Treading the Path of the Traditional Witch

 

The Crooked Path

By Kelden

 

Great book for those wanting to practice Traditional Witchcraft. This is seriously one of the best. It makes entrance into the craft easy and comprehensible. You still have to do the work though. The first part of the book covers history and compare the traditional craft to wicca.  Many witches have been introduced into both traditions so there might not be too much difference between the two. Yet on many level’s there are. Both Wicca and Traditional Craft borrowed from grimoires and folk magic. While both have rituals, Wicca tends to be more celebratory where as the traditional craft is more about low magic or sorcery using magic to manifest things in your life . In Wicca they primarily work with the gods while in traditional craft they honor the witch father and mother. Which is the goddess and the God and the god is still the horned god of old with symbolism and all. In the Traditional Craft also work with familiars, ancestors and the fetch. They may work with it in Wicca but not as much in the traditional craft.

 

In Wicca you cast a circle whereas in traditional craft they call it laying the compass. It involves the use of the stang, representation of the Horned God and laying the altar at its feet or having one set up. In traditional craft they charge tools and consecrate them for nothing else. In traditional craft your tools are used everyday cause back in the day ceremonial tools were too expensive and regular tools could be charged and used for ritual and mundane purposes. Wicca is more of a religion whereas Traditional Craft is not but still a form of spirituality.

After discussing history and development of the craft the author gets into the meet of the book. There are chapters on spell craft and rituals. Traditional Craft is more about working with spirits and working in the other world. The Other World is the world outside of our physical world. This could be the underworld where the dead reside and maybe our ancestors. The Mid World has a spiritual side that we could explore and then there is the upperworld where the deities dwell. There are mediations in the book that tell one how to cross the hedge and access the axis mundi to access the other world.

Traditional Craft has the practitioner call on other spirits besides the deities. Once could call on one’s ancestors. Ancestors can be blood or family ancestors, or they could be craft ancestors who were the leaders of the given tradition. A third set of ancestors are the people who lived and died on the land before we did and their spirits are still connected to the place.

Traditional Craft is about being connected to the land. Kelden talks about asking the spirit of a plant, tree , rock or Genius Loci (Guardian of the area) for permission and making sure to receive it before taking things out of nature and using them. One has to make a thank you offering for what they were allowed to take.

The book has a slew of exercises that has the reader do rituals , make tools, craft spells  and everything you need to get started.  Meaty book and easy to read and digest the material.

 

Witch Power

 Witch mother Laurie Cabot lives in Salem, Massachusetts, a place infamous for its witch trials where in 19 innocent people were hung or pressed to death. Most of the victims were women. A town rid of it’s witches now has people walking around in witch garb. Some accept it while others cannot get used to it.

Her life echoes that of witchcraft in general. As a youth she realized that she was different and that she was drawn to witchy things. She would have premonitions or be drawn to nature and it’s plethora of spirits. As children our minds are more open to the magical. While she does advocate being open about the craft and spreading th word she does realize that it is not always safe for people to come out of the broom closet.

Witches are not a bad thing in fact they are positive. Most of their work was for healing, abundance and prosperity. All things positive. The midwives of old had knowledge,of herbs and Star and all sorts of healing lore. The common folk being pagan had a sister of beliefs and practices. When Christianity took root the old deities were turned to devils and the church usurped many holidays and practices. This included medicinal lore.

When men opened the universities they took this medicinal knowledge with them and banned women from their universities. This put the power of medicinal stuff in the hands of men. When women were tortured and killed for witchcraft who were the ones who most benefited?

Laurie Cabot gives the reader a strong Wiccan view of history. She is honest  in how Wicca was given birth to by Gerald Gardner. Her view posits that before patriarchal times women we’re in control and things were a lot better. I do not know if thst part is true. But women had larger roles and more importance back in old times and that is for sure.

The book explains many tenets of Wicca, including the sabbath on the wheel of the year and that lunar phases. She explains the metaphysical underpinning behind the use of magic. The book has instructions on circle casting, calling quarters and spell casting. Great stuff!

What I found most useful was the crystal countdown for going to a beta mine state to an alpha mind state. I also found that I liked the 7 Hermetic principles. Take note this is the principle of magic.

1. Mentalism : the whole universe is constructed of thought.
2. Correspondence: As above so below. Meaning that what effects the smaller microcosm affects the macrocosm.
3. Principle of Vibration: every single thing gives off a vibration at certain frequencies. Nothing stands still.
4. Polarity : everything contains within itself it’s polar opposite. Hate contains love, fire contains water.
5. Principle of Rhythm: every thing has its ebb and flow.
6. Law of Cause and Effect :   Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the la
7. Law of gender : everything has masculine and feminine characteristics.

Another quite useful thing I got from the book was the Crystal Countdown. This get’s you into the alpha state where magic , dreams and astral travel happen. This is something one should learn to use. Enjoy the book it is awesome!

Asherah the Queen of Heaven and Mother of the Gods

 

Asherah The Queen of Heaven

By Baal Kadmon

Reading the bible on reads how the Canaanites were a constant thorn in the side of the Israelites, both in terms of war and theologically.  The Canaanites were constantly fighting with the Israelites and the Israelites were constantly slipping into idolatry. Among the deities they worshipped were Baal and Asherah.

Asherah was the Queen of Heaven, mother of all and consort to the Canaanite God, El. El means god in semitic religions.  Her worship consisted of erecting trees or poles on hilltops. In some reading of the bible one wonders if Asherah was a class of fertility goddesses. Not only was her worship widespread in Canaan but she was also worshipped in Egypt, Ugarit, Mesopotamia and Arabia.

In the standard mythology she was wife to El but often times she sided with Baal the storm god of fertility. She has been known to advocate for Baal after he defeated the sea god Yam. Eventually though as Baal increased in popularity he eventually shoved El off the throne and took Ashera for himself. Baal was immensely popular.

Asherah was also wife to Yahweh , she was his consort outside of Deutronomist circles. There is an inscription in the Sinai desert of her and Yahweh together. The Israelites used to call their God El and the El was used in many of his epithets . Like El Elyon or El Shaddai. Around the same time that Baal supplanted El the name Yahweh superseded the use of El. Kind of similar but let us not forget that Israelites were former Canaanites and that proto Hebrew is in fact a dialect of Canaanite speech.

Another nation that worshipped her were the Phoenicians. They were essentially Canaanites who had city states in Lebanon and due to their famed ability with ships they had colonies all over the Mediterranean. In Carthage she was called Taanit and she was paired with Baal Haman. There were human sacrifices made to these two in Carthage. In Ugarit she was called Athirat. and in Mesopotamia she was called Ashirta and was paired with Amurru and was known as the lady of the steps. In all cases she was usually paired with a bull god.

The First part of the book dealt with history, the second part deals with 4 rituals. One of the things I liked about the rituals is that they were short and simple leaving room for variation. The offering that Ashira likes are cakes (Pound of baked) wine or water and incense. The Four rituals are “Destruction of an Enemy”, “To Attain Love” “Gain Seductive power” and “Abundance” For the rituals you will need an image or a pole just something to represent the Goddess. The book says use an incense you love as any old will not do. For Middle Deities I prefer Frankincense.

 

The structure of the spells or rituals is simple. Place an image of the Goddess in the center of the alter. On one side is your candles and on the other is your incense. In front of the image you will place the cake and the drink offering. After that you say your prayer and focus on your goal and let the essence of Asherah permeate your being. Then you lift the cake in front of her and say her name three times. Finally you thank her in your own words. Should your spell be successful then you should publicly thank her.

Black candle are used for cursing and can be used in the seduction Ritual. Red is used in the seduction ritual as it is in attaining love. Gold is the color for abundance.

 

Overall not a bad little book. Problem is that it is to short and the author could have easily included more information on the Goddess.  While her worship was not as world wide as Isis still there is plenty of information out there that could have been put in the bibliography.

 

 

Come to the Sabbath

 like this book, I mean I really love it. The book gives a reader a good broad historical over of witch’s spirit flight and the witches sabbath. The book also teachers techniques on how to achieve spirit flight. When the inquisition began in like the 13 century there was hardly any mention of the spirit flight or witches sabbath. Then a couple of centuries later the inquisition record are filled with stories of the witches flight and the witch’s sabbath. Yet how accurate are these records. The accused suspect were mostly women who were old poor widows with no one to defend them. Their stories were given under conditions of extreme torture. The inquisitors also asked leading questions. While most were innocent, they told these outlandish stories to escape from being tortured, burned and killed. If these accounts are so inaccurate, then why do modern witches invest so much time studying them.

There could be some facts to this. To appease their tormentor, the victims may have pulled some folklore from their memories in order to concoct these tales. What the Catholic church said about these witches was abominable. Witches were accused to blighting crops, causing sickness, poisoning wells, eating unbaptized babies, and engaging in orgiastic behavior. These accusations were nothing new. In fact, the Romans used to say the same thing about the Christians. Later when Christianity became the dominant religion of Europe and Catholicism was the main faction the church would turn it’s attention to heretical sects of Christianity. The first to go were the Cathars and then next the Waldensian. The same charges were leveled against them. Later on lepers would be targeted.
Spirit flight has some basis in reality or mythology I should say. There was the spirit flight of the Dame Holda or Herodia or Diana, where in their parade of women would fly through the sky. They would fly to a sabbath or festival or they would raid someone’s house and if food was left for them, they were blessed if not their wine would be turned to vinegar. Then there was the wild hunt usually led by Odin, Herne or Gabriel. They would fly though the sky picking up anyone who was unlucky to be out. Then there were the strix owls. Some thought they were witches but none the less these owls took flight entered people’s houses and stole their children. Then they would boil the children in a cauldron and eat them.
Obviously, spirit flight is not a physical thing rather a mental thing. Some experts back in the day believed that the spirit left the body in order to join the festivities. Other experts thought it was a delusion. The methods for arriving at the sabbath included applying a flying ointment on oneself or on a broom and that would transport the witch. Sometimes they would ride a goat or transform a person to an animal and use them instead. 
The Sabbath could take place in a variety of locations. Sabbaths could be held in churches, open fields, in houses , out in nature. The traveling witch would not only find other witches but they would find the Deevil himself leading the festivities with the sabbath queen sitting quietly by his side. One could also 
find, demons, fairies, ancestors and witches long since deceased their.

READING PROGRESS

May 7, 2023 – Started Reading

May 9, 2023 – Finished Reading

May 10, 2023 – Shelved

When the Nephilim Wandered the Earth

 

Brian Godawa is an author of biblical fantasy. The bible has plenty of material for a good yarn. There are mystical creatures, wise men , wizards, warriors and kings. Mind you he does take some creative license when writing his fiction but it is still based on research. His problem is that religious church goes take the bible without research and deeper knowledge. Others do not know anything and do or do not go to church. In the book he puts down all his research and findings.

When he writes his works not only does he consult the bible and other religious text but he also consult Ancient Near Eastern Mythology and puts the stories in a proper context. The thrust of his book is based on “The Book of Enoch” where in Azazel descend to earth after a rebellion against god. Him and 200 other angels fall to earth and live there. While there they fall in love with human women and from their union comes a race of giants. These Giants could be anywhere from 8 feet tall to 20 feet tall. They are violent and aggressive. The Sumerian mythos have a similar story. The Annunaki or Mesopotamian gods come to earth and create humans, after a bit the Gods fall in love with these women and create me of might, or mighty warriors.
These giants were considered an abomination. In the Bible we have the flood come down and it’s main reason was to clean up the polluted blood. It killed most of humanity and most of the giants but as we know that not all of them died. Some of them continued to live in Canaan. Remember the biblical frazes that describe the canaanites as giants and the Israelite were small like grasshopper compared to them. Yet there were the Anakim in Canaan and the might dead or Rephaim. The Anakim sounds a lot like Annunaki. The Rephaim were both sprits and giants who are both dead and still lving. They are giants. Joshua and other biblical greats were given the job of destroying them.
All over the world there are flood myths. The sumerians had gods who did the flood because the people were complaining to loud. So Enlil wanted to wipe them out but Enki intervened and had Ziasudra’s life saved. The enmity of different brother plays out In other near eastern mythos. There is Seth and Osiris, Cain and Abel and Enlil and Enki. In the near eastern mythologies there is always a hero who fights a great dragon to prevail over chaos. In bible it is Leviathan. In Canaanite mythos it is Yam the sea god. In Mesopotamian mythos it is Tiamat who is slain by Marduk.
Many parallels between the different mythos in fact it could be said that the bible got it’s inspiration from many of the earlier mythologies. Should prove an interesting read.

The Sumerian Origins of Meso-American Civilization.

 

Call this the Sumerian origins of Meso-American Civilization. I am convinced of that more than ever, especially after reading this work by Zecharia Sitchin. He proves his points well, not sure if I buy into the whole ancient alien theory but it does have merit.

When the Europeans from Spain came, they found, much to their surprise, they found a highly advanced civilization that would rival anything found in Europe. They had kings, militaries, hospitals, and plenty of gold. The gold was reserved for the gods. The Spaniards wanted it and waged wars over it. Starting with the Aztecs they took over civilization by kidnapping the leader an demanding gold. First the Mayans, then Aztecs and the list goes on. They went searching for gold, obviously they found a bunch of it. The Catholic church wanted to convert the population and destroyed religious building and religious texts.

Starting with the Aztecs, who were they. They Nuatl people and they descend from someone In a cave. They were told to move to different locations much like the Israelites. They came from Aztlan but no one knows where that is. But the Aztecs were not the ones who started all this.

The Olmecs were the first. It is speculated that they arrived here on boats from across the Atlantic. They have African features. Evidence is in the large head uncovered on the Yucatan Peninsula. In their company were semitic looking people. It can be speculated that they were originally from Egypt and that they may have ventured over on Phoenician ships. In the end they were massacred by the Indians. Other groups were present like the Maya and Inca.

In all these groups one finds names, place names and god names that are eerily similar to Sumerian, Egyptian and Israelite names and places. While this leaves no doubt in my mid that they came from the Middle East originally, why did they come over there to the America’s?

Back in Sumeria they used tin to make Bronze. It was a metal that made for good weapons and good utensils. It was a combination of copper and tin. They were running out of Tin. Many place names where it was mined had a Sumerian type name that implied the meaning of tin.  They got tin from here. They also got gold and the Annunaki needed gold for their defective atmosphere.

Many of the pyramids and building were done in a style reminiscent to Sumerian and Egyptian architecture and there was similar pictographic writing. Many of their tales are very similar to tales or myths that come out of the middle east or Africa. The next question is how did they know to find tin there? How did they get this knowledge? Could have been trial and error got shipwrecked and just happened to find the place, or someone who was more advanced and had been there told them about it.  Who were these advanced beings? Some say that there was the remnants of an advanced civilization that went around and helped these people or it was aliens. Could have been either one.

The theory point out a lot of flaws in our way of thinking about human history. Like how did these civilizations just pop up out of nowhere? How did humans become human so quickly with no phases of development being recorded.