Counting Crows

I'm adding this note because Kira in My Favorite Witch uses this form of intel a couple of times. Just an FYI post. LOL

Crow or Magpie Augury (the practice of foretelling the future based on the number of birds seen) has been around for centuries, and spawned many version of the "counting rhyme". These are a few of the ones I've collected. As you can see, there's quite a variety, but most follow the same themes.

Counting Rhyme (from The Folklore of Birds, by Laura C. Martin, 1993)
One for sorrow, two for mirth,
Three for a wedding, four for a birth,
Five for silver, six for gold,
Seven for a secret not to be told.
Eight for heaven, nine for hell,
And ten for the devil's own sel'.

Counting Crows (Emailed to me by a 'Net acquaintance)
One for sorrow,
two for joy,
three for a girl,
for for a boy,
five for silver,
six for gold,
seven for a secret,
never to be told,
eight for a wish,
nine for a kiss,
ten for a time
of joyous bliss.

Magpie Rhyme (from Bird Brains, by Candace Savage, 1997. The Rhyme she quotes is from The Dictionary of Superstitions published by Oxford University Press in 1992)
One for sorrow,
two for mirth,
three for a wedding,
four for birth,
five for rich,
six for poor,
Seven for a witch,
I can tell you no more.

Counting Rhyme (another from an email acquaintance)
One crow sorrow,
Two crows mirth,
three, a wedding,
four, a birth,
five brings silver,
six takes wealth,
seven crows a secret,
More I can nae tell.

Counting Crows (again, from an email acquaintance)
One for sadness, two for mirth;
Three for marriage, four for birth;
Five for laughing, six for crying:
Seven for sickness, eight for dying;
Nine for silver, ten for gold;
Eleven a secret that will never be told.