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THE TRADITIONAL WITCH’S CALENDAR – MAY

4/29/2019

MAY: [OE] Þrimilce-mōnaþ ‘Thrimilce ‘Month of Three Milkings’ when livestock were often so well fed on fresh spring grass that they could be milked three times a day. [OHG] Winni-mánód ‘pasture month’. In the 14th century misericord calendar, it was shown as the time for blessing the crops since farmers needed all the help they could get. The tree representing May is the White-thorn or Hawthorne; also known as the May Tree because of its associations with May Day. Since this is a sacred tree it was considered unlucky to take branches of flowers into the house; if used as decorations outside it was a symbol of good luck.

1st Beltaine is the anglicised Gaelic name for the May Day festival, most commonly held on 1st May, and marks the end of the winter half of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and is traditionally a day of celebration and revelry in many cultures around the world, but this holiday has surprisingly deep roots that tap into ancient pre-Christian customs relating to fertility, agriculture, and the Spring Equinox. May Day was once the premier summer holiday in many ancient European pagan cultures, where the beginning of February marked the beginning of spring, May 1st marked the beginning of summer – the season of growth and life for crops, animals, and people. Today: Be out first thing in the morning to bathe your face in the morning dew.

1st Calan Mai or ‘Calend (first day) of May’ or Calan Haf ‘Calend of Summer’ is a May Day holiday of Wales. Celebrations started on the evening before, known as May Eve, with bonfires ; as with Calan Gaeaf on November 1st, the night before (Welsh: Nos Galan Haf) is considered an Ysbrydnos or ‘spirit night’ when spirits are out and about divination is possible. The tradition of lighting bonfires celebrating this occasion happened annually in South Wales until the middle of the 19th century. Today: Light the patio fire and celebrate.

1st May Day or Garland Day. In Britain, as in most parts of Western Europe, May Day marked the end of the harsh winter months. For our ancestors it was a major annual festival and was celebrated throughout the country with music, dancing and games. Traditional May Day celebrations included dancing around the maypole, the appearance of the ‘hobby horses’ and characters such as Robin Hood and Jack-in-the-Green. Today: Join in the May Day celebrations in your part of the country.

Weather-lore: ‘Hoar frost on May 1st indicates a good harvest.’

1st May Day. According to the entry in Brewer’s The Dictionary of Phrase & Fable: ‘Polydore Vigil says that the Roman youths would go into the fields and sped the calens of May in dancing and singing in Honour of Flora, goddess of fruits and flowers. The early English consecrated May-day to Robin Hood and the Maid Marian, because the favourite English outlaw is said to have died on that day. Stow says the villagers used to set up May-poles, and spend the day in archery, morris-dancing and other amusements.’

1st Mother Goose Day. Since its inauguration in1987, many schools and libraries have celebrated Mother Goose Day as a time to remember and enjoy the fairy tales and nursery rhymes of childhood that date back to the 17th century. Many of these rhymes were cited by Robin Skelton and Margaret Blackwood in Earth, Air, Fire, Water – a 1990 compilation of pre-Christian and pagan elements in British songs, rhymes and ballads.

3rd Roodmas the English name for Beltaine, as in keeping with Candlemas (Imbolc), Lammas (Lughnasad), and Hallowmas (Samhain), should be celebrated as near 1st May as possible. Today: Use the following poem and conduct a magical cleansing and protection rite for your home.

3rd Roodmas planting. From very early times, beans were the staple diet of country folk; they were thought to contain spirits, and their flowers were associated with death. In Yorkshire it was said that broad bean flowers contained the souls of the departed, while in Devonshire it was believed that if in a row of beans one should come up with white instead of green, there would be a death in the family within the year. To plant kidney beans on any day other than 3rd May was tempting fate. Today: Plant your beans according to tradition and guarantee a good harvest.

8th The Festival of the Helston Furry Dance is held annually in Cornwall and is said to be one of the oldest examples of a communal spring festival dance. Together with the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in September, it is one of the oldest British customs still practiced today. A celebration of the passing of winter and the arrival of spring, the modern variant of the dance holds few similarities with the proposed original having been revived long after the event had died out. Today: An ideal time to formally welcome in the summer.

9-11th Lemuria were these odd-numbered days when Roman domestic ceremonies were performed in honour of the ancestors. Acknowledge the passing of family members who have died during the preceding winter and for those who are still sorely missed. Today: Leave a lighted candle on the doorstep to guide home any restless spirits and honour them with an offering of bread and milk.

11th Blessing Sea and Fisheries [Kent] is an annual event and claims to be one of the oldest marine rituals still surviving. One of these occurs in the ancient fishing town of Folkestone, being associated with the chapel of St. Peter, dedicated to the town’s fisher folk and with fine views of the harbour. Today: If you have friends or relations at sea offer up a prayer and libation to keep them safe in the coming year.

12th Old Beltane. Even more traditionally, the festival fell about halfway between the Vernal Equinox and the Summer Solstice and was widely observed throughout Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. In Irish the name for the festival day is Lá Bealtaine – and is similar to the Welsh Calan Mai. Beltane is mentioned in some of the earliest Irish literature and it is associated with important events in Irish mythology. Historically, it marked the beginning of summer and was when cattle were driven out to the summer pastures. Rituals were performed to protect the cattle, crops and people, and to encourage growth. Special bonfires were kindled, and their flames, smoke and ashes were deemed to have protective powers. The people and their cattle would walk around the bonfire or between two bonfires, and sometimes leap over the flames or embers. All household fires would be doused and then re-lit from the Beltaine bonfire. These gatherings would be accompanied by a feast, and some of the food and drink would be offered to the Aos Sí. Today: Draw on the energies of Old Beltaine and celebrate as our ancestors celebrated with feasting and merriment in time honoured tradition.

17th Feast day of St Madern (Maden, Madron) of Cornwall (6th century). It has been suggested that he was a Christianisation of the mythical Celtic Modron, the mother goddess, since some aspects of the veneration at Madron’s Well do appear to derive from pagan origins. Today: Offer up food and wine to honour the Triple Goddess.

22nd Feast Day of St Helene (Elen, Helen) of Carnarvon. Her story is told in the tales associated with the Mabinogion. Welsh mythology remembers her as the daughter of a chieftain who lived somewhere near Caernarfon and for encouraging the building of roads across her country so that the soldiers could more easily defend it from attackers, thus earning her the name Elen Luyddog (Elen of the Hosts). Since many characters in these tales are thought to be Christianised reflections of older deities, it has been suggested that Elen reflects (along with Rhiannon, etc.,) customs of the Old Ways. Today: Walk out in the woods and appreciate the wonders of the natural world.

Weather-lore: ‘A swarm of bees in May is worth a load of hay’.

23rd The Tubilustria of May was dedicated to Volcanus, an early Roman deity of fire and the smithy, which identifies with the later connections in traditional witchcraft and many other northern European Traditions. Today: Light the patio fire in homage.

29th Ambarvalia was a solemn annual Roman purification of the fields, when each farmer led his household and one of his animals in a procession around the boundaries of his land. The name ‘ambarvalia’ appears, however, to be predominantly an urban designation as Roman farmers’ almanacs (menologia rustica) describe this only as segetes lustrantur (‘crops are purified’). Joseph Justus Scaliger, a classics scholar maintained the ambarvalia to be the same as amburbium, an ancient Roman festival for purifying the city. Numerous other communities of the Italian peninsula enacted similar rites with different names such as Old Beltaine. Today: Observe as one of the pastoral festivals with a simple lunch in the open air.

30th Death of King Arthur in 542AD and one recurrent aspect of Arthurian literature is the notion that he will one day return to save his people. According to the Welsh Triads, Brân’s head was buried in London where the White Tower now stands. As long as it remained there, Britain would be safe from invasion but King Arthur dug up the head, declaring the country would be protected only by his great strength – which did not prevent either the Roman or Norman Conquests! Today: Light a candle in memory.

Whitsuntide takes place during the week following Whitsunday, and was one of three vacation weeks for the medieval villein; on most manors he was free from service on the lord’s demesne this week, which marked a pause in the agricultural year. It equates with the important Church festival of Pentecost and in early medieval England it took on some characteristics of Beltaine, which originated from the pagan celebration of Mid Summer’s Day, the beginning of the summer half-year, in Europe. As the first holiday of the summer, Whitsun was one of the favourite times in the traditional calendar and Whit Sunday, or the following week, was a time for celebration. This took the form of fêtes, fairs, pageants and parades with Whitsun ales and Morris dancing in the south of England and Whit walks and wakes in the north.

Ascensiontide often coincides with well-dressing in parts of the Midlands and provides an important link with pagan well-worship. Well-lore has survived in every part of Britain in the form of ‘holy’, ie. saints, or wishing wells. See 2nd March. Today: Put in an appearance at your local well.

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GREEN CARNATION - LGBT

4/26/2019

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Extract from Coven Working by Carrie West and Philip Wright

Initially, it may seem strange that ‘straight’ magical partners are writing on the subject of gay magical practices in the context of general coven working, but on closer examination this is not as odd as it would first appear. We always try to adopt an approach that is integrated, non-judgemental and avoids the overtones of justification that often accompany the majority of LGBT writing, while still managing to examine gay magical energies from a purely practical and functional perspective. It is quite difficult keeping all the balls in the air (if you’ll excuse the expression) but it is also possible to integrate gay members into a mixed coven with the minimum amount of fuss, if folk are of a mind to do so.

As experienced practitioners, we have operated successful teaching groups for many years that have included men and women of all sexual persuasions without exclusion or bias. During that time we have, of course, encountered problems and prejudices on both sides of the ‘gay divide’ and would say right from the start, that the refusal to welcome gays into a predominantly straight group says more about the coven leader’s personal prejudices than it does about their magical teaching capabilities. There are a number of difficulties and misunderstandings that do arise with regard to gay and lesbian magical practice within Craft, but hopefully our ‘four-penny worth’ of advice will help to reassure both gay pagans and those straight pagans who claim (quite wrongly) that gays have no place in a modern coven.

Firstly: An individual’s sexuality is an extremely personal and intimate thing. Our sexual preferences are our own affair and not something that is up for open discussion – especially if our inclusion or exclusion from a group may be dependent upon it. In fact, all over the world there are thousands of ‘straight’ magical groups, covens, orders and organisations operating with members who, unbeknown to the majority, are gay. This secrecy usually stems from the homophobic attitude still prevalent within Western society and the mercurial reaction with which so-called friends can respond once the truth is out in the open. It’s not just in Craft that we hear the words: ‘I quite liked him/her until I found out s/he was gay!’ as if the person referred to was guilty of some heinous crime, or had some highly contagious disease.

Subsequently we now have a gay and lesbian community inside the wider pagan community because they feel the need for a separate identity. The result may have created a new pagan club-culture but it does nothing to solve the magical problems that arise from same-sex covens. This schism was widened a few years ago when a leading pagan journal openly announced that homosexuals could not be witches. It was a stance that the late Bob Clay-Egerton was quick to question in What You Call Time:

“When I first commenced my studies in the days of illegal witchcraft, I was taught before my initiation that anyone who commenced the practice of Craft in sincerity, formal initiate or not, was a witch. This would imply that a homosexual can be a witch. The homosexual, or trans-sexual will probably find major obstacles put in their path if attempting to join a coven and may find it easier to find acceptance among magicians than they will among witches.

“Sexuality, to my mind, is not a physical but a mental and instinctual thing. The problem is not in the mind of the trans- or homosexual pagan but in the early conditioning by socio-religious mores of pagans not yet sufficiently advanced to be able to stand apart and look with the eye – not of morality and sexuality – but with the eye of spirituality … I wonder if we all, male and female, do not have quite a bit of both sexes in our individual makeup. I do know personally of one High Priestess who, from firsthand experience of working with homosexual and heterosexual members, is prepared to consider such applications for admittance into the Craft based on ability rather than gender.”

Successful magical equilibrium, requires that everyone takes into account the dual masculine-feminine energy that is contained within us all. Those whose magical training has only been at a superficial level often have difficulty in looking at this aspect of god-power beyond the concept of god/goddess and man/woman. This is usually due to the ‘fertility’ aspect of most modern earth-based spiritualities not being able to see much further than the traditional gender roles and the fertility of the god/goddess in terms of Nature and procreation.

Secondly: We need to examine the viewpoints of gay pagans – and for this we are extremely grateful to the former editor of Hoblink for allowing us access to the magazine’s archive, which gives gay pagans the opportunity to speak for themselves. One letter struck a very positive cord, which may also cause a large number of straight pagans to think quite carefully.

“A few years ago, a couple of friends and I formed a gay coven. We had all met through a larger mixed group, but the formation of a specifically gay group aroused considerable opposition from the more traditionally-minded elements of the Craft. They really needn’t have worried. Firstly, the group included a number of individuals who left when it became clear that they weren’t likely to achieve their own ends. Secondly, and far more importantly, the group failed because it did not have a central myth around which to build the group’s identity, or to focus group-work.

“That experience left quite a deep impression on me and so for the last few years I have worked solo. However, I believe that the same dilemma still faces almost all gay men who become involved with the neo-pagan groups. Whether the same problem confronts lesbians, I don’t know … Sadly, one sees so many groups today that attempt to revive ancient religious ‘mysteries’ that don’t have any relevance to the lives of their members. In the end they become fancy dress parties, performing sometimes charming, but utterly meaningless rituals.

“I say this because I believe the danger of gay men falling into this trap is very real. Once again, I can only speak from my own experience, and I know only too well that I find it very difficult to relate to a culture dominated by heterosexual values. But I also know that I am not alone in this. My personal belief is that gay men are physically and psychologically different from straight men. Moreover, we have our own distinctive patterns of behaviour and our own cultural values (however shallow some may appear!). They do not always sit well with the accepted values of conventional society, hence the charge of moral turpitude so often levelled against us …”

Our reaction on reading this particular piece, was how tragic that such a magically perceptive young man had been forced to work solitary when his concept of magical energy was probably more heightened than most straight pagans (both male and female) we’ve encountered. This latter point was driven home by the claim in a subsequent issue, that magical energy didn’t ‘give a monkey’s who it is flowing from and to, as long as those people are in tune and have ‘perfect love and trust’ for each other’. Sorry … but yes it does. Just like the positive, negative and earthing wires in an electric plug need to be channelled correctly, or you run the risk of short-circuiting the whole house!

One young man who applied to join our coven, bit the bullet and admitted right from the start that he was gay. This wasn’t bravery … he simply didn’t want to waste any more time attempting to integrate with a group of people who may possibly reject him if, and when, his sexuality became common knowledge. For us this wasn’t a problem. Over the years we’ve worked with every permutation of sexual persuasion including hetero- and homosexual, hermaphrodite, lesbian, bi-sexual, transsexuals and transvestites and each one has been a magical challenge – for us, as well as our students.

At the moment, within the coven we just happen to have a transsexual, a bi-sexual and two homosexuals – and each one requires a different perspective on their own particular approach to magic. Don’t think for one moment that we get it right every time – we don’t – but at least we’re willing to give it our best shot! Our way is to treat each person as an individual, and get them to operate initially within the Coven as normal men and women, and to forget about the subtle nuances that make them different from the ‘straight’ members of the coven.

What we have found is that ‘straight’ people are frightened of homosexuality, simply because it makes ’em nervous. A man may normally engage in physical contact in the form of back-slapping but if the recipient was known to be gay, he would immediately refrain from any bodily contact in case he was: a) thought to be making sexual overtures, or b) any onlookers might assume him to be gay. We also know that people always fear what they don’t understand, and the thought of joining in The Mill, holding hands with a homosexual, would probably give most heterosexual males a fit of the vapours! Women tend to be less paranoid, but there are still a large number who would it offensive if they found a gay man in their group. Lesbians, on the other hand, tend to excite prurient curiosity rather than revulsion.

In the beginning we found ourselves having to combat members’ stereotypical attitudes that gay men were automatically ‘pansies’ (to coin an old-fashioned phrase), i.e. the limp-wristed, girlie types caricatured by stand-up comedians. One of our gay lads is a six-footer, built like a brick lavatory and works as a scaffolder, balancing precariously hundreds of feet above the City pavements – anyone want to call him Alice!!? The other is a stockbroker, with a beautiful home and a partner with whom he’s lived for the past 15 years, and without any outward sign that he happens to be gay.

Contrary to popular belief, not all gay men are hairdressers or in the least bit ineffectual, and on a superficially magical level, there’s nothing different about them at all. For group working they participate in just the same way as any straight man. Similarly, the first year of study is identical for anyone joining the coven, regardless of gender. This doesn’t mean that we blithely carry on as if there were no differences at all, but because of the way individuals respond to the set selection of tasks and magical exercises – again regardless of gender – we are able to gauge the direction their magical leanings will take. And it is on this level that the magical dissimilarities of the individual will manifest. It is not unusual, for example, for a perfectly normal, ordinary woman to exhibit decided masculine traits on a magical level, but this does not mean that she has any latent lesbian tendencies!

As the young man pointed out earlier in this chapter, gay culture does have its own distinctive patterns of behaviour and values, and it is not until we get onto the next level of magical practice that any real problems may arise. Contemporary paganism has become imbalanced, inasmuch as the Goddess is all, and we can see where gay men would have a problem sublimating a female ‘fertility’ image. As he also pointed out, gay culture does not have a ‘central myth’ around which to build an image for the purposes of belief/worship, and this can play havoc within group work in terms of coven harmony and equilibrium. This is why Bob Clay-Egerton suggested that ritual magic might be a more appropriate Path … we would add that shamanism is also an area where gay men can come into their own … as it were.

For these reasons, it is not possible to offer any off-the-cuff, quick-fix solutions about the correct way to integrate gay men (or lesbians) into a predominantly straight group, since much depends on their own personal magical energies and how they handle them. An experienced magical practitioner will have little difficulty in analysing the best way to proceed with a programme of learning, but those with little or no true magical ability may cause more harm than good, both on the personal and psychic levels. Again, we can only reiterate that the refusal to welcome gays into a predominantly straight group, says more about the coven leader’s personal prejudices than it does about their magical teaching capabilities.

Trans-sexuals, on the other hand, can have even the most experienced practitioner scratching their head. During the period of change (both chemically and surgically) a trans-sexual’s body and mind has a lot to cope with on the physical, never mind trying to experiment with altered states of consciousness while being pumped full of hormones! From personal experience, we would say that it would be inadvisable for anyone undergoing a sex-change to indulge in any deeper levels of psychic or magical working until all the ‘i’s’ have been dotted and the ‘t’s’ crossed. Magic can be dangerous and this is one of those areas where even experienced practitioners can get it wrong, so keep things on a superficial level until there are distinctly recognisable energies to channel.

The bi-sexual girl in our group, didn’t have any problems with magical identification, simply because she is a pretty, feminine creature, who merely enjoys sex with both male and female lovers. What she does bring to the coven is a happy, relaxed attitude to sexuality, which results in a lot of good-natured banter between everyone, without anyone feeling threatened or uncomfortable. And laughter is the key to solving most problems within any group, magical or not.

The main problem (apart from unavoidable personal prejudices) cited by people who become irritated by the gay issue, appears to stem from pseudo-historical arguments concerning various different cultural views on homosexuality to present cases for and against, totally disregarding the fact that witchcraft, paganism and homosexuality have all been classed as a social aberration by the Church in its time. Anyone doubting this should spend some time reading the non-pagan Sex, Dissidence & Damnation by Jeffrey Richards, former Professor of Cultural History at the University of Lancaster. Also citing the historical evidence of homosexual relations in Sparta, and feudal Japan, or claiming every well-known historical figure had homosexual tendencies, does nothing to validate the acceptance of gay men and women in Craft.

The ‘real’ problem, however, has nothing to do with an individual’s sexuality and everything to do with the personalities involved. As one coven leader of our acquaintance exclaimed: “I couldn’t care less which side of the divide people come from, providing they behave like civilised human beings. I recently had to boot one chap out, simply because he was a thoroughly unpleasant character and was hell-bent on disrupting the group at every turn. He started screaming that we were homophobic, and couldn’t get it through his thick head that he was being chucked out because he was an objectionable little shit! The fact that he was gay didn’t enter into the equation.”

Of course, the problem of homophobia is not going to go away and for anyone who is gay and who wishes to join a group, we would say keep your personal life under wraps until you’ve sussed out the magical capabilities of those running the coven. With the best will in the world, we cannot force folk into welcoming others into what is, to all intents and purposes, a private, close-knit group. If the magical group dynamics are going to work, then it will only do so if all the participants are comfortable with each other and in harmony with their magical energies.

Those operating covens and other groups should again be honest with themselves about their policy over admitting gays. If you are operating a purely devotional group, as opposed to a magical one, then ‘gay’ energies will make very little difference to your festivals and celebrations.

Coven Working: How to Join or Set Up a Working Coven by Carrie West and Philip Wright is published by Ignotus Press UK and available from Amazon or direct from the printers at a discounted price. Go to: https://www.feedaread.com/books/Coven-Working-9781786971234.aspx

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TREE LORE: Hawthorn

4/19/2019

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Mini-article from The Dictionary of Magic & Mystery

There are two indigenous types of hawthorn, the common (crataegus monogyna) and Midland (crataegus laevigata) in the UK. The leaves of both trees have a nutty flavor and were eaten by children as ‘bread and cheese’. The hawthorn blossoms in May (hence its familiar name), when the trees are smothered in clusters of white blossoms that give out a strangely disturbing but unmistakable perfume.

Common hawthorn has been used for about 2000 years as natural fencing because its tangle of thorny branches makes an ideal barrier for enclosing and protecting livestock. Its name derives from Anglo-Saxon haegthorn, which means hedge-tree and signs of defensive hawthorn hedges have been discovered round the edges of excavated Roman forts. The natural lifespan is around 100 years but some trees have reached the ripe old age of 300 years. Slow growth produces a very hard wood and although it burns well, hawthorn timber is little used today except for tool handles and walking sticks.

Medicinally, the hawthorn can rival the elder. Culpeper recommended it, while in modern herbalism the properties of some of the hawthorn’s active constituents are now better understood. Some constituents strengthen the heart’s action; others slow it slightly and improve the blood supply. For culinary use, hawthorn berries or flowers were used to make jellies, wines, liqueurs and sauces.

Hawthorn has perhaps more connections with ancient beliefs, folklore and traditions than almost any other native tree in the British Isles apart from the blackthorn. The appearance of the blossom at the beginning of May heralded the end of winter and the beginning of summer, when it was said to be unlucky to take May flowers into the house because of the associations with the Faere Folk. For the Romans, however, the hawthorn was a symbol of hope and protection, and cuttings were brought into the home to ward off evil spirits; it also echoed the ancient British tradition that the tree was associated with marriage and fertility. An old country rhyme recommends the tree as protection for man and animals in thunderstorms:

Beware the oak—it courts the stroke.
Beware the ash—it courts the flash.
Creep under the thorn—it will save you from harm.

Like the elder, the hawthorn was a doorway to Otherworld and perhaps it is this association and its links with the old pagan festivals that give the tree its ‘unlucky’ reputation. Quite recently it was discovered that one of the chemicals that make up the flowers’ distinctive scent is also produced during the decay of corpses! On the other hand, the fragrance of the blossom is also reputed to have a strong aphrodisiac effect, particularly on men. Taking all things into account, it would appear that the pre- Christian view of the hawthorn was one of protection. It is appropriate to use hawthorn for the Beltaine bonfires, which the cattle were driven through and the villagers leapt over to ensure their fertility in the coming year.

The tree can also be used to protect babies and young children. Hang a sprig above a child’s bed as a protection, or keep a pouch of the leaves sewn into the pillow. Hawthorn can be planted by the home to keep out negative influences and protect it from lightning strikes. Make a wash of flowers and leaves to sprinkle around the house to repel negative energies; the wood, berries and leaves can also be burnt in incense form to purify and attract beneficent energies.

Hawthorn is said to be sacred to the powers of Elemental Fire and any demon or malevolent spirits can be controlled with a wand or staff of hawthorn. This is one of the trees of the White
Goddess, Cardia who casts her enchantments with a hawthorn wand. Make sure to leave a suitable offering if you take any wood from the tree —perhaps bread or cheese.

DETAILS FROM ROOT & BRANCH: BRITISH MAGICAL TREE LORE
MÉLUSINE DRACO

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Natural Tides ...

4/15/2019

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Since the beginning of time, when man first stood on the shoreline and wondered at the vastness of the ocean, it has been recognized that the periodic rise and fall of great stretches of water had something to do with the moon. Nowhere else on earth was Nature’s power and glory so much in evidence. The tides are due to the moon’s gravitational pull on the water, lifting it to form a bulge resembling enormous wave-crests: one on the side of the earth facing the moon, and the other on the earth’s far side, for there the moon’s pull draws the earth away from the water. The friction between the water and the rotating earth slows the movement of these bulges, and for this reason high tide, as the bulge is called, does not occur exactly when the moon is overhead, but somewhat later.

The sun’s gravitational pull raises similar tides, but less powerful than those caused by the moon. At full and new moon, when the sun and moon are in a straight line with the earth, they produce an especially powerful spring tide. This has nothing to do with the season: spring tides occur throughout the year. This means that we need to tear ourselves away from the stereotypical moon goddess concept and think in terms of the natural interaction of the Sun and Moon, moving in a cosmic rhythm of perpetual motion. Some may be reluctant to accept this idea but it is a scientific fact that, despite its impressive gravitational pull, the moon is a dead, barren place, reflecting the sun’s light, not its own.

Although the ancients had no scientific understanding, this is what is known magically as ‘old wisdom’ – the true interpretation recorded in folklore and logged into our collective subconscious – not the modern ‘fake-lore’ currently in vogue. Without coming to grips with this ancient knowledge, our own modern magic will be stunted.

So, let us return to the sea… in mid ocean, the tides are simply a rhythmic rise and fall of the water. On the continental shelf, they act like the waves on a beach, and become a bodily rush of the water towards or away from the land, producing the tide’s ebb and flow, and in between, when the tide is almost at a standstill, there are brief periods of slack water. This rise and fall takes place twice every day and the sea witch recognizes the importance of knowing about them from both a magical and safety point of view.

Besides the familiar tides of the ocean tides, there are also two other examples to take into account: earth tides and atmospheric tides. Earth tides refer to the alternating slight change of shape of the Earth due to the gravitational action of the sun and moon, and atmospheric tides of the alternating slight motions of the atmosphere, which have the same effect. The moon draws away the envelope of air that surrounds the Earth to produce the daily atmospheric tides.

Recent research has revealed more evidence of the effects of these earth-tides: parts of western Britain and Ireland, for example, ‘bounce’ by four inches and that the movement is caused as tides ebb and flow twice daily! Again, we have scientific proof of cosmic influences on the earth on which we stand, so magical working can be timed to coincide with these natural movements
f or greater effect.

• High tide, just before the water pressure is at its greatest, would be the best time for positive or drawing magic.

• Low tide, when the tide has turned and the earth is about to ‘bounce’ back, is the time for banishing or reducing magic. Calendars and almanacs give the dates of the moon’s phases, but for the sea witch it is essential to also consult local tide tables (usually given in local newspapers) so that we always know the actual times of high and low tide for our area.

Magical synchronicity is the secret key-word.

[Photograph by Polly Langford]

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Message, Sign or Omen?

4/8/2019

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So there I was, returning from an evening bike ride, that's on the Kawasaki not the Raleigh. Been out with a few other members of the local bike club. It was getting quite cold and the light was failing so I was in a bit of a rush to get home. As I rounded a bend I was confronted with an Owl sat in the middle of the road about 20 metres ahead. Well what a sight. A large barn owl sat on the white line staring straight at me. I immediately rolled off the throttle and slowed up a tad. The owl spread its wings and with such grace and power, took flight. Its path was up and off to my right.

I steadily rode the next bend and noticed that the only street lamp was flickering an intermittent orange sodium glow across the road. Two bends and a short straight bit of road later I arrived at a T junction, a junction with very good visibility in both directions but a nasty ditch on the other side of the road. I slowed to a stop and put my foot to the floor. I would normally get to this point and if all was clear open her up. As my boot touched the floor I felt it slip slightly. I looked down and saw myself in a dark iridescent reflection. I realised I had stopped in the middle of a large spillage of diesel. I gingerly moved away with both feet on the ground until I was well clear and back on grippy tarmac. Without slowing down and coming to a stop I have no doubt that myself and the bike would have had to be recovered from the ditch in a rather poorly state. Now, normally I would have slowed down at the flickering lamp, but in the circumstances I think the Old Ones may have felt the need for something a bit more IN YOUR FACE, hence the owl.

Now, some signs and omens may require careful analysis and may take time to show themselves, while others require immediate attention. Sometimes we'll receive a message from the astral but it will be very subtle, perhaps little more than a specific perfume on the breeze; if you're on your contacts you'll be in “receive mode” and will pick up on these subtleties.

The owl is a totem animal of mine, so when it turns up I know something significant is on the cards, but different animals and birds mean different things to different people. If a creature is doing something out of the ordinary, it might be trying to get a message across to you, but I probably won't be able to interpret the message it has for you, you'll have to do that: what does that creature signify for YOU? The appearance of a fox, for example, might mean Lady Fortune will smile on you, whereas for me, it might mean to keep my head down. The only way you can find out the significance of a particular creature is by seeing what happens after it's shown itself to you? What happened next? Did it warn you about something? If so, when you see it again, it might mean to be on your guard.

So, fellow witches, always be aware of your surroundings and remember be on your contacts 24/7.
James Rigel

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