On Wednesday the
2nd of September I had the pleasure of once again attending a
meeting of the Nottingham Empyrean Pagan Interest Group. This particular
meeting was like many previous gatherings, noteworthy for the importance of the
subject and those presenting.
The Museum of
Witchcraft and Magic has a unique place in the documentation of the public face
of Paganism, Witchcraft, Folklore and Magic. The Museum was originally founded
in 1951 and today houses the world's largest collection of witchcraft related
artefacts and regalia, together with a renowned research library.
As a paid up
member of the Friends of the Museum of Witchcraft and recognising how unusual
it is for the Museum to give a presentation this far from Cornwall, this was an
event I was unprepared to miss, recognising both the importance and rarity of
the event.
The MOW&M
presentation was given by two charming representatives, Judith and Peter
Hewitt, two of the current and relatively new management team. They began as
one would expect, with a brief history of the Museum. Starting from its early
days with Cecil Williamson and Gerald Gardner on the Isle of Mann, to the
present home in the Village of Boscastle in the English Democratic Republic of
Kernow.
The main part of
the presentation was a series of visual chapters, each looking at a current
gallery. This provided an imaginary walkthrough of the current displays, almost
step by step. So following a brief introduction, we explored briefly the time
of heretical persecutions and the English Witch Trials. At this point when
discussing the weighing trial and suitable comparative weights, I couldn’t help
myself and suggested that ducks were indeed used as a standard weight; as per
the recommendations of Monty Python.
This section
rather suitably led onto the next gallery and the place of Witchcraft within
and without the law. This was rather an expansive subject area covering the
Ancient World, the Modern World and everything in-between. Not unnaturally no
mention of such a subject, following on from the persecutions, could fail to
touch upon that magnum opus of King James (6th of Scotland and the 1st
of England including Cornwall), Daemonologie of 1599. This book was ably used
by Judith and Peter Hewitt, to illustrate the influence of printing and the
spread of a learned class, would have upon the understanding of society upon
magic. Ideas were perhaps for the first time documented and spread widely,
equally leading to a more analytical approach to folklore.
At this point,
the halfway mark in the presentation and if we were actually at the physical
museum, the halfway point of the tour, we pause to discuss the Temporary
Exhibition Space. Currently this area is displaying the paintings of Erica Jong,
used to illustrate her famous work ‘Witches.’
We then jump to
the next gallery and a suitable progression from the folkloric elements hinted
at earlier, as here we look at objects herbs, healing and the Pellar. Those who
have visited the Museum will be familiar with the magnificent cabinet of herbs
on display. Another of the Museum’s famous exhibits is Joan’s Cottage, which
has currently undergone renovation, complete with a new sound recording
provided by persons linked to the Museum. It was noted that a definition of
Pellar presented on the new recording was that of a White Witch, this was
brought up later during the discussion post presentation. Members of the
audience raising an objection partly based upon historical observation but in
particular, perceiving it as a modern misconception.
The next gallery
in our enjoyable virtual tour was that exploring the controversial area of
Cursing. Here again we were reminded of another of the famous displays, the
Poppet display. This section also included aspects of apotropaic magic; such as
Witch Bottles, the Brigid’s Cross, Horseshoes, Keys and Hag Stones. One of the
most amusing objects shown on screen was a Hitler Pincushion, in which the pins
were inserted into the Dictator’s bottom. This was a fun example of sympathetic
magic, in which rather imaginatively, pain was wished upon the German War
Leader during the war years. Before journeying upstairs we were shown a slide
of that iconic Museum artefact, the magnificent Hare Woman. Miniature replicas
of this truly intriguing artefact were available for purchase after the
presentation.
Those upper
galleries of the museum are well known for being home to the items from the Bob
Richel Collection and many objects of interest, from phallic wands, the Mano
Fico and Old Hornie himself seated in a corner. Here subjects as wide ranging
as the Green Man, Spare, Crowley and Satanism are covered in an almost
overwhelming display of curios.
As we neared the
end of our virtual tour, just like the real Museum, the objects of interest and
educational information, continued to delight. The gallery dealing with matters
of Divination, including magic mirrors, tarot palmistry and tealeaf reading,
naturally held our attention. We were treated to slides of such curiosities as
the Dark Mirror before moving to the next gallery, Sea Witchcraft and Sailing
Magic.
Sea and Sailing
Magic is a subject one would expect to be covered in a museum based in a
coastal town and therefore, an assortment of locally relevant artefacts are
included here. These range from knots tied for wind and obviously, the famous
Witch Ball or glass float.
As we approached
the end of the presentation we were able to cover even more folk magic, ranging
from Moonraking legends (common throughout Britain), Three Bees being kept in a
bag for luck and the practice of keeping horse chestnuts (conkers) in the
corners of a room to deter spiders. This is a practice I may consider myself,
although alternatively I could simply dust more frequently.
The latter
galleries covered in the presentation brought the subject up to modern times by
referencing the Gerald Gardner Collection and developments since the repeal of
the Witchcraft Act. This section includes many items that once belonged to
Gardner and coming right up to date, that famous hand painted Wheel of the
Year. The final slides covered the Shrine, an award winning quite space and the
new window displays.
The evening was a
fascinating tour, educational and entertaining. It was a presentation that
managed to keep the audience engrossed from beginning to end. The Museum of
Witchcraft & Magic is now undergoing a series of changes to accommodate the
merger with the Museum of British Folklore It is confidently hoped that far
from having an uncertain future, it will continue to grow and retain its
central and iconic place, within Paganism and Witchcraft.
Museum of Witchcraft and Magic (Facebook)
Museum of Witchcraft and Magic (Website)
Thanks so much for the positive write up and thanks to everyone at the talk for the warm welcome. The paintings you mentioned in our temporary exhibition were actually created by Jos Smith and appeared in a book with text by Erica Jong. Sorry for any confusion. Judith at the Museum
ReplyDeleteWhat a great blog post. Thank you. I recall Graham commenting about taking over from Cecil at Halloween that year at the stroke of midnight. Timely! A place close to my heart. It seems like a time far off now, so many people passed. In another 15 years the link will be broken. Blessings, Peter
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