{"id":10765,"date":"2015-02-01T01:10:06","date_gmt":"2015-02-01T06:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=11160"},"modified":"2015-02-06T17:18:48","modified_gmt":"2015-02-06T22:18:48","slug":"witches-soul-work-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2015\/02\/01\/witches-soul-work-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Witches Soul Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Witches Soul Work Part 3: The Path of the Bolline<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf that which thou seek thy find not within thee, thy will never find it without.\u201d Doreen Valiente \u2018Charge of the Goddess\u2019<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Boline\"<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Craft involves deep soul work leading to understanding the authentic self, the connection with the divine, and understanding the Mysteries. If you were Buddhist you might called this enlightenment. What is enlightenment for Witches? Many people new to the Craft read the beginner books and think that that is all there is. I would like to share with you some of the ways that Traditional Witches do soul work, the way they approach and understand the Mysteries and an exploration of what the Mysteries are. This idea was inspired by a course called Soul Work from Cherry Hill Seminary (www.cherryhillseminary.org<\/a>)<\/strong> and from a comment by a woman on our local pagan internet site who said that she was quitting our group because we were not serious (i.e. fluffy) about our spiritual work. (Thank you dear!) The Craft is the most deeply spiritual path I know, but because it is hidden it is not easy to find.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Path of the Bolline<\/strong> is the path of the Cunning man and the Wisewoman.\u00a0 Selfless service to others is one of the ways to enlightenment because it opens our hearts and connects with the love of the God and Goddess.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before doctors and hospitals as we know them, villages had their Wisewomen or their Cunningmen, a person skilled (or sometimes not so skilled) in herbal remedies, hands on healing, dowsing, potions and so on.\u00a0 Part doctor, part psychologist and part magician, these people helped their neighbours with illness and other troubles using folk remedies and knowledge handed down to them.\u00a0\u00a0 Were they healers or con-artists?\u00a0 We may never know for sure, but they served a purpose in their society and became the archetype of intuitive \u201cGreen\u201d knowledge.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When you embark on this path, you make a commitment of service to your community and the land where you live. \u00a0You WILL become a healer, but the first person you will heal will be yourself.\u00a0 As you walk this path your intuition will develop, your ability to feel energy, your knowledge of plants and stones, and your connection to our tribal knowledge, the secrets of the human race sometimes called the Akashic Records (see\u00a0 the work of Edgar Cayce http:\/\/www.edgarcayce.org\/edgar-cayce1.html<\/a> ).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obviously this is a huge topic and the Witch who decides to embark on this specialty will have many years of study. I will give you an outline of the main areas that the Green Witch follows to start with<\/em>. The topics covered in this area of Witch\u2019s soul work are many and may include the following:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Preparation:<\/span><\/p>\n

Preparing your Book of Green Knowledge (more of a Grimoire than a Book of Shadows)<\/p>\n

Ritual to dedicate to the path<\/p>\n

Finding and blessing your Bolline (a white handled knife with a curved blade)<\/p>\n

Meeting your Wisewoman guide, a spirit guide who helps you on the path<\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part I<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Developing Intuition<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part II<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Healing with plants<\/p>\n

Magical plants<\/p>\n

Plants and astrological connections<\/p>\n

Trees<\/p>\n

Stones<\/p>\n

Walking your land<\/p>\n

Meeting your Plant Spirit Guide<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part III<\/span>:<\/p>\n

The Akashic Records<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part IV<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Energy Healing<\/p>\n

Pow Wow (Pennsylvania Dutch healing techniques)<\/p>\n

Mandalas, Talismans, Amulets, Medicine Pouches<\/p>\n

Becoming a Medical Intuitive<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part V<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Ethics of healing<\/p>\n

The Shamanic Wiccan Healer<\/p>\n

Shamanic Practice<\/p>\n

Using the Drum<\/p>\n

Trance work and chanting<\/p>\n

Working with Spirit Guides<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Part VI<\/span>:<\/p>\n

Healing yourself<\/p>\n

Healing your community<\/p>\n

Healing the land<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Obviously I cannot share with you the many pages of instructions and notes from the Grimoire but I hope that this outline points you in the direction of this section of Witch\u2019s Soul work. To get you started on the very important first part, developing intuition, I will copy some notes for our Tradition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Notes on Intuition (from the Greenwood Tradition BOS)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anu Speaks<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wisewoman hears music sweetly calling her to the Greenwood.\u00a0 Softly the notes carry her, magic and the smells of green. Birds sing, the Greenwood is life. The Wisewoman connects to this life.\u00a0 Deep among the trees are secrets and paths unknown. The Wisewoman knows them, walks them and sings their songs.\u00a0 She brings the green healing to her people.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIntuition is knowing.\u00a0 The Wisewoman knows the truth, walks the path of truth, sees harmony between earth and sky, the stars and the migrations of the birds—My tapestry.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWho will follow the wild geese?<\/p>\n

Who will follow the monarch butterfly?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNature is My mystery, My heartbeat and the Wisewoman is My right hand, reaching out to touch earth\u2019s children.\u00a0 To grow her intuition she must plant a seed of hope and service, water it with love and discipline, kindness and restraint, songs and tears, love and laughter.\u00a0 My plant will grow in her as ivy covers a stone wall and her heart will become green.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Question: How will you guide her?<\/p>\n

Anu answers: She must listen to my voice on the wind, in the song of birds, the movement of trees.\u00a0 She must KNOW My voice.\u00a0 I will never desert her.\u00a0 She will be My handmaiden.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q: What do you mean by \u201cplanting the seed\u201d? How can she do this?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A: By developing her intuition using different methods of divination such as tarot, the Laura Day book, stones, runes and so that will give her symbols.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q: What about automatic writing?<\/p>\n

A: Yes<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q: And meditation?<\/p>\n

A: Yes.\u00a0 Stillness in the morning and stillness in the dark star-filled night\u2026she will hear my voice in the voices of her children and her husband.\u00a0 I am there!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Q:\u00a0 Is this her first step?<\/p>\n

A: Yes, to be still and hear My voice.\u00a0 I am intuition<\/span>. The patterns of truth will be seen by her.\u00a0 She must learn to trust and walk to the rhythms of her own path, not anyone else\u2019s.\u00a0 She must understand that she is Mine completely and I am hers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Love is the key.<\/p>\n

******************************************************************************<\/p>\n

Reading: <\/span>\u00a0Read the book \u201cDeveloping Intuition\u201d by Laura Day and do all the exercises. Work through the book slowly. This is only one method of beginning to develop your intuition.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Read the book:<\/span> \u201cHow to do Automatic Writing\u201d by Edain McCoy and work through it. You should be able to channel your Higher Self, and your Wisewoman guide through this method.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How will you integrate this intuition in your everyday life? As your intuition develops, make sure your keep a record of all the things that happen and the changes it brings. This record is a vital part of your pathworking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Choose ONE <\/span>method of divination such as Oghams, Runes, or Tarot and begin to study it. You should be able to picture each symbol or card in your mind and know its meaning. Eventually you should be able to use this method mentally. For example: You meet someone with a problem and you ask yourself: Which Tarot card represents their problem? The card you need should appear in your mind. (This method can be used with Runes or Oghams as well.) As the years pass, these symbols will become more and more integrated into your subconscious and intuition until they are a natural part of how you see the world and respond to it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The first part of this path may take you a few months or longer. It is important to go at your own pace, but to do a little bit every day<\/span>, even if it\u2019s only a few minutes. Re-read the words of Anu. Start every day and finish every day in stillness, listening to Her voice. To make your seed grow you need \u201clove and discipline, kindness and restraint\u201d, don\u2019t be too hard on yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Witches Soul Work Part 3: The Path of the Bolline   \u201cIf that which thou seek thy find not within thee, thy will never find it without.\u201d Doreen Valiente \u2018Charge of the Goddess\u2019 \u00a0 The Craft involves deep soul work leading to understanding the authentic self, the connection with the divine, and understanding the Mysteries. If you were Buddhist you might called this enlightenment. What is enlightenment for Witches? Many people new to the Craft read the beginner books and think that that is all there is. I would like to share with you some of the ways that Traditional Witches do soul work, the way they approach and understand the Mysteries and an exploration of what the Mysteries are. This idea was inspired by a course called Soul Work from Cherry Hill Seminary (www.cherryhillseminary.org) and from a comment by a woman on our local pagan internet site who said that she was quitting our group because we were not serious (i.e. fluffy) about our spiritual work. (Thank you dear!) The Craft is the most deeply spiritual path I know, but because it is hidden it is not easy to find.   The Path of the Bolline is the path of the Cunning man and the Wisewoman.\u00a0 Selfless service to others is one of the ways to enlightenment because it opens our hearts and connects with the love of the God and Goddess.   Before doctors and hospitals as we know them, villages had their Wisewomen or their Cunningmen, a person skilled (or sometimes not so skilled) in herbal remedies, hands on healing, dowsing, potions and so on.\u00a0 Part doctor, part psychologist and part magician, these people helped their neighbours with illness and other troubles using folk remedies and knowledge handed down to them.\u00a0\u00a0 Were they healers or con-artists?\u00a0 We may never know for sure, but they served a purpose in their society and became the archetype of intuitive \u201cGreen\u201d knowledge.   When you embark on this path, you make a commitment of service to your community and the land where you live. \u00a0You WILL become a healer, but the first person you will heal will be yourself.\u00a0 As you walk this path your intuition will develop, your ability to feel energy, your knowledge of plants and stones, and your connection to our tribal knowledge, the secrets of the human race sometimes called the Akashic Records (see\u00a0 the work of Edgar Cayce http:\/\/www.edgarcayce.org\/edgar-cayce1.html ).   Obviously this is a huge topic and the Witch who decides to embark on this specialty will have many years of study. I will give you an outline of the main areas that the Green Witch follows to start with. The topics covered in this area of Witch\u2019s soul work are many and may include the following:   Preparation: Preparing your Book of Green Knowledge (more of a Grimoire than a Book of Shadows) Ritual to dedicate to the path Finding and blessing your Bolline (a white handled knife with a curved blade) Meeting your Wisewoman guide, a spirit guide who helps you on the path     Part I: Developing Intuition   Part II: Healing with plants Magical plants Plants and astrological connections Trees Stones Walking your land Meeting your Plant Spirit Guide   Part III: The Akashic Records   Part IV: Energy Healing Pow Wow (Pennsylvania Dutch healing techniques) Mandalas, Talismans, Amulets, Medicine Pouches Becoming a Medical Intuitive   Part V: Ethics of healing The Shamanic Wiccan Healer Shamanic Practice Using the Drum Trance work and chanting Working with Spirit Guides   Part VI: Healing yourself Healing your community Healing the land   Obviously I cannot share with you the many pages of instructions and notes from the Grimoire but I hope that this outline points you in the direction of this section of Witch\u2019s Soul work. To get you started on the very important first part, developing intuition, I will copy some notes for our Tradition.         Notes on Intuition (from the Greenwood Tradition BOS)   Anu Speaks   \u201cThe Wisewoman hears music sweetly calling her to the Greenwood.\u00a0 Softly the notes carry her, magic and the smells of green. Birds sing, the Greenwood is life. The Wisewoman connects to this life.\u00a0 Deep among the trees are secrets and paths unknown. The Wisewoman knows them, walks them and sings their songs.\u00a0 She brings the green healing to her people.\u201d   \u201cIntuition is knowing.\u00a0 The Wisewoman knows the truth, walks the path of truth, sees harmony between earth and sky, the stars and the migrations of the birds—My tapestry.\u201d   \u201cWho will follow the wild geese? Who will follow the monarch butterfly?\u201d   \u201cNature is My mystery, My heartbeat and the Wisewoman is My right hand, reaching out to touch earth\u2019s children.\u00a0 To grow her intuition she must plant a seed of hope and service, water it with love and discipline, kindness and restraint, songs and tears, love and laughter.\u00a0 My plant will grow in her as ivy covers a stone wall and her heart will become green.\u201d   Question: How will you guide her? Anu answers: She must listen to my voice on the wind, in the song of birds, the movement of trees.\u00a0 She must KNOW My voice.\u00a0 I will never desert her.\u00a0 She will be My handmaiden.   Q: What do you mean by \u201cplanting the seed\u201d? How can she do this?   A: By developing her intuition using different methods of divination such as tarot, the Laura Day book, stones, runes and so that will give her symbols.   Q: What about automatic writing? A: Yes   Q: And meditation? A: Yes.\u00a0 Stillness in the morning and stillness in the dark star-filled night\u2026she will hear my voice in the voices of her children and her husband.\u00a0 I am there!   Q:\u00a0 Is this her first step? A: Yes, to be still and hear My voice.\u00a0 I am intuition. The patterns of truth will be seen by her.\u00a0 She must learn to trust and walk to the rhythms of her own path, not anyone else\u2019s.\u00a0 She must understand that she is Mine completely and I am hers.   Love is the key. ****************************************************************************** Reading: \u00a0Read the book \u201cDeveloping Intuition\u201d by Laura Day and do all the exercises. Work through the book slowly. This is only one method of beginning to develop your intuition.   Read the book: \u201cHow to do Automatic Writing\u201d by Edain McCoy and work through it. You should be able to channel your Higher Self, and your Wisewoman guide through this method.   How will you integrate this intuition in your everyday life? As your intuition develops, make sure your keep a record of all the things that happen and the changes it brings. This record is a vital part of your pathworking.   Choose ONE method of divination such as Oghams, Runes, or Tarot and begin to study it. You should be able to picture each symbol or card in your mind and know its meaning. Eventually you should be able to use this method mentally. For example: You meet someone with a problem and you ask yourself: Which Tarot card represents their problem? The card you need should appear in your mind. (This method can be used with Runes or Oghams as well.) As the years pass, these symbols will become more and more integrated into your subconscious and intuition until they are a natural part of how you see the world and respond to it.   The first part of this path may take you a few months or longer. It is important to go at your own pace, but to do a little bit every day, even if it\u2019s only a few minutes. Re-read the words of Anu. Start every day and finish every day in stillness, listening to Her voice. To make your seed grow you need \u201clove and discipline, kindness and restraint\u201d, don\u2019t be too hard on yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10765","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10765","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10765"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10765\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10765"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10765"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10765"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}