Tales of a Welsh Wizard

John Harries

For all of its recorded existence, Wales has provided a happy home for Wise Men--or, to give them another name, wizards.  (The Welsh term is “dyn hysbys.”)  Until very modern times, these men were sought out to aid people who believed they had been cursed, or to cast some benevolent spells of their own.  For all I know, the wizards still exist here and there, just practicing their curious trade more discreetly.  These men were seers, healers, herbalists, and often astrologers.  This esoteric blend of talents was often surprisingly effective.  Two of the most renowned of the dyn hysbys were John Harries and his son Henry.

The elder Harries was born in Cwrt-y-Cadno in 1785.  His father was a well-to-do yeoman father whose ambition was to see his son become a doctor.  When he was old enough, John was sent to London to learn medicine.  After getting his diploma, John returned home to set up his practice.

It soon became evident that John had healing abilities that extended far beyond anything that could be learned from medical school.  He had an unusual talent for easing pain.  He had a strange power over those who were mentally ill, using his mind to control, or even cure them.  He gave excellent advice for anyone who was troubled in mind or body, showing an uncanny knowledge of his patients’ past--and their future.  In short, the good people of Cwrt-y-Cadno soon realized they had a first-rate dyn hysbys in their midst.  He was a kindly, compassionate man who was eager to provide help for the increasing number of people who sought him out.

John made no secret of the fact that his skills arose from his study of astrology, as well as hidden knowledge he learned from the spirits.  On a certain day every year, John and one of his disciples would go off into the woods, far from any human contact.  There, John would make a clearing and draw a circle on the ground.  He raised a wooden post in the middle of this circle, and placed upon it a large book sealed with seven locks, which he chained to the post.  His disciple entered the circle, with the instructions to carefully report everything he heard or saw.  Then, John opened the book--which was written in some strange, unknown language--and chanted long sections of it.  All of this, it was said, was done to summon the spirits who gave him such miraculous powers.

Although John was valued as a healer, he is chiefly remembered for his remarkable psychic abilities.  He solved many crimes by displaying knowledge that he could not have obtained by any normal means.  On one occasion, a Carmarthenshire man set off to walk to Brecon.  When he failed to return, the police were summoned, but they were unable to find the missing man.  After some weeks had passed, the man’s relatives turned to John for help.  After hearing their story, the wizard sadly told them that the man was dead.  “If you cross the mountain between Llandovery and Brecon your path will lead you past a ruined house, and close by is a solitary tree.  Dig at the foot of the tree and you will find him whom you seek.”  A search party immediately went to the spot, which was exactly as Herries had described it.  When the group dug the ground beneath the tree, they soon found their friend’s body.  Unfortunately, Harries’ talents apparently did not extend to knowing who had murdered the man, and why.  The crime was never solved.

In a more famous story involving Harries, the wizard’s supernatural powers nearly got him into a great deal of trouble.  A young woman had disappeared, and after conventional methods of searching for her failed, Dr. Harries was brought into the case.  He informed her family that the girl had been killed by her lover, who buried the body beneath a certain tree.  After the girl’s corpse was uncovered at the spot, her sweetheart confessed his guilt.  All of this made the local authorities--hard-headed men who had no truck with wizardry--very suspicious of Dr. Harries.  They reasoned that he could not have known so much about the murder unless he had participated in it.  They had the wise man arrested and charged with complicity and abetting the murder.  Fortunately, Harries’ many supporters were able to have the charges dropped.  As a parting gift, Harries cheerfully told the magistrates that if they gave him the date and hour of their births, he could tell them exactly when they would die.

The magistrates declined the offer.

One day, two farmers were robbed on their way home from Swansea market.  One of them went to Cwrt-y-Cadno for help in finding the culprit.  Harries asked the man if he would know his own horses and wagon if he saw them again.  The puzzled farmer said that of course he would.  Harries then took him into an adjoining room and instructed him to look into the mirror hanging on a wall.  When the farmer did so, he saw his horses and wagon standing on the road leading from the market.  Inside the wagon, he and his friend were sleeping.  A third man, whom the farmer instantly recognized, was helping himself to their sacks and money-bag.

On another occasion, a drover sold some cattle and went home with his profits, about £80.  When he woke up the next morning, the money was gone.  Obviously, it was time to consult with the friendly neighborhood dyn hysbys.  Harries told him that he would cause the thief to stay in bed as long as they lived, and that the drover would find the money in his pocket the next day.  When the drover returned home, he was surprised to find his wife lying in bed.  She had been perfectly well when he left.

Hmmm.

When the drover rose the next morning, he did indeed find all the money in his pocket.  His wife then confessed to having stolen the money.  She remained bedridden until her death 19 years later.

Another story tells of how a farmer who lost three cows asked Harries for help.  The wise man said he would know what became of the cows the following day.  The farmer had come a long way on foot, so he decided it would be pointless to return home.  Without saying anything to Harries, he decided to spend the night in the wizard’s barn.  Very early the next morning, he was surprised to see Harries in the barn, carrying a lantern.  The dyn hysbys drew a large circle on the floor and recited a long incantation from the book he was holding.  Instantly, seven demons appeared, and one stated “There is a pig in the straw.”  (This was evidently an unflattering comment about the farmer.)  Another said, “The farmer’s cows will be found on Carmarthen bridge at noon tomorrow.”

The terrified farmer managed to slip away without being observed, and ran home as fast as he could.  The next day at noon, he found his cows on the Carmarthen bridge, just as advertised.  While he was driving them home, the animals suddenly stopped at a certain point, and nothing the farmer did could get them to move.  Finally, the man gave up, and went back to Harries for advice.  The wizard matter-of-factly informed him that the cows were frozen in place because he had put a spell on them.  And there they would remain until the farmer had given him his fee!  The sheepish man paid up, and the cows arrived safely home.

From studying his own horoscope, Harries believed he would die violently on a particular day in 1839.  After dinner on what he believed to be his fatal day, he immediately went to bed, hoping in that way to “cross his planet.”  Alas, during the night he was awakened by cries that the house was on fire.  He had no choice but to go downstairs to help fight the flames.  As he was climbing a ladder to throw water on the roof, he slipped and fell to the ground, where he died on the spot.  It is strange how such an accomplished wizard thought he could challenge Fate.

Harries’ funeral provided one last bit of weirdness.  The men carrying his coffin to the parish church said that after crossing the river Cothi, the coffin suddenly felt very light, and that a herd of oxen feeding by the river fled as the funeral procession approached, not stopping for four miles.  The people of Cwrt-y-Cadno believed that this showed that the spirits who had assisted Harries in life stole his corpse and transported it to some place in the mountain crags.

After John’s death, his son Henry took over his job as the local wise man, where he proved to be a more than worthy successor, providing expert occult help to anyone in trouble.  After Henry died in 1849, his younger brother John became the family wizard, but, sadly, he was said to be far less skilled than his father and brother.

A good wizard is hard to find.