covenrochester | Entries tagged with traditional

I recently had an interesting exchange with a Seeker. She asked me:

Q: What's the coven's mission statement?

I answered:

Magister: I'm sorry, I've never heard of a coven having a mission statement. The Craft is a religious and spiritual path.

She replied:

Q: Yes, I know that. I was just wondering what you stand for as a coven, and what you hope to accomplish?

Magister: All traditional or lineaged covens do the same thing. We meet for Sabbats and Esbats and honor the Gods. We do healing and divinatory work for ourselves, others, and the world. We preserve the knowledge of traditional herbalism, and spells and spell-forms. We train serious men and women to be priests and priestesses of this whole earth, and to help ease the burdens of a suffering humanity with the powers that we have been passed and developed.

Q: I love that.

Magister: Me, too.

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If I ever heard of a coven having a mission statement, my first thought would be that it was a fake coven and not part of the Wica. Ever since more books have been published on the Craft, there have been many people that simply read books, start their own groups, call themselves witches and priests and priestesses (high or otherwise), and basically practice out of published material and their own creativity. That's great, and it fulfills a need for many people. These self-started book-based pagan groups are not, however, of the Wica. When you are around them, you will not feel that you are in the presence of the Wise Ones. My old Witch Mother in England told me that such people actually hate the Wica and do great damage to it out of their egos, and to be prepared for it.

In my own mind, I think of them as pagan groups, not covens, not of the Wica, and not Wiccan. In almost all of them, there will never be any mention of the Horned Father or the Great Rite, or other hallmarks of the Old Religion. In many such groups, there will be a tutelary deity of some far-off place. Perhaps Brighid or Morrighan of the Irish, or Hecate of the Greeks, or Isis of the Egyptians. But the Goddess of the Witches is not any of those and, in fact, is older and more omnipresent BY FAR than any of those. They will mix cultures and names indiscriminately, using an Irish word for Hallows, and an Anglo-Saxon word for the Summer Solstice. If you are of the Wica, these pagan groups will either despise you or give you a wide berth. Ask yourself why.

There are other people who falsely call themselves "witches" on the ground that they have been "initiated by the spirits" or "accepted by the spirits," or something like that. This *does* in fact, occur. But it is extremely rare, and the occult powers granted to such people by the spirits are wondrous and phenomenal. Most people I have met in the present day who claim this type of witchcraft do not, in fact, manifest any such powers for healing, clairvoyance, telekinesis/levitation, or control over animals or the four elements.

There is also a gift of witchcraft that runs through families, genetically. This is also rare, and your mother, grandmother, and aunts will be the first to recognize it and train you. Unless they are all deceased, you don't need the Wica. And when I mean "gift," I don't mean "grandma refused to wear a brassiere, smoked cigars, 'knew things,' and drank scotch with a shot of peppermint tea (as opposed to peppermint tea with a shot of scotch)." We all love those grandmas, of course, but I mean things like finding your seven-year old son in a trance, levitating a foot off the ground in the backyard garden. It happens. Don't worry, though. Your grandmother, mother, and aunts will know what to do. They've seen this before. :D This usually happens to daughters, but occasionally a son will inherit the gift of witchcraft, and he will usually be gay. The last one I heard of was gay, of Italian and Russian descent. When finding him in the midst of an act of power, his mother and grandmother exchanged a knowing look and shrugged. They knew what to do.

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

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

As good a finding spell as you are ever likely to encounter. You will never find it in a book. It has not been published. You must oath yourself to a Witch, and she will teach it to you, amongst the other long-held spells passed down from Witch to Witch.

It is for finding lost things and people, but with a little cleverness, you can use it to make people disgorge their thoughts or feelings on any subject, or their motives for or against you.

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

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

I recently saw a book on the market called Hex Twisting: Countermagic Spells for the Irritated Witch. I didn't read it. Witches have traditional reversal spells that are hundreds of years old. Most of them are very easy. You do not need to go out and buy a book (probably written by a cowan or a warlock) filled with spells using crystals, incense, and essential oils. The traditional reversal spells don't use those things. You probably shouldn't either. Let the Witches training you pass on the traditional spells to you.

A reversal spell is not a curse. It is to use when someone is aiming negativity at you, and you just want to send it back from whence it came. Here is one traditional spell from the 19th century, out of a witch's book in southwest England.

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If someone has done you an injury or grievous insult, you may easily turn back his evil upon him. If you can, secure some trace of the evil person–a hair, fingernail, clothing, a paper with his signature or image—and set it in the bottom of a candle holder somehow so that a candle can be placed on top of it to burn. Then, take a short black taper, turn it upside down, and carve the bottom of it away until you expose enough of the wick so that it will light. Then take the taper and circle yourself round and round with it, widdershins, from head to toe, as many times as you like or need. Then set the taper in the holder atop the trace of the evil person and light it. As you do so, say this charm three times:

XXX

You must allow the taper to burn out of its own accord, so make sure it is somewhere secure. A cauldron, metal wash basin, or bathtub shall serve. When the taper has burned out, collect the trace and any leftover bits of wax. Go to the kitchen and wrap up the remains in a piece of bacon. Take it someplace outside to bury it, but not in your own yard. Dig a hole, place the package within, and say this version of the charm three times:

XXX

Fill the hole, then turn away to walk home, without looking back. Mother Earth and Her creatures will thereafter see to the matter.

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

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

This was a common cartomancy spread in France (well, I can speak only to Paris, actually) in the 1850s and 1860s, although it eventually made its way to the English-speaking world. The Seeker would draw seven, or sometimes eight, cards from a deck, without looking at them. He would then touch them to his heart, his brow, and his lip. He would then shuffle them, and the Witch would direct him to lay out the cards in the above pattern. The above example shows seven cards. If an eighth were drawn, it would go under the 4 of Diamonds here.

You will usually only get one solid prediction out of the spread, so it is useful as a daily spread, or when you are reading for several people at a family gathering, or perhaps a charity event. It is rare to get two predictions out of it.

This particular example is very easy to read. I told the Seeker that a party to which she had already been invited would be canceled because the woman of the house hosting the party would contract an illness from her daughter. The party would be rescheduled four weeks from the canceled date.

And so it came to pass.

( And Here's A Second Example )

Reading cards is easy. I used to think it was difficult to remember everything. And then I figured out that I already knew all of the meanings. I simply had to remember them as part of Nature's Speech. After that, everything flowed. With a good teacher and a motivated student, an adult should be able to come to grips with the whole art in a week. Even a child of 8 or 9 could learn the basics within that time.

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

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

In time, Diana bore a child
Of Light and Dark now reconciled,
Like father - bright, like mother - wild,
Her name - Aradia.

The child grew strong with passing years.
Diana grew in naught but fears,
She laved the Earth with anguished tears,
For Man had wicked grown:

The Rich of Poor made toiling slaves,
The lands were full of thieves and knaves,
The holy priests were base, depraved,
Would even cheat or kill.

"The Earth grew vile by naught but me,
"For Man was spun from trickery,
"The fruit of chase and strategy,"
The dark Diana wept.

The Goddess called her daughter nigh,
"My dear Aradia," she sighed,
"My heart will break and I will die,
"If Man continues thus."

"I wish for you to go to Earth,
"As Spirit stoop to mortal birth,
"And lift from me this evil curse,
"By teaching Witchery."

"To all the common folk oppressed
"Reveal the charms and spells that bless,
"That heal the sick with tenderness,
"By calling on My name."

"You shall be first of Witches known,
"To teach the arts of wind and stone,
"Of rune and plant and beast and bone,
"And ways of praising Me."

-- excerpt of an English rhyming version of Il Vangelo delle Streghe, The Gospel of the Witches.
It is also sometimes called Il Vangelo di Diana, The Gospel of Diana.

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

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

Drawings of Serpents from a Book of Natural History

As far as is possible, Witches prefer to use natural objects and substances in their magical arts. The use of essential oils in magic was almost unheard of 100 years ago, as were things like incense sticks, "crystals," and herbs grown in far away places. Up until the 21st century, my old Witch Mother was still finding almost everything she needed for magic in the forests around her house. Out she would go of an evening into the woods, using her Stang as a walking stick and wearing her black cloak for warmth and her witches' brooch for protection.

Witches of the past (and some of the present) often put their recipes in a kind of code or symbolic language, usually as a matter of protection, from the authorities, crazed churchfolk, and witchhunters. In modern days, we can add protection from legions of fakes and pretenders.

When we were taught the recipe for Witches' Dust, it was given in code. One was to kill four snakes or serpents: "One in the water, one by a fire, one in a tree, and one in the byre" [1]. When the snakes were killed, their heads were to be chopped off, dried well, then powdered. The four powders were combined to make Witches' Dust.

[1] byre = barn

It sounds rather disgusting and grisly. But the recipe does not mean what it says. The four **S**nakes or **S**erpents are symbolic of four natural substances that start with the letter S. The reference to the snake or serpent heads is to the SHAPE of the heads, themselves, which are shaped like the bowl of a spoon. The recipe is therefore made of a spoonful each of four natural substances, each of which begins with the letter S. From the little rhyme, one also knows that each substance must be related to one of the four elements. Once your Witch Mother or Witch Father tells them to you, you will never forget them.

Witches' Dust is a general purpose magical ingredient. It can be used to either to bless or to curse. A pinch of it was sometimes rolled into pellets with wax and, depending on the intention, with the hair of certain common animals such as cat, dog, pig, cow, goat, or horse. And then the pellet would be cast at a person or onto a property to cast a spell. If you read historical tales of witchery from the 17th century onward, you will occasionally find mention of these "Witch Balls," as they came to be known. You will find mention of them in stories from New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the South, and the Ozark regions. Sometimes one Witch would make a bunch of a certain kind and pass them out to other members of the Coven to use.

You cannot learn this from books or from people who learned from books. You must learn from Witches who were taught by other Witches, and who were taught by Witches before them.

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

* Copyright to Coven Rochester

Purification Bath, with Sage, Lemon, Salt

Purification baths are simple preparations and several traditional recipes have been handed down in the Craft. The oldest American recipe we have calls for placing in a bowl several stalks of Sage Leaves (Salvia officinalis) and three husks of the nuts from the Black Walnut tree (Juglans nigra), along with a pinch or two or three of Salt, depending on how scarce Salt was at the time for your family. Nowadays, Salt is cheap and plentiful, so we can place a small handful in the bowl if we want. Another alternative these days is to substitute a chopped up Lemon for the more traditional Black Walnut husks. Use what you have.

When the three ingredients are gathered, steep over them a quart (4 cups) of water just off the boil. Cover the bowl and let the brew steep for at least 20 minutes. The whole process can also be done in a quart jar with a lid.

When the time is up, strain off the ingredients, and throw the brew into a hot drawn bath. Get in and have a soak. Dunk your head at least three times while in the bath.

It is common to softly sing a charm at this time. The word Woman or Witch can be substituted for Man. Most charms have tunes or songs to them, like this one does. You will have to find a traditional Witch to teach it to you to use it, but these are the words:

I am (Man) made clean
By the power of the Water.
I am (Man) made strong
By the power of the Fire.
I am (Man) made whole
By the power of the Green Earth.
I am (Man) made pure
By the power of the Salt.

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

* Copyright to Coven Rochester