A woman from the Russian North recalled a form of malicious magic directed at newlyweds. Sawdust from a saw that had just been sharpened was scattered where the young couple would walk or across their floor. It was believed that they would then never live happily together.

“After that, Yura and I never had a good life together,” she concluded.

Source: A. B. Moroz and N. V. Petrov (eds.), Wise People, Sorcerers, and Black Magicians: Witchcraft and Everyday Magic in the Russian North (2012). “Harm.”