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There are more creation myths amongst our world's many cultures than there are any other type of story. These myths are not meant to be taken literally, but they hold the basic profound truths held by each society. These myths are many and varied, but they all tell of how the world as we know it came to be.
Science is a fairly new concept. It has been around for as long as we have, but as with a lot of things, has only been labelled as separate and distinct in the last few hundred years. In fact, before the seventeenth century, the words "science" and "philosophy" were pretty much used interchangeably, modern day science having been born from the realm of ancient philosophy. Philosophy being the use of reason to explain general and fundamental problems.
Creation myths were one method of explaining how the world came to be, how a culture and it's associated deities came to be, without having to know the actual scientific mechanics of the process. They are meant as metaphore, a symbolic story that speaks directly with the sunconscious, with imagery to capture the imagination of our waking minds. A culture's creation myth will reflect their knowledge of the world, and their observations of their part to play within it.
The most famous creation myth of our western civilisation is that of Genesis - where God took six days to create the heavens and earth, to populate it, and to have enough spare time at the end of the project to sit back and relax. This is one popular mechanism of a creation myth, in that a Supreme Being actively moulds the world we live on, and places humankind at the pinnacle of their creation.
Many myths will contain a birth of some kind, whether of the world, or of a new generation of deities, more closely resembling human-kind who then go on to form the world and it's inhabitants. There can be one Supreme Being, two, or even more. The more "advanced" the culture, the more complex become their pantheons.
Some myths have divinity coming to an already existant but barren world. For example, one that is covered in water, and which the land is brought up from the bottom of the sea and then populated. Or, as with an Australian myth, the Mother-creation goddess coming down to a bare earth and giving form to plants, animals and humans.
The creation myths often attempt to explain the origins of the Sun and the Moon, day and night. Many will also explain a "fall from grace" of the peoples, acknowledging the imperfect nature of humanity.
I recently had cause to write a creation myth of my own. In fact I wrote two! I wanted to write a myth that would work with the state of modern scientific thinking, being compatible with the theories of quantum physics and the theories as to the evolution of the Universe until present day. A myth that mixed science with spirituality.
My other myth I wrote from the perspective of an ancient ancestor. No specified historical period nor culture, but one that was completely remote from a scientific background. One that attempted to explain the origins of the known world. I never thought that I could ever write a credible creation myth, would ever need a creation myth - I have science (and magick is definitely a science) but creation myths? They were for those less advanced or ancient cultures...weren't they?
Love and hugs
Blaiddwolf
Origin: http://wiccancommunity.blogspot.com
Eleven Spiritual Laws of Wicca
* Witches know that no truths are absolute. There is no one absolute way to interpret reality, to behave, or to live. There is no single correct way to follow the Pagan/Wiccan religion, pray, celebrate the sacred days, or reach our peak of spirituality.
* Witches understand that the Universe consists of perfect balance. Everything has an opposite that is not necessarily equal to negativity.
* Witches realize that for every action there is an equal reaction. This is the Law of Karma, or the Three-fold Law of Return.
* Witches know that we are all one. We are all connected in a spiritual way. Everything we do influences ourselves as well as others.
* Witches understand that the Ultimate Act of Spirituality is the act of positive creation through love. We should therefore attempt to concentrate our energies on positive creativity. This is our primary mission, our most important foundation during our spiritual Pagan/Wiccan journey.
* Witches realize that the energy created through worship and ritual manifests as a circular stream of positive energy. What we give to the Spirit will return to us.
* Witches should never close themselves to knowledge, because it is through the continuous process of learning and teaching that we raise our personal vibrations.
* Witches use the magick circle as a physical/non-physical representation of a church/temple on the Earth Plane, and must purify themselves mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually before casting and/or entering the circle. The magick circle is considered a sacred and holy place for the Witch, and arguments, hatred, evil, anger, and all other forms of negativity of any kind are FORBIDDEN within it, because these negative energies will corrupt the positive energies that the Witch/Witches are working to acheive.
* Witches use the energies around them to assist them in raising power. These energies are manifested in the five pentagonal elements-Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit, and Witches also raise their own energies to Spirit, so that their bodies become conduits for divine and Earthly energies now used to manifest their needs and desires. The greatest energy manifests as love.
* Witches use common sense and do not share their mysteries with fools or with those who misunderstand the Pagan/Wiccan religion.
* Witches do not point out the identities of other Witches to the general public, as discrimination still haunts many of our brothers and sisters.
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Origin: http://animals-and-shamanism.blogspot.com
One of the most popular parts of Halloween is the costumes. Dressing up as a sexy maid or a horrible zombie is the Hallmark of our modern Holiday celebration. But as Halloween creeps up on us, I always think it is fun to think back to where this tradition came from. It is good to know why we dress up on Halloween. Halloween's history is most commonly traced back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. During Samhain, the Celts believed that the divider between this world and the next became thin. This thinning allowed both malevolent and benevolent spirits to cross over to our world. This naturally caused a good deal of fear and anxiety for the ancient Celts. While family ghosts were welcomed, bad spirits had to be scared off. Celts used bonfires to drive evil spirits off. They also used apotropaic devices to scare off bad spirits.
Apotropaic literally means to ward off evil but apotopaic devices are often devices that are so terrifying that they scare away evil. My favorite examples of apotropaic devices are the gargoyles and terrible monsters that line the outside and insides of medieval cathedrals in Europe. The most holy places in the medieval world were lined with horrifying demons and monsters that are often depicted devouring people and animals. These horrors were so terrible that medieval people thought that even evil spirits would be frightened off.
Costumes were used as both apotropaic devices and disguises to confuse the spirits. In Scotland, young men pretended to be dead by blackening their faces. These costumes evolved over the years and were eventually used in the late medieval practice of souling when poor people would go door to door asking for food. This practice eventually evolved into costumed trick or treating. So as you plan your costume this year remember that it should not only be interesting, but it should scare off evil spirits as well!
Origin: http://33witches.blogspot.com
Current Ufo Sightings Witchcraft are a kind of belief that the use of spells and rituals to bring good to others actions. In fact, we believe that all beings are sacred and must be respected. Therefore, it am reasonable that the witch are inherently good. Conviction are a spell for the greater good am the point of this religion. In the first centuries around the world, casting, witchcraft and magic is not entirely welcome witches, demons, possession of, RECALLS the dead, and strange rituals. There are a number of propaganda for the witch hunt launched to try to burn witches during the first centuries.
Black Magic is a term used to attach the evil Dark Witch Craft. It is believed to be a collection of spells that can hurt other people. Some of these spells are specifically designed to hurt other people. Others are only white magic has gone wrong. The general rule of witchcraft is karma. Whatever you send back to you time twice. Tham am especially true if it are negative energy that you send.
The witch can not understand that he am doing black magic. The intention are always good, but the implementation of ritual magic, or perhaps to understand the witch, and can not go wrong. It am not in the nature of witchcraft to manage their own or in any manner, either negatively with another person, because it am strictly forbidden Book of Shadows.
Cast a spell, it does not really join the Dark Witch Craft, because the only purpose that you should think about are to do good to others and yourself. To carry out the ritual, you must have a solid goal in mind. Stay away from negativity, make it clear the mind so that you can set a goal and achieve it. The process should look like a ritual, and objectives should be focused on your intentions.
Another thing you should remember to do the ritual are that he is skilled enough to do so. Witchcraft am not easy, even a small error can not go wrong. Therefore, the practice and self control should not need to be willing to do the ritual. Periods of learning should not be taken lightly, can lead to a bad end. For those who want to learn, there are several Spells Spells spell Spells can be cast for all purposes (magic love spells, money spells, Magic Love Spells Magic and love spells, money spells, magic spells, Sex, Magic Binding Spells, magic red spells, incantations d voodoo love. Sex spell.) Are very important the real magic. Periods of love love spells, easy love spells Casting, so now for love or money spells, or spells, success is yours. Remember to always be used to help white magic love spells to cast.
The songs, drinking rituals and recipes are important spells. Spells (love spells) spells such as love spells are mainly made of. Periods of love love spells, and attraction, love spells to bind to each other, and love spells to get back lost love. a common power spells, also called the good spells. Magic love spells, powerful love spells or magic incense sticks are made of extremely strong. to find the real magic spells (Spells Real Magic) Therefore, to search for magic formulas and spells a real true love ends. Remember to cast spells and magic spells to help the Egyptians are dark should be avoided. Bringing the love spells, combining lovers spells, love spells to attract, attracting lovers spells available.
Spells and Magic Protection Spells protection. and in particular the protection of Black magic spells are possible through spells, White Power, or white magic healing spells (healing spells). Spells whites are superior and can destroy any form or evil spells or curses in particular, Black Magic or black magic or witchcraft. Healing spells can be done to heal all kinds of dameases.
Talismans, magical or mystical or magical talaremans magic talareman. Love talismans, talaremans Money, Success talaremans, Talisman attraction. and all uses magical talaremans are some common magical powerful talismans or charms (spells). Magic talammans amulets money, love, magic and love. Voodoo Charm talammans also known as a scarf as amulet talismans can do wonders, and miracles.
Magical charm Magic Charms Charms like Love, Money Charms, Good Luck Charms. like talammans worn around the neck. Love Charms, talammans love spells can be used.
Magick spells, magic spells spells, magic love spells, black magic spells, dark magic spells white magic spells, witchcraft, spells, magic spells and talaremans are called Egyptian magic, too.
Spell casting spells (spells). Love spells, money spells, magic spell of love spells and money spells success spells, fertility spells are very common. Also fertility spells are also asked, if you need information about the spells or rituals to break the spells you can always email me.
Witchcraft and spell casting. Wicca Spells, Wiccan spells, Wicca spells and Magic Witch Craft Wicca Spells, Wiccan love spells (love spells, Wicca). Witch magic and spells, also a New Age Supplies Shop available. Here you will find the witch craft spells, witchcraft spells charms, witch craft love spells, Wicca spells, Wicca spells, occult spells, spells to banareh the occult and
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I see the God as That is Created and Destroyed; the Goddess is the Creator and the Destroyer. His knowledge is experiential and he sees the cycle of rebirth from the unique perspective of the being that experiences it. He understands, more so than the Goddess, how the cycle shapes the world of the living.
His life cycle of birth to full power to age to death to rebirth parallels our own lives on this earth. The Goddess loves Her children, the God understands His. Through the love they bear for each other, they share in both the knowledge of the mystery of rebirth and in the power, but the knowledge remains His province and the power rests in Her.
Reference: http://witchcraftforall.blogspot.com
Arts of the Night invites the reader into a history of the practices of witchcraft by focusing on Mesopotamia as the possible cradle for the arts and crafts popularly assigned to what we name as 'witches'. In this book it is suggested that witchcraft is a poetic reality that pertains to humankind at large. The work had as its working premise the six volumes of 'Magic and Witchcraft in Europe' edited by Ankarloo and Clark (published by Penn State University Press) but grew soon enough out from this framework. It is my hope that by tracing the history of witchcraft from Mesopotamia and to modern days to provide a greater sensitivity for what the Craft might be by presenting the various practices and philosophies that molded the wise Arts. It is my hope that this tome will heighten the awareness of the Wise Arts being originally a traditional vestige of the great mysteries. In our corrupted world, marked by all forms of traditional deviations, I present this work in the hope that it can aid a little bit to restoring the Craft to its rightful place and order.
The book can be ordered here.
Source: http://paganism-new-age.blogspot.com
Raven Grimassi
Llewellyn Publications; 1st edition (September 8, 2002)
So you are into Wicca and you really want to do magick. Well then this is your book. This book tells you the internal dynamics of doing magic. Now this is no Wicca 101 fluff stuff, in fact for a beginner and maybe even an intermediate this book can get a bit over your head. Good thing this book came about as all serious Wiccans know there is more to magic than just lighting candle, casting circles and chanting a few words.
The author, Raven Gimassi, first discusses the origins and the beginning of Wicca. This ancient new religion arose out of the roots of a Fertility cult that centered around the Goddess and God.The ancient mysteries of this cult precede christianity and are the very roots of Modern Wicca. The Ancients perceived a general cycle of birth, growth, death and rebirth. It was a repeating cycle in all forms of life and in the world itself. The ancients had Sabbats or celebrations to get into tune with this flow. Along with this they also observed certain technique to help them get from the deities what they so desired. Natural objects like herbs, stones and colors became associated with desired effects. this would develop into a list of magical charms.
Coming into tune with nature's vibration was the cycle of the slain God. It was believed that he did not die but rather that his body died and they he kept on coming back. Tree worship was also very widespread in Ancient Europe.The slain God used to be a sacrifice offered to the ground to help keep it fertile. Eventually this would grow out of practice and people graduated to animals and finally to herbs and plants. The person representing the slain god were believable to have been descended from the Horned God himself and people would eat off flesh to keep a part of him within them. This of course is no longer practiced but the cakes and wine are sometimes symbolic there of. Also partaaking off the flesh gave the person who ate the flesh the magical powers of the slain god. The mother goddess was associated with the moon. her phases were phases of the women. Going through youth, motherhood and then old age only to renew herself. Being such as Faieries and nymphs are inner forces that vitalize nature. To learn from nature and her patterns was considered a way to study divinity as nature or creation was a reflection of the creator.
The book does discuss folk magic and the use of herbs. However, our view of folk magick is rather incomplete. herbs were not magick in and of themselves. There were special techniques required in both their harvesting and growing in order to make them magical. Most of the secrets are lost.Most Pagans who practiced were poor folks and did not use such tools and the sword, pentacle,chalice and wand. These were taken from the Tarot cards and ceremonial magick. They represent the weapon off the knight. It should be noted that magic was not always considered taboo but back in the 15th century many philosophers and even Christians defended it.
According to Wiccan philosophy there are three realms of existence that someone practicing magic must be in tune with. The Astral Realm,elemental realm and the physical realm. When a Magical person wishes to effect change they first place and image into the astral realm and that image gets bathed in Astral light. later on the image descends into the elemental realm where the elements of Fire, air, earth and water give it their energy.Finally it comes to the physical realm. The author also goes on to discuss various energies both internal and external, feminine and masculine. This book discusses sigilization, energy work symbology and circle casting.
Raven has written an excellent book on a very difficult subject to comprehend. no summary ccould do this book the justice that it deserves. If you are serious about magic then go out and by the book. Mind you this is no spell book in it you will not find any spells but it will teach you how to cast them effectively with good solid techniques. The only draw back to this great work is that the author repeated himself several times. I would give this book 4.5 stars out of 5Enjoy the blog
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Necromancy (Latin necromantia, Greek nekromant'ia) is a form of divination in which the practitioner seeks to summon the spirits of the dead in order to gain knowledge of future events from them. These spirits are called Operative Spirits and Spirits of Divination. The word derives from the Greek nekr'os "dead" and mante'ia "divination".
NECROMANCY IN HISTORY
Necromancy most likely has a relation to shamanism, which calls upon spirits such as the ghosts of ancestors.
The historian Strabo (Strabo, xvi. 2, 39, ) refers to necromancy as the principal form of divination amongst the people of Persia; and it is believed to also have been widespread amongst the peoples of Chaldea (particularly amongst the Sabians or star-worshippers), Etruria and Babylonia. The Babylonian necromancers themselves were called Manzazuu or Sha'etemmu and the spirits they raised were called Etemmu.
In the Odyssey (XI, Nekyia), Odysseus makes a voyage to Hades, the Underworld, and raises the spirits of the dead using spells which he had learnt from Circe (Ruickbie, 2004:24). His intention was to invoke the shade of Tiresias, but he was unable to summon it without the assistance of others.
There are also many references to necromancy in the Bible. The Book of Deuteronomy (XVIII 9-12) explicitly warns the Israelites against the Canaanite practice of divination from the dead. This warning was not always heeded: King Saul asked the Witch of Endor to invoke the shade of Samuel, for example.
Norse mythology also contains examples of necromancy (Ruickbie, 2004:48), such as the scene in the V"olusp'a in which Odin summons a seeress from the dead to tell him of the future. In Grogaldr, the first part of Svipdagsm'al, the hero Svipdag summons his dead V"olva mother, Groa, to cast spells for him.
The 17th century Rosicrucian Robert Fludd describes Goetic necromancy as consisting of "diabolical commerce with unclean spirits, in rites of criminal curiosity, in illicit songs and invocations and in the evocation of the souls of the dead".
Modern s'eances, channeling and Spiritualism verge on necromancy when the invoked spirits are asked to reveal future events.
Necromancy may also be dressed up as sciomancy, a branch of theurgic magic.
Necromancy is extensively practised in voodoo.
SPREAD OF NECROMANCY
In the middle ages the literate members of society were either the Nobility or Christian clergy. Either of these groups may have been responsible for the propagation and ongoing practice of necromancy, even though it is forbidden in Christianity. It is apparent that necromancy was not a method of witchcraft. It may have been only available to the scholarly of Europe, because of the accessibility, language, knowledge and methods it employs. There are a few confessions of some Nobles or Clergy members professing a history of experience with necromancy, although these may well have been obtained under duress (cf. the Salem Witch Trials). Some suggest that Necromancy could have became a way for idle literate Europeans to integrate Hebrew and Arabic legend and language into forbidden manuals of sorcery.
The possibility exists that literate Europeans were the main forces simultaneously practicing and condemning necromancy. The language, execution and format of the rituals illustrated in the Munich Handbook (Kieckhefer 42-51) are strikingly similar to Christian rites. In a Christian exorcism, various demons and spirits are driven away by name, in the name of God, Jesus or the Holy Spirit. The spells of necromancy are very similar to these Christian rites (Kieckhefer 128-129) in their complete opposition. The distortion of the rites into spells is within the scope of Christian understanding at that time. Necromantic spells were mainly illusory or utility spells. Modern scholarship suggests that most were written with hopes that their utility would prove to be useful in acquiring a feast, horse, cloak of invisibility or perhaps just notoriety among others in the necromancy practicing clergy. The nature of these spells lend themselves to being understood as underground clergy members deviantly indulging in unlawful pleasures.
The rare confessions of those accused of Necromancy suggest that there was a range of spell casting and the
The probable reason that these renegade so-called Necromancers were dabbling in the dark arts is that the evolution of "natural" magic and "spiritual" magic was slow. Caesarius of Arles (Kors and Peters, 48) entreats his audience to put no stock in any demons, or "Gods" other than the one true Christian God, even if the working of spells appears to provide benefit. He states that demons only act with divine permission, and permitted by God to test Christian people. Caesarius does not condemn man here; he only states that the art of necromancy exists, although it is prohibited by the bible. Within the Rawlinson necromantic manuscript, a fable is presented as a warning to those that would perform necromancy, although the story ends with a note of physical trial, but without mention of the ramifications in the afterlife.
In the wake of these inconsistencies of judgment, necromancers, sorcerers and witches were able to utilize spells with holy names with impunity, as biblical references in such rituals could be construed as prayers as opposed to spells. As a result, the necromancy discussed in the Munich Manual is an evolution of these understandings. It has even been suggested that the authors of the Munich Manual knowingly designed this book to be in discord with understood ecclesiastical law.
It is possible to trace Christian ritual and prayer and its subsequent mutant forms of utility and healing prayer/spells to full-blown necromancy. The main recipe employed throughout the manual in the necromancy sorcery uses the same vocabulary and structure utilizing the same languages, sections, names of power alongside demonic names. The understanding of the names of God from apocryphal texts and the Hebrew torah demand that the author of such rites have at least a casual familiarity of these texts. The structure of the spells themselves also requires that the author have experience with Christian rites that are not pedestrian, again suggesting either the Nobility or Christian scholars as possible suspects.
As we have suggested that alleged Christians might have been the authors of the sundry necromancy manuals, the question of their inspirations must arise. One of the first clues could be the Gods and demons references in the illusions, conjurations and spells. The Hebrew Tetragrammaton and various Hebrew derivatives are found, as well as Hebrew and Greek liturgical formulas (Kieckhefer, 139). Within the tales
As the source material for these manuals is apparently derived from scholarly magical and religious texts from a variety of sources in many languages, it is easy to conclude that the scholars that studied these texts manufactured their own aggregate sourcebook and manual with which to work spells or magic.
It is important to note that necromancy is separated by a thin line from demonology and conjuration. Necromancy is communing with the spirits of the dead, rather than the evil spirits of conjuration and demonology.
Although it may be said that necromancy is the divination of the future, that may have been the view of only a handful of people. A necromancer could also use his powers to trap the spirits of the dead on the earth, thereby increasing his own powers over the craft. Also, based on how much of knowledge the necromancer had, he could accordingly summon or reanimate dead creatures and control them to do his bidding.
True necromancy, or what I prefer to call Necromantic Practice can only be achieved when all elements of fear are eradicated. Necromantic Practice does not involve dominance and servitude. In other words, the spirits of the dead, or of Death Itself, are not at the magician's beck and call, nor will they, nor "He" do your "bidding". It is only the arrogant soul that believes this. One cannot "conjure" nor "command" spirits.
DA VINCI
In the The Note
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Since witchcraft is considered a religion of nature, the first step on how to learn witchcraft is to learn the religion itself. This will help you understand the basic dogma and beliefs of this religious practice.
What comes next is to examine the magic of witchcraft. When exploring the magic, you need to understand fully the key principles of casting circles, invoking God and goddesses, raising the energies, and finally closing the circle.
Everyone can actually become a traditional witch for as long as you have an interest in finding a nature-based spirituality, studying magic and magical techniques, and practicing magical skills to achieve mastery.
To increase your focus and concentration, you have to perform some visualization and meditation exercises. Other important things that you should know on how to learn witchcraft include learning to gain strength from the sun, moon, stars, and the earth and to be calm and quiet when hearing the voice of God/goddesses.
You can start your basic spell with you own moon ritual. You do not really have to follow the rituals you read on the
If you want to know more on how to learn witchcraft, you should also learn about the book of shadows. It can be any book or notebook where you keep all the information you learned about witchcraft. It is where you put the answers to all the questions on the practice of witchcraft, herbal information, magic spells and even the history of witchcraft. It has been said that the Book of Shadows has more power when written by hand. But nowadays, some Wiccans or witches have a so-called "Disc of Shadows."
Another tip on how to learn witchcraft is to read all the available resources you can have to know more about the practice. When it comes to rituals, you have to design on your own to make it more meaningful for you. In a dedication ritual, you have to dedicate yourself to the craft and decide to live in closer harmony with the earth and nature. In this ritual, you make a commitment not just to yourself, but to the Divine as well.
Moreover, before working with magic and spells, be sure to understand first what are they, where they come from and what are the ethics involved.
You can also gain more help and guidance about witchcraft from seasoned witches. You can actually get more information on many available web resources about the practice of witchcraft.
Carolyn Anderson is fascinated by magic and witchcraft and would like to share some great resources that you might be interested in. To learn the secrets of witchcraft, check out Witchcrafts Greatest Secrets. Also check out Power Of Conversational Hypnosis, a great tool to learn conversational hypnosis and influence people.
Source:: http://modern-wiccan.blogspot.com
Cliched as it may sound, the wand is one of the most popular magical tools in Wicca, as well as in some Ceremonial Magic traditions. It has a number of magical purposes. A wand is used for the directing of energy during a ritual. Because it's a phallic symbol it is used to represent male energy, power, and virility. Representative of the element of Air (although in a few traditions it symbolizes Fire), the wand can be used to consecrate a sacred space, or invoke deity.
A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, stone, ivory, or metal. Generally, in modern language, wands are ceremonial and/or have associations with magic but there have been other uses, all stemming from the original meaning as a synonym of rod and virge, both of which had a similar development.
The Great Book of Saint Cyprian gives step-by-step instructions on how to make a magic wand.
In Pharaonic Egypt, toilette articles, weapons against possible enemies, amulets against serpents, were also left in the tomb, together with magic Texts and a magic wand which enabled the ka (soul) to use them. The rod of Moses was a hazel wand (Genesis 30:37) as depicted in catacomb frescoes of the third and fourth centuries.
In classical Greco-Roman mythology, the god Hermes/Mercury has a special wand called a caduceus.
Six to eight foot long staves with metal tips adorning them are carried traditionally in Freemasonry during rituals of the Craft. Ceremonial uses may have several wands for different purposes, such as the Fire Wand and the Lotus Wand in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. In Zoroastrianism, there is a similar ritual implement called a barsom. In wicca and Ceremonial magic, practitioners use several magical tools including wands for the channeling of energy-they serve a similar purpose to the athame although the two have their distinct uses. While an athame is generally used to command, a wand is seen as more gentle and is used to invite or encourage. Though traditionally made of wood, they can also consist of metal or crystal. Practitioners usually prune a branch from an Oak, Hazel, or other tree, or may even buy wood from a hardware store, and then carve it and add decorations to personalize it; however, one can also purchase ready-made wands. In Wicca the wand usually represents the element air, or sometimes fire, although contemporary wand makers also create wands for the elements of earth and water as well. The wand is most often used by modern Pagans, witches, Shamans and others in rituals, healing and spell casting.
There is some scholarly opinion that the magic wand may have its roots as a symbol of the phallus. It may also have originated as the drumming stick of a shaman, especially in Central Asia and Siberia, as when using it to bang on his drum or point, to perform religious, healing, and magical ceremonies.
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Pow Wow magick sometimes called Hex magick was primarily practiced in the state of Pennsylvania. It was a combination of Norse magickal practices, Christianity and Native American magickal practice. The state of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn, a member of Britain's upper class. His father was a judge. William was a rather free thinker who believed in the rights of women and the right to choose your spiritual practices. He was rather outspoken about these beliefs and his father worried that could cause lots of problems, these were the times that anyone who disagreed with the church could be tried for witchcraft and burned at the stake. Eventually Great Britain gave him a tract of land as one of the colonies. He did so and it was one of the colonies that granted lots of religious freedom.
This was a boon for Europeans who engaged in magickal practices. Many of the colonist who came to settle in Pennsylvania hailed from the black Forest which the Rhine River flowed through. There were two groups of Germans who settled there. THe first group were protestants who tended to be simple austere people. The second group were German Catholics who tended to be wealthier and more colorful.
Pow Wow practitioners tended to be a quiet lot of people who did not want their practices to be associated with Witchcraft or magick. They tended to use herbs and chants for healing people. They also had spells to catch criminals, stop fires and wild dogs. Very rarely did they have practices pertaining to obtaining love or money.
Silver Ravenwolf has written a great book about this dying art of Magick. Herself a Wiccan she does note that there are differences between the two magickal systems. The Pow Wow being relatively inexpensive in terms of gathering material. While Pow Wow has been primarily Christian in it's outward orientation she has reworked some of the chants to a Wiccan perspective which is just as effective. Some may like this and some may not. Then again what magick is totally pure. They all have borrowed from others.
Pennsylvania was home to a variety of practioners. Some people practiced European Ceremonial Magick while others were Mason or British witches. There were also Rosicurians in Penn state as well. They all had to have had an influence on each other, Some Pow Wow practitioners communicated with these Ceremonial magicians via letter writing.
I originally got this book from the library but I was so impressed with it that I went ahead and ordered a used copy from Amazon.com. The book is out of print but if you are a beginner in magick this book is an excellent starting point.Enjoy the blog
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IF YOU MAY FEEL THAT YOUR HOUSE HAS COME UNDER THE ATTACK OF EVIL POWERS, BLACKMAGIC SPELLS, WITCHRAFT ETC THEN THIS POWER IS VERY STRONG AND WILL DESTROY ALL EVIL AFFECTS THAT ARE IN YOUR HOUSE SOME TIMES YOU WILL NOTICE THAT YOUR HOUSE IS HAUNTED, YOU MAY HEAR STRANGE NOISES LIKE PEOPLE TALKING OR EVEN LAUGHING AND THIS CAN BE VERY SCARY, SOME TIMES EVIL SPIRITS GET SETTLED IN THE HOUSE AND IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THEM TO GO ONCE THEY HAVE CAPTURED THE HOUSE, THIS HAPPENS ALSO IF SOME ENEMY HAS CASTED ANY SPELL ON YOUR HOUSE AND ONCE THEY ENTER YOUR HOUSE THEY BRING BAD LUCK AND NEGATIVE ENERGIES WITH THEM AND AS A RESULT OF ALL THIS ONCE YOUR HOUSE THAT WAS HEAVEN FOR YOU TURNS OUT TO BE WORSE THEN HELL. BUT THERE IS NOTHING TO BE WORRIED, AS ALL THESE EVIL AFFECTS CAN BE DESTROYED FOREVER YOU WILL HAVE TO USE THESE 2 POWERS TO DRIVE AWAY ALL THESE WICKED FORCES
a) A special prayer that you will have to frame and hang in your house b) 40 special incense sticks that you will have to burn and give the smoke to your full house
GO TO THIS SITE
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HOW TO USE ANCIENT EGYPT MAGIC AMULETS PART 6/7
NECKLACE FROM A BURIAL AT HU, C. 2000-1800 BC. AMONG THE AMETHYST AND CARNELIAN BEADS ARE SEVERAL AMULETS, INCLUDING TWO SMALL HIPPOPOTAMUS HEADS INFELSPAR AND A CARNELIAN SNAKE'S HEAD PENDANT.
The amulet may be linked to menstrual blood and its place in the creation of human life. Spell mentions the power of the blood of Isis, but promises general protection for the deceased. The spell is to be said over a red jasper tyet amulet anointed with the sap of a particular herb, strung on a pith cord, and placed at the throat of the deceased. The magic of Isis will then protect his limbs and the ways through the underworld will be open to him. The text ends with a warning that the spell should be kept secret and a promise that it really works. Such endorsements are common in the magico-medical papyri.
Spell, for protecting the deceased in the bark of the sun god, claims to be a very secret text originally written by Thoth for Osiris. This text, which may have been adapted from a temple ritual, was to be copied in ink made from myrrh and burned tamarisk onto a strip of the finest linen. This was to be placed as an amulet at the throat of the deceased. Written amulets have occasionally been discovered on mummies dating from the first millennium BC. A scrap of papyrus inscribed with a spell from The Book of the Dead was found at the throat of a High Priest of Amun buried at Thebes.
The use of divine decrees as amulets is peculiar to the late second/early first millennia BC. These decrees were issued in the name of deities who gave oracles When a child was born, a god or goddess might be asked to declare its fate in life. The result was recorded in writing. The papyrus was rolled up and placed in an amulet case or bag to be worn by the recipient. The children named in the decrees are more often female than male, which fits the general pattern of woman needing amulets more than men.The surviving divine decrees are all similar in wording and uniformly favourable.The child is promised long life, good health and ample possessions. Such things might be requested of a god in any religious text, but the amuletic decrees also portray the dark and dangerous aspects of the Egyptian pantheon. They promise to protect the child against harmful manifestations of deities such as Isis and Thoth, as well as against demons, foreign sorcerers and the Evil Eye. Particularly dreaded were Sekhmet and her son Nefertem. The amuletic decrees claimed to be able help their owners to cheat fate. Any divine messengers coming to kill or injure the owner of the amulet would be persuaded or tricked into attacking a substitute.Among the favours promised by the divine oracles is the provision of sa amulets. One decree for a boy from the Memphis area promises an amulet to protect his body on any kind of journey. Another decree, probably from Thebes, promises a girl sa amulets for her physical protection. Amulets could probably be bought from temple workshops and blessed by the gods to charge them with divine heka.
An Instruction Text of the late first millennium BC (Papyrus Insinger) avers that amulets and spells only work through the hidden power of god acting in the world.
Figures of deities, divine symbols and objects used in temple rituals dominate the amulets of the later first millennium BC The bizarre composite deities illustrated in magical papyri also occur in the form of faience amulets. Some amulets, particularly those with feline elements, seem to have been given as New Year gifts. Charming faience cats and kittens evoke Bastet as the bestower of fertility The popularity of other feline amulets, such as figures of the lioness- headed goddess Sekhmet, was probably linked to an increasing fear of the 'Demon Days' and 'The It is not always easy to deduce the specific use of an amulet in magic.Lions have no connection in myth or reality with killing snakes, yet a first millennium BC spell to close the mouths of snakes is to be said over a faience lion threaded on red linen. This amulet was to be applied to a man's hand and served as a protection for his bedroom. The strength and ferocity of the lion made it a general symbol of protective power which might be used in a variety of specific ways.Amulets played an increasing role in funerary religion during the first millennium BC;. Decorated tombs were rare for much of this period, but elite burials had elaborate coffins and large numbers of specially-made amulets. These amulet sets carried out many of the functions of grave goods.
Reference: http://ceremonial-magic.blogspot.com
"One more...Its been suggested by Nick Farrel that the LBRP is overused and the LIRP is preferred. he says, essentially that the LBRP cleans too well and defeats the purpose of any personal work you do. I feel the LBRP seals in the work. Thoughts?" asked by DeusLux
I got this question just today. The questioner had sent an earlier question that was frankly out of my league, since it was a very technical question about Enochian Magick, which is not a subject that I consider myself an expert. I have sent off that first question to a couple of experts, so we'll see if they respond, otherwise I will have to demure on that question.
Anyway, the question is about the use of the LBRP, or the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram. First off, I don't even use this ritual, or its companion, the LIRP (Lesser Invoking Ritual of the Pentagram), and haven't for a few decades. Why is that? Because as a witch, I incorporate a magick circle into every magickal working that I do within a temple. If I consecrate, set and charge a magick circle with the four wards covering the four cardinal directions, that would seem to do pretty much the same thing that the combination of the LBRP and LIRP would do. Not only that, but in some of the circle consecration rites that I use, the circle also gets squared, and the wards are always set with invoking pentagrams of the four elements. Typically, when a ritual working is completed, then the results of the working are banished by doing what is basically a reverse circle setting, particularly drawing banishing element pentagrams to the four wards. So that pretty much covers why I don't use the LBRP or LIRP. They are redundant and it might also undo what the circle consecration rite is supposed to do.
Then there is the matter of managing a vortex energy structure, which is used extensively and often in nearly all of my workings. A vortex can't be banished, only overlaid, so the LBRP is essentially completely useless when a vortex is deployed. A vortex is erected or unsealed when it needs to be used, and then sealed when it is no longer needed - no banishing is ever performed.
Remember that a ritual magician performs magick using the methodology of immersion. A magick circle is integral to establishing an enclosed focus where the power is raised and spirits are invoked. There is no barrier between the ritual magician and whatever is generated or invoked in a ritual working. How the ritual magician insulates herself from any backlash, contagion or a bleeding link is that she has assumed her personal godhead as part of the preparation of the working. As a representative of the Godhead, she is completely protected, since the powers or linkages would have to travel far up the levels of conscious being to affect her. It is more likely that such energies or occurrences will just find a common ground and harmlessly dissipate rather than harm the magician. The godhead assumption also insulates the ritual magician from all spiritual invocations, whether theurgic or evocative.
A Golden Dawn magician does not work within a magick circle unless a goetic evocation is going to be performed, otherwise, either a temple space or even one's living space will suffice for the kind of work that such a magician would wrought. So the LBRP and the LIRP become quite important in such a working where there is no magick circle or any kind of circle consecration rite is performed. The LBRP is performed to clear the area of any unwanted energies or spirits, and the LIRP establishes a connection to the spiritual domain, allowing other magickal rites to be performed. You can find my articles on both the Golden Dawn and the techniques that I use in earlier articles on this blog. Just look at the index David Griffin, in his wonderful book "The Ritual Magic Manual: A Complete Course in Practical Magic," (1999 Golden Dawn Publishing) does indeed assume that the LBRP will erase everything, so he assiduously wraps up all his tools, sigils and talismans before performing it. He also does use the LIRP pretty much as I have described it. I would recommend his perspective if you choose to use the Golden Dawn system instead of a more Wiccan or Neopagan based system, such as what I use. David has shown himself to be a rigorous and consummate magickal practitioner.
Hope that answers your question?
Frater Barrabbas
Ask me about ritual magick
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Like the witch craft of any other region, the Egyptian witch craft is based upon the country's tradition, myth, legend, rituals, drama, poetry, song, dance, worship, magic and living in harmony with the earth. Egyptian Zodiac Wheel
The practitioners of Egyptian witch craft honor the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses including the Triple goddess of the waxing, full and waning moon and the horned god of the sun, death and animal life.
Since moon has an important place in Egyptian witch craft, therefore both men and women in city apartments, suburban backyards and country glades meet on full moons and on festival occasions to raise their energy levels and harmonize themselves with the natural forces.
Congregations in Egyptian witch craft are called temples and covens where the seekers are initiated into learning the witch craft. The repeated patterns of changing seasons have great importance in the Egyptian witch craft. ritual and festivals evolved to celebrate these seasonal cycles more especially during the sowing and harvesting seasons.
Egyptian witch craft, therefore, has an image of the 'Wheel of the Year' with its eight spokes which symbolize the four agricultural and pastoral festivals and the four solar festivals commemorating seasonal solstices and equinoxes. Like the ancient Pagans and witches, Egyptian witches consider the day as beginning at sundown and ending at sundown the following day.
Egyptian witches hone their divinatory skills in the increasing starlight and moon light and as winter begins, they work with the positive aspects of the dark tides. Therefore October 31-November eve is the most auspicious period for the Egyptian witches as this, according to them, is the time when the veil that separates our world from the next is the thinnest. This period allows the dead to return to the world of living when their kith and kin welcome and feast them.
Egyptian witches perform magic at gatherings called Moon Celebrations or Esbats which coincide with the phases of the moon. Witches practice healing magic, protection, retaliation and channeling of energy to develop themselves spiritually. They create circles to work magic. The primary tool that they use to work magic is a ritual knife called a Sacred Blade or Athame. The sacred blade gets charged with energy of the owner and is used to define space such as drawing a sacred circle where the owner's will and energy work. A bowl of water is used to symbolize the element of water and its properties: cleansing, regeneration, and emotion.
Other important tools denote the elements earth, air, fire, and water. A pentacle (a pentagram traced upon a disk, like a small dish) is often used to symbolize earth and its properties, stability, material wealth and practical affairs. Alternatively, a small dish of salt or soil can be used to symbolize the earth element.
Source: http://wiccalessons.blogspot.com
Despite my 20 years of self-identification as a Druid, I spent my early years seeking to be a Witch. This was back in the 1960s and 70s when there was no such thing (MOSTLY) as self-initiation, and no non-initiated popular 'Wicca"'. In the occult fashions of the period, Witchcraft was understood as a religion, one that taught the practice of magic, and that's what I looked for, and found. You can "READ SOME OF MY STUFF ON ALL THAT", and on the history of the idea of the witch in a back post here."
"This post is an effort to compose my mind around the relationship between the terms and concepts '"witchcraft"', '"Paganism"' and '"folk-magic"', sparked by discussions on a Traditional Craft list I've been reading. If any of those readers find this controversial, I can only express my respect for the feel and content of the work being done under the Traditional Witchcraft tag, and plead a hardened and skeptical mind..."
I'm confused. Or rather I can't tell whether I'm confused - and that's really confused.
For the past several years I've been reading various books and articles and blogs discussing what is now being called '"Traditional Witchcraft"' or '"the traditional Craft"'. These books present a form of magical practice, and sometimes of Pagan religion, that claims to represent forms of practice and belief older and more authentically structured than those of the Gardnerian and Alexandrian Crafts, and their popular imitators. Because of my general understanding of the '"occult"' scene - i.e. that it is traditional to back-date materials and claim lineage and history that one does not have - I have tended to discount the claims of greater age. Because of some obvious-to-me failures of folklore and scholasticism, and because not a single secret document or old artifact has been revealed by any of these systems, I have tended to discount claims that it represents survival Paganism any more than does post-Gardnerian Wicca. So, in this little discussion I mean to set out my thinking on the topics of the survival of Pagan ways into the early modern period (1.E. 1600-ISH AND LATER), and how that relates to the practice of magic and other '"occult"' traditions along the way.
PAGAN SURVIVAL
First, I still consider it entirely unlikely that worship of European Pagan deities consciously continued into modern times from the late Pagan and medieval periods. There are a couple of possible exceptions, such as the Baltic cultures and possibly a trickle of direct survival among Scandinavians. Baltic Paganism was firmly living in 1250 ce, and some Baltic folk customs have certainly continued unbroken. But even they have trouble showing continuity through the late medieval, and many of the ways were '"revived"' in the folkish rediscovery times of the late 18th and 19th centuries.
In Western Europe the case is much weaker. Folklore collections of the early modern period do find traces of memory of Pagan images and vocabulary, and literate magical tradition, largely unbroken since the fall of Rome, would flower in the creation of what we call the grimoires in the 1700s and 1800s. In those magical basic-training manuals you can find a few garbled remnants of the ancient Gods, and a great deal of ritual action that is authentically old. However, the possibility of deliberate worship of the classical Gods apart from the seven planets of astrology seems to be undocumented in any way. There are no folkloric or personal records of rites of Pagan worship from early modern times, and those could not have been any more illicit than the manuals of demon-summoning that were extensively copied and distributed. If there were a tradition of Pagan magical and ritual practice that lasted into literate times I'd expect it to have left some remnants.
If we want to measure whether or not some bit of folk culture is "Pagan' or not, we might use several different standards. Most obviously, we can ask whether the material involves the active worship of Gods or spirits identifiable in pre-Christian sources. In almost every case, this brings us a negative answer - early modern magical and folkloric material has very little of that. We can find a few examples in Gaelic and Scandinavian countries, such as the offering to Manannan in Scotland, or other offerings to the sidhe or troll folk. There also might be a little something in the '"fairy evocation"' workings of early modern magicians - if we think that King Oberion is some sort of survival. What resemblance later '"fairy faith"' customs might have to pre-Christian customs is unknowable at this time, but we might give the benefit of that doubt if we like. However, the literate magical tradition, which was so important in transmitting technique and content over the centuries, seems to preserve nearly nothing of this sort. That does not, of course, prove absence but it does make presence less likely.
What seems clear is that traffic with spirits, uses of '"sympathetic"' magic, herbal charms, other natural charms with bones, skins, woods, etc and many other magical and occult practices did persist into modern times. Is this material 'Pagan'? If measured by whether or not such things call upon Pagan deities, then the answer would be no. Barring a very few examples from Scandinavia, we see none of that. If close resemblance to practices and customs that Pagans would have used is our measure, there's some chance for that to be the case. Each of the practices mentioned is clearly described in pre-Christian literate magical sources. On a spiritual level, calling upon land-wights and the dead may be as Pagan in 1890 as in 890, even if all the names have changed. Still, without a conscious intention on the part of the practitioner to call upon spiritual powers other than the Christian pantheon, (INCLUDING ITS DEMONS) I'm hesitant to refer to the rites used by 18th and 19th century charmers and cunning folk as Pagan. So, if we don't classify traditional folk-magic as Pagan, shall we classify it as 'witchcraft'?
WITCHCRAFT
The word wicce is first plainly used in context of Pagan religion. Of course we have no Germanic mythic or ritual material written down by Pagans (NOR ANY CELTIC). Some of the first references to wicce or wicca we find are from Roman church laws and proclamations. I found:
"If any wicca (WITCH), wiglaer (WIZARD), false swearer, morthwyrtha (WORSHIPPER OF THE DEAD) or any foul contaminated, manifest horcwenan(whore), be anywhere in the land, man shall drive them out."
AND:
The word wicca is associated with animistic healing rites in Halitgar's Latin Penitential (C.890 CE) where it is stated that:
"Some men are so blind that they bring their offering to earth-fast stone and also to trees and to wellsprings, as the witches teach, and are unwilling to understand how stupidly they do or how that dead stone or that dumb tree might help them or give forth health when they themselves are never able to stir from their place."
These plainly refer to 'wiccan'(pl) as religious, as well as magical practitioners - there's little functional difference between religion and magic in many traditional cultures.
It does seem likely that a wicce in Anglo-Saxon Britain would have occupied the place later approximated by the cunning man or woman. Cures, uncrossings, finding lost things, far-seeing and fortelling, dealing with problems with local wights and ghosts would have been standard stock in trade. Because of the screen of the monkish authors, we cannot see whether these same people helped householders to make proper sacrifices, or tended forest shrines and temples, or lived as functional '"priests"' or '"clergy"' in villages. I suspect they did. "AS THE WITCHES TEACH" seems to me to suggest a central place in religion as well as magic.
Other Christian descriptions of '"witches"' and '"witchcraft"' retain this Pagan religious atmosphere. One of the late references to Pagan deity is found in the famous Canon Episcopi (C.875 CE):
"Have you believed or have you shared a superstition to which some wicked women claim to have given themselves, instruments of Satan, fooled by diabolical phantasms? During the night, with Diana, the pagan goddess, in the company of a crowd of other women, they ride the backs of animals, traversing great distances during the silence of the deep night, obeying Diana's orders as their mistress and putting themselves at her service during certain specified nights... Thus they leave the true faith and fall into pagan error in believing that a god or goddess can exist besides the only God."
So from about the same period as the previous clerical reference we have Church authorities plainly identifying Pagan deity as the source of opposition. Certainly we can hold out for '"witchcraft"' of that period to have been Pagan survival, infused with Pagan religion. This leads me to want to define witchcraft as part of Pagan religious phenomena.
So for their first 500 years or so, the church slowly ate away at the Pagan memory, outlawing the practices, destroying the shrines, and teaching the next generations. The next wave of rinsing-away of Pagan content from European folk tradition seems to have been the propagation of the '"satanic witch"' by the church. The Pagan gods and spirits, as their ways were forgotten became replaced, in literate narratives and in folk-magic charms, by mythic figures from Christianity. Conjuring that might once have been done under the blessing of the Dead was perhaps transferred to the saints, Gods with the Trinity, etc. Wells and caves were baptised in the new religion. But whatever the church couldn't fit into it's ways - the wild revels, the sacrifices, the dealings with strange wights, divinations,etc, became '"sorcery"' and witchcraft, and eventually heresy.
When the witch '"craze"' begins, around 1400 the church produces a description of witchcraft that is once again plainly religious. Diana and the nature spirits have been forgotten, and replaced with '"the Devil"' and his imps. The delightful Pagan revels of folk memory (AND LIKELY ONGOING PRACTICE, WHETHER WITH OR WITHOUT PAGAN RELIGIOUS CONTENT) became the outre Witches Sabbath, reviving classical fears of cannibalism, infanticide and debauch.
The greatest blow to folk memory of Pagan ways in Europe seems to have been the Protestant reform. The destruction of the Roman church's structures and the prohibition of their folk customs was a harsh break in continuity in much of western Europe. The Protestant leaders taught that Catholic rites were little better than witchcraft, and the image of the black-robed wizard and his book and staff owes a great deal to the Protestant memory of the Roman Catholic bishop or priest. In the end folkways often reasserted themselves, but had to be reconstructed, if only from a generation or two of lapse.
CUNNING CRAFT
So, it gets to be 1650 or so, and Europe is blinking and waking up from the stress of the renaissance and reformation, and the birth of science, and the end of church hegemony. We see the birth of the modern wave of occultism, in the Masons and other fraternal orders, the rise of democracy and personal choice in religion, and the synthesis of ritual magic that comes through the grimoires. By this time literacy is more wide-spread; literate magic and folk-magic become closely entwined.
I think that it's in this period that we see begin to see magical practice divorced from the popular religion of its culture. By the late 1700s both religion and rationalism argued against magic, while the popular demand for the arts remained steady. Religion was no longer monolithic or implicit, and citizens began to view themselves as having a choice as to what and whether they worshipped. The cunning man of that time might have his choice of ideas available in folkways and literature.
Here's the thing - I don't see why these secular-ish cunning folk of early modern times are '"witches"'. Witch in parlance by that time almost always meant malefice - the cunning folk mastered witches - that is, they defeated them. A witch-master turned aside the malefice of the witches still imagined by the rural people (OR ACTUAL EVIL MAGIC, ON OCCASION, I SUPPOSE...). Of course the church's definition made witchcraft and magic identical - all '"magic"' (AS OPPOSED TO ORTHODOX SPIRITUAL PRACTICE, WHICH WAS '"RELIGION"' WHETHER OR NOT IT PRECISELY RESEMBLED MAGICAL TECHNIQUES) was powered by Satan and his demons, and all magicians had made at least a tacit pact with Satan. So when popular parlance referred to cunningfolk as '"witches"' they didn't mean '"wise ones"' or '"charmers"', they meant '"evil magic-users"'.
Looking from the perspective of practitioners I have trouble finding much of pre-Christian survival in the cunningman's bag. Of course some of the basics of magic don't change, but the content of the material has often been thoroughly Christianized. What has never been discovered is a cunningman's work in which the devil is worshipped in a religious fashion, or which calls on Pagan gods or spirits (APART FROM THE VERY CHRISTIANIZED SPIRITS OF THE PLANETS...). Just at this moment I cannot recall instruction for any cult of the dead practices, or genius-locus practice, though those could be hidden under works about '"terrestrial demons"', etc. Of course both such spirits are employed implicitly in using natural objects, proper waters, woods, etc, but this is pretty heavily disguised or forgotten in early-modern instructions. To the extent that the cunning worker made a '"pact"' with some local wight, I suppose that's a Pagan element in survival.
Now, I do think it's fair to say that revival Witchcraft has drawn on the cunningman's sources, while adding a broader list of folklore and mythic sources as a spiritual or religious overlay. Gardner's quartered circle, tool set, and style of circle-casting owes a good deal to the same grimoire sources that cunningfolk would have known. Methods of divination, of spirit arte and of making charms and talismans have migrated into non-Gardnerian forms of revival. However, as far as I can see, this is a case of modern revivals imitating literary sources. I have yet to encounter any evidence for direct inheritance of Pagan content. In cunning craft we find invocations of God and the Saints, the angels and archangels, demons of the sort found in the grimoires occasionally even of the early-modern notion of '"fairies"'. Most of these have little or no apparent relation to the ways of a wicce, or of a dreeman, much less of a truly pre-Christian, western European magic-user.
All of this inclines me to make a sharp distinction between the cunning man's art and witchcraft. We have solid vocabulary words that help make sense out of magical practice - folk magic, astrology, conjury, charming, all plainly describe cunning art, while applying the strange term '"witchcraft"' to it only seems to imply that cunning arts involved the worship of illicit (WHETHER PAGAN OR DEMONOLOGICAL) spirits. While some cunning folk did describe their relation with a familiar, all is presented in a thoroughly Christian mythic setting.
NEOPAGAN WITCHCRAFT
I define all known modern examples of conscious Paganism, including Pagan Witchcraft, as Neopagan. I remain unconvinced that active worship of the Old Gods, or unbroken pre-Christian initiatory lineages, continued in secret circles anywhere in Europe - and least likely in western Europe. Therefore all modern people who consciously worship (I.E. ENTER INTO MAGICO-RELIGIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH) spirits not from the Christian pantheon are drawing on recent (WHETHER 70 YEARS OLD OR 170 YEARS OLD, OLDEST...) reconstructions. Thus, we are Neopagans.
I disapprove of using '"neopagan"' to refer to or exclude any specific style of modern Paganism. Hellenic or Saxon reconstructionists are as neopagan as tie-dyed eclectics with hoola-hoops. Neopagan refers to the family of magico-religious movements that first arose in the 20th century (MAYBE THE LATE 19TH...) in which I would include Asatru, Wicca, Traditional Witchcraft (NOT TRADITIONAL FOLK-MAGIC), Thelema, the various ethnic reconstructionisms and no doubt a long list of smaller systems. There's some chance that Baltic religion retains some unbroken lines of practice, but even that is uncertain.
In the same way, I rather think that using '"witchcraft"' to refer to folk-magic practices divorced from religious context is needlessly confusing, and mixes very different ideas. Witchcraft has almost always referred to systems connected with religion (APART FROM ANTHROPOLOGICAL USAGE, WHICH I HAVEN'T DEALT WITH HERE), and at least the term should be modified by whatever religious system it's worked in. In this sense one can be a '"Christian Witch"', even if being a Christian Wiccan is a contradiction in terms (AS IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE OLD ENGLISH USAGE). However, traditional magic-users in cultural intact settings simply don't use the term '"witch"' or '"witchcraft"' for what they do. When you find someone using that term, it almost always indicates conscious reinvention.
Conclusion (-lessness)
So, there's no real conclusion to this screed...
Those who are attracted to the idea of witchcraft will continue to devise methods to express their self-identification. One of the things I like best about the Trad Craft trend is its interest in using authentic sources to reconstruct what a Pagan cunning practice might be like. For me, as a fairly liberal reconstructionist Pagan, I just don't have an interest in reconstructing the world or worldview of 17th century Europe - it's too latter-period, already too stripped of myth and mystery, with only scraps and tag-ends of the pre-Christian material that pushes my buttons. I don't assume that 17th century folkways retain much of pre-Christian lore, and find archeology and observation of surviving tribal and polytheistc ways to be at least as instructive about what Pagan magic might have looked like as what remained in the last few centuries.
Did this walk through a confused topic make me feel less confused... maybe a little...
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"Witch! Open your door! Help us!"
"Looking through the barred portal she spied two Children of the Gorgon supporting a third who was bloodied, bruised, and broken."
"Bring him in! Quickly!" The Witch waved the Children of the Gorgon into her home. "
"We found Atsu and
"Lifting their companion between them, they carried him across the room and lifted him gently into the cauldron. "
"Good, now sleep." The Children of the Gorgon turned to look at the Witch, their eyes widening as they saw her pointing a wand at them before they slumped to the ground. Atsu, who had been held up by his companions slipped below the surface. A minute later the Cauldron glowed green briefly before Atsu's skeleton, now devoid of flesh stood up. "Put that one in next" the Witch ordered. "
The Cauldron of Souls is a powerful, if unwieldy magical item. In form it is a large black iron cauldron, with 3 clawed feet, and a highly decorated surface. When a noxious mixture of magical reagents is brought to a boil and a dying body is immersed in it, the victim's soul is released and absorbed into the cauldron. From the boiling mixture the victim's skeleton rises out under the command of the cauldron's owner. The skeleton's bones are highly polished, and tinted a greenish yellow and it will have maximum hit points.
The Cauldron of Souls has a second power. When a different combination of magical reagents is added to the first, and the owner immerses themselves into the Cauldron, it provides restorative magics. For every soul absorbed into the cauldron, the following powers may be used:Cure DiseaseCure BlindnessCure Serious WoundsNeutralize Poison
The use of 2 souls can provide the following powers:CureallRestore
Don't forget to suggest something for November's Monthly Audience Participation!
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