Crossroads

(mythology)

In folk magic and mythology, crossroads

may represent a location "between the
worlds" and, as such, a site where
supernatural spirits can be contacted and
paranormal events can take place.
Symbolically, it can mean a locality where
two realms touch and therefore represents
liminality, a place literally "neither here nor
there", "betwixt and between".

Ancient religions

A herma was a statue associated with Hermes. It was

used to mark boundaries and crossroads in ancient
Greece, and thought to ward off evil. Museum of
Ancient Messene, Greece.
In Greek mythology, crossroads were
associated with both Hermes and Hecate,
with shrines and ceremonies for both
taking place there. The herm pillar
associated with Hermes frequently
marked these places due to the god's
association with travelers and role as a
guide. Though less central to Greek
mythology than Hermes, Hecate's
connection to crossroads was more
cemented in ritual. 'Suppers of Hecate'
were left for her at crossroads at each new
moon, and one of her most common titles
was 'goddess of the crossroads.' In her
later three-fold depictions, each of the
three heads or bodies is often associated
with one of three crossing roads.[1]

An 11th-century homily called De Falsis

Deis tells us that Mercury or Odin were
honored on crossroads.

53. Sum man eac wæs gehaten

Mercurius on life, se wæs swyðe
facenfull
54. And, ðeah full snotorwyrde, swicol
on dædum and on leasbregdum. Ðone
55. macedon þa hæðenan be heora
getæle eac heom to mæran gode and æt
wega
 56. gelætum him lac offrodon oft and
gelome þurh deofles lare and to heagum
57. beorgum him brohton oft mistlice
loflac.[2]

The modern English text gives: "There was

also a man called Mercury, he was very
crafty and deceitful in deed and trickeries,
though his speech was fully plausible. The
heathens made him a renowned god for
themselves; at crossroads they offered
sacrifices to him frequently and they often
erringly brought praise-offerings to
hilltops, all through the devil’s teaching.
This false god was honored among the
heathens in that day, and he is also called
by the name Odin in the Danish manner."

Medieval Folklore
In the UK there was a tradition of burying
criminals and suicides at the crossroads.
This may have been due to the crossroads
marking the boundaries of the settlement
coupled with a desire to bury those
outside of the law outside the settlement,
or that the many roads would confuse the
dead.[3] Crossroads were also commonly
used as a place of criminal punishment
and execution (e.g. by gibbet or dule tree),
which may have also been a reason for it
being a site of suicidal burial as suicide
was considered a crime. This ritual of
crossroads burial dates back to Anglo-
Saxon times and continued until being
abolished in 1823.[4]

While they became a place of burial for

suicides and others unable to be given
proper burial in the Middle Ages, the
crossroads were once a burial place
second only to the consecrated church for
Christians.[5]

In Western folk mythology, a crossroads

can be used to summon a demon or devil
in order to make a deal. This legend can be
seen in many stories. For example, the
1587 Historia von D. Johann Fausten,
describes the character Faust inscribing
magic circles at a crossroads in order to
summon the devil.

In the 1885 historical essay Transylvanian

Supersitions, Emily Gerard describes how
crossroads were often avoided as a matter
of course, and describes a Romanian
belief that a demon could be summoned
at a crossroad by drawing a magic circle,
offering copper coin as payment, and
reciting an incantation.[6]
Hoodoo
In conjure, rootwork, and hoodoo, a form
of African American magical spirituality, in
order to acquire facility at various manual
and body skills, such as playing a musical
instrument, throwing dice, or dancing, one
may attend upon a crossroads a certain
number of times, either at midnight or just
before dawn, and one will meet a "black
man," whom some call the Devil, who will
bestow upon one the desired skills. In the
Vodou tradition, Papa Legba is the lwa of
crossroads and a messenger to the spirit
world.[7]
Brazilian mythology
Crossroads are very important both in
Brazilian mythology (related to the
headless mule, the devil, the Besta Fera
and the Brazilian version of the werewolf)
and religions (as the favourite place for the
manifestation of "left-hand" entities such
as Exus and where to place offerings to
the Orishas). Eshu and Legba derive from
the same African deity, although they are
viewed in markedly different manners
among traditions. For example, Papa
Legba is considered by Haitian Vodou
practitioners to be closest to Saint Peter,
although in Brazilian Quimbanda it is not
uncommon to see Exu closely associated
with demonic entities such as Lucifer, clad
in Mephistophelean attire and bearing a
trident.[8]

In modern fiction
In 1926's Faust, the titular character
summons the demon Mephistopheles at a
crossroad. In the U.S. television show
Supernatural, crossroads demons are a
recurring plot device.

Blues songs …
Some 20th-century blues songs, such as
Sold It to the Devil by Black Spider
Dumpling (John D. Twitty), may be about
making a deal with the devil at the
crossroads. Many modern listeners
believe that the premier song about soul-
selling at a crossroads is "Cross Road
Blues" by Robert Johnson. According to a
legend, Johnson himself sold his soul at a
crossroads in order to learn to play the
guitar. This is chronicled in the Netflix
documentary ReMastered: Devil at the
Crossroads. However, the song's lyrics
merely describe a man trying to hitchhike;
the sense of foreboding has been
interpreted as the singer's apprehension of
finding himself, a young black man in the
1920s deep south, alone after dark and at
the mercy of passing motorists.[9]

The idea of selling one's soul for

instrumental skills predates the American
South as several virtuoso classical
musicians such as Paganini had stories
told about selling their soul for music
prowess (and that story may reference
back to medieval troubadour doing
something similar). The motif of selling
one's soul for guitar power has become a
staple of both rock and metal guitarists.[10]
In the 2000 Coen Brothers comedy, O
Brother, Where Art Thou?, the character
Tommy Johnson claims to have sold his
soul to the devil at the crossroads in
exchange for guitar skills, a direct
reference to the legend of Robert Johnson.

See also
Crossroads village
Liminal deities
Hecate
Boundary marker#Greece
Herma
References
1. Hornblower, Spawforth, Eidinow.
(2012) The Oxford Classical
Dictionary fourth edition . Oxford
University Press. p.688, 649-651]
2. The Old English text is reproduced
here from The Cambridge Old English
Reader by Richard Marsden, pp. 205–
208.
3. Robert Halliday (2008). "British
Archaeology, no 25, June 1997:
Features" . britarch.ac.uk. Retrieved
10 September 2011.
4. https://www.historyextra.com/period/
victorian/why-were-suicides-
supposed-to-be-buried-at-
crossroads/
5. Jobes, Gertrude. (1961) Dictionary of
Mythology Folklore and Symbols Part
1 . The Scarecrow Press, Inc. p.388
6. http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epu
b/52165/pg52165.txt
7. https://www.learnreligions.com/papa-
legba-4771384
8. Canizares, Baba Raul (2000). Santeria
and the Orisha of the Crossroads.
 New York: Original Publications.
pp. 23–24.
9. Litwack, Leon F (1998). Trouble in
Mind: Black Southerners in the Age of
Jim Crow. New York: Vintage Books.
pp. 410–411.
10. Jad Abumrad; et al. (2012). "Radiolab,
April 16, 2012: Features" .
Radiolab.org. Retrieved 27 April 2012.

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