DEISCAL, the name of a ceremony originally used in the druidical worship of Britain, and retained in many places down to a very late period, as a civil ceremony towards persons of distinction. The Druids, in performing the public offices of their religion, invariably made three turns round the altar, accompanied by all the worshippers. The memory of this practice was preserved in some places for many ages after the Druids and their religion had disappeared; as in the custom in the Scottish isles of walking three times round the ancient cairns, from east to west, according to the course of the sun. This custom was called deiscal, from deas or dess, the right hand, and soil or sul, the sun; the right hand being ever next the heap or cairn. In the same isles it was customary for the people to testify their respect for their chieftains by performing the deiscal around their persons in the same manner. The ceremony is described by a proprietor who experienced this mark of respect as follows:—"One of the natives would needs express his high esteem for my person, by making a turn round about me, sun-ways, and at the same time blessing me, and wishing me all happiness. But I bid him let alone that piece of homage, telling him I was sensible of his good meaning towards me. But this poor man was very much disappointed, as were also his neighbours; for they doubted not but this ancient ceremony would have been very acceptable to me; and one of them told me that this was a thing due to my character from them as to their chief and
Deism
Delat. patron, and that they could not, and would not, fail to perform it."