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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Warts	Fred	Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Question: I have heard that warts on the hands are sometimes a sign that the devil has you ear marked. Is this true?
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r) Dear Fred: The idea that warts on the hands is a sign of the devil is an old wives tale (folklore). The reason that witches are depicted with warts is based on this folklore and on the practice of some witches to case spells to inflict medical problems on people. On the other side of thing, to cure warts, "Wart charms" was still practiced in East Anglian folklore into the 1960's. The folklore is probably a result of a lack of understanding of the cause of warts, which is a virus, and the practices of witches, and thus they were attriubuted to the work of the devil. Until rather recent times (the latter part of the 19th century) viruses and germs were not recognized as existing by the medical community. It was common in times past to attribute to the devil medical conditions for which there were no known cause. The Mayo Clinic defines warts as "skin growths caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus causes a rapid growth of cells on the outer layer of your skin." You can learn more from the Mayo Clinic article. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Warts

Fred

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Question:

I have heard that warts on the hands are sometimes a sign that the devil has you ear marked. Is this true?

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)

Dear Fred:

The idea that warts on the hands is a sign of the devil is an old wives tale (folklore). The reason that witches are depicted with warts is based on this folklore and on the practice of some witches to case spells to inflict medical problems on people. On the other side of thing, to cure warts, "Wart charms" was still practiced in East Anglian folklore into the 1960's.

The folklore is probably a result of a lack of understanding of the cause of warts, which is a virus, and the practices of witches, and thus they were attriubuted to the work of the devil.

Until rather recent times (the latter part of the 19th century) viruses and germs were not recognized as existing by the medical community. It was common in times past to attribute to the devil medical conditions for which there were no known cause.

The Mayo Clinic defines warts as "skin growths caused by a virus called the human papillomavirus (HPV). This virus causes a rapid growth of cells on the outer layer of your skin."

You can learn more from the Mayo Clinic article.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.