Category Archives: Theology
Pagan Blog Project D: Direction, Decisions, & Divination
Direction and Decisions
The last few posts have given you several things to think about as a seeker. As you have thought about those things and your own beliefs you should have compiled or started to find a list of belief systems or religions that match up to what you are looking for to some extent. These religions and spiritual paths should have as many things related to your beliefs as possible. You may find there are a few which only have a few of your major beliefs in them but not all of them. That is ok. The point is you have a list of paths and options. No what do you do?
You need to make some choices. You need to make some decisions on where you want to go now. There are options. Now you need to choose. So how to choose?
Direction
Right now you may have a list of belief systems you are eager to explore that have things you want to explore. There may be many parallels in beliefs to what you hold. This is a good position to be in. It means you know what you believe you are just looking for more structure and concepts to develop from. You are looking for direction. Having a direction in which to focus allows stability and confidence building. Focusing on one specific direction can and will deepen spirituality.
Choosing that direction can be difficult. I myself look over all the paths I have studied that have things I believe in and wonder where I should go in my studies. I’m sort of in a cross roads right now myself as well which is part of the reason for writing this post. Directions can and will change in your studies and as your path and your spirituality grows. This is also a good sign that you have learned a lot in one area but need to grow in another. By changing directions and choosing a new direction when you start you already really begin to grow.
So to begin choosing your direction you should look at two of the paths or religions that inspire you the most. These are good places to start your exploration. These will be the focus of your deciding factor. You will still want to read about and research the other paths out there that interest you. There is a reason they are interesting to you. They have something to offer that you will benefit from. For now though having one direction or focus is essential.
This direction will for some time be the focus of your studies and growth. You will use this to establish your foundation if you are new to exploring spiritual options. Here you will start to establish relationships with specific gods and spirits according to the path you choose to walk. Here after you do additional study you may want to then do a dedication and deeper studies for a while before exploring elsewhere. The point is the direction you pick will be the foundation of your spiritual home and your path.
If you have been exploring spirituality your new direction will add a new level to your spirit house and you will have a deeper knowledge base to choose from. This will expand your spiritual awareness. You will probably meet new guides and spirits in the new direction you choose to explore. Your previous understandings will develop and may slightly change. You are reaching the next level in spirituality and practice as it were.
Making the decisions
Now that I have highlighted the reasons for choosing one direction rather than exploring multiple paths at once it is time to explain and go over how you can make the decision for yourself. There are many ways you can make the decision about which path to take. I am going to list them here and then go into each one in a bit more detail. In the end there are two ways you can really go about making this. You can do a soul and spiritual searching of it or you can do some practical work. You can also do a combination.
Spiritual decision making aids
Here are the spiritual and insightful methods. There is a meditation method. There is the prayer method. You have divination through cards or even using a pendulum. You finally have the what does my heart say about what I know about this path right now method. All of these methods involve working with a spirit or some aspect of the hidden self you have to contact in some form. Now I will expand on each of those methods.
I am going to start with the meditative method. The meditative method actually comes in two forms. The first form involves contact with your own spirit guides and guardians for advice. The second form of the meditative method is a bit more introspective yet just as effective. Both are in a meditative state so they are both the meditative method of making your decisions.
The first meditative method to discuss then is the method where you contact your spirit guides and guardians. Here you can go into a meditative state and contact your spirit guides and guardians for advice. You can give them an idea of why you are having difficulties with this decision. You can ask them where they think you should go. They may give you an idea or they may show you something that you have to think about. Either way through contacting your spirit guides you have been given their insight on the matter which should prove useful for your own decision making.
The second meditative method is less about spirit guides and more about yourself and your thoughts. The idea here is that you will get into a meditative state and you will be able to focus on asking yourself the question “which path is mine?”. You may find symbols appear that relate to one path. That is your answer. You may even find yourself brought on some sort of vision quest by your higher self. That quest there and that experience there. Either way your answer comes from yourself, your heart, and your spirit.
The prayer method is a method that many people use. Here you will work on praying to spirits or guides for the answer. If there are specific Gods and Goddesses in either path that you are interested in more than others you can pray to them. If there is a specific type of spirit found in each culture you are interested in you can also pray to them. You can also pray to both pantheons in a general reaching out prayer and see who answers. The same thing applies to the various spirit entities found in the different paths.
When you are working with the prayer method you are leaving the answer to the question up to the Gods and the spirits. In the end it will be them who make the decision about accepting your worship or working with you or not. You can not force a deity or spirit to work with you that is not willing to work with you. For this reason many people recommended prayers above other methods. All of the methods I am telling you about are useful and worth trying. I do have to agree that prayer is one of the more powerful ways to connect with willing spirits and Gods.
Divination methods of decision making
Divination is a method that takes many forms. Here you have tarot cards and oracle cards. You also have pendulums and scrying. Channeling is also a form of divination. In using divination you are spending the time contacting the spirits directly. From how you connect to the spirits the various forms work to provide the answer.
In the oracle card methods (tarot decks and other decks) the answer comes out through the meaning of the cards pulled. By looking at the order the cards were pulled and where they stand in the reading your answer can be interpreted. There are thousands of different oracle decks out there. Tarot cards are one form. Doreen Virtue has several oracle decks out there as well. In working with these decks you will find that some card decorations and symbols speak to you more than others. Those are the decks you want to work with.
On to Pendulums! With the pendulum you will have a movement answer for yes and a different answer for no. One of the best ways to use a pendulum in this fashion would be to hold the pendulum over the text of the paths you are interested. Ask it if its for you. The answer will be in the movement. Do it over the other text and see the answer. If you don’t get an answer from either of those you may just need to take more time or try another method.
Now not everyone has a stone pendulum. That is ok. I am going to share a secret with you. Ready? Every one can make one themselves. Yes. You can make a pendulum yourself with objects you have around your house. If you have string or something to suspend the item with you can make a pendulum. The best examples are taking a necklace chord unused and put a ring in the center. Then hold the necklace with the ring suspended. Ask it for yes and ask it for no. Presto instant pendulum.
Scrying is the next item on the list. Scrying is basically starting into a reflective surface and relaxing your gaze. After some time an image will appear. There are many methods and ways of accomplishing this methods. You have the fire method which can include candles, campfires, wood stoves, and much more. There is the water method. Here you can use ice, a glass of water, a lake, a pond, or basically any form of water you can think of. Other methods include using a reflective mirror made for that purpose or through using a crystal ball. Other people may be able to use incense smoke of fire smoke to scry. Try it and good luck.
Channeling is the final method that was mentioned as a way of working divination. In channeling you basically call a spirit into your body or mind for the answer. You ask them the question and they will be answer. This is the process that mediums use. If you are not comfortable speaking you can try the same method with automatic writing using a paper and pen to let the spirit basically write down the answers to the question.
So I have given several different ways you can work divination to get an answer. The idea behind divination is that you are working with a spirit or your higher self for an answer. The answer is coming from outside of you. The only real difference between these styles mentioned is the fact that they all use different techniques. The philosophy behind their use and why they work though is basically the same.
Spirits and Gods can be powerful allies in answering questions. They have access to wisdom that we do not have. They can also be very powerful teachers in our spiritual development. All of the above methods are ways of contacting these guides and beings for assistance in making the decision about the path you are about to take. I must be mentioned however the above methods of making a decision with spiritual aids can be used for other situations in life. Here they are just used as tools in choosing your spiritual paths.
Practical decision making tools
I have just spent some time illustrating ways that you can combine looking for a spiritual and religious path with doing active spiritual path work and spiritual development. While these tools are important to be used in working with spiritual choices there are other options. You can use your day to day decision making tools as well to work with this.
What are your day to day decision making tools? Well there are a few. You have pros and cons, evaluating available information on the topic at hand, space and time, economic, and you also have emotional aspects to play into this as well. Anything you would use to make a decision in the rest of your day to day life you can use for spiritual choices as well.
I’m going to start with a basic tool. The pros and cons tool. This tool allows you to list all the good things about taking this path. It also gives you a place to list any issues or problems that could come up because of practicing this path. You can if you feel the need to make a column for places of thoughts that are not an issue or a great thing but just there, or something you are not sure where it goes. That would be the column for that. When you have listed everything you can think of in one page for one path do it for the other path as well. When you have done both take some time to rest before looking at them and comparing the three lists.
The tool of evaluating the amount of available information on a subject is actually quite important when choosing a path to work with. There are some paths out there which have a lot more information on them than others. This may have already been a consideration in the Pros and Cons aspect of the path. For some people the lack of or overwhelming information of a spiritual paths practices can be a key reason in their interest in pursuing it. You should consider this as you look at your options for paths.
The factors of space to practice, time to practice, and the economic aspect may actually all fall together under one thing which is can I practice this path where I am now with what I have now? Some cultures have rituals that require elaborate dances or at least a lot of movement for space to work the spiritual paths. Other paths may work with herbs that are expensive and exotic or out of your reach. How much time will it take to perform the ritual? These are all things to think about. If you can’t effectively perform the rites where you are with what you have is it worth investing your spiritual energy into spirits and Gods that may not respond for lack of traditional rituals?
Finally one thing we all use in our day to day decisions is our emotional reactions. Some of us are going to have stronger emotional reactions to the tales and legends of spirits and Gods than others will. Looking at the emotional reactions we have to thinking about the culture, the myths, and the powers we read about in some cultures may be where we should be looking for answers. Here is a personal example. I for one have always been fascinated by Egyptian Gods and myths as well as their culture. Yet when I read the myths I feel no emotional response. I had no interest previously in looking at the Germanic Gods. However when I read the myths and legends I had an emotional response. This proved to give me insight into my spiritual direction. I urge you to look at your emotional responses to myths and legends as you read them.
Conclusion
In this blog post I have given you several tools to use to make your decisions regarding which paths to study and follow when you are attracted to multiple paths. You can always go back and explore the other paths after you have done some study and practice of the first path you choose. I strongly believe that we can all find truths in every path out there. It is just up to us to find them as individuals.
*Photo found on http://www.alanbrookscrossroads.com/*
H: Heathen practices and me
Heathenism
For many years the only definition of heathen was one who was not Christian. If you look in the dictionary you will still find that as part of the definition of heathen. Today however I am not talking about the dictionary definition. I am talking about how it relates to the modern Pagan culture and the culture of Germanic pagans. My heathenism studies have been a major influence in my path and on my craft as a witch.
The heathens of today are often hard to define. For some people it is an umbrella term for an eclectic Germanic recon path. For other people is a very specific tradition with in the label of Germanic religions. I consider it to be a term for an eclectic approach to being a semi Recon based practitioner.
You may be thinking wait a minute you can’t be both eclectic and a Reconstruction can you? When it comes to the Germanic religions it is more possible. There are several Germanic cultures to choose from. You have the Angels and the Saxons, The Danish, The Norse, The Icelandic, the Franks, and several other tribes. Each tribe had slightly different lore. By studying the lore of all the paths and tribes a person can gain a fuller insight into the lore for Germanic paganism.
It is the Nordic lore which we have the most information from. It was also in Norway and Iceland where the religious practices of the Germanic tribes lasted the longest. Several of the sagas that many heathens use as source texts for their practices and understanding of the culture are preserved in a book titled The Sagas of the Icelanders. These sagas tell of the social structure and the social etiquette. From these sagas we learn how they lived. That is why they are excellent sources to use. The other books which provide sagas and lore about the Gods are:
Saxo Grammaticus: The history of the Danes
,Heimskringla: The life of the Norse Kings
Right now I am in the process of reading Heimskringla. I’ve already gotten some information about lore but not a whole lot. Snorri used the same tale about Odin founding the Kingdom of the Norse in both the prose Edda and in Heimskringla. Both tales are very interesting and explain a bit of the culture of the Gods. Yet my preference is for the origins discussed in the poetic Edda.
My Heathen Practice
My personal heathen practice is more related to the magical practices and the crafts. Witchcraft as we know it ultimately came from the Anglo-Saxon culture. There are three primary deities associated with Magic and witchcraft Odin, Freya,and Loki. Many of the books I have read on Traditional witchcraft have had a Germanic slant. That’s one of the things that started my more invested study and practice with Germanic pagan traditions.
Aside from Raymond Buckland’s Seax Wica there are several other traditions of witchcraft which have a more Germanic leaning.. These books along with the Eddas and Sagas has helped me develop and understand how Germanic magic worked and what the culture was like. As a witch I have found this knowledge and information immensely helpful and informative. I have gained much wisdom from those practices. Yet it is not the only part of my heathen practices.
So what makes me a Heathen? Worship of the Aesir, Vanir, and Jotun. I have accepted the Nine Nobel virtues as part of my moral and ethical guidelines. The Germanic tribes had a concept of Fate of sorts called Wyrd. There is a lot about Wyrd I am still trying to understand and evaluate for myself, I am not discouraged by it though.
The Norse were very much a warrior culture. For them it was about honor and the battle. Yes they had head hunting and other practices that today are considered “Barbaric” but to accept the deities with out accepting an understanding of the culture which worshiped those deities is meaningless. Yes. The Germanic tribes were considered barbarians to the Romans & Greeks, but so were the Celtic tribes. It is only by understanding or trying to understand the culture in which the deities were worshiped that we can truly understand how the religion and spirituality of those times worked.
My interest as an anthropologist really plays into why I work so hard to reconstruct what I can. It is actually through historical sources such as the Sagas of the Kings and warriors and the few archeological finds that we have any concept of what that culture was like. The practice of heathenism also plays deeply into my desire to connect to something from my blood ancestry. For me it was sort of embracing a part of my history and understanding where my family origins were.
What my heathen practice entails
I have not fully developed a comprehensive unified product of witchcraft and Germanic paganism. While witchcraft is a part of my worship and practice of Germanic paganism, there is a lot more to it than that. My heathen practice entails doing a specific form of ritual called a Blot to the Gods. It involves prayers and obviously magic.
I am looking into learning more about rune lore so I can try my hand at runic magic. Working with the runes would also allow me to learn the mysteries of the Runes. Rune magic is actually one of the priary forms of magic used in Germanic paganism. It was gifted to Odin after he sacrificed himself to himself on the tree of knowledge and wisdom. There were several sets made I know of one for humans, one for the Gods, and one for the Dwarves.
My practice also entails a lot of study. There is probably more study than worship at times, and that works for me. My worship is actually often times more impromptu than it is for specific holidays or occasions. I have even developed my own ritual structure for their worship which they don’t seem to mind which is a combination of a Blot and a typical religious witchcraft ritual. One of the reasons I study so much is there is a lot of lore to pour over and assimilate and there is also a lot of history and multiple translations of sacred texts to read.
The path to wisdom is never ending. This is just one place you may also be able to find wisdom and truth.
- ,
D: Dedication
Dedication
The subject of this post is something that I actually have to think long and hard about. Lately when I think about it I can’t honestly say that I have been fulfilling my honest statement of being dedicated to serving my readers and myself on my personal spiritual journey. The last few weeks have been full of self doubt and self assessment. To be honest I even asked myself what right I had to run and even continue to post on a blog dedicated to helping newbies and seekers find their own paths.
I honestly felt that there was no reason for me to continue posting this blog. I have had a crisis of self esteem and self worth. It just hit me recently that while I may not be exactly where I thought I would be at this point in my life I am exactly where Fate has dictated I belong. This for me was a central part of accepting my current situation and current feelings of worthlessness.
During this time I have had to take a look at where I stand spiritually. I have to admit I have never completed any training beyond my Reiki 1 certification. I am proud to be a dedicant in the Temple Tradition. This to me also shows and states quite a bit about the truth regarding myself. I consider myself dedicated to the truths of witchcraft and finding my own path.
So this post is about the process of dedication and what exactly dedication means. It is actually something that I consider several times a year as I look at my studies in witchcraft, paganism, philosophy, and magic. With everything that I want to do in my life I have to make sure I study diligently .
Dedication or Initiation?
One of the most common things that new witches find in books on solitary witchcraft is a self initiation ritual. A self initiation ritual does not work. One can not self initiate. To be initiated means that you are being brought into the religion or tradition. You can not bring yourself into a religion or tradition. You can however perform a dedication ritual announcing to the Gods and yourself that you are going to be following their path.
As a person seeks their spiritual path they are going to have to decide at some point if they want to a solitary practitioner (alone or maybe with a close friend or family member or if they want to seek out a group. There are benefits to both of these choices. I have never been a member of a group so I can’t speak for the benefits, though I am seeking one for fellowship and joint worship. Groups may call for initiation rituals (Any British Traditional Witchcraft coven will require it and other traditions are also initiatory). This is choice will found the rest of your path for the near future.
Types of dedication rituals
As dedication rituals are personal there are many different ways and many different types of doing a dedication ritual. When I am exploring the worship of a religion I have not studied I perform a different type of dedication ritual than I do when I committing myself to the worship of specific set of deities. All of these dedications are important rituals to be taken seriously. Each type signifies a different level of commitment to a relationship with deities.
The first type of dedication is one of an introduction. An introduction ritual is one where you are telling the Gods that you want to learn about them and their worship. That you are opening yourself to them and that you are finding your path. In this way you are not saying that you are going to stick around forever but that you are exploring and wishing to get to know them.
Here is a simple introduction ritual. It is this ritual I have used when I introduced myself to the Germanic pantheons. I will make similar rituals when I go back and study Hellenic Paganism, Roman Paganism, and Kemetic recon. This ritual is only used when I am simply saying “Hi. I’m…. I want to learn more about you and will try to honor you as I study about you, your culture, and your history”. For me it is a sign of respect to introduce yourself before you start blindly studying and working on a base relationship.
Introductory Ritual:
Supplies:
White Candle
Offering of milk,ale,red wine, or incense
Sea Salt
Table to work as an altar (see Altar entry 1 and Altar entry 2 )
Water
Ritual:
Place your hands over the water and state “By water’s natural cleansing I cleanse this water”
Take a pinch of pure sea salt and place it in the water. State “With salt this water is pure”
Take your finger and stir the water together creating a sacred holy water.
Walk around the ritual space and state “By the purity of this sacred water this space in prepared for ritual”.
Go to the altar and light the candle.
Here is where the ritual is going to essentially different for each person. Every culture and every religious tradition out there will have a different sort of prayer style. Some prayers are invocatory and others are more free form. This is where a seekers early research should pay off as they should have some sort of idea as to what rituals the Gods of that pantheon like. This is where you will state in ritual and prayer you intent to learn about them and is the first step in developing a relationship with the deities.
Say the appropriate type of prayer for the pantheon and culture in mind
Sit in silence for a few minutes.
Go to the what ever you are offering.
Place your hands over the offering and state “This is my gift to you may it nourish you and bring your much joy”
Pour the offering into the plate or bowl.
Keep the offering out for a while letting the liquid be absorbed into the atmosphere or our it onto the ground the next day
You have to keep in mind that was just a simple outline for some one who has no real experience or any real knowledge of ritual structure and organization. The more experience you have the more complexity you can add to the ritual if you so choose. This ritual was simple because it is simply an introduction and they can be very simple.
The second type of dedication ritual is one that is sort of like a marriage. You are committing yourself to your path for actual service to the Gods. During this point in time you will have many trials and tests as you figure out your role and what the deities want from you. Some its teaching, others it’s healing. Some people never quite find exactly what the deities they worship want out of them for service, so they do what comes naturally to them or they simply continue to hold rituals in honor the memory of the Gods they worship.
One thing I did for the longest time to help me gain confidence and keep on track with my spiritual studies and practices was to do a renewal ritual. This ritual always renewed my spirit in the process. It also always brought me back into myself and into my place in my studies. It also always seemed to bring me closer to the deities I had introduced myself to.
Recomitment ritual:
Supplies:
White Candle
Offering of milk,ale,red wine, or incense
Sea Salt
Table to work as an altar (see Altar entry 1 and Altar entry 2 )
Water
Ritual:
Place your hands over the water and state “By water’s natural cleansing I cleanse this water”
Take a pinch of pure sea salt and place it in the water. State “With salt this water is pure”
Take your finger and stir the water together creating a sacred holy water.
Walk around the ritual space and state “By the purity of this sacred water this space in prepared for ritual”.
Go to the altar and light the candle.
Say the appropriate type of prayer for the pantheon and culture in mind
Sit in silence for a few minutes.
Go to the what ever you are offering.
Place your hands over the offering and state “This is my gift to you may it nourish you and bring your much joy”
Pour the offering into the plate or bowl.
As you place your offering state your promise to start serving with more honesty and more dedication. Announce proudly that you are giving yourself to service to these Gods for however long you are planning to keep at this level of service.
Look for any signs in your dreams or day to day life that the deities are listening to you and ready to accept your service to them.
Keep the offering out for a while letting the liquid be absorbed into the atmosphere or our it onto the ground the next day.
The ritual you see out there is one of my reasons for having such a strong connection with the Germanic deities. I have spent a lot of time working ritual in honor of the Germanic deities. It has fostered my relationships with several different deities in the Germanic pantheon. In some ways this is a connection to my believed ancestral path.
The last name of Boynton is very Germanic. There is a shire in Yorkshire England which holds the name Boynton. My research has indicated that this shire would have been under control of the Saxxons. This is a place I need to visit when I next visit England. I mean a shire which has the same name as my biological surname? How can I not visit that place? In which case the Germanic pantheon (which includes the Anglo’s, The Saxon’s, The Franks, The Norse, and several more tribes) would be a home coming for me which is what it felt like to me.
The third type of ritual is one that indicates a more serious commitment. In this final dedication ritual you are completely giving yourself to everything any anything that the deities you worship desire. This is a very difficult and very important type of ritual that will cement your future. Here you are asking to become an active priest or priestess.
The final dedication is one of an initiation from the Gods. When witches talk about how only the Gods can initiate and make some one a priest or priestess of their path this is the sort of ritual that they have in mind. This is a life changing ritual and is one of deep meaning. It is this ritual where you finally accept what it is that the Gods truly desires.
This is where one becomes a true servant of the Gods. You are not only doing rituals for the Gods, but you are also offering services to the community. You may start doing more volunteer work, you may teach a few people, you may even become an interfaith Chaplin. In accepting the true mantle of what it means to be a member of the clergy (a true priest and priestess) one has given all that they are to their deities.
Remember when I said that a person would have to choose between being a solitary practitioner and as a member of a group and how I mention that BTW requires an initiation of sorts? The level of commitment that this dedication entails is the same as an initiation into a BTW Coven. How can I say that with out actually being initiated into BTW? It’s simple. I have enough friends within various BTW traditions both with valid initiations and one oath breaker related tradition to say for sure that initiation into BTW makes you a priestess of those deities. That means that within your coven and in your day to day life you are serving the needs of those Gods in what ever way they need from you. That is the sort of commitment that this level of dedication and initiation requires.
I am actually at this point in the development of my own witchcraft tradition. I have yet to formalize the arrangement through a ritual. This is something I am working on. I have some what reluctantly accepted the mantled of priestess. Perhaps this is the only way I can develop access to the mysteries that my Gods have instore for me. For this reason I can not give a sample ritual. If you are looking for some ideas you might want to look at:
- A witches Bible By Stewart Farrar
- What witches do by Stewart Farrar
- Solitary Wicca by Scott Cunningham
- Witchcraft for Today by Gerald Gardner
- Wicca for One by Raymond Buckland
- The Outer Temple of Witchcraft by Christopher Penczack
Samhain and Hallowmas- The festival of the dead and the ancestors (Pagan Blog Project)
Samhain and Hallowmas:
The Holy Week:
Death and Rebirth in the cycle becomes complete
Part 1: The Spiritual Aspects and implications
I write this as Samhain and Hallowmas come to a close. The festivals of the dead and the transition from the lords of the land to the lords of the underworld completes the transition. I figured that as part of my job to help seekers on their search for questions I should provide some insight as to exactly what this sabbat is about and why people celebrate the sabbat in the ways that they do. Like everything else there are many ways to explain and experience the mysteries of these sabbats and not every ones view will agree with yours or even make sense to you. All I can do is provide my own insight based on my personal experiences and sources.
As I have started to develop my own personal theology this sabbat has come have a different meaning to me than other people might have. That is why in my own practice I call the holiday I celebrate Mortedon. However since most people are familiar with the names Samhain, Halloween, All Hallows Eve, and All Saints Day that is what I will use here.
According to many sources this time of year could easily be considered the witches new year. The God is officially dead and in the underworld. He wont be born again until the Winter solstice and as such he is dead and in the underworld. This is the time to transit between one working season and the other. It is a time of completion and reflection that may bring about the planning ad start of the new planting season for the next harvest.
In many ways the major difference between those who call themselves Traditional witches and those who consider themselves Wiccan is that the majority of the rituals in traditional witchcraft deal with ancestral veneration and ancestors as divine while the rituals found within Wicca focus on the God and Goddess or Lord and Lady rather than the ancestors. This is alright. Not every one is meant to worship and venerate the ancestors. Anthropologically it has been said that ancestral worship was the first form of worship, which is why for me it has become a source of my foundation.
I actually appreciate these different theological styles. There is one holiday in which they both meet and they both share the same view. It is viewed by both paradigms (Wicca and Traditional Witchcraft) as a day to honor both the dead and the ancestors as well as the God and Goddess. It is also an acknowledgement by both sides that the season of reflection is upon us. It is now that we must spend our time upon reflection and preparation for the new year and seasons.
Samhain, All souls Day, All Saints Day, Ancestor Night…all of these are names for essentially the same festival. This festival is an acknowledgment of every one who has gone before us. It is also an acknowledgement that there is life after death. It is here we can really see how even though the people we love and cherish may have passed on from this life, they really are still near by and watching us.
In many ways this is the time of year where the festivals a person honors and celebrates explains at least in part what their view of the afterlife is. For some people who believe in reincarnation this is also a time to connect with any of their past lives so that lessons they have to impart may be gives. This is the second festival where the veil between the worlds of the living and dead as well as spirit worlds is lowest. That is why contact with spiritual allies at this time of year.
Part Two: The Theology and Mythology of the Sabbat
Folkore and myth united
This is according to many sources the last sabbat of the year. For many witches the year starts at Yule and ends at Samhain and begins at Yule. In reality there is no real start or finish to a cycle. Cycles are circles and will always come back to a point and start again. This is how the world and the universe exist. Everything in the universe will be used again in the universe at some point in time. Every thing physical you see on this planet is made of of a star that existed eons before we were born:
Theologically, spiritually, and mentally it makes sense that the world as we know it would work in cycles. The physics at work in the universe simply provide a non-disputed example of how reincarnation exists. Here at Hallowmass and Samhaintide we are really able to see and understand how death and destruction/decay are essential to the growth and development of future lives and crops.
According to the Cycle of the Year and the 8 sabbats within Wicca and Eclectic witchcraft Samhain is when the God is dead. He was sacrificed at Mabon to ensure the fertile grounds of the next harvest. At one point in history it was believed that the king was sacrificed to bring life to the land for the next year. This was symbolic of the God’s death for the fertility of the land. Latter corn dollies were sacrificed instead of a human.
Blood was and still is the essential life force. If a creature is alive it bleeds. By the God sacrificing himself his blood (his life force) goes into the land giving life to the land. He knows that he will be reborn in his son in the end of winter and he will from the underworld guide and symbolize his son’s birth and his return by the return of the sun’s light starting at the Winter solstice (Yule).
It was believed that once a person died their body became the land. The blood of the sacrificed victim nourished the spirits of the land for the winter and would gain their favor for the spring.At Samhain the ancestors and other spirits from the land of the dead returned to give their blessings for the following year to their descendants.
The God at this time was in the Underworld understanding and being reborn. At Beltaine he had impregnated the Lady, his lover and wife, who would bear the child of promise who would carry and light the way for the Lord to be reborn at Yule (the light returning slowly) with his actual birth at Imbolc. The rest of the sabbats continue along this line. So in some ways Samhain is both the start and the finish.
The knowledge that there is life after death and life in death is symbolized no better than with ever greens (one of the reasons why those trees are decorated at Christmas). It’s also one of the reasons I feel that the hope to get through the winter for the spring exists. To see something that is alive and producing chlorophyll in the winter while the rest of the trees are inherently dead proves that there is life in death. It is one of the reasons I can see that death allows for the continuation of life.
With these thoughts in mind it is time to get to:
Part 3: A sample ritual
Ways that honoring the ancestors can be done
Now that it has been established why honoring the ancestors is so important I can start to give you some ideas as to how you as a seeker or as an active Pagan could honor your ancestors and the Gods and celebrate this sabbat and simply begin or further expand your understanding of this sabbat. For myself I gained even deeper insight into the mysteries this Samhain. As I post this the gates start to begin closing and the path seems to close, yet the creepy and spooky nature that is Samhaintide and Hallowsmass remains, the time to honor the ancestors comes to a close.
I have had a week to reflect on what I wanted to write for this entry and I have finally come to the last part of the entry where I can really start to explain how one can go about celebrating this sabbat. For many years as a seeker I was honestly unsure of what to do with my offerings for any sabbat. Samhain was another one that left me confused, so now I feel it it is time to give some sort of explanation as to how you can give your offerings to the Gods and the ancestors.
So here is a very simple ritual:
Ancestral Ritual For Samhain:
Materials:
Apple or Pomegranete Juice/alcohol
Red Apples or Pomegranete fruit & Seeds
Two cups
1 tree
Ritual:”
As you pour your drink concentrate and think of your ancestors and the Gods and the land. Focus intently and place this light into the food and drink blessing it in the names of the spirits, the ancestors, and the Gods. You then pour two drinks one for the Spirits, ancestors and Gods and one for your self.
As you take your drink say a prayer for what you are thankful and towards any ancestors you wish to contact and communicate with. Take a moment and think of them. Then get into your trance position. For this it may be best of you lie facing down with your hands working as a head rest head in a comfortable position. After you get into position think and state to your self:
“I Vibrate in harmony with the Underworld and the Gods of the Underworld”.
Repeat this statement over and over until you reach a state where you see and become one with the God or Goddess of the Underworld. Continue the trance until you have gained all the insight you will receive. Slowly reduce your vibration into yourself. Once you are back into yourself take another drink in honor of the Gods and the lesson you learned.
Eat the red apple or the pomegranate seeds. If you eat the apple place the seeds aside till the morning. If you eat the pomegranate seeds place a few aside till the morning.
Go to bed expecting dreams based on the rite you performed. The following morning write down any dreams you may have had. When done and dressed for the day take the seeds and the same drink you had the night before and place them in a whole at the trees base.
Reasoning behind the ritual:
By taking in that blessed drink you understand that the drink is the fruits of the Gods who you worship as well as the ancestors who literally are the land. This drink is their blood after the sacrificial blood of the god had been spilled, this is their response. When you eat the fruits of the land or drink of the liquids you are taking in the essence of the land and your ancestors.
When you let a drink in a cup evaporate overnight that drink is consumed by the air and the essence of life. The ancestors who have returned to visit partake of this liquid. In the morning the seeds and the remaining liquid are returned to the ground. This nourishes the ancestors and the spirits as well as the gods. This is how we can honor and nourish them.
Part four: My conclusion:
For me this really explains a lot. Through the ritual expressed above I was able to understand the roles of the Gods and the Goddesses that I worship. I was also able to understand exactly what the underworld does to work with rebirth and reincarnation. Finally When I look at astrophysics and how the creation of new universes begin and what black-holes really are I can see how my theology and philosophy line up with science.
I really recommended that any seeker of the wisdom of the cycle of destruction, reformation, creation, growth, and development take a basic physics course. This course will explain how the various galaxies came into being, how stars and suns are born, and how new universes are created. In some ways it may also lead a seeker to see how magic could be seen to be the force that keeps all of these things working in balance. That is what Samhaintide and Hallowmas is all about.
Pagan Blog Project: G is for Grounding
Grounding
Returning to reality
I promised this week that I would have a post containing information and a few exercises on contacting your spiritual guides. I was not lying. I realized however that at the end of my work on trance states I never explained exactly why I had the plate of cheese or nuts by your side at the end of the exercises. To be honest this entry has come out of a need for my to do exactly what this essay is about.
Grounding is the last part of any trance, ritual, magic, or energy work that I do. It is the also the first thing that I do. In this way my concept of the circle being the symbol of perfection does into play. Grounding is what allows us to switch gears and allows us to focus on one specific task or goal at a time.
In some ways I see the techniques of grounding as techniques of getting into a trance or at least of altering ones state. This is why grounding is the first part of getting into a trance and it is the last part of getting into trance. For people who suffer from anxiety disorders or even who wish to learn how overcome anxiety before tests, interviews, presentations, ect grounding is a good skill to learn. It is something that really applies to every day life and all parts of life.
I have somewhat of an anxiety disorder. When I have worked in fast food I have had the problem of beings one of the few employees who would try and do everything they could. In many ways this made it harder for me to do my job which was always to take the orders at the front counter. I ended up over coming my anxiety at being overwhelmed by imagining one leg being a root taking in new energy and the other leg being a root pushing out my anxiety.
What I have just illustrated is a practical use for grounding that allows me to work and earn my own income. That is a technique that for me connects me to how I truly see the concept of being both grounded and centered, That illustration for me is that of a tree. For me the image of a tree becomes very important and you could say that the trees are the the central key to the mysteries as I understand them.
So why are trees sacred to me and why did I use that specific example for grounding?
The first thing that comes to mind for me is my location. Location and land relationships are very important to me. I live in Maine. I constantly see the trees taking nutrients from the ground up to the crown to be filled with the light from the sun back down through the heart to the roots and back into the ground. For me that is the perfect example of how life is constantly changing and being recycled. The best form or grounding is one where you don’t remove the energy and emotions that bother you, but transmute it by changing it’s vibration and polarity. It goes from one state into another at your will.
The manipulation and change of energy from one form to another is the definition of magic. The only real difference here is that instead of directing the energy out into the world you are directing it through yourself, into the ground and back up into yourself in a different form. They say that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it simply changes forms. That is grounding.
So here is your first exercise:
Grounding energy 1:
Get seated in a comfortable position. Close your eyes and breath deeply and relax. Take a few breaths with an inhale of five and an exhale of five. This will get you ready to focus on the exercise at hand and clear your mind of everything that you have experienced that day.
Place both feet flat on the floor. From each foot visualize a set of roots connecting and digging you into the earth. Once you feel as if you are connected with the earth see any energy that feels “off” (anxiety, anger, exhaustion, ect) into the ground through your right leg. Direct that energy back into the ground around and between your feet. Once the energy has been reenergized so to speak pull it up with the left body and direct it up towards you crown and into your hands. With your next exhale release the energy into your body and feel the changed energy.
And there you have it. Your first exercise with magic.
The Reflection & modifications for other exercises
Now once you have done that exercise a few time write down in your journal how you feel. The out come of this exercise should be that you are reinvigorated and ready to go. This is an exercise to relax as well as a grounding exercise. It’s a grounding exercise because you have come from one state to a more centered state by directing and manipulating various energies. You have performed a small bit of magic.
The why this exercise works will be discussed in an upcoming post when I deal with the basic Hermetic Philosophy laws and how they apply to magic. For now I will leave you this photo which describes magical practices perfectly:
Lore-What it is and why it’s important
Lore
Many people talk about mythology and folklore and how they study them to gain ideas and insights about their religious paths and practices. Today witches actually have a plethora of lore that we have access to. For many people this is a problem as there is so much lore out there they don’t know where to go looking for lore and they don’t know what to do with it once they have found the lore. This blog entry is going to cover a few of those concepts.
The goal of this blog is to help witches and pagans know just how much lore there is for them to sort through. Part of that process is going to be giving examples of lore and how I have started to study and interpret folklore. The following concepts will be outlined and discussed in this blog entry:
- What defines Lore
- Where to find Lore
- How to decide what lore to use
- Interpreting Lore
- Why we use lore
- Applying lore to practice
- Writing your own Lore
What defines Lore
There are many different ways that people define lore. For myself I define lore as sets of oral and written stories and practices that inspire the practices of various witches and pagans. Many people often forget that family recipes and traditions are also different types of lore that can be included into their practices. For myself there are family traditions that I have started to incorporate into my practices. For example every year for Christmas my mother makes Meat Pie which is a throw back to her family’s French Canadian roots. As a pagan and witch I have added this to my Winter Solstice as well as my Yule celebrations. Freyr was worshiped by the Franks (French and Yule is his holiday) and meat pie as made by my family mixes beef and pork. So for me baking a pie for the Solstice and for Yule are perfectly acceptable lore additions to my practice.
Where to find Lore
One of the things when I first started to practice witchcraft I found was that there were no specific myths for my practice. While many neo-pagan witchcraft books contain a basic mythos for the sabbats and the wheel of the year I often found that concept to be rather incomplete. There were no specific myths written out that I could find that described the events in the wheel of the year. For a time I went with what was told and figured that was all there was to the concept. Then when I started to actually do more in depth research I found a few authors who actually gave a few of the fairy tales and myths associated with various spirits and analyzed them. Then I started to really look.
So where can you find lore? The answer is every where. There is lore in poetry, songs, plays, little sayings, old traditions that no one seems to remember where they come from, history, and anything far and in between. Fairy tales are rich sources of lore. Myths from various cultures can be fascinating pieces of lore as well. Old stories and tales often considered “legends” often have deep traces of lore in them. Believe it or not the book “Hammer of the witches” along with the accounts of the witch trials are actually full of lore. Some of it can be pure hate based, but there are aspects of gold in there.
yes I did just say that you can use the witch trials as sources of lore. Now why would I as a modern witch even think of using hate based lore? The simple fact of the matter is that the stuff about witches shape shifting is true, but not in the literal sense. The same thing goes about the witches sabbats. Often times there were and still are sexual themes and uses of substances to enhance the ritual trances and achieve unions with the divine. You just need to know how to read and look through the lore.
Deciding What Lore to use
This is a very personal thing that only you can really decide. There have been bits of lore that I have accepted and there are bits of lore I have not accepted for my practice. In the end while I can give you some advice it is a personal choice what you use for the lore that make up your unique practice. No matter what any one else says there will always be something unique about your practice. So now on to how we pick out which lore you will use.
The first thing you need to do is read any and all lore that you can get your hand into. Once you start reading the lore you need to pick up a notebook to write down any and all thoughts that you have after you read the lore. After you read the lore look at your thoughts and your emotional reactions to the lore. If the symbolism in the myths and lore relates to how you view and understand the world than you should add it to your personal collection of lore. If the symbols and the theme of the tale doesn’t relate to your views than you can simply not work with that lore.
Like everything else you need to work with that which makes sense and works for you. One of the first things you will need to do before you can work with lore is have some sort of understanding of your own beliefs and views of the world. If you dont know what you believe you wont be able to gain insight from lore. our beliefs are what form the basis of our practices and the understandings we have about the world around us.
Interpreting Lore
Over the last few years I have spent several semesters studying various stories and myths. One of the things literature classes teach their students is how to analyze the literature that they read. A key thing in analyzing and interpreting lore is being able to back up what you get from the tale. For example I did a paper on Poe’s story “The Fall of the House of Usher” and I compared the story to Poe’s real life and I used it as an example of sickness. Through out the paper I used quotes from the story and his own life to support the views.
When a person starts to interpret lore there are many things that need to be taken into consideration. The first thing is cultural research and historical information. By looking into the history and culture of an area you can gain a better insight as to what they symbols may have meant to the people who originally read or told the stories. By looking at the culture context becomes clear and the meanings of stories become more obvious.
Context is key in interpreting lore. Once you have context you can start to apply personal meaning to the deeper messages and thus start to gain a deeper practice. Personal meaning comes from the reflections and thoughts that a person has after they read or hear the lore. Interpreting Lore is something that takes a bit of meditation and work, but the rewards are worth it.
Why we use Lore
There are many reasons why witches and pagans use and study lore. The most basic reason is that lore provides insight as to why things are done the way they are. Lore can also provide keys for the deeper mysteries that provide the gateway to ascension and higher spiritual evolution. Lore provides understanding to the personalities and the interests of the various spirits. It gives ideas as to what we can use for offerings and what is sacred to these beings.
Applying Lore to practice
In the previous sections I mentioned that one of the uses of lore is to gain an understanding as to what the various deities and spirits may enjoy for offerings and sacrifices. One of the things that is essential to have a successful practice that is very fulfilling you need to have a connection to the deities and spirits. The best way to establish these relationships is through sacrifices, offerings, prayer, meditation, and contact. The best way to learn these things is through reading and researching lore.
Once you start reading the lore you will find some practices and myths that relate to your practice. You take your information gained from reading and your own thoughts and combine the two together. Once combined you are then well on your way to having a nice and well rounded practice that will be supported with references and research.
Writing your own Lore
One of the things I have started to do is write my own lore based on my experiences in my trances. I use these experiences to create the myths that work for myself. I use these myths to round out my practice. It takes a long time of piecing together experiences and rituals to have a setup where you can write lore that works for you.
What counts as writing your own lore? writing poems, stories, and anything that is done in honor of the spirits and deities that you work with. Once you start writing your own lore you’ll be able to really piece together your own practice based wholly on your own personal experiences and nothing more or less. The first and most important step here is for you to write down all your thoughts, experiences and the like.
Additional reading and sources:
Hedge Rider by Eric De Vres
Witching Way of the Hollow Hill By Robin Artisson
Fertility-Part 1 What is it, the forms it takes, and the role it plays in our lives
Fertility:
What is it
One of the things that has often come up in any of my posts that deal with Wicca has been a mention of fertility as a focus of the religion. In many ways you could day that all forms of religious witchcraft have an emphasis on fertility. Yes. I said witchcraft in a religious sense has to deal with fertility. For many the very mention of fertility rites brings up images of mass orgies and ritual sex parties, and to be blunt yes sexuality is an important aspect of fertility. This is also a common image associated with witches and their rites due to the idea that they have sex with the devil in their rites.
Many of the books out there geared towards new witches and new pagans tell their readers to avoid covens which require sexual acts and symbolism as a part of their membership rites. Unfortunately if the seeker is truly looking for Wicca and they find out about the sexual symbolism and nature of true Wiccan rites they may decide that based on the advice of authors such as Silver Raven Wolf, D.J.Conway and Edain McCoy in their intro books that for that reason they should not inquire any further even if it feels right.
Here is the thing. With the exception of the Second and Third degree in traditional Wicca (Alexandriean, Gardenariean, Mohsian, Central Valley [a collective term for the following traditions-Silver Crescent-Kingstone-Daoine Coire-Assembly of Wicca-Majestic .] ) no imitation of elevation ritual should require sex as part of it. Sexual symbolism is another thing. Sex for a requirement simply as a requirement without any symbolism is simply not something you should do for initiation unless you are of age and you choose to. If you are not of age than any sexual rite should not be required.
Ok. So by now you must be sick of me mentioning that fertility is something to important. You may be thinking that yes I have mentioned that it was important but you (as in me) have yet to explain why fertility is so central to Pagan religions or as you have mentioned many times religious forms of witchcraft? So you are asking What the hell is so important about fertility. The answer is simple and will be explained with in the next paragraph. I was just waiting for you the reader to be asking the question.
The first thing I have to do is explain exactly what fertility is to me. Fertility to me is the ability to create or produce as well maintain or support life in some form. I leave it produce or create and maintain and support and life in some form for many reasons. The first of which unfortunately is related ultimately to the effect the popular form of feminism has had on the idea of woman required to be mothers and subordinates.
Before I continue I must say that I am a woman and I am proud to be an embodiment of feminine energy in this world. I am also a feminist and I do believe in woman’s rights. I for example firmly believe that all woman should have the same equal opportunity in the world of construction as men. If a woman can handle the work than she should be able to have as much respect and right to hold the job as a man. However she should also be held to the same performance level as men. That would go with the job. For me equality in the work place means equal pay and equal expectations.
Now that I have gotten that out of the way I can continue with my post on fertility and the first reason why I see fertility as an important part of witchcraft religions. One of the major complaints that I have seen among women when the idea of fertility rites and religions has come up is that not all women are interested in creating life and being a mother (ie giving birth). The same argument goes for the reason why the MMC is not an accurate form any longer for the roles and parts of a woman’s life. This goes into the heart of why I believe fertility comes in many forms and is important in many ways
So if I define fertility as the ability to create and maintain life of some sort how does that not relate to being a mother and having a baby and raising children?
Let’s start with the first way that I see fertility as working in my life. This is the form it takes for me. It is important for me to be fertile in this way if I am to have a successful future to be able to help provide income for my fiance and myself. That fact there is the central theme in my view about fertility, producing (productive/successful) and providing for a life of some sort (myself and my fiance).
I am not ready or in a position t have children. That doesn’t mean I can’t perform or be involved in any fertility rites. As a college student my education success is a type of fertility. This is the way that fertility in my rites for myself has primarily taken form. The idea here is that my brain and thus my mind be open to all the new information that will come my way. That I have the determination and discipline to put the time and effort into my study and education to be successful and that I be willing to ask and be open to help when I need it.
My rites have also had to deal with financial and economic fertility. This gets into the second way that I view fertility as important to pagan and witchcraft religions. Here my rites have an effect not only on my self and my family but also on the local economy and eventually the national economy which in turn will have an effect on the global economy and thus everyone in the world will have some benefit.
In my life this has involved asking that the company my fiance belongs to continues to grow and he continues to be able to expand his training and thus general availability and interest to the computer field at large. It also involves when I am looking for work me being able to find a job which will work out with me any my disabilities.
In both cases by insuring that we both have jobs, we are both able to spend more money on things that we enjoy such as videos, games, clothes, vacations, nights out, ect. In this way us having employment insures that there will be money to go to local businesses. That will encourage job growth and thus stimulate the local economy further.
With more income taxes the government has more money. They can put this money towards technological developments and other areas of interest. This again creates more jobs. The success of those developments will create more jobs which will then increase tax flow and ultimately will increase local, national and global economies.
Woman and men who are professionals that have no desire to have any children that perform fertility rites often have their rites directed in this way. For people who wonder if the seasonal sabbats performed by witches and pagans have any effect on the world at large I have just given an example that is important for the future of the world economy and thus every one in general.
The third way that I see fertility as essential is literally related to ancestral practices and the ancestral rites. Many people think that there is no reason to perform rites to ensure the fertility of the land as so much of our food these days is processed or handed to us pre-made on a plate. In that way of thinking those people are right. However it negates one important thing. The one thing that with out which we could not survive.
So what is that one thing you ask?
That one essential thing is food. With out food we can not live. I will agree that most of our food is processed. I will agree that in general in the majority of the world as individuals we do not have to work the land for food, hunt or gather food or the like. In general we do not have to kill the animals we eat (unless we hunt or fish for fun). We can go to the supermarket or local store and buy our food all gathered and killed for us and all we need to do is cook it.
Taking all of that in to consideration it is so easy to see why people in general would not understand the need for the rites of the land to be honored. For many there is no consideration as to where the food comes from. It’s just there and always has been. Why think about it? It’ll be there for me all my life right? I just need to keep buying my food items and they will always be there. This is a way of thinking I was guilty of for many years, but as a witch and as a pagan seeking to understand the ancestral ways it is a wrong way of thinking. Why I shall explain.
If the lands are not fertile than the fruits and vegetables we eat along with the grains will not prosper. If the lands are not fertile than the animals that we eat and hunt will not be able to eat so they will die and there will be no meat. That is why I see the nature fertility rites to be as important today if not more so than they were in the past.
The fourth way I see fertility rites as found in the typical 8 sabbats of the wheel of the year as important in the lives of Pagans and witches (and this is one area I have been neglectful) is spiritual fertility. That’s right spiritual fertility. If a person is not open to the presence of the Gods and the mysteries experienced through performing the rites of their path and actually communicating with deity than they will get nothing out of the rites. That is spiritual fertility.
Spiritual fertility is being open to the experiences given to us by the Gods. Spiritual fertility is practicing and experiencing the mysteries. In many ways it is continuing to practice and do the work even if you don’t feel or seem to have any deep experiences at the moment. It means working to remove the rocks in the path and working hard to keep at your path. It’s not easy to be a Pagan.
When I say I have been neglectful in this area I mean it. Every post I have written comes from what my thoughts have gathered based on what makes sense to me after reading and finding my intuition. I have not been doing the prayers and rituals that I would like to. As such I have not opened myself to the mysteries and the Gods as much as I would like. My relationship with deities is not as strong as I would like.
This means I need to work on it. I am. I am working on it. I am going to be more mindful of the esbats and the sabbats. I am going to do more meditation again. I need to get back to my schedule where I did meditate and worship on regular basis. When I did that on a daily basis I was plowing my spiritual fields and the flowers and plants blossomed better than I ever imagined that they actually would. So that is why I can say from personal experience that plowing the spiritual fields with in us is full of work, but it is worth it.
Finally we get into the fifth and last reason why I see fertility as a central and important theme for seekers to consider. I wanted to save the sexual aspect for last as in many ways this is the most important. I didn’t want to start with it as I feel the other areas of fertility are as important to consider as this one. This one is actually why all the other areas are possible to be fertile,
The Great Rite is the most important rite found within witch and pagan rituals. This rite is where the Priest and Priestess are the embodiment the God and Goddess either physically or symbolically act out sexual intercourse or the ultimate act of creation. Through the act of sex a new being is created. That is why sexuality is sacred. That is why life is sacred.
With out the male and female parts of a species (plants are asexual, but do have a male and female component) there can be no reproduction. There can be no continuation of a species. The Great Rites acts out the cosmic sexual act of the God and Goddess which ultimately lead to the creation of the universe as we know it. Sex is sacred as it is the act of creation.
I mentioned that the second and third degrees of Wicca contain the actual act of sex. This is what I have been told by elders of Wicca. These are the initiation/elevation rites that make the initiates High Priests or Priestesses. The third degree is what allows an initiate to hive off and form their own coven. Second degree I have been told can allow the new high priest and or priestess to start teaching. Because it is at the level if being a High priestess where they actually become the God or Goddess in ritual this is why the Great Rite is fully enacted.
There you have it. I have explained what fertility is in my view. I have explained why it’s important and I have gone into the roles fertility has in our life. In many ways you could say that any nature religion should have an aspect of fertility in it, but fertility cults are not nature based. They may go hand in hand but they are not the same thing.
Fairy Tales and Folklore: How they work within a Modern Pagan path
Fairy Tales and Folk Lore
For many years my only sources for the mythology of witchcraft as a religion came from the typical Neo-Pagan Eclectic witchcraft books. I felt that they were lacking in many areas. For a time I thought I could force the myths of other deities into the 8 Sabbats I was following as a witch. While the practice worked for a while, it was unsatisfactory. I felt as if the Gods were hearing me, but were telling that there is more to do and elsewhere to look.
For a long time I had considered looking into fairy tales for the missing pieces of the mythology and lore I was looking for. At the time I was of the mindset that fairy tales were for children. After being exposed to the Disneyfied fairy tales for so long it seemed to me that the only reason an adult had to think about fairy tales was for their small children and not for fun.
A friend of mine told me that if I was interested in the path of Traditional witchcraft beyond what I had read in Artisson and other places I should look into fairy tales. He even gave me a few to look into. That was when I first started to consider it. yet at the time I still couldn’t figure out the connection myself. So I waited and the answer did come to me.
Ok. You may be thinking whats the connection? Witches in many fairy tales are nasty things. Why would looking into fairy tales and folklore be beneficial to a new witch or even an experienced witch?
The simple answer is that the lore found with in many folktales about elves and dwarves contain a lot of lore that is applicable to the understanding of the beings that traditional witches work with, as well as witches in general. Many ideas of the Witches Goddess can be found in folk lore and fairy tales. There are hints at what these beings are like, what the role of witches are and why witches do the things they do.
I have found that Robin Artisson’s The Withching Way of the Hollow Hill to be very useful in understanding the importance of reading folk lore and fairy tales. In Artisson’s other book The Horn of Evenwood he also continues to explore the importance of folk lore and fairy tales as sources of a witches knowledge and wisdom. HedgeRiderby Eric De Vres is also another book that goes into details about the importance of fairy tales and folklore.
Those were the Pagan author who have helped me to see the importance of fairy tales and folklore. Last semester in school I took a local inspired fairy tale and folklore class (New England Folklore and Mythology). That class has inspired me to learn more about folklore. I became adept at analyzing and studying folklore for any of the possible myths and fairy tales I have read over the years. This had confirmed my position on continuing the path of a philosopher, folklorist, and anthropologist.
While I am still sorting through and coming to my own analysis of various tales and folklore that I will eventually pass on to my own students, I have started to gain a deeper understanding of the path of the witch and the various roles we have had over the years.
Ok. So what does folklore entail?
Folklore contains local legends and superstitions. I can be simple things that people grow up doing because every one does it in an area but doesn’t know why. It can be legends of people that lived there who were either detested or respected. They can be practices and customs. Folklore comes in many forms.
Many people wouldn’t consider the witch trials to be a source of lore and wisdom for witches. This is actually quite far from the truth. While I have not read many of the transcripts of the witch trials, I have learned much from books which have cited trials as sources for lore and practices. While that was a dark time for witches (and most if not all of the people accused were not witches at all) and the craft, it still has rich history and events that can become a part of witch lore.
Fairy tales by their very nature are magical and thus hold keys to the mysteries of the magic out there. They provide clues to how the magic was worked and those who ruled magic. There were only a few of the adults that ever remembered their entrances into the fairyland, and these became the magicians/witches and the storytellers.
So, I see how they can be useful. What sorts of fairy tales should we be looking into?
That depends on what cultural background you are coming from. Strega witches will use Italian folklore, fairy tales, and mythology to form the basis of their practices. If you are practicing a Celtic form of Witchcraft you would work with that mythology, fairy tales, and folklore setting. If you are an eclectic witch you would work with which ever cultures you chose to work with. I myself use the Germanic fairy tales and folklore most because that is my ancestry, and those have been the tales which have given me the most insight into my own beliefs and practices.
While you should start with a specific culture in mind, that doesn’t mean it should be your only source of information. I also use English fairy tales and folklore. I also find inspiration in rewritten fairy tales and folklore such as the tale of bearskin. I just said you should have a single culture as a starting point.
I have covered why I read and adapt folklore to my path. As for when I first started to use and truly understand the role of folklore and practices in my own path, that is harder to pinpoint. I think it’s started to happen slowly over time since I took that folklore class and started to look at fairy tales in a new light. Still there is much more for me to learn and explore.
There are many great books out there. I suggest starting with Grimms Fairy tales as they are the most well known. It is in the unknown fairy tales found within those books that you might find the most interest in. Once you have done that you can start looking at any fairy tales from any culture. They may still provide you insight.
For moral and ethical tales Aesop’s fables are an excellent source of ethics and morals or important lessons that should be learned. In many ways the very first stories that children are exposed to such as fairy godmothers, and the like will come back to be the source for hidden wisdom and insight found within those tales.
While they may be dark, you should still read them. Darkness and depression are simply parts of life. In many cases in the darker tales the more important lessons are learned. It is not a requirement, but again simply advice. After all life is not all roses and sunshine. Life is confusing and painful. The fairy tales that include those aspects of human life are just as important as the ones that focus on intense happiness and joy.
Mystic Echoes 