#traditional witch

[whiskeyterrafoxtrot]

If aware that another is wicked, say so:

Make no truce or treaty with foes.

Havamal 127

*

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[bythistleandthorn]

Lately I've been thinking a lot about spirit-led initiations.

I was never really initiated into my practice, and because of the journey I've taken over the years I've been practicing, I've never felt like I was allowed to be initiated. Everything felt impermanent and ephemeral, like the tides were always shifting under me. Initiation felt too... permanent, I suppose. Now that I'm 20 and I've settled into my practice, and have been settled for a couple years, I'm considering it as an option.

Because of the nature of my practice, having any kind of initiatory rite or ritual be spirit-led just... makes sense. By my familiar spirits, for me, unique to us. However, I have no experience with something like this, and don't really know anyone who does, and the idea of an initiation of some kind feels right but daunting at the same time.

If anyone is comfortable sharing aspects of it, what did your spirit-led initiation look like? Was there much pre-planning, or was it more "the moment felt right and we just went for it"? What did the conversation between you and the spirits involved look like, both before and after? Did you outline expectations of an initiate beforehand?

Many thanks, as always.

[deeealchemist]

“The only body part we found was one skull and one bit of pelvis, everything else was completely gone," said the park owner.

[queer-folk-witch]

for my fellow witches who practice christian folk magic and use the rosary, I've written a special set of prayers for Palestine. Feel free to use and distribute this if you wish.

[cunning-frog]

Holed Stones in English Folk Magic

Sources at the end

Stones with naturally occurring holes in them have many uses in magic all over the world. In England they have been used for protection and luck as well as in medicine. Holed stones are known by many different names, In England they have been and are known by numerous names such as Hag stones, Witch stones, Serpents'/Snakes' eggs, Adder stones, and Lucky stones. For the sake of clarity, I will be referring to them as ‘holed stones’.

Luck and Protection

Holed stones are used as amulets for protection against Hags, witches, faeries, and other spirits, when they are used in this way they are referred to as hag or witch stones. People would hang a holed stone above the door of their home or barn, and sometimes passageways within the home. People would also keep a small holed stone in a pocket for luck and protection.

Holed stones have also been known for being lucky, being worn around the neck for luck or tossed over the shoulder after spitting through the stone's hole to grant a wish. It was also said that is a person tied a holed stone to their house keys, those who resided in the home would be prosperous.

In communities where fishing and/or sailing was common the use of holed stones for protection was common, tying them to the bows of boats or inside of smaller rowing boats for protection while at sea. Holed stones were also used to protect against drowning, Christopher Duffin (2011) writes, “The coxswain of the Ramsay lifeboat [during 1929], also a fisherman by trade, always wore a small discoidal [holed] stone around his neck, threaded with copper wire. The amulet, passed down through three generations of fishermen, was credited with preserving the life of the wearer through terrible maritime circumstances.”

Medicine

As these holed stones protected against hags, witches, faeries, and other spirits they would often be used in medicine, as magic was often thought to be the cause of illness.

One of the illnesses holed stones were used to treat is ‘hag-riding’, in the book A Dictionary of English Folklore it is defined as  “a frightening sensation of being held immobile in bed, often by a heavy weight pressing on one’s stomach or chest […] In folklore, it was thought of as a magical attack, though whether by demonic incubus, ghost, harmful fairy, or witch varied according to place and period.” (Simpson & Roud, 2003) Today hag-riding is understood to be sleep paralysis. To treat hag-riding a holed stone would be hung above the bed of the sufferer or, if the sufferer is an animal, placed in a stable.

This belief applied to both humans as well as other animals; hag stones were often used in the treatment of ill livestock. In Lancashire holed stones would be tied to the back of cows to protect them from all forms of harm, “self-holed stones, termed ‘lucky-stones,’ are still suspended over the backs of cows in order that they may be protected from every diabolical influence.” (Harland and Wilkinson 1873).

Sources:

 Thwaite, A.-S. (2020). Magic and the material culture of healing in early modern England [Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository]. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.63593

Vicky, King (2021, November 11). Hag Stones and Lucky Charms. https://www.horniman.ac.uk/story/hag-stones-and-lucky-charms/

Pitt Rivers Museum, Accession Number: 1985.51.987.1 https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/collections-online#/item/prm-object-239947 (c) Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, Date Accessed: 21 January 2024

Adams, Thomas, fl. 1612-1653., 2013, A commentary or, exposition vpon the diuine second epistle generall, written by the blessed apostle St. Peter. By Thomas Adams, Oxford Text Archive, http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12024/A00665

Jacqueline Simpson & Steve Roud (2003). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803095941856

Christopher J. Duffin (2011) Herbert Toms (1874–1940), Witch Stones, and Porosphaera Beads, Folklore, 122:1, 84-101, DOI: 10.1080/0015587X.2011.537134

Harland, J., & Wilkinson, T. T. (1873). Lancashire Legends: Traditions, Pagents, Sports, & C. With an Appendix Containing a Rare Tract on the Lancashire Witches, & C., &c. G. Routledge. https://archive.org/details/cu31924028040057

Photo source:

File:Hag Stones (8020251781).jpg. (2023, February 2). Wikimedia Commons. Retrieved 04:11, January 26, 2024 from https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Hag_Stones_(8020251781).jpg&oldid=729610598.

[traditionalwitch]

Yule > Christmas

🌲🕯️👻🧣🪵🕊️🥧❄️⛄️🌲

[cantva190]

[musingmelsuinesmelancholy]

More on Robin AssArte

“India, the last home of true polytheism, has begun to succumb to the monotheistic battery of Islam and Christianity, and to this day, when Hindu religion is taught o westerners, the “acceptable” form is to tell everyone that Hindus have ALWAYS believed in “one God” - Brahman and how all the other gods were mere aspects of “Him”. Idk what to say

“He (witch father) who was called the ‘All Father’ by the Pagan peoples of Northern Europe” so wigch father = Odin = Dagda = Zeus = Dionysus = Horny black goat = Azael = dumb Christian’s called him devil. I don’t care if you’re a soft polytheist but holy fuck don’t make weird historical claims

“He was called Hob-th’rus, but among His more inner names are Sator and Conal Cernac” ACCORDING TO WHO SIR? SOURCE PLS

“While I am a true polytheist, that is, a person who does not believe all gods and goddess of ancient times are ‘aspects’ of a greater divine force or God” you literally do believe that, you believe witchfather = all chthonic and mercurial gods. you believe most goddesses come from a “dark” earthy fate godddess who is also a light spring sex goddess. Oh and you you claim her name is “KOLYO”.

For all his rambles about etymology I hardly see him cite his sources. There’s no foot notes.

“Hel and Persephone are the same goddess” I am going to drink battery acid

“Pale people refers to the dead” I will give this man my organs if it’ll stop him from claiming the fae are the dead, or nature spirits.

“In the modern day, what pass for ‘Pagan’ religious models tend to be created by certain left wing people to bolster some equally left wing ideologies. True and honest ‘Paganism’ is hard to come by” fucking EW didn’t this man spam people/groups with porn, harass people and uhm plagiarize a bunch of shit? What a paragon of pagan virtue

[conjuredsun]

Like the Witch Father, the Witch Mother is the dual-natured Archetypal Divine Feminine. She is life and death, creation and destruction, She is all. In Traditional Witchcraft, She is an initiator into witchcraft and the being that creates and molds the world to Her whim. The Witch Mother is essentially Witchcraft itself. 

In the same way it is hard to define and pinpoint the Witch Father, the Witch Mother is another enigmatic spirit essential to Traditional Witchcraft. Across cultures and centuries, She has been known by many names. Diana, Herodias, Frau Holle, Baba Yaga, Sa Rejusta, the Queen of Elphame, and Nicnevin are some of the names that She has gone by. 

As it stands, the Witch Mother is the Mother of all Witches. From her, we begin to learn the ways of the Crooked Path. Usually, it is by chance encounter that we meet Her, or one of Her emissaries, and we are put through trials. Through these trials, however, comes the enlightenment of the Path and we find our Witch Fire lit. With Her blessings, we are granted access to the unseen. 

The Witch Mother is a Dark Feminine Great Spirit. She is the primordial womb from which all life emanates. She forms the Earth to Her liking. The Witch Mother holds sway over life and death, the seasons, and even the turning of the day. She is the Magna Mater. She fiercely protects Her children and gives us the knowledge and tools that we need in order to defend ourselves from those wishing us harm. 

Her lore can be dark and sometimes violent. But it’s necessary as a protectress for Her family. When we prove ourselves to Her, She becomes a Great Ally for us in our paths. 

Baba Yaga

In Vasilisa the Beautiful and Baba Yaga, we come to learn that Baba Yaga has mastery over the world. Through her servants, the days and nights turn over. In the story of Natasha, Baba Yaga has a towel that can create rivers and a comb that can create forests. Baba Yaga occupies the archetype of Witch Mother as the initiator and creatrix of the world. She gives these girls tasks which at first glance seem impossible but by their wit and cunning natures, they overcome them. This leads to Baba Yaga fulfilling her promise and granting them the boon they came to her for. For Vasilisa, the fire she seeks also burns her stepmother and sisters to ashes leaving her free from their oppression and hatred. 

Frau Holle or Mother Hulda

In the story of Mother Hulda, two step-sisters end up in the Otherworld and in service to Her. The first sister is hardworking while the other one is lazy. The hardworking sister drops her spindle into the well while trying to clean it and must figure out a way to get it out. She falls in and comes out in the Otherworld. She meets an apple tree asking for help to get its ripe fruit down from its branches and a loaf of bread asking to be taken from the fire before it burns.  Naturally, she obliges. Coming to a house in the meadow, she meets Mother Hulda who asks her for help around the house. This sister is very hardworking and listens to all of Mother Hulda’s requests, including how to fluff her pillows so the feathers fall so it will snow on Earth. Accomplishing this and asking to return home, she is sent back with gold falling all about her to keep.

The second sister, being lazy and greedy jumps into the well and into the otherworld wanting her own gold. She marches past the apple tree and the bread not stopping to help them, and comes to meet Mother Hulda and agrees to work for her as well. She performs well on the first day and gives way to laziness in the coming days. When she asks to go home, expecting to be showered in gold, she is told to “get lost” and is instead showered in tar. 

In this story, we see Her control over the weather and her home in the Otherworld. She has the power to bless and to curse. She expects those who want to learn witchcraft and the occult arts to hold up their end of the bargain. She grants power to those who are willing to work for it. 

Queen of Elfame

In several witch trials in Scotland, we see the Queen of Elfame make an appearance. In the trial of Bessie Dunlop (1576), she confesses that she has traveled to the Otherworld and has communed with the Queen of Elfame several times. For her kindness when in the guise of an old woman, Bessie is granted a familiar who teaches her natural remedies, knowledge of where to find lost items, and information about prophecies.

Several years later, in 1588, Alison Pearson (also styled as Alesoun Peirsoun) was burned at the stake for communing with the Queen. In Elfame, she learned of medicinal herbs, healing arts, and how to make charms and potions which she sold. 

In 1597, Andro (Andrew) Man confesses that he has lain with the Queen of Elphen and they begot many children together. He further confessed that through her, he would become knowledgeable in all things, help and cure all sicknesses except death. In his confession, Andro Man goes on to explain that “the Queen of Elphen has a grip of all the craft, but Christsonday (the Devil) is the husband and has all power under God.” They also have spirits in their company that are known to Man. 

Aradia: or the Gospel of Witches

In Aradia, it is attested that Diana is the Mother of Witches. She teaches her daughter, Aradia, witchcraft and charges her to go to Earth to teach humans this art. Specifically, Aradia is sent to teach the poor and the slaves witchcraft in order to free themselves from their lot in life. 

[songsofbloodandwater]

My Notes on Barn Owls and The Queens of Night

I recently acquired a beautiful Barn Owl leg+foot and decided to write down a little about my personal associations with them.

In my tradition, Barn Owls are messengers of The White Court, under the rule of The White Queen, Regina Lunae. In Her aspect of Queen of the Night Beasts, She may send Her white animals (particularly owls) as Omens. Much like The Queen, Barn Owls are Night Hunters, and particularly helpful to us humans as they prey on farm vermin. In old farms, there's usually an owl hole to facilitate this symbiotic relationship.

I've found Barn Owls have ties to La Dolorosa aswell. These animals are known to hunt in cemeteries and in many cultures are believed to act as psychopomps, carrying the souls of the dead to the Underworld(s). Their screeches do really sound like a scream (shocker, I know), and are often likened to the cry of a banshee. Seeing or hearing a barn owl cry in the night can be an omen of Death for the person seeing it, or someone in their household. Night whistling is believed to call them, and in some cases, to invite Death (Or The Queen Herself) into a space. As psychopomps, they also deliver messages to and from the Dead, and can aid in summoning the soul of a particular deceased person, or even in soul retrieval rituals. In some places, they're thought to be shapeshifters, a witch or even a fairy woman in disguise. This could be the case, but a second interpretation from my own lineage is that they can also act as a sort of middle man, letting you know that there are other Spirits present, and waiting to make the introductions.

In some parts of the british isles, the screeches of barn owls could also be taken as an omen of incoming storms and barn owls would be nailed to prevent damage to property and people. This also ties back to them being Regina Lunae's helpers and attendant spirits, particularly as in her aspect of Mater Lupina (The Wolf Mother) and Thunder Mother, She rules over Storms and Lightning, and Her Court has the power to send rain to bless a field, storms to cause great damage, or to turn someone around and change their path, or even to protect us by dispelling dangerous storms.

🌑 As these sharp feet are the primary tool and weapon of the Night Hunters, Barn Owls' legs can be used to make a protective charm for the home, from both Spirits and unkind weather. 🌑 The feet in particular can be used to catch bothersome spirits or enemies, whether it be with the intention to momentarily catch or bind a Spirit or person, to make them move, releasing them somewhere else... or with the intention of burying them. 🌑 Although their wings would probably be a better option, the leg+foot can also be used to call forth rain and, even better, to catch storms or prevent hail. 🌑 Placing a prayer or petition inside it's foot is also a simple way to send that message to the White Court, and the answer to it will be received at night, through the omens typical of this court: white animals, sound, weather, and dreams or visions. 🌑 Being that the White Queen is also the Queen of Dreams, using the barn owl's foot to catch dreams or nightmares, is also a possibility. Either to bring desired dreams to reality or to bind a bad dream, or vision, from happening.

[southernmermaidsgrotto]

Who is the bruja?

About Brujería and Curanderismo in Latin America, and witchcraft from a latine perspective.

You’ll most likely see the term Bruja used in anglophone communities to refer to latine magic practitioners. By that definition, any latin american person who does some kind of magic is, in a way, a bruja/brujo/bruje. This use of the word comes from a place of reclamation of said latine heritage and of our cultural folk magic practices, particularly for hispanic latines. Similarly, you’ll see portuguese-speaking latines using the word bruxa, or bruxaria. 

I can hear you already: But I am a spanish-speaking european! I am also a bruja!... given the context, you’re a witch, not a bruja. Brujería in the broader sense of the word, as is used in any conversation in spanish, can be translated to witchcraft. “Brujería” in the specific “latine magic practitioner” sense doesn’t have an english translation, and thus we keep the word in spanish, to signify that cultural tie to hispanic latin america. So no, in the context of an anglophone discussion of brujería, you’re not a bruja, in the same way that, while speaking a languange derived from latin, europeans are not latino/latine because they’re not from latin america. 

That is, considering the modern use of the word, specially in online spaces. But if you speak to your Elders, you’ll hear something a little different...

People like to ask themselves “am I a born witch?”, and well, traditionally, a bruja is made, not born, and it specifically implies baneful work. 

Old school folks will tell you that not just anyone who practices magic is a bruja, in fact, calling a Faith Healer a “Bruja”, could be taken as a major offense. 

Many elders will make a distinction between dual roles of what we’ll call the Healer, and the Witch, for convenience’s sakes, since the words for naming either vary in each languange and culture. One of the better known examples I can give you is how in spanish, and across latin america, you’ll hear the duality between the Curandera and the Bruja. 

The Curandera Heals, the Bruja Bewitches.

While the Healer is born, with a set of gifts or dones that are necessary to fulfill a role assigned at birth (or even before so), to serve their community. A Witch is made, by their own choice, in a personal quest for power and knowledge, and thus doesn’t act in favor of their community necessarily, instead, acts seeking their own benefit first, sometimes... in detriment of the community.

There’s nothing wrong with keeping our best interests in mind! In fact, a true Healer is taught to balance left hand and right hand work, one who cannot harm cannot heal, and I always say we must understand the wound and how it was made before we can understand it’s cures, but precisely because of that, the figure of the Witch stands out more. A Healer can do both, heal and harm. While the Witch... not necessarily. A Witch is, oftentimes, only capable to manipulate circumstances (and people) but not heal, and even when good intentioned, it can bring negative repercussions. That is why it has such a negative connotation traditionally, and why most of the older folks, or anyone trained by them, will likely avoid the term.

Note how I’ve been saying Healer or Gifted person instead of Curandera. Because having a don does not by itself make someone a curandera. Since I’ve seen more and more people using the term online, here’s a reminder that being a curandera is not a choice and does not refer to just anyone who practices herbal healing or any other healing modalities, it is a responsibility to the community you’re in. Nobody is born a priest or babalawo, and similarly nobody is born a curandera, while they could be gifted from birth, each curanderismo lineage will have their own initiations and traditions to train that person and turn them into a true curandero, and only then, the community will give the title to them, after working for years and earning their respect and love. The term curandera is only appropriate for someone who not only has a higher calling (vetted & confirmed by elders), but specifically someone who’s been properly trained and is already in service of their community.

With that in mind, bruja is definitely the right term for someone who’s just learning and is only doing magic for themselves or close friends and family.

But then... there’s some issue specifically with indigenous and afrolatine practices and descendants. During colonization, the church demonized our beliefs, called our Ancestral practices, Gods and Spirits “satan worship” and thus, our healers were called “brujas”. Hunted and killed specifically because indigenous culture & healing, aswell as african traditional practices, were targeted. That is, we were called “brujas” as part of a cultural genocide. Elders will often stay away from the term bruja not just because it doesn’t reflect their practice, but also because staying away from the words bruja and brujería was, and in some places stil is, simply a survival instinct. Choosing other words to identify, or even not speaking about it at all, along with the syncretism with christianity, were ways to survive that genocide, and pass on as much as possible in whispers and under catholic veils.

It is up to each practitioner to talk to their elders, learn their people’s history, and decide for themselves if they wish to reclaim the word, or if they’ll rather use more culturally-specific terms, or maybe both. I’ve known plenty of healers of many paths who’ll refer to themselves as brujas to outsiders, and will use more specific terms amongst kin (myself included).

While I respect (and support) the reappropriation of the terms bruja and brujería to refer to latine magic, I also believe it is important to know our history with these terms, and out of respect for our ancestors and the old traditions, also learn the proper names of things. Bruja may be a good way to identify for someone who’s just starting out in magic out of their own choice, who’s seeking community and doesn’t quite know their place in the bigger scheme of things, but also someone who, guided by proper elders and community, must dig deeper, and find their home. There’s specific names, even just in spanish, for different kinds of healers and workers. Are you an oracionista? huesera? yerbera? have you been trained in these practices? Only a skilled elder can identify if you possess any gifts, and teach you how to hone your own skills. And If you’re indigenous, you must take the time to reconnect to your indigenous community, to your own medicine, and learn the proper terms in your indigenous tongue.

My final thoughts: reclaiming brujería is important, but so is learning and respecting our culture & history. We have incredibly rich cultures, and reducing ourselves to just “brujas” is certainly an oversimplification, if not even an attempt from outsiders and appropriators to overgeneralize and commodify our cultural practices that we must fight against. We can appreciate brujería as an umbrella term for everything that unites us, and as a term to make understanding and communication between ourselves easier, while also acknowledging the history of the word, the huge diversity it covers nowadays and giving due respect to each of our corresponding cultures.

Thanks for reading!

[whiskeyterrafoxtrot]

I'm not here anymore. If you'd like to follow my work, please subscribe to the YouTube channel.

[lailoken]

I was recently in the forest searching out some particular bones I need for a set of linked Sentry Fetishes, when I made an odd discovery.

No sooner had I found the bone I was looking for than I spotted this strange item buried beneath the leaf litter. It appears to have been fashioned some time ago, though I have no clue why, or by whom...

[theglamourempress]

sum Sunday affs inspired by the love witch.

Middle image is a direct quote from the film 🥀

[ariesinwitchcraft]

For the folk witch, however, encounters with the otherworld are a crucial source of knowledge, growth, and spiritual nourishment. There is something in the heart of the witch that craves ecstatic escape into the wild and dark. Whether through the use of alcohol, herbs, ritual, or charms, witches are possessed of a seeking nature that sends us tunneling into the hidden realms, and perhaps it is due to this innate yearning that we are able to see spirits of the otherworld as kindred beings.

Roger F. Horne, A Broom at Midnight: 13 Gates of Witchcraft by Spirit Flight

[traditionalwitch]

✨✨🕯️✨✨