“Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch”

February 19, 2016 By Coby Michael Ward

The “thorn-blooded witch” is a term used by the author Raven Grimassi to describe his tradition of Old-World Green Witchcraft. This book traces the history of green witchcraft back to its early days in the Middle Ages and the Roman Empire. This book of traditional witchcraft places particular focus on veneficium, the use of poisonous herbs associated with witchcraft in ritual. Grimassi also goes into great detail on various other traditional witching herbs, such as vervain, their history and ritual... Read more

“The Witches’ Ointment: The Secret History of Psychedelic Magic”

February 19, 2016 By Coby Michael Ward

Thomas Hatsis is an historian of witchcraft, magic, Western Religions, enthroned, and medieval pharmacopeia. This book is a well-researched academic pursuit of the “witches’ ointment” or Unquentum Sabbati. Hats is sought to fill a gap in academic occult literature where he found little information on the use of entheogens during the medieval period. Much of the information available was written by the clergy and other inquisitors of the time. They left out any actual documentation for the use of entheogens, and... Read more

Witchcraft Persecution, 21st Century Style

February 18, 2016 By Coby Michael Ward

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/opinion/the- persecution-of-witches-21st-century-style.html?_r=0 This article sheds light on the growing issue of brutality against those who practice witchcraft or are innocently accused of it. It many countries around the world in South America, Africa, and modern communities in America; we have seen violence against magical practitioners in the form of brutal murders carried out in sinister ways. These people did nothing to harm their accusers, and we either outcasts or practiced some type of healing magic and ancestor reverence. It is... Read more

Contemplating the Devil

February 18, 2016 By Coby Michael Ward

Over the millennia the one who we call the Devil has taken many forms, and gone by many names. These identities have changed over time, as inspiration for his portrayal was drawn form faraway lands. In watching the documentary, The Devil We Know, we get an in depth look at the devil’s identity. In the Book of Job, Satan, as he is identified becomes personified as “the tempter, not necessarily a rival but fulfilling a role for God.” He is... Read more

“Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.”

February 18, 2016 By Coby Michael Ward

Witches were often the outcasts of society. They were those people that were disliked, and therefore made easy scapegoats. Those accused of witchcraft were demonized and accused of performing numerous heinous acts. Many of these accusations consisted of testimony gained under torture. The guiding questions of the inquisitor led them to the information they wanted. Their goal was to create such an identity that it would strike fear in all those around. According to the reading, The Devil & The... Read more

witches, Witchcraft and Sorcery

February 18, 2016 By Coby Michael Ward

In human society, religion serves the function of explaining our social stratification, and giving us a sense of where we fit in. Religion also attempts to explain or justify many of the injustices that are part of human life such as evil, suffering and death. What sets us apart as humans is our language, our ability to understand our individuality, and our spirituality. We use our language to describe our individuality and our spiritual self is a large part... Read more

Poisoner’s Apothecary

February 17, 2016 By Coby Michael Ward

It has been over a year since I decided I wanted to set up a web page that would serve as a kind of home base for me to share all of my writing, photos, and creations in one place. The focus of this blog is mostly occult studies with some general religion thrown in. My main area of concentration here is Traditional Witchcraft and its origins, practice, and present incarnation. Much of this concentration is surrounding Veneficium, the use... Read more