Witchfest

Hello all,
this is just a quick update of the shenanigans and goings on of my first Witchfest last weekend. At the end I've included a video made by the fabulous Olivia, enjoy!

Witchfest
'Humpspohiujbwadhv,' was precisely what went through my mind as the alarm went off at no later than 4:45 am. Olivia appeared to be bouncing off the walls, but I had a hard time dragging my half awake body to Swansea train station, but a beautiful sunrise appearing over the misty fields made it worthwhile. Despite a slight tube-related kerfuffle, we made it to Croydon bang on time and met up with a fabulous teenage witchy Essex bunch. We went to the lovely opening speech and blessings, then hit the stalls. I spent disappointingly little in comparison to my last festival escapade at Barefoot, but was very pleased with my new rune bag, runic lore book, and one of those gorgeous leatherbound journal jobbies. No bookshelf is complete without at least one, particularly not mine. I ended up bumping into all sorts of unexpected faces; someone I met at Barefoot festival, a woman I'm pretty sure I recognised from an Open University documentary I saw a while back on Village Witchcraft, and an old friend I hadn't seen for at least a year. I also ran into a pair of less than lovely faces from the past, but fortunately claws remained retracted (physically, anyway), and thus all was good in the hood. Filming and taking photos was strictly prohibited, but Olivia being the awesome camera-wielding ninja that she is, managed to get enough footage to make a 10 minute video out of it (with a section including yours truly where, not wanting to regurgitate Tiffany's response to 'what do you like most about Witchfest', she had me waffle on about Runes instead.) There was a great range of talks, ones I attended including Phiona Hutton's whisperings in Avalon, Ronald Hutton's Ancient Pagan Britain (which was so popular that there were hardly any seats left when I got there), and Moving Magic, taught by a loud Scottish guy who shared with us some fantastic techniques for circle casting, spellwork and raising energy, all based in movement. But by far the best was the one about the obstacles and difficulties faced by teenage witches, which I was told by one of the lovely speakers might well have been a pretty boring talk, but alas it was met with standing ovation. I was rather impressed. Following the talks, the musical entertainment commenced, and we watched the beginning of the brilliant Daughters of Gaia performance, before having to leave early and say our fond farewells, until next year....

Sea witchcraft and The Fifth Sacred Thing movie

Greetings friends,
Today I want to talk about a branch of witchcraft I knew virtually nothing about before my recent move to the seaside, and also an exciting project launched by my favourite Pagan author and teacher, Starhawk.

Sea witchcraft
I've been meaning to write about this fascinating topic since I moved from a quiet village in Suffolk to the bustling Swansea seafront just over a month ago. From the first time I stepped out onto the beach during the heatwave at the end of September (which has since rapidly subsided into the grey, cold, wetness that we were expecting), I knew I'd come to the right place for University. Sea witchery isn't a popular or well publicised path, but after a quick walk around the seafront I realised what a huge potential there was for it in my practice.
In days gone by, witches who lived by the sea were called upon by sailors to conjure favourable winds for safe passage over the oceans; they were attuned to the power of water and specialised in controlling the weather. Nowadays sea witches tend to be solitaries who use all types of water and weather magick as a central feature in their practice. Everything from the weather, the tides, water in its different forms, the properties of differently shaped shells, and different types of seaweed etc. can be used in sea witchcraft. The sea witches' tools are made as much as possible from things that can be found on the beach; work is in progress at the moment on a driftwood wand with a seaweed handle (rather than leather or suede etc) and a long shell point (rather than a crystal), a candle made from a bowl-shaped shell, beach runes painted on small shells or stones, a dreamcatcher made from seaweed, driftwood and seagull feathers...the possibilities go on. Given that I couldn't do this topic justice with my ramblings here in my blog, I offer you the most extensive and comprehensive website I've found on the subject, which makes great reading for any witch, particularly those living by the sea....
seawitch.org


In the news
"Where there's fear, there's power," Witches say.
In 1993, when this blogger was but a wee tot, Starhawk, Wiccan author, teacher and activist wrote a novel about a ecotopian San Francisco set in 2048.....in this city the concrete streets have been torn up for gardens and streams which flow freely between the rows of homes, children are brought up speaking at least 3 languages in schools where knowledge is taught in a hands-on basis, and anything that must be learned by heart is set to music; cars have been largely done away with and public transport run on vegetable oils; every home has a garden big enough to grow food to feed each household, and each family and collective is interconnected; the city's defence is managed by women who dedicate their lives to 'dreaming and listening'; music, arts and cultural and religious diversity are valued second only to the four sacred things of Earth, Fire, Water and Air - things so important to life that they cannot be owned by anyone. But an ever-lingering threat lurks outside the city's perimeters - the fundamentalist, militarised nation that dominates the rest of America and threatens attack to reclaim the city for their own at any moment. The main theme then that Starhawk explores in her novel is this: 
How does a society rooted in peace defend itself against violence, without becoming what they're fighting against?
Now Starhawk is working on making the novel into a film, to try to bring her message to a wider audience. Film making isn't generally considered a very green or sustainable industry, but she has created a 'Green Plan' in an attempt to set new standards for environmental accountability in film production. The Kickstarter campaign launched over the summer to raise funds to start the project exceeded its target and now the exciting task of casting, set and costume designing and bringing the novel alive is under way. Below I've included some useful links for the project, general information on what its all about, how to get involved if you think you have a skill that you can contribute, and a video by Starhawk about her vision for the film and for the future of our planet.
I hope that some of you will be inspired to get involved in some way and support this wonderful woman's work, as I have time and time again. A blessed Samhain to you all, Blessed Be. )O( 
"One act of courage can change the world." -Starhawk


http://www.starhawk.org/writings/fifth_sacred_SFvision.html

http://fifthsacredthing.com/home/about/

The Runes and reducing food waste

Hello all,
today I'm discussing the new direction that my spiritual path is heading in, and a piece in the news that has cheered me up. Happy Mabon to all, may you reap all the good you've sown this year :).

In the news
http://news.uk.msn.com/uk/sell-by-axed-to-stop-food-waste
I'm so pleased to see this. There have been rumblings for some time on this subject, but I'm very glad the government are beginning to really push the issue. They want to encourage firms to remove sell-by dates on food, have a recommended use-by date on labels and improve education about until when food is safe to eat. I used to work in a convenience store where we were obliged to throw out an entire trolley full of food, most of it still perfectly edible, much of it flown in from halfway round the world, to rot in plastic bags in the bins. If staff were able to use their eyes and common sense to judge when food is beginning to go a bit manky, I reckon the waste would be cut down by a good two-thirds. The article talks about customers being confused about when to chuck out food they've bought; personally I'll look it over and give it a sniff and if its still good, I'll eat it anyway regardless of a number stamped on the label. Freezing food that you'd otherwise chuck out is also a good idea. Some people are not able to compost and so much good food goes in the bin, so I'm all for improving education about use-by dates. But I say, all hail common sense! We can all reduce our food waste with a little thought and efficiency.


The Runes
Time and time again I've attempted to engage in the art of Tarot reading; I've read books, done online courses and browsed packs, but to no avail. A friend said to me, "no, you mustn't do it from books! Lay the cards out in front of you, use your intuition to connect with them." Okydoke, here is... a dude? with a tree? and a Sun? I was never able to connect with the cards, found the images obscure and the meanings often irrelevant to my life. So I began to research other forms of divination, and decided to take a look at the Futhark Runes. I whizzed through two books, one by Edred Thorsson and the other by Lisa Peschel and was instantly engrossed. What I love about the Runes is that they're more earthy, simpler and easier to use than Tarot and other confusing forms of divination. Also Tarot is of middle-eastern origin and the Runes of Norse origin - perhaps my Swedish heritage has played a part in drawing me to them.
I collected some smooth, round stones from a beach in Wales and set about painting a rune set with acrylic paints, meditated to the meanings of each rune with a set of cards I made, and learned how to use the various divination layouts. Everything, from the type of wood used, the colours used, the gods invoked, the time of day and the ritual must be carefully chosen, but this gives an enormous range of choice and as with many other magickal disciplines, there's always so much more to learn. Another thing I love about the runes is that they're good not only for divination, but for magickal purposes; I've learned how to make bindrunes (runes with similar meanings superimposed upon one another to make a design), runescripts on tines (runes with similar meanings laid out in a line on a strip), and talismans. The Norse Futhark alphabet can also be transliterated into English for writing purposes, magickal and mundane!

Studying the Runes has also taught me much of Norse mythology and of the lives of the ancient Scandinavian peoples, in which the runes played such a vital part. And the great thing is that the basic needs and concerns of the ancients were much the same as ours today, which I think is what makes this divination and magickal method so effective. Issues of finding a partner, protecting property and loved ones, accumulating wealth, healing the sick and achieving victory and success were as important to them as to us now. Use of the runes, even in these early stages of my study, have already helped me with issues in my life, more effectively than many other magickal techniques have. Perhaps my path will begin to veer towards Ásatrú or Odinism, and indeed I've been beginning to work with Odin and Freya much more; or perhaps it will go somewhere else as I discover a 'new' fantastic technique or path to incorporate into my craft. Such is the rich tapestry of being a Pagan! 
Blessed be all, have a good autumn equinox )0(

The nature of changing practice

Hi y'all again. Today there are two things I want to discuss, the way our practice changes over time and the themes of an upcoming Witchvox essay, The green life versus the silver life.

The nature of changing practice
This is something I've been meaning to blog about for some time, but I think now is a most appropriate time in my life to write about it. As I mentioned in January, I enrolled on a beginner's course of Witchcraft in my local Pagan shop. Up until that point I had studied alone with books following an eclectic Wiccan path, which satisfied me, but towards the end of last year I realised my practice was beginning to become static and stale. Being plonked in a class of beginners made me realise how far I had come from being in that position myself. They say 'when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.' I was more than ready and was very much enjoying picking up on aspects of the Craft that I hadn't studied in any depth, and mentoring others. The others in the class came from many walks of life and had entered into the Craft from many different angles, which in itself blasted a breath of fresh air into my practice, if not other areas of my life as well. At the shop, outside of the class, people came and went of so many paths; Wiccans, Hedgewitches, Druids, neo-Pagans and make-it-up-as-you-go-along Witches stopped by for a chat and a cup of tea. I found that just talking to these people and listening to them talk about their practice to each other made me subconciously soak up their ideas and beliefs. These encounters, along with the class, had my practice undergo some rapid shifts for a few months. But that's not to say that I would abandon my roots; there are certain invocations, rituals and altar pieces I simply won't change or part with and have used since day dot.
More recently, over this summer, the two encounters with Spanish witches have taught me how Reclaiming and El Camino Rojo are practised in Spain, themselves two diverse American paths but there with an Iberian twist. There are some who say you should shop and eat locally from your land, worship the gods native to your country and use the practices and rituals of your ancestors. For example, modern Pagans in Japan worshipping Cerridwen and Athena wouldn't be connecting to their land or their heritage (indeed I've heard reports of something like this happening.) Seeing the Spanish invoke Iberian deities and learning about the local customs was as much refreshing as it was enjoyable.
With my discovery of Starhawk a couple of years ago my practice has since been learning towards the Wiccan Reclaiming tradition. For ages I've been trying to get into learning to read Tarot cards, for the sake of a more well-rounded education, but I never managed to get them to grab my interest. But of late I've been very much drawn to Runes, a similar form of divination. But Tarot is rooted in Middle-Eastern practices, and Runes in Norse practices - perhaps my Swedish heritage is calling me towards use of the Runes. Maybe my practice will veer next towards Odinism or Asatru. Who knows? There are hundreds of diverse and exciting Pagan paths to explore, and many books and teachers on hand to help you along the way.
But a word of warning my friends. Choose your teacher wisely. I'd like to thank my teacher for all she gave me and all the knowledge and fun times we shared together, even if she'd sooner jump off a cliff than accept my thanks. If there is anything about witchcraft that she doesn't know then its probably not worth knowing. But what is boundless knowledge worth if you cannot practice what you preach? Some teachers are devoted to sharing love and knowledge of the Craft with those willing to learn. Others are in it for a quick buck. I unfortunately ended up with the latter. During my recent visit to Avebury I met a hedgewitch who asked me how I had recieved my education of the Craft. With a sharp intake of breath I explained that I had mostly taught myself, but that at one point I'd had a teacher, but to put it simply....well, shit hit the fan. Granted everyone won't get on with everyone else forever - some relationships and friendships grow apart, some blow apart. But this is the sad case with my teacher; had she imparted her hard-earned knowledge and experience with the love and compassion that she preached, rather than with a pretty mask used to collect money, she would have been a wonderful teacher. But in time all appearances and false pretences will fade away and peoples' true colours will be revealed. Once again, excercise caution in seeking out teaching. But by all means don't steer completely clear of those willing to teach; I know that there are some gems of knowledgeable people out there, out to make the world a better place.

Thought of the day
'The Green life versus the Silver life' will be the title of my next Witchvox essay, a subject I've been meaning to explore for a while now. The ol' witch in the woods had a couple of beeswax candles and a knowledge of herbs to use in her practice. The modern witch has the world a their fingertips at the click of a mouse button. I've always been a bit of a sci-fi geek, fascinated by modern technology, and most of the fiction I've written involves futuristic colonies in Space, and I've also always been a sucker for post-apocalyptic and disaster movies, in which the Earth freezes over or burns to a crisp or explodes, etc. I've always had a thrill for travel to far-flung exotic places, and like any teenager, wouldn't be without my laptop, phone or ipod. Cue the snag - does the slow-paced, Earth-reverence lifestyle of Paganism not present the exact opposite sort of mentality? Pagans live in the here and now, grounded in the present, the majority of us focused mainly on protecting the environment, and enjoy nothing more than a walk through sylvan parks, forests and by tinkling streams rather than in the perfectly geometric stone and metal cities of my imagination. Air travel is of-course a big no-no, being the largest producer of Co2 as forms of transport go. All the silver shiny things that make us stay-indoorsy robots and distract us for hours and hours on end from our natural surroundings, those things that make our lives easier and more enjoyable on the surface, but in the long term cause fatigue, depression and stress due to our over-busy lives and lack of communication with Earth's energies - how do we fit it into a modern Pagan lifestyle? The answer is compromise, to combine the two. We can't progress without embracing modern technology. Without the wonders of the Internet this message wouldn't be reaching you. The term 'Techno-Pagan' is becoming more and more widespread, to describe those who would use the Internet to network with other Pagans and bring together people and ideas. Beside all this we can still make time to be with nature, if we can only pause our hectic lifestyles for a brief time and take in the serenity of the Earth. The balance is imperative to our wellbeing, and if we can reach for the silvery stars while keeping rooted in the green Earth, we will make great tracks in our lives and in the lives of others indeed.

Viaje a Avalon (aka, a bunch of Spaniards have a Pagan-themed jolly to England)

Merry meet all,
Today I want to share the experiences of my past week, touring around the sacred sites of the West country with a very excited group of Spanish Pagans.

Viaje a Avalon
I saw on Facebook only about a week before they were due to come to England that there were two places left on their 'trip to England.'  Having visited Glastonbury and Avebury last Beltane and having not wanted to leave, I was grateful to snap up the opportunity to go again, while practising Spanish on my own turf. I made a slightly hair-raising coach journey to Bristol airport (due to horrendous traffic in central London giving me about 5 minutes to change at Victoria Station). The group of 7 turned up in Arrivals bundled up in winter coats - "Welcome to the English Summer!" I proclaimed in Spanish, much to their amusement. A minibus took us to our first destination, the EarthSpirit centre in Somerset, about half an hour from Glastonbury. As the Spaniards spilled out of the minibus they looked around in awe at the foggy moon and the light it cast on the farmhouse and the garden. Their faces looked as though they'd landed on Mars (so I'm told, 'The West Country has that effect').
On our first day we went to Glastonbury, to visit the abbey (we held a beautiful mini ritual under a chestnut tree in the grounds), followed by a visit to the fabulous Goddess Temple and a shopping trip along the High Street. One of the women wanted to buy a drum and wanted to know how it was made but didn't understand a word of what the shopkeeper said to her. Indeed these people spoke about 3 words of English between them, cue my first attempt at being a makeshift translator. Despite my somewhat shaky translation, she seemed pleased with it and ended up buying the drum. We then made our way up a hill, at the top of which was a small tree surrounded by a metal support; on every inch of space there hung ribbons of all shapes, sizes and colours, with blessings and prayers scribbled on them in many languages. From there we had a fantastic view of the whole town, and of the Tor, and chose this place for our next group meditation.
The next day we found an enormous and beautiful Yew tree in a cemetary under which to meditate, then collected some yarrow, the 'women's plant', for them to take home. We took the minibus back to Glastonbury, where we were unleashed into Morrisons and told we were to buy lunch and dinner for the next 2 days. Cue a mad frenzy of grabbing anything that was on offer, and we landed up with bags and bags of....well, crap. It sufficed though, and we spent the afternoon climbing the Tor, which has wonderful views over 3 counties, and visiting Chalice Well, whose beauty grabbed my interest and never let go during my first visit last May. On the way to Avebury we stopped by at Stonehenge, which I got some very good pictures of when the herds of Japanese tourists had cleared a sufficient gap between me and the stones. We arrived at the Aveburylife B&B in the evening and chowed down on our Feast of Abundance. The B&B owner then showed us pictures of the orbs of light that surround people in photos next to the stones, and of the nearby crop circles which made them jump up and down with excitement. The following morning we visited 2 crop circles, and had a ritual and a sing-song in one of them which was a truly magical experience. We then followed a trail through the woods towards Silbury Hill and did a meditation inside the West Kennet Long Barrow, an underground set of chambers. We then made our way around Silbury Hill and towards the main stone circles. We had private meditations with each of the stones and then a group meditation; we shared what we had learned from the stones and what had sprung to mind during our walk around the site. This exercise always fills me with dread because unlike going around a circle in a language oral lesson, in which you can fill 2 minutes with any old crap and it'll do, here I feel the need to come up with something personal, meaningful, revelant to the question and for goodness sake not in Spanglish. But I managed it, even if my verb endings were all over the shop and I was able to make myself understood. In the evening we chowed down in the famous Red Lion pub, and on the way back in the dusk, we took pictures of each other around the stones, and they squealed and leapt with excitement as dozens of white orbs appeared in the photos around their bodies. "Tell them to look at the sky," the B&B owner said to me. "There are no street lights here so there is no light pollution." This was followed by more 'ooh's and 'ah's. Bless 'em.
On the last day we made a circle and selected a 'moon card' as we had done in Spain - round cards with an image of different deities or circumstances printed on them. I was surprised to select Kali but I was told this is relevant for me because I'm learning to stand on my own feet; as Morgaine noted, I travel alone, I'm preparing for University far from home and I jump in at the deep end learning another language. Very well said. We said our fond farewells to Avebury and travelled to Stanton Drew, a small out-of-the-way village where there's a stone circle in a farmer's field that hasn't yet been pounced upon by English Heritage. Cows meandered between the ancient stones, indifferent to anyone who walked past, and the sheer peacefulness and lack of swarms of tourists made it something I'd recommend for anybody. Ritual inside this circle was moving and refreshing, and the weather pretty much held out the whole trip (despite one of the women asking me if this was normal temperature for the summer, and then informing me with slight disdain that this is October weather in Madrid.)

There was a somewhat emotional farewell on return to Bristol airport, to those who had been a really great group. My translation skills, if somewhat shoddy, were very much needed and it was great to be so useful while learning more of their language at the same time. We realised that this was the start of a long and fascinating journey of international networking which made me very glad I took the leap and went to the witchcamp in Spain in the first place. I'll be watching the Friends' Events on Facebook very closely from now on! Every journey begins with the first step....

Modern Paganism in Spain part 2

Hi all,
I've done some research about the history and development of Paganism in Spain to accompany my trip, which I hope you'll find useful and interesting. It's only the briefest of outlines so feel free to suggest additions or amendments as you see fit.

Then and now
In my research I discovered that there were a wealth of different deities beloved in the Iberian peninsula, before the invasion of the Moors and then eventual Christianisation, the goddesses mostly concerned with agriculture and the changing of the seasons, and the gods with weather, storms and war. With the invasion of the Roman empire, it seems that many of the popular Iberian deities of the time were syncretised with those of the Roman pantheon who shared similar characteristics, for example the god of war, Cariociecus, overlayed by Mars, and the weather god Eacus blended into Jupiter. Most revered seem to be the goddess Ataegina, who ruled over Spring and seasonality, worshipped throughout Spain and Portugal, and Mari, a Basque goddess, also in charge of the weather, who lived in the mountains. Interestingly, it's the Basque region of Spain that seems to have retained its native culture and heritage the most, oweing I think to the resilient and fiercely protective nature of the Basque peoples.
Ásastrú and Odinism are closely-linked Germanic-based neopagan religions, following the teachings of Norse deities. These Pagan religions have been growing rapidly in Spain in the last 30 years, helped by the creation of the "Círculo Odinista Europeo" in 1981, an organisation dedicated to the growth of Odinism in Spain and the rest of Europe. In 2007, the Spanish government recognised it as an official religion, and thus were able to perform 'legally binding civil ceremonies.' It has been the fourth Odinist/Asatru religious organization to have been recognized with official status in the world, after Iceland, Norway and Denmark. On December 23, 2007 the first legal Pagan wedding in Spain in 1,500 years took place on the beach of Vilanova, Barcelona. Jordi and Francesca, members of Confession Odin-Asatru, united their lives under the Rite Odinist Continental led by Ernust, Godi of the COE. The ceremony was attended by Pagans of all faiths in Spain, as well as members of the Pagan Federation.
While I was at the witchcamp, I found two paths were followed side by side; the Reclaiming tradition of Wicca, with which I'm very familiar, and El Camino Rojo, which translates as 'the path of the red people', or more simply, 'the Red Road', an Iberian tradition of Native American origin. When I asked Vicente, the local tradition leader, what the differences were between El Camino Rojo and Shamanism, he replied adamantly that Shamanism was a Siberian word and that Native American beliefs and practices were very much different. The workshops he runs are in honour of the ancestors of the world and of the Father Sun and Sky and the Mother Earth, and include learning Native American invocations, songs and chants, making tobacco offerings, instruction of the use of sacred and medicinal plants, purification of the body and spirit in sweatlodges and the use of drumming for worship and to induce trance state. I admired his steadfast dedication to keeping alive the memory and teachings of the ancestors of the Iberian peninsula.
As aforementioned, there isn't a huge amount for Pagans to do in Spain, I was told, and they all want to visit the sacred sites of England, as Morgaine called it, the 'Land of the Goddess.' But twice annually there is a Goddess conference in Madrid, founded by members of the tradition of Avalon and of Reclaiming. It's a 4 day event of songs, workshops and presentations with the aim, according to the website, of regaining lost knowledge of female deities, the cults and cultures associated with them, and facilitating that knowledge to Spanish and International society; to establish a virtual and physical sacred space to teach and practice together; and to work to promote and defend the rights and dignity of women and men through the visualisation of a model of Divine Feminine denied for over three thousand years; working for the health of the planet as a physical manifestation of Divinty, and for multiculturalism and diversity, through work with goddesses from many times and places.
It's a great shame I missed this latest conference in July during my stay in Spain, as when I look through the pictures that come back I see faces filled with joy and the love and light of the Goddess. May this love continue to spread, and the work done by all the melissas, priests, priestesses and contributors bear fruit in the growth of this great phenomenon in Iberia, and throughout the world.

Sources:
http://www.wikipedia.com/
http://www.reclaimingspain.org/
http://www.laconferenciadeladiosa.es/

Modern Paganism in Spain part 1

Modern Paganism in Spain part 1

Greetings all, 

and my apologies for the super-duper long break. Today I want to share with you some of my memories of my recent trip to Spain and the summer solstice ritual I took part in with the Spanish branch of Reclaiming Wicca.

Summer Solstice with Reclaiming Spain

It began about two years ago, while pottering online and discovering what a powerful draw I felt to Starhawk's Reclaiming tradition of Wicca. Reclaiming focuses on combining Goddess spirituality with global and local political activism, and with its strong, happy network of people, an abundance of unique chants and songs, an ever-questioning attitude and gallant allegiance with the Wiccan Rede, I have yet to find anything at all I don't like about the Reclaiming tradition. I discovered that week long 'witchcamps' are run in several countries throughout the world, and I casually searched the European list, just in case, such is my love for the Spanish language, there might be one in Spain. When the camp in Gredos, Avila came up, I couldn't believe my luck. But nahh. Too far away. Too scary!

It wasn't until only a few short weeks ago, when gap year plans of going to the States to work fell through that I was in need of a rapid rethink. I revisited the Reclaiming Spain website in vague hopes of finding an upcoming event, and stumbled upon a most perfect 5 day retreat around the time of the solstice, with a ritual and herbal workshop. The catch? No-one speaks a word of English. But that's ok! I speak A Level Spanish! Be cooly cool, Sophie!

HA.

Anyways.

After multiple mad flaps trying to find various planes, trains (on which I was robbed on my first day) and elusive buses, I somehow miraculously managed to make it to the meeting point in the local town on time to be taken to the mountain camp. And what a beautiful place....a little tipi haven shrouded in pine forests halfway up the mountain, with a crystal clear river gently trickling through. The first 24 hours I was there I was having less than a good time; there were 15 of us, all of them were Spanish, most of them seemed to know each other and I began to feel increasingly like I was gatecrashing a weekend jolly in the woods of Pagan friends. The mental stamina required to think and speak in Spanish all day every day was gargantuan, and settling into this group was no easy task. But when workshop number 1 got under way I began to feel much more at home. We were divided into a women's workshop and a mens' workshop; the men disappeared up the mountainside and the women gathered in a circle to discuss our perceived life stage and what life changes were happening at this point in our lives, which I managed to cobble together in Spanish surprisingly successfully. After this we went down to a particularly secluded spot by the river with a bowl and took turns to stand in the waterfall and cleanse ourselves of any negative crap that might be swirling around in our minds and bodies. I asked the Goddess to return to me in some way some of the money that was stolen from me (and that she did, about a week later, through a dozy cashier who gave me 47 euros change for a salad paid for with a 10 euro note, and shooed me away before I could argue.) Following the cleansing, we partook in a 'feast of abundance', and set up the ritual space. There were separate altars for each Element in each quarter, all beautifully decorated. We began by raising a circle, and some of the young women adorned in greenery purified us individually with smudge sticks. We invoked the Gods Helios and the Green Man, and the Goddesses Litha and Brigid, and invoked the Elements. We sang some traditional Reclaiming songs, and it wouldn't have been a proper Reclaiming ritual without the awesome Spiral dance that followed. We lit and jumped over a balefire and shared what summer means to us, and what we hope to nurture within ourselves (I went for safety on my travels). What happened next was like a huge party; drumming and song and dance prevailed in the circle for many more hours, and I think the idea was to stay up all night and watch the Sun rise the next day but everyone hit the sack before then. The next morning we welcomed the longest day with more drumming and singing. We then climbed to a clearing in the highest point in the camp which had spectacular views, and completed the ritual with a dance around the maypole of abundance. I did wonder about the significance of having a maypole at Litha but figured that the symbolism of the merging of male and female energy at the height of power made just as much sense. The women dug a hole in the ground and decorated it with flowers, and the men carried the pole up the mountain and stuck it in the ground. We did a group meditation with more dance and drumming, followed by blessings and prayers. When dismissing the quarters at the end, I was surprised to find that they actually said 'Hail and farewell', and when I asked Morgaine the Priestess about this, she told me that she hadn't found an accurate Spanish translation for it and everyone was happy to use the English. But for 'so mote it be' they say 'que así sea'. 

These people, I found, all want to go to England to visit the sacred sights and attend the rituals in Avebury, Stonehenge and Glastonbury, but I'll be frank, this ritual made the one of the Druids in Avebury seem quite dismal by comparison. I've attributed it to the party attitude the Spaniards have; the Spanish, like Pagans, will take any excuse for a festival, and I think this may be a major factor in the growth of Paganism in Spain today. Morgaine also told me that she thinks the land in Spain is very masculine, dry and dominated by mountains and pine forests, but loves visiting England because the land is so feminine, with hills and lakes, which gave me food for thought.

The next two days consisted of a workshop on the magical and medicinal uses of herbs which I really enjoyed, and had ensured that I'd learned as many of the Spanish names for herbs as I could before I went out there which proved invaluable. We had a theory lesson, then went down to the river to collect herbs, and I discovered that they had many of the same herbs as we do in Britain but the leaves were much thicker or a different shape, to adapt to the dry climate. I'd wondered why, on the first day, we'd collected so many mountains of St. John's wort from the mountainside only to discover in my very own Earth Pathways diary that this is exactly what one does at summer solstice to make oils and vinegars from it. The next day we continued the workshop, the table strewn with all manner of herbs, fresh and dried, jars and oils and vinegars, and to my amusement, herbs that won't grow in the dry climate were purchased from Star Child in Glastonbury. I now have recipies and worksheets to translate, and never having had a full practical herbs lesson I was surprised how much I gained from this. On the final night, when I must've eaten something a bit dodgy and had an unhappy tummy, everyone leapt in to help; within 10 minutes I'd had reiki done for me and a specially made mug of digestive tea shoved into my hands. All in all, once I got into it, a very enjoyable experience that I'd love to repeat someday (when my Spanish improves.)

Thought of the day

One thing that was really reinforced in my mind during this witchcamp was the importance of intent in prayer and magick. These people wouldn't have fully understood my prayers and invocations, and I came to the conclusion that words are pretty much meaningless to Spirit. How could the people upstairs learn so many thousands of human languages? Many spells and invocations have rhyme with the intention of giving the concious mind something to focus on while the subconcious gets to work. But something so simple as humming a single syllable is potentially equally as effective. I was reminded that if your spells are simply spoken words (which when in Spanish, when I wasn't fully awake, didn't mean much to me at all), you won't get far at all. In our moments of silent prayer and meditation, I realised that while in different languages (not everyone had Spanish as their first language), everyone's intent was heading in the same direction, which is what really makes all the difference.

Books versus Teachers and the Threefold Rule

Hi again all,
I hope all are well. Today I'm discussing the differences between learning about the Craft from a book and from a teacher, and the idea of the Threefold rule.

Books versus Teachers
Despite having been a practising Wiccan for three years now, I recently enrolled on a beginner's course in a shop in laying the foundations of modern Witchcraft. 'Why on Earth,', people ask me, 'Are you forking out to be taught stuff you already know?'. I tell them this: I still read beginner's books, because there's always something to be gained from it, even if it's just a new perspective from a different author. As a writer, starter books are a goldmine of information, because all these authors learned in different traditions at different times, in different countries and under different circumstances, and all have unique insights and an individual style to offer. I never had a teacher starting out, I taught myself from books, and I've recently discovered that there's something to be said for having someone stand there and physically show you how it's done, and to offer personal techniques handed down by word of mouth that won't be found in books or online. There's something special about a group dynamic in a study group as well - the way the penny simultanously drops for everyone when they understand how to do something - not nearly as special as learning in an online community.
What I hope the most to get out of my long overdue beginner's course is how to teach. It's all very well me knowing my athames from my wands, my Wheel of the Year, Moon phases and all about 'Auntie' Valiente, 'Grandad' Gardner and 'Uncle Al' (Crowley), but stick me in front of a group of keen newbies and I'd go quiet as a mouse. I wouldn't know where to start! Fortunately I've found a pair of exceptionally good teachers, so if I can learn from them how to teach, then I'm well away!

Thought of the day
My thought for the day is that of the Threefold rule and the idea of harm none. In the Wiccan Rede, the lines
'Mind the Threefold Law ye should,
Three times bad, and Three times good,'
can be interpreted a number of ways. The most literal is that whatever energies you send out will be returned to you with three times the intensity. Send out happiness and healing, and expect it to come washing back to you. Send out somthing nasty, and expect a metaphorical bite on the bum sometime soon.
 Another school of thought is that the Universe is always seeking a balance of light and dark...if you're meant to get that promotion at work, you will. And if you trip and break your leg on nothing at all, it's probably not because you've been sending out any negativity, you just didn't see that branch sticking out there.
The end of the Rede,
"These words the Wiccan Rede fulfil,
An it harms none, do what ye will,'
carry a similar theme; as long as it harms no-one, follow your true will (not 'do what you want' - it means to follow the life path that you're meant to tread.)
Aforementioned awesome teacher discards the whole idea altogether. She goes by Aleister Crowley's idea that 'Do what thy will shall be the whole of the Law.' This means that if you do what you think is the right thing to do, nothing at all will bite you on the bum....if you send out a really harsh curse on someone, well, they must've bloody-well deserved it!
It all depends on your point of view.

Blessed be, thanks for reading )O(

Welcome and Gratitudes

Welcome all,
I'm a student (gap yearing at the moment) from East Anglia, England, and I've started this blog with the aim of making Paganism and matters regarding Earth religion and spirituality more accessible particularly for young people, those who, like me, are finding their feet in the world as young adults. I aim to update regularly and infuse my entries with tips and topics, useful insights from a teenager with a good grounding of the Craft under her belt, and my take on Pagan-related news items as they appear. I can answer questions, an agony aunt if you will on issues regarding all things Wiccan, Heathen, Druid, Shamanistic or any related path. Perhaps you're new to it all, and need a hand with the basics? Or you might be having difficulties with 'coming out of the broom closet', or just want to share your views with a Pagan your own age. Whatever you have to say, I'm ready to listen!

Gaia Philosophy
Gaia was the Greek Goddess of the Earth, or the Mother Earth. Gaia Philosophy embodies the idea that everything on planet Earth, both living organisms and inanimate material, are part of a dynamic system that shapes the Earth's biosphere which maintains the planet to be an environment fit for life. In other words, our amazing planet has the capability to be a home for an ever self-regulating cyle of birth, death and decay, and that everything has its place in the system. There's a song that begins, 'We all come from the Goddess, and to her we shall return....' by Z. Budapest...and it's true! Life goes in a never-ending cycle. In some Wiccan belief systems, Gaia IS the Earth, or a representation of the mother Goddess. I chose 'Grandchildren of Gaia' for my blog title, because while so frequently the Pagan community refers to everyone living here as 'children of the Earth', we're not the up-and-coming witches of the 1950s, nor the tree-hugger activists of the 60s and 70s, nor the New Agers of the 80s and 90s...we're the next generation.

Thought of the day
On a Sunday I observe my Gratitudes, something inspired by the (now sold out - sadface) Earth Pathways Diary 2011, a diary filled with beautiful artwork and a theme that celebrates the Celtic calendar and the Wheel of the Year. With a week to view, at the bottom of every page there is a space to make a note for what you're grateful every week...and I thought, what an excellent way to take a moment on a regular basis to really consider the gifts you've recieved. Despite the arguments with friends and family, the coursework and/ homework that appears to mount indefinately, and the general grey cloud that looms overhead from time to time, there are always things for which to be grateful, even just little things; a bright, sunny day, and the rain showers to balance it that make everything grow in the world, a roof over your head, good food....there's always something. This week I'm grateful for not having crashed my driving instructor's car during my first lesson, despite my ensuing terror when he casually suggested that I drive through the village back home. I live to drive another day!

Thanks for reading and Blessed Be.... )O(

http://www.earthpathwaysdiary.co.uk/index.php