Link leaning on the castle wall next to the cart.

In a panic Navi descended quickly landing on the ground in human form. By the time she reached the cart however the rain had gone and Shadow Link had melted back into the growing darkness of the coming dusk. Navi looked to Link hoping for some answer as to what Shadow Link had been doing and why he had left. That was when she saw the instrument in Link's hand. It was an ocarina, the ocarina, the Ocarina of Time.

In ancient times that ocarina had been crafted by Robin Goodfellow, the Fool of the Fairy Courts, as a gift to the royal family of the newly formed Hyrule. The knave had bestowed upon the instrument the same power of notes that fairies possessed in their voices though without the drain on strength. Because of the Hobgoblin's work the Ocarina of Time could make it rain, shine, turn the day into night, move its player vast distances and even seal the realm of the gods itself. The Ocarina of Time disappeared along with its Hero in the Lost Woods.

"Did the shadow creature give that to you?" Navi asked starring at the Ocarina in awe.

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Just dialogue from the fight. Hard to explain. Mostly just not getting a proper greeting and stuff.

@Onarax

Did he actually expect a proper greeting? It was a fight not a social gathering.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Ein is one, two in germAn begins with an S so when you count in quick succession it sounds like Eins.