deasil

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 18, 2016 is: deasil • \DEE-zil\  • adv : clockwise Examples: The worshippers dance around the fire deasil, or sunwise. "Three times we walked deasil around our central candle. By the third cycle I felt power flowing from Sky's fingers to mine, from my fingers to Alyce's." — Cate Tiernan, Spellbound, 2001 Did you know? According to an old custom, you can bring someone good fortune by walking around the person clockwise three times while carrying a torch or candle. In Scottish Gaelic, the word deiseil is used for the direction one walks in such a luck-bringing ritual. English speakers modified the spelling to deasil, and have used the word to describe clockwise motion in a variety of rituals. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.