In remembrance by Robert Cochrane

I am what they think me to be.

I am what ye consider of thyself.

I am myself and thou as thou art.

Who will be time come.

I am that without form.

I am that without force.

Yet force and form I be.

I am the lover and the beloved.

I am the whole and the part.

I am compassion healing rift.

I am diamond cutting stone hearts.

I am the mirror without reflection.

All eight of those I be.

I am the well without water.

From which all must drink and die.

I am words, letters if ye understand me.

I am words without sound, listen to the wind.

I am pain, I am grief, sorrow and tears.

The rack, noose and stake.

The flayer and the flayed.

The hunted and the hunter.

The head without a body.

Hung upon a tree.

Yea! All this but still I am whole.

I am night and sleepless fear, I am fear!

Thou must overthrow me to release thy soul.

I am the watcher upon the hill.

The keeper of the gates, all keys I own.

I am peace now, understand thou things of clay.

I am turned about and turned again.

A rose among the living dead.

I am a root, a leaf, a tree.

My tap draws strength from eternity.

All things be mould for me.

Few know me at all and that is secret. 

Yet woman is my name. 

A plated host marcheth at my skirts. 

For I am mighty as the Dark One knows me. 

My nostrils smell the blood of the slain. 

I am weak as woman knows me. 

Yea! Be that my truest strength. 

I am desire, the first created, the first sin. 

Robert Cochrane

THE SONG OF AMERGIN

I am a stag of seven tines,
I am a wide flood on a plain,
I am a wind on the deep waters,
I am a shining tear of the sun,
I am a hawk on a cliff,
I am fair among flowers,
I am a God who sets the head afire with smoke.

I am a battle waging spear,
I am a salmon in the pool,
I am a hill of poetry,
I am a ruthless boar,
I am a threatening noise of the sea,
I am a wave of the sea,
Who but I knows the secrets of the unhewn dolmen?

Millmount Drogheda

Legendary resting place of the bard Amergin

The Stolen Child by W.B. Yeats

WHERE dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake,
There lies a leafy island
Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water rats;
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berrys
And of reddest stolen cherries.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim gray sands with light,
Far off by furthest Rosses
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
And chase the frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And anxious in its sleep.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand.

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.
For he comes, the human child,
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand,
For the world's more full of weeping than he can understand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRAAfEK7dBM&list=RDk0rVNQw1DQM&index=29

Perceived differences between Wiccan-Witchcraft and Traditional-Witchcraft

It can be said that Traditional Witchcraft is folk-magic, yet there are some forms that are also of a religious or strongly spiritual nature. Here I emphasise the word "some" as there is no uniformity, each individual practitioner can only say what they do and cannot speak for other paths.

Indeed, in Gardnerian and Alexandrian practice I believe there is an element of standardisation. A coven in for example Glastonbury, will have a recognisably similar practice to a group in Edinburgh, bar the latter being in a foreign language (English joke). Traditional Witchcraft appears to display a far greater regional variation, between groups, counties and individuals.

Let me put it this way, from the social-psychological approach. The way the human mind works predisposes us to think and identify ourselves, not by what we are but by what we are not. It is the “us and them” mindset. There is nothing particularly wrong with this way of thinking, as it is simply how our minds generally work.

Attempting to define ourselves by what we are, by what makes us unique is often quite challenging. We will often read statements that say Wicca is different from Traditional Craft because of perceived differences. Actually trying to define what Wicca is and what Traditional is, by focusing on the actual praxis of each example; is not the obvious path and can as suggested, be quite difficult.

The matter here is complicated further by the enormous variety of practice and belief found within Traditional methodologies, so rather than looking at Traditional Craft as one whole or unified concept one has to look at each individualised approach to praxis. The danger of perceived generalisation is misrepresentation.

Just as there are subtle differences between Gardnerian and Alexandrian Witchcraft or Wicca, there are differences between the many different forms of Traditional Craft. There is no one singular example that can be presented as the quintessential model, so as a detached observer let me offer these observances on perceived or actual differences between Traditional and Wiccanesque Praxis.

My observances here; are made upon wide reading and a wide range of contacts, my approach here is that of Phenomenological Sociology. I do not pass judgement on the rights and wrongs of any belief system or practice, I observe and describe them.

Although some Wiccans do not identify themselves as either Pagan or as members of a religion, the majority appear to do so. Wicca focuses on the worship or veneration if you prefer, of a divine couple, a Lord and a Lady, a Great Goddess and a Great God as representations of all other known divinities. Sociologists and theologians therefore categorise Wicca as a Duo-theistic Pagan Religion.

Traditional Witchcraft is less clear cut, the approach can be that of sorcery or a magical arte that does not necessarily include divinity or one that does include spiritual and religious aspects of veneration if not necessarily worship. The latter would include at least some involvement of Gods, Goddesses, Spirits, the Ancestors and often there is an overlapping approach. Therefore, Traditional practices rather than being perceived as Duo-theistic are much more likely to display traits of Polytheism, Henotheism, Pantheism or good old-fashioned Animism.

There is less likely to be a standardisation of practise in Traditional Craft than in Wicca. The latter form of Witchcraft, with an origin traceable to one or more founders, has an identifiable set of core rituals and methods. Traditional practice is more often regional and idiosyncratic, often influenced by localised phenomenon and folklore.

Again, whereas Wicca is Duo-theistic and focuses on a divine couple, some Traditional covens or sometimes Cuveens, will focus on one totemic or tutelary Deity, this is an aspect of Henotheism, although some groups such as the Clan of Tubal Cain use the word Monolatry, which should not be confused with Monotheism. Some Traditionals or Traditionalists consider themselves to be Pagan, while some do not and it is therefore advisable to ask the individual for clarification.

In Wicca, outside of some references to the Aradia Mythos, Luciferian traits are not generally observable. However, there are some Traditional groups who are Luciferian in their approach, the actual manifestation of this influence will vary from group to group; it is far from standard and should not be confused with Satanism.

It is common knowledge that Wicca has a degree system, reflecting an early Masonic influence. Many Traditional groups do not have a degree system of such formality, one is either a member or one is not a member. Those that do have a degree system of sorts may use the term “admission” whereas the first admission is to an “outer court” or circle and the second admission to an “inner court” or core working group.

In Wiccan covens, the leading couple are known as a High Priestess and a High Priest. Traditional covens or cuveens display a varied number of titles dependent on the individual group or dispense with titles altogether. One may for example, hear references to Covenmaster, Mistress, Maid, Magister (Male) or Magistra (female) or any number of other titles.

The origins of the Wheel of the Year in its modern form, like the Wiccan Rede, can be traced to the late 1940’s. Although these festivals are indeed ancient, no one culture celebrated or observed all eight festivals at any one time. Therefore, although some Traditionals have adopted the modern eight, illustrating the active cross pollination of ideas, there are other groups that recognise a calendar of five, six or ten festivals. The Wiccan Rede is however, rejected by the majority of Traditional groups and solitaries.

It’s as clear as mud really.

This paper was first published in the Hedge Wytch as: Chattering Magpie (D.B. Griffith) (2012) Perceived differences between Wiccan-Witchcraft and Traditional-Witchcraft. The Hedge Wytch. February/Imbolc 2012 pp14-16.

Through the veil at the time of the Summer’s End

It is one of those strange anomalies that people speak of Paganism as a new religious movement (York 2005) but this is not entirely accurate as in truth it is only half the story. Although contemporary Paganism is rightly regarded as a revival (Hutton 1999), the origins of Paganism and the inspiration for current practice, is ancient and predates other religions. In this sense, Paganism is not a new religious movement at all, it is an old one, changed, revitalised and reborn.

Paganism itself is a very broad term and within this umbrella term are a number of sub-groups or denominations, although in Paganism the term Tradition is used. The primary Traditions within Paganism are Witchcraft, Druidry and Heathenry. Each of these can again be sub-divided and some call these sub-divisions “Paths,” while some may simply use the term synonymously with Tradition.

Paganism is a non dogmatic spiritual path and to say that all Pagans believe exactly the same would be untrue. The truth is that each path or tradition represents one of several variations on a central theme. The most basic concepts of Pagan belief can be expressed as three core statements; the Gods are many, the Divine is everywhere and the Divine is both feminine and masculine (Crowley 1996).

Paganism can be seen as a collective of Earth or nature religions (Harvey 1997, York 2003) but not fertility religions, Paganism as a religious or spiritual World view is nature venerating while recognising many deities, Goddesses and Gods (Jones 1995 and 1996).

Paganism is therefore a combination of Polytheism, Pantheism and Polarity, the concept of the Divine manifesting as both Goddess and God. In contemporary Witchcraft, which some theologians regard as a duotheistic Path within Paganism, they are often simply referred to as the Lord and the Lady. It is this recognition of a Goddess or Goddesses that some feel distinguishes Paganism from other World religions (Morgan 1995, Jones 1995).

Although some today use the term Neo-Pagan it is worth noting that many contemporary Pagans regard this label either as being simply inappropriate (Harvey 2007, Aburrow 2008) or more seriously derogatory (Griffith 2006) and therefore choose not to use it. The word Pagan is also considered a proper noun and should always be capitalised.

When viewed as a collective of Earth Religions the focus of Pagans on the importance of and the need to visit sacred sites becomes easier to understand. We Pagans are fully aware that our contemporary practice is not the same as that of our spiritual ancestors. Pagans do not seek to recreate the past in an identical manner to those known historical practices. Even if this were possible it would be detrimental, leading to a museum piece religion and spiritual stagnation.

Pagans recognise the importance of ancient monuments and sacred sites because they were important to our ancestors, those whom today inspire us. This connection to the land, a recognition not just of the Greater Gods but also the lesser or local Gods including the actual Genius Loci of a particular site, is what for many identifies Paganism as an Earth Religion. By visiting and holding rituals at sacred sites, which can include not just ancient monuments but also hilltops, caves, woodland, moorland and beaches, Pagans seek this spiritual connection with the land itself.

Witchcraft is possibly the most well known of all the Pagan Traditions and one of the least understood within the public arena. Within the last ten years there has been an increased use of the term Wicca as an alternative to Witchcraft, with the term Wiccan being used as a replacement for Witch (Harvey 1997). This is a development postulated by practitioners, particularly those of the Gardnerian Tradition, wishing to avoid the negative connotations associated with the words Witchcraft and Witch. Others it has to be admitted are perfectly at home with the latter phraseology and since these words share a common linguistic origin, may recognise the differing terms as synonyms (West 2000 and 2003, Griffith 2006).

Today the majority of contemporary Pagans recognise and celebrate a sacred calendar built around eight festivals. This “the Wheel of the Year,” although based upon historically recognised celebrations, is a modern development that can be credited to Gardner and Nicholls (Hutton 1999, d’Este and Rankine 2008). The public are aware of these festivals as many were deliberately Christianised by the early European church and many customs found today at Easter, Halloween and Christmas are of Pagan origin.

Of the eight Pagan holy days two are at the forefront of the non-Pagan public perception, often being featured in the media. The Summer Solstice, the point when the sun is at its height and marks the beginning of the astrological sign Cancer, is a solar festival. This means that the date is not fixed but determined by astronomical phenomena, the actual movement of the Sun. The date of the festival can fall as early as the 20^th of June or as late as the 23^rd and this festival is most often associated with white robed Druids at Stonehenge.

The second festival that is prominent in the public consciousness is Halloween, called by many Pagans “Samhain.” This is an Irish Gaelic word meaning “Summer’s End” and is most often pronounced Sow’en or Sow-ain (Farrar and Farrar 1981). There are other pronunciations and this can cause confusion. However, Ireland like mainland Britain has a plethora of dialects each with their own idiosyncratic manner of pronunciation and similar words also meaning Summers’ End are found in Welsh and Scots’ Gaelic (Nichols 2005).

The festival itself is of Celtic origin and it is both New Year’s Eve and the first day of Winter (Farrar and Farrar 1981). The Celts divided the year into equal halves of Summer and Winter. Summer began on the first day of May, and Winter began on the first day of November (Nichols 2005). The Celts measured the day from sunset to sunset not from dawn to dawn and this is why Celtic festivals are celebrated on the eve of the day marked in the calendar.

In times past the tribes would prepare for the Winter by culling the weaker animals and preserving the meat for the dark months lying ahead. It was a time of feasting, because not all the meat could be saved (Pagan Federation 1994). It was a harvest but the crops were all ready in, so this is the harvest of the animals.

As a harvest Samhain is the third in our Wheel of the Year. The first being August Eve, sometimes known as Lammas or Lughnassadh is seen as the cereal harvest, the Autumn Equinox in September is the harvest of the fruit and the vine. Samhain is historically the blood harvest because of this animal culling and the Heathen calendar recognises this by giving November the name Blotmonath (Jennings 2003) meaning Blood month.

Samhain today is also a spiritual harvest. A time to look back over the past year, a time to review our experiences, a time to remember those we have lost and to consider that more may die during the Winter.

All this leads to further misunderstandings of the festival and has in our modern society, led to an undeserved reputation for evil. This has come about in part due to the focus on death but Samhain is not about death, Pagans have a “death” festival and that is the Autumn Equinox when life in the fields is at an end and the “true” harvest takes place. Samhain is much more a festival of the dead (White and Talboys 2004). It is an important time of remembrance and it is an odd “coincidence” that Remembrance Day falls on November the eleventh, which under the old Julian calendar would have been Old Samhain (Farrar and Farrar 1981).

Like Beltain or May Eve which is the time of the Fairy Folk and marking the beginning of Summer, sits opposite Samhain on our wheel, the veil between our world and the other is thin. Contact with the Old Gods and our Ancestors, spiritual or physical can be real and tangible. Pagans may therefore leave food and drink out over night as a welcome to visitors from the otherworld and to honour the Ancestors. This is a ritual known as the dumb supper that although of Pagan origin, found its way into the Catholic Church before the Reformation (Hutton 1996).

Within Paganism the religious aspects of this time also mark a shift as the Goddesses honoured during the Winter are likely to be those of fate, the otherworld or the underworld. The Gods of this time will be similar, not so much Gods of fate but Gods of the otherworld as guides and guardians of the dead. These are Gods not of the cereal or vine but are Gods of the hunt.

This subtle change of emphasis is marked in the Craft with the recognition that the Lady is no longer honoured as the mother of the harvest but as the Crone, Goddess of Winter and Wisdom. The Lord has also changed his mask and he is no longer honoured as the Oak King, the Lord of Summer but as the Holly King, the Lord of Winter.

The coming of the Winter brings a new face to the Gods that now roam freely and pass through the veil from the otherworld to ours. This is the time of the Wild Hunt. This hunt is led by a Stag Horned man on horseback who hunts across the skies with an escort and a pack of fearful fairy hounds.

This is Herne the Hunter of Shakespeare but the legend is far older than the Merry Wives of Windsor (Rankine and D’Este 2007). This is a Saxon or possibly a Celtic Hunting God, just one of the many Pagan Horned Gods that was to become a prototype for the Christian Devil.

The medieval Christian interpretation of the Wild Hunt is that of the Devil gathering the souls of sinners who will then be taken to Hell. Obviously the contemporary Pagan interpretation is somewhat different and rather than being hunted, Pagans may look forward to joining the hunt after death and riding beside their God across the night sky.

This corruption of meaning and symbolism, this misunderstanding of the themes associated with Samhain and the many Pagan Gods known to history, whether deliberate or accidental, has given this festival an undeserved reputation. There is far more meaning to this time on a deeper spiritual level than just an excuse for a party, dressing up or carving pumpkins.

Death or to be precise dying, is often a painful experience but death itself should not be feared. Any individual, who has any spiritual belief or religious faith whatsoever, is aware that death is not the end. There is in truth no end, for life is a cycle of birth, death and rebirth.

The true meaning of Samhain as a festival of the dead is as a time to remember with joy the lives of our dear ones while acknowledging our own sense of loss. As a time to honour our Gods, it is a time of recognition, when guardians and guides ride out to protect us and to lead us home.

All this and more are remembered by Pagans today. Samhain is both a time of sadness and joy. Pagans do not fear death because like the trees that lose their leaves and sleep through the Winter, to produce new life in the Spring, we are all reborn. When we are reborn it is our hope that it will be in the same place and at the same time as our loved ones, so that we may know and love them again.

References

Aburrow Y. (2008) Stop calling us Neo-Pagans.

http://stroppyrabbit.blogspot.com/2008/06/stop-calling-us-neopagans.html 

Griffith D.B. (Chattering Magpie) (2006) The power of words. The Raven Newsletter, (September 2006), Yorkshire.

Crowley V. (1996) Principles of Paganism. Thorsons, London.

d’Este S. Rankine D. (2008) Wicca magical beginnings. Avalonia, London.

Farrar J. Farrar S. (1981) Eight Sabbats for Witches. Robert Hale, London.

Harvey G. (1997) Contemporary Paganism: listening people speaking earth. New York University Press, New York and London.

Harvey G. (2007) What do Pagans believe? Granta Books, London.

Hutton R. (1996) The stations of the Sun: a history of the ritual year in Britain. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Hutton R. (1999) The triumph of the Moon: a history of modern Pagan Witchcraft. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Jennings P. (2003) The Northern Tradition. Capall Bann, Somerset.

Jones P. (1995) Pagan theologies in Harvey G. Hardman C. (Eds.) Paganism today: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and ancient Earth Traditions for the Twenty-first century. Harper Collins, London pp32-46.

Jones P. (1996) What do we mean we’re Pagans? Pagan Dawn. Imbolc 1996 pp10-12.

Morgan L. (1995) Women and the Goddess today in Harvey G. Hardman C. (Eds.) Contemporary Paganism: Wiccans, Druids, the Goddess and ancient Earth Traditions for the Twenty-first century. Harper Collins, London pp94-108.

Nichols M. (2005) The Witches’ Sabbats. Acorn Guild Press, California, USA.

Pagan Federation (1994) Hallowe’en. (education leaflet), Pagan Federation, London.

Rankine D. D’Este S. (2007) The isles of the many Gods. Avalonia, London.

West K. (2000) The real Witches’ handbook. Harper Collins, London.

West K. (2003) The real Witches’ coven. Harper Collins, London.

White J. Talboys G.K. (2004) Arianrhod’s dance: a Druid ritual handbook. Grey House in the woods, Scotland.

York M. (2005) Pagan theology: Paganism as a world religion. New York University Press, New York and London.

First published in Silver Wheel volume 1 (2009) Lear Books, Earl Shilton, Leicestershire pp78-83.

The Fith Fath Song (TRAD unknown date)

I will go as a wren in spring
With sorrow and sighing on silent wing
And I will go in the Lady's name
Aye until I come home again

We will follow as falcons grey
And hunt thee cruelly for our prey
And we will go in the Good God's name
Aye to fetch thee home again

I will go as a mouse in May
Through fields by night, through cellars by day
And I will go in the Lady's name
Aye until I come home again

We will follow as black tom cats
And hunt thee through the corn and vats
And we will go in the Good God's name
Aye to fetch thee home again

I will go as an autumn hare
With sorrow and sighing and mickle care
And I will go in the Lady's name
Aye until I come home again

We will follow as great grey hounds
And dog thy steps by leaps and bounds
And we will go in the Good God's name
Aye to fetch thee home again

I will go as a winter trout
With sorrow and sighing and mickle doubt
And I will go in the Lady's name
Aye until I come home again

We will follow as otters swift
And snare thee fast ere thou canst shift
And we will go in the Good God's name
Aye to fetch thee home again 

John Barleycorn by Robert Burns/Trad. (1782)

There was three kings went to the east,

Three kings both great and high,
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn should die.

They took a plough and plough'd him down,

Put clods upon his head,
And they hae sworn a solemn oath
John Barleycorn was dead.
 
But the cheerful Spring came kindly on'
And show'rs began to fall;
John Barleycorn got up again,
And sore surpris'd them all.

The sultry suns of Summer came,
And he grew thick and strong:
His head weel arm'd wi pointed spears,
That no one should him wrong.

The sober Autumn enter'd mild,

When he grew wan and pale;
His bendin joints and drooping head
Show'd he began to fail.

His colour sicken'd more and more,

He faded into age;
And then his enemies began
To show their deadly rage.

They've taen a weapon, long and sharp,

And cut him by the knee;
They ty'd him fast upon a cart,
Like a rogue for forgerie.

They laid him down upon his back,

And cudgell'd him full sore.
They hung him up before the storm,
And turn'd him o'er and o'er.

They filled up a darksome pit

With water to the brim,
They heav'd in John Barleycorn-
There, let him sink or swim!

They laid him upon the floor,

To work him farther woe;
And still, as signs of life appear'd,
They toss'd him to and fro.

They wasted o'er a scorching flame

The marrow of his bones;
But a miller us'd him worst of all,
For he crush'd him between two stones.

And they hae taen his very hero blood

And drank it round and round;
And still the more and more they drank,
Their joy did more abound.

John Barleycorn was a hero bold,
Of noble enterprise;
For if you do but taste his blood,
'Twill make your courage rise.

'Twill make a man forget his woe;

'Twill heighten all his joy:
'Twill make the widow's heart to sing,
Tho the tear were in her eye.

Then let us toast John Barleycorn,

Each man a glass in hand;
And may his great posterity
Ne'er fail in all the land!