Porphyry September, 2010

Pagan theology:  Down the Wookey Hole

The English town of Wells in the county of Somerset, England is a few minutes north of Glastonbury.  It is home to the great Wells cathedral and sits in the middle of some charming English countryside.  The whole region is resplendent with Pagan sites, from Glastonbury tor (Wells also has a tor) to the springs of the Goddess Sulis-Minerva at Bath, to the nearby Salisbury Plain with the Stonehenge and Avesbury circles.  It also has an interesting geology, being associated with the same limestone formations that produce the springs at Bath.  Wells also has three “wells” or springs, two of them on the Cathedral grounds.    Limestone also often means caves and that is true of the Somerset region.  The region around Wells has many different cave complexes, the most famous being right outside of town and known as the “Wookey Hole.”

So, you ask, what does any of this have to do with Pagan theology?  Well…it just so happens that there is a local legend of the “Witch of the Wookey Hole.”  The legend is that a monk, known for exorcisms and such, dispatched a “witch” who lived in the cave by turning her to stone.  This legend most likely is based on the fact that one of the stalagmites in the cave resembles the profile of an older woman, easily interpreted as a “witch” [1].   The actual cave complex is a major tourist attraction, with all kinds of crazy tourist activities, ranging from dinosaurs to the caves themselves [2].   All we would need is an appearance by King Kevin and the whole place would be the perfect kitsch-fest [3].

Clearly the association of a rock formation with the folklore notion of a witch is way off topic for a column about Pagan theology.  But there is more to it than that.  At this point I should say “and now for something completely different…”

The caves around Somerset County have been explored by either professional or armature archeologists since at least the beginning of the 19^th century.  And they have found a lot of stuff, including stuff linked to witchcraft.  We also have a pretty good record of how the legend of the “witch of the Wookey Hole” developed over the years, including when the stalagmite was associated with a witch.  Finally, we have the modern interpretations of witchcraft and magic, and what they imply for the caves and their artifacts.  Through all of this we can begin to understand how our faith is layered in time, and in thought.   This one little example is a kind of excavation of legends and ideas associated with English witchcraft.  Maybe it will give us some insight into the history of our craft and religion.

I had the pleasure to visit the Wells and Mendip Museum [4] when I was in Wells recently and talk with the volunteers who staff the museum library.  They directed me to several very interesting references about the witch and caves. Herbert E. Balch founded the museum in 1893 to house stuff he found in the caves around Wells.  One of those things is a skeleton and associated artifacts thought to be of an older woman.  He found the skeleton near the entrance to the Wookey Hole cave, and dated it as Saxon (it might also be Early Iron Age or Romano-British) [4a].  Associated with the skeleton were goat bones that appeared to be on a tether, suggesting perhaps a goatherd, and several artifacts including a strange alabaster sphere [5].  Because of the provenance of the skeleton it was identified as the “witch of the Wookey Hole.”  The single skeleton, unusual artifacts, and location in the cave may indeed indicate it was a lone individual who lived in the cave and practiced some form of magic.  Since the skeleton was found in the late 1800’s it should not have had any direct effect on the legends or beliefs about the cave until recently.  It is possible, however, that the activities of the ancient resident lived on in local legend, thus influencing later thought about the cave.

Skeleton of the Witch of the Wookey Hole as displayed in the Wells & Mendip Museum, Wells, Somerset, United Kingdom.

In addition to the legend, the skeleton, and the stalagmite there are also marks in the Wookey Hole and other Somerset caves that show they have been associated with Witchcraft during more recent times.   Protection from witchcraft was an important consideration from 1400 to as recently as the early 20^th century.  Charms or protective wards were used to protect buildings from evil, spirits, or witches.  These included burying “witch bottles” containing bent pins and urine underneath doorways, making protective marks (“masons marks”) as the building was built, as well as walling up various things (including cats) during construction [6].  The general idea is that evil powers could not pass a threshold protected by bent pins, or magical markings.  This is similar to the folk/literary idea that vampires must be invited in or else they cannot cross a threshold. The marks took a variety of forms, ranging from plain circles, to crosses, arrows, or a mark with six petals within a circle [7].  Often the marks are on or near lintels, or near chimneys.  In many cases these marks and burials are the best documentary evidence we have about true folk beliefs in witchcraft and magic, as any written documentation was likely to be filtered through the viewpoint of whoever was writing it down (be they magician or witch-hunter).

Protective marks against witchcraft have been found throughout caves in the Somerset region, including the Wookey Hole [8].   Of particular interest in terms of the cave markings is the use of letters such as M or W designed to invoke the Virgin Mary thought the use of her monogram.  The W formed through two intersecting V’s represents the name of Mary, Virgin of Virgins (Virgo Virginum) [9].   Coincidentally the V’s also represent bent pins, but that’s just my non-professional observation.

ifacts found with the Witch of the Wookey Hole skeleton. Comb, milking bowl, two goat skeletons, a billhook, and the alabaster ball.  As displayed in the Wells & Mendip Museum, Wells, Somerset, United Kingdom.

In both Wookey Hole as well as several other caves in the area the conjoined V marks have been found.  These marks were most likely made during the 16^th and 17^th centuries [10].  The number of these marks, and their locations near natural chimney (“the Witch’s Chimney” feature) or cold areas in the caverns, suggest they were placed there for protective reasons.  It is also believed that the idea of the stalagmite in Wookey hole representing a witch arose during the mid 16^th to mid 17^th centuries [11].   The legend appears at about the same time the protective marks start appearing, which also coincides with the peak of the witch trial period around 1600.   This legend was reinforced in writings throughout the 18^th and 19^th centuries,  and was essentially set in local folklore and writings by the middle of the 18^th century.

So what does all this mean?  I believe that this story illustrates the complex historical, folk, and archeological narrative that Pagans must understand in order to understand our religion and its context.  Layers of Saxon Pagan, Roman, Christian, and modern artifacts and interpretation go into making up the “truth” about the relationship between caves, witchcraft, and magic in this story.

To start at the very beginning we have the skeleton and its associated artifacts.   There are two key parts to the story of the skeleton:  its association with Saxon or Romano-British culture, which may have been Pagan, and the alabaster sphere.   In particular the sphere is made of stone that is not local to the area, and is of a size that it would not have a lot of practical use (too small for a throwing bolo or similar and too expensive and shaped for use as a club).

The Anglo-Saxons believed in witchcraft before they were Christianized [12a].   In fact the Anglo-Saxon word for “witch” is “wiccan.”  In fact the Old English wicce and wicca are often associated with the Latin words for diviner or soothsayer, which, given their emphasis on the wyrd and fate may have been an important function for the Anglo-Saxon witch [12].  This may, and I emphasize this is simply speculation, have been somehow associated with the alabaster sphere, as spheres today are used in scrying.  In reality, however, we know very little about Anglo-Saxon religion or religious practices [13].

The idea of an older person, perhaps a woman, living in the cave, tending goats and practicing magic is a plausible explanation for the single skeleton and the materials found with it.  If that was the case the legend of the resident of the cave might have persisted into early modern times, and fueled the association between the cave (or caves) and witchcraft.  That also implies that the skeleton and artifacts represent one of the first “wiccans” we have on record, including the artifacts they used in their craft.

The next association of the cave with witchcraft comes in the mention of the stalagmite as a witch’s profile in 1628.  The legend grew over the next century with the idea that the stalagmite represented a witch firmly emplaced in literature by the mid 1700s.  It was most likely at this time or immediately before that the idea of a battle between the witch and a monk took hold, with the monk getting the upper hand and turning the witch to stone.  This all was coincident with the winding down of the witch trials, and the time when witchcraft and spell-making were taken seriously in England.

This was also most likely the time period when visitors to the caves began scribing protective marks.  Since these marks occur in many different caves in the region, it is unlikely they were specifically directed just at the legend of the witch at the Wookey cave.  Rather caves may have been seen as magical places in themselves, portals into the underground world from which mischief could issue.  These marks are inherently Christian in nature, and the people making them were most likely protecting themselves from threats they saw in a Christian context, including witchcraft.  Pagan concepts by this time had been subsumed into a Christian mythology, if they had ever been carried over in the first place.

Finally we come to more modern times with the idea of the classical witch of folklore that has been “defanged” by the enlightenment.  Looking at the advertisement on today’s Wookey Hole attraction you can see the cute, pointed hat, Sabrina-like witch that has come to be the folk interpretation of “witch” in popular culture.  This modern layer also includes our neo-Pagan interpretations, with the viewpoint of religious revivalists or deconstructionists, seeking to understand a poorly documented and distant past.  We also project our modern concept of magic, witchcraft, and Paganism onto the past, and attempt to fit it into our concept of how things might work.

To me these layers are an amazing summary, in one location with a few artifacts, of the journey that Paganism has taken over the years.  Rising from the lone worker in the cave, through the persecution and fear of the early modern period, and into the modern era of academia, folklore, and revivalism.   Any claim about our religion is more complicated than we understand and is made obscure by layers of meaning, interpretation, and confusion that have been laid down over centuries.  In this sense we are truly on our own as we construct a modern version of Paganism.  There is no definitive text, or ancestors, we can look back on for a clear historical thread that ties us to them.  There is scholarship, and the ability to reconstruct, but to truly know, to be a part of them, is almost impossible because of the cultural distance that stands between us an them.

[1]  For one, rather hyperbolic, retelling of the story go here: http://www.wookey.co.uk/witch.htm [warning: a crappy sound file will play when you go].

[2]  The whole mess can be examined here: http://www.wookey.co.uk/ [now the crappy sound will be associated with a video advertisement…the taste level here is not high as Tim Gunn would say.]

[3] http://www.kevwitch.co.uk/ I have absolutely nothing to say.

[4] http://www.wellsmuseum.org.uk/index.html

[4a]  Jim Hanwell, et al.  Wookey Hole:  75 Years of Cave Diving and Exploration,

[5]  The artifacts include a comb, a “milking bowl,” a billhook, two goat skeletons and the alabaster ball.  Both the artifacts and the skeleton are currently in a tug-of-war match between the owner of the cave/circus and the museum, http://www.show.me.uk/site/news/STO283.html.

[6]  For a great summary of the archeology of magic see:  Ralph Merrifield.  The Archeology of Ritual and Magic, New Amsterdam, 1987.

[7]  C.J. Binding and L.J. Wilson.  “Ritual Protection Marks in Wookey Hole and Long Hole, Somerset,” Proceedings University of Bristol Speleological Society, May 2010 pp.  46 – 72.   C.J. Binding and L.J. Wilson. “Ritual Protection Marks in Goatchurch Cavern, Brurrington Combe, North Somerset,” with an appendix on “The Use of Conjoined Vs to Protect a Dwelling,” by T. Easton, Proceedings University of Bristol Speleological Society, 23(2), 2004, pp. 119 – 133.

[8] Binding and Wilson, 2004 and Merrifield 1987.

[9] Easton in Binding and Wilson, 2004.

[10] Though there is no accurate way of dating the cave markings.  Binding and Wilson, 2004, 2010.

[11] The earliest reference to the stalagmite in 1470 simply refers to it as a “figure of a woman” with the first account of the actual witch occurring in 1628 in the accounts of a lawyer who visited the cave and saw the formation known as the “Witch of Ochies Hole.”  Binding and Wilson, 2010.

[12a] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Saxon_paganism#cite_note-Hostile_Witnesses-43 and Thor Ewing.  Gods and Worshippers in the Viking and Germanic World, Tempus, 2008.

[12] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch_%28etymology%29

[13] Ronald Hutton.  The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles:  Their Nature and Legacy, Blackwell, 1993.

Tags: witch, wookey hole

• Articles

Willow Winterborne July, 2010

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

What Dreams May Come
A Brand New Hedge…July 2010

Greetings all! I have been away from the friendly confines of Pagan Pages for the past couple of months due to some major developments in my life.
While things did not play out the way I expected, at all, (that’ll teach me to have specific expectations!) they have found a way to bring me unimaginable joy and a sense of completion.
Some of you may remember the big white house I found a year ago in the tiny town I lived in, in California.
It was a house I had dreamt about since I was a teen, and was so astounded to find it, there, on my same street, standing empty and alone.
It pained me to see her without the luxury of laughter and the smell of cooking food, and smoke from her chimney. Houses are meant to be lived in, and loved in, and she had been empty for some time.
Well, because I had dreamed of her, and identified so immediately with her plight, I assumed, too, I was the one to live in her.
It is human nature, I suppose, to want to “own” things.
And I fell head over heels into the trap of yearning to own her.
Well, as the months went by, I meditated hard on having lights fill her windows and activity to go on behind her curtains. And, one day, this is exactly what occurred.
A couple bought her, shortly after the new year, and began an immediate renovation.
After they moved in, I would walk past, at night, so I could see the lights on, and hear the sound of people coming from inside.
Despite the fact it wasn’t me, which of course, gave me some moments of sadness, I was very happy someone had come to give this house a Life.
Shortly after that, all Hell broke loose in my own life.
It began with my husband losing his job.
At the time, it seemed a horrible thing, but I always knew these things come and go. My husband did not take it so well, but he is learning to make friends with his misfortunes.
In time, the economic base of our life was depleted, and we could no longer afford to remain in our home in California.
We debated for many weeks over how to resolve this inevitability, but to no avail. My husband even got a great job, in Oklahoma, but it was not part of our life plan to move there to live. He resigned after 2 days, and came home to the west coast.
For all the years we were away from our original base of operations, the Oregon coast, I had been adamantly opposed to returning. It just didn’t feel like it was time yet.
We had discussed it, but not in a serious manner, as I couldn’t imagine myself being back there again. Or, more accurately, could not imagine myself not living in my quaint, lush, tiny town in California.
Still, one night, completely out of the blue, I was struck with the full force of one single uber-focused thought. “It is time to go back”.
It was as though someone had flipped a switch inside my spirit, and suddenly, I couldn’t get back fast enough.
I told my husband what had happened, in my head, and he just stared at me blankly. “I thought that was the last place you wanted to be!”, he replied.
I know. It was.
But now, not so much.
The very instant I came to this awareness, the wheels of change began turning at full speed.
Everything we needed came into place, and we made the move back to the beach on a shoestring.
Within 2 days, we had a house. An old employer of my husband’s, and lifelong friend had a house he wasn’t renting (had not, in fact, rented out for over 4 years). He offered it to us at exactly half what our rent had been in California.
The house is a cottage, located on the edge of an unspoiled forest. When I say the edge, I mean, you walk out the back door and you are in the forest. You walk out the front door, and you are in the clearing.
It is on the edge. A threshold, if you will.
It is also just outside of town, but just round a corner, perhaps one mile away. It has the appearance of complete seclusion, though, we can see the highway from here.
It is just past the fog bank cut-off, as well, so when it is dreary at the beach, it is often warmer and sunnier here.
There is an orchard which butts up against the forest, filled with ancient apple trees in a sad state of neglect.
Wisteria vines lie on the ground between the house and garage for lack of someone to arbor them.
Underneath every leaf is another surprise someone else planted and is now blooming for my eyes only.
The lower garden is almost an acre, and has provided a glorious spot for the family garden.
I have installed a fire pit under the upper apple trees, and have built sacred fires and thanked the gods from leading me here.
The property is owned by a man who believes only in buying land, never selling it. His son (and presumably heir) is one of my husband’s best friends, and is also of this same ilk. I feel more secure on this land than I have ever felt, anywhere.
Instead of an intense desire to own this land, I feel very much owned by her. As though she has been waiting for me to arrive and begin to make right the wrongs of many years of neglect.
I feel, too, as though I was not the first person to make strong magic in this house, and when I painted the living room, I saw some candlewax which had dripped onto the wall in a few tiny places, and painted over them, allowing those layers of magic to remain.
The sacred plants I keep finding in random places, and the sense that those who lived here before me had been preparing it for me all along.
I have released my expectations, and embraced the unfolding of what was meant.
I have watched my desires make manifest before my very eyes, even before I could fully grasp what was happening.
When I was able to let go of what I perceived to be the “right” outcome, the truly divinely inspired outcome appeared.
Since I arrived 6 weeks ago, I have remodeled the cottage, planted a huge garden, had a chicken coop built, and have procured 6 Australorp chicks, who are now nearly big enough to go and live out in it.
We have reconnected with family and friends, and have settled into our new hedge, right here, a mile from “home”.
I am overwhelmed by my sense of gratitude on a daily basis, and rather than making magic to change energy and circumstances, find myself making most prayers for Thanksgiving, these days.
For years, I dreamed of a house that wasn’t mine, but needed to help. But for all those same years, what I wished for was not a grand home, but a cottage on the edge of the wood. A few hens for laying eggs, a home that is tidy and warm, but off the beaten track.
A garden that will feed us, and herbs which will heal us.
The Universe has seen fit to accommodate me in these wishes, and I am mindfully aware of how grateful I am.
I shall have many, many updates on the Farm Life, over the summer, but know I have taken up enough of your time, already, today!
I pray that your own deepest desires, the true desires of your heart, are making manifest in your lives as well.
Brightest Blessings for an Abundant Summer!

Tags: witch

• Articles

Yvonne Moore-Singh July, 2010

Lesson One

Welcome to the course, we will start looking at the basis of Wicca and try to found origins from facts that we know.  The main reason why it is so hard to find the true origins of Wicca is that very little was ever written   down or have been lost to us.

So let’s look at what we know:

The term Wicca as a Celtic origin wicce, “wise” the Celtics are a very important part of Wicca, which has somewhat been overlook.  The Celtics   social order was one that women could hold power in their own right such Boudicca, Wicca being a strong feminine base belief is important to remember.

The Celtic people were artisans who believed in many gods and goddess, most importantly the Great Mother, from 500 BC they came the major force in Europe and found the many festivals that Wiccans and pagans still honour today Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain which we will look at in a later lesson.

Celtic mysticism understood that all of existence has a repeated nature, and that there is a direct connection between the material world and the otherworld.  Everything exists on several synchronized levels. Human beings can understand things as having three levels: the physical, the spiritual, and the symbolic. Therefore Celtic culture was integrated with nature, and expressed itself through the various possibilities of life itself. Celtic religion taught the reincarnation of all individual souls, and the appearance of divine beings on Earth.  Making very much the bases of the Wicca belief, will the modern founders of Wicca have carried forth in there writing such as Gerald Gardiner .

Before I g on about history that lead on from the Celtics I want us to look at main steams that we have today in Wicca?

The Alexandrian tradition founded by Alexander Saunders

The Celtic tradition

The cymri tradition

The Druidic tradition

The Gardnerian tradition

All these traditions are base in Wicca, and will be looking at them in a later lesson.

Homework.

What I would like you to do is write me a short essay with the title Why Wicca is important to you and we will have a group discussing on your essays in the forum.

Tags: history, Wicca, witch

• Classes

Lyn Thurman February, 2010

Here in the UK we’ve had, so far according to the weathermen, the worst winter for 30 years.  A few days of snow brought much of the country to a standstill with people stranded in their cars and schools shut for days.

It was the first time my children (the eldest is 11) experienced what it was like to walk in snow and ice.  And yet when I was a child snow was a regular part of winter and I remember, not fondly, walking to school with cold, wet feet and wishing for the sun to reappear.  I have to confess to feeling pretty much the same way as an adult.

But with this rather unexpected winter-like behaviour in winter, it got me to think about the cycle of the seasons and how winter is a truly beautiful time of the year.

On the first day of snowfall the world as I knew it turned white.  A pure, brilliant white made from millions of unique flakes that had danced down from the heavens to land on the earth.  The ground, trees, cars, roofs were all covered indiscriminately.  And everything was chilled, frozen, in stasis.

It’s during this season when we’re all given a fresh start.  It’s the time to move with nature at her slowest pace; to hibernate away from the cold and to reflect on what you want to achieve during the coming warmer months.  We need to take our cues more from Mother Earth and dance her dance.

The snow didn’t last very long here – it was gone in just over a week.  And although it did cause some disruption, I enjoyed the opportunity to experience both the bitterness and beauty of the season.

Tags: thoughts, view, witch

• Articles

Hearthkeeper October, 2009

Blessed Samhain all of you and Blessed Beltane for those in the Southern Hemi. Wow has it really been a year… I started writing these article last October.. and how scared I was that they would bomb… but you seem to like them and I enjoy writing them for you..  so here we go..

Here is some basic Samhain correspondences to work with

Oct. 31st – Samhain (All Hallow’s Eve)

Altar Decorations: Pumpkins, gourds, seasonal fruits and flowers, a statue of the Triple Goddess in her Crone phase, broom, acorns.

Herbs:, dittany, flax, heather, mandrake, mullein, oak leaves, sage and straw, mugwort.

Spices: Thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper,  poultry seasoning

Incense: sage, apple, mint, nutmeg

Gods & Goddess’: The Crone, Hecate (fertility, moon-magic, protectress of all Witches), Morrigan (Celtic Goddess of death), Cernunnos (Celtic fertility God) and Osiris (Egyptian God who represents death and rebirth).

Colors: Black, Orange, Red, White

Gemstones: onyx, obsidian, hematite

Food: Apples, Pumpkin pie, nuts, cranberry(scones or muffins), ale, cider, mugwort tea, mead and meat

Tree: Birch, oak, alder and walnut

This Sabbat as well as the whole month of October is a time of change. The veil is thinning and contact with our ancestors is becoming easier and divinations of all kinds seem to work better now. It is customary to set an extra place at your supper table on Samhain Eve in honor of the departed. This is not a scary time, rather a time when the veil is thin and we can spend time with the spirits in warmth and love.

But this is also a time for the living. A time to prepare for the cold season, harvest the last of the summer crops and save them for next year, a time for family and friends to become closer, planning inside activities to enjoy while it snows; a time for cleaning and settling in, for putting away the summer and storing for next year.

So we will start here… contacting the ancestors and go on from there

Samhain Meditation

To prepare for this meditation, have your cauldron or bowl ready.

If you will be outdoors have small sticks that you can light for a fire in the cauldron.

If indoors, a votive, and a fire brick to put under your cauldron.

Place paper and pen near the cauldron.

Visualize yourself walking in a place of nature. This may be a place you already know, or it may be somewhere you create in your mind. Be aware of the crispness of autumn, the chill in the air, the changing colors of the leaves, the seeds that fall from dying flowers, the pine cones and acorns underfoot. As you walk, you come to a stone circle with a low stone altar with a large cauldron sitting on it in the center. On the altar you see articles that you know belonged to, your deceased ancestors, family members, and friends.

Next to the cauldron is a small collection of wood ready to be lit. Light the fire. (Or candle, if indoors).

This is your opportunity to contact anyone from your family, or among your friends, that you wish. Think of why you want to contact them. Is there any unfinished business with anyone that you would like to take care of now? Do you wish to ask forgiveness of anyone? Is there someone you need to forgive? Do you want to tell someone how much you love them and miss them? Do you wish to ask for help or guidance?

Next to the cauldron you see paper and pen. Sit quietly, take your time, and write letter. Allow yourself to experience any emotions that arise as you do this. When you have finished your letter or letters, burn them in the cauldron. As the flame turns them into smoke, know that as the smoke rises it carries your message. (If indoors, be careful).

Take a few more minutes to sit quietly before the cauldron. The cauldron represents the womb of the earth,  to which we return in death to await rebirth. Gaze into it. This is a time to receive messages. Take your time. You may have a thought, or image, come into your mind. You may receive the answer to a question, or be given some wise advice. You may not get your answer right now, it may take a few hours or even days for you to understand.

When you are ready to leave thank your ancestors for the help they have given, tell them you love them and know they will be there for you always.. Leave the circle, returning by the same path you took before. Take the blessings of the cauldron of life and rebirth with you.

Samhain for Family & Friends

This is a non-ritual way to celebrate Samhain, and children can join in.

You will need:

A candle for each individual to be remembered (small birthday candles or tea lights to be very effective)

A cauldron or other fireproof container filled with sand

A photograph or other mementos, or the name of each individual written on

paper

Apples

Food including pumpkin soup, pie, and so on

Tarot cards, scrying tools, and other divination tools.

Push each candle into the sand-filled container ,light a candle for each individual to be remembered. Place the name, photos, a poem, or other memento against the container of candles. When all are done, welcome the family members that have passed to come and share the feast with you.

After, when everyone is full, read poems, play music, sing, or whatever you like to entertain each other. Any children present may want to put on impromptu plays or read their own poems aloud.

Read tarot cards or practice other forms of divination.

Children may want to use an apple cut in half to make pictures, when dried you can place the names of each remembered family member in each apple..

Here is a Blessing for this sabbat.

Samhain Blessing
May the ancestors deliver blessings on you and yours…

May the New Year bear great fruits for you…
May your granted wishes be as many as the seeds falling from the maple…

May the slide into darkness bring you comfort and peace…
May the memories of what has been keep you strong for what is to be…
May this Samhain cleanse your heart, your soul, and your mind!

Until next time

Blessed Home and Hearth

The Hearthkeeper

Tags: kitchen, samhain, witch

• Articles

Willow Winterborne October, 2009

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

Working Witch

Ever since I was a child, I have been a Healer. It began in my youth, fostered by programming from the church that it is our right to lay hands on the sick and they will be healed. I had never looked at the process any other way.
When I reached my teens, and money was slim and none, I discovered herbs and began ferreting out their secrets. Having a new weapon against dis-ease, I knew I would be a far better Healer, having both spiritual means, and physical means to help people.

Later, when I discovered my inner-witch (who clearly had been working her own magic for years, unbeknownst to me, consciously) I expanded my worldview, but my mission remained the same.
I just found that I had the ability to make change happen in other areas, as well as physical and spiritual healing.

Discernment became divination. An exorcism, cleansing and blessing. Prayers were chanted and candles and incense were lit. Energy was transferred and nothing had changed, except I now felt personally connected to the Divine, and no longer needed to attend church to fellowship, worship or petition my gods.

I had always been the sort of spiritual warrior who was called upon when someone moved into a new house, and became fearful about sprits and paranormal activities. As a Christian, my duty was clearly to remove the spirit, and restore the home to order. So, it really isn’t that different now, when I cleanse and bless. Except that I have respect for the spirit’s needs, as well.

I have been working as a part time witch for a good many years. I make medicines, read cards, run a small shop and do workings for friends of various sorts.
I never charge for my magic, though, occasionally, I will charge for some materials if I don’t have them in stock (rare. I have an extensive magical cupboard). It goes against my personal ethical construct to charge for magical workings, however I am always happy to accept token offerings from the client, as they are led.
I feel magic has been given to me, freely, and I am happy to share. I have always felt I “worked for the Universe”. And, while the paychecks aren’t steady, the benefits are out of this world.

I always insist on participation (on some level) by anyone I work or read for. Magic is best when engaged in by multiple focused partners, and this always aids in the results.

When someone I know has a problem they cannot manage on their own, through mundane channels, they come to me.

I have done UnCrossings for unfortunate friends. I have unhexed some who had been interfered with. I helped a friend find true love. I have healed numerous friends and family members and have cleansed and blessed countless homes over the years.

But, I have never felt that I was working full time, until lately.

Most recently, several serious situations have arisen in my life where I have been called upon to render magical aid. Some so serious that days worth of layers of magic have been required to remedy them.
I have been working round the clock for a week on a particularly dangerous situation, and while we have come out on the right side of it, it has been nearly all-consuming.
Today, I have been given my next assignment, and it is every inch the doozy the last one was.

It is vital that I remember to remain in my body and feel the sensations as they occur. I have been besieged with fatigue after long periods of energy transfer. I have had to remember to put some energy back. My dreams have been loaded with powerful images, so even while I am sleeping, my spirit is working these things through.
I have been trying to be mindful to eat when I am hungry and to keep my husband fed, during the course of things.

I can tell things have changed on some deeper level, because my husband has asked me for the help on one very specific occasion, and this is completely out of character. He knows I work for people, sometimes. He also knows that there are altars and candles in places, and that this means something. But he never knows what, and we don’t discuss it at all.
He just finally came to a place where he could not solve a serious problem through mundane means, and believed that I could help him with this one. He believed that there was some bad magic afoot and knew that I can help with things like this.

It was a amazing thing, to have him ask me to help him using my magic. He has not made a peep about the incense which burns nearly round the clock. He hasn’t mentioned the strange collections of things on the coffee table out in plain sight. He has been enormously supportive of the work, and has respected the sacred space.
It is its own miracle in the life of a working witch, married to a pagan-friendly but not pagan mate.

My work in his situation has been successful, and he is a believer more now than ever of my “hocus pocus” (to his credit, he did finally stop calling it that the first time I made a healing salve that cured absolutely everything it touched, including a major second degree burn he suffered).

With some spells coming to an end, and new ones being formulated, and worked, I find my life has changed. I am working full time for the Universe. Just as I sort of always wanted to.
As I said, the paychecks aren’t steady. But the benefits…who can argue with miraculous abundance?! Not this witch.

I know the life of a working witch is not for everyone. But I believe if you have a gift, it is up to you to share it with those who do not. Even if you are in a place where the idea of someone asking you to help them through magical means seems absurd, just wait.
People tend to notice what we can do. And even the pooh-poohers come around when they need some help they can’t ask anyone else for.

If you are open to this life, it will find you, and you will have more work to do that you have time for. I only know this, because it has happened to me.

Praying you all are finding work for your magical hands to do!
Bright Blessings!

Tags: hedge witch, witch, working

• Articles

Willow Winterborne September, 2009

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

September 2009
Harvest Time!!!

It is that profoundly magical season of harvest here in the hedge, and the abundance has amazed me beyond my wildest dreams.
My garden has been a constant source of joy and lessons learned.
The watermelon and cantaloupes, unsown by me, came to life on their own, because we left the seedlings where they sprouted.

It was a teetering balance of my way, and Nature’s way.
In the end, I caved completely and allowed the weeds and plants to grow side by side.
The weeds provided a soft landing spot for the pumpkins and melons, and they had perfect skin as a result.

And as I render these gifts of Nature into usable food products, whole and natural, I am reminded of the lessons of Mabon, and the feasts of Thanksgiving.
My ancestors worked diligently, nearly year round to ensure the food supplies would continue through the long months of winter.
They toiled in their gardens, hung hand-washed clothes on a line, chopped, split and stacked wood for the ever present fires, and canned and dried fresh foods.
As I engage in these activities, even as a modern witch, I am reminded in a deep down cell-remembering way, of these industrious people who came before me. It makes my spirit rejoice to repeat the actions of my foremothers and to feel the satisfaction of having accomplished so vital a task.

In this season of harvest, I am grateful. I am reminded of all I have been blessed with, and all I anticipate to come.
The very act of growing food, harvesting and preserving it is hopeful, and spawns fresh hope when the food is consumed.
It is an opportunity to bless the stores that they might last until the next harvest, and bring needed blessings in the months to come.

Mabon is often referred to as Witch’s Thanksgiving, and for me, that is exactly how I celebrate it. I prepare a feast to celebrate the coming of the dark months of the year, the warmth of our home and the abundance of blessings contained therein.

As well as a time of joy, there is an undeniable sadness associated with this time of year, for me.
When I see a bright yellow school bus, or smell a freshly sharpened number two Ticonderoga pencil I am overcome with a wave of bittersweet nostalgia. A falling leaf; a mud puddle; a ripe orange pumpkin…these things hold a sort of wistful sadness for me.

But again, I am reminded of the time of year. The dying back. Things being cleaned, dismantled, stored for the year. Bright green things turning crisp and brown.
Of course there is sadness. It is Nature at work, and we can feel it stir in us, even before the first leaf falls.

Each year on my path, as I observe and fall into deeper rhythm with the cycles, I have a deeper appreciation for the Natural occurrences that mirror a metaphorical reality. Not a circle, for I never return to the same place again, but a spiral, which allows me to see the places I have visited before, again, with the fresh eyes of new experience.

As we raise our chalices in celebration of the season, and remember the sacrifices which were made in order to bring about not only this harvest, but those to come, may we join together to commit to care for one another. To use our abundance to bless those less fortunate.
To make humanity our business, and to care for those we find along our way.
To simplify our lives so that we have time and energy for the truly important blessings in them; the people we love and who love us.

Happy Witch’s Thanksgiving, and Happy Harvest Season to all!

May your table be heaping;
Your larder quite full;
The blessings you’re reaping,
as Autumn now pulls,
be stacked to your rafters
with plenty to share.
~May the mission we’re after
be one of Care.

Brightest Blessings of the Season

Tags: hedge, home, house, kitchen, nature, witch

• Articles

Willow Winterborne August, 2009

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

Sitting On A Dream

I wish I had more clues to the mystery of My House to share with you. But, then, that’s what this month’s column is all about…

To sit patiently with a yearning that has not yet been fulfilled, and to trust that, that fulfillment will come, is quite possibly one of the most powerful “magic skills” that human beings are capable of. It has been noted by almost every ancient wisdom tradition.
~Elizabeth Gilbert~
(thanks for such an apt quote, SatiMidnight!)

The theme of the past month, for me, has been sitting on a dream. Knowing, waiting, believing. All without the usual “hurry!” attitude.
It is human nature to identify and then attempt to possess things which we feel are meant for us. I am very human in my pursuit of possession of My House. I do yearn to climb her stairs with baskets of folded laundry and to make a fire on her hearth. To fill her rooms with thick, perfumed smoke as I consecrate and bless her, and sleep deeply inside her walls.

Yet, as great as the temptation is to ‘wish away’ the space of time between now and the day I hold those magical keys in my hands, I have been mindful of the urgency not to.

The place I live now (a mere 3 blocks down on the same street as my beloved House), is really quite lovely. It possesses every characteristic I painstakingly added to my list when I was conjuring a new house prior to our move. Not the least of which is a brand new central air/furnace which keeps the temperature roughly 50 degrees cooler inside than out, this summer.
It also has my garden out back, which met my every criteria when I asked for it. It overflows with vegetation and the promise of an unprecedented harvest.
I really have no reason at all to even want to move, except that I know my Dream House is just 3 blocks down. So close, and yet, so far away.

In my desire to be united with My House, it has been so tempting to feel “rushed”. Like meeting your soul mate and not being able to build a relationship with them…yet.

When our family came for the long Fourth of July weekend, we were crammed to the rafters in our current modest-sized home. I spent half my time wishing we were in the spacious new House, and the other half being grateful we didn’t.
I had such trouble imagining my whole family ‘camping out’ on the first floor because the upstairs isn’t quite inhabitable, yet. Well, not by Mother-in-Law standards, anyway.
I also was grateful that the house we were all in had the glorious amenity of air conditioning, so we all slept comfortably, unlike the sweltering temps in the completely un-air-conditioned House.
I was grateful for the appliances and plumbing which accommodated the whole lot of us with well-maintained ease, unlike the new House, in which the kitchen sink shoots straight up in the air when turned on.

As I yearn to spend the evenings on the grand wide screened-in porches of the new House, I am also thankful I have a beautiful yard and bug-proof gazebo right here, 3 blocks down, to enjoy.

I have forced myself not to allow the yearning for what will be to eclipse the wonderful blessings that are now.
And it has been a challenge, to say the least.
But I know in my heart that to rush is to miss the numerous blessings along the way. To hurry is to discount the journey.
I also keep well in mind how nice it is to flip a switch and have power come flowing into my light bulbs. To enjoy clean, modern conveniences not long forgotten or having had to be scrubbed, remodeled or repaired.
The challenge to restore the Old Girl is daunting, and I know it will consume my every waking hour, not spent at work, from the day I get those keys in my hot little hands, on.

So, as I wait, to watch the mystery unfold, I remind myself, often. Life is good right now. There is no rush to the future. There is no need for haste or anxiety.
Enjoy living in this present moment. This air-conditioned reality. This solid, clean, modern home.
There will be plenty of time later for scraping walls and sweeping endless piles of remodeling dust.

I am excited for what is to come. But I will not allow it to preclude my happiness right now, in this moment.

Perhaps this is not the next-installment of the mystery I was hoping to write about. But it is the next stage of the journey that carries me closer to my Dream manifesting.
I pray that all of you are in dogged pursuit of your Dreams, and that you are taking the time to be mindful of the blessings right under your nose, as you pursue them.

Brightest Blessings All!
Willow

Tags: green, hedgewitch, home, magic, magick, witch

• Articles

Diakonissa Sr Pamela May, 2009

May has always been known as the month of Mary, the mother of Yeshua/Jesus. In fact, the main verse of a long-beloved hymn, sung during the crowning with roses of the statue of Mary in May entitled “Bring Flowers of the Rarest” is, “Oh, Mary, we crown thee with blossoms today, Queen of the angels, Queen of the May”.
There are several feast days of Mary that are celebrated in the Church in May. May 12th is the feast day of Our Lady of the Divine Shepherd, May 15th is in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, May 24th for Our Lady, Help of Christians and May 31st celebrates both Our Lady Medatrix of All Graces as well as Our Lady, Virgin and Queen.
Devotees of Mary Magdalene celebrate two beautiful feast days; May 1st is the Feast of the Sacred Bride and on May 15th, the Festival of the Sacred Marriage.  The Flowering of Divine Union, the beautiful ritual found in The Holy Book of Mary Magdalene by Jennifer Reif, may be performed on this day.
The feast day of St. Sarah the Egyptian, who to many, may very well have been the daughter of Yeshua/Jesus and Mary Magdalene is on May 24th.
All of these days may also be considered feast days of Holy Sophia as in the Esoteric, Gnostic and Christo-Pagan traditions, both Mother Mary and Mary Magdalene are considered to be either incarnations, archetypes or emanations of Sophia as both Mother/Barbelo and Daughter, however one may choose to perceive them.
May is also the traditional month of marriage.  Certainly Beltane is the Feast Day of the Sacred Marriage, the Divine Union reflected here on Earth.
Most Pagan religions had God/Goddess consorts. Isis/Osiris, Odin and Frigga (or Freya), Zeus and Hera, Mercury and Rosemerta and Yehovah and Asherah are an example of Divine Unions.
Esoterics and Christo-Pagans also have a pantheon of Divine Consorts, a Triple Divine Consort, if you will. They consist of, as emanating from the androgynous Barbelo; the Sophia/Christos, Mother Mary/Joseph and Mary/ Yeshua/Jesus.
The May Queen’s Consort, Joseph, wasn’t as much largely forgotten in dogmatic teachings, as he was separated from Her. Dogma taught us that theirs was not a marriage in the fullest sense. It was as if they were married ‘in name, only’.
Joseph no longer appears in the bible after Yeshua is twelve years old, when He is found in the temple by his parents after they had been searching for him for three days. This led us to surmise that Joseph died between the time Yeshua was twelve years old and the time he started His public ministry.  We were led to believe his death took place shortly after Yeshua was twelve. But, no-one really knows whether that was so or not. There were 18 years between that particular scene in the bible and the beginning of Yeshua’s ministry.
The May Queen and Her consort could have had a long-lasting, full and successful marriage. Or, She could have had a short and loving marriage.  The point is, the May Queen had an husband, a Divine Consort. Their marriage, as well as the marriage of Mary Magdalene and Yeshua was a bringing down to Earth in archetype of the Bridal Chamber of the Christos/Sophia.
Some scholars are now of the consideration that Yeshua/Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs of two, not as two males, but as male/female partners, consorts who preached His teachings and ministered to the people in His Name.  They are of a further mind that His teachings were actually about Sacred Partnership.  This is an area in which the author intends further study.
The Queen of the May’s joyous celebration may take place on either May 1st or May 15th. The priestess would wear a crown of roses or  other flowers in her hair and be dressed all in white.
Hymns are sung, the rosary (I substitute the word ‘children’ for ’sinners’ in the traditional Hail Mary prayer) and/or the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary (a prayerful list of Mary’s attributes) may be recited followed by the placing of a small crown of roses on the statue of the Blessed Mother Mary.  Many, at least it used to be so years ago, will carry a vase of a dozen roses or other of Her flowers into a church and place them at the base of Her statue.
Meditation could center around not only our Heavenly Queens, Sophia and the two Marys, but also the importance of Sacred Consort-ship.
Mother Mary’s colors are blue and white. Her flowers are red roses, white lilacs and white lilies.  An enclosed “Mary Garden” may be planted at this time. The garden’s flowers could include roses, violets, morning glories, summer flox and peonies.  St. John’s Wort is an herb in Her honor. Mayflowers and lily of the valley are Her wildflowers.
Rose incense and rose quartz would complete ritual items for Her feast day. An angel cake topped with strawberries would be a delicious finale to the feast.
The celebration of the Queen of the May is a living, albeit veiled, Goddess-centered tradition, a Tradition that has been continuously practiced for almost one thousand years. While stemming from the Church, it has many Pagan elements.
Our Queen also took part in a Divine Marriage. The Queen had a consort and so the Month of the Sacred Marriage reminds us to ponder Her own marriage as well as that of Her Son and Daughter-in-Law,  reflections of below and above.
A picture of the work of the artist, Claire O’Hagan in decorating the Queen of the May statue in Ireland may be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May%5FQueen.
–      Blessed Be during the Month of Our Queen.

Tags: christian, mary, witch

• Articles

Willow Winterborne May, 2009

*The Hedgewitch lives in the space between the Village and the Forest. Between the mundane and the magical. S/He lives with a foot in both worlds.
This column is dedicated to the Hedgewitches of the planet earth.

May In the Hedge: Be The Mountain

In my study of yoga, I found some underlying principles which are generally Buddhist in nature, that  fascinated me, ever since.

There are 4 basic principles:
1. Love
2. Joy
3. Compassion
4. Equinamity

Now, these first 3, I have them licked! I love love in all its many forms. I have no trouble incorporating love into my life, whatsoever.
Joy! What a wonderful gift and blessing, and I engage in active joy all the time.
Compassion- I am empathetic, so comapssion, a no brainer for me.
But when I got to equinamity… I didn’t even know what the word meant.

After looking it up, I wasn’t sure I really knew what it meant, either.

equa·nim·ity (ek’w? nim’? te)

noun
the quality of remaining calm and undisturbed; evenness of mind or temper; composure
(as copied from yourdictionary.com/equinamity)

This is not the same as being in a peaceful place. This is calmness and deep composure, despite the circumstances. No matter what.

The Buddhist description of this state of consciousness is Being the Mountain.
On the mountain, the winds blow fiercely, and the snow falls, sometimes covering the peak for months at a time.
But the mountain never responds, because it knows that all that is meant to be simply is.
The mountain doesn’t complain, or become afraid, even while glaciers might scrape its face away.
The mountain just is, regardless of the conditions.
The mountain enjoys a state of non-sentient equinamity.

Now, as a sentient being, I have considerably more trouble with this concept of equinamity.
I am rather reactive, it turns out.
I tend to fret and to become enflamed and to respond outwardly, as a rule.
So, the idea of being able to truly Be The Mountain is one so alien to my consciousness.

Yet, I am curious about it, and even sense a growing desire to be the mountian.
I have elected to actively explore this concept in my own life, and to use “Be the mountain” as a mantra when things become emotional for me. It is such an easy and basic visualization. Just Be the Mountain.

In my life, I have recently become aware of some serious problems with the folks I hold dear, and the opportunities to practice equinamity have been abundant. Organ transplants, Cancer, and serious addicition have come to call just as the winds and snow call on the mountain. This is my time to practice.

In my case, the ‘winds’ are always accompanied by a physical sensation. A tightening of the chest. An unconscious holding of the breath. My muscles tighten and seem to be bracing for something.
As I become aware of the stress building in my body, I am reminded to recognize the sensation, and underlying emotions and then release them through the breath.
In this way, I give myself permission to notice my thoughts and feelings, and then allow the sensations of response to pass from me.
I am not holding my stress in parts of my body which then suffer physically for it.

To practice equinamity is not to be unaware, or in denial, about the conditions. It is to acknowledge the conditions and then to allow the response to them flow out again, like the tide.
I am, clearly, no expert, and am just barely even aware of the full impact of what equinamity can do for a life if applied mindfully. However, I do know that equinamity has come to me as a tool to utilize in my personal practice, as I begin to understand it.

I know many of us have issues in our lives and in the lives of our loved ones which can stress us out to the point of madness. I pray that the gift of equinamity can help to bring about a deep calm in your lives, as you work through them.
Just keeping the visual of the mountain in mind can help remind us to breathe and release, when stress begins to mount in us.

If there are those who have walked a Path that has allowed them to master equinamity, I would love to hear from you, as I am always excited to learn from the experience of others.

Brightest May Blessings to you all!

Tags: buddhism, hedge, witch

• Herbal