covenrochester

Goddess and God Statuettes, Carved by a Craftsman in the Ukraine

The Craft of the Wise, or the Old Religion, is a simple religion. There is not much more to understand than the Casting of the Circle; basic cosmology (including Divinity, the Four Elements and the Seven Planets, and Reincarnation) and correspondences; the nature, meaning, and symbolism of the Greater (or Fire) and Lesser (or Earth) Sabbats; the nature, meaning, and symbolism of the Esbat; and the nature, meaning, and symbolism of the Witch's Tools. After initiation, one may happily live a fulfilling spiritual life as a Witch knowing just those things.

RELIGIOUS COMPLEXITY: The religion can be made more complex, of course, and it often is by those who value complexity. For instance, instead of having a single Full Moon esbat ritual, a person or group may develop a ritual or practices for each of the Full Moons -- the Frost Moon, the Planting Moon, the Strawberry Moon, the Corn Moon, the Harvest Moon, and so on. Some even add in the Dark Moons. There is certainly precedent for that in the Craft, particularly in old village traditions. For instance, the Dark Moon of October or November was usually celebrated only by the men of a village or group. They would invoke the Horned Lord, have a ritual, and inaugurate the hunting season. Such variety may be the spice of life, but there is also value in sticking to simplicity. Instead of focusing on many varied things, moving horizontally across many points of the year, one focuses on few things, and goes deeper INTO them, moving vertically down across fewer points of the year. This allows the Witch to gain a deeper understanding of the few things he or she focuses on.

SKILL COMPLEXITY: The religion can also be made more complex by focusing on various skills. These skills, however, are not part of the Craft per se. They are merely means by which we can help ourselves, our coven, family, friends, or people in the community. These include such things as magic, psychism, spell-casting, herbalism, healing modalities, and divination, such as sortilege (runes, stones, tree staves), astrology, card reading, scrying, pendulum work. One might also choose to focus on Witch history, or preserving traditional spells and practices, such as dollwork, witch pathworking (not the same as guided meditation), or materia magica (the study of how various materials are used in magical work). None of these things are mandatory, however, and study of them, or no study at all, is the choice of the individual Witch.

The purpose of this post is to let you understand that the Craft is approachable and adaptable. You may think you are not "smart enough" or "gifted enough" or "organized enough" or "whatever enough" to be initiated into the Craft of the Wise. That is false. It is a simple religion, in itself, and it need not be made overly complex.

*** Blessed be to those who serve the Great Mother and the Horned Father.

* Copyright to Coven Rochester