Pagan rules and ducking stools, need not apply.

Well, another odd week has passed in the life of this Cunning one.

The tale begins with a thought on what magick is and then deteriorates into the virus led deluded ramblings about the lonely journey along the crooked path.A visit from some dear relatives who happen to be Christians brought about some thoughts on the subtle differences between "Traditional" magick, or spellcraft, gardnerian style "wiccan" magic and common church prayer.

Simple really, and as you may be aware, a subject I have already touched upon.

Basically ,Christian prayer and some forms of Wicca(yes they have become quite similar over the years) generally petition a Deity to act on the behalf of the petitioner, there is then some sacrifice or energy transfer bought about as some kind of divine payment in the case of Wicca, where as within the Semitic faiths the deity (the great master, lord or boss) is remarkably expected to come down and take action the Faithfull’s behalf, master acting as servant, an odd concept that I find difficult to get my head around.

The Crafter however does not petition the deity to act on his or her behalf, but undertakes the transformations personally; the only divine intervention might be one of strength or guidance, but apart from that the undertaking and responsibility falls to the individual or group.

So there you are, that is what I consider to be the subtle difference and I am not suggesting one works better than another, it is all about the suitability to individual.

This question and an inner ear infection bought about a rather melancholic musing on the loneliness involved within the Traditional path, certainly where the solitary practitioner is concerned, maybe less so for those within an established cuveen, the secretive nature of what is after all a mystery tradition has certain rules that must be adhered to.

One is, without over complicating it "thou shalt not blab", this is not to facilitate some kind of secrecy for the point of secrecy, this is very much to do with discipline and the value of the journey itself, to know the secrets is a part, it is the discovery of those keys that unlock the mysteries that will explain the knowledge, and as such have as much importance themselves, letting the cat out of the bag as it were may lessen the knowledge and experience sought by the true seeker, guidance by all means is good, preconception is not so.

I am currently alone in my journey, hopefully there will be some to join me soon as I have sent out the call, my partner has her own way of working and occasionally joins me, but she is on her road and I am upon mine, I find myself on occasion quite out in the cold.I have met and enjoyed the company of many great and powerful people in the past, many of which I am at least vaguely still in touch with, although at the earthly level there are few that I have met or I know of local to me that A. I would like to work with and B. that would like to work with me.A situation of my own making, I have lived and worked in many places, the result being that my Clan is spread to the four corners of this green and pleasant land.

This solitarily esoteric existence is one I happily choose, although it has made me look at the way the world perceives us, as “witches” we have always been outcasts, often feared by our communities and treated with varying degrees of suspicion, by church and to a lesser degree some pagans “that dark, left hand path etc”, that is until our skills and our tolerance of all faiths is called upon for the benefit there of, this has always been the price and always will, it is the way things are meant to be, someone has to clean up the rubbish, there will be no displays for the public , no book of shadows available in paper and hardbacked versions,and our society will remain behind the hidden door, where it belongs.

So, happy to be the outcasts we are, even in the lonley wasteland, our choice and happy to be we must be.

Remember the importance of friends and family, look to the travelling communities and see how they perceive such things with great love and reverence, when your life shifts from place to place these things can easily be left behind, without them you can lose an important part of yourself, there are parts of me still to be gathered in,at this time I only hope to save at least someone that pain.

On occasion, this witch would relish the contact of others upon a similar path and hopefully those pathways are under construction, this spy would sometimes like to come in from the cold!

One final thought, why did they swim witches in the times of persecution? The answer is again simple, it stands to reason, in a biblical scenario we are the survivors of the flood, the line of Cain not Seth. therefore we must float!

Me, I am Lilith’s man today.

FFF&F