Widdershins (Ferguson)

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

1- 8 1s set and cast 1 place, 1s dance ½ Fig of 8 down through 3s
9-12 1s set and turn RH to end facing 3rd corners
13-16 1s dance ½ LSh reel of 4 with 3rd corners and pass LSh to face 2nd corners
17-20 1s dance ½ LSh reel of 4 with 2nd corners and end 1L in middle in 3rd place facing up and 1M in middle in 2nd place facing down
21-24 1s turn LH ¾ way round to 2nd place opposite sides
25-32 All cross passing partner LSh and dance anticlockwise ½ way round and cross LH to own sides

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Dance Information

The term "widdershins" was especially common in lowland Scots and means to go counter-clockwise, to go anticlockwise or in a direction opposite to the usual. It is cognate with the German language widersinnig, i.e., "against" + "sense".

The Oxford English Dictionary's entry cites the earliest uses of the word from 1513.

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