On the eve of the Winter Solstice the Rite of the Obelisk and the Empty Dome was performed in London. This rite utitlised two iconic buildings, the Shard and the O2. The dome is the largest dome in the Western Europe and the the Shard the largest tower. The objective of the rite was use these two iconic buildings as the dome and obelisk of religious structures.
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As Wiccans it is important that we recogise the order of the zodiac. This is because of the central nature of astrology to many aspects of pracctice. Remembering the order of the zodiac is a challenge. There are a number of nemonics but none of them are easy to remember and there is no single mnemonic that is widely used. The zodiac is, however, used in a number of symbolic ways and by piecing these together we can create a strategy for remembering the variouse elements.
In the modern era there are two very distinct types of Witchcraft. The first of these is the shamanistic witchcraft of the witches in the woods. These witches are integrally connected with the legends of Robin Hood and Robin Goodfellow. There is, however, a second type of Witchcraft, Babylonian Witchcraft. This has come to use through the filter of the early 20th Century magical group, the Golden Dawn, however it has antecedants.
The same split that we see within Wicca in the current era is also seen in the Elizabethan era. The Discoverie of Witchcraft by Reginald Scot defines these two different types of Witchcraft. One of these is defined as the magic performed by John Dee, the other is the Witchcraft that he has heard of that is practised in the woods. The issue faced by Witches is that the high magic of the grimoires is infused with Christianity and Christian terms. In the new age where we are moving away from Christian traditions this is generally not acceptable to Wiccans. Despite genuine antecedents from those of dual Christian/Witchcraft faith in the middle ages it seem dissonant to call upon Christian deities in rites and this is not acceptable in Wicca. When we look back to the pre Christian period we might expect that the ancients would only practice shamanic traditions, however this is not the case. When we look at the myths of ancient Britain we see both Babylonian and native elements. There is a fusion the ancient Witchcraft lines and the ideas of astronomical magic from Babylon. This can be seen in the Mabinogion. The core issue which was faced by the ancients when the Babylonian traditions came to Britain was how to deal with the different elements. The Babylonian Witchcraft that arrived had a different elements to it. The first of these was the understanding of astronomy. This understanding allowed astronomer-astrologers to predict events in the heavens, for example the days of eclipses and the procession of the equinoxes. This gave them a position of authority in spiritual matters. The second element was the form of the creation of temples. These were laid out with chessboard floors. These represent light and dark, the passage of the moon and also the ceilings are laid out to reflect the passing of the astrological eras. The Magi or priests saw themselves as more advanced that the witches in the woods because they understood this, and indeed this was the case in the sense that they were able to get control of spiritual aspects of the state and oppress the witches in the woods, ultimately engineering a situation where their spiritual opponents could be put to death. There was, however, a third element, which is the three degree structure. The Babylonian tradition brought this type of hierarchy with it. This was alien to the British shamanic tradition. The grail legends define this struggle, where the knight overcomes the magician Klingschor, a representation of the Babylonian tradition and creates freedom for all. This is the Wiccan approach. Of course some Wiccans do promote a three level hierarchy, however the original proponents of the Wiccan Rede, the Thames Valley Coven proposed only a single level of initiation and that remains the position of the Wiccan Traditionals who derive from Traditional Witchcraft lines. The problem that is faced by Wiccans is that they need to define whether they are purely woodland based or whether they will adopt the ideas of Babylonian traditions. At the end of the age of Aries many rural Witches did not adopt the Babylonian traditions or appear to understand them clearly. They did not recogise the coming of the Age of Pisces, which ultimately led to the destruction of large parts of our tradition. In the current age we need to recognise that we are going to see changes in religion as we enter the new Age of Aquarius. Witches need to recognise these changes in their ritual practice. This year it was recognised by the use of chessboard floored temple to perform initiations. Although we can draw our traditions through Freemasonry as was the case for this temple we do not necessarily need to draw this through the filter of Masonic traditions. When we look back into the ancient traditions of Britain we see the creation of these temples. In the Mabinogion it is written, "And Peredur proceeded towards the Castle, and the gate of the Castle was open. And when he came to the hall, the door was open, and he entered. And he beheld a chessboard in the hall, and the chessmen were playing against each other, by themselves. And the side that he favoured lost the game, and thereupon the others set up a shout, as though they had been living men. And Peredur was wroth, and took the chessmen in his lap, and cast the chessboard into the lake. And when he had done thus, behold the black maiden came in, and she said to him, 'The welcome of Heaven be not unto thee. Thou hadst rather do evil than good.' 'What complaint hast thou against me, maiden?' said Peredur. 'That thou hast occasioned unto the Empress the loss of her chessboard, which she would not have lost for all her empire.' " In this myth we can see that Peredur goes to the magic castle as we do in our rites when we cross the water to get to the Castle of Magic. When he enters he sees a chessboard. This is reminiscent of what we see in a temple of the Western Mystery Tradition. He throws the board into the water that surrounds the castle, however this upsets the ruler of the castle for whom her temple is more important than anything else that she owns. There are further developments to this story which reflects our understanding of Witchcraft, including the killing of the stag, and the explanation of the grail, however within all of this is an apparent mixing of British and Babylonian magical traditions in order to free the practicioner from the power of others. As Cochranian Wiccans when we go to the magic castle to practice magic we can lay down a chessboard floor to represent our mastery of the knowledge of astronomy and of the dates associated with ritual practice. In this sense we too free ourselves from others who would control religion through this understanding. Our connections through the legends allow us to do this without the need to pass through the filters of Christian mysticism or freemasonry to achieve this. In the new age Wiccans can do this directly through reference to the old mythos. Through this we declare our understanding of the astronomical basis of our traditions. A new Wicca and Witchcraft Film Making Group has been established. The group which is looking to make films in the Wicca and Witchcraft genre is having its first meeting on 30th October and can be found on Meetup. The Meetup is taken place in and around Queen's Wood, the spiritual home of Witchcraft in London.
The group is made up of many old hands within the London Wiccan Community and is looking to put together films that deal with Witchcraft more sympathetically than has been the case to date. The group are looking at two projects. The first is a biopic about Robert Cochrane, arguably the most important witch of the period following the repeal of the Witchcraft Act in 1951. The film would be loosely based on real events but also have some interpretation of his life story. . The second film would be a more general film built around the Wicca and Witchcraft Community in London and would be largely fictional. The genre would be similar to the film The Coven (2015), which features Cochranian practice at its heart. The group is being coordinated by London based Wiccans of the White Horse Coven and the Order of the Horse and the Moon. The first tune in our series of Wiccan Tunes is Sound of Change by Spiral Rhythm. The lyrics detail the calling of the elements of earth, air, fire and water at Wiccan rites. The song begins 'Wind blows, fire burns, water flows, and the earth turns', which are the four elemnts. Then the lyrics 'Can you hear it ? That's the sound of change'. The song can be interpreted as to relating to three different types of change. The first of these is the change of the seasons, the second is the change in ourselves, and the third is the change in society. The lines 'Wind blows, lifts you up, lets you touch the sky, and the fire burn your spirit black, forges freedoms cry' refer to the change in the individual, and the inspiration of Wiccan practice. The cry for freedom created through hardship of work is a call for freedom and a change in society. Wicca is the sound of change and the song has great lyrics with a strong drum beat making it a popular anthem for Wiccans.
There are moves in the pipeline for a release of a new film in the 'Craft' franchise reported on the internet. It is around twenty years since the release of what many see as the ultimate Wicca and Witchcraft film. Now there is a new film in the making. It is not a remake but a twenty years on version of the original film.
In the remake there will be references to the old film, sources on the internet indicate that this may include the levitation scene weher the schoolgirls at the centre of the plot levitate one of their fellows on their fingers. What is not often recognised is that the film itself had genuine input from the Cochranian tradition. When the film was made those involved were looking to ensure that there was a genuine connection to the real practice. They found this through the 1734 tradition which is a downline of Robert Cochrane through Joe Wilson. The beach scene where there is a fire at the centre is very reminiscent of Cochranian rite. Cochrane used woodland and is reputed to have often built fires. There is no information about the exact date of the release easily available. Check here for info as we get it. Wikipedia is loved and treasured resource, however it's authors face huge challenges because Wikipedia is seen as 'truth' by many but clearly it is a compromise between different truths. As the Wiccan aphorism states "To each man his own truth, the Goddess within".
In the case of Wikipedia the article is a delicate balance, a compromise between different groups. Rather than modifying Wikipedia which would lead to a major argument and be hugely time consuming it is easier to explain some of the problems with it and explain to others why statements are contentious. Ther are many issues worthy of discussion, however one line that stands out is the following "An unattributed statement known as the Wiccan Rede is a popular expression of Wiccan morality" The problem with this is that the Wiccan Rede is not unattributed. It was devised by Doreen Valiente for a dinner of the Witchcraft Research Association on 3rd October 1964. Suggested modification: "The Wiccan Rede, composed by Doreen Valiente for a dinner on 3rd October 1964, is a popular expression of Wiccan morality" The line 'merry meet, merry part and merry meet again' is used frequently at Wiccan circles. The origin of these words is rarely considered.
The origins of this appear to lie in the Reclaing Traditon. In the 1960s Victor Anderson wrote a poem called 'By the Earth'. this was a simple circle cast. It was taken up by the prominent activist Starhawk and introduced to the Reclaiming Tradition that she was involved with. When the circle needed to be closed the lines 'May the circle is open but unbroken, may the love of the goddess be forever in your heart, merry meet and merry part and merry meet again' were used. These final lines were added because 'merry meet' and 'merry part' were greetings used by Wiccans. These themselves appear to be derived from Thompson's Long Rede that appeared in the magazine Green Egg. The source for this is possibly from a Witch Trial in 1664, where Elizabeth Styles referred to the phrase 'Merry meet, merry part'. The freemason's second degre rite also has a similar line "Happy have we met, happy have we been, happy may we part, and happy meet again" So it seems that the origin of the lines lies in Freemasonry, from where it came to Reclaiming and then it came to be widely used in Wicca. The Azoetia by Andrew Chumbley is an important text for those of the horse-head stang tradition. Chumbley was deeply attached to this icon and it features repeatedly in his texts. The interpretation of them is, however, difficult. The rites themselves read like a riddle with heavy use of complex language and difficult terms.
At the heart of the text are three rites which are termed the 'Rites of the Sabbat'. These are the Rite of Ingress, The Rite of Congress and the Rite of Egress. The third of these has some elements that are if interest to Cochranian Wiccans. The rite starts with the words 'Hekas, Hekas, Este Babeloi'. This is a term associated with the Golden Dawn Tradition meaning "Far, far be removed the profane." This is followed by the Summoning which is a call to the 'Cunning Men and Women of the Craft' The next stage is the four offerings. These are referred to as 'The Body of the Sphinx'. The Sphinx is made up of the four quarters of the zodiac. The most obvious is that it has the body of a lion (Leo) and the face of a man (Aquarius), but also it has the feet of a bull (Taurus) and the wings of an eagle (Scorpio). Chumbley writes "This is the Body of the Sphinx which thou must sacrifice. The four offerings are four different coloured candles which are taken to the four quarters of the circke. The colours of these seem to be linked to the four horsemen of the apocalypse. The first candle is described "In the Occidental Gate of the Circle fashion the First Icon in Thine own True Likeness ...... from the Pale Wax of a Candle, such as burneth in the West with the Light of the Dying Sun." This plae candle seems to be tied to the pale horse of the four horsemen. It is followed by the white, red and black candles which are the colours of the other three horses. In each quarter Chumbley seems to have placed a clay vase, and the symbol of the quarter appears to have been placed into the vase. A fifth vessel is used to represent the quintessence of spirit, termed the azoth. The circle then proceeds to 'The Sleep of Thanatos' or the sleep among the dead. This appears to have been a period of meditating and dream work. After this the three formulas of Invocation/Evocation are read together with the Egress Conummatum. The Arcanum is then read Finally the rite ends with the Circle Chant of the Sabbat, where the 'Great Sigil of the Round Dance'is traced 'Three Times Round'. This appears to be a pentacle which is drawn at the four quarters of the circle three times. There is a great deal of detail to these rites. When read, they seem to bear the hallmarks of the Golden Dawn tradition and to have some similarities to both Gardnerian and Cochranian rites. It would be a difficult task to discover all of \Chumbley's sources, however they seem to be derived from a mix of neo-pagan and traditional sources. There is a longstanding tradition that witches cannot cross water. Understanding why this is believed when it is clearly not true in a practical sense casts some light on the original practices of witches.
The roots of the tradition are seen clearly in works of fiction. The first of these is in the Robert Burns poem the Tam O'Shanter. In this a farmer passes by a church on the way home from a pub. He sees witches dancing but he is noticed and the witches chase after him as he rides his horse. Tam understands that if he can get to the bridge then the witches will not follow him. He gets to the bridge but one of the witches gets hold of the horses tail and pulls it off. This idea is also referenced in the Harry Potter novels, "Even though Petunia was raised alongside a witch, she is remarkably ignorant about magic. She and Vernon share a confused idea that they will somehow be able to squash the magic out of Harry, and in an attempt to throw off the letters that arrive from Hogwarts on Harry's eleventh birthday, she and Vernon fall back on the old superstition that witches cannot cross water. As she had frequently seen Lily jump streams and run across stepping stones in their childhood, she ought not to have been surprised when Hagrid had no difficulty making his way over the stormy sea to the hut on the rock." The basis for this idea is that when witches cast circles they create a magic castle, often surrounded by four watchtowers. This castle is surrounded by water. To get to the castle the witches cross the river between the mundane world and the magic castle. In woodland working this is often shown by small brook, for example the workings of Robert Cochrane show this. Alternatively a broom can be used to show this, and witches can cross the broom to get into the castle. Once everyone is in the castle a circle is usually formed. Once the circle is formed it is not permitted for anyone to cross back into the mundane world. In this case Tam should have been right in that if he was spotted in the circle the Witches would have only followed him to the edge of the water. If he crossed it they would not follow. The idea of forming a river around the edge of a magical assembly is fairly universal in Witchcraft and Wicca. In some traditions water and salt are mixed at the beginning of a rite and this is the representation of water at the edge of the circle. The origin of this belief and practice is revealing. The ancient witchcraft of Britain is a fusion of two different traditions. The first of these is the shamanic practice of dancing the cloven hooved animal, often a deer as seen at Abbots Bromley or a horse. This tradition includes the myths and fairy tales of Britain, many of which include magic castles. The second origin is the Babylonian Witchcraft tradition. In this four quarters are cast. These are based on the idea of the creation of the universe. This is recorded in the Old Testament, but is actually based on older Sumerian and Babylonian myths. In this prior to the creation of the world there was a salty ocean called ‘The Waters’ The creation of a magic circle involves the creation of these four elements. The spirit calms the water (water), creates light (fire) and then separates the firmament of the air (air) from the earth (earth). In both of these the magic space is surrounded by water, and we can therefore see how the idea that witches would not cross water could have a basis in reality. |
AuthorThe Horse's Mouth is a conglomerated blog with multiple authors. It is a voice for Cochranian Wicca in the UK. It is linked to the website wicca.org.uk and a large number of Wiccan groups on Meetup.com Archives
December 2016
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