Irish-American Witchcraft: Magic Where You Stand

Irish-American Witchcraft: Magic Where You Stand January 17, 2017

I’ve long been an advocate of making use of what we have at hand when it comes to both spirituality and magic. Some of this is purely practical and some of it is rooted in esoteric theory. The two work together though and strengthen each other, making it important for us to connect to our local resources. We grow best where we have the deepest and strongest roots.

an apple tree with both apples on the tree and on the ground
An apple tree in Connecticut, M Daimler 2012

On the purely practical level using what we have around us, both in our magic and spiritual practice, is the most pragmatic option. It’s a lot more cost effective to use what you have on hand than to be paying for expensive imported items, when that’s an option.* It’s also a lot faster and easier to use what’s around you than to search for specific things that have to be found or ordered. When I need stones or crystals I look to the earth I live on and the rivers, streams, and ocean nearby. When I need shells I go to the shoreline. When I need herbs or parts of trees I look at the land around me and see what’s there to work with. Whereas most spells in modern books give a person a list of ingredients to assemble to achieve a goal, I start by thinking of what my goal is and looking at what I have on hand – or can find around – that can be used to get that result.

In traditional Irish folk magic, and by extension the Irish-American folk magic that I practice, when charms or spells require ingredients it’s usually either things that are already commonly found nearby or things that are more general than specific. Herbal charms are based on herbs that grow wild or can be grown in gardens, not on exotic things that must be bought or ordered. Everything around me has a use and a purpose in my magic, and I have never had a need that I could not meet with an herb, stone, or tree at hand. Ivy, Clover, Yarrow, Rose, these are some of my go-to herbs. And in my case where I live, Raspberry, Nightshade, and Honeysuckle as well. My local trees, the Maple, Witch-hazel, Cedar, as well as my Birch, Hawthorn, Oak, and Ash lend themselves to my magic when needed. Stones have uses based in their color, where they are found, or in some few cases by what mineral they are. The wild earth is my first resource for supplies, before I resort to anything else.

a rose bush showing its fruit--the rose hips--which are berries of perhaps golf-ball size
Rose Hips, M Daimler, 2013

From an esoteric perspective there’s an advantage to connecting to the magic of the place we’re in as well. First of all we’re working with a magical energy based in the living world around us, not in places that we may have no connection to at all. There is some argument for having tokens and material from a place we have a spiritual connection with*, and that’s another issue, but having crystals and herbs we don’t even know the sources of are something else. It’s not that they won’t work, of course, just that what comes from the land around us is stronger and not only, in my experience, works better magically but also has the added benefit of increasing our connection to where we are. These things help us get in sync with the magical and spiritual tides of the place we live in.

Secondly there’s a lot of power in connecting to spirits of place and to the spirits of the land where we are, and in my experience working respectfully with the materials of the earth around us aids in that connection. It teaches us to understand what’s around us but it also perforce connects us to the energy and spirit of the land. People who want to work with the Good Neighbors [read: fairies] are best to start with their house spirits and with the spirits of the land around them, in their yard, in their neighborhood, in the places they frequent outside their home. Whether you live in an urban or rural area the spirits are there and the possibility of connecting is there. Learning to work with local materials is a good first step.

Henbane and wormwood, image copyright M. Daimler 2016
Henbane and wormwood, image copyright M. Daimler 2016

The only time in my opinion that it’s not an option is if you’re making an offering to a deity or spirit that has a specific requirement, or if you’re doing something – magically or spiritually – that is specific to the point that it doesn’t allow substitution. If you feel like the Morrigan absolutely has to have dragon’s blood incense, or a spirit you are dealing with wants frankincense, or you’re working in a system that explicitly says you must use whatever to accomplish your purpose, then by all means go with that. Sometimes deities and spirits like to challenge us by asking for specific things I think to make us prove we will put in some effort for them. There are also a very few cases where there may be a specific stone or herb that just can’t be substituted effectively, and in that case as well you want to go with what is going to work best.

I like the pretty, fancy things as much as the next person. But I also like magic that works and works well. I like magic and spirituality that is always at my fingertips and is woven thoroughly into my life and the world around me. Working with my landscape, with herbs, trees, stones, and materials from the place I live connects me strongly to the energy and spirits of this place. And I truly believe my witchcraft and my spirituality is stronger for it.

* I will say here that an exception to this entire argument is if your whole spirituality is based on not connecting to where you are but to someplace entirely other. In that case you would want to have as many things from that place as possible for all the same reasons I’m outlining here. (back)


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