“I come, a virgin of varied forms, wandering through the heavens, bull-faced, three-headed, ruthless, with golden arrows; chaste Phoebe bringing light to mortals, Eileithyia; bearing the three synthemata [sacred signs] of a triple nature. In the Aether I appear in fiery forms and in the air I sit in a silver chariot” [Chaldean Oracles] In this article, I draw on articles and books I have written in the past, as well as lecture notes – in an attempt to clarify... Read more
“Determined now her tomb to build, Her ample skirt with stones she filled, And dropped a heap on Carron-more; Then stepped one thousand yards to Loar, And dropped another goodly heap; And then with one prodigious leap, Gained carrion-beg; and on its height Displayed the wonders of her might.” ~ Jonathan Swift (1667 – 1745) The giant blue form of the Cailleach straddles the British Isles; she is the unforgiving crone of winter, the benevolent earth-shaping giantess and the guardian... Read more
Aleister Crowley wrote in his 1919 work Law of Liberty: “Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever toward it, without allowing aught to stop you or turn you aside…” This is, of course, sound advice and an admirable axiom to live by. Many readers reading this might have recognised the words for being a famous line from a better-known piece of prose, or at least be thinking …’that sounds familiar’. In the much later Charge of the Goddess, these words... Read more
“A star that keenest of all blazes with a searing flame and him men call Seirios [Sirius]. When he rises with Helios (the Sun), no longer do the trees deceive him by the feeble freshness of their leaves. For easily with his keen glance he pierces their ranks, and to some he gives strength but of others he blights the bark utterly. Of him too at his setting are we aware.” – Aratus, Phaenomena 328 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek astronomical... Read more
Aleister Crowley is often credited with inventing the use of the term magick (with a k) as opposed to magic. The addition of the k increases the magical potency of the word as k is the eleventh letter of the alphabet and eleven is a number considered to contain a lot of inherent magical power within the western magical system (being the one beyond ten). Crowley himself also emphasised that he used the spelling of magick in order to... Read more
The Theban script, which is found in the texts of many of the Wiccan traditions today and is sometimes referred to as the ‘Witches Alphabet’ is used for carving, writing names and sometimes entire books of shadows with. Its inclusion in the Wiccan tradition was probably drawn from Francis Barrett’s The Magus published in 1801. Barrett in turn drew his information from Cornelius Agrippa’s Three Books of Occult Philosophy which were published in 1531 and is often considered to be... Read more
In less than three weeks it will be time for the Buddhafield Festival 2016 – and I like to think I will be prepared! I am already thinking outfits, wellies and extra pairs of socks… and hats, I need hats! I first attended this magical festival in 2012 and since then it has definitely been one of the highlights of my year – and as a bonus, it is a child-friendly event and my son absolutely loves it. However, right now... Read more
A debate on the symbol so very much associated with modern Pagan traditions today, prompted me to dig out a copy of the 2008 book WICCA: Magickal Beginnings which I co-authored with David Rankine. In the book we seek to find the possible origins for many of the different ceremonial aspects found in initiatory Craft and in subsequent traditions which borrowed and grew from it. This is an extract from Chapter 16, “The Pentagram” in which we explore the different... Read more
Such a simple question, right? What is a Witch? I have a very simple definition to offer, but more about that later in this blog. In normal circumstances, a dictionary would be the place to turn to when seeking to find the meaning of a word. The Oxford English Dictionary[i] is well established and well respected, so a good neutral place to start – and this is what they have to say: “1. A woman thought to have evil magic... Read more
Ortigia, the island off the coast of Syracuse in Sicily (Italy) is as Strabo wrote ‘utterly mythical’. It is one of the principal candidates for the location of the birthplace of Leto’s twins, Apollo and Artemis. Read more
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