I first became aware of Peter as an author when his wonderful book Mystai: Dancing out the Mysteries of Dionysos was published. See the review link below.
This new book is however of a completely different subject matter and as the title suggests is about healing and his work with subtle energies.
In many respects, it is also about his own journey, together with his partner Kenzie, as they develop their own techniques. It is an invitation to everyone to explore their own path and embark on their own spiritual quest, in what Peter describes, ‘for emotional and spiritual well-being’.
One of the main keys to unfolding personal mysteries is to tap into ‘intuitive knowledge’. Peter, “The ability to feel connected to all life-forms is the key to our continued
personal and spiritual development. It is also the key to our continued survival as a species. Humanity is challenged to move beyond the unconscious demonization of other groups, peoples, and cultures and its indifference to the destruction and pollution of the natural environment.
Around the world, the forces of globalization and industrialization are eroding both biological and cultural diversity. We encounter the same brands, clothing, entertainment, and food products wherever we go. Less commented on is the fact that this uniform consumer culture, which represents a loss of cultural diversity, tends to undermine
perceptual diversity, which is our natural ability to connect to reality using different states of awareness.”
Describing the various therapies such as Meridian Therapy Technique, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Mind Connection Healing (MCH), Tapas Acupressure Technique (TAT) various case studies are examined.
The journey however begins with Peter’s own personal account of how he was healed having been diagnosed with ‘an enlarged liver’. He also describes other personal ‘eureka moments’ and what is commonly called ASC’s Altered states of consciousness. (In some cases now also called ALTERNATE SC’s).
Using case history and testimonials we read of the often vivid recollections. Also and equally important are also the recollections of how healers have worked their mojo. The interaction between healers and patients are in themselves illuminating. As we read, Peter too was impressed at how his ‘Russian healer’ had drawn out the negative energies, or influences, on his liver.
As I read through the book I was reminded of Dion Fortune’s book, The Secrets of Dr. Taverner (1926). As a student of the Western Mystery Tradition, Fortune meant her fiction to be teaching tools. Peter’s book is not fiction and by citing real cases and the therapies utilised to help patients, he has provided us with a wealth of material for us to draw our own conclusions.
As practitioners on our own magical path in chapter 7, Healing through Spirit, Peter describes theThe Range of Meditative Practices. Within this vast range of practices we can discern at least five basic patterns of meditative practice:
Mindfulness meditation consists of maintaining a state of present-moment, non-judgmental awareness.
Single-pointed meditation consists of maintaining focus on a single point.
Compassion meditation is a heart-centred meditation that involves reaching out to all sentient beings and wishing for the alleviation of their suffering.
Contemplation is a form of meditation involving the meditative exploration of a particular topic or question.
Yogic meditation is an advanced practice that involves some combination of meditative stillness, visualization, sound, breathing, and posture and energy work.
However, he points out: “Not all practices are suitable for us. If it doesn’t feel right, listen to yourself and stop; there will be some other approach or technique that is just right for you.”
P 144: Conclusions
• Your personal healing, self-development, or spiritual journey should not be another source of stress in your life. If it’s not joyful, then it’s probably the wrong thing for you.
• Not all facilitators and teachers are compatible with our personal style, no matter how highly recommended they may come. If you do not feel comfortable with someone, listen to yourself and stop; some other person will be more compatible with your personal style.
• Never try to push yourself too hard to obtain a result; everything has its own season.
• Expectations based on other people’s experiences may serve as a great motivation for getting started, but we really need to keep a check on our expectations and forego comparisons with other people. However your experience is, it’s okay, that’s how it was
meant to be.
• Be ready to step beyond the boundaries of the known and the familiar but recognize that each person’s tolerance for the unknown and the unfamiliar is different. What is extreme for one person may be child’s play for another. There is no standard against which you should measure yourself other than how you feel about it.
• Always make your best effort to transform any emotional issues that surface. Do not leave them hanging unresolved, since they will make you feel upset and unbalanced for some time afterwards.
This is excellent advice and places the emphasis on personal choice! As a ‘teaching tool’ this book is a gem. Not to be read and archived, but to be used as a guide frequently .. and put into practice. Highly recommended!
Summary – Peter:
In chapter 1,Healing, Energy, and Consciousness, we set the scene by introducing the main categories and issues that we are going to deal with.
In chapter 2, Psi and Intuitive Knowledge, we look at how each and every one of us has the dynamic potential to access information with which we otherwise have no connection.
In chapter 3,Healing Issues within Our Timeline, we examine experiences from the extremities of our normal life cycle: those arising in the womb, during the birth process, and on the very brink of death. These experiences challenge the conventional understanding of consciousness and the boundaries of selfhood, of when the “I” can be said to exist.
In chapter 4, Healing Issues beyond Our Timeline, we extend our inquiry further, into the continuity of the self and the limits of consciousness, by examining examples of healing involving past lives as well as inherited family and ancestral trauma.
Chapter 5,The Healing Field, summarizes the implications of what we have learned up to now and proposes a model of consciousness and reality that allows us to make sense of these otherwise anomalous experiences.
Chapter 6, Healing on Extended Planes of Existence, expands our horizon yet again, to examine healing on levels of reality beyond the range of our immediate perceptual awareness. We consider the role of entity attachments of varying degrees of sentience that act to affect our health and mental balance.
Chapter 7, Healing through Spirit, considers mystical or peak experiences, including the variety of ways in which these are accessed and how they contribute to healing as well as the ethical and spiritual development of humanity. Finally,
Chapter 8,Conclusions, pulls all of this material together to develop an understanding of consciousness, reality, and identity that encompasses all of these phenomena. We then use this model to suggest strategies that will lead to profound levels of healing, increased happiness, and a greater contribution to our spiritual coevolution.
About Peter Mark Adams
Peter Mark Adams is an author, poet and essayist specialising in the ethnography and visuality of ritual, sacred landscape, esotericism, consciousness and healing. As a professional author, Peter’s non-fiction is published by Scarlet Imprint and Inner Traditions; literary prose and poetry largely in Corbel Stone Press’ literary journal Reliquiae: Journal of Nature, Landscape & Mythology Peter and his wife, Kenzie, have shared a healing and personal development practice for more than 20 years where they specialize in energy and meridian therapies, breathwork, and meditation. For more than 45 years, he has practised a range of meditative and energy-based techniques, including Mind Connection Healing, Reiki, EFT, mindfulness, Vivation, and Rebirthing Breathwork.
Contemporary Witchcraft: Foundational Practices for a Magical Life Frances Billinghurst Moon Books, August 2021. Paperback: 264 pages, ISBN 1978-1789046649
I have known Frances for many years, albeit as email/pen-pals. In recent years the contact has been via Facebook. She lives in Australia and is an initiated witch in the Alexandrian Tradition. Contemporary Witchcraftis her latest book.
One does not have to be initiated to worship the Gods, but I agree with Frances when she writes, “When I teach, I like to provide students with a foundation upon which they can build their craft. This is what I feel is missing in a lot of modern books that seem to go straight to spells. While you do not need to cast a circle and honour the Gods in order to create spells and perform magick, if you wish to embrace contemporary witchcraft as your spiritual path though, then these practices are important.”
The first part of her book is a collection of essays concerned with the ‘foundational philosophies’ including a brief history of Modern Witchcraft. She describes Gerald Gardner’s influences, especially his background in Freemasonry. And of course key figures such as Alex & Maxine Sanders and Janet & Stewart Farrar.
The second half of the 20th Century saw a mushrooming of covens, groups who described themselves as ‘Wiccan’. The Western Mysteries, pagan & heathen groups, shamanism – also found eager adherents ‘down under’.
“In Australia, some 6,616 people identified themselves as Wiccan, with a further 15,000 people identified themselves as being “pagan” in the 2016 census.”
In the essay, ‘Contemporary Witchcraft’ Frances describes how Wicca & Witchcraft is evolving. “I am mindful however that some concepts, such as karma, cannot always easily be transposed into contemporary witchcraft philosophy, especially when understood in its original concept. It is also important to note that while these differing evolutions have turned Wicca very much into a personal belief system, as opposed to a dogmatic one when comparing it to more orthodox religions, an increasing number of such evolutions has in fact taken Wicca away from its roots, the very essence or vision that Gardner had. Where you stand personally will depend on whether this is seen as a negative or positive point. I personally see the benefit of having a foot in each camp, which can be seen in what I teach and, hopefully, what comes through in this book.”
Importance of ethics
Frances spends a good deal of time discussing the origin, interpretation and implication of “The Wiccan Rede and the Rede of the Wiccae”.
‘An it harm none, do what you will is attributed to Doreen Valiente, whilst the Rede of the Wiccae finds its origin with Gwen Thompson / Adriana Porter.
Examining the different versions, she also discusses ‘the threefold path’ and other general beliefs which are also influenced by our moral code, or Golden Rule. “In its true meaning as a guideline, the Rede advises the path of least harm is the ethical path, and that we should always think before we act: ‘An it harm none, do what ye will’. We are to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions (as well as our thoughts and deeds), as well as the results of such if we fail to act. The latter is something that can be overlooked. This means that by not acting to prevent harm, we may also be the cause of it though by an act of omission rather than commission.”
One of the things I really liked about this book is that Frances explains the differences between the Northern & Southern hemispheres. It always amazes me when people don’t realise that everything is reversed… so Beltane in the Northern hemisphere is Samhain in the Southern hemisphere, Deosil is Widdershins, and so on.
When explaining the Wheel of the Year for example dates are shown for both hemispheres:
The second part of the book is concerned with The Practice… and the practical.
Having set the scene, the basic background to Wicca as a belief system, Frances then goes on to the building of a solid foundation… the sub-title of the book is of course; ‘Foundational practices for a magical life’.
From exercises in Mediation & Visualisation to The Elements and the Elementals to Insights into Spellcrafting, to name a couple… Frances covers the major practises one needs to be adept in, not only as a Witch but as a Magician too. Once again she takes into account the differences between the hemispheres. Even experienced people can benefit by looking through the various chapters and refreshing their memories.
In the Appendix, there are some important additions such as ‘Basic Circle Casting Ritual’. There is also a ‘Self-blessing /dedication ritual’ (I am so pleased that she hasn’t called it ‘self-initiation…’)
For beginners / seekers and the experienced, this is an excellent book and should be in everyone’s library and used frequently!
Frances Billinghurst is an initiated witch, ritualist and healer. She runs workshops on metaphysics, mythology and the occult. Frances is the author of several books, and she is the editor of Call of the God: An Anthology Exploring the Divine Masculine within Modern Paganism.
When she is not writing, Frances is attempting to replicate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon on her patch of Australian dirt, beading, and journeying between the worlds.
The Last Witches of England: A Tragedy of Sorcery and Superstition John Callow Bloomsbury Academic; 1st edition (7 Oct. 2021) Hardcover, 352 pages, ISBN 9781788314398 Treadwell’s
When I saw that John Callow was giving an online guest lecture at Treadwell’s Bookshop in October 2021, I immediately registered. And what a wonderful talk it was. Christina Harrington interviewed John as he presented his new book The Last Witches of England. After the meeting I ordered a signed copy – see image. I wasn’t disappointed. Arriving carefully wrapped in purple tissue paper and tied with a black ribbon, it already felt like a ‘homage to 3 women’ who as Christina wrote, each were ‘deemed a witch, tried as a witch and died as a witch’.
(Courtesy of Treadwell’s Bookshop)
I was also particularly interested in this book because in 2016 I visited Bideford (Devon, UK) and while I was there I learnt about ‘the last witches of England’.
(Plaque in Bideford ‘In memory of..’ – photo, Morgana 2016)
John’s book is a marvellous overview of not only the fate of three women but also of Bideford which was an important port in the 17th Century, where tobacco in particular was imported and traded.
The story begins:
“On the morning of Thursday 29 June 1682, a magpie came tapping at the window of a prosperous Devon merchant. Within hours, his household had convinced itself that the bird was an emissary of the devil sent by witches to destroy their lives. As the result of these allegations, three old beggar women from Bideford – Temperance Lloyd, Susanna Edwards, and Mary Trembles – came to be identified as witches and a full-scale witch hunt shook the town. A Secretary of State brushed aside their case and condemned them to hang, as the last group of women to be executed for the crime in English history.
Yet, the hatred of their neighbours endured. For Bideford, it was said, remained a place of witches.”
Although Bideford was prosperous in the 1600’s there were many people who were extremely poor, especially women.
Often blamed for misfortune women throughout England were accused of witchcraft. The Lancashire Witches hung in 1612 – 70 years earlier – were also poor and had to beg to survive. By the late 1600’s however there was beginning to be a shift in the awareness of the fraudulent character of many of the accusations against these helpless women. Unfortunately for Temperance Lloyd, Susannah Edwards and Mary Trembles this awareness came too late.
However the trials did impact politicians such as John Conduit who introduced a Bill in the Commons. This resulted in 1736, Parliament passing an Act repealing the laws against witchcraft but imposing fines or imprisonment on people who claimed to be able to use magical powers. The Act was repealed in 1951 by the Fraudulent Mediums Act which in turn was repealed in 2008.
The repeal of the Act in 1951 is often cited as the start of Modern Witchcraft/ Wicca with Gerald Gardner as its’ luminary. Witchcraft was no longer a punishable crime.
John’s book with an in depth study of the social and political conditions surrounding the fate of ‘The last witches’ is extremely valuable for those who are interested in the historical background to Wicca, but also for understanding the recent interest in Witchcraft as a political tool. The archetype ‘Witch’ is still regarded as someone to be scared of. Not to mention the continued use of the word ‘Witch hunt’ in often inappropriate contexts.
John has made copious notes, chapter for chapter and included an extensive bibliography and index. Highly recommended!
John Callow is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Suffolk, UK, who has written widely on early modern witchcraft, politics, and popular culture. He is the author of James II: King in Exile and Embracing the Darkness. A Cultural History of Witchcraft, and co-author with Prof. Geoffrey Scarre of Witchcraft and Magic in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Europe. He has appeared on the BBC Radio 4 documentary It Must be Witchcraft, and the series on the Salem Witches on the Discovery Channel in the USA. He gave a guest lecture at Treadwell’s on Sunday October 10, 2021.
INTERVIEWS & OTHER REFERENCES
John & Julian Vayne, who lives in Bideford, have worked closely on this book, see Julian’s article here in the Blog of Baphomet.
The Last Witches of England with John Callow (with Julian Vayne)
23 Nov 2021
Faith And Fury: The Last Witches of England with Dr John Callow (from the The Churches Conservation Trust)
Tarotdeck Mythische Godinnen Sage Holloway and Katherine Skaggs A3-boeken, 2021, 78 kaarten. ISBN 978 94 91557 569. € 29,50
Het tarotspel ‘Mythische godinnen’ bestaat uit de Grote Arcana (22 godinnenkaarten) en de Kleine Arcana (56 kaarten in vier ‘kleuren’: zee, wind, aarde en vuur). Sage Holloway en Katherine Skaggs hebben dit tarotspel ontwikkeld met de intentie alle mensen te helpen toegang te krijgen tot hun goddelijke, vrouwelijke essentie. De Godin heeft altijd bestaan in al haar vormen, ongeacht hoe diep ze was begraven, maar ze keert nu terug in al haar verschijningsvormen voor heling van de mensheid.
De krachtige afbeeldingen, symbolen, ‘kleuren’, getallen en heilige geometrie op de kaarten bieden je toegang tot de hogere dimensies van bewustzijn, waar diepzinnige antwoorden op het leven liggen te wachten om te worden begrepen. De godinnen zijn afkomstig uit vele culturen en door met hen te werken, worden wij getransformeerd en met ons onze wereld. De handleiding geeft naast algemene informatie en een uitgebreide uitleg per kaart ook drie godinnenleggingen.
Recensie Serotia Vors:
Prachtige tarotdeck met Godinnen!
Ik werk al jaren met tarotkaarten. Kocht mijn eerste deck, een Rider Waite, op mijn negentiende, en ben sindsdien nog steeds lerend. Want wat mij betreft, ben je nooit uitgeleerd met een divinatiemethode zoals tarot. Ieder nieuw deck geeft nieuwe inzichten, dat maakt mij de afgelopen veertig jaar een verzamelaar van decks, waar ik iedere keer weer iets uit kan halen.
Al doet de naam, Mythische Godinnen, vermoeden dat je met iets verhevens gaat werken, ik vind deze kaarten juist heel aards, het werken met de vrouwelijke archetypen van Moeder Aarde.
De kaarten hebben een fijn formaat, handelbaar, niet te groot, en makkelijk te schudden. Ik schud namelijk graag, wil de kaarten door mijn handen voelen gaan. Het eerste wat ik doe als ik een nieuw deck uitpak, is de afbeeldingen bestuderen. Uiteraard leg ik een vergelijking met het RW-deck, omdat dat mijn kapstok is binnen de tarotleggingen. Maar al snel merkte ik dat vergelijken hier niet opgaat. Ik vind een soortgelijke volgorde in de Grote Arcana terug, maar ik kan ze niet één op één plaatsen. Alle Godinnen die gebruikt zijn in de Grote Arcana staan voor een archetype en kijkend naar de plaats die ze vertegenwoordigen, begrijp ik hun plek zeker wel. Knap gevonden vind ik dit, omdat er duizenden Godinnen zijn, ieder een archetype op zich.
De kleine Arcana verrast mij ook, de vier elementen die ik normaal terugvind in pentakel, kelk, zwaarden en staven, vind ik nu in Aarde, Wind, Vuur en Zee. Kaarten Aas t/m tien en dan gevolgd door de vier hofkaarten in de vorm van: Kind, Maagd, Moeder en Crone, de vier fasen van het vrouwelijke.
De tekeningen van de kaarten zijn overigens prachtig, complimenten aan de kunstenaar.
Ik begin enthousiast te worden vanwege het verschil van indeling van zowel de Grote als de Kleine Arcana, maar is er ook mee te werken? Want ik schaf geen deck aan alleen om de mooie afbeeldingen.
Ik vind in het bijgaande boekje zowel leggingen voor beginners als gevorderden, met duidelijke omschrijvingen. Als eerste triggert de Yoni-legging mij, heel toepasselijk bij zulke vrouwelijke energie kaarten. Als er weinig kaarten zijn in de legging, schud ik de kaarten totdat er eentje uitvalt, en schud ik opnieuw voor de volgende. Bij meerdere kaarten trek ik ze blindelings uit het deck. Ik geef een korte inkijk in wat ik trok.
De situatie zoals die werkelijk is, niet zoals die lijkt te zijn; Zee 3-Compassie
De aanpak die Spirit voorstelt; XVII Ster; Stergodin van de Plejaden
De uitkomst; Zee crone-Wederopstanding
Ik leg mijn eigen kennis even opzij, en kijk naar de omschrijvingen in het boekje.
Ik lees over draken, compassie en de hoge frequentie van liefde, ze zijn er om mij te helen. Als ik naar het hier en nu kijk, is dit wel tegenwoordige tijd, ik heb dit nodig, ik moet helen, ik ben een beetje kapot in deze tijd van hier en nu.
Ook hier gaat het over compassie, haar taak is om mijn hart wakker te maken, en biedt mij vertrouwen en raad zodat ik verder kan. Een mooie kaart, die mij op weg helpt, ik ga deze Godin eens apart neerzetten op mijn altaar, en haar voeden met licht van kaarsen.
Deze kaart verschijnt in krachtige tijd van loslaten en verandering in je leven. Laat haar toe om de weg te wijzen. De tekst geeft inspiratie, en is positief, als dit mijn uitkomst is, dan klaag ik niet, dan komt het wel goed.
Al met al een leuke kleine legging, met alleen de kaarten en de omschrijving van het boekje. Voor mij persoonlijk zit er al een diepere betekenis in, want ik weet waar ze mij raken. Meestal komen dezelfde soort patronen terug op je pad en binnen de leggingen, zeker binnen dezelfde tijdsgeest van de leggingen, welk deck of orakel je ook pakt, alle neuzen staan vaak dezelfde kant op, ieder deck gebruikmakend van zijn eigen kracht en wijsheden.
Het proeft in ieder geval naar meer. Maar eerst ga ik het deck reinigen met de vier elementen, voorzichtig plengen met water en zout (water en aarde element), en bewieroken, (vuur en lucht element), en met een laurierblaadje (ter bescherming) binden met een rood lint, en zo met de komende volle maan op mijn pentakel op het altaar leggen om op te laden. Dan is het eigen, van mij, en wordt er bij iedere legging mijn energie aan toegevoegd, zo leer ik het kennen en er mee werken. Het deck heeft in ieder geval een prachtige energie, zowel in de afbeeldingen en uitleg, een fijne toevoeging aan mijn collectie.
De Kracht van Symbolen
Abe J.van der Veen 2021, 216 p. ISBN 978 9403 642208. € 19,95
Samenvatting:
Dit boek geeft een uitgebreide beschrijving van de krachtigste symbolen uit de Westerse esoterie. Maak kennis met o.a. de Graal, het pentagram, het labyrint, de Groene man en de Sheela na Gig! Voor mij is een symbool een poort of een wegwijzer naar de ‘andere’, geestelijke werkelijkheid. Het verwijst naar een aspect van de diepere dimensie waar wij deel van uit maken. Lees hoe de Graal symbool staat voor de mystieke eenwording van de vier elementen en hoe het salomonszegel het samengaan van het mannelijke en het vrouwelijke symboliseert. Ontdek de Groene man als symbool voor de verbinding tussen mens en natuur, het labyrint als levensweg en de regenboog als weg naar de goddelijke wereld. Al deze symbolen kunnen je helpen bij je levensvragen. Uiteindelijk kunnen zij het inzicht geven hoe je in ideale harmonie kan zijn tussen de microkosmos en de macrokosmos. De taal van symboliek wordt begrijpelijker en komt voor jou tot leven!
Recensie door Serotia Vors
Door de titel van het boek verwachtte ik een boek over symbolen waarin wordt uitgelegd hoe je met de magische kanten van een symbool kan werken en hoe ze gebruikt kunnen worden.
Ondanks dat Abe wel het Hexagram en het Pentagram als symbolen uitlegt, vind ik persoonlijk de rest van het boek vooral verklaringen van symbolieken, en dan krijgt het boek een heel andere meerwaarde voor mij.
Het eerst leuke wat mij opvalt, is dat Abe schrijft zoals hij praat, ik ken hem van zijn prachtige verhalen en zijn voordrachten daarvan. Terwijl ik lees, zie en hoor ik hem praten, op zijn manier en intonatie, geweldig!
Het boek is verdeeld in hoofdstukken, met stuk voor stuk interessante onderwerpen, hij heeft direct vanaf het begin mijn aandacht.
Ik weet best een hoop van symboliek, maar ben blij verrast dat ik veel dingen lees die ik nog niet wist. Ieder onderwerp wordt breed uitgelegd en belicht: vanuit verschillende religies en culturen legt hij de diverse verhalen naast elkaar neer.
Mythologie en geschiedenis kruisen elkaar, maar hij geeft ook zijn eigen bevindingen en meningen.
Bij een aantal hoofdstukken knik ik instemmend mee van herkenning, en bij anderen lees ik vol enthousiasme alle verhalen en hoe dingen in elkaar steken en aan elkaar hangen.
Ik vind het ook prettig om hier en daar wat onderwijs te krijgen over andere religies en andere culturen. Maar ik herken ook veel paganistische invloeden, en heel veel achtergrond en oorsprong. Ik lees over oude gebruiken en wijsheden, ook vanuit Nederland.
Er zijn hoofdstukken die mij tot nadenken aanzetten, er zit ook reflectie in de verhalen, je zou er zelfs een diepgang voor jezelf uit kunnen halen. Want de onderwerpen lenen zich bij uitstek om, via de kanttekeningen aan het einde van ieder hoofdstuk, verder te snuffelen en uit te pluizen.
Abe heeft een breed scala aan symboliek-onderwerpen gekozen voor dit boek, en veel leerzame verhalen daarin verwerkt.
Ik vind hoofdstuk 12, de symboliek van de draak, een erg leuk hoofdstuk om te lezen, mede omdat ik zelf iets heb met deze mythische wezens, en dan ga je ze toch nóg anders bekijken.
Het meest intrigerende voor mij is hoofdstuk 10: Heilige stenen. Ik geloof zelf in de kracht van stenen, en hij maakt mij duidelijk dat die krachten er nu nog steeds zijn.
Kortom, het hele boek is een feest om te lezen, om kennis op te doen, om dingen te bekijken van verschillende kanten. Het boek geeft zoveel handvatten, zodat je die onderwerpen verder kunt uitdiepen als je wilt.
Een aanrader dus voor iemand die op zoek is naar mythologie, geschiedenis en achtergronden.
De Heilige Nachten Mirjam van Donselaar A3-boeken, 2020, 144 p. ISBN: 978 94 91557 46 0. € 24,50
Van oudsher zijn de Heilige Nachten een tijd van transformatie en regeneratie, van dood en nieuw leven. Ze vormen een opmaat naar een nieuwe cyclus voor de zon en de natuur. Onze voorouders leefden nog in diepe verbinding met de natuur en gebruikten deze tijd dan ook om zich terug te trekken in het donker ter voorbereiding op het licht.
Ook nu nog nodigen de Heilige Nachten ons uit om naar binnen te keren, de stilte en het donker in onszelf te betreden voor reflectie en inzichten. Bovendien zijn in de periode van 24 december tot en met Driekoningen de sluiers tussen onze en de andere werelden dun, waardoor je makkelijker contact kunt maken met die andere werelden en degenen die daar verblijven. Dit boek biedt je handvatten om zelf de heilzame uitwerking van het donker te onderzoeken.
Voor elke Heilige Nacht geeft psycholoog en sjamaniste Mirjam van Donselaar oude wijsheid, informatie over soms eeuwenoude tradities, stof tot zelfreflectie en rituele suggesties die je helpen het donker en de geboorte van het licht in jezelf te ervaren. Je leert over de Matrones, midwinterfeesten, rookrituelen, goden en godinnen, de Wereldboom, runen, de bron van oorsprong en meer. Je verbindt je opnieuw met je voorouders, onze wortels, de natuur en met jouw eigen ziel die verbonden is met de bron. Je zult jezelf ervaren als één met alles om je heen, in tijd en ruimte.
Het boek is een ode aan de onzichtbare wereld en zijn bewoners, aan de donkere Moederschoot als bron van nieuw leven, de stilte en de rust. Het is een uitnodiging om vragen te stellen bij de manier waarop je leeft en opnieuw balans te vinden. De Nachten nemen je mee om te ervaren en te voelen. Zo kan ook voor jou deze tijd van het diepste donker van het jaar transformerend uitwerken en krijg je voor alle maanden van het nieuwe jaar een schat aan inzichten.
Recensie door Serotia Vors:
Aangestoken door het enthousiasme van een vriendin, toch op de valreep het boek aangeschaft, zodat ik per 24 december kon instappen in de 12 Heilige Nachten. Ik heb het hele boek ervaren als een warme deken die over mij heen kwam, die mij meenam op mijn reis door de donkere tijd.
Normaal is eind december niet echt mijn favoriete tijd, ik heb persoonlijk niets met kerstdagen en mijn passie voor de tuin ligt even stil.
Maar wat fijn om via dit boek een soort houvast te hebben, en deze donkere tijd op een andere manier te beleven.
Allereerst mijn complimenten over alle informatie op zich, die bij iedere Heilige Nacht te lezen was, daar heb ik best veel van opgestoken. Ook gingen verhalen leven, kregen inhoud, kon ik feiten beter plaatsen in de context waar ze hoorden. Kortom, een eyeopener, en op een fijne leesbare manier geschreven, “verteld” zou ik haast zeggen.
Er stond heel veel -te doen- bij ieder hoofdstuk, maar Mirjam zei al; “Lees het en maak een keuze, want je moet vooral niets moeten in deze periode”.
Mijn keuze was gevallen op de meditaties, en de 5de en 7e avond koos ik een kleine ceremonie en een visualisatie met een rune.
Zo aan het einde van mijn dag en begin van de avond een welkom momentje van even wat eigen-tijd.
Niet te ingewikkeld, niets hoogdravend, gewoon een eenvoudige instructie om even tijd voor jezelf in te bouwen, en een connectie aan te gaan met deze tijd van het jaar.
Na 4 nachten ben ik ook mijn dromen gaan opschrijven, want die waren helder en ’s morgens nog aanwezig in mijn hoofd. Ben benieuwd wat de bijpassende maanden gaan vertellen over deze dromen.
Iedere meditatie heeft mij wel iets van inzicht gebracht, ik heb in ieder geval de verslagen opgeschreven om nog wat verder te kunnen kauwen op sommige.
Ik zit mezelf te bedenken wat ik nu nog meer kan met het boek, want het is te zonde om deze info alleen maar tot de 12 Heilige Nachten te beperken.
Natuurlijk kan je alle dingen die voor nieuwe doelen staan, ook met nieuwe maan doen, en zo zijn er nog wel wat rituelen aan maanfasen te koppelen, of aan situaties waar je met jezelf aan de slag zou kunnen. Ik zie die opties wel.
En ik weet nu al zeker dat het boek volgend jaar ook weer dichtbij ligt, en ik met amuletten en dingen maken aan de slag ga.
De prachtige foto’s zijn een mooie aanvulling die ruimte laten voor eigen invulling en interpretatie.
Vuur, Handboek voor Hoeders Immia Schellevis A3-boeken, 2021, 143 p. ISBN 978 94 91557 576. € 24,50
Informatie van de uitgever:
Al vanaf het begin der tijden is vuur essentieel voor de mens. Vuur speelde niet alleen een belangrijke rol in het dagelijks leven, maar ook bij ceremonies. Onze voorouders geloofden dat ieder gewijd vuur is verbonden met het grote Levensvuur, met het vuur diep in de Aarde en met vuren van alle tijden.
De Oudsten wisten het als het moment daar was om kennis door te geven aan anderen. Zo voelde Immia Schellevis op een bepaald moment dat het haar beurt was om de kennis en ervaring die zij in bijna twintig jaar vuur hoeden had opgedaan, door te geven en wel in de vorm van een boek. “Het was buiten in de derde ronde bij een zweethutceremonie toen de zon bijna onderging en ik besefte dat ik ouder werd.”
In dit handboek voor hoeders (vuurvrouwen en vuurmannen) vertelt zij eerst over de weg die zij heeft afgelegd tot vuurvrouw en vuurpriesteres. Daarna geeft ze veel praktische informatie en adviezen over onder meer gereedschap, kleding, veiligheid, materiaal verzamelen, de taken in het team, het bouwen van een vuur voor een zweethutceremonie of een vuurloop en het verloop van dergelijke ceremonies. Maar bovenal besteedt ze aandacht aan de taal van Vuur. Vuur communiceert met je. Dat vraagt van jou dat je je bewust bent van alles wat er in je is en niet is, en dat je dit laat voelen aan Vuur. Vuur heeft een eigen taal en het verstaan begint bij het contact met bomen, grassen en riet, de seizoenen en windrichtingen – tijdens het verzamelen van materiaal, het kiezen van je gereedschap, de voorbereiding van de ceremonie en het uiteindelijke hoeden van het vuur. Hoe meer je in contact bent met de natuur, Moeder Aarde en het Grote Weten, des te meer je verstaat van de taal van Vuur. Vuur is per definitie niet in de hand te houden, maar je kunt er wel mee samenwerken als je er diep mee in contact bent. Vuur wijst je de weg in wat het nodig heeft als jij je ervoor opent. Vuur laat kennis en wijsheid vrijkomen, geeft je diepe inzichten en antwoorden die je soms niet meteen begrijpt. Vuur verstaan vraagt van je dat je je laat leiden door dat wat groter is dan jij.
Recensie Serotia Vors:
Zoek je innerlijk vuur!
Vuur is mijn element. Ik ben een leeuw van sterrenbeeld en een zomermens pur sang. Ik houd van vuur, warmte, het dansen van de vlammen, en fikkie stoken.
Het boek bestaat uit twee delen. In het eerste deel neemt Immia mij mee, over haar levenspad, vanaf geboorte, en nog daarvoor, tot aan het moment dat ze vuurvrouw en vuurpriesteres is.
Ze vertelt over Ziel en Vuur, en Vonk, als onderdelen van haar Zijn. Immia raakt mij met haar verhaal, ik lees over de hobbels en beren op haar levenspad, ik voel synchroniciteit in onze paden. Het gemis van Vuur op bepaalde momenten, het letterlijk uitgaan van het innerlijk vuur, dat vlammetje binnenin dat jouw passie en levensenergie aanstuurt. Maar ook het zoeken naar datzelfde Vuur, en het zoeken naar datgene dat de Vonk weer terugbrengt en aanwakkert.
Ook haar Ziel zoekt en moet helen, en dat proces is belangrijk binnen het leven zelf, en haast een aparte zoektocht op zich.
Ze raakt mij, tot ontroering zelfs, terwijl ik lees. Ik herken die zoektocht, jezelf en Ziel kwijt zijn, dat gemis, je innerlijke vlam die gedoofd wordt, en het zoeken naar hetgeen die Vonk weer doet leven. Ook ik ben mijn hele leven al bezig met mijn Vuur aan te houden, aan te wakkeren en aan te steken als het gedoofd is. Wat omschrijft Immia mooi wat ik voel van binnen.
Het tweede deel gaat over de praktische kanten van het vuur hoeden. Want elk vuur reageert anders, brandt anders, weersomstandigheden zijn anders, houtsoort is anders. Zij gaat bij het bouwen en hoeden van een vuur echt een verbinding aan ermee, ze communiceert er mee, ze voelt het aan. Ze heeft contact met vuurspirits, voorouders, de deva’s van de plek waar ze bezig is.
Ik lees de verhalen over het Vuur en de Stenen bij het opbouwen van een zweethutritueel, hoe ze zich met Ziel en zaligheid wijdt aan deze religieuze en serieuze taken, en zorgt dat de ceremonie veilig gaat voor omgeving en deelnemers.
Hierbij schopt ze mij 15 jaar terug in het verleden. Mijn eerste kennismaking met rituelen waren zweethutrituelen, de aanwezigheid van de Grote Moeder en de Grote Vader. Ik herken de impact die deze ceremonie op je kan hebben, de warmte kan ik nog voelen, en wat het doet met Ziel en Vuur in je.
Zo leuk om haar kant als vuurvrouw te lezen, wat er eigenlijk allemaal bij komt kijken, en wat het ook met haar doet. Want dat is een andere kant dan die van de deelnemer.
Nou zal ikzelf nooit een vuurvrouw worden die dit soort vuren bouwt voor steenceremonies of vuurpaden, maar ze geeft toch een hoop praktische tips over het bouwen en hoeden van vuur. En ik maak graag vuur, en gebruik het ook met andere rituelen. Met alle tips en haar manier van verbinden kan ik wel wat, dat is mooi. Vuur is belangrijk, het vuur buiten ons, en ons innerlijk Vuur; daar waar het verlangen ligt. Het is een prachtig handboek voor hoeders, maar ook voor iedereen die van Vuur houdt of het binnen in zich weer wil laten branden.
Heks in het groen. Over oerkracht en natuurmagie Lunadea Ankh-Hermes, 2021, 208 p. ISBN 9789020217575. € 22,50
Groen is goed voor ieder mens, ook voor heksen. “Dat zie je heel simpel al terug in het afnemen van ons stressniveau als we ons omringen met bomen en planten, als we buiten zijn. In de natuur komen we thuis.” De natuur is onze basis en wij zijn onderdeel van de natuur. De levenskracht van de natuur is een oerkracht die dus ook in ons zit. “Je bent een heks als je werkt met die energie [van de natuur] en er spirituele betekenis aan geeft, én jezelf daarbij een heks noemt. Je bent een groene heks als de natuur de grootste rol speelt in je magische werk.”
Lunadea geeft voorbeelden van magisch werk met de natuur, en geeft aanwijzingen om je te verbinden met de natuur. Ze beschrijft verbondenheid met de cycli ofwel natuurlijke ritmen, werken met de elementen, landschapsmagie, werken met tradities en volksgebruiken en andere vormen van natuurmagie.
Elk hoofdstuk begint met een persoonlijk verhaal over de ervaringen van Lunadea zelf met de natuur en inzichten die ze daardoor opdeed. Daarna geeft ze handige tips om zelf de verbinding aan te gaan met de natuur, oefeningen die die verbinding makkelijker maken, en zowel concrete suggesties als manieren om je eigen creativiteit te gebruiken. Tussen de tips geeft ze informatie over onderwerpen als animisme en meditatie, symboliek en energie.
De appendix bevat een uitgebreide woordenlijst en correspondenties voor de elementen. Maar neem vooral het advies ter harte om je te blijven verdiepen: “Hoe meer kennis je hebt opgedaan, hoe meer verbanden je kunt leggen en hoe meer betekenis je kunt leggen in je natuurmagie. Maar alles begint met het aanvoelen van de levenskracht en de wil om erover te leren.”
On September 5, 2021 we held our Silver Circle Autumn online gathering. Rhys Chisnall was our first guest speaker:
(From the SC online gathering – September 2021)
There are many ways in which people think about Initiatory Wicca. I was taught that it is as a Mystery and Magical Tradition, but what does this mean?
According to the historian of religion Karen Armstrong, the word mystery come from the Greek word ‘mystírio,’ (μυστήριο) which means ‘to close or to shut the mouth’. This suggest to me that the word mystery means something that can’t be adequately described in everyday language. “Of which we cannot speak we should remain silent”, to paraphrase the philosopher Wittgenstein. However, this still leaves a certain degree of ambiguity, as the word mystery can mean one of three things and this can cause some confusion.
Firstly, it could mean a tradition that keeps things secret. To some extent this is correct, as initiatory Wicca does keep some things secret, although I think private would be a better word to use. There are some techniques that might be potentially dangerous or misused if they were common knowledge, but also there are some rituals that might be spoilt if they were known by a participant beforehand. This is especially true for initiation rituals. A wonderful example was given by Prof. Joseph Campbell, the late great American expert of mythology. He described a ritual where the initiate is taken through a set of ordeals before they enter into the holy of holies. Here the new initiate is told by the elders that they will encounter their God face to face. They are taken into the inner sanctum to the altar, a veil is removed and they find themselves peering into a mirror – they see themselves. Now, if the climax of the rite were known before, the initiate would have not had the transformative experience that the rite was designed to produce. The ritual would have been spoiled – and it is the same in the Craft.
That being said, while there is a strong element of privacy to our rituals, this is not what I mean by mystery tradition.
A second meaning for the word mystery refers to a mystery to be solved. This is something that scientists and detectives are very good at. The scientist or detective comes across the mystery and, using various methods, solves it. The problem is encountered and the solution is derived. Thus, the mysteries of the universe, or the case of the Hound of the Baskervilles, is solved. This is not what I mean by the word mystery in mystery tradition when talking about the Craft.
Rather, it was best summed up by the French Christian existentialist philosopher Gabriel Marcel. He said that mysteries are experiences in which we participate. These experiences, as Armstrong suggested, can’t be explained adequately in everyday language. This is why we need the language of poetry, music, ritual and mythology. These mysteries can be the experience of Nature, of the human life and the Divine. They can be the experience we have when nature makes us feel very small. It can be when we witness a sunrise, a flower open, or experience nature ‘red in tooth and claw.’ It can be the experience of motherhood, giving birth and death. It can be the experience of the encounter with the Great Goddess of Life and the Horned God of Death and Resurrection. These experiences can by numinous in quality, and can be thought of as the ‘lesser mysteries’.
Numinous experiences, a term coined first by theologian Rudolph Otto, are of the ‘other’, and leave us with a profound sense of awe. We feel that something profoundly important has happened to us. The psychologist Carl Jung reckoned that the encounter with the archetypes of the collective unconscious is a numinous one. Certainly, the archetypal experiences of birth, growing up, sex and sexuality, parenthood, sacrifice, old age and death, have can have this numinous quality, and offer a visceral connection to life, onto which we cannot help but place out own meaning. To my mind, this is part of what the myth of the Wheel of the Year does, it helps us to celebrate and make meaning from life’s inevitabilities. It brings us into contact with the mysteries of life. The Craft then celebrates the mysteries of life and death – Goddess and Horned God.
One of the great maxims of the Craft and the Occult in general, was said to have been inscribed on the arch leading to the Delphi Oracles. It said, ‘Know thyself.’ This was also a tenant of Socrates, when Plato has him say, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” This is where the mysteries relate to the Great Work.
The Great Work is where we explore the mystery of ourselves and relate it directly to the Divine. This is not an intellectual exercise, but direct experience, it is a mystical experience- which can be termed the ‘Greater Mysteries.’
In her brilliant book Wicca the Old Religion in the new Millennium, Viviane Crowley explains that experience of the mysteries leads to inner change. This inner change is where the initiate begins the work of transcending the ego (that which we think we are) and to experience and identify with the entire self. Psychologist Carl Jung, who was heavily influenced by the esoteric traditions, argued that there is much more to us than the ego. Once the person has begun to identify with the self (a life-long process he called Individuation) they can then experience and identify the self with the Divine. In Qabbalistic terms, the initiate first reaches the sephiroth of Tiphareth, the centre of the self, or the ‘Higher self’ before relating that self to Kether, the Divine source. Metaphorically the inner sun of the self – unites with the outer sun of the Divine.
Occultist Aleister Crowley agrees when he says “the Great Work is the uniting of opposites. It means uniting the soul with God, of the microcosm with the macrocosm, of the female with the male, of the ego with the non-ego.” The model and language of Carl Jung becomes very useful to describe this kind of inner change. The Initiate has to transcend their ego and expand their consciousness. It means being able to reconcile the polarity within oneself. This means the reconciliation of the ego and the shadow, of the persona and the anima/animus. This is the sacred marriage of Goddess and God that occurs within the Witch. These aspects of ourselves, the dark side and the light, the masculine and the feminine, Goddess and God have to be explored and integrated into our sense of self, so that they constellate around the pivotal point of self. Ego is then transcended or dissolved as the self is experienced as divine. As Joseph Campbell said, “we are all God in our deepest identity”. This is ultimate reconciliation of polarity. The reconciliation of self and the Divine is experienced first of all in invocation of the Gods and then in mystical experience – the Greater Mystery.
Thankfully, the Craft and the Western Mystery Tradition in general provides us with a road map for the Great Work. Unlike the classical mystic who goes from zero to hero, the occultist and Witch takes the more crooked path of the mysteries.
They begin by working on the lower self, connecting us to the world about us and working on our bodies and mind. This is where we begin work with the classical elements. These not only connect us with the world about us, but they also relate to aspects of our being, connecting us to body, emotions, thought and desire/will. The elements are states of being, but also metaphors for ourselves and our faculties.
Once initiated we participate in the wheel of the season, the great metaphor for life. It brings us into connection with the mysteries of life and death through the myth of the Great Mother and Horned God. We start to experience nature and the human as Divine. This is where the initiate begins to start the process of inner change, of transcending the ego, as they encounter the mysteries. However, all this takes work, hence the term, the Great Work. Often the ego rebels or can become inflated.
The underworld initiation, is where the ego needs to experience and understand its own demise. The Initiate learns to transcend ego and expand consciousness further through the process of being invoked upon. Here the witch or occultist expands their consciousness and begins to experience the identification with the divine. To my mind this is very different to trance possessions in Voodoo. Here the person goes into a trance and takes on the personality of one of the Lwa, and acts accordingly. The Gods of the Craft are a different category than Lwa who are spirits based upon Catholic saints.
Instead in invocation, the witch raises their consciousness to a divinity that is already there – always there, and then brings through the power of that divinity for the coven. To quote Herne the Hunter in the TV series Robin of Sherwood, “we can all of us be Gods”. This is the mystery that nature, humanity and the Divine are one. It requires the transcendence of ego and the expansion to consciousness to at least a part of the Divine.
Next comes the Great Rite. Its inner form is the reconciliation of the polarity within the initiate, the reconciliation of male and female, Goddess and God, light and dark, self with the divine, the inner and the outer sun. This leads potentially to mystical experience.
(William James, from the SC online gathering – September 2021)
The philosopher and pioneer psychologist William James described the mystical experience in his book, The Varieties of Religious Experience. It is the experience of ‘at oneness’, the union with the divine, where all contradictions disappear and we are at one with what Paul Tillich called the ‘ground of being’. It is the greater mystery, a profoundly transformative experience – after which life is never the same again. James says that the mystical experience is ineffable in character. It could not be described in everyday language. When taking about the mysteries and the mystical experience, we often have to resort to talking in metaphor. That is why this article is extremely metaphor laden, with its ‘joining of the inner and outer sun’ etc. James said mystical experiences are noetic, meaning that we learn some thing from them. This is not the ‘knowledge that’ or ‘knowledge how’ of the philosopher Gilbert Ryle, but rather the ‘knowledge of’ – what some people call gnosis. These mystical states are transitory, while they seem to last for an eternity to the experiencer, they actually last for seconds. James also said that these experiences are something that happens to you and they can’t be brought on by a direction of will.
All of this is a process. The Great Work does not happen overnight. Indeed, it is a life-long process, and it may well take much longer than that. The Mystical Experience is not the end part of the Great Work and your Craft career. Rather it is the midpoint. From there, as in Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, we have to be able to accommodate the transformative experience into our everyday lives – we must learn to be masters or mistresses of two worlds. We need to make sense of what we have learned and to help bring others to these kinds of profound and transformative experiences. The mysteries were always a call to action.
In my experience the Craft is a mystery and magical tradition. It is part of what is known as the Western Mystery Tradition. As Viviane Crowley says it deals with metaphorical and metaphysical truth, not scientific truth. The mysteries are expressed through the metaphor of ritual and myth, and metaphysically it sees all as one, and one as all. Everything is a unity and all is connected, in that sense like it’s parent Hermeticism, it is deeply mystical. This means we should treat the Craft as an esoteric mystery tradition rather than an exoteric religion. I agree with Jung when he says that religion is the greatest barrier to a religious experience.
In the Craft, as indeed within the Western Mysteries, there is no part that is not of the Gods. When we connect with the Divine within, we connect with the Divine without, as in the Hermetic maxim of “as above, so below and so within, so without”. Rather than seeking to separate the world into different ever decreasing categories, we should be looking for commonality, all is part of one. We should be thinking as Dion Fortune did, that ‘all gods are one god and all goddesses are one goddess, but there is one initiator.’ In the mystery traditions we should be making connections, not separating, looking and identifying with the whole, and not just the separate parts.
Armstrong, K., (2011) The Case for God: What Religion Really means, Vintage,
Crowley, A., (2004), Magick Without Tears, New Falcon Publications,
Crowley, V., (2016), Wicca a Comprehensive Guide to the Old Religion in the Modern World, Elements,
Fortune, D., (2003), The Sea Priestess, Weiser,
James, W., (2004), Varieties of Religious Experience, Digireads
Marcel, G., as cited in Armstrong, K., (2011) The Case for God: What Religion Really means, Vintage.
Silver Circle Autumn online gathering
The following speakers joined us for the Silver Circle Autumn Online Gathering Rhys Chisnall, Melissa Harrington and Thorn Nightwind. Rhys spoke about ‘Wicca, a mystery tradition – The Great Work’. Wicca can be many things, but one way of experiencing it is as a mystery tradition. But what does this mean? In this talk Rhys answered this question and also considered what is meant by the Great Work and how this can be the process that leads to mystical experience…
On September 5, 2021 we held our Silver Circle Autumn online gathering. Thorn Nightbird was our third speaker. He shared some wonderful stories and anecdotes about Sybil Leek
While I am too young to have met her in person since she passed from this incarnation into the next in October of 1982, a few days before Hallowe’en, many of my Elders in Witchcraft that I was fortunate enough to learn from and be trained by were taught, mentored and inspired by Sybil Leek after she moved to the United States from the New Forest in England. She was an amazing woman and wrote many books, and I can’t help but at this time of Hallowe’en to take a moment and acknowledge her contribution to the world of witchcraft and astrology.
I have feelings of nostalgia in thinking back on all the random stories I was told and the Elders that told them to me. When you think on stories passed on from your own elders, I am sure that you too also empathize with reflecting on their experiences, struggles and lessons-learned that help to foster us all on our own paths as we all work to create a harmonious existence with others, with nature, and importantly; ourselves.
The coven I am part of today practices two traditions of Witchcraft: Horsa Tradition & Sacred Pentagraph Tradition. The first, in what we might best describe as a North American branch of Horsa Tradition, was established in the 1960s when Sybil Leek helped my Elders to establish a coven here in Pennsylvania. I feel lucky that I was able to eventually become an initiate of that coven, and, later on, most of us hived to form our own coven here in PA. The idea of “tradition names” didn’t really exist in those days like we would know of it now, but in those early days many did speak of two types of witches here in the Northeast of the U.S. at the time: Gardnerian and Traditionalist, in which we identified in the Traditionalist camp.
The second influence of what our coven also practices is now called “The Sacred Pentagraph Tradition”. I am a member of, and have a lot of drive and passion for, Sacred Pentagraph, which was first formed in Las Vegas under the guidance of Tarostar and Charmaine Dey (June Day), with interest, guidance and input by Sybil Leek. Because Sybil and Charmaine became good friends in the late 1960s in Houston, Texas, through the Theosophical Society of Houston, Charmaine began to study and learn her newly adopted religion of Wicca. As I was told, after some time, Sybil decided on a move from Houston to Las Vegas to establish her new astrology school with the astrology courses that she and Charles Luntz worked on. Charmaine decided she would move with her mentor to the new city. When Sybil opened her astrology school, Charmaine, her husband and Tarostar opened up an Occult Shop.
Tarostar had told me in those days that Charmaine and Sybil would be found frequently chatting in the front of the old occult store, The Bell, Book & Candle. When he would come in to work at the occult shop from his earlier shift at the hotels, he would go through the notes that Charmaine made from the instruction and input of Sybil, and they would flesh out what they wanted for their coven through Tarostar’s pen – which would eventually become the “Ancient Order of the Bell, Book & Candle” and today known as Sacred Pentagraph.
If you are interested in learning more about the work that is done in Sacred Pentagraph, along with rituals, spells, lore of witchcraft as an occult-lodge system, you can purchase a copy of the book by Tarostar. There is a photo from our covenstead in the book performing the “Centering of the Cone” ritual as well. This will give you some information and practices on what the path is like and about. It is technically five books in one, and called “The Sacred Pentagraph: A Craft Work in Five Volumes”.
Charmaine Dey also published what has become probably the second most popular candle magic booklet of all time, except for maybe the old one in the 1940s by Henri Gamache. Her book is called The Magic Candle: Facts and Fundamentals of Ritual Candle Burning. This book represents the time period of when Sybil and Charmaine both still lived in Houston, Texas. They learned Hoodoo Candle Magic directly from an old and reputable Hoodoo Candle Shop known as Bichon’s Drugstore. This makes up the majority of Charmaine’s booklet, along with bits of astrology and Witchcraft she was learning from Sybil in Houston. This book is prized by both Hoodoo practitioners and those of Witchcraft alike. (Charmaine transitioned from this earthly incarnation in 1983.) It is still in print and can be purchased here.
As a special Samhain treat for readers, our Elder, Tarostar V*, who entered the path of Witchcraft in 1967, had requested that we put on our coven’s blog for free one of his unpublished manuscripts that he wrote in 1984 called Tales from a Witch’s Hearthfire: Thoughts Upon the Heart of Wicca. This booklet is filled with stories, craft myth & legend … along with spells & sorcery. This has a feeling of gathering in around the hearth of a witch to hear tales, learn some practical sorcery and kind of learn at the Heathfire of a Witch who has traversed the path for many decades! It can be read here, along with a corresponding blog from our coven for each page.
The third influence: Sybil’s last student, Christine Jones, who was British by birth, but then moved to Florida. Christine Jones’s influence has also played a role and influence in our coven. She passed from this incarnation in 2011, and when she passed, those she had trained joined in with our coven, such as Tarran A.
Christine’s influence, and those that joined in with us that she personally taught, have been an integral part of who we are today. Christine was fiery, and like the coven in Pennsylvania, also worked heavily with the archangels. Tarran A is very proud of what Christine has taught them and today is a knowledgeable and valuable member of the coven, along with being a knowledgeable witch, having entered the Craft in the early 1980s.
A fun treat that you might enjoy is this: Christine did a lovely hour long interview in 2007 with a radio show. It has been put on YouTube by the creators of the show so that others may enjoy this extraordinary interview with another old Elder of the Craft, and one whose influence means a lot to us. In this interview, Christine Jones describes her mentorship with Sybil and even shares teachings on Halloween, the Archangels and a number of magical spells and herb lore. It is a wonderful Halloween treat that I hope you enjoy.
Christine did write down some of this for others in the following little booklets, which I will show here.
Christine’s booklets
Most of the well-known witches and occultists we know about from the 1950s and 1960s seemed to have mainly lived in the more urban centers of activity, but Sybil was different: she was a witch who lived and worked in the heart of the New Forest when she first came into notoriety as a witch in the 1950s. While I haven’t had the opportunity to visit Burley Village myself, from what I hear it seems to be a bustling and active small town located in the very heart of the New Forest and many businesses with the theme of witchcraft are thriving there. It is fascinating to see photos and videos from friends that have traveled and have visited the New Forest and what they have told me from walking the grounds and even getting a glimpse and sight of the New Forest wild ponies!
To understand how Sybil’s reputation is still alive and well in the New Forest today, check out the following websites:
Right on the front page, you will notice that it immediately talks about Sybil, the famous New Forest White Witch who helped popularize Burley Village today.
One of the shops that is known as “A Coven of Witches” is probably one of the most recognizable of the shops in the village. Sybil actually gave the shop it’s name in 1960 and it has had this name to this very day! The store has a website where you can purchase items and also find more information.
In my own collection, Lilliput Lane made a replica of the store. Lilliput Lane was known for making a wide variety of handmade models and miniatures in exquisite detail of places and scenes from England and Wales. They are no longer in business, but a page on Wikipedia describes the business.
Here are the photos of the miniature of A Coven of Witches that I bought when Lilliput Lane manufactured their beautiful miniatures. I think this one was made in 2003:
The next website to check out is the official New Forest website. The page called “Witchcraft & Ghosts” mentions Sybil in the 1950s as well.
Morgana and I were recently talking and she looked up one of the locations that Sybil Leek lived in Burley. It was called back in the day by the name of Bashley House Cottage. The building still stands today and is now called Little Bunty Lodge. The building that used to hold the antique shop that Sybil ran, the old Lawford’s building, is also still standing and still houses businesses in the village.
When it comes to working in a traditional coven, there are some things that we can share to give you an idea of some things we learned about rituals in the New Forest that we have come to learn:
In our coven, we seek a harmonious relationship with ourselves, with others and all things. The simple tenets of the religion and the seasonal rituals are hallmarks we are deeply fond of in our tradition.
There are certain themes that occur in our standard quarterly rituals. The first ritual, the Spring Festival, has within it the symbolism of planting the seeds of our desires. These seed-thoughts; or thought-forms are given up through fire and earth in order that these wishes may grow in our lives. This Festival is sometimes called Candlemas or February Eve.
The Summer Festival, sometimes called May Eve, or today called Beltane by many, is the time of cultivation and growth. The wishes are encouraged and fertilized so that they may grow to flower and eventually to fruit at Harvest. Protection is ensured by the purification of the baalfire or the need-fire, which is the central hub around which we circumambulate widdershins and leap over.
At the Autumn Harvest Festival, sometimes called Lammas or Lughnassad, is a time where we get to brag a little. At this time we must accept our just desserts for what we have planted. “You must reap what you have sown.” Whether the harvest has been good or bad, libation is indeed offered up to the Great Mother Goddess in thanksgiving for what we have been provided.
Lastly, we arrive at the Winter Festival, which is sometimes called Hallowe’en, Hallowmas or even by the name Samhain. We release everything that no longer serves us, we release our failures as well. This is a time of purging what no longer serves us so that we can start the cycle of the new year again fresh. Typically, a ritual of prognostication will occur, and on some years, we will perform the High Rites of Necromancy as taught per Sacred Pentagraph and end with a prognostication for the watchword which will carry us through the next year as a yearly theme and password for entrance to next year’s rituals. These watchwords, along with the degree symbols given, serve as yearly passwords for entrance to the covenstead. The central theme of the baal-fire, giving heat, light, smoke, is a symbolic action of sending power to the sun – for we don’t want the year to get dark and gloomy, and the power sent to the sun is symbolic so that it will also be renewed at Midwinter and begin it’s increase.
There are times we still meet in the old way, outside, around a blazing Fire of Baal, or Baalfire or Need-Fire as our only “altar”. The tools of the Craft are still used such as the athalme, the sword for cutting the circle, and of course, the besom and cauldron. There is also a special “Ritual Tea” that we sometimes use as well during a brief meditative fast for contemplation and meditation. Here is a photo of one of those fires:
Now, this doesn’t mean that we do not meet more than four times a year. Of course, we get together for other occasions as well, at least in our coven here in Pennsylvania, for other activities too such as Esbats or group spell-making & sorcery – as the need and group sees fit. We try our best to retain the old methods, but allow room for growth. This means, there are times when it is very appropriate to have a “Grand Coven” in which multiple covens get together for specific needs and purposes.
Rituals themselves are robed, rather than skyclad, though that doesn’t mean that skyclad isn’t allowable – it is – but it is not a requirement for skyclad rituals in our coven. The main reason for this is because rituals were traditionally held outdoors in the New Forest, and you sometimes had to walk to the meeting place. This meeting place was sometimes held at what was called a ‘blasted heath’. This is not a term that you hear often, and in terms of our coven in Pennsylvania, we are a little short on blasted heaths since our woods and forests are pretty thick. We still do meet out of doors when we can for the ritual meetings, like you will see here in the artful photo below of some members of our coven, but “witches make do” and we do also meet indoors when we must as well. For those times we meet indoors, we do use a central altar in substitution for the central fire. Sometimes we will have an altar outdoors too, though an altar is not necessary.
My High Priestess used to set up a very simple altar for outdoor rituals when she was alive. We performed every ritual outdoors at that time, except for my initiations, which were held indoors. Outdoors, she would sometimes dig a small hole in the ground for the fire and she had a large round wooden table we used outdoors for an altar. In this photo below, you can see one of those altars from 2008 from a photo I took with a digital camera since we didn’t have cell phone cameras at that time. A friend of mine, V.L., made a very tasty Poppet Bread that we wrapped and warmed in the fire. Leaning against the altar is a broom I brought along, and you can see a wreath of flowers that I made for the ritual for my High Priestess. The grapevine wreath was stuffed with fresh ferns because of their fairy association and then filled in with beautiful smelling purple carnations. After ritual, we placed the wreath on the head of a large statue of the Goddess in the garden as a gesture of thanksgiving to her for all we have received in that season and we of course ate the delicious bread and drank the wine.
The rest of the tools pictured were my High Priestess’s tools, which you can see, her tools were very simple: a sword, a candle, athalme, wand and an old Tibetan bell … And not pictured, the hanging Tibetan-style incense burner on a long chain, handing from a branch of a pine tree right near the altar for ease of use. The tools look elegant, but they were always remarkably simple. Here is that photo from a Sabbat in 2008:
From the descriptions, you can see how some of these ideas are still carried on, and passed along to the next generations.
If you want to read further information on Sybil’s philosophy on the practice of Witchcraft, you should check out a copy of Sybil Leek’s The Complete Art of Witchcraft that she published in 1971. In that book, you will find many topics – one of the most influential being her Tenets of Witchcraft that have influenced so many covens and traditions over the years. To this day, we and many other covens and traditions still utilize these tenets of Witchcraft as not just a philosophy of life, but a way to express and ground our Craft in the everyday world. Now, we don’t just speak them as a memorized list – what we do is utilize them to analyze ourselves, our intentions, our motivations and weigh them against our thoughts and decisions in order to improve our lives. Now, understanding that The Complete Art of Witchcraft is out of print, and if you can’t borrow a copy from your library to learn and utilize these teachings and tenets, there are a few alternatives that may help: Tarostar’s The Sacred Pentagraph – a Craft Work in Five Volumes that I give a link to above describes these tenets. Another book recently published that does an amazing job describing the tenets is a new book by Kerry Wisner that has been published by Troy Books of England called The Willow Path. It is an amazing book on the practice of Traditional Witchcraft.
Recently, well-known astrologer Rev. Dr. Dikki Jo Mullen has memorialized on YouTube a rate recording of a presentation Sybil Leek did in Miami Florida in 1978 where Sybil Leek speaks about various subjects. The presentation is clear, and she also gives a few recollections and memories of Sybil from the time she worked with her as an astrologer. This recording is quite a treat and we are grateful to Rev. Dr. Mullen for sharing this with the world so we can hear it! You can watch the presentation on YouTube:
Another selection from YouTube includes an interview with Sybil Leek that premiered on the B.B.C. for Halloween 1963. The B.B.C. visited the heart of the New Forest to interview Sybil. You can watch the interview here on YouTube.
Another resource is the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic located in Boscastle. My friend Morgana does some work with them and can confirm that in the Museum, there is a collection of papers related to Sybil Leek. I have not visited the museum myself but I sincerely hope I get to someday, but I do know of at least a few papers in the museum. One of our Elders, Christine Jones, donated some of her letters from Sybil when they first met to the museum. If you are able, you should check it out and let us know! You can find information about them on their website.
To end this article, I wanted to give you a little lore and blessing. In this photo you see below, these are ritual besoms that each witch cuts ceremonially and prepares. It is special to each of us. In this photo, they are held out in the center like a hub by members of our coven here in Pennsylvania. We still make these besoms in the old way – but with what we have available to us. This photo, taken at the Lammas Harvest Sabbat, also known as “August Eve”, has tied around it herbs and flowers from the land on which we walk. This year where we are experiencing many new norms as our lives have shifted in many unique ways, and as we continue to adapt, let us never forget to take a moment and remember the simple but elegant and beautiful things we can do together – whether in person or even by video call. The simple act of gathering herbs and flowers to make little “herb-man” and carrying them into ritual on our besoms seems so simple, but, it is something natural and it is something from the land on which we walk. What in your environment, whether in the city, suburbia, or in the countryside, can you find that is a simple, but elegant act to express the beauty, which can be found in the religion of Wicca? What outsiders don’t always realize is that we are a beautiful religion, we believe in a Supreme Being or Life-Force (the Great Goddess), and the path of magic. Out of this great Life-Force we have come and through a process of many incarnations we will return to that Life-Force once our spirits have learned all they can learn from being incarnated in a physical body. Let this photo inspire you now, right at this moment as you are reading this, to find something in your environment no matter where you live, that you feel expresses the beauty of the religion we hold dear.
Photo of Besoms
Recommended Reading Referenced in this Blog:
Dey, Charmaine. The Magic Candle: Facts & Fundamentals of Ritual Candle Burning, Original Publications. Print.
Jones, Christine. The Handbook of Sacred Truths, Mi-World Publishing. Print.
Leek, Sybil. The Complete Art of Witchcraft, The World Publishing Company. Print
Tarostar. The Sacred Pentagraph – a Craft Work in Five Volumes, Left Hand Press. Print.
Wisner, Kerry. The Willow Path, Troy Books. Print.
Photo of Sybil Leek: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/308918855663671004/
The following speakers joined us for the Silver Circle Autumn Online Gathering Rhys Chisnall, Melissa Harrington and Thorn Nightwind. … In conclusion Thorn spoke about ‘Sybil Leek…. & what my Elders told me of Witchcraft in the New Forest’.We heard many anecdotes about this fascinating lady who has been described as the “World’s Most Famous Witch” Sit back and enjoy!
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