Some of the greatest of seers and mystics from the British Isles traditions didn't use plant-helpers at all. Merely going to faery-haunted locations and lying down in trance was all they needed to experience powerful and direct contact with the Unseen world. Such is the same for us today, if we do as the spell requires- make a pact or bond with the ruling powers in the Underworld, and make contact with a truly powerful place, giving access to the Unseen. These are the two "elements" that you often find missing from modern so-called "pathworkings" and "guided meditations" that claim to give people contact with the Unseen world. I can assure you that they do not; what we need is living connection to real powers in the Land, and a knowledge of the power-locations of a Land, before anything is possible. On top of that, as I said before, we need faith, and a sense of wonder for what lies concealed deep in ourselves and in the Land.
When you are ready to make your flight, go to the portal-location you have found, and make a fire, safely of course. Ring it with stones or a small trench and build it safely away from underbrush. Never disturb the land overly when building anything there. Make the fire wherever you can, comfortably near the portal-place, and keeping the place in sight if at all possible, though being near to it is fine, if you must go distant to build your fire. Some people use tapers or candles, and you can, indeed, use them, but a fire is better, because part of the power of this spell lies in the rising smoke, and candles seldom make enough smoke. Candles and Incense would seem to be a better idea, if you simply cannot have a fire.
As you light it, you must invoke the Greatest Power, and bless the fire in its name- Ancient Providence. Tell the flames, over and over, that you "Make them sacred in the name of Ancient Providence, Who brings all women and men to birth, and ordains the deaths of all, and who decides the end of all things."
Repeat the prayer, over and over, and understand that you are invoking a power that is far beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Ask Providence to bring you to the deepest places of the Underworld, and help you to find what you seek, and to see what you must see. Stop when you feel that the spiritual presence of the fire and the place has changed.
The Invocation of the Refulgent Master
At this point, standing before your balefire, you must pray to the Master, the Mercurial and swift spirit-prince of the Netherworld, the light-bringing and sorcery-teaching Ancient One who has long also been associated with the Devil, and for many reasons, the "gift of knowledge" bestowed on man and woman in ancient dmes came from his hands. Folklore remembers the old chthonic Lord, in the Land and the Underworld as the Devil, as well as the Master, but they are, in reality, two disdnct powers, even if some people call them both "Devil" or invoke them as the same being with two aspects, or a father and son pair.
At any rate, ask the Master, the sorcerous Witchfather, liberator and teacher of Art, to carry you. You ask him to bestow upon you the power of Transvecdon, the power of Spirit-Flight, that you can go down through the Sacred Place before you, into the depths of the Unseen. Ask him to carry you to the goal you seek. Call him "Leader of the Spirit-Rade, the Hunt of the Unseen Powers, you who shine and move in the realm of the shades" And ask him to carry you, in spirit-vision, to the Unseen world. Ask your fetch-spirit, your guard and protector, to carry you downward and into the Unseen.
As you are invoking Him, you should begin walking counter-clockwise around the fire, keeping your eyes on its flames, and realizing that the FLAMES ARE A DOOR to the unseen world, and that the Master can hear you through them. When you have this understanding, you begin to "send" your words into the fire, and to his "ears". Finally, ask him and your fetch to open your inner eye. The Master can open the portals, though an older power guards them. He can help you pass by that power to, whether by trickery or just grace.
You have, at this point, assembled two of the three needed conditions for this spell: The element embodied in the Land, and the Fire. Now, you add the last, the Flying-Pole. You should, of course, have brought this with you when you went out to your portal-place and made your fire. The riding pole can be a broomstick, of course, but only a traditional besom, not some silly modern thing; but it can also just be a plain, straight piece of wood, at least 3-4 feet long, and up to 5 feet long. It is said by some to have been a phallic staff, in the old days, and if that pleases you (the look of it, I mean) then it will suffice. Pitchforks or Stangs can be used as riding poles, as well.
Here is the key to the spell. Standing or sitting, and holding your riding-pole in your left hand, look at the fire, and see the smoke rising. Pay attention to the ghosdy drifting of the smoke that rises. Focus on it. The entire "spell of flying" began when you first raised your cup and bowl to the Powers below, to guide yourself to the place you finally found; but the real "motion" of the spell starts in the smoke that rises from the Balefire.
Stare at it, and imagine what it would feel like to have a body of smoke, being propelled upwards by tongues of flame. Feel inside what it would feel like, being insubstantial and being pushed up, always pushed and pushed further, going effordessly and rising. While you are looking at the smoke, you can place your riding pole between your legs, but this isn't needed.
After you have meditated on the rising smoke long enough, lie back before your fire, blindfold yourself with a black or dark cloth (the Hooding or Hoodwinking), and lay the pole next to you, on your left side. Close your eyes, but keep the vision in your mind's eye of your fire and its rising smoke. In your inner eye, see (but more importandy feel) yourself stand up, and put the pole between your legs, and then feel yourself SHRINK, yes, bodily shrink, down to a smaller size, and suddenly fly over to the fire, placing yourself in the stream of smoke coming up from the fire.
"Look" down with your inner eye and see the flames direcdy below you and feel the smoke rising up around you, and feel a "pushing" below you, being caused by the flames. Begin to feel the sensation of rising with the smoke, not fast, just gendy rising, but with a steady pushing from the flames under you. Even though you are rising, rising, the flames getting more distant, the pushing NEVER stops- it continues to propel you, and in fact, it gets stronger.
You go higher and higher, and you don't need to "see" in your minds eye where you are going; you only need to feel the sensation of rising and pushing below you.
You will continue to rise, even if you can't see the dark sky and clouds, it's fine. You rise faster and faster, until finally, you are in full flight, like a rocket, straight up. Don't try to interrupt the upward flight feeling; your task here is nearly done. If the spell works, you will find that the feeling begins to change on its own; your flight path will "bend" and become an arch, as you turn back towards the ground, and fly, at high speed, straight down under the ground THROUGH the portal-place that your still, blindfolded body is lying near. This massive "leap up and plunge back down" is the famed "Hareleap" or "Toadleap" you may have heard of, in the mutterings of Witches.
From this point, the feeling of upward-rushing flight has not changed, but you are now hurtling downwards, with that pushing still under you, only pushing you down now, and going deep into the earth, down to the Underworld, or to the Faery-world. The Master guides you, but soon the King and Queen of Elfhame will have you in their hands and power. What happens as your trance-state deepens into the perception state of Hell or Elfhame, will be something that only you can experience. I wish you the best of luck. If you actually get this far, and the spell works, congratulations. Few get this far.
Bear in mind that "experiences" in the deep state of Elfhame can come in any form, and the truest are not "visions" you have with your imagination; they are simply coming from a deeper place, which is hard to explain. You will know when it happens; sometimes it will be like a waking dream, other times like conversations with unseen beings that you simply know are there, and feel there. Do not have ANY expectations of what you will see or experience; just let go and let the Master take you down, and keep an open mind.
If you actually have some experience below of power or wisdom, or any experience at all which you are certain is not being "created" by you, and you recall it when you "come back" and open your eyes, further congratulations are in order. You have performed a full act of Witchery, and can count yourself among the number of the Night-Flying Witches. It will be your first journey below, among many.
Once you find the portal place you were seeking, you can perform this endre spell or working from a distance, far from the portal-place, by using an Oneiric working. All you must do is perform a red meal or a devodonal meal at the site of the place, giving the bread and red drink to the powers that guard and protect the place, and then respectfully take some soil or a twig or something from the place. Put it in a small bag and keep it with you.
From miles away, if needs be, you can use that small part of the place to "bind" yourself to it, and "reach" it, spiritually and mentally. The endre procedure above can be done before a fireplace or hearth with a fire burning inside it, as long as you have a riding-pole and are sitdng before it, and holding the small bag containing the soil or twig or whatever. You simply bless the fire as you did before, pray to the Master there, then lie back with your riding pole and blindfold yourself, and visualize yourself standing before the portal-place, with your fire burning there instead, and doing the endre ritual from that point on in your mind's eye. It is just as powerful, so long as you got the token of the place justly and respectfully.
May all of your flights end in Wisdom.
Charms and Gateways in the Earth and Sky
Shaping and Using the Folkloric Power of Three in Spells, Charms and Incantations
I walk through a green forest;
There I find three wells, cool and cold;
The first is called Courage,
The second is called Good,
And the third is called Stop the blood.
-Ancient Yolk Charm
An ancient folk charm or conjuration is given above, which invokes a scene of a walk through a green forest. The walker finds three wells, and gives them each a name, the final being "stop the blood".
This healing spell is from John George Hohman's book "Long Lost Friend", an old manual of Pow-Wow or American folk magic, published several times over the last century, but originally published in the 1880s. The American folk magic world is the child of European folk magic, naturally, though with hints of Native American lore mixed in at times. When one studies American folk magic, it is easy to find coundess references to concepts, objects, entities, and other aspects of European folklore. The reasons are self-evident; colonists and other setders from Europe brought with themselves elements of the European folk tradition which settled down to mix with the ancient lands of North America. Sometimes, that mixture was disastrous, and at other times, it was powerful in a very uncanny sort of way. Powerful complexes of "magic" or sorcery rose up, finding a genesis in the mixture of two worlds.
The History of the Sacred Three
Elements of old European folklore and pre-Christian European faiths have survived into the modern day as the concept of the "sacred three". Aided in a large part by the Christian belief in the Trinity, which itself can be seen as an accommodation of many powerful Pagan trinitary powers from older times, the power of "Three" seems to be ubiquitous in historical Pagan magic and in Folklore.
Native Americans tended to have a notion of a "sacred four", more than a trinitary spiritual logic. Most people who study pan-tribal systems of Native American spirituality, or who study the various cosmologies of Native American nations, discover a strong emphasis on the Four Directions or even the "six" directions, which are the four usual directions plus "up" and "down". Medicine Wheels and Hoops are actually equal-armed crosses in circles, making a perfect balance of four. Sioux spirituality is particularly focused on this concept. The influence of Native American spiritual thinking on modern Paganism is much larger than most people realize, and most modern Paganism of any mainstream brand is strongly oriented around the concept of "quarters" or the four directions.
The idea of "threefold" (or its derivative "ninefold") logic in revivalist European Paganism is usually neglected, even though the Indo-European Pagans clearly held "three" and "nine" in the same regard that Native Americans held "four." From the Threefold division of Upperworld, Middleworld, and Lower, or the "Nine Worlds" of Germanic Paganism, to the trinity of "Land, Sea, and Sky" by which the ancient Celts swore, we can see visions of a widespread threefold spiritual paradigm in ancient Europe. The Indo-European tribal society was divided into three important divisions, according to many writers on the subject.
Powerful trinities of Gods and Goddesses emerge from the pages of Indo-European mythology, such as the dreaded triple Morrigan and Eire, the Goddess of the Land of Ireland, who appeared to the Milesians in her threefold form of Eire, Banba, and Fodla. Odin or Woden, who along with his two brothers Vili and Ve shaped the world and bestowed form and spirit on the first man and woman, the Irish smith-God, Goibniu, who appeared in a trinity with Credne and Luchtaine, and many others. Other Pagan cultures, outside of the Indo-European sphere, give us plenty of Trinities, to make us realize that on some level, deep below the surface, something about triplicity was essential to our Ancestors' spiritual thinking, regardless of where they were from.
Three, as a concept of inner-working sacred power, shows her face at the moment of every creation. For there to be any perception, for instance, you must have three things, the perceiver, the object perceived, and some sense or knowledge that they are not the same. "Knowledge" is precisely the point here, when you hear a bird sing, there is the sound, the ear that hears, and the knowledge of the hearing. Though people put a lot of emphasis on "duality" when it comes to percepdon, they often forget the hidden, quiet knowledge that itself arises when duality appears, and acts as the "third" aspect of perception. There may be a seeming of "object" and "perceiver", but a further knowledge is required for the perceiver to know or feel that he is perceiving.
All of perception is a trinity. All of creation is a trinity, as well. If there are "things" apart from "me", then the mysterious "third arm" of the trinity is the common reality that we both spring from, the common reality that we are still both parts of, even if we can't normally perceive that directly, only intuitively.
In coundess European folk-tales, witches and fairies and other supernatural creatures gain power (or lose it) at the threefold repetition of charms and spells. To "name something thrice" is a common feature, and to repeat a wish or a spell three times was seen as a magically powerful thing to do. To swear an oath "three times" or on the power of three things, was seen as magically binding.
Many christian prayers, as well as their crossing ritual, end with the words "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen." This is a form of binding each prayer, entrusting it to the Trinity, or the power of Three. The manuals of many Christian mages in the middle ages never cease to try to force spirits to obey the magician "in the name of the Holy Trinity".
But by far the most powerful "trinity" in human spiritual history is the trinity of the Fates themselves- the Three Sisters who were seen by most all Pagan cultures as the spinners of Destiny. To invoke the Three is to invoke the very power of Creation itself, the weaving force that makes all things come to be- Fate. Whether they were the Wyrd Sisters, the Norns, the Moirae, or the Parcae, we are dealing with a central power of reality that even the Gods had to obey. We are dealing with the power of reality itself.
There is no way to separate ourselves from the overpowering belief, buried at the most fundamental level within us, that the concept of "Three" is powerful, binding, and magical.
Traditional Charming or Conjury
As all "conjure-folk" and rural sorcerers knew, creadng your own spells and charms is a must. For some rural cunning people, just making a good show was enough to convince their clients that they were buying some strong magic. But for those of us who practice authentic sorcery (and who have more scruples besides) and who want to give people who seek our help actual spiritual aid, we have to consider a method of using the vast wisdom granted to us by folklore in a manner that is consistent with the long spiritual root-traditions behind it.
There is a method for creating charms and conjurations following the "model" given at the beginning of this essay. Why we would want to do so is simple- all true acts of Traditional Craft and Conjury have to have a verbal component. This is not optional, the power of the Word is ubiquitous in sorcery to nearly every human culture. The idea of speaking "properly" or "powerfully" is known to all people who study traditional magical practices, folk-cures, and charming. Among the ancient Germanic peoples, the art of "Galdr" or singing magical songs and chants is a powerful fixture in their old native magics. The Skalds or poets of the ancient Germans had the same powers as the Bards and poets of the Celtic peoples- the power to use words and sounds to magical effect.
When a person attempts to "soothsay" or "say sooth", they are "saying the truth", normally recounting visions seen while gazing into the unseen reaches of the netherworld. By speaking in a powerful manner, they are "fixing" what they saw into the web of Fate, in a more tangible way. They are actually making a "bridge", using mind and mouth, mind and body, to allow the power of what they experienced to "bridge across" from the unseen into this world. When a sorcerer tells you a vision, makes a soothsaying to you, he or she is channeling a power that first appeared to him or her as a vision or as a pure mystical experience. The words that they use are then a PART of that experience, and the means by which the experience's power is transmitted to you. Such a transmission can have a profound affect. This is a key to this magic, to "making what is unseen to become actual".
The human voice, the human mind, and the human spiritual will can and must work together and phrase in a direct, powerful manner what "changes" a Witch or Conjure-master wishes to affect. Naturally, it's more than just "words"; anyone can speak what they wish to be. But to make something be, to create a powerful conjury or a chant that shakes the mysterious Web of Fate with enough power to cause far-reaching changes, is the work of a poet-mystic.
Poetry may be just what we need- if you would care to read the charm given above, you will notice how striking it is. It's really quite beautiful. I shall re-state it:
"I walk through a green forest;
There I find three wells, cool and cold;
The first is called courage,
The second is called good,
And the third is called stop the blood."
This is a healing charm, once used to help stop blood-flow from an injury. But look at how it begins- with an invocation of a green forest. The conjurer is asked to help a person who is bleeding crimson blood, life blood, out of their bod)7, and what does he do? He brings up the image of a green forest- a very relaxing image, and an interesting contrast to the bright red of blood-flow.
He goes on- during his walk in this beautiful greenwood, he encounters three wells, or sources of water, which are described as "cool and cold". In contrast to the crimson heat and panic of an injur)7, we have a calm, green forest running with cool and cold water.
Then he names the wells- and notice, that there are three! He calls them "courage", "good", and finally, "stop the blood". One by one, qualities needed for the situation at hand are called forth- courage for the injured person, a sense of overall goodness, and lasdy, most importandy, the stopping of the blood-flow.
From this trinity of wells, which itself represents the power of Three and the power of Fate, and from the invocation of the Green Forest, with streams of water running from wells, a healing is called forth. The charm is very powerful, and when you read it, you can see that it has a "magical" effect on the mind; it is both beautiful and striking. It has a mysterious "hint" of "true magic" to it, a folkloric feel of maturity and it feels "very old", which it is.
The creator of this charm did one final thing- he or she used a near-rhyme to "tie together" the lines. "Cold" and "Blood" very nearly rhyme together. Rhyme is very powerful in these sorts of charms; the last word of the second line and the last word of the fifth line SHOULD rhyme. It brings together the entire charm and makes it into a "circle", a pleasing flow. This adds power.
It is possible to create your own charms using this pattern, and it is not difficult to do so. Naturally, you need to do more than just SAY your charm to make it work- you will have to find a "power source" to give your charm strength, a source of power in the Unseen world. The Witch or Healer who used the above charm to stop blood was not merely using words, and nothing more- they were drawing on their power-sources to give their charm strength, using secret methods known probably only to them. We will discuss this very thing, below.
Weaving a Charm by the Sacred Three
You will notice that the blood-stopping charm began not with an invocation of Three, but with an invocation of nature itself- the realm of the woodlands.
This is no accident- the Land itself has been seen since time immemorial as the source of plants, healing herbs, nourishment, and all that was needed for the persistence and flourishing of human life. Immediately, we can see that this charm invokes the Green Forest, not only for its soothing effect, but because it is a manifestation of the Sacred Land, which is the source of healing. Waters that flow from the Land, from sacred wells and springs, have, since time immemorial, been seen as fountains of healing. There is a reason for this. When I was in Ireland, I visited the Tobernault Holy Well in Sligo. Drinking from that well made me feel a sensadon of peace and power that I cannot express well in wridng.
Cults to healing wells are common worldwide, and the idea of water having the power to cleanse and heal is simply a universal part of human spiritual thinking.
The creator of the blood-stopping charm either consciously or unconsciously called upon the nourishing force of the Land and the healing power of well-water, while also calling upon the qualities of peace and coolness. Then they moved on to the heart of the magic- the invocation of Three.
Using the already powerful image of a holy well giving forth cool, cold water, they tripled it- made it Three Wells, and then named each one, giving each one the name of a quality needed- Courage, Good, and lastly- the most important of the Three, "Stop the Blood".
You may recall what I said above regarding threefold logic. I talked about a basic truth of our perception and gave the example of hearing a bird sing-when you hear a bird sing, there is the sound, the ear that hears, and the knowledge of the hearing. The last "leg" of the trinity is the knowledge, the most important of the three. The LAST of any trinity is the real power, because while the first two represent a duality, the third represents that mystery that they both arise from, both "come from".
In ancient Irish Mythology, the Milesians were approached by the Goddess of the Land of Ireland, Eire. She appeared to them first as Banba, then as Fodla, and last as Eire. All three Goddesses made the same request- that the Milesians name the land after her- and they swore to all three that they would. And yet, they only named the land Eire- Eire's Land, Ireland. Why? Because the final "part" of the Trinity is the most important, containing all the rest.
If you were making a cauldron, and only attached two legs to it, it obviously would not stand. Without the third and final leg, it could not stand; the last leg you attach makes the cauldron a workable item. Three, and the last of Three, is a symbol, a timeless pattern for pure "finishing" power and manifestation.
So, when you create your own Threefold Charms, remember that the deepest purpose of your charm ALWAYS falls to the final "naming" of the three. Now we must move onward.
The creator of the blood-stopping charm first invoked a forest, the Land, wells, and water. But not all charms will need those things- they will need to invoke "realms" or scenes that give the mind access to other realms of Nature. I would like to give a short list of "realms" that can be invoked, relavent to your own poetic imagination, that give access to traditional "needs". You will use this short list to help you create your own Charms, and after this, I will give a full example of the whole process, using a real life demonstration.
Realm of the Earth: Fields, Forests, Gardens, Crofts, Hills, Pastures, Mountains
This "realm" conjures the healing power of the ground itself, of the Land. If you need to heal people or yourself, if you need to sooth, calm, cure sickness, make the ground itself fertile for crops, or speak with the dead (who are folklorically seen as merged with the ground or in the ground of their graves, or under the ground in the Land of the dead) you would begin making your charm by invoking this realm in one of its many shapes or forms.
For instance, if you had a sick friend, you can begin by invoking an herb garden that has the herbs you need to heal them in it- a person with a headache may require an invocation of a forest of willow trees, (as willow bark can be taken to soothe headaches). You are invoking the land and the spirit of the willow tree, for this power it has. A good knowledge of herbs, wortcunning, and herb-lore will help you to call upon specific plants for their known virtues. In the case of your friend with the headache, you can guess that you'll probably be calling upon THREE willow trees, naming
them each with qualities that you want, the last being called something like "Soothe the Head". But we must move on before I give a full example. Realm of Waters: Rivers, Ponds, Oceans, Streams, Wells, Springs
In folklore and magical practices, water from wells and springs bears healing power, but water in general has another power- it's association with the moon and the deep mind makes it powerful for gaining mystical knowledge, visions, and prophecies, as well as dreams of the future, admission into the dreams of others, or the power to shape their dreams.
Realm of Fire: The Greedy Flames, Bonfires, Hearths, Burning Fields, Torches, Lamps
The fire is destructive and needful. It can be used to warm and nurture, to cook food and light our way, but fire is dangerous, and this should not be forgotten. This "realm" is used to create the "hot" curses, the use of the burning fire to destroy foes.
Many people in the modern day, under the influence of the somewhat "fluffy" mainstream neo-pagan paradigms, are often put off by this kind of talk. But what they fail to realize is that the power to heal and create IS the power to hurt and destroy. Fire does destroy things, but it can be used to destroy harmful things, thereby creating a healing or making someone or something safe. If a person has harmed you- truly harmed you- and you cannot address your grievance through legal means, you can turn to these charms to create another sort of justice; fire can be called to burn up their happiness, their fortune, or even their internal organs, to death. On the flip side of that, a disease or virus that is killing or hurting a friend can itself be burned up and destroyed, thus healing them.
Realm of Ice and Destructive Storms: Hail, Ice Storms, Freezes, Frost, and Snow
Like fire, ice too, is destructive. It kills crops, makes roads dangerous, stops machines from working, and smothers the bodily heat and vitality of living creatures, making them more susceptible to disease, and can even kill them. Ice and cold slows things down, makes things more difficult. It brings about the opposite of the great energy of fire- it brings stasis.
Like fire, ice and the things associated with it are used mosdy for curses-"cold curses"- to freeze a person's activities, freeze their fortunes, their efforts, their will. It can literally destroy their possessions or their bodies. But it can be used to good effect as well- to slow the advance of diseases, and other such.
As I pointed out above, the maker of the blood-stopping charm called not only upon the forest, but upon a poetic description of a scene that invoked qualities- a calm, green forest. A person can call upon ANY landscape that brings to mind qualities of the situation that either exist, or which are needed to change the situation. An example will be given below, in "finding friends".
To make any of these charms effective, you must understand that a person alone cannot do it. You must call upon powers in the Unseen world to give their force to your charm- this is working with Familiars, the common and universal key to all sorcery and Witchery. You will always do this simply by weaving the "Threefold" logic into your charm, along with the final rhyme- however, a further step must be added. Either the power of a ruling spirit in the Unseen world, such as the Queen of Elfhame or the Master of Witchery must be called upon (Christian folk magicians liked to call upon the trinity, which suits their beliefs, and as I pointed out, MAY have allowed their charms to work because they are inadvertendy calling upon a magical concept that was first expressed by Pagans) or you must call upon the powers of a dead person or persons in the Land or in the grave, or you must call upon the Powers of the Land itself. You must propitiate them, after calling upon them in a formal rite, and give them food and drink, binding your charm TO the gifts of food and drink that you then give to the Land itself. We will discuss this in detail further down.
Now we must move on to an explanation by which all of these "strands" can be brought together, and I demonstrate how this works with some examples.
In this example, a person is lonely, perhaps just moved to a new place where they are a stranger, and desires companionship. For the sake of this example, the lonely person will be a sorcerously-inclined person who is wise to folklore, and who wishes to indulge in a bit of personal conjury to help their situation.
The person is lonely, walking a lonely road in life- so that is where they begin their conjury, stating a vision of the "realm" that they now inhabit, poetically, and then calling forth, in the power of Three, those qualities they wish to bring into their life. Here is their charm:
"I walk down a lonely lane I find three coins, lost on the road The first is called Joy The second is called Companion The third is called Friend to my soul."
Coins are often dropped onto roads. These three coins express what the conjurer wishes to bring into his life. On that lonely road, the conjury poetically discovers joy, companionship, and most importandy, a "friend to the soul". Note that "road" and "soul" meet the rhyme or near-rhyme qualification.
What I have not given here is the full ritual that would make this conjury "work"- but I will give that next, when we save the life of Sarah Masse)7.
Sarah Massey is sick, and may die. Death is certainly a possibility, and she is going into surgery soon. You are approached by a relative who cares for her and wants you to use your special "charms" to make it more likely that she will survive. This is a darker example, for it contains an element that I have not yet discussed, but will discuss below- the danger involved in mucking with the powers of life and death. I will discuss it more, but first let's look at a possible charm, and the full process by which you might make use of it.
Sarah has breast cancer and needs surgery. The relative asks you to help save or heal her. Immediately, you know that you must either turn to the realm of the Land or the Fire, for healing and nourishment, or for an aggressive "burning attack" against the cancer itself. For this example, we will go with the Land.
You imagine a garden of healing herbs- you don't even need to name them, but if you did, especially those herbs that deal with fighting cancers, you would increase the power of this charm tenfold.
But your initial image is of a full, powerful garden of healing herbs. This is an invocation of the healing and nourishing power of the Land itself. Let's assume that you are Pagan, and believe in the Queen of Elfhame-the Queen of the Underworld, whose hidden realm sends plant-life "up" through the Land, where they grow. The Queen of Elfhame, in folklore, is the supreme teacher of Herbalism and Wortcunning. She rules over this craft as the "Rose Queen" or the "Dame Venus" under the Venusberg, and in folklore, she taught the secrets of plant healing and cursing to those who were able to penetrate into her realm below the ground.
So, you wish to include her name in your conjury- a very good idea, as it adds much power.
"I wander the green garden of the Queen of Elfhame Three healing herbs she plucks and gives to me: The first is called Good Fortune
The second is called Peace of Mind
The third is called Spare the life of Sarah Massey."
This is a good, powerful charm. Now, it must be put to good, powerful use.
You must go to a lonely place, out on the Land (if you can help it) and make a fire or have a lamp or candle. You must bring a cup of wine and a bowl of some bread, and a parchment. The closer you can be to Sarah Massey when you do this, the better. If she is inside her home, and you can do this on her Land, that is best.
At a powerful hour in the evening, light your fire/candle and walk in a counterclockwise circle around it nine dmes, calling upon the Queen of Elfhame to notice your rite, to come to the guiding light that you have made. Then go to the center, before your fire, and chant your charm three times.
Lift the cup of wine, and dedicate it to the Queen of Elfhame. Lift the bowl of bread and do the same.
QUEEN ELFHEN, FILL THIS CUP WITH YOUR BLESSING
QUEEN ELFHEN, THIS BREAD WITH YOUR POWER MAKE RED
Then, take a sip, and take a bite of the bread, and pour the remainder of the wine into the bowl with the bread. Look into the mixture and say "Where you are cast, the power of the Unseen will follow."
Then sit, and begin drawing the charm on your parchment- this is very important. Literally DRAW the Queen's herb garden- it doesn't have to be good. Just draw plants, and if you want, her. No one else has to know what it is, as long as what you draw, however crude, is meaningful to you, it WILL work.
Make sure that you draw Three of the herbs bigger than others- you only need to draw the leaves. Under the first of those three, write "Good Fortune". Under the second, write "Peace of Mind" and under the third, write "Spare the life of Sarah Massey". While you are drawing and writing, you must ALWAYS be chanting your charm.
Then, sprinkle some of the wine from the bowl of mixed bread and wine ONTO the parchment. Don't pour it on, sprinkle it on. Then fold up the paper, and put it in a small bag, and tie up the bag with a cord. You have created a charm empowered by the Elfin Queen herself, and must now give the final invocation- hold it up, and chant your charm THREE times powerfully. This is where you truly give the charm power, and how you give power to your healing-bag.
Then, just as importandy, you must take the bowl of wine and bread and pour it out there, on the bare earth. Let that wine soak into the ground, down to the Underworld, where the Queen will receive her portion, and know your intentions, and make your charm powerful. By drinking the wine and eating the bread blessed in the name of a ruler of the Underworld and the Land, you have made your own intentions and words and actions powerful. By chanting your charm constructed according to the tenets of this powerful folkloric sorcery, you have used the power of Three to weave your will.
Take the bag and give it to Sarah Massey Have her wear it around her neck or carry it on her person, such that it contacts her person as much as possible. If you can't do that, get it near her; hang it over her bed, put it in her house, or in her hospital room.
If you can get some of Sarah Massey's hair, all the better. During your charm creation process, when you finished drawing on the parchment, you should put her hairs on it, then sprinkle it with the blessed wine, then fold it up so that the hairs are captured inside. That would especially bind its force to her.
This is how these charms are made, and it is a sorcery that is very powerful, as I can attest. What happens to Sarah Massey is now up to Fate, but your charm is a part of her Fate now, and may change things.
This ritual pattern given here is the same for all these Charms. Use it. You don't have to call on the Queen of Elfhame, of course, but it was sort of important for Sarah Massey, as the Queen of Elfhame is the Queen of the dead, and she has a lot to say about whether or not Sarah Massey is going to be coming to her kingdom soon or not. But in lieu of her, you can call upon (as I said) the Witchfather, the powers in the Land, or a dead relative who is buried nearby, or merged with the same land upon which you stand.
There is one more thing that has to be mentioned in the case of Sarah Massey. It may be that Sarah Massey is supposed to die. You might say "then she will die, if it is meant to be", but you would be forgetting something. It could be that you, the conjurer, were meant to die, and Sarah's sickness and the relative's weeping that came to you, and your working, became the dark Fate-twist that led you to die.
How? Fate is power. It was believed by some ancients that "any deal" was possible with "Fate", as long as power remained balanced. Instead of Sarah dying, it was believed long ago that another person could offer to die in her place, thus sparing her life. Vestigial remains of this are still with us-in bad situations. Christians are always pleading with God, saying "God, don't let this happen and I promise that I will be a better person!"
They might not realize it, but they are trying to bargain with Fate. They are offering a power-payment in return for another power or event NOT happening or some living power not being transferred or lost. If they offer ENOUGH, it may be that they get their wish. However, if they break their end of the deal, they may lose it all.
An example might be a criminal who is caught, and facing life in prison. He begs "God" to spare him in court, to have him found innocent, and in exchange, he will straighten up his ways. Essentially, he is offering a lifetime of goodness to offset the lifetime of bad power that will befall him- he's offering the SAME magnitude of power in exchange for stopping another. If he was to win his case, then relapse into a life of crime, he is naturally violating his vow, which was fixed into Fate; he can expect a dark ending. Power has to answer power and fair is fair.
Can this "bargaining" work? Why would Fate allow it? Because there is always an off chance that Fate appeared the way it did, SO that the person would offer something. Fate is tricky in that manner, and impossible for humans to really "out-think".
So, the wise person might ask themselves, "how do I know that Sarah Massey's illness wasn't a Fated occurrence, to get me to do something to spare her life, using sorcery- and how do I know that my charm won't work AT THE COST of myself?
It may. Sarah may live, and you, the sorcerer, may die so that she can. Why you? Because you conjured. Conjury is dangerous. Playing with Fate, a system we don't fully understand, is dangerous. What seems like a good thing can turn bad, very quickly.
There is only one way to avoid this, and you must consider doing this "precautionary" measure anytime you do a working where you are trying to save someone from possible death. You must get the Boatman's Toll.
Ask the person who comes to you for help to bring a small coin, like a penny. Get them to clean it in front of you, or clean it in front of them. Then tell them to put it under their tongue.
You must then ask them to say something to the effect of
"If Fate will spare a life only at the cost of another Here is the toll for that one, the toll for me."
Then take the coin from them and put it away in a safe place, never returning it to them or giving it to anyone. That coin represents the mythical "money" that the boatman of the dead or the coachman of the dead needed to take a dead person to the Land of the Dead. If Fate turns deadly over the working you do, deadly for a person who is NOT the subject of the working, it will rebound on the person who had the coin under their tongue when they said the above words, not you. Try to put the coin direcdy into a box or a bag, without washing off too much of their spittle.
If the client refuses to do this, either they just don't love the person they want to save enough, or some other problem exists- either way, I wouldn't do the working for them, unless they did it. Call it insurance. Later on, the person who asked you to help save Sarah Massey may tragically die, while Sarah Massey recovers. It may be that way. The point is that you did what you were asked, and saved a life. Few things come without sacrifice, and this simple, dark truth rules over the craft of the Wise.
This system of charming and conjury is very powerful, and very traditional. I wish you all well with it. Please realize that it can be used for very dark ends, and if you must do this, be certain that your use of it is justified. You don't want to deal with the dark implications of unjust curses, even though they are sadly common. If a man were to violate your daughter, and get away with it in the legal courts, who could blame you for this charm:
"I walk through a withered field, to a hateful croft I find three bitter herbs, powerful for strife The first is called Vengeance The second is called Torment The third is called End his life."
Or even this:
"I come to a ring of fire, burning hot Inside I find three stones, glowing red The first is called Nightmare The second is called Despair The third is called He lies dead."
I certainly couldn't blame you. I couldn't blame you for taking your well-made charm and slipping it into his pocket, or hiding it on his property or in his home in a place where he won't find it, or putting it on the Land near his living place in such a manner that the elements cannot reach it. I couldn't blame you for walking up to him with the charm-bag and striking him with it, which would give him quite a baleful dose of the power. I wouldn't blame you for getting an image of him, a picture, and putting it inside the charm; that would be harsh, as well.
But of course, as I said, be certain that the man you hex is the man who has wronged you and then gone on to evade mortal justice. Fortunately for all of us, Justice is a real power and it is a power beyond mortal laws and courts, and you can be certain that everyone gets what they deserve.
For winter's rains and ruins are over, And all the season of snows and sins; The days dividing lover and lover, The light that loses, the night that wins; And time remembered is grief forgotten, And frosts are slain and flowers begotten, And in green underwood and cover Blossom by blossom the spring begins.
-Algernon Charles Swinburne
A litde Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King.
-Emily Dickinson
I sing of brooks, of blossoms, birds, and bowers: Of April, May, of June, and July flowers. I sing of Maypoles, Hock-carts, wassails, wakes, Of bridegrooms, brides, and of their bridal cakes.
-Robert Herrick
They say winter is brutal, and the restorative effects of a Dandelion and Burdock cordial is what the body needs to recover from the cold season. The land on which I live suffers less from the winter than rural England, however cold is not unknown to us. I maintain my vigilance for bodily well-being throughout the worst of the winters here with warm broths, leeks, and garlic. But I'm a man of tradition, and a sweet cordial will do me just fine.
Eventually, spring comes to us here, and you can always know it when the Birch trees put on small green leaves, and purple bulbs appear out of nowhere from the grasses. The birch is home to the sweet spirit of the fire, that hidden spirit-frau guarded by Old Brock. White not like snow, but like blooms in spring, a White Lady but youthful, ages new, forever old. "Like the smooth bark of her birch is her flesh, and fair is her head of hair."
Look no further; she is the pale leaping hare, Sibylia, the Faery Lady who appeared to Edric as the elfin princess Godda, surrounded by her six sisters in bestial form. Seven indeed, is the sacred number of this nymph, this power of life dancing in the darkness of Fate and concealed for a while by the veil of winter, ready to burst out in her own Rade of life- through it all, a great rider is in pursuit, Edric-Harawin, the noble and darksome Father of our breed. A time comes when pursuit becomes union- not because of a catch, but because the chase itself binds the two. On a great circle like the life we live, who is pursued, and who is pursuer?
Lucky seven indeed, for the Venusian queen! Who could she ever fail to lure, should he turn her mind to it? Fauldess love is hers to command, and she can be resisted by no God or man. That most ancient and irresistible of witchcraft- desirous love- wafts in the air wherever she walks, and indeed, where has she not walked? Where has she not danced? Who among you can say that you have not been seduced? To deny it is to admit to your hopeless confusion.
Images of hares leaping into purple bunches of leaf and virid boughs across the water, dance in the head of anyone who takes the time to look the spring in the eye, and know the language of lore. I could talk long about Eos, the Lady of Dawn, or Eostre, her Anglo-Saxon counterpart, ever fertile, but enough has been said there.
I need to speak of the new life coming into the land, the powerful Viridis rising again from the depths of the White Under-Wood, into the treeful cathedrals that dot the land and border the waters. I need to walk in the gende winds and make tracks on the moist ground to hear a great hymn of power that resounds with the promise of great cunning, given new life in a new year. Witchcraft is a path into the land of the dead, walked by the living. We live, even among the dead. Let not the memory fail for this most simple fact; pale-faced and friend to shadows, we are still life, and we must be channels of life, or we cannot consummate our purpose.
Some will make fires and sacred rings for the Spring-time, the holy "Equal Nights", others will wait for the resurrection of a Christ from the grave. I will wait for the Resurrection of the Meadow, for my Lady most dear, burning eyes and hair, and accompanied by a troupe of bewitching strangeness. The Land awaits them. She blankets herself with a royal carpet of vibrant color, and every bird sings in anticipation. I await them. I let myself wander the spring-flowered earth with no thought, with no contrivance, with no cares, pleased to be alive and honored to be another strand in a tapestry of life that knows no ending. I have been most blessed to pass on this life, to help another heart to beat, and Fate willing, so shall my generations. To wander without a concern, fully aware of the beauty of which I am a part, is the true Rite of Spring.
But what is life without its precious death? In the midst of this beauty, this riot of life, I find that I am capable of such savagery and dark intent. That is the way of things, they say, and yet, so many resist... I resist... but why? There is a perverse power to be found in violating the sights and sounds of Nature, Nature who strains to send us in one direction, especially in the crown of spring.
"I live" She says- "I renew all things". "We destroy" say those who belong to the covenant of the Great Reversal, "we defile even in the midst of purity". There is no blasphemy here, like the Lord's Prayer sung backwards. We flow in reverse to the concealed source of all this life; the beautiful flower is crushed underfoot, the new shoots torn and in shock, the guardians of these places rush forward, demanding to know who should dare disrupt the flow of power from one world to the next.
Are we bold enough to be the ones who tear the leaves, all to bring the Old Ones forth? Dare we smash the sacred eggs or spill blood? The fear of it is real- shall we blemish the face of the Spring Maiden? Shall we spit death into the face of life?
The fear is the point. I will not yield from it. The imp of the perverse; it sits on our shoulders while we meditate on grave misdeeds that clash with the music of this beaudful dme. We fantasize about death amidst the life-theme of this season. We shudder. The blossom is beaudful. I feel the pollen and vital fluids of it squeezed through my fingers as I crush it. How like innocent blood it is! It should have joined the other blooms in sharing its life-force, and now I have ruined it. The Guardians glare unseen at me, sharpening their invisible darts to strike me down. They can see my thoughts, they know what darkness is concealed in my mind-they recognize a Witch, a reversed one, a two-headed master of sorcery and forbidden arts. They count me among the cannibal Red Powers of winter, and the hateful Strangers under the stones. What other life would I destroy?
I feel real fear now. I am a blasphemous creature of winter evenings long dead, stalking about in fields of gold and white. This is the mask I have put on, the part I have played. I have disrupted this spring merriment. I have come as an emissary of the Wild Rade, a riot-bringer, a messenger of Misrule. Fate and Nature have no use for me in this lovely spring; I must be cleansed in the purifying fires of the Elfin Lady who will master this world in this holy season. I am marking my chest with red crossed lines, so that the Master will know to send a deadly arrow of light into me. I am setdng myself up for a white-bright death in flames, a well-deserved vengeance on the part of the Summer Court, the forces of life who are rising again.
And, like the masked jesters and players of the past, I pull the mask off at the last moment, ending the drama, and bowing to applause. It was just a mystery play after all. In the middle of life's celebradons, the wild mummers come and remind us of the non-dual nature of things. In the middle of life's triumph, they wear the masks of the dead; in the midst of death celebradons, they reaffirm life. I am the mummer of the spirits, the fool of this drama.
I would never truly take life and defile the spring-dde. Not with my hands, anyway; there is another way to reverse myself and ride across the waters and blood dividing, to reach the court of the Witch-Lady Godda of Spring.
I have generated fear with my magic, and faced it, though it turned me numb and made me feel a soulful pain. I have reversed myself, and in my thoughts, created many abominations and atrocities, things that have no place in the riot of life and beauty. My inward power, which should be producing surplus life-force like other men and women, now only sucks light and produces a deadly current of Saturnian chill. I have become the spectre Death-In-Life, and the guardians of the Dead-Portals will now accept me in.
The eggs all break open, little chicks come out, peeping and looking for food. New life. And in that new life is the seed of a death which is now unavoidable. A new human is born, and it screams and seeks for the teats of its mother; it grows with massive amounts of life-power every day... and there, in that explosion of life, an unavoidable fate of death is coexistent with the new mind and body. There is no duality between life and death; they dwell in the same house.
I am no horror to the fields; I the dying man, the dead man, the living man, the lustful man, the trampler of lovely blossoms, the life giver and the life-taker, I am just what I should be. Where the others who surround me make judgments, I go beyond judgments to an unusual kind of wisdom. This wisdom does not please me; it wars with my upbringing and all social convention, and yet, when I face the pains of it, face the fear of it, I come to a peace that defies description.
I feel suspended between what should be and what should not be; what is right and what is wrong, what I should be enjoying and what I perversely find myself driven to do, never knowing for a moment if it isn't all a great deception of the Lady's own witchcraft. Am I a fool? Then let me be her fool. She will use deception to teach a great truth- so let me embrace deception, and turn its power to my own liberation from falsehood. I shy away from nothing. I face any fear and any revulsion. I will not flinch; I will not shy; I feel the power of it- uncomfortable power, but rising higher; do I have a debt to pay for these wicked works in the heart of spring? Then let me go below to pay it; let me go into the trunk of the hollow trees, the gaping womb-hills, into the unseen.
We all have a debt to pay to life; we all pay for how we lived when we die. I'll pay that now. Lady, you have shot me through with a madness that drives me to a bleeding tongue and a burning face; you have made me sick with fear and wanting for you. I feel the darkness I have made within, and I know that it suits the greenery of your fine season well. I know that I have made myself into a black sun, above the fields, and the powers of the ground and the dead will be attracted to me, and pull me to them.
And in the midst of this, whether I be fool or not, I love the life you have created. Death and Life are lovers, willing bedmates, one being, one beautiful being, in You. Istara, who dipped me in the waters below, bathe me again. I worship you in the blooms. Those dead and dear to me, I see your faces in the dirt, in the water, in the grasses. I have soaked the earth with wines and red-soaked bread, the spiritual essence of which was destined for your empty plates. You have retired now to depths we cannot fathom, but through my mind and body, living and dead, you can hear my every word. You are in the presence of the Great Ones. You will petition them for me, to open the doors to the Great Below.
I will go inside of every leaf and flower and there merge with the Truth. I will do the great Encircling, with my own unseen eyes, making the white flour-circle on the forest floor and raising up a pole of oak that forks at the end- and before it, I will build a fire. I will make offerings of eggs and wine. I will wait for the Hare to leap past my ring and I will ring the golden bell that sounds to your ears, galloping Lady of the Fetch-Flame. Your entourage is passing swifdy, the winds are whispering in the distance. You are riding our world's fields now, and I beg to be there to help you down from your horse, when you come to stable.
I raise the horned rod, emblem of the rider you desire, and say your most secret names. Hear you this prayer:
LEAPING HARE LADY, LET ME LEAP BEYOND THE WALLS OF MY BODY
COME SHAPED AS YOU MUST TO ME : TAKE ME INTO THE GREAT UNSEEN
SEVEN TIMES I SAY IT:
LET ME LEAP BEYOND, A PURE SHOOT FROM YOUR BRANCH
LET ME LEAP, LET ME LEAP, LET ME LEAP, LET ME LEAP TO YOUR FRAGRANT MEADOW, TO YOUR YIELDING ARMS LET ME LEAP, LET ME LEAP
And all of it is blessed in the great secret name of he who drives all together with the power of unstoppable love, of great lust and desire, who binds all things to pain and pleasure in unequal measure: the great Master who is infant-like when engendered in the heart, but wisest when he has succeeded:
HEKA, HEKA, AZARACH THARAZA
Now, smelling the fragrant scents of spring, I go to what dreams may come. Let them be of my Lady and her deathless company.
Regeneration and Renewal in the Season of Darkness The Bitter Season
The cauldron of the year is boiling down to nothing, returning to the dark empdness from which the old year was born. The hot disputes and passionate loves of the waning year are ghosts now, memories fading into the darkness. The concerns of the old year are dying, its sounds are vanishing echoes.
Now just the sound of the wind in the trees is left, and dead leaves are filling up the empty spaces on the ground. The night is heavy. I can feel the change in the air, and in the land. The black mother of Hell has breathed her cold breath into my forest. Soon, it will be dme to go below.
Do I hear footsteps, or twigs breaking, where I know no living person can be? Is it an animal, watching me though I cannot see? They watch us like the pale people we cannot see. The white geese flying in the sky unseen have called out. The bitter season has begun, and ripe gourds are piled in the corners. I am the scarecrow that grimaces, the owl nailed to the barndoor, the pile of sdcks in the unlit pyre. I am becoming weak and strong, a strange power has gripped me in the season of undoing and blackness.
The Wren to the Robin said: "Make a fire for the new year, for the old year is dead."
The Greatest Death and Rebirth
Eventually, The world that is seen and the worlds unseen will return to nothingness.
Once, these worlds were all born from the Cauldron-Womb, the great dark void of the Veiled or Hidden Mother, the boundless and dark void of potentialities. That void is the deepest Mystery. The cosmos began moving in a new cosmic cycle, a world-cycle full of coundess sentient beings and other powers, and as aeons of time passed, Fate began to reach Her culmination and the worlds gradually became overwhelmed by the lurking chaos that strained at their boundaries and deep within their hearts. They finally succumbed, and the long aeonial Day of the Cosmos became the vast Night of Time, the Sleep of the Gods. That was the return to the great yawning darkness, a return of all manifestation and becoming to the primordial unmanifest condition, to await the beginning of a new cosmos-cycle.
This is how the worlds begin; this is how the worlds end.
This very pattern is endlessly repeated, and this great repetition is reflected on all levels, from the macrocosmic to the most microcosmic- the lives of human beings reflect the very basic "fourfold fact" of emergence, life, death, and a return to the potential state to await rebirth and regeneration in some new form.
And so we can see the same pattern embedded in the birth, life, death, and regeneration of the year, from birth in the depths of winter, to life in spring and summer, to waning in autumn, and death in the depths of winter, where the year waits for "rebirth" at the deepest darkness. It is very meaningful that the actual death of the year is also the time of the rebirth of the year. The end is at the beginning; the beginning is at the end. This calls to mind the perfect circle of reality.
The Holy tides of Samhain or Hallowmass represent, for some modern Traditional pagans and witches, the season of death and renewal, just as the depths of Yule or the Mother's Nights represent the same time and condition to others.
Both seasons symbolize the death of the Year, and the promise of its renewal. No season is darker or more aligned to the wane and death of the life-powers of summer and light than these dark seasons, and so no season is more dangerous on the spiritual level. To people who lived closer to raw nature, few seasons were more difficult and dangerous. Older people tended to die more in the cold; animals that couldn't make the winter had to be slaughtered, and it was a hard time. The Red Men of the Winter Court or the giant, dangerous forces in the natural world, were at the height of their power, and the uncanny presence of the Otherworld was closest to the human world in this season. This may have endowed the time with much mystical power and potential, but it came with myriad dangers.
The stream of the Dead could flow into the human world on this season, and the hordes of the underworld came with them, the boiled-down cauldron of the year represented the collapse of the cosmic world order at the end of Time. Chaos reigned, and the lupine powers that represented the underworld freely roamed in the "Wolf-Nights" of the old Germanic lore.
No season is more associated with witches or witchcraft than the Dark season at the year's end.
In the darkest depths, the fires of regeneration must be lit. The "Tinley Fire" is the fire that represents the renewal of the world, and all the worlds, and it was traditionally lit during the tide of Hallowmass or November-and one could righdy look at the Yule fires, Yule logs, and other fire-based Yule observances as another reflex of this same idea. The symbolism is clear: in the depths of darkness, when all comes to rest in chaos, the fires of renewal must be lit; the new order must be born in the new light and heat, which will drive forth the winter cold, eventually establishing a new "world order" in the new year. The dark powers of winter will be defeated by the new light, a light that represents the "re-emergence" of the divinities or Spirits who shape and order the primordial, formless world. That world will be newly emerged from the darkness of the Voor or the great and timeless Void, driven forth will be the chaotic powers to their hiding places deep within things, and created will be the order that will last throughout the long "day" of cosmic manifestation. Fate shifts from Her dark face to Her light face. In the deep of winter, a "child" of flame and promise comes, heralding a new, regenerated world-age. The Goat-Eyed Child and Master of the World undergoes his theophany, along with all powers.
Few people understand the simple and profound power of the ceremonial relighting of the "first fires" of the new year, and its symbolic strength. But those who do understand the mystery of regeneration understand one of the deepest mysteries of all; that time itself is reborn in the depths of winter, and when time and the world are regenerated, all that has passed before is, in a sense, truly gone. It belongs to a previous world-cycle, and though all things that have ever occurred, in any universal cycle, are held in the unfathomable depths of Fate's memory, the manifest world is still utterly renewed.
This means that every person who direcdy understands this can "begin again". They can become renewed themselves, truly putting behind them the powers and fated entanglements of the previous year, or even their previous lives, and start anew, on the most fundamental level. Regeneration is just that. People can allow aspects of their lives or selves to "die" with the old year, and literally become born as a new person into the new cycle. Perhaps others who do not understand or know what you have done will continue to deal with you as they always knew you and surely other events from your past will exert their effects on you. But in this regeneration and rebirth, what is most essential about your being can be truly and deeply renewed and free to be whatever you can dream.
What you dislike about yourself can pass away, and a new self, a new sense of self, a new internal structure, can be born. It only takes awareness. What changes you need to make, what old mental or spiritual orders you entertained and supported, all can be regenerated into a new form, or no form at all. All is possible in the time of Chaos, the time of greatest potential for any and all manifestation to arise. This is why what some call "magic" is so effective in these times. The cunning witch should bear all this in mind and it should be borne in mind that for Pagan people in the ages past, this time represented a needed release and regeneration that all people come to long for.
This very universal and ancient theme is remembered in the "New Years Resolution" practise, and in the various carols of winter, singing of "Good spirits renewed".
1. The Tinley Fire should be lit near the end of the Hallowmas celebration or tide, or during the latest hours of the night on the Winter Solstice.
The Witch or believer in the Old Way should extinguish all lights in their home; total darkness is needed. If this rite is to be done at the hearth of the home, all the better. If it is being done outdoors, it should be done to the east of the home, if possible. Anywhere outside, within walking distance from the home will suffice, however.
Your hearth or a fire-pit outside of your home should be piled with fresh kindling and wood. Nine different kinds of wood, if you can manage it, all waiting to be lit. Once your home is in darkness and is quiet, walk to your waiting pile.
2. Now, you must make the final "motion" of the old year (which is symbolically, the final motion of the cosmos). You must make a single slow counterclockwise circle walk around the fire, or in front of the hearth. This is the "Black Sun Road", the path of all things in manifestation turning inward and vanishing utterly into the unknown.
Stop after your walk, and kneel down, and go perfecdy still and silent, and close your eyes. This is it- the deepest stillness, the sleep of the world, the night of spiritual powers. Don't think, just be in silence, sdllness, and darkness. This is the ferdle void-condition that all things will emerge from; this eternally silent and still reality is the womb of all, and even during cycles of world-activity, this silence and stillness remains at the heart of all things. All the dead return to it; even though it seems silent, still, and dark, it is actually a great fullness, an indescribable fullness. It is the experience of fullness as experienced by the mortal mind, though most cannot or will not see this.
You must sit like this for a few moments to a few minutes, being and thinking nothing. If images or thoughts arise, think of them as just aftershocks of light fading away from the universe that just ended, and let them vanish. Feel the great dark emptiness, but also sense the great potential waiting to come forth again. It's impossible not to feel it, like a full, dark anticipation.
3. Now, gradually let yourself begin a consideration of the realities that will exist in the new cycle- what things about the former world have to pass away for you? What things will exist for you, in you, in the new world, after the fire is lit and all things are renewed? You have a chance here to put many things behind you, and to be regenerated on a deep personal level. Your "first stirrings" of thought and planning here represent the beginning of the beginning, the strange, deep impulses that move towards generation. Think about what has passed away, and what you want to pass away, and really let it go. Decide, then and there, what must arise through you in the new world-age.
Do not forget the deepest irony of all- do not forget what the perfect iron-circle of All-Encompassing Fate really means: all of this has happened before, and will happen again. Now is your chance to be aware of the transformations that are stirring in you, to "complete the world" through your very actions and thoughts and feelings. How many times have you been the sinner, the saint, the born, the dead, and the reborn? Many times-perhaps an infinite number. What will you be now? It is all held together in the perfect circle of Fate. For one precious moment, you have a chance to consciously realize something greater about yourself. Will you?
4. Now take a small bowl of water, put a pinch of sea-salt or regular salt into it, and say, over the bowl:
"Here is water, ferdle void of life,
Body of bodies that will bring forth
The flesh of the world.
Dark Serpent's coil, Heaven and Sky rise up!
Holy Water, a bridge of passage for every spirit.
From the heights to the depths, The river of the living and the dead, The road the Master will walk. Light from the dark!"
Take this water and anoint with it, and sprinkle it clockwise around your fire or the area around you. You have to ring the fire with it, by sprinkling.
5. Now take a long candle or taper, and light it. Say:
"Fire in the water, come forth: A milk for the Land and bitter seas Lady most secret, bless this flame The hidden flame of the flesh and the world. Here is the fire, light of what is seen And unseen, nurturing and illuminating The vast and dark bower of the queen. From this, come forth life and Fate's weave."
6. Now put the candle down, So that it will illuminate the area, and have a Red Meal, to awaken the powers.
Take a cup of dark wine or milk or ale and ring a bell, "ringing its sound" to the ears of the powers you wish to reach. Only begin speaking when you feel that the sound has "penetrated" into the depths and reached them. This sound represents the first emergence of the logos or the primordial sound that shattered the silence of the depths, accompanying the first spark of will (your thoughts about the form of the new world to come) and the first spark of life (the candle).
The first invocation over the cup is to the Great Matriarch herself- Old Fate. You are asking her to send forth the New Worlds, and give birth to all life, all spiritual powers. Say what you wish, or say something to the effect of:
"Ancient Providence, She Who Births, Weaves, and Binds:
Unmovable Queen of What Must Be
Veiled One, who conceals Sunset from Dawn,
I pray thee, no longer conceal What Could Be:
Let not the blindness of the Old Night persist.
In your depths, be not unmerciful.
Bless this cup with the essence of all potential
And let us feast with your blessings of Wisdom
And Sustenance from the Land
In the new age to come."
Then, ring the bell again and pray over the cup to the Venusian Queen of Elfhame, the Fire-Spirit, or the Rose Queen. You are asking her to move the worlds and nurse them with sustenance and power. Use your own words or something to the effect of:
"Abundant one, Loving one,
Burning one, deadly one, Awaken!
Bless this Cup.
Seductive and alluring one,
Fire in the hearth, the land, and the body:
Draw all things together with your love
Which neither man nor spirit can resist
Desirous and black, spirit most holy,
Move all things into the great becoming
From dark to light to dark,
From spirit to birth to spirit."
7. Now place the Cup down, and take a bowl of bread.
Ring the bell and pray over the bowl first to the Great Father, the White One, the Jupiterian and Chthonic major spirit who inseminates the Land. You are asking the Great Horned Father to awaken and bring forth the life of all beings, in intercourse with the Darkness and with the Great Matriarch embodied in the Land. This is the fertilization of the Land-body and the nature-bodies, and the birth of all differentiated forms and spiritual presences. Use your own words or something like:
"Great One, Mighty one of Great knowledge,
White and Hoary, Ancient of Days, Awaken!
Bless this Bread, making it your body.
The light between your horns is your great promise.
Make the Mother of All to be fruitful in your embrace.
Bring forth the light, the Shaper,
Bring forth the great strength of all."
Then, ring the bell again and pray over the bowl to the Master- the Witchfather and Mercurial sorcerer-spirit, who shaped all and bestowed the gift of divine imagination upon mankind. You are asking him to awaken and complete the work of the Cosmos, bringing all into form and shape as Fate has decided, and to perfect creation by bestowing the light of imaginal self-awareness and abstraction onto sentient beings, that they may know the boundless glory of the Reality they are a part of, that they may know the workings of the divine and share consciously in these workings.
"Ancient Daimon of Flame and Light, Who endows Earth with Spirit,
Awaken! Bless this bread, making it your body.
Golden Gleaming, Shining with fire in the Night,
Giver of the Fire of the Immortals, Firebringer and Light-bringer,
Son of the Great One, Leader of the Deathless Hosts of the Air,
Teacher of the Craft, Master of the World,
Come and fulfill the work of Fate.
Make all things to come to form and shape and be perfected." Remember that the Master will aid you in "bringing into reality" what you decided would be new aspects of yourself in the Regenerated world-age which is about to break forth.
8. Take a sip of the cup and eat a piece of the bread. Then take the remains, and put it on your unlit fire; pour the cup at the base of the fire and sprinkle some of the liquid over it, and put the bread remains in the unlit fire.
9. Light the fire with the candle you lit before the Red Meal. Say, as it blazes up:
"The Tinley Fire is A-light! Here is the end of Old Night."
Watch it blaze. The Universe has been reborn. The awakened powers can hear and perceive you through the fire; it is a two-way communion. Say any other prayers you may wish to say, or make invocations for power and needs in the new world-age that is beginning before you, furiously and brighdy.
10. Take other candles and light them from the fire, and carry them once CLOCKWISE around the Fire, or in front of your hearth, and carry them into your dark home, and start lighting other candles and lamps and the like. Fill your home with light from the Tinley Fire, before you turn on any other lights. The world, your mind and body, and your home, have all been regenerated into a New cycle of the World.
As you walk through your home with the New Fire, you can have others
ring bells or beat drums or make other celebratory racket- this was thought to drive forth the dark powers of chaotic winter that still hang on after the renewal. The world is still cold, and it will take a while for the new fire to gain enough strength to be full order and summer, but the Red Men, the dark powers of Time's first dawn, realize that the fire and light represents what will eventually overcome and defeat them, and they fear it. The new birth of the cosmos always begins with the powers of darkness and chaos, and they resent the light and fire of order- but they must give way... until next winter, when all things collapse back into Old Night, awaiting a new Tinley Fire.
Gates of Life of Death: The Nixie and the Moon-Pond Hidden Patterns of Sorcery, Necromancy, and Folk-Belief in a Traditional Tale
Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm began collecting folktales and folklore in 1807. Just a few years before. Ludwig Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano had published their own collection of folklore, in the form of their work "The Boy's Magic Horn". This caused a surge in interest among the people of their country regarding the timeless folk tales and wisdom that circulated around in the forests and small villages of Germany. As it turns out, the Brothers Grimm, aside from inviting local storytellers and lore-keepers to their own home, also recorded tales told by wealthier sources who had heard them in turn from their servants. In this manner, many of the tales are French in origin, making Grimm's Tales a very broad selection of northern and northwestern European folklore.
Folklore is the living repository of many hidden and unregenerate streams of mystical lore, some of them from Pagan times. I have long maintained this belief, and looked to folklore to find "keys" to sorcery and patterns of mystical operation that were unique to the European continent. Through this window of later-century lore, I have sought to see hints and visions of the earliest of practices and beliefs, possibly even of native European origin, pre-dating the Indo-European transition. If we look into this dark glass, we can, at times, glimpse patterns of Land-based animistic belief shining through. What is required from that point is engagement and regeneration- those who are bold enough to actualize what they find may discover that the "door of folklore" swings wide with litde effort.
The sprawling collection of folklore and folk-tales compiled by the Brothers Grimm is a veritable grimoire and treasure-trove of sorcerous and mystical secrets, for those who know how to look within deeply and properly. I have studied many of the tales and analyzed them from the perspective of both Traditional Paganism and traditional sorcerous practices. From those studies, I have written hermeneutical essays with the intention of laying bare the metaphysical bone-structure that stands behind these tales. What follows is one such essay, an analysis of the traditional tale of the Nixie and the Mill-Pond, which I call "The Nixie and the Moon-Pond" for reasons that will be obvious soon.
Within this somewhat harrowing tale we find keys to the most powerful works of all, those of true necromancy and the art of the literal raising of the dead. We also find keys to a secret sought by nearly all human beings from every era, the secret to defeating death's power to separate us from our loved ones. This tale is layered, and describes not only the power of a local Land-power, in the form of a powerful Nixie or etin-bride, bound to a watery portal in the land, but hints of the cult that once surrounded her, doubtlessly since time immemorial.
This folktale goes on to describe inner workings of the sorcery dealing with "interface points" between this world and the Underworld, and keys to the power that controls future destiny, a power that can even overcome death with the strength of love and devotion, aided by a truly native and recondite form of sorcery.
It bears repeating: the massive volumes of tales produced by the Brothers Grimm are not just quaint fairy tales. They are, in many cases, repositories of centuries-old lore regarding land spirits, records of remnant devotions to and interaction with spirits that were once worshipped as Gods and Goddesses by ancient people, folk-charms, incantations, wisdom, and real patterns of ritual. No Witch or sorcerer of the Old Ways can do without a copy of their collected works on their shelf.
I will give the traditional account of this tale now, divided into numbered sections, followed by the metaphysical analysis of each section.
1. ONCE UPON a time there was a miller who lived with his wife in great contentment. They had money and land, and their prosperity increased year by year, more and more. But ill-luck comes like a thief in the night; as their wealth had increased so did it again decrease, year by year, and at last the miller could hardly call the mill in which he lived his own. He was in great distress, and when he lay down after his day's work, found no rest, but tossed about in his bed, full of care.
One morning he rose before daybreak and went out into the open air, thinking that perhaps there his heart might become lighter. As he was stepping over the mill-dam, the first sunbeam was just breaking forth and he heard a rippling sound in the pond. He turned round and perceived a beautiful woman, rising slowly out of the water. Her long hair, which she was holding off her shoulders with her soft hands, fell down on both sides, and covered her white body. He soon saw that she was the Nixie of the Mill-pond, and in his fright did not know whether he should run away or stay where he was. But the nixie made her sweet voice heard, called him by his name, and asked him why he was so sad. The miller was at first struck dumb, but when he heard her speak so kindly, he took heart, and told her how he had formerly lived in wealth and happiness, but that now he was so poor that he did not know what to do. "Be easy," answered the nixie, "I will make thee richer and happier than thou hast ever been before, only thou must promise to give me the young thing which has just been born in thy house."
2. "What else can that be," thought the miller, "but a young puppy or kitten?" and he promised her what she desired. The nixie descended into the water again, and he hurried back to his mill, consoled and in good spirits. He had not yet reached it, when the maid-servant came out of the house, and cried to him to rejoice, for his wife had given birth to a little boy. The miller stood as if struck by lightning; he saw very well that the cunning nixie had been aware of it, and had cheated him. Hanging his head, he went up to his wife's bed-side and when she said, "Why dost thou not rejoice over the fine boy?" he told her what had befallen him, and what kind of a promise he had given to the nixie. "Of what use to me are riches and prosperity?" he added, "if I am to lose my child; but what can I do?" Even the relations, who had come thither to wish them joy, did not know what to say.
3. In the meantime prosperity again returned to the miller's house. All that he undertook succeeded, it was as if presses and coffers filled themselves of their own accord, and as if money multiplied nightly in the cupboards. It was not long before his wealth was greater than it had ever been before. But he could not rejoice over it untroubled, the bargain which he had made with the nixie tormented his soul. Whenever he passed the mill-pond, he feared she might ascend and remind him of his debt. He never let the boy himself go near the water. "Beware," he said to him, "if thou dost but touch the water, a hand will rise, seize thee, and draw thee down." But as year after year went by and the nixie did not show herself again, the miller began to feel at ease.
4. The boy grew up to be a youth and was apprenticed to a huntsman. When he had learnt everything, and had become an excellent huntsman, the lord of the village took him into his service. In the village lived a beautiful and true-hearted maiden, who pleased the huntsman, and when his master perceived that, he gave him a litde house, the two were married, lived peacefully and happily, and loved each other with all their hearts.
5. One day the huntsman was chasing a roe; and when the animal turned aside from the forest into the open country, he pursued it and at last shot it. He did not notice that he was now in the neighborhood of the dangerous mill-pond, and went, after he had disemboweled the stag, to the water, in order to wash his blood-stained hands. Scarcely, however, had he dipped them in than the nixie ascended, smilingly wound her dripping arms around him, and drew him quickly down under the waves, which closed over him.
6. When it was evening, and the huntsman did not return home, his wife became alarmed. She went out to seek him, and as he had often told her that he had to be on his guard against the snares of the nixie and dared not venture into the neighborhood of the mill-pond, she already suspected what had happened. She hastened to the water, and when she found his hunting-pouch lying on the shore, she could no longer have any doubt of the misfortune. Lamenting her sorrow, and wringing her hands, she called on her beloved by name, but in vain. She hurried across to the other side of the pond, and called him anew; she reviled the nixie with harsh words, but no answer followed. The surface of the water remained calm, only the crescent moon stared steadily back at her. The poor woman did not leave the pond. With hasty steps, she paced round and round it, without resting a moment, sometimes in silence, sometimes uttering a loud cry, sometimes sofdy sobbing. At last her strength came to an end, she sank down to the ground and fell into a heavy sleep.
7. Presently a dream took possession of her. She was anxiously climbing upwards between great masses of rock, thorns and briars caught her feet, the rain beat in her face and the wind tossed her long hair about. When she had reached the summit, quite a different sight presented itself to her; the sky was blue, the air soft, the ground sloped gently downwards, and on a green meadow, gay with flowers of every color, stood a pretty cottage. She went up to it and opened the door; there sat an old woman with white hair, who beckoned to her kindly.
At that very moment, the poor woman awoke, day had already dawned, and she at once resolved to act in accordance with her dream. She laboriously climbed the mountain; everything was exactly as she had seen it in the night. The old woman received her kindly, and pointed out a chair on which she might sit. "Thou must have met with a misfortune," she said, "since thou hast sought out my lonely cottage." With tears, the woman related what had befallen her. "Be comforted," said the old woman, "I will help thee. Here is a golden comb for thee. Tarry till the full moon has risen, then go to the mill-pond, seat thyself on the shore, and comb thy long black hair with this comb. When thou hast done, lay it down on the bank, and thou wilt see what will happen."
8. The woman returned home, but the time till the full moon came, passed slowly. At last the shining disc appeared in the heavens, then she went out to the mill-pond, sat down and combed her long black hair with the golden comb, and when she had finished, she laid it down at the water's edge. It was not long before there was a movement in the depths, a wave rose, rolled to the shore, and bore the comb away with it. In not more than the time necessary for the comb to sink to the bottom, the surface of the water parted, and the head of the huntsman arose. He did not speak, but looked at his wife with sorrowful glances. At the same instant, a second wave came rushing up, and covered the man's head. All had vanished, the mill-pond lay peaceful as before, and nothing but the face of the full moon shone on it.
9. Full of sorrow, the woman went back, but again the dream showed her the cottage of the old woman. Next morning she again set out and complained of her woes to the wise woman. The old woman gave her a golden flute, and said, "Tarry till the full moon comes again, then take this flute; play a beautiful air on it, and when thou hast finished, lay it on the sand; then thou wilt see what will happen." The wife did as the old woman told her. No sooner was the flute lying on the sand than there was a stirring in the depths, and a wave rushed up and bore the flute away with it. Immediately afterwards the water parted, and not only the head of the man, but half of his body also arose. He stretched out his arms longingly towards her, but a second wave came up, covered him, and drew him down again. "Alas, what does it profit me?" said the unhappy woman, "that I should see my beloved, only to lose him again!"
10. Despair filled her heart anew, but the dream led her a third time to the house of the old woman. She set out, and the wise woman gave her a golden spinning-wheel, consoled her and said, "All is not yet fulfilled, tarry until the time of the full moon, then take the spinning-wheel, seat thyself on the shore, and spin the spool full, and when thou hast done that, place the spinning-wheel near the water, and thou wilt see what will happen." The woman obeyed all she said exacdy; as soon as the full moon showed itself, she carried the golden spinning-wheel to the shore, and spun industriously until the flax came to an end, and the spool was quite filled with the threads. No sooner was the wheel standing on the shore than there was a more violent movement than before in the depths of the pond, and a mighty wave rushed up, and bore the wheel away with it. Immediately the head and the whole body of the man rose into the air, in a water-spout. He quickly sprang to the shore, caught his wife by the hand and fled. But they had scarcely gone a very litde distance, when the whole pond rose with a frightful roar, and streamed out over the open country. The fugitives already saw death before their eyes, when the woman in her terror implored the help of the old woman, and in an instant they were transformed, she into a toad, he into a frog. The flood which had overtaken them could not destroy them, but it tore them apart and carried them far away.
11. When the water had dispersed and they both touched dry land again, they regained their human form, but neither knew where the other was; they found themselves among strange people, who did not know their native land. High mountains and deep valleys lay between them. In order to keep themselves alive, they were both obliged to tend sheep. For many long years they drove their flocks through field and forest and were full of sorrow and longing. When spring had once more broken forth on the earth, they both went out one day with their flocks, and as chance would have it, they drew near each other. They met in a valley, but did not recognize each other; yet they rejoiced that they were no longer so lonely. Henceforth they each day drove their flocks to the same place; they did not speak much, but they felt comforted.
12. One evening when the full moon was shining in the sky, and the sheep were already at rest, the shepherd pulled the flute out of his pocket, and played on it a beautiful but sorrowful air. When he had finished he saw that the shepherdess was weeping bitterly. "Why are thou weeping?" he asked. "Alas," answered she, "thus shone the full moon when I played this air on the flute for the last time, and the head of my beloved rose out of the water." He looked at her, and it seemed as if a veil fell from his eyes, and he recognized his dear wife, and when she looked at him, and the moon shone in his face she knew him also. They embraced and kissed each other, and no one need ask if they were happy.
ANALYSIS OF THIS TALE: The Gate of Life and Death
The tale begins by presenting the troubles of a once-prosperous miller, who comes onto hard times. The folkloric tradition's very earthy wisdom shines through from the beginning, warning us of the sudden and unexpected approach of ill-luck. It also reminds us that fortune changes like the seasons, and like every other aspect of life- what has increased necessarily has to decrease.
In the midst of his troubles, the miller arises at a mystically powerful time- dawn, and the dim hours before daybreak- and goes outside onto his property. He approaches the pond that his mill is situated on, and crossed a liminal place, his dam, just as the first beam of the days new sun shone on him and on the water.
At this point, the Nixie arises from the pond, which is both her realm, and (as we shall see) a gateway between this world and the Underworld or the Netherworld. She is described just as many local female spirits are described, as "white"- she is a "White Lady" that appears so often in folklore all over Europe, from north to south, east to west, and in Britain, often near wells or other sacred bodies of water.
This being is called a "Nixie". The Nixie is called, in various Germanic languages, a Nix, a Nixe, a Neck, a Nack, Nakken, Nik, Nykk, and Nokke, Necker, Nicker, and Nicor. This creature is the same as the Norwegian Fossegrim.
The name "Nixie" (and all its variants) clearly descends from the Proto Germanic *Nik-wes, itself deriving from the Proto Indo-European *Nig, meaning "to wash" or "swim". The word "Nicor", however, does refer to a water-monster, which is an important detail. The Nixie has the power to change into a white horse, (itself an ancient symbol for older female divine powers) normally for the purposes of deceiving people into getting closer to it, so that it can trap them on its back and race into its own body of water. In this sense, the Nixie can be considered a counterpart to the Celdc Melusine. In modern Norse, "Nykr" means "river horse".
It is important to note here at the beginning that this "White Lady", the Nixie who both dwells in the mill-pond and acts as the guardian of it, though she is related symbolically to the older "sovereign Goddess" figures, is not simply a hypostasis of the Earth Mother. In this tale she is a local power, a land-spirit, an edn-bride in fact.
Etins (or jotuns) are giants, dangerous sendent natural forces that were often "located" in various places around the landscape, residing in the land, and female edns were often taken as "brides" or lovers by the Gods of old, according to Pagan legends. Edn-brides are powerful only in their local area, and were often worshipped by ancient peoples. At the locations of these cults, the etin-bride or spirit grew very powerful, and often had great influence over the fertility of the land nearby, and the transfer of life-power into and out,of that region. This made them very important to the lives of the people, and it was doubly important that they be kept satisfied through cultic observance and offerings or sacrifices.
Etins are giants, not divine beings. They are still powerful and capable of great wisdom and sorcery, though they are, in final analysis, aligned to the primordial Chaos, and capable, if angered, of being very destructive. This
Nixie or etin-bride appears in a very beautiful, seductive form, which is well within her power.
The Land was (and still is) filled with powers like the Nixie. Many have been forced into a kind of dormancy, but others are still quite active, and they have made many appearances in folklore from every nation. Like Crooker of the Derwent (the hungry and dangerous spirit of the Derwent River in England) powers such as these etins, whose worship became neglected after the coming of Christianity, are often "starved" for the offerings they used to receive and can become bitter and dangerous. They will often stoop to causing calamity or trickery to take what they desire from nearby humans.
Giantish powers are already known for the orientation towards greed and oafishness, but they are not all dimly stupid; the Nixie, perhaps in common with all etin-brides, is devious, seductive when she wishes to be, and a sorceress of great might. Her connection (through the common stories associated with Nixies) with the totemic symbol of the horse brings up an important topic for folklorists- how many of the earth-mothers of old Europe, who were often associated with horses, were actually reports of the subjects of local cults of etin-brides? What is the relationship between the earth-brides, and the great Earth-Mother herself? These questions are for each person to answer, but it is clear that though they bear an important overlap and relationship, they are not the same things.
Ruling, as the Nixie of this tale does, as a kind of "land guardian" as well as a "local divinity" from a pond that a mill is situated upon, we must look to her palace, the pond itself. Most people consider ponds to be man-made bodies of water, but not all ponds are. Many are simply natural bodies of water, smaller than lakes. The word "pond" is a variation on "pound", which refers to some form of restrictive enclosure, and literally means "enclosed space".
In the same manner that animals may be restricted to a pound, or property may be "impounded", water is trapped or enclosed in a pond. Though most mills were definitely situated on man-made ponds, created by diverting water flow from a stream or river, there is a large chance that the pond behind the mill in this tale is not man-made at all, but something called a "kettle pond", a deep natural depression that filled with water in the recession of glacial bodies in the distant past. Many ketde ponds are fed by natural aquifers. The miller would have built a dam to direct the water flow to (presumably) power his grist-mill.
Whether or not the pond is natural or man-made, it is an overlap-point between the world above and the world below, between what is seen and what is unseen. Bodies of water, especially those which are fed from natural aquifers and springs, or from sources deep in the earth, tend to behave as "interaction" places, and are very powerful. Lakes, lochs, bogs, rivers, and nearly every other accessible body of water were probably given offerings in Pagan times, and the fact that so many valuable artifacts are found on the bottoms of such bodies is evidence for this fact.
These offerings (which may have included human sacrifices from time to time, an idea that is hinted by this tale) were for the guardians or spirits of those bodies, who had some power to influence the "power flow" from the unseen world to this one, and to bestow or withhold many gifts from human beings. Through such "interaction places", Pagan peoples no doubt believed (righdy) that the world of the Gods and the dead could be reached, and thus many of those offerings were likely intended for them as well. As we will see in this tale, the mill-pond is likewise a place where the dead can be reached.
The Nixie has the power to make the miller prosperous- full evidence of her true function and power as a fertility and prosperity-granting force, with power in the Land itself. The idea that she may have been secredy a factor behind the miller's failing fortunes- possibly to entrap him into her debt, thus winning the sacrifice she sought- is not out of the range of possibility. As the tale shows, she is very cunning.
2. Why a man wouldn't be aware that his wife could be having a child on the day he made his deal with the Nixie is troubling, but we must realize that the point of this tale lies elsewhere. With the disastrous promise made by the miller, we learn more than just the need to bear in mind when your wife happens to be near delivery, we learn that the miller's word, his promise, was magically binding on himself and his son. His joy is defeated utterly by his knowledge that his promise has changed the fate of his son to a tragic one, to be taken by this Otherworldly being.
There is a sense of "inexorable fate" hanging around this entire situation. By speaking these words of promise at the boy's birth, the father, in conjunction with the sorcery of the Nixie, had altered his son's future forever. There are hints of this to be found in the Heathen ritual of sprinkling nine-day old children with water and devoting them to certain Gods or Goddesses, as well as the first "soothsaying" of midwives and wise-wives over newly born children, in which the child's fate is literally "set" at their birth. While most modern people would simply think "I've been tricked, and I'm not going to honor my word to the Nixie", such a thing is not an option to the miller. He knows that he cannot go back on his word. Even if he tries, which in a sense he does by instructing his son never to go near the pond, he will ultimately fail to save the boy from the Nixie.
He feels only depression at his child's birth, and none of his relatives know what to tell him. Fate being what it is, even if the miller had moved far away from the pond, something would doubtlessly have transpired to get his son near enough to that Pond, even years later, and his fate would have been sealed.
3. The Nixie is good to her word, and she even remains silently out of sight, for years. The miller becomes wealthier than ever, but cannot enjoy his wealth, knowing it was purchased with the life of his son. He knows that he'll have to give the "devil his due" one day, but tries (as a father must) to tell his son never to go near the water.
4. The son of the miller grows up to become a huntsman. At this point, countless ancient motifs from Pagan mythology and folklore are converging on this story. The figure of the huntsman cuts across the many boundaries of European and American folklore, culminating in the figure of the "Master of the Hunt", a name given in most places to the Faery Lord who leads Faery-Rades, or even the soul-collecting Lord of the Underworld, who often becomes (like the Faery King) synchronized with the Devil. In reality, the great Pagan "Earth God" or Father stands behind the figure of the Huntsman, no doubt going back to the most ancient of times, when the hunt was the crucial activity of human life, and a master-spirit who ruled over animals was seen as the agency required for success at the hunt. Huntsmen appear in folklore and legends, often as mortal lovers (and often tragic lovers) to Goddesses and woodland divinities, when they are not pictured as divinities themselves.
Our hunter, the miller's son, no doubt grows up strong and handsome, a perfect specimen of manhood, and a suitable image of the "sacred king" or the "sacrificed lord" that is prevalent in folklore and myth. The fact that he slays beasts in his trade as a hunter forces an ages-old overlap with the sacrificed animals that die to maintain human lives and the sacrificed human who dies to maintain the fertility of the land for man and beast. His business is killing, and he entwines himself with the very act of killing and the fate of death as a result.
This was woven for him, the fate that he was bound by, from the start. He is due to die in time, a sacrifice given to a local land-goddess or etin-bride, who has given so much prosperity in exchange for the promise of him. Death surrounds this doomed young man. Naturally, he finds true love in a vibrant, beautiful young woman from the area, as befits such a figure; he must be virile and fertile himself, and attractive.
5. Chasing a roe-deer, another Faery-tale motif that is very common and pregnant with symbolism, our hunter is fatefully drawn to the region of the dangerous mill-pond. He slays the deer, and gets its blood on his hands, another powerful symbol that probably originally signified his own sacrifice to the powers of this land at this body of water.
Though in the tale he is "taken" by the Nixie the moment he touches his bloody hands to the water, it is important to realize that this is symbolic of his death. He is "taken below the water" to the Underworld, and from this point on in the tale, is literally dead to this world. In much the same manner that Tam Lin's "fall onto sacred ground" from his horse is probably a thin covering for an original story where he was sacrificed for the sacred ground, from the back of a horse, this scene represents the spirit-ruler of this region getting her due offering for her services of fertility and plenty
We can compare this story distantly with the story of Artemis and Actaeon, where a hunter meets his doom at the hands of the Goddess bathing in a pool of water. I have read that some believe the legend of Actaeon represented an older myth of a sacrificial God, dead at the hands of the great Nature-Goddess Artemis, but others would disagree. If Actaeon was ever the lover of Artemis in pre-Hellenic times, before the rise of patriarchal threat forced the cult of Artemis to redefine their Goddess as a "virgin untouched", then the huntsman of our tale can be seen, like Tam Lin, as the lover of the Nixie now, forced down into her realm, where she rules as a queen. Like Tam Lin, he is no doubt enjoyed by his captor, for his youthful vitality.
6. In this part of the story, the weeping wife of the now dead hunter (again, "taken into the Underworld" or "Faery land", below the water is here a euphemism for death) discovers what has happened, and is devastated by it. Here we see the first connection between the moon and the pond. The crescent moon, itself symbolic of the crescent-shaped blade of a reaping-hook, as well as a hunting bow, is seen in the surface of the water.
7. At this point in the tale, a new force, a power greater than all others, enters in. The grieving wife of the lost hunter falls into a fitful sleep in the powerful "otherworldly" presence of the pond, and has a dream in which she is shown the way to a very special place indeed. In a dream-vision, she experiences a difficult ascent up a mountain peak, only to find that the top isn't a dreary, cold place, but a marvelous meadow, containing the cottage-dwelling of a woman with white hair. The wife of the hunter has been shown a route to the "world above", the blessed realm of the Gods, the concealed realm of higher spiritual presence cognate in the distant past with Asgard or Olympos.
The "old woman with white hair" is none other than the heavenly hypostasis of the Fate-weaver herself, Old Fate in her nominal mythical presence which was expressed as "Frigg" in Heathen times, as Hulda or Frau Gode in Heathen and post-Heathen times, and as the great "Fairy Godmother" of later times. The connection between Hulda and Frigg is well made in most scholarly circles. Like the old woman from this tale, Hulda (the "old woman" figure of her own tales) is often sought by young women in trouble or in need of help. Similar to this tale, she is a helpful spirit, with great powers. She teaches the heroine of this story a ritual by which she will gain her first contact with her "taken" love- a ritual involving a comb, a combing ritual on the shore of the pond, and the need for the moon to be full.
It has been well discussed in other places of the moon's power to give entrance into the Underworld, and to control the trods or "moon paths" between what is seen and unseen. The moon, water and the moon's special element of influence, are both involved in that complex of the Lunar current which gives entrance and exit from the depths of the unseen world, including the depths of the human psyche. The Lunar working taught to the wife of the huntsman by the old woman is only one of three, but all are dependant on the moon's phase to work. From this point on in the tale, the moon's connection with the pond is repeated, with the face of the moon always being mentioned as appearing on the pond's surface
8. The first ritual taught to the wife of the huntsman deals with approaching the pond at a proper time to the workings of the Lunar current, combing her hair with a golden comb, and giving the comb to the lake. This brings to mind the offerings of various valuable items given to sacred bodies of water in ancient times. But there is more at work here- the comb moves through her hair, symbolically entwining the power of her hair and her head to it, before it is laid on the shore and given to the deeps of the pond. In response, she sees a shade/vision of her husband's head- the effect corresponds to the particulars of her rite.
Through that pond, she is able to contact or communicate with her "taken" husband, for the pond is not only a door to the Underworld, or to the inner reality of the land, but the place where he died, automatically making it the point where he merged with the world below. Such a point, like any site of a death or a burial, becomes a location viable for contacting the "passed away".
The wife of the huntsman is left, as one would expect, wanting more, wanting to see more of her husband, and to eventually save him, bringing him back completely from his prison, which is also his existence in the world of the dead. Such a thing is not normally thought to be possible, and indeed, as we will see, it isn't so simple.
9. The next rite taught to the wife by the old woman is more powerful, and again, it is a Lunar working, requiring the full moon to open the "door" or "gate" of the pond. This time, the treasure to be cast in the water is a flute, and the wife is required to play a beautiful song before giving the flute to the pond. This time, the power of the woman's head, breast, and respiratory system are entwined with the pond's offering, and so, when a shade or vision of her husband emerges, not only his head, but the middle range of his body, half his body, is allowed to appear. This corresponds again to the nature of her rite and offering.
10. Now the old woman gives the wife the final and supreme element of the "tri-fold" Lunar working that she has been aiding her with all along, a spinning wheel and a spindle-spool. These implements are the supreme symbols of Fate and the mysterious power that stands behind Fate, and they reveal to us, without a doubt, the true identity of the Old wise woman. This time, she is going to aid the wife in doing the unthinkable, rescuing a dead man from the world of the dead. This is an act that Fate normally does not allow, but one that only Fate could allow. At the climax of her rite, the lake erupts in a fury and her dead husband runs out in mortal fear, for he knows what a violation of the natural order this is, and how furious the Nixie will be. The Nixie is all-powerful within the region of the pond, so their only hope is to escape her wrath.
As it turns out, escape from this local spiritual ruler is impossible. Even at this late period, the magically binding oath made by the Huntsman's father is still unbreakable; even time and death cannot be turned back in contradiction of what the Nixie was promised. The horrendous force of "reversed flow" between life and death bubbles out of the pond and the Nixie arises again, as a furious, destroying creature of water, a water-spout and a massive body of water that seems to be able to leave the pond and pursue its prey.
At this point, it is proper to mention that the Nixie's name is related to a term that refers to a "water monster". Many bodies of water around Europe and the British Isles are known for their mythical "monster" that is sometimes sighted in the waters. The most well known is Loch Ness in Scotland, but all bodies of water that were especially connected with Goddesses seem to have a similar series of legends surrounding them.
Llyn Tegid in Wales, legendary home of the equally-as-terrifying Goddess Cerridwen, who also pursued a fugitive from her underwater realm, is rumored to have some sort of monster. Like Loch Ness, the monster is described by witnesses as some uncertain breed of reptile or amphibian. This is perfectly legitimate from the perspective of the folkloric tradition-the "serpent" and the various Land Goddesses are often legendarily associated.
The monsters appearing in the water are not actual creatures that can be found by dredging the lakes, they are manifestations of local spiritual powers. Even the first Christian missionaries to go into the region of Loch Ness reported seeing the snake-like monster. What such an account refers to is the collision between priests of the new faith and the spiritual manifestations of the Old Religion and its guardian spirits, especially etin-brides and (sometimes) the sovereign Land Goddess herself. These powers in the waters have a "monstrous" or bestial side, like everything in nature, and can be provoked to wrath, like the Nixie in this tale. But more than that, these beings are related strongly to the earthy, organic side of life, thus the serpentine form.
The fleeing husband's resurrection is not fated to be a long one. He and his wife realize their dooms are near, his second doom in just a few months, and her first. At the extremes of desperation, the wife calls out to her spiritual patron and teacher, Old Fate herself, in the form of the Old Woman. By doing so, something very important happens, she and her husband are "shape shifted" into a toad and a frog. Most people think this was the old woman's way of sparing them from the destructive wrath of the water, but that is not the deepest meaning of the "shape shifting" occurring here.
What actually happened was the death of the wife and her husband. The Nixie, in her destructive form, kills them. The shape-shifting is symbolic of their deaths, for death and shape-shifting are often linked together in mythology. In British Celtic lore, Llew is slain by his unfaithful wife and her lover, but at the moment the spear strikes him, he changes into an eagle. The shifting of shape is a metaphor for death, for at death, all beings "change" into a new order of being, often symbolized by animals in folklore and myth-symbolism.
In our tale, at this crucial point, death "tore apart" our lovers, and carried them far away from one another. It seems like Grandmother Fate didn't spare them at all- but like most of these tales, the ending is unexpected, and not what it seems.
11. Our Huntsman and his bride find themselves far apart, "regaining human form" through the natural process of birth, and now live in different homelands. No one there knows of their former lands, and vast amounts of distance separate them. Two people torn apart by death would be expected to end up in such a place, in such a condition, in their next lives, after being given over to the power of seeming randomness and forgetfulness.
Many years pass, and they both end up becoming shepherds. This is the first instance of Fate's long hand slowly weaving to bring them together again- this "arranged meeting" is of course the Old Woman's kindly gift to the wife who needed her help so long ago. Evidence that these two lovers now exist as different people, with new bodies, comes from the fact that they didn't recognize one another, even when Fate saw to it that they drove their herds into the same valley and encountered each other.
Deep down, they are lonely, longing, and each remembering only a few important features of their previous lives. The song played by the wife on the flute, during her second necromantic working, is recalled by both, as is their loss. Most people feel a sense of existential suffering in their own lives, as though all have lost or forgotten something important, and our feeling of the sublime and our deepest feelings of "being in place" come to us when we experience something that resonates with us as though we had known it before. This story hints, at least partly, that we are all parts of a greater hidden drama that is influencing us unconsciously every day.
12. The final end of the sorcery, taught to the wife by the old woman, comes in this valley so many years later and so far away from their original home. The huntsman plays the magical song, which is recognized by his love, and she recounts the story to him, which forces him to remember everything, a "veil" falls from his memory and his senses, and immediately, the two recall what became of them before.
Then they are fully and consciously reunited, and it was all because of their love, and the wife's desperate plea to Fate, that they were bound together through tides of death and life in the first place. It was Fate's gift that they should chance upon one another, and Fate's final gift that they would remember one another, through the power and long-term after effects of the rituals taught to the wife so long ago by the old woman.
Fate could not allow the dead to come back to life, nor could the binding word of promise be violated, but she did see to it that a dead man was allowed to have a few more moments of life, before going back to death with his wife, and then She saw to it that they would find one another again, and remember one another.
The Old Woman, in common with her older counterpart Frigg/Holda/ Hulda, knew what must happen here. She knew, but did not tell the wife, that she would die along with her husband. Frigg is mentioned in older mythologies as being a Goddess who knows Fate, who knows "what must be", but who holds her tongue and does not reveal these things to people.
Apparendy, her motherly compassion is not affected by her silent tongue. In this tale, we see Old Fate in one of her most compassionate guises, and we understand the way to make certain that death does not part us from those we love. We must trust in Fate to bring us together again with our true loves, no matter how impossible it may seem, and to bring about the remembrance that we need to have a true reunion.
Appendix: Table of Sorcerous Currents and
I. Lunar Current: The Night-Ruler of Flux and Dream
Body: The Moon
Atmosphere: Surreal, Amorphous, and Dream-like
Associated Forces and Themes: Deception, Illusion, Confusion, Second Sight
Day: Monday
Colors: White and Silver (primary) Red, Yellow, and Black (secondary)
Entities: Old Fate, the Antlered Father as Guardian of Plant Life
Influences: The Subconscious, Gateways into the Underworld, Dreams, Emotions, Mental Health and Illness, Menstrual Cycles, Female Fertility, Curses and Fate, Psychism, Divination, Clairvoyance, and Second Sight.
Primary Element: Water
Secondary Element: Fire
Herbs: The leaves and bark of the Willow tree, Sandalwood, Lily, Bladderwrack, Adder's Tongue, Grapes, Myrrh, Gardenia, Moonwort, Eucalyptus, Jasmine, the fruit of Lemon trees, Fern, and Mugwort.
Phenomenon: Bodies of Water, Tides, Herbs
II. Martial Current: The Lord of Strife
Body: The Planet Mars Atmosphere: Savage, Strong, Virile
Associated Forces and Themes: Vengeance, Violence, Fertility, Masculinity
Day: Tuesday
Colors: Crimson, and all Reds
Entities: The Storm-Spirit, The Antlered and Horned Father as War Spirit, Spirit of Curses, protector of plowed grounds, and Avenger
Influences: Masculine fertility, Virility, Violence, Lightning, thunderstorms and violent weather, "Red" curses, Protection, Justice
Primary Element: Fire
Secondary Element: Earth
Herbs: Vervain, Onion, Pine, Wormwood, Rue, all Peppers and Maces, Ginger, Tobacco, Peppercorns, Strafe, Chilis, Holly, Stinging Nettles, Garlic, and Wolfsbane.
Phenomenon: Lightning and Thunderstorms, Fires
III. Mercurial Current: The Shape-shifting Ruler of Sorcery and Insight
Body: The Planet Mercury
Atmosphere: Rapidly Changing, Swift (Mercurial), Transformative, Enchanted or Magical
Associated Forces and Themes: Sorcery, Trickery/Cunning, Intellect, Artifice, Creativity, Imagination
Day: Wednesday
Colors: Dark Blue
Entities: The Master, Teacher of Mankind and Lord of Witches and Sorcery, Shaper of the World-form.
Influences: Intellectual power and effectiveness, Creativity and inspiration, Sorcery of any kind, Deception, Physical crafts and artifice, Guidance through the realms of the dead, Secret wisdom, Divination, Prophecy.
Primary Element: Air Secondary Element: Fire
Herbs: Peppermint, Flax, Elecampane, Dill, Fennel, Bittersweet, the leaves and bark or any product of the Ash tree, the Fly Agaric mushroom, and most vision-inducing plants or fungi, such as Psilocybin and Morning Glory. Others include Cinquefoil, Cinnamon, Spearmint, Pomegranate, Poppy, and Sage.
Phenomenon: Winds and Windstorms, Trees, Light
IV. Jupiterian Current: The Kingly Force of Life
Body: The Planet Jupiter
Atmosphere: Majestic, Thunderous, Authoritarian, Strong and Virile
Associated Forces and Themes: Rulership, Authority, Fertility of Male beings and the Land, Defense, Sacrifice
Day: Thursday
Colors: Purple (primary) Crimson (secondary)
Entities: The "Great Father" of Earth, Sea, Sky, and Ruler of the Dead in the Underworld, the Antlered/Horned King
Influences: Prosperity and protection of the home, Male sexuality, Protection generally, Fertility of the Land
Primary Element: Water
Secondary Element: Air
Herbs: Houseleek, Agrimony, Hyssop, the leaves, nuts, and bark of the Oak tree, Figs, Borage, Chestnuts, Cloves, Meadowsweet, Nutmeg, Anise, Maple, and Sage.
Phenomenon: Rain, Thunder, Crops, Forests and Mountains, the Sky
V. Venusian Current: The Queen of Enchantments
Body: The Planet Venus
Atmosphere: Erode, Opulent, Beaudful, Enchanting, Seductive
Associated Forces and Themes: Witchery, Seduction, Enchantments, Lust, Female Fertility, Fertility broadly
Day: Friday
Colors: Rich Green and Greens of all kinds
Entities: Dame Venus/The Rose Queen, The Queen of Elfhame
Influences: Eroticism, Romance, Emotions, Physical pleasure and beauty, Sorcery of all kinds, especially that which affects the body and mind, Herbalism
Primary Element: Fire Secondary Element: Earth
Herbs: Rose, Rosemary, Blackberry, Marigold, Lady's Mantle, Honeysuckle, Vervain, Maidenhair Fern, Violet, Coriander, Myrde, Cardamom, Plum, Marjoram, Cowslip, The fruit and other parts of the Apple tree, Basil, the Mandrake, Periwinkle, the leaves and bark of the Birch tree, Ragwort, Strawberries, and Honey.
Phenomenon: Libido or Sexual Feelings, Fire, colorful blossoms
VI. Saturnian Current: The Dark Ruler of Binding and the Grave
Body: The Planet Saturn and the Earth
Atmosphere: Dark, Cold, Restrictive/Heavy, Somber, Fearful and Awe-inspiring
Associated Forces and Themes: Death, growth from the ground, Truth, Binding, Curses, Fate weaving, Initiation
Day: Saturday
Colors: Black and all greys or dark colors
Entities: Old Fate, The Antlered or Horned Father as Lord of the Dead under the Mound, The Earth Spirit or Earth Mother in heavy and fertile "mature" aspect.
Influences: "Black" Curses, Bindings, Protection, Fertility of the Ground, Necromancy, Wisdom
Primary Element: Earth
Secondary Element: Air
Herbs: Practically every poisonous plant of dark reputation, such as Nightshade or Belladonna, Henbane, Datura, Hemlock, and Foxglove, and others of that like. Earthy Saturnian herbs (see "Tellurian Sub-Current below) also include the bark, berries, and leaves of the Elder tree, the same from Yew, Poplar, Thorn and Cypress trees, Mullein, Dodder, Juniper, Hemp, Euphorbia, Amaranth, Ivy, Hellebore, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Skullcap, Solomon's Seal, and Horsetail.
Phenomenon: Stones, The Earth itself, Mountains, Crops, Winter, Snow, Ice, Night Sky
Tellurian Sub-Current: The Beneficent Queen
The Tellurian Sub-Current is a manifestation of the Saturnian Current, dealing specifically with the Feminine Spirit of the Earth and her gifts.
Body: The Earth
Atmosphere: Virid, Fertile, Wild, Solid and Stable
Associated Forces and Themes: Plant Growth, Forests, Fields, Fertility, Prosperity and Plenty, Stable Protection
Day: Saturday
Colors: Greens and Browns
Entities: The Earth Mother
Influences: Growth of Plants, Childbirth, Protection of Children, Protection in general, Fate, Female Fertility and Health, Prosperity, Wisdom
Primary Element: Earth
Secondary Element: Water
Herbs: The bark, berries, and leaves of the Birch tree, Mullein, Dodder, Juniper, Hemp, Euphorbia, Amaranth, Ivy, Hellebore, Patchouli, Sandalwood, Skullcap, Solomon's Seal, and Horsetail.
Phenomenon: The Land itself, Trees and Herbs, Fields, Forests, Mountains, and Rivers
VII. Solar Current: The White Sovereign of Light
Body: The Sun
Atmosphere: Bright, Spiritual, Clear, Radiant
Associated Forces and Themes: Breaking of the Darkness, Insight into the Ultimate Nature of Things, Wisdom, Triumph, Healing
Day: Sunday
Colors: Gold and Yellow
Entities: The Queen of Elfhame as Source of Life-force, The Mercurial Spirit of the Witch-Master as Initiator into Wisdom
Influences: Health, Healing, Defeat of Spirits of Darkness, Joy, Spiritual Awareness
Primary Element: Fire Secondary Element: Air
Herbs: Hypercium (St. John's Wort), Angelica, Mistletoe, Cinnamon, Heliotrope, Rowan, Chamomile, Sunflowers, Allspice, Saffron, Frankincense, Goldenseal, and the Daisy.
Phenomenon: Light, Fire, the Stars, Piping, Hissing
Adder's Tongue 26, 156 Agrimony 27, 159 amulets 33 Ash 27,36, 158 Awareness 5, 12, 37
Balefire 95,98 Binding 6, 53, 161 Bittersweet 27, 158 Bladderwrack 26, 156
blood 9, 17, 21, 23, 29, 32, 54, 58, 63, 70, 71, 73, 78, 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 112,
123, 124, 141, 149 Boatman's Toll 117,118 Brothers Grimm 138,139
cauldron 37, 54, 109, 127, 129 Charms 3,6, 12, 102, 110, 117 Cinnamon 27,29,30, 158 Cinquefoil 27, 158 Compass 5,20,47,54,58 Conjury 3, 106, 118 Corn King 57
Craft 6, 12, 34, 35, 36, 63, 72, 76, 78, 88, 106, 136 Crossroads 15,70
Devil 9,81,90,92,97, 148 Dill 27, 158 Dragon 20
Earendil 76, 88 Elecampane 27, 158
Elfhame 42, 55,76, 88,91,92,99, 112, 114, 115, 117, 134, 160 Elfland 20 Eucalyptus 26, 156
Faery 6, 12, 43, 56, 74, 76, 88, 89, 92, 95, 99, 122, 148, 149, 150 Familiar 5, 9, 15, 24, 25, 34, 35, 36, 41, 48, 51, 52, 55, 61, 62, 64 familiar spirits 9, 24, 58 Fennel 27, 158
Fire 5,6, 16, 18,34,35,36,37,41,89,97, 111, 114, 127, 129, 131, 133, 134, 136,
137, 156, 157, 158, 160 Flax 27, 158
Flight 6, 12, 42, 51, 72, 89, 90, 91, 95, 97 Fly Agaric 27, 158
folklore 13,89,90,92,95, 103, 106, 111, 113, 114, 138, 145, 146, 148, 149, 153 Forest 6, 12,39, 107, 108
Gardenia 26, 156 Garlic 26, 157 Ginger 26, 157 Goat's skull 37 Grapes 26, 156
Hallowmass 129, 130 hell 85 Holly 26, 157 Horned God 57 Houseleek 27, 159
huntsman 141, 142, 148, 150, 151, 154 Hyssop, 27, 159
I
incantation 24, 25, 36, 37, 51, 53
invocation 6,25,41,44,45,73,78, 107, 108, 109, 110, 114, 116, 134 J
Jasmine 26, 156 L
Lady 7, 20, 21, 27, 42, 43, 55, 56, 59, 122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 133, 145, 160 Lamp of Art 36,40,41,47,50 Laws of Sympathy and Contagion 32 Lily 26, 156
Maiden 123 Mandragora 68, 69
Mandrake 6, 12, 27, 29, 63, 66, 68, 69, 70, 160
Mannikin 68,69,70,71
Moonwort 26, 156
Morning Glory 27, 158
Moth Flight 6,51
Mugwort 26, 156
Myrrh 26, 156
Nixie 6, 138, 139, 140, 144, 145, 146, 147, 148, 149, 150, 152, 153
Oak 6,27,62,63,64, 159 Oneiric 100 Onion 26, 157 Owl 89 Owls 89
Pale People 42 pavis 60, 62 Peppercorns 26, 157 Peppermint 27, 158 Pine 26, 157 Pomegranate 27, 158 poppet 24, 25, 32, 33, 34 Poppy 27,158 Pouck 75,87 Psilocybin 27, 158
Ring of Sorcery 6, 12, 23, 34, 39, 44 Rue 26, 157
Sage 27,74, 158, 159 Salt 5, 17
Sandalwood 26,29, 156, 161 serpents 45, 46 Sigils 6, 12, 39, 42, 43
sorcery 8, 9, 10, 12, 19, 23, 24, 25, 27, 33, 34, 35, 36, 45, 47, 48, 60, 63, 67, 68, 73,
97, 103, 106, 112, 116, 118, 124, 138, 139, 145, 148, 154 Spearmint 27, 158 Stinging Nettles 26, 157
talisman 27, 60
Tinley Fire 127, 129, 131, 136, 137 Turnskin Master 5, 15,41,43
Underworld 12,28,42,44,57,76,89,92,93,96,97,99, 114, 116, 139, 144, 148, 149, 150, 151, 156, 159
Vervain 26,27, 157, 160
Watchers 20
Water 5, 17, 18,41, 133, 156, 159 wells 103, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 145
wife 139, 140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 147, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155 willow 26, 110
Wind 5, 19,42,50,53,56,59,62 Witchcraft 5, 11, 24, 35, 36, 43, 67, 68, 78, 123
Witchery 3,8, 10, 11, 12, 16,24,25,36,37,40,51,53,89,90,91,99, 112, 160
Witchfather 3, 6, 20, 43, 46, 73, 78, 91, 97, 117, 135
Wolfsbane 26, 157
Wormwood 26, 157
Wort 25, 29
167
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