Of Toads And Toxins

The Sabbat was held as the Mirror rode high and full. The stang was lit, the spirit amassed, and the Dragon awoken from within the deep heart of the flames. The mighty serpentine force rose higher and higher as the mill was trod, the whole of the compass becoming bathed in the pale light of the vibrant stars bespekling the great black mare and the eldrich spirits attending the holy rite.

The sacred paint was enchanted and made manifest with blood, wort, and oil in the mysterious rites of the black cauldron. Then used to inscribe the first sigilum upon the brow of the beast, the witch’s hand guided by the dark whispers of the unknown ones.

The bestial, raw, and primal Scarlet King was beckoned forth, drawn toward the ensourceled goat skull at the base of the Great Tree. The hissing flames announced his arrival, the eyes opened and gazed upon us, and thus did He begin to speak…

Soon, I feel, shall the next sigilum be enscribed upon his ivory skull. Thus shall we continuing to therein enflesh the luminious bestial form and bring forth the great King to the Witches’ Sabbat.

Heresy As Healing

When I first got into paganism and witchcraft, I did what I think a lot of people do and took a very hard turn in to “fuck Christianity!” The literature and discourse of the early and mid 2000′s didn't help this mindset either. There was a lot of talk about how Wicca (I was an eclectic wiccan at the time) was the survival of an ancient pre-Christian religion and that Christianity stole its practices, holidays, and pretty much everything else, from paganism.

Needless to say my religious baggage went unpacked for YEARS?

That was until i left my more Wicca-inspired practice and found “traditional witchcraft”. In these spaces i found something that i had been lead to believe was impossible: Witchcraft and Christianity coexisting. Not only coexisting, but a style of witchcraft created by almost biblical teachings on their heads and pulling out the magic. Lucifer and Azaezel being sources of witch-power, Cain being the first Sorcerer, the witch’s horned one as the Devil! Seeing the witch-trials as not simply a tragedy, but pulling wisdom and magic from the confessions. All of this was new and exciting!

Beginning my research into this amazing new avenue was the first step in healing my heart and soul from the hitherto ignored scars left by my time in the Church. The more I walked this strange and crooked path, the more I found value in heresy. Calling to the Man in Black at a crossroads, flying from my body to the Witch’s Sabbath, reciting the Lord’s Prayer backwards. All of these were powerful in ways I never thought they could be. I laughed at myself. If you had told me at 18 that in 5 years id be dancing with the Devil, I would have raged about there being no Devil in the Craft. While I understand now why the 90s-2000s were so “anti-devil” and “love and light” I’m glad that we can now look at witchcraft and its history with a more nuanced lens.

Now in some ways I've come full circle. I am not a Christian, and I don't think i ever will be, but I pray to saints, I have a growing interest in Mary, I use psalms and bible verses in my spell work, i craft rosaries as a devotional act to the spirits I serve and honour. My patron goddess has even started to come to me with Marian imagery and titles.

In Fayerie Traditionalism/Fayerism we’re encouraged (sometimes outright told) to avoid and expunge all Abrahamism from our lives and certainly from our Sorcery. We’re told that there is no magic or value in Abrahamic traditions. This has been my biggest hurdle with this path. For me, i find so much power in using folk magic that would be deemed “witchcraft” by the Church, regardless of how much scripture is in it. I think to continue this idea of “there's no place for Christianity in witchcraft” does such a disservice to the history of witchcraft in Europe and the US. So many practices would not exist if our ancestors had not learned to synchronize and hide in plain site. I’m not calling on God when I use a psalm to heal, I'm speaking words of power that have been spoken for centuries by other healers and workers. When I pray the rosary, I do it to honor my ancestors who found comfort in it. 

For me, the catholic folk magic and heretical aesthetics do not deter me from path of Fayerie Traditionalism, it is simply another avenue to the same goal. The spirits of this tradition have not shown any ill-will to how I work. Gwynn still comes when I call him “Devil” or “Master” and Gwynnevar herself told me to call her “Our Lady Down Below” or “Our Lady of the Mound/Hill” Taking back my power from Christianity and seeing the Wisdom in its heresy has made me a better person and a stronger sorcerer. I have not lost my faith in the Fayerie People but have come closer to them. 

All this is to say:

Be free

Be powerful

Be a Heretic

Nema

The Dark Hedges, Northern Ireland. Source

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Werewolf History Project: Prehistory-

First part of a project looking at the history of werewolves and werewolf myths! Starting with early prehistory and the emergence of stories, especially the advent of animal/human figures.

Traditional Ways to become a Sorcerer

Having the Gift

The Second Sight, Varm Hander (warm hands, healing hands), or diviner. Usually inherited from a family member or a past ancestor. 

Acquiring the Gift

Given to the practitioner by the spirits, by hugging a tree in which a cuckoo sings, touching or eating a white snake, touching the death shroud of a child, or sleeping under a coffin in which a dead person is displayed. 

Utesittning (sitting outside)

This may be sitting out in a cemetery, sitting at a crossroads, walking around a church three times and then sitting on the steps, going out in the forest and waiting for the forest spirits to teach you. 

Learning from a Teacher

This relates to the passing on of power. In Scotland, Faery Seers would pass on the power by placing one hand atop the initiate’s head, and another below their feet while the initiate stepped on the Seer’s left foot and looked over their right shoulder. It is said that the a teacher should not teach anyone older than themselves, and that if they teach a charm or rune, they will lose their power over that incantation forever. Also joining a secret society, like the Horseman’s Word. 

Standing outside of Society and the Church

This involves renouncing one’s baptism, staying away from society, becoming “violent” or wild. In one ritual, a seeker of magic would take scrapings from a church bell to a deep lake. There, they would cast the scrapings into the lake saying: “As far as these scrapings are from the bell, so too shall I be far from God.” And walk away without looking back. 

Having and learning from a Blackbook. 

Owning and learning from a Blackbook, or Svartebok, was another way to gain mastery over magic. This book may be given by the Devil or some other spirit at a crossroads or in a graveyard. It may be given by a teacher. Or it may be dictated by the spirits in spirit trance. 

The Toad Bone Rite

Crucifying a toad upon a tree, then collecting its bones from an anthill. One of the bones would float upon throwing them into the river. The seeker would then fight with the Devil over possession of the bone. Should the seeker succeed, then they would have power over man and beast.

Wodan, Freyja, Donar, Frey, Tyr, Loki, Baldr, Njord, Angrboda and Hel.

Artist:  Johan Egerkrans

The Weaver by Ulysses3art

The book says that these are talismans that are meant to be re drawn on paper and carried with you to give the you these abilities.

The Book of Oberon

by yanadhyana