A bad witch's blog

A Midsummer Night's Fairy Poem

2013-06-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a poem I wrote for a Midsummer Eve fairy ritual a couple of years ago. I hope you like it.

On Midsummer Night

The moon rides high

So we can dance under

The midnight sky,

While from fairy woods

And fairy glens

The wee folk come

To cavort with men.

And all the stars

Of the Milky Way

Sparkle as we

Come out to play!

The picture at the top is Title Oberon, Titania and Puck with Fairies Dancing by William Blake.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/06/midsummer-and-solstice.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer_nights_dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream : (Wordsworth Classics)
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/02/fairy-tales.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/how-to-find-fairies.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/10/do-you-believe-in-fairies.html

Astrologer Warns of Possible Supermoon Threat to Earth

2013-06-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

I've just received this press release from the PR department at Russell Grant Astrology Limited and couldn't resist posting it on A Bad Witch's Blog:

Be sure to watch out for the extra large full moon on the 23rd June as this will also be the moon’s closest encounter with the Earth in 2013. The moon will not be as close to the Earth again until August 2014.

According to the astrologer Richard Nolle (who coined the term ‘Supermoon’) the Supermoon can trigger a list of natural disasters including tsunamis, severe storms, extreme coastal tides, Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. To support his hypothesis, Richard Noelle has highlighted a number of natural disasters occurring around the time of a Supermoon. For example according to Noelle, the Supermoon that occurred in February 2011 is responsible for the Earthquake that struck New Zealand on the 22nd February of that year. Other disasters occurring around the time of a Supermoon include: the hurricane and tidal surge that struck Texas in September 1900, the Hawke’s Bay Earthquake in February 1931, the New England hurricane in 1938, Cyclone Tracy in Australia in 1974, Mount Pinatubo eruption in June 1991, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the 2005 Tsunami in Indonesia. All these happened within days and at a maximum of two weeks of a Supermoon.

Although scientists dispute the theory and astronomers point out that any gravitational effects typically happen within three days of a Supermoon, Richard Noelle suggests the timespan can be longer. According to his theory, the Earth seems to be more exposed to natural disasters within seven to fourteen days before and after a Supermoon or at the time of the Supermoon itself.

Astronomers refer to it as a perigee full moon, ‘perigee’ describing the moon’s closest point to the Earth in a given orbit but in recent years the term Supermoon has been more commonly used to describe the time when the moon’s orbit is closest to Earth and the sun, moon and Earth are all in alignment.

Was it mere coincidence that the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March 2011 occurred within ten days of a Supermoon? Apparently there is a small correlation between new and full moons and seismic activity because tidal forces are stronger than usual due to the alignment of the sun and moon. This puts additional stress on tectonic plates but scientists assert that the moon cannot cause a geological event like an earthquake although it can cause a difference to the tide.

Astrologically the Full Moon’s links with Pluto and Jupiter suggest a time of extreme emotional reactions to religious and cultural issues. The Supermoon challenges us to pay heed to our heads and not our hearts. We should not exclude emotions entirely but we should rely more on logic in important decision-making.

Whether Supermoons can trigger natural disasters, scientists and astrologers differ in their response. What’s definite is that this year’s largest and closest Supermoon will occur on June 23rd, so weather permitting, be sure not to miss one of the year’s most magical cosmic moments.

© COPYRIGHT RUSSELL GRANT ASTROLOGY LIMITED

I've also been told that if I use the press release on my blog I must be credit: http://www.russellgrant.com/

The photo was taken by myself, the Bad Witch, during last month's full moon.

Event: Circle of Ankerwycke Summer Solstice Ritual

2013-06-18T00:01:00.000-07:00

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On the evening of 21 June, the Summer Solstice, the Circle of Ankerwycke will be holding a beautiful ritual under an ancient yew tree in Wraysbury, West London.

Now in its second decade, the Circle of Ankerwycke holds rituals and celebrations for each Sabbat, and those who attend say each one is more spectacular than the last.

The organisers said: "Held under an ancient yew tree, many thousands of years old, even the weather does not trouble us as we are largely protected under the massive tree branches. Litha (a Wiccan name for the Summer Solstice) is a special time of the year when we enjoy the longest day and experience the magic deep in the woods. Our venue has been a place of pagan celebration since time began and the powerful energy of this special place is felt by everyone who visits

"If you enjoy a ritual in candlelight in the company of friendly people, this is the place to be. The ritual place will be decorated with hundreds of tea lights, the heady smell of our own Circle of Ankerwycke incense will fill the air and the music will be intoxicating. There will be magic and much more, only to be shared by those who are there on the night. The night will be full of secrets and song, celebration and laughter and memories that will linger for a very long time."

Now an established Morris side, The Ankerwycke Morris will also be dancing too.

Email the organisers if you would like an invitation to attend as the group now limit numbers: ankerwyctch@hotmail.co.uk

Details:
Event: Circle of Ankerwycke Summer Solstice Ritual
Venue: Wraysbury near Staines
Time: 7.30pm for 8pm
Date: 21st June 2013

News: Ghosts, Occult Antiques and Witchcraft

2013-06-17T10:11:00.002-07:00

Tower witch project proves too scary for ghost hunter
Story on The Courier website: http://www.thecourier.co.uk/news/local/fife/tower-witch-project-proves-too-scary-for-ghost-hunter-1.101647

Rare painting of occult magician takes £7500 in Nottingham
Story on the Antiques Trade Gazette website: http://www.antiquestradegazette.com/news/2013/jun/13/rare-painting-of-occult-magician-takes-7500-in-nottingham/

MP calls for women hanged for witchcraft to be pardoned
Story on BBC Devon website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-22840560

TV: The White Queen on BBC1

2013-06-17T00:27:00.001-07:00

I didn't watch the BBC's new historical drama series The White Queen, about the War of the Roses, which was on TV last night, but a friend who did told me the first episode was "delightfully witchy".

I'll catch it on BBC iPlayer later, I expect. If you saw it, what did you think?

Links
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p018sxqp

Review: Identity and the Quartered Circle - Applied Wicca

2013-06-17T00:01:00.000-07:00

"Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? Where am I going?" These are questions many of us ask ourselves, especially if we are on a spiritual path.

If you are pagan, the answer usually given is that we should look within ourselves to find out who we truly are. That, however, is easier said than done - especially without a guide to help us. A new book Identity and the Quartered Circleis such a guide.

It has the subtitle Studies in Applied Wicca, but don't worry if you aren't an initiated Wiccan. This is a book that starts at the basics, takes you through intermediate level practises and goes on to some pretty advanced personal development techniques. It uses eclectic Wiccan-style circlework, but is suitable for anyone willing to put in the effort.

Author Dorothy L Abrams is an experienced spiritual teacher, having practised and taught witchcraft, paganism and core shamanism since 1984. She is the co-founder of the Web PATH Center, a pagan church and teaching organisation in the USA, and much of the material in Identity and the Quartered Circle comes from the courses she runs there. Many exercises are practical - using journalling, sketching, crafts, chanting, drumming, dance and storytelling as well as ritual work to help on the journey of self-discovery.

Dorothy says: "The arts bring us closer to ecstasy in a familiar and safe way. We do not have to excel in any artistic endeavor. Our work need not be published nor performed outside our homes. We only need to give the effort necessary to craft our truth so we can see or hear it."

The Circle is, of course, the name for Wiccan sacred space, where magic is performed and rites enacted. It is divided into quarters that represent the elements earth, air, fire, and water, which correspond to our body, mind, will and emotions. But the book also deals with the different "circles" we might move in - our relationships with friends, family and lovers for example. It is far-reaching and does not baulk at tackling difficult subjects such as sex and death.

Publisher Moon Books says on its website: "Identity and The Quartered Circle is an eclectic Wiccan discussion of the search for identity through the power of a cast circle and the four directions. The book defines the Circle as a container for magic. A chapter on psychological identity follows. From casting a circle to meeting the Elementals and winged spirits of faerie, the author leads the reader on a personal journey in consciousness. At its conclusion we can speak intelligently of merger with the Gods and Oneness and the reader can answer the big four questions: Who Am I, Why am I here, Where did I come from and Where am I going?"

If you feel you are on a journey of self discovery, wherever you might be on that path, I am sure this book can offer something to help you on your way.

Links and previous related posts
Identity and the Quartered Circle: Studies in Applied Wicca
http://www.moon-books.net/home.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/05/review-deep-heart-of-witchcraft-magical.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/04/circle-casting.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/08/mandalas-spiritual-circles.html

Summer Solstice Dawn Meditation on Glastonbury Tor

2013-06-15T01:19:00.003-07:00

Here's another Summer Solstice event that I've just added to my regular listing:

Friday 21 June; Glastonbury Tor Summer Solstice Celebration at Sunrise. Location: Glastonbury Tor, Glastonbury, Somerset, BA6 8BH. A celebration of life with meditation and channelled messages. Bring shakers and instruments if you have them. Time: 4.30am to 5.30am. Free event, just turn up. All welcome. For more details, visit https://www.facebook.com/events/401516226628185/

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/01/glastonbury-tor-entrance-to-land-of.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/06/pagan-events-midsummer-and-summer.html

Summer Solstice Week Events In and Around London

2013-06-14T00:02:00.003-07:00

Monday 17 June; Becoming Miracle Minded. Talk by Marianne Williamson, author of The Law of Divine Compensation: Mastering the Metaphysics of Abundance,Venue: Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets £10/£5 concs. Advance booking required. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Monday 17 June Croydon Crows. PF moot held every 3rd Monday of each month at the Skylark pub, South End, South Croydon from 8pm onwards.

Tuesday 18 June; Awakening Our Souls To Their True Purpose. Lecture by Andy Tomlinson. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking recommended. Time: 7pm start. For further details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Wednesday 19 June; Sound Healing and Gong Bath by London College of Spirituality. Free event as part of Mindfulness Week in the More London Fringe Festival with the London Spiritual Movement. Venue: The Scoop at More London, 2A Riverside, SE1 2DB. Start time 6.30pm. Free entry. For more details visit http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=190

Thursday 20 June; Meditation and Mindfulness with Wake Up London. Free event as part of Mindfulness Week in the More London Fringe Festival. Venue: The Scoop at More London, 2A Riverside, SE1 2DB. Start time 6.30pm. Free entry. For more details visit http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=190

Thursday 20 June - 23 June; Gathering of the Elders from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Summer Solstice gathering at Caer Corhain Shamamic Development Centre of the Isle of Sheppey, North Kent. Starts Thursday evening. Cost £250. For more details and information on how to book, visit http://www.touchtheearthuk.com/

Thursday 20 June; Croydon CoA Witches Gathering with talks and social activities at the The Green Dragon, High St, Croydon. 8pm start. For more details visit: http://www.witchfest.net/

Thursday 20 June; PFL Litha Open Ritual by Tribe of Avalon. Venue: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn London. Time: 7.30pm for 8pm start. Ritual ends around 9pm followed by feasting until 10pm. Entrance: £6/£5 PF members. Please bring seasonal food and drinks to share at feast after ritual. For more details, visit http://london.paganfed.org/

Thursday 20 June; Enochian for uninitiated witches followed by memorial for Robert Cochrane. Pub near Primrose Hill and Chalk Farm in North London. Time: 7.30pm. For full details and to reserve a place visit The London Wicca Meetup Group: http://www.meetup.com/The-London-Wicca-Meetup-Group/

Thursday 20 June; Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki of SOL. A rare London appearance at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Price: £15 advance booking required. Time: 7pm foir 7.30pm start. info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Thursday 20 June-Friday 21 June; Stonehenge, the 5,000-year-old megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, is the most famous place in England to celebrate the solstices. Entry is normally restricted although English Heritage, which manages the site, will be providing what it calls "managed open access" to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice. English Heritage allows individuals and groups to conduct their own ceremonies and rituals during the opening times, from 7pm on 20 June until 8am on 21 June. No camping is allowed. There is a car park half a mile from the stones, but it is more environmentally friendly to use public transport to get there, buses run from Salisbury railway station. For details about access to the stones, visit: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/summer-solstice/

Friday 21 June; Drumming and Tribal Singing with the London College of Spirituality. Free event as part of Mindfulness Week in the More London Fringe Festival. Venue: The Scoop at More London, 2A Riverside, SE1 2DB. Start time 6.30pm. Free entry. For more details visit http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=190

Friday 21 June; Summer Solstice on the Beach with Coven of the Bright Isle, at Joss Bay, Broadstairs, Kent. The Coven of the Bright Isle, a normally closed Wiccan group based in Thanet, is holding an open Wiccan Summer Solstice ritual to which all pagans are welcome. The ritual is timed to coincide with sunrise, at 4.30am. Meet at the car park on North Foreland Hill CT10 3PG before sunrise. Bring food and drink for yourself and join the group for breakfast round the fire afterwards – weather permitting.

Friday 21 June; Unveiling of Blue Plaque to Commemorate Doreen Valiente in Brighton. There will be an afternoon of events starting at noon and going on until the evening to celebrate Doreen Valiente. Meet at Steine Gardens, Brighton, at noon for the start of the programme. There will be a procession to Tyson Place, where Doreen lived, and the unveiling itself will take place at 2.30pm. Entertainment will take place later at The Green Door Store, Railway Arches. This is a free event during the afternoon, followed by evening entertainment from 7pm that costs £5. For full details, visit http://doreenvaliente.org/

Friday 21 June; Midsummer Meditation at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Gathering at the Well Head at 12pm for celebration and meditation until 12.30pm, then gather on the lower lawn for quiet conversation. Free admission from 10am until noon, then normal price admission. For more details about Chalice Well, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Friday 21 June; The Angel Whisperer. Talk by Kyle Gray. Venue: The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking recommended. Time: 7pm start. For further details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Friday 21 June; The Great School of Chartres. Lecture by Sylvia Francke, author of The Tree of Life and the Holy Grail: Ancient and Modern Spiritual Paths and the Mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau.Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT. Time: 7.30pm. Tickets: £3.30/£1 pay on the door. http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/

Saturday 22 June; Shaking Things Up - Reason, Religion and Conflict. Debate and discussion with philosopher Anja Steinbauer. Venue: Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2M 4QH. Time: 2.30pm. Free entry and no booking required but limited places. http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/

Saturday 22 June; Summer Solstice Open Ritual on Cooden Beach, Cooden Sea Rd, Bexhill TN39 4TT. Time: 2.30pm. This open ritual is free and all are welcome. Bring a picnic and wear suitable shoes for a stony beach.

Saturday 22 June; Hern's Tribe Midsummer open ritual in Richmond Park. Family friendly outdoor event. Bring your own picnic. For more details, visit http://www.pflondon.org/html/news_-_info.html

Saturday, June 22; Free and Open Gorsedd Summer Solstice Rite at Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire. Open Druidic style ceremony to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Meet at the Red Lion pub from Noon for ceremony at 1.30pm until 3pm. Free event - offerings of song, poetry, cake, mead are welcomed. There is no camping at Avebury this Saturday as Solstice camping is 20th and 21st only.

Sunday 23 June; Greenman Walk organised by The Goddess Foundation. This is a family event that takes place every summer. Venue: Ashplats Woods, East Grinstead, near East Grinstead Town Football Club. It is an event for all of the family to celebrate Summer Solstice. Bring a picnic, go for a walk, watch the Summer Solstice Mummers Play and take part in a quiz. No charge, but donations greatly appreciated. For more details, contact The Goddess Foundation via its website: http://www.goddessfoundation.org.uk/

Sunday 23 June. Fairy Festival at Butser Ancient Farm, Chalton Lane, Chalton, Hants. For more details and to book tickets call 02392 598838 or visit http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/

Sunday 23 June; Midsummer on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Open ritual hosted by Jeremy Morgan, the Druid of Wormwood Scrubbs. Venue: The Hawthorne Grove, Primrose Hill, Regents Park, London NW1. Starts at 12.30pm, ends at around 2.30pm. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm.

Sunday, 23 June; Anderida Gorsedd Summer Solstice open ritual at the Long Man of Wilmington, Sussex (pictured at the top of the page). Meet near the car park between 1.30pm and 2pm for a walk up to the chalk hill figure at 2pm. Afterwards back to the Giants Rest pub in Wilmington for a social drink together.

Sunday 23 June; The Druids: Ancient and Modern. Talk by Ken Rees at The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1U. Time: 6pm. Entry: £7/£4. Nearest tube - Baker Street.

Sunday 23 June; St John's Eve, Midsummer Crossbones Vigil to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard. Gather from 6.45pm in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, SE1, opposite the Boot and Flogger, just north of the junction with Union Street. Nearest tubes Borough or London Bridge, 5 minutes walk away. The event is free. http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Sunday 23 June; Summer Solstice. Evening service led by the Wheel of the Year Group at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. http://www.rosslynhillchapel.com/

If you know of an event you would like listed - or spot an error that needs correcting in any of the events mentioned - please email badwitch1234@gmail.com

Event Tonight: The Grail, Goddess and Earth Energies

2013-06-13T01:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a lecture that got missed when I updated my events listing earlier in the week, but looks interesting:

Thursday 13 June; The Grail, The Goddess and Earth Energies. Lecture by Sylvia Francke, author of The Tree of Life and the Holy Grail. Venue: Rudolf Steiner House, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT. Time: 7pm for 7.30pm. http://www.rsh.anth.org.uk/

For more details, visit the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/events/159552220891138/?ref=22

I Ask Ross Heaven, What Is An Authentic Shaman?

2013-06-13T00:02:00.000-07:00

Shamanism seems to be the buzzword of the moment in the Mind, Body, Spirit marketplace. It sells books; it sells tickets to workshops and it sells places on holidays to far-off lands to try to find the authentic shamanic experience. It also seems to spawn loads of arguments on the internet about what really is authentic shamanism and what is simply borrowed or adopted from other, more traditional, sources.

I’m not a shaman. Sure, as a witch I’ve used some shamanic-type techniques, but I’m certainly no expert. Nevertheless, after a reader on my blog left a few comments on the subject after my interview with shamanic practitioner and author Ross Heaven, the question of what actually is an authentic shaman has been on my mind.

Last week, two days in a row when I did my regular daily reading from a divination deck, I drew the Hummingbird card (I was using my newly acquired Animal Wisdom Tarot). Now, the Hummingbird card can indicate a spiritual insight and inspiration, but it also reminded me of Ross Heaven – as he was the author of a book I very much enjoyed called The Hummingbird’s Journey to God. I took it as a sign that perhaps I should ask Ross about my question.

He sent me a long and detailed reply. Here it is:

Ross Heaven: On one level I don’t even understand this debate and find it rather pointless.

When people become plumbers, for example, do they call themselves “plumbing practitioners” (‘authentic’ or otherwise) or say they offer “real (as opposed to ‘fake’ or ‘plastic’) tap and washer healings”? When you need your house rewiring do you phone an “electrical energy manipulator” or an electrician?

What, then, is this Western reticence about calling oneself a shaman if that’s how you work; why do we have to be “shamanic practitioners”? We don’t seem to have the same problem with other therapies after all. If you offer massage with oils you’re an aromatherapist. If you treat people with herbs and plants you’re a herbalist. If you manipulate feet you’re a reflexologist. But if you work with spirits, energies, plants, drums, rattles you’re a… “shamanic practitioner”? Right.

The argument is nonsense. If you work shamanically you’re a shaman. You may not be a good one yet because, like everything else, a trade takes a lifetime to perfect, but you’re on the path, so let’s just call a spade a spade and a shaman a shaman, shall we?

Once you look at it from this point-of-view, the addition of the word “authentic” becomes silly as well. What is an authentic toilet cleaner, carpenter, gardener, reflexologist – or shaman - compared to an inauthentic one? Don’t we just mean ‘can they do the job – unblock a sink or save a soul – or not?’ And isn’t that actually what really matters?

The idea that we in the West can only be shamanic practitioners and not authentic shamans comes from deluded thinking, mostly on the part of “core shamans” – another meaningless term – and seems to stem from a series of completely fallacious beliefs:

I’ve heard it said by the cores, for example, that the title “shaman” is a term of honour conferred on a person by his community which recognises his power, and must never be applied to oneself. In my experience, at least, that just isn’t true. Real shamans (by which I mean those I’ve worked with in the jungles and mountains of Peru and in other countries rather than those you might meet in core shamanic weekend warrior workshops) call themselves what they are, whether they are selected by spirit, heredity or a personal decision to pursue a shamanic apprenticeship. Not one of the real shamans I know or have ever worked with has been “chosen” by the community to be a shaman because of their innate powers. It just doesn’t happen in the real world. The desire to be “chosen” or “The One” seems rather a Western pre-occupation actually, which has more to do with ego than genuine power or ability. Being a shaman is a job, like plumbing, painting or prostitution, and I don’t know any plumbers either who were chosen by their community because of an innate ability to plumb.
Even the idea that “shaman” is a real title that actually exists and means something is erroneous. In fact it doesn’t exist at all. The word comes from samaan – a Tungus term which has a very specific meaning: something like ‘priest of the Altai region’ – and has no use, except by anthropologists, in other cultures. In the Andes, for example, the “shaman” is the altamisayoq, curandero or huachumera; in the Amazon he is the ayahuasqero, vegetilisto or perfumero; in Haiti he is the medsen fey or houngan. But even then, these terms are meaningless because in real shamanic communities, which are not usually as ego-led and status-obsessed as the West, it is not the title which matters but the ability to do the job. I refuse to use the expression “shamanic practitioner” with my students - they are shamans-in-training - but at the same time it matters little to me (and it should matter little to them or their clients either) if they choose to call themselves Bobo the Flatulent Clown instead of shaman as long as they can heal the person who comes to them for help.
The idea that ‘authentic shamans’ are something other than us is just as wrong and probably stems from the belief that we have no native shamanic tradition of our own, that only ‘noble savages’ running through jungles in loincloths while off their faces on exotic and mind-bending herbs deserve to be called shamans. At some point in all of histories, however, we were animistic cultures working with the spirits of the land, the weather and the seasons for our very survival. Wicca may be a modern invention (about 60 years old, courtesy of Gerald Gardener) but for thousands of years before this we were more than aware of the powers around us and some of the evidence for our co-operation and collaboration with them can be seen in the artefacts which archaeologists have uncovered, such as the remnants of Irish beehive sweathouses (similar in purpose to Native American lodges), votive offerings made at sacred lakes and springs, and the mummified remains of medicine men and nomads carrying protective amulets and healing and magical plants. If shamanism existed anywhere it existed everywhere and if we are keeping the tradition alive we have just as much right to call ourselves ‘authentic shamans’ as a jungle magician in Borneo.
The belief that becoming “a shaman” is the end of a process is equally wrong. In the West, for some bizarre reason, the word ‘initiation’ has come to mean an ending whereas, in fact, to initiate means to begin something. You can call yourself a shaman right now, then, if you wish to, even if you feel you know little about it – or whenever you are ready to do so – but to become a good, skilled, competent healer will still take you a life-long process of learning and practice. As one of the huachumeros I interviewed for my book Cactus of Mystery put it: “I cannot tell you that in six months or six years or even in 60 years you will be ready to call yourself a ‘shaman’; that is between you and your spirits. What I do know is that I have been a healer for 50 years and I am still learning something new every day.”
Even more fundamentally wrong are the notions that “core shamans” even exist in the world and are qualified to make any pronouncements about what makes anyone an authentic or inauthentic shaman, or that we should measure shamanic competence or authenticity by reference to their approach.
In fact, core shamanism is a fabricated commercial product – a brand - invented by Michael Harner (it is also known as the Harner Method – TM – for trademark) which does not actually exist anywhere in the world. It is made up; cobbled together principally from aspects of Siberian shamanism and the Amazonian ayahuasqero traditions and only began in the 1980s. In historical terms, then, it is even younger than Gardner’s Wicca. It is also a psychological more than a spiritual approach, designed for Westerners, which is (according to many anthropologists and academics, and in my view) a dilution of genuine shamanic methods since it expressly avoids the use of teacher plants (a universal shamanic practice known in all parts of the world – except to “core shamans”) and does not even require a belief in spirit allies or a spirit world since visualisation and the use of imagination or mind is its actual core. (Simon Buxton, who teaches core shamanism in the UK for Michael Harner’s Foundation for Shamanic Studies told me about an argument between Harner and Sandra Ingerman, the ‘core shamans’ at the core of core shamanism, so to speak. To resolve it Ingerman suggested that both she and Harner ‘journey’ – whatever that actually means – to consult with their spirits and seek their advice, to which Harner replied: “There are no fucking spirits, Sandra. I made them up!”). I have a fondness for Harner and see him as a bit of a beardy old rascal so I choose to believe that he invented core shamanism with a good heart and with genuinely good intentions to be of service to the West, but I am sure that even he would never claim that his invention is anything like actual and authentic shamanism. Because it isn’t.

So what, then, is “authentic shamanism”?
Before I answer that, since the subject has been raised here and at many other forums by “Bridget”, “M Graham”, “Anonymous” (or whatever she’s calling herself this week), let me give you an example of what it certainly isn’t.

Simon Buxton and “Bee Shamanism”
Bridget/Graham/Anonymous has been trolling the web for some time now (and I mean years) making the same tedious comments about the authenticity of Simon Buxton’s shamanic bee book and the inauthenticity of my own book on sin eaters (even though sin eating is a known historical tradition with evidence to support it while there is not a shred of evidence for the existence of ‘bee shamanism’). It seems that ‘she’ is very keen to defend her bee guru (or possibly ‘she’ is said bee guru using a number of pseudonyms since she claims to know so much of the background to the books she refers to and the relationship between Buxton and I). On the subject of ‘who ripped what off from who’ and which tradition is more authentic, therefore, perhaps she would like to offer her comments on this small matter…

A 'bee maiden' (i.e. a woman who has spent a considerable amount of time and money on 'path of pollen' "initiation" courses offered by Mr Buxton) writes the following:

"I was drawn to undertake Path of Pollen workshops and trainings having read The Shamanic Way of the Bee and taken it on trust that the book is, as it claims, an authentic account of the author's initiation into the Path of Pollen. What I have recently discovered has shaken that trust considerably and left me wondering if I have been (a) duped and (b) exploited.

"As you will see, it appears that significant passages in The Shamanic Way of the Bee (TSWOTB), including whole paragraphs, have been lifted virtually word-for-word from the much earlier essays of the late P L Travers, who is best known as the author of Mary Poppins but was also a lifelong student of and writer upon myth and fairy tales. Worse still, these key passages are variously presented as the dialogue between Bridge and Twig in TSWOTB and also the first person narrative. There is no indication that use of the passages in question was authorised by P L Travers or her estate [it wasn’t – I checked] and P L Travers' work is not acknowledged either in footnotes or the bibliography at the back of TSWOTB.

"Some people may not care whether or not there is any truth in The Shamanic Way of the Bee or if it is simply one man's fantasy, but to me at least there is something deeply unethical about passing another's words off as one's own and it raises serious questions about the authenticity of the Path of Pollen as a whole. I present some of the evidence below for you to make up your own minds.

"The P L Travers work I quote from is What The Bee Knows - Reflections on Myth Symbol and Story, foreword by David Applebaum, Codhill Press edition 2010

"P L Travers, What The Bee Knows (WTBK) (from the essay entitled What The Bee Knows, first published in Parabola magazine, New York 1981) page 81: For the Bee has at all times and places been the symbol of life - life as immortality. In the Celtic languages, the Cornish 'beu' the Irish 'beo', the Welsh 'byw', can all be translated as 'alive' or 'living'; the Greek 'bios' has been mentioned above and is the French 'abeille' not akin to these? So, the Bee stands for - or is a manifestation of - the fundamental verb 'to be'. 'I am, thou art, he is', it declares, as it goes humming past. ... No wonder then that mythologically the bee is a ritual creature of a host of lordly ones... To anyone capable of suspending for a moment the cavortings of the rational mind, of accepting myth for what it is - not lie but the very veritable truth - it needs no great inward effort to act upon such advice. It's a matter, merely, of listening.

"PP30-31 The Shamanic Way of the Bee (closing paragraphs of Bridge's first knowledge lecture): The Bee Master knows the bee as the most remarkable of creatures, a social alchemist and truly nature's most astonishing being, he reflected before displaying his discreet passion for language and linguistics. It has at all times and places been the symbol of life - life as immortality. In the Celtic language, the Cornish 'beu' the Irish 'beo' and the Welsh 'byw', can all be translated as 'alive' or 'living'. The Greek word bios should also be mentioned. So, the Bee stands for - or is a manifestation of - the fundamental verb 'to be'. 'I am, thou art, he is', it declares, as it goes humming by... if we look to myth the bee is the ritual creature of a host of lordly ones. To anyone capable for a moment of suspending the cavortings of the rational mind, of accepting myth for what it is - not a story or a lie or a corruption of the facts, but the very essence of truth - it should need no great inward effort to access their significance. His eyes bore into me, testing to see if I had yet understood. Then he spoke again, very slowly: It is a matter, merely, of listening.

"PL Travers, (WTBK) p86: “When does the old year end?" asks a child. "On the first stroke of midnight", he is told. "And the new year - when does it begin?" "On the last stroke of midnight." “Well then, what happens in between?" The question, once asked, required an answer from those who know what the Druids knew. Long after I had written down this story, I listened to a radio reporter who was describing the ceremonies of an African tribe at the end of their lunar - or solar? - year. At a given moment, it appeared, the chanting and the drumming ceased as the gods invisibly withdrew. For a few seconds - twelve perhaps - absolute silence reigned. Then the drums broke out again in triumph as the gods invisibly returned with the new year in their arms. 'And' the reporter added 'though I do not ask you to believe it, I can vouch for the fact that my tape recorder, for those few moments of sacred silence, without a touch of my hand, stopped spinning’.

"PP35-36 TSWOB: The end of the year falls exactly at the beginning of the first stroke of midnight on December 31, and the new year begins as the last stroke ends. But what happens in between? In answer to Bridge's question, I told him a story I had heard as a child that had stayed with me over the years. A correspondent for the BBC World Service was describing the ceremonies of an African tribal people at the end of their lunar cycle. At a given moment, the chanting and drumming ceased as the gods and deities invisibly withdrew from the world... For just a few moments, absolute silence reigned in Africa as the gods withdrew. Then the drums broke out again in triumph as the spirits invisibly returned, cradling the new year in their arms. The reason I had recalled the story was that the reporter, a modern western man, had added that though he did not expect his listeners to believe him, he would vouch that during the few moments of sacred silence, his tape recorder had completely stopped working.

"P L Travers WTBK p86: Anyone used to yoga practice experiences the ritual pause between the outgoing and the indrawn breath. Between one breathtime and the next, between one lifetime and the next, something waits for a moment.

"P37 The Shamanic Way of the Bee: ... the Bee Master continued. He reminded me that in meditation working with the breath, there is usually a ritual pause between the outgoing and incoming breath. "Between one breath and the next, between one lifetime and the next, something waits for a moment...."

"P L Travers WTBK p11: The homeland of myth, the country which in the old Russian stories is called East of the sun and West of the moon, and for which there is no known map.

"TSWOTB p98: To my surprise and delight, on this occasion Bridge continued to elaborate: "The Melissae are women who live in a country that is east of the sun and west of the moon for which there is no known map."

"P L Travers WTBK p267 From the essay About The Sleeping Beauty: The Thirteenth Wise Woman stands as a guardian of the threshold, the paradoxical adversary without whose presence no threshold can be passed.

"P102. TSWOTB: Early next morning, I wandered into the garden and found an austere presence dressed in black, awaiting my arrival before the Gate of Transition. She was as the Thirteenth Wise Woman who stands as guardian of the threshold, the paradoxical adversary without whose presence no threshold may be passed.”

Could it ‘bee’ that what I have been saying all along about The Shamanic Way of the Bee is true: that it is a work of fiction masquerading as fact and that the ‘path of pollen’ is a non-existent fabricated tradition, which owes more to Mary Poppins than authentic shamanism? Or perhaps a perfectly reasonable explanation is possible: that the author of Mary Poppins time-travelled to the future so she could rip off The Shamanic Way of the Bee as I have also allegedly done, then time-travelled back to her own era so she could publish her essays 20 years before Buxton’s book appeared? No doubt Bridget/Graham/Anonymous will thoroughly explain this and her guru will emerge once again the innocent and offended party. In the meantime, however, Buxton’s publishers have asked him to rewrite whole sections of ‘his’ book to remove what they believe to be plagiarism and the estate of P L Travers is also looking into the matter.

Sadly, this is not the only email I have received from one of Buxton’s ‘bee goddesses’. A few days before the one above, I got this, which might also serve as a cautionary tale if you've aspirations to become a 'bee maiden' yourself:

"My name is XXX and it is now around six years or so since I was a shamanic practitioner student under the ‘tutelage’ of Simon Buxton. I am myself trained as a psychotherapist, having specialised in working with abuse and am now writing a PhD on the embodiment of the sacred… My own relationship with Simon was difficult, such that at the end of a period of extensive financial and spiritual investment, I found myself having to make a choice between what I experienced as abusive spiritual authority and my own and needing quite simply to walk in the opposite direction to the organisation I had hoped would provide me with a supportive home. I chose my own, amidst considerable confusion and pain..."

As for Bridget’s other points in your comments section, I’m happy to answer them here (although I suspect she will never believe them as she seems entirely brainwashed into intellectual zombification by the ‘pollen power’ of her guru):

Bridget says: In this interview he [I] refers to his alleged experiences with a sin eater in Herefordshire as if they were fact, a claim he doesn't even make in the book in which he describes these ‘experiences’. I call my book a work of semi-fiction, an adventure built around actual events. This is stated in the book itself, quite clearly. I also make clear that the experiences themselves took place – i.e. that I have had these experiences. I fail to see Bridget’s point as I have never claimed otherwise.
She says: The truth is that his book The Sin Eater's Last Confession is uncannily similar in many respects to Simon Buxton's earlier published work, The Shamanic Way of the Bee, even down to chapter headings and the spiritual name of their respective teachers, ‘Bridge’. A similarity between two books written by the same author (i.e. me) is not surprising is it? However, the sin eater I refer to is not named so I don’t know where Bridget gets her information from that the two books share the same teacher. I wouldn’t even (and don’t) call the sin eater a “teacher” in fact, nor do I claim to have apprenticed with him. I refer to him as a friend. And I’ll tell you for a fact that his name wasn’t Bridge. Nor do I ever say that it was. Simon Buxton, however, does know the name of the sin eater because we discussed it at length while I was ghost-writing his book for him. It’s a pity he didn’t mention this to Bridget before he briefed her to make his defences for him.
She says: Having initially supported the authenticity of Buxton's book and vouched for the existence of The Path of Pollen and Buxton's ‘Bridge’, Heaven now denounces it all as a complete fabrication which he ghost-wrote. When Simon Buxton asked me (before a witness I might add) to write his book for him it was presented to me as a work of semi-fiction; a teaching story. On that basis I was happy to endorse it. It subsequently, ‘mysteriously’, appeared as a work of fact however, with my name removed from it, and Buxton went on to accept an award for NON-fiction, so of course I denounced it for what it was. Why should I lie to cover Buxton’s arse? He’s not my bee guru! As for any dispute about the book itself and the tradition it pretends to represent being fabricated, as Bridget does not wish to take my word for it she can now take the matter up with P L Travers and Mary Poppins, Mr Buxton’s real teachers and shamanic initiators it would very much appear.
She says: What he can't answer, however, is why on earth he would have assisted Buxton in ghost-writing a fabricated tale of spiritual apprenticeship when all the time he was sitting on his own ‘genuine’ experiences with the sin eater. Actually, I can and I will answer it. Money, in a word. Mr Buxton promised me £5000 for writing his book for him (which I have never seen). It was also supposed to be a book featuring both our names on the cover, which of course it doesn’t. Then again, it was supposed to be a semi-fictional work but Buxton chose instead to collect an award for NON-fiction for it.
She says: As well as having a bitter fall out with and losing a court case to Buxton, Heaven also managed to fall out with his vodou teacher, Mambo Racine, the details of which are all over the internet. Heaven and Racine denounce each other as fakes and charlatans, yet Heaven still stands by his book Vodou Shaman which passes on these ‘fraudulent’ teachings of Racine. Actually, I won the court case against Buxton (which incidentally had nothing to do with this bee book but Buxton’s theft of some of my other work). Buxton then won it on appeal (which is fairly common in trademark matters) and law prevented a further appeal, or else this matter would probably be ongoing. I wouldn’t say our falling out was “bitter”; rather, I found his attempts to defend himself amusing (as did the judge in fact if you read the case transcript) – one of his strategies being to get gullible and brainwashed students to do the work for him (as per Bridget’s own defences) while he tried to retain a sense of superiority by never once standing up publicly for himself. How foolish those students – and Bridget - must feel now it is obvious that their ‘authentic spiritual tradition’ is little more than a modern-day cult which laughably originates with the author of Mary Poppins and their guru and ‘bee master’ is in fact a plagiarist and liar.
I have also – for very good reasons – denounced Racine, as Bridget rightly states. Vodou Shaman, however, is not a book of teachings by Racine, it is an explanation for Western readers of the shamanic practices within the Haitian spiritual tradition and it stands (or falls, according to your taste) as what it is.
What all of this suggests to me is simply that (a) I am committed to telling the truth and (b) If I have made a mistake about something or someone it is because I am human, but I am also man enough to admit it and to rectify it as quickly as possible so that others are not misled. Let us hope that Bridget is now prepared to admit her own mistake as quickly, though I suspect not.
She asks: See a pattern emerging? I do, yes. I see a pattern of me correcting errors and revealing the truth. I also see a pattern of Bridget going from forum to forum to defend her guru in the face of this truth. As more evidence emerges from other sources, however - such as abused and disgruntled ‘bee maidens’ and the plagiarised words of children’s authors - her attacks on me and defences of her guru simply provide further opportunities for the facts to stand against him. I would suggest therefore that the best thing she could possibly do now to protect her bee master is simply shut up and buzz off.

As for the question by ‘Anonymous’, the answer is also simple – and if you’ve read my sin eater books you already know it: sin eating is a historical but no longer current shamanic occupation in the UK but rather a dead art (excuse the pun) so as I said (and as Anonymous quotes), when I went to Haiti, “I was also looking for a spiritual tradition for myself - we don't have those things in the UK", which is true - unless you include the ‘authentic’ and ‘archaic’ Mary Poppins-inspired bee shamanic tradition of course.

So what is ‘authentic shamanism’?
What authentic shamanism is not is easy to answer: it is not an invented practice like “core shamanism” or a falsified tradition based on plagiarism and ‘abusive spiritual authority’ like “bee shamanism”. The former may have something to recommend it if you accept, as I do, that Harner created his approach in good faith and to be of service to the West by opening minds and spreading awareness. The latter, however, like most scams and frauds, seems designed only to fill the pockets and bolster the ego of its inventor as well as the egos of those Westerners who have some apparently deep-seated need to call themselves “bee goddesses”, “priestesses” or “little princesses” and to buy a meaningless quick-fix title to that effect. They, of course, have a vested interest in not asking questions, thinking for themselves or challenging their guru and the system they are – literally – buying into, or in having anyone else ask those questions either.

Authentic shamans do ask questions, however, and (since ultimately there are no final answers to be found) they are also happy to remain in the mystery while they ask them; indeed, they seek proof of the mystery through the questions they ask.

Authentic shamans are also those people who do not need a cult or tradition to follow. They may be born to one or apprentice within a particular tribe or approach to healing but their first and only necessary teachers are the spirits that they work with as allies, not human beings who insist on guru status.

Authentic shamans encourage their students to think for themselves as well and to make connections of their own with the spirit world, not follow systems, rules and procedures. I have dieted many different power plants in the Amazon, for example, and not once did any shaman tell me in advance what these plants would do or how they heal. I told them after I had dieted the plants and made allies of them myself, because that it is the way it is done and always has been in authentic shamanic traditions.

Authentic shamans explore the world – this one and the next – for themselves, and make their own discoveries. They are map-makers not map-readers.

Authentic shamans find their own way and, when they are ready and when their spirits agree, they choose to call themselves shamans, not when they have spent X thousands of pounds on workshops, sat through X hundred hours of “knowledge lectures” from a made-up tradition, swallowed a library of Mary Poppins books, learned the Lambeth Walk and how to feed the birds, tuppence a bag, or paid someone to call them a maiden or a goddess.

Authentic shamans are people of genuine power – power in the moment when that power is needed to conduct an effective healing or to help someone. Apart from that they are normal people, feet on the ground, not head in the clouds, with the same human problems and experiences as everyone else. That’s what makes them effective healers in the first place: the ability to empathise and identify with normal human concerns and to help others through them, because they have been through them too.

They are certainly not gurus or saints and nor should we want them to be. We’ve had enough gurus – from the Maharishi lambasted by the Beatles in their song Sexy Sadie for preaching austerity to acolytes while acquiring a fleet of Rolls Royces and a harem of guru-worshipping blondes, to Sai Baba (claimed by many, with evidence, to be a child molester), to Pope Benedict who recently got out quick amidst rumours and allegations of his own involvement in child abuse, to those who create money-making ‘archaic and authentic’ shamanic traditions and do not even have the sense or decency to change the words they are stealing from others.

Authentic shamans are men and women of thought and action; they are certainly not zombies unthinkingly accepting the dogma of cults and parroting lies in return for fake titles.

The picture at the top shows a wooden statue of a shaman from North America. It was on display at The Body Adorned exhibition at the Horniman Museum.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/07/interview-with-author-and-shamanic.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/12/review-hummingbirds-journey-to-god.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/07/review-medicine-for-soul-shamanic.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/01/magical-clothing-from-body-adorned.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/01/questing-for-northern-lights.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/11/drugs-dreams-and-delusions.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/05/review-animal-wisdom-tarot-boxed-set.html

Pagan Eye: Cuckoo-Pint, Wild Arum or Lords and Ladies

2013-06-12T00:01:00.000-07:00

Cuckoo-pint - or wild arum - is a plant normally associated with Beltaine rather than Midsummer. It usually blooms at the start of May in the UK, but I photographed this growing in a hedgerow at a date closer to the Summer Solstice than to May Day. It just shows what a late spring we are having this year.

The wild flower is probably linked to the fertility festival of Beltaine as much because of its suggestive shape as the time it appears. The fact that it looks a bit like an erect male organ cupped inside feminine-shaped leaves is the inspiration for some of cuckoo-pint's other common names too: lords and ladies, devils and angels, cows and bulls, Adam and Eve.

It is one of the cards in The Druid Plant Oracle:"The Cuckoo Pint displays the chalice and the blade united. This symbolises at one level the union of man and woman, but at a deeper level the goal of the Druid and all spiritual seekers: the union of the masculine and feminine aspects of the psyche, sometimes termed the Mystical Marriage or Alchemical Wedding."

Picking this card indicates that you can look forward to a time of harmony with the person you love, or can make the most of the integration of the feminine and masculine aspects of your own nature, leading to greater creativity. It seemed the right card to be talking about the day after reviewing The Honeymoon Effect - a book about how to create long-term harmonious loving relationships.

It is worth noting that the spring flowers and the autumn berries of cuckoo-pint are poisonous, and the reversed meaning of the Druid Plant Oracle card is to beware of a relationship turning toxic.

On each Pagan Eye post, I show a photo that I find interesting, with a few words about it. I'm not quite sure what I'll be including - it could be a seasonal image, a pagan site, an event, or just a pretty picture.

If you want to send me a photo for a Pagan Eye post, please email it to badwitch1234@gmail.com Let me know what the photo shows and whether you want your name mentioned or not. For copyright reasons, the photo must be one you have taken yourself and you must confirm that you are submitting it for A Bad Witch's Blog.

Links and previous related posts
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arum_maculatum
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/05/plant-magic-solomons-seal-for.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/08/pagan-eye-magical-mandrake-or-mandragora.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/07/pagan-eye-wooden-thing.html
The Honeymoon Effect: The Science of Creating Heaven on Earth
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/09/an-alchemical-marriage-at-rosslyn-hill.html

TV: Britain's Wicca Man is on YouTube

2013-06-11T14:23:00.000-07:00

Britain's Wicca Man, the long-awaited documentary about Gerald Gardner, is now on YouTube and watchable in the UK: http://youtu.be/QQbdXCoxC14

Review: The Honeymoon Effect - Heaven on Earth

2013-06-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

I asked Hay House if I could have a review copy of a new book The Honeymoon Effect: The Science of Creating Heaven on Earth.The publishing company kindly sent it to me, but after it arrived I was unsure why I was so keen to read it. The book is aimed at people who don't have a lot of success with romantic relationships - yet I've been very happy with my partner for over a decade.

Then I realised - my relationship might be good, but I'd be kidding myself if I said it was quite so passionate now as it was 10 years ago, when we first started dating. I wondered - is it possible to keep that honeymoon feeling going past the first few weeks, months or years? Author Bruce H. Lipton says it is, and that was why I wanted to read his book,

Publisher Hay House describes the meaning of The Honeymoon Effect on its website: "A state of bliss, passion, energy and health resulting from ... love."

In the book, Bruce asks readers to think back on the most spectacular love affair of their lives. "It was a time when they were exuberantly healthy, when they were overflowing with energy, when they were loving their lives so much they couldn't wait to bound out of bed in the morning to experience more." He goes on to explain that this 'Honeymoon Effect' was not a chance event but a personal creation, then explains why honeymoons are so often short lived - and what we can do to get that feeling back.

Bruce looks at the science of love, including the physics behind feelings of "good vibrations", the biochemistry of our body's own "love potions" and the psychology of how our conscious and subconscious minds need to work in harmony to get what we want from relationships. Then he goes on to describe techniques to put this knowledge into practice, including mindfulness, hypnosis and subliminal tapes, as well as ways to avoid destructive arguments.

What I liked about the book was that it offered a whole variety of ways to improve relationships and help individual personal development without being dogmatic. Some things will work for some people and not for others. You can just pick out that bits that appeal to you. Even though I consider my relationship with my partner to be good, having read The Honeymoon Effect I can see a few ways that it could be even better.

Author Bruce H Lipton, Ph.D is also the author of The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles.

Links and previous related posts
The Honeymoon Effect: The Science of Creating Heaven on Earth
http://www.hayhouse.co.uk/books/1781800952/the-honeymoon-effect
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/11/review-medidating-for-fearless-romance.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/05/soul-centred-transform-your-life-with.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2011/02/tarot-lovers-card.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/02/ethics-of-love-spells.html

TV: Britain's Wicca Man - Viewable in Australia

2013-06-10T10:06:00.002-07:00

The long-awaited TV documentary Britain's Wicca Man, about the life of Gerald Gardner, was shown last night on ABC in Australia. If you missed it, and you live in Australia, you can view it here: http://www.abc.net.au/iview/#/program/39812

If you are in the UK, you can't watch it yet. Shame.

Previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/02/television-britains-wicca-man.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/02/correction-wicca-man-tv-schedule.html

Peter Knight on the Cerne Abbas Giant - PF Conference

2013-06-10T00:00:00.000-07:00

At The Pagan Federation London Conference 2013 last week, Peter Knight gave a talk about the Cerne Abbas Giant, which is also the subject of his latest book. Paula Dempsey has written about what he had to say:

Peter’s talk was a complex one, amply illustrated with photographs of the Giant and surrounding area. In his talk he situates the Cerne Giant in the ritual landscape and posits a connection between the mysterious chalk figure and Iron Age cosmology.

The Cerne Abbas Giant is an outline in white chalk on Giant Hill. Fifty-five metres tall, he makes an imposing figure but is probably best known for his 7 metre erect phallus. The Giant carries a 37 metre long club in one hand, while the other arm extends out across the hillside. The feet turn to the figure’s right, giving the impression that he’s about to stride off somewhere – to do battle, perhaps?

Although the first historical reference to the Giant is found in the seventeenth century, Peter believes that the figure was first etched onto the hill during the Iron Age. Unsurprisingly, he has evolved and changed over time. The Giants remarkable manhood was, at some point, lengthened; he used to be rather less well endowed. Some scholars believe that the head of an enemy once dangled from the hand not occupied with the club, or that a cloak was once slung casually across the outstretched arm.

Peter became interested in identifying who the figure might be. As the Giant is clearly a fertility symbol, he compared the image with depictions of fertility gods worldwide and ended up with three front-runners, whose myths most closely matched the Giant.: the Greek Orion, the Egyptian Osiris and the Celtic Gwyn ap Nud. Orion is a club-wielding, somewhat randy kind of god! Osiris is sometimes depicted as ithyphallic (erect) with one arm extended in the manner of the Giant. Gwyn ap Nud leads the Wild Hunt across the sky and in Celtic mythology is represented by the constellation of Orion.

Using a specialist computer programme, Peter plotted the night sky as it would have appeared to our Iron Age ancestors and found that at that time the shape of the club in the constellation of Orion’s club would have risen directly above the figure on the hillside. He suggests that during the Iron Age a “stargate”, a starless gap in the sky, would have also been aligned with Orion’s club. The ancient Egyptians and other ancient civilizations believed that this stargate was the path along which souls would process on their way to the Otherworld.

This was a fascinating talk which went into far more detail than can be fitted into this short review. His book The Cerne Giant – Landscape, Gods and the Stargate is published by Stone Seeker Publishing (http://www.stoneseeker.net/).

Previous related posts:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/07/mystery-of-long-man-of-wilmington.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/08/white-horses-of-england.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/10/pagan-eye-westbury-white-horse.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/06/the-pf-london-conference-2013-rites-of.html

Event: Northern Tradition Summer Camp in London

2013-06-09T08:30:00.002-07:00

A Northern Tradition Summer Camp is taking place in London from 28 June to July 1 this year.

The Kith of Yggdrasil Althing 2013 is an open event at a great camp site in North London. You can arrive to set up camp on the Friday; on Saturday and Sunday there will be Blots, talks and workshops; then breaking camp and clearing up on Monday.

There will be talks, workshops and a chance to experience Northern Tradition rites and magic.

Prices are £30 for two to four days (£25 Kith and Troth members), £15 per day for one days camping (£12.50 Kith and Troth members) and £7.50 for one day non-camping (£6.50 Kith and Troth members). For further details and bookings email Phil, the Kith Secretary on: pparkyn@yahoo.co.uk

You can also find more details on the flyer pictured on the right.

Pagan Events: Midsummer and Summer Solstice 2013

2013-06-09T00:25:00.000-07:00

Summer Solstice is on 21 June, which is a Friday in 2013. However, pagans often celebrate midsummer from the middle of June until the end of the month. The word Solstice comes from the Latin phrase sol sistere, which means "sun stand still" because the sun seems to stand still in the sky for a time on the longest day of the year. Afterwards, for the rest of the year, the days get shorter and the nights longer – although the hottest days of the summer are still to come and to be enjoyed.

Midsummer's day is magical, charged with the energy of the sun at its strongest, and that is what is celebrated at this time of year. Here are a few pagan events and open rituals in London and southern England that you can take part in to mark the Summer Solstice in 2013. For details of more pagan events, click on the events link at the top of the page.

Saturday 15 June; Midsummer: Custom, Magic and Lore. One-Day Workshop with Suzanne Corbie at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 10.45am - 5.30pm. Cost £45, advance booking and deposit essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com

Wednesday 19 June; Sound Healing and Gong Bath by London College of Spirituality. Free event as part of Mindfulness Week in the More London Fringe Festival with the London Spiritual Movement. Venue: The Scoop at More London, 2A Riverside, SE1 2DB. Start time 6.30pm. Free entry. For more details visit http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=190

Thursday 20 June; Meditation and Mindfulness with Wake Up London. Free event as part of Mindfulness Week in the More London Fringe Festival. Venue: The Scoop at More London, 2A Riverside, SE1 2DB. Start time 6.30pm. Free entry. For more details visit http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=190

Thursday 20 June - 23 June; Gathering of the Elders from the Ecuadorian Amazon. Summer Solstice gathering at Caer Corhain Shamamic Development Centre of the Isle of Sheppey, North Kent. Starts Thursday evening. Cost £250. For more details and information on how to book, visit http://www.touchtheearthuk.com/

Thursday 20 June; PFL Litha Open Ritual by Tribe of Avalon. Venue: Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn London. Time: 7.30pm for 8pm start. Ritual ends around 9pm followed by feasting until 10pm. Entrance: £6/£5 PF members. Please bring seasonal food and drinks to share at feast after ritual. For more details, visit http://london.paganfed.org/

Thursday 20 June-Friday 21 June; Stonehenge (pictured top), the 5,000-year-old megalithic monument on Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire, is the most famous place in England to celebrate the solstices. Entry is normally restricted although English Heritage, which manages the site, will be providing what it calls "managed open access" to Stonehenge for the Summer Solstice. English Heritage allows individuals and groups to conduct their own ceremonies and rituals during the opening times, from 7pm on 20 June until 8am on 21 June. No camping is allowed. There is a car park half a mile from the stones, but it is more environmentally friendly to use public transport to get there, buses run from Salisbury railway station. For details about access to the stones, visit: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/summer-solstice/

Friday 21 June; Drumming and Tribal Singing with the London College of Spirituality. Free event as part of Mindfulness Week in the More London Fringe Festival. Venue: The Scoop at More London, 2A Riverside, SE1 2DB. Start time 6.30pm. Free entry. For more details visit http://www.morelondon.co.uk/events_details.asp?ID=190

Friday 21 June; Summer Solstice on the Beach with Coven of the Bright Isle, at Joss Bay, Broadstairs, Kent. The Coven of the Bright Isle, a normally closed Wiccan group based in Thanet, is holding an open Wiccan Summer Solstice ritual to which all pagans are welcome. The ritual is timed to coincide with sunrise, at 4.30am. Meet at the car park on North Foreland Hill CT10 3PG before sunrise. Bring food and drink for yourself and join the group for breakfast round the fire afterwards – weather permitting.

Friday 21 June; Unveiling of Blue Plaque to Commemorate Doreen Valiente in Brighton. There will be an afternoon of events starting at noon and going on until the evening to celebrate Doreen Valiente. Meet at Steine Gardens, Brighton, at noon for the start of the programme. There will be a procession to Tyson Place, where Doreen lived, and the unveiling itself will take place at 2.30pm. Entertainment will take place later at The Green Door Store, Railway Arches. This is a free event during the afternoon, followed by evening entertainment from 7pm that costs £5. For full details, visit http://doreenvaliente.org/

Friday 21 June; Midsummer Meditation at Chalice Well World Peace Garden, in Glastonbury. Gathering at the Well Head at 12pm for celebration and meditation until 12.30pm, then gather on the lower lawn for quiet conversation. Free admission from 10am until noon, then normal price admission. For more details about Chalice Well, visit the website http://www.chalicewell.org.uk/

Saturday 22 June; Summer Solstice Open Ritual on Cooden Beach, Cooden Sea Rd, Bexhill TN39 4TT. Time: 2.30pm. This open ritual is free and all are welcome. Bring a picnic and wear suitable shoes for a stony beach.

Saturday 22 June; Hern's Tribe Midsummer open ritual in Richmond Park. Family friendly outdoor event. Bring your own picnic. For more details, visit http://www.pflondon.org/html/news_-_info.html

Saturday, June 22; Free and Open Gorsedd Summer Solstice Rite at Avebury Stone Circle in Wiltshire. Open Druidic style ceremony to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Meet at the Red Lion pub from Noon for ceremony at 1.30pm until 3pm. Free event - offerings of song, poetry, cake, mead are welcomed. There is no camping at Avebury this Saturday as Solstice camping is 20th and 21st only.

Sunday 23 June; Greenman Walk organised by The Goddess Foundation. This is a family event that takes place every summer. Venue: Ashplats Woods, East Grinstead, near East Grinstead Town Football Club. It is an event for all of the family to celebrate Summer Solstice. Bring a picnic, go for a walk, watch the Summer Solstice Mummers Play and take part in a quiz. No charge, but donations greatly appreciated. For more details, contact The Goddess Foundation via its website: http://www.goddessfoundation.org.uk/

Sunday 23 June. Fairy Festival at Butser Ancient Farm, Chalton Lane, Chalton, Hants. For more details and to book tickets call 02392 598838 or visit http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/

Sunday 23 June; Midsummer on Primrose Hill with the Loose Association of Druids. Open ritual hosted by Jeremy Morgan, the Druid of Wormwood Scrubbs. Venue: The Hawthorne Grove, Primrose Hill, Regents Park, London NW1. Starts at 12.30pm, ends at around 2.30pm. Nearest tube: Chalk Farm.

Sunday 23 June; St John's Eve, Midsummer Crossbones Vigil to honour The Goose and the outcast dead of Cross Bones Graveyard. Gather from 6.45pm in Redcross Way outside the Memorial Gates, SE1, opposite the Boot and Flogger, just north of the junction with Union Street. Nearest tubes Borough or London Bridge, 5 minutes walk away. The event is free. http://www.crossbones.org.uk/

Sunday 23 June; Summer Solstice. Evening service led by the Wheel of the Year Group at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel (pictured below), 3 Pilgrim's Place, London NW3 1NG. Time: 7pm. http://www.rosslynhillchapel.com/

Last Chance to Fill In Survey On Pagan Census

2013-06-07T08:41:00.001-07:00

Last month I mentioned that Vivianne Crowley is asking Pagans to help her with some research by filling in a short questionnaire about how they filled in the UK Census form. She needs to get all the information by Sunday, 9 June. So if you want to fill out the survey, please do so today or tomorrow.

Vivianne said: "I’ve got until Sunday 9 June to get in responses before putting together the first analysis of the results, so if you can remind people who haven’t got round to completing the questionnaire to do so that would be great. And I’d love to get more responses from those whose Census forms were completed by other people – maybe their partners, parents, landlords or others who may not have been Pagan themselves – and from younger and older people (under 30 and over 60).

"Just to remind you of the background, I've been invited by the British Sociological Association's Sociology of Religion group to give a paper on Pagan responses to the UK Census 2011. There is a big difference between the survey numbers and those quoted for number of Pagans in the UK and I'm trying to tease out some of the reasons. One might be that numbers have been inflated. The other might be that Pagans for various reasons were under-reported. All responses are anonymous."

Here is the link to the survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UK2011Census

Do forward this to anyone you think might be interested.

Previous post:
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/05/survey-on-pagan-responses-to-uk-census.html

This Week's Pagan Events In and Near London

2013-06-07T00:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday 8 June; Home Herbal Apothecary. One-day workshop at Butser Ancient Farm, Chalton Lane, Chalton, Hants. Tickets: £60. For more details and to book tickets call 02392 598838 or visit http://www.butserancientfarm.co.uk/

Sunday 9 June; Treadwells Social Sunday: A chance to socialise with a cup of tea and cake and at 2pm and 4pm there will be a reading from a pagan classic book. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Shop open from noon. Free social event, but contact the shop in advance to reserve a place and refreshments. info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Monday 10 June; The Systematic Reuse of 21st Dynasty Coffins. Lecture by Dr Kathlyn (Kara) Cooney, Associate Professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at the University of California, Los Angeles at The Egypt Exploration Society, 3 Doughty Mews, London WC1N 2PG. Time: 6.30pm-7.30pm. Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance here: http://ees.ac.uk/events/index/224.html or here: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/FriendsofPetrie/pages/Events1.html

Monday 10 June; Love and the Metaphysical World of Nature. Talk by Michael Roads, author of Talking with Nature & Journey into Nature.Venue: Alternatives, St. James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London, W1J 9LL. Time: 7pm to 8.30pm. Tickets £10/£5 concs. Advance booking required. To book tickets and for more info visit the Alternatives website: http://www.alternatives.org.uk/Site/Talks.aspx

Monday 10 June; Visions of Albion - Enchanted Landscape in Modern Art. Lecture by Ruth Clydesdale, author of Secret Wisdom: Occult societies and arcane knowledge through the ages.Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Tickets £7, advance booking recommended. For further details: info@treadwells-london.com http://www.treadwells-london.com/

Tuesday 11 June; Demonstration of Psychic Surgery by Gary Mannion at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Tuesday 11 June; Wheel of the Year Workshop with Cobwebs and Cauldrons. Venue: Bonlife, North Street, Romford. Time: 7pm-9pm. Cost: £20. Details: https://www.facebook.com/cobwebs.cauldrons

Wednesday 12 June; Richard Ward - "Born of Blood and Fire". Evening with The Moot With No Name. Venue: Devereux pub, Devereux Court (opposite the Royal Courts of Justice), London. 7.30pm for 8pm start. This moot meets every other Wednesday.

Wednesday 12 June; Ickenham Moot. Venue: Coach and; Horses, High Road, Ickenham, UB10 8LJ. Nearest tube stations Ickenham & W. Ruislip. Time: 7.30pm start. Monthly moot on the second Wednesday. All welcome. For further details email Gina: brockwitch@yahoo.co.uk

Wednesday 12 June; Channelling Your Guide. Event organised by London Spiritual Movement. Time: 7pm. Venue: Conference Room, Canterbury Hall, 11 – 18 Cartwright Gardens, London WC1H 9EE. Donation: £10 if you can afford it. For more details and to book your place: http://www.meetup.com/londonspirituality/events/120028832/?a=ea1_grp&rv=ea1

Thursday 13 June; London Gemini City. Stories and songs from Nigel of Bermondsey at South East London Folklore Society (SELFS). Venue: The Old King's Head, Kings Head Yard, 45-49 Borough High St, London SE1 1NA. Entry: £2.50 / £1.50 concessions. No need to book in advance. Meetings are the second Thursday of each month. http://www.selfs.org.uk/

Thursday 13 June; Druid Order Open Introductory Evening. A chance to learn more about at The Druid Order (A.D.U.B.) at an evening with talks and a meditation. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7.15pm for 7.30pm start. Price: £7. For more details, call Druid Order on 020 8659 4879.

Friday 14 June; You Do Know: Learning to Act on Intuition Instantly.Talk and book signing by Becky Walsh at Watkins Books, 19-21 Cecil Court, London WC2N 4EZ. Time: 6.30pm. Free event. For more details Tel 020 7836 2182 or visit the website http://www.watkinsbooks.com/

Friday 14 June; Ask Douglas - Answers to Your Past, Present and Future. Evening with Douglas Ballard at The College of Psychic Studies, 16 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2EB. Time: 7pm. Cost: £10/£12 Advance booking advised. For details call: 020 7589 3292 or visit http://www.collegeofpsychicstudies.co.uk/index.html

Saturday June 15-Sunday June 16; Returning to the Oracular Womb - A Weekend Intensive on London and Delphi with Elle Hull. Venue: Conway Hall, 25 Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL. Time: 10am-5pm each day and an evening meditation on the banks of the Thames on the 15th. Costs: £150 - all materials included. For more details and to book online, visit http://oracularwomb.blogspot.co.uk/

Saturday 15 June; Midsummer: Custom, Magic and Lore. One-Day Workshop with Suzanne Corbie at Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 10.45am - 5.30pm. Cost £45, advance booking and deposit essential. Tel: 020 7240 8906 or email: info@treadwells-london.com. www.treadwells-london.com

Saturday 15 June; Seidr High Seat Rite. The High Seat Rite is an early Norse practice of Shamanic trance prophecy, using dancing, chanting and drumming to help the Seer in a shamanic journey to the Norse Underworld. Venue: Treadwells, 33 Store Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7BS. Time: 7pm-10pm. Tickets: £7.50, advance booking is essential as no tickets will be sold on the door. To book a place, email HighSeatRitesLondon@gmail.com.

Sunday 16 June; Dawn of the Oak. Pagan moot on the third Sunday of each month. Venue: Upstairs at The Castle, 34-35 Cowcross Road, Farringdon, London EC1M 6DB (near Farringdon tube). Time: 3pm-6pm.

Blogging: Creating Art and Making Money

2013-06-06T03:00:00.000-07:00

For most bloggers, blogging is a labour of love. It certainly is for me. Thinking up interesting things to write about every day takes a lot of time - and doesn't normally earn the blogger much money.

The standard ways to try to monetise a blog a little bit are to host adverts and join associate schemes. In my experience, these bring in a tiny bit of cash each month, but usually only about enough to maybe buy myself a book or a bottle of wine. Not enough to give up the day job!

However, many companies are now realising the power of blogging to promote their brands - and are looking for good bloggers with popular blogs to do business with. In the past year, I've been approached a few times by PR people to write paid-for posts. I'll only accept if I feel the product is something I want to write about and is appropriate for A Bad Witch's Blog, but I've taken up some offers.

A couple of posts I've been paid to write include one about Glastonbury for Premier Inns, and one about hot tubs for Arctic Spas. They were both features I really enjoyed writing and it was great to get a bit of money as a bonus. I realise some bloggers prefer to keep their posts completely free from commercial interests - and that's fine. Personally, I'm happy to aim for a healthy balance between art for art's sake and money for God's sake, as the old 10cc song goes.

A new website called Hire Bloggers has just been set up to help bloggers connect with companies that want to pay for their services.

Tafuta, the brains behing Hire Bloggers, said:

"Hire Bloggers is a new service that is looking to connect brands with the right bloggers. Most brands are looking for writers for their blog, or exposure of their business on your blogs. Either way, we find the right business, for the right blogger at the right price. Often if the blogger has a good social media presence, they can charge a bit more for promotion of the content on social media too!
"Typically after we have worked with you, we would offer 20% payment upfront, and after building a relationship with you, we would offer 50% payment upfront. And there are no obligations; if after being awarded a job, you are unable to complete, let us know, refund the deposit, and no harm done!
"For businesses this is great because it allows them access to good quality writers and blogs with a decent readership. For bloggers, it is a great way to make a bit of extra cash!"

I admit, I'm getting paid a small amount for mentioning Hire Bloggers, but I don't feel I'm selling out by doing that. I think it is a good idea and have signed up to the service myself. If you write a blog, have a look at the website http://www.hirebloggers.co.uk/ and see what you think.

Links and previous related posts
http://www.hirebloggers.co.uk/
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/03/hot-tubs-naked-witches-and-ritual.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2013/01/glastonbury-tor-entrance-to-land-of.html

TV: Professor Ronald Hutton Looks at Museums

2013-06-06T00:01:00.000-07:00

In a new TV series on the Yesterday channel, Professor Ronald Hutton looks at the hidden gems of British museums. The 12-part series starts on Wednesday 12 June at 9pm on Yesterday. You can find out more about it here: http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/homepage/sid/9518

Previous related post
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/09/highlights-day-with-ronald-hutton-and.html

News: Ancient Egyptian City Found In Mediterranean

2013-06-05T04:00:00.000-07:00

Archaeologists have discovered a lost Egyptian city under the sea. You can read the story "Heracleion Photos: Lost Egyptian City Revealed After 1,200 Years Under Sea" here: http://seriouslyforreal.com/seriously-for-real/heracleion-photos-lost-egyptian-city-revealed-after-1200-years-under-sea/

Spells: Weather Magic, Wind Knots and Knot Spells

2013-06-05T00:01:00.000-07:00

David, who reads my blog, sent me an interesting question about weather magic. He said: “I was wondering if you could give me a few good tips on making wind knots. I've been looking online, but I wasn't sure if it seemed legit. It would be great if you could help.”

Wind knots are definitely documented as a practice in traditional magic. In Traditional Witchcraft for the Seashore, author Melusine Draco states:

“Beneficent witches... were often called upon to provide a weather spell in the form of a knotted string. The following was recorded c1350 in the Polychronicon by Ranulph Higden: ‘[In the Isle of Man] witchcraft is exercised much, for women there be wont to sell wind to the shipmen coming to that country, as included under three knots of thread, so that they will unloose the knots like as they will have the wind to blow.’”

In Forbidden Rites author Jeannette Ellis states: “There are legends of Witches selling three knots in a rope or a lock of their hair to sailors, undo one for a breeze, undo two for good wind but three would cause a gale.”

The idea of tying knots in rope, string or hair as a spell is not exclusive to weather magic. Knot spells can be cast for pretty much anything, usually by tying nine knots in a cord while saying something along the lines of: “By the knot of one, this spell is begun. By the knot of two, my spell comes true. By the knot of three, so mote it be. By the knot of four, power I store. By the knot of five, my magic is alive. By the knot of six, this spell I fix. By the knot of seven, this spell I leaven. By the knot of eight, if it is fate. By the knot of nine, what I wish is mine!” That example comes from The Green Wiccan Year, but you can find variations easily online and in many spell books.

The difference is that with the nine-knot spell you are tying a purpose into the cord and would not normally undo the knots unless the spell was truly over and done with, but wind knots are created with the intention of eventually undoing them to summon, or perhaps release, the wind.

Wind magic features in the Homeric poem The Odyssey, although it is described as a wind bag rather than a wind knot. As part of his epic journey home from the Trojan Wars, Odysseus and his crew stay with Aeolus, the master of the winds. He gives Odysseus a leather bag containing all the winds except the west wind, to help them have a safe return home. However, the sailors opened the bag while Odysseus slept, thinking it held gold. All the winds flew out, resulting in a storm that drove the ship back, just as their home country came into sight. That is a lesson to always be cautious when using any magic.

Although I can’t find the traditional wording witches used in the past to create wind knots I would suggest saying the following while tying three knots into a piece of ship’s rope: “I ask the blessing of Aeolus, Ruler of the Winds, to harness into this cord the power of the storm: In the knot of one, a breeze begun; In the knot of two, good winds and true; In the knot of three, a gale to see.”

David, I hope that helps answer your question. If you try it out, be careful to only summon a gentle breeze or useful wind, not a destructive storm!

Links and previous related posts
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2012/03/review-traditional-witchcraft-for.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/09/review-forbidden-rites-introduction-to.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/11/book-of-shadows-for-wiccan-year.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2009/02/spells-to-find-new-job.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/storms-and-spring-tides.html
http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2008/03/meditations-on-element-of-air.html

Review: The Pagan Writers' Guide

2013-06-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

If you have never had a book or even a magazine article published, but think you would like to have a go at writing for the pagan or Mind, Body Spirit market, The Pagan Writers' Guide: Writing for the Pagan and MBS Publicationsis what you should read before you start typing your magnum opus.

Aimed at novice writers, it offers really practical advice on how to get into print, whether you see yourself as a writer of fiction or non-fiction. Rather than dealing with the subject in the way that an English teacher might teach creative writing at school or evening class, author Melusine Draco concentrates on how to give magazine editors or book publishers what they want.

Publisher Compass Books says on its website: "Writing for the pagan community is no different from writing for any other readership – but we need to learn the basic rules before deciding whether we have any talent worth pursuing. Regardless of our own personal levels of esoteric learning, we need to go back to the basics of creative writing and see what tricks of the trade we can utilise. We will see why editors and publishers are inundated with submissions of a certain kind – and what we can do to give our writing ‘editor appeal’. We will learn how to develop ideas via lateral thinking, and develop the art of ‘seeing’ through an editor’s eyes."

The Pagan Writers' Guide looks at things like the importance of doing research before you begin. That means both knowing your subject and knowing what kind of thing will appeal to the publishing house you are writing it for. Melusine explains just how the publication process works and what to expect when you send a proposal to an editor.

The book ends with interviews of several editors from different pagan, occult and MBS lines asking them what they are looking for and - importantly - what will quickly get rejected and end up on the spike.

Author Melusine Draco is the editor of quarterly creative writing magazine The New Writer and is the author of Shaman Pathways: Aubry's Dog, Shaman Pathways: Black Horse White Horse, and Pagan Portals: By Spellbook and Candle.

Links
http://www.compass-books.net/books/compass-points-pagan-writers-guide
Compass Points - The Pagan Writers' Guide: Writing for the Pagan and MBS Publications

News: Hertfordshire Peace Pilgrimage Includes Druid Rite

2013-06-03T07:11:00.006-07:00

A Druid ceremony will be part of the 28th Annual Multi-Faith Pilgrimage for Peace in Hertfordshire this Saturday, 8 June. The event starts at 9.45am at Holy Rood Roman Catholic Church, Watford. This Interfaith event includes a visit to a Buddhist monastery, a mosque and a synagogue as well as watching an open air Druid ceremony. For more details see: http://westminsterinterfaith.org.uk/wordpress/?p=11

You can read a news story about it on the Hemel Today website: http://www.hemeltoday.co.uk/community/packed-programme-for-peace-pilgrimage-1-5133153