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MIHL H0WARE>
ILLUS'f<RA-1D BY

Cl MMA ClARY
Michael Howard, 2014

Illustrations Gemma Gary, 2014

First published in Great Britain in 2014 by Skylight Press,

210 Brooklyn Road, Cheltenham, Glos GL5 l SEA

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Cover artwork by Gemma Gary. Textured background art by Sascha Duensing.

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ISBN 978-1-908011-85-5
 In memory ofall those
witches ofthe Old Craft
who perished at the hands
ofthe witch-hunters.
ONNS
Introduction 7

PAR'f' ON: PREPARING- FOR 'f'H W:-18

chapter one Tools of the Arte 21
chapter two Entering the Craft 38
chapter three Casting the Circle 47

PAR'f' 'f'WO: "f<H WHL OF 'f'H YEAR

chapterfour Candlemas 57
chapterfive Lady Day 64
chapter six May Day 70
chapter seven Midsummer's Day 89
chapter eight Lammastide 97
chapter nine Michaelmas 106
chapter ten All Hallows 113
chapter eleven Yule 126
chapter twelve Twelfth Night 134

PAR'f' 'f'HR: UBER NOX - 'f'H W:-18

Introduction to Liber Nox and the Rites 143
Casting the Circle of Arte 152
Yule: the Rite of Rebirth 163
Twelfth Night: the Rite of Beginning 167
Candlemas: the Rite of the Waxing Light 174
Lady Day: the Rite of Balance 180
May Day: the Great Rite 184
Midsummer Day: the Rite of Faerie 189
Lammas: the Rite of Sacrifice 193
Michaelmas: the Rite of Harvest Home 197
Hallows: the Rite of the Mighty Dead 201

Appendix c.A: Child of Earth 209

Appendix CJJ: Magical Names for the Full Moons 210
Bibliography, references &further reading 211
Index 214
 ODAY the majority of books written about modern witchcraft
are based on Wicca created by Gerald Gardner in the 1 940s.
Gardner, a retired civil servant who had lived in the Far East for
many years before returning to England in the late 1 9 30s, was initiated
into a 'traditional' witch coven in the New Forest in 1 939. After he had
bought the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic at Castletown on the
Isle of Man from its owner Cecil Hugh Williamson in the early 1 950s,
Gardner was also initiated into a local 'robed coven' of Manx witches
who claimed descent from the old cunning folk on the island.
In his introduction to an unpublished manuscript entitled Magic,
Witchcrcift & Faeries in the Isle ef Man, Gardner said that remnants of
the old historical witchcraft still existed and he was 'a member of several
British witch covens'. However Gardner seems to have turned his back
on the more traditional forms of witchcraft he had encountered, known
collectively as the Old Path, Elder Faith or Old Craft, and created his
own version called Wicca. !his he believed would be more acceptable to
the public and become a widespread neo-pagan religion.
Wicca has sometimes been described by its critics as 'vanilla lite
witchcraft'. !his is because in trying to popularise the Craft his critics
say Gardner had to sanitise it, removing, ignoring or repressing those
darker elements of the old witch ways that he knew the modern age
would reject. !he fact is that the witch has always been a spiritual rebel, a
social outsider, a reverser and opposer; a magical practitioner who could
cure and curse, hex and heal. !hey were also people who literally lived
'beyond the pale'. !his was a reference to the fence or hedge that separated
civilisation from the wilderness. Beyond it dwelt the pagani or country
dwellers still following the Old Ways, the 'heathens' who inhabited the
desolate heath, and the wolfheads or outlaws who hid in the ancient and
enchanted wildwood haunted by elves, goblins and faeries. !he hedge or
fence was also symbolic of the invisible boundary between Middle Earth
and the Otherworld. 'Ihis is why witches were often called 'hedge-riders'
and depicted riding through the air on hurdles and fences.
Some modern 'traditional' witches claim to follow survivals or revivals
of the historical witchcraft that is recorded in folklore and the accounts

7
 Liher Nox

of the witch-trials. Writing of his own initiation into two streams of the
Old Craft dating from at least the end of the l 9'h century, and probably

earlier, modern cunning man Andrew D. Chumbley ( 1 967-2004) said:

'We have inherited an oral tradition of magical practice, a tradition
which relates a path of historical descent to the present day and which
leads onward into a changing future . . . each generation in our tradition
has maintained certain teachings and principles of magical practice,
combining the cultural elements of the time and place according to
need and disposition.' (quoted in Hutton 1 999:308). Other traditional
witches, probably the majority, belong to revivalist or reconstructionist
groups who have recreated the type of witchcraft practised in the past
and adapted it to modern times. Both forms are valid.
Although traditional witchcraft features 'paganistic' elements, many
of its followers do not regard themselves as 'pagans' per se. For instance
the traditional witch Robert Cochrane said that the Old Craft was not
a historical direct survival of ancient paganism. However, he said it did
contain and preserve elements of the pre-Christian mystery cults and
in this country the British Mystery Tradition. Many of the beliefs and
practices of the old pagan religions did survive in folklore, some seasonal
customs, the legend of the Wild Hunt and the popular belief in the so
called Little People or faery folk.
!here are many accounts in folk"'!':.radition and the witch-trials of
mortals travelling to a 'hollow hill' or sacred mountain or visiting a
prehistoric burial mound ('faery hill') where, in a form of initiation,
they meet and are taught by the Queen ofElfhame or faeryland. Some
examples of these 'hollow hills' are Glastonbury Tor in Somerset, Silbury
Hill and Cley Hill in Wiltshire (traditionally the home of the king of
the faeries), Cissbury Ring in Sussex, The Hill of Tara in Ireland, Carn
Ingli (the Hill of the Angels) in West Wales, the Horselberg (Mountain
of the Horse) or Venusberg (the Mountain of Venus) in Germany, and
Mount Shasta in California.
Many aspects offaery lore and pre-Christian mythology also survived
in a sublimated form in the so-called 'Matter of Britain' or Arthurian
legends, and for that reason they have been adopted by some modern
traditional witches. While it has been influenced by Christianity and
medieval ideas concerning chivalry, knighthood and romance, the core
of the Arthurian mythos and its roots are essentially pre-Christian or
'pagan' in both origin and nature. If Arthur existed as a real historical
person then he was not a medieval ruler surrounded by gallant knights
in shining armour. He was a Romano-British warrior king leading
a war-band at the transition period between the old pagan religions

8
 Introduction

and early Christianity that is mistakenly called the 'Dark Ages'. At

their core the Arthurian legends represent our native British Mystery
Tradition inherited from a pagan past. In that context Arthur can be
seen as a solar god and divine king empowered by his relationship with
Sovereignty - the goddess of the land. In fact the once and future king
has been described by the Arthurian writer Caitlin Matthews as 'a
resonance of a mythic archetype of ancestral memory' (2002:3).
A connection between witchcraft and the Arthurian legends may
appear strange to some people, even though two of their principal and
most important characters, Merlin the Mage and Morgan Le Fay,
are popularly depicted as a wizard and witch. In one of the monthly
letters she wrote during the Second World War to her students in the
Fraternity of the Inner Light, the Welsh-born occultist Dion Fortune
said that the basic sources of the Arthurian legend and the myth of the
Holy Grail were to be found in the pre-Christian religions. She traced
the medieval Grail romances to a secret mystery cultus in southern
France that existed when the troubadours and heretical Christian sects
like the Cathars and Albigenses flourished in the Middle Ages.
Dion Fortune said this underground esoteric stream brought together
survivals of ancient Celtic druidism and the secret worship of a pagan
goddess known as 'Qyeen Venus' (possibly a code name for the Central
European goddess Holda), the Greek Mysteries, the troubadours with
their belief in 'courtly love' and the veneration of women, and most
importantly the witch-cult (DF war letters dated January and February
1 943, quoted in Knight 1 9 93). In her book Avalon efthe Heart, Fortune
also described the native British Mystery Tradition as combining
druidic worship, faery lore, alchemy and what she called the 'Hidden
Church of the Holy Grail', probably meaning the Celtic form of early
Christianity.
Dion Fortune's leading pupil Christine Hartley, and her magical
partner Charles Seymour, both believed they had been born together
in a previous life as Cathar martyrs. In 1 938 Hartley's magical diary
for the significant date of Midsummer's Day (June 24'h) recorded that
she had the idea to combine the old symbolism of "women's mysteries"
with the "pagan mysteries ofEngland through to the witchcraft period."
A week later she recorded in her diary that when she passed over the
threshold of her house there was " witchcraft all round me". She also
had a vision of "silhouetted witches in pointed hats and ragged skirts
dancing around a fire" and this was followed by the manifestation of a
figure Hartley identified with the Babylonian goddess of fertility, love
and war, Ishtar (Richardson 1 9 85 : 1 75).

9
 Liher Nox

As they follow a form of witchcraft that is land-based, and often

associated with the agrarian calendar, whenever the capricious British
climate allows it traditional witches prefer to meet outdoors in the
countryside. Although occasionally initiations may be performed
'skyclad', or naked, usually traditionals prefer to wear robes or cloaks
with hoods. 'Ihis is why such groups are sometimes called 'robed
covens'. As to be expected from working outdoors, the genii loci or
'spirits of place', the wights (land or earth spirits) in Old English, are
acknowledged. Making offerings to these elemental entities and the
faery folk before any ritual is regarded as a matter of politeness and
helps placate them.
'Ihe mystical concept of the enchanted or sacred landscape is also
of importance in the Old Craft. 'Ihis is because, while all forms of
traditional witchcraft have similarities, individuals and groups will
often relate their beliefs and practices to the region or locality they live
in. 'Ihis naturally creates differences between covens, clans, groves and
traditions based on the land they meet on and the local spirits they
recognise and contact. To quote Chumbley again: 'I learn much through
solitary contemplation in wood, graveyard and meadow; that to me is
solace' (2010:15), and as a result he naturally gravitated to the native
witchcraft and magical beliefs and practices of his birth place in the
county of Essex.
For many traditional witches a spiritual and magical interaction with
the earth, moon and stars, contact with the genii loci, and the ritual
acknowledgement of the seasonal festivals of the W heel of the Year is
the essence and core of their beliefs and practices. Although Chumbley
followed an old witchcraft tradition that was firmly rooted in rural
England and practised mostly by country folk, he had also inherited
a sophisticated Cainite-Luciferian mythos that underpinned it. 'Ihis
possibly came from the rural secret society known as the Horseman's
Word or the Toadmen who practised the toad-bone rite that gave them
power over animals. Chumbley said that the Old Craft represents a
diverse array of aspects from folk magic such as wort-cunning and
animal enchanting to learned practices of 'high magic' and mysticism.
He claimed however that the more simple magic is, the more effective it
can be. Therefore, in his opinion, rites should be derived from the oracle
of dreams or dream incubation, use basic fetishes of wood and stone,
follow signs and omens in nature and be guided by 'the wisdom in the
earth and stars'.
Many traditional witches regard themselves as the stewards or
guardians of ancient sites near where they live, such as stone circles,

10
 Introduc tion

burial mounds, standing stones and hill-figures. They meet for rituals
at remote crossroads or near the prehistoric trackways, 'green roads' and
old drovers routes that often mark the spirit paths, ghost roads, faery
paths, dragon tracks or ley lines that crisscross the countryside between
ancient power centres. Such etheric paths are used for spirit travel to
the Otherworld, hence the popular image of the witch flying through
the sky on a broomstick, and are also the routes across the countryside
taken by the Wild Hunt and other supernatural phenomena such as the
Death Coach.
'Ihere are numerous stories in folklore and local history about stone
circles being sinful maidens or witches petrified for dancing on the
Sabbath. 'Ihis may be the Witches Sabbath rather than the Christian
one on a Sunday. Notable examples of such folk stories are found at
megalithic circles like Castlerigg and Long Meg and Her Daughters
in Cumbria, the Nine Ladies in Derbyshire and the Merry Maidens in
Cornwall. At the Mitchell's Fold circle in Shropshire a witch who was
terrorising the countryside was actually imprisoned in a standing stone
to negate her powers.
There is historical evidence of witches gathering at megalithic sites
including stone circles, standing stones and burial mounds (so-called
'faery hills') for ceremonies and to work magic. In the 1ot11 century an
English bishop called Aelfric described how witches visited crossroads
and 'heathen burials' to practice their 'phantom craft' and call up the
dead. Witches meeting at crossroads are mentioned in classical Greek
and Roman accounts and in the Middle Ages gallows were erected
where several roads met. 'Ihis was to confuse the spirit of the hanged
person so they would not haunt the living. In Anglo-Saxon times the
Church was forced to condemn people who brought offerings to places
where three or more roads met. Several hundred years after Aelfric, in
1 667, Elizabeth Pratt from Bedfordshire said she had attended a witch
meeting held at a group of Bronze Age burial barrows called the 'Ihree
Knolls on Dunstable Downs.
At the Rollright Stones on the Warwickshire-Oxfordshire border
there is a legend that a witch turned a king and his invading army to
stone before transforming herself into an elder - a tree sacred to the
witch-goddess. In Tudor times there were reports by a witch-hunting
commission convened in Oxford of local witches gathering at the
stone circle. 'Ihen in the reign of King Charles I a woman from the
village of Little Rollright was hanged for attempting to kill her niece
using witchcraft. She had confessed to attending 'numerous' Witches'
Sabbaths held at the Rollright Stones and Boar Hill outside Oxford.

II
 Liher Nox

'There is evidence such traditional meets were still being held at the
Rollrights in the last century.
d
On May 12 1 1949, a full moon and May Eve by the Old (Julian)
Calendar, two concealed witnesses watched a modern Witches' Sabbath
at the stones. From their hiding place they saw a group of cloaked men
and women dancing back-to-back in a widdershins (anti-clockwise)
direction around the King Stone. 'They were led by a man wearing a
goat-head mask. Persistent rumours of similar rites being performed at
the stones in the 195 os led to nocturnal patrols by the local constabulary
using a police dog. Unfortunately in the middle of one night the animal
became so frightened at the spooky atmosphere that was building up
that it ran off and was quickly followed by its handler. Today the stones
are owned and administered by the Rollright Trust and do not appear
to be favoured by traditional witches for their rites.
Followers of the Traditional Craft work as solitary practitioners, in
covens, clans, and groves, or in family groups. Most of the old hereditar y
witch families are now extinct (although a few survive) and it is probably
true to say there are more solo witches working on their own than in
organised groups. Historically this was probably the same, with solitary
working being the norm. Where solo witches became aware of others
in their area they would come together to work communal magic and
to exchange information, gossip (always useful if telling somebody's
fortune), knowledge, charms and spells or celebrate seasonal rituals.
Sometimes, especially in the south-west of England, groups of solitary
witches or covens would be controlled and supervised by a witch-master
known as the 'Man in Black' (pers. com from Cecil Hugh Williamson,
3i/8/68). Today members of covens often do private devotions and
praxis on their own as solo practitioners outside the group they belong to.
A common mistake made about the Old Craft or traditional forms
of witchcraft is that it is patriarchal or male-dominated. 'This may be
because the Horned God in some old-style covens is either worshipped
exclusively or takes a more prominent role than he is allowed in modern
neo-pagan Wiccan groups. Also, the male leader, the Magister, Grand
Master or Devil in the 'old' robed covens initiates both men and women.
'These facts, however, overshadow the fact that in Traditional Craft
women are very much 'the power behind the throne', if not sometimes
the power sitting on it. 'They have an important role as seers and
mediums, but also as magicians and priests with equal status to male
Crafters.
It is true that today more men than women seem to be attracted
to the traditional witch ways, and this is reflected in its representatives

12
 Introduction

in the public eye. However, those women who are members of the
Old Craft tend to be strong, confident, comfortable with their gender
identity, individualistic, creative, highly psychic and mediumistic and
naturally suited to the practice of the magical arts. These women also
find in the female deities revered in the Old Craft, who are often very
dark or chthonic in nature, more liberating and empowering role models
than the witch-goddess normally represented in modern Wicca.
lhe male leader of a coven, clan or tradition in the Old Craft is
known as the Magister, from the Latin for 'Master'. He is sometimes
referred to in archaic terms as the Devil (not to be confused with the
Judeo-Christian bogeyman Satan), the Man-in-Black or the Son of
the Morning Star and takes the role of the human representative of
the Horned God. The witch-master may have a male deputy called the
Summoner, who is responsible for organising the dates, times and places
of the meetings and making sure everyone attends. If for some reason
the Magister is unable to attend a meet or working, his deputy will 'take
the stang' and substitute for him. In an emergency this role can also be
taken by the female leader of a coven who symbolically 'straps on the
sword'.
This female leader is variously known as the Magistra, from the Latin
for 'Mistress', the Lady, Dame, or Q.yeen of the Sabbat. Her role is to
be the human representative of the witch-goddess in the Circle of Arte
and she may have a female assistant or deputy known as the Maiden. In
more matrifocal witch traditions and groups the female leader is known
as the Maid and takes the prominent position of authority in the coven
with the Magister having a secondary role (e.g. Robert Cochrane's
Royal Windsor Cuveen in the 1 9 60s). Some Old Craft groups, such
as the Cultus Sabbati for instance, may also have a Verdelet or 'Green
Man' who teaches herbal and plant lore and 'green magic' to the other
members. Other roles in larger groups include the Scribe, the Seer,
the Ward (similar to the tyler or doorkeeper in a Masonic lodge), the
Mistress of the Robes and officers for each quarter of the Circle of Arte.
Today few covens have a full compliment of officers of this type.
Within the operative or magical practices of Traditional Craft is
found the practice of divination using various methods such as casting
the runes and scrying in a crystal ball or mirror, the interpretation
of dreams, signs and omens, seership, spirit flight or travel (astral
projection), dream incubation, healing and hexing, necromancy
(communicating with the ancestral dead), trance work, spirit ingress
or spirit 'possession', mediumship and 'true dreaming'. Spirits of
various types are conjured (summoned) into the magical circle and
 Liber Nox

there is communion and communication with the spirit world. 'Ihere

is also wort-cunning, or the use of herbs for healing, and a specialist
knowledge of psychoactive plants for attaining psychic vision and
travelling between the worlds. 'Ihe latter practice has very little to do
with the recreational use of drugs in our modern society, although it
can have the same dangers and pitfalls in the hands of the unqualified
and inexperienced. For that reason it should only be undertaken under
expert supervision or by those who are knowledgeable. It should also be
noted that some natural hallucinogenics, such as the so-called 'magic
mushroom' and certain herbal substances, are currently regarded by the
authorities as illegal Class A drugs.
The deities or spirits revered in the Old Craft are dark chthonic
ones associated with the powers of creation and destruction, life and
death, growth and decay. Although aptly described by Gerald Gardner
as 'twilight deities', they do include a god of fire and light and a goddess
who has a bright aspect. 'Ihey are spirits connected to the sun, moon
and stars yet also to the earth, field and woodlands. 'Ihe witch-god and
witch-goddess can bring their worshippers the gifts of prosperity and
fertility, but they are also the rulers of fate and death. 'Ihe traditional
witch-goddess, who is associated with pagan deities such as Hecate,
Artemis-Diana, Freya, the Morrigan, the Norns, the Fates, and Holda,
has both bright and dark aspects. Her sacred metals are silver and
platinum and she is associated with animals, birds and insects, such as
the mare, owl, crow, goose, vixen, hare, cat and spider.
When she manifests, the witch-goddess can appear clairvoyantly or
physically as either a beautiful woman or a hideous old hag. For that
reason she is often linked with the waxing and waning moon and lunar
magic, with nature 'red in tooth and claw', with winter and summer,
heaven and the underworld. In some representations her face is coloured
half black and half white, or is old on one side and young on the other
to illustrate her dual aspects. Sometimes the goddess looks fair from
the front while her back is rotten like a hollow tree. She has also been
described as pale-faced with ruby coloured lips, shining green eyes,
and long black hair. In common with the faeries and angelic beings,
the witch-god and goddess in their elven form have pointed ears and
slanted eyes.
The horned god of the witches is also dual-faced like the Roman deity
Janus because he rules both life and death. In the summer he is the virile
and fertile Lord of the Greenwood or Green Man, whose foliate mask
can be seen carved in wood and stone in pre-Reformation churches. As
winter comes and the God descends to the underworld he takes on the
 Introduction

darker and more sinister persona. He becomes the harvester of deceased

souls and the psychopomp or guide to the dead on their journey to the
Hollow Hill or underworld. In this dark season he is the Lord of the
Wildwood and the Master of the Wild Hunt. His various divine aspects
include a solar deity, a vegetation god, the 'king of the faeries', a smith
god, and a lord of light and master of fire. As such he can be mythically
associated with Herne the Hunter, Robin Hood, King Arthur, Oberon,
Baphomet, Bucca, Sylvanus, Pan, Woden, Tubal-Cain, Wayland the
Smith, or Lucifer. His sacred animals and birds include the stag, goat,
bull, ram, dog fox, snake, wolf, heron, peacock and raven.
Physically the witch-god as the Man in Black or Dark Man appears
as tall and thin, clean shaven, with a pale skin and dark hair and eyes. He
wears old-fashioned dark or blackclothingthat may be ragged, sometimes
 Liher Nox

with a long cloak, a highwayman's mask and a wide brimmed hat, and
carries a forked staff that may have a lantern attached to it. Other times
he will appear wearing a black hooded robe like a monk's habit, hence
one of his names is the 'Hooded Man'. He is accompanied by a large
shaggy black dog, and when visiting his followers in visions and dreams
is often also seen in the company or vicinity of horses, wolves, dragons,
lizards, large snakes and prehistoric sabre-toothed tigers and cave bears.
'Ihe Man in Black can be encountered at the witching hour of midnight
at crossroads, bridges, fords, stiles and gates. In his underworld aspect
as the Lord of Death he is associated with precious and semi-precious
jewels, gold and quartz. 'Ihese gems and metals may also feature in his
symbolism or physical appearance.
Some traditional witches prefer not to link their deities with any
particular mythology or pantheon from pre-Christian times. Instead
they refer to them in neutral or abstract terminology as the Old Ones,
the Lord and Lady, the Shining Ones, the Lad and Lass, the Old Man
and Old Woman, Old Hornie, the Old Q.yeen or even just as Him or
Her, or Himself and Hersel Taking this a stage further, there are some
traditions of the Old Craft that do not use anthropomorphic images of
the witch-god and goddess. Behind the archetypal images of the Lord
and Lady, many traditional witches also recognize the Nameless One or
Providence, sometimes called Nox or Night, who has no physical form
and transcends all the other gods and goddesses, or an unknowable.
Cosmic Creator/Creatorix.
Central to the mythos ofmost, but not all, forms ofmodern traditional
witchcraft is the ceremonial celebration or ritualistic marking of the
seasonal cycle known as the Wheel of the Year. 'Ihis is a series of eight
or nine festivals in the year, sometimes called 'knots', based broadly on
the folk traditions and symbolism of the season. 'Ihey generally follow
the agricultural cycle, the passage of the sun and moon through the
year and the zodiac signs. Not all traditional witches celebrate these
seasonal festivals and they may just acknowledge their symbolism in
some way if they are having a meet near to their dates. These festivals
correspond to some folk traditions and customs, and there is evidence
these may have survived from pagan times. In the 1oth century, Bishop
Cormac of Castel in Ireland noted that his parishioners still lit 'great
fires' on the dates of the old druidic festivals in February, May, August
and November (lmbolc, Beltane, Lughnasadh and Samhain). 'Ihese are
some of the same festivals marked by witches.
Although it is often claimed that the ritual Wheel of the Year is
a modern invention, historically the 17h century Pendle witches in
 Introduction

Lancashire met on Good Friday (near the spring equinox in March)

and Samhain (November 1 st), while the Aberdeen coven gathered on
'Hallowmas' (October 3 1 st). In 1 662 the Scottish witch Isobel Gowdie
told her questioners that a "Grand Meeting [of witches] was held about
the end of each quarter [of the year]". 'These would be the dates of the
quarter days in March, June, September and December (Lady Day,
Midsummer Day, Michaelmas and Yule). French covens allegedly came
together on St John's Eve or Midsummer Eve (June2 3 <l) In the 17th
' .

century witches in Devon met on St Andrew's Day (November 3 1 st),

which may have been a late autumn o r early midwinter festival.
Although the Greater and Lesser Sabbaths of the Wheel of the
Year follow a similar pattern in traditional witchcraft to the modern
Wiccan ones, they can be on different dates. This is especially true
if the old Julian calendar is followed, as it is about ten days adrift
of the modern Gregorian one introduced in the mid- 1 8th century.
Some traditionals only celebrate the four major festivals marking the
agricultural year, sometimes known as the 'Celtic fire festivals' or Great
Sabbats. Others include the solar solstices and equinoxes, or the dates
near them that are the quarter days of the agricultural calendar - Lady
Day (March 25th), Midsummer Eve (June 2 3 d)
' or Midsummer Day
(June 2 4th), Michaelmas (September 29th) and Yule Eve (December
24th) or Christmas Day. Additionally Twelfth Night (January 5 th) may
be celebrated. Perversely, traditional witches use the Christianised or
secular names of Candlemas, May Day, Lammastide, and All Hallows
for the Grand Sabbats instead of the Irish Gaelic ones recently adopted
by modern Wiccans and neo-pagans, as mentioned previously.
 o ne-
/

PREPARJNG F0R
rnE RIS
 OI:S OF H AR

B
EFORE proceeding to initiation into the Craft and the casting of
the Circle of the Arte, the working tools or ritual objects used
by the traditional witch need to be discussed and described.
Some of these are similar to the ones in modern Wicca, although their
symbolism and use is often different. 'Ihe main tools of the Traditional
Craft that will be discussed first are the stang or staff, the ritual knife,
the besom, the cup or drinking horn, the cauldron, the stone, and the
cords.
The stang or forked staff is the primary and most important tool
of the traditional witch. It is usually made from the wood of ash, oak
or yew trees. The name 'stang' comes from an Old Norse and Middle
English word meaning a pole. In Northern England there was a folk
custom known as 'Riding the Stang' used by vigilantes to drive moral
wrongdoers and anti-social troublemakers out of the village. In that folk
tradition context the stang was a symbolic representation of a horse.
In traditional witchcraft the stang is sometimes 'shod' with iron, thus
linking it to horses and the aspect of the god of the witches as the divine
blacksmith or farrier. In those forms of the Old Craft following the
Northern European tradition the 'niding pole' is surmounted by a horse
skull and is used for cursing. It is possible that the stang used in the
witch-cult came from the wooden implements of agricultural labourers
in the past. In fact the stang is often mounted by the ironwork of a two
or three pronged pitchfork or is a wooden version of that tool once used
in farming.
The traditional role of the stang in the Circle of Arte is usually to
represent the Horned God. In this respect it can have a phallic meaning
as the male aspect of the life-force that permeates and animates the
natural world and is depicted as the Green Man. However, that is when
it has two forks or prongs like horns. In the old Devonshire Craft there
is also a three-pronged stang like a trident representing the witch
goddess. When it is a symbol of the God, the stang is carved on the

2I
 Liher Nox

shaft with the mask or face of one of his sacred animal totems; a stag,
ram, bull, goat, dog or fox. The stang also symbolises the axis mundi or
the World Pillar or the World Tree (Y ggdrasil in Norse mythology)
that reaches up through the three realms - the Underworld (the land
of the dead), Middle Earth (the material world) and the Upper World
(heaven or the realm of the Old Gods) to the Pole Star around which
all the stars appear to revolve in the heavens.
'Ihe forked staff is also associated with sacrifice, because it is the Tau
Cross of oak branches on which the God or divine king is sacrificed at
Lammas. In this role the stang stands in the circle adorned with crossed
arrows and a sickle fixed to the shaft. Sometimes a human skull and
crossbones will also be placed at its base. If the bones are crossed then
it signifies death, but if the bones are straightened they mean birth or
rebirth. 'Ihis symbolic arrangement is usually seen at Lammas and at All
Hallows, when the God has descended to the underworld.
Signifying the presence of the Horned God and the authority of the
Magister or witch-master, the stang is placed in the north of the magical
circle, a sacred direction in traditional witchcraft. In that position it acts
as the 'guardian' or gatekeeper of the entrance to the spirit world and is
the link between the material plane and the Unseen and the Other. As
we shall see when describing the casting of the circle, the stang indicates
that it is truly a place 'between the worlds' linking matter to spirit on
the physical plane of being and acting as a portal to other realms or
dimensions of existence.
In the form of traditional witchcraft practised by Robert Cochrane,
the stang was 'processed' around the quarters or compass points of the
Circle of Arte for each seasonal festival during the ritual year. This
'processing of the stang' reflects the journey of the God in his solar
aspect around the Wheel of the Year and at each festival it was decorated
with the relevant flowers, foliage and fruits of the season. 'Ihe plants can
be simply tied to the shaft of the stang or alternatively made up into
wreaths or garlands to hang on it. These are then burnt on the fire at the
end of the ritual.
At Yule or the midwinter solstice the stang stands in its usual
standard position in the north. It is garlanded with mistletoe, which
grows ' between earth and heaven' in the branches of oak and apple trees,
and with holly and ivy, male and female plants sacred to the Lord and
Lady, the God and Goddess. 'Ihe white berries of the mistletoe have
been compared to drops of semen and the phallic power of the Horned
One. The red berries of the holly are the blood shed at his sacrificial
death at the height of summer. Magically, holly is also a protective plant

22
 Tools of the Arte

warding off lightning and negative and harmful influences. In folklore

the ivy was known as 'the bringer of death' because it strangled and
eventually killed off other trees. It represents the dark aspect of the
witch-goddess.
At Candlemas, the Festival of the Waxing Light in early February,
the stang is placed in the north-east of the circle. It is decorated with
snowdrops, representing purity in the language of flowers, and, if they
are available, crocuses. On Lady Day near the vernal or spring equinox
in March, the stang is positioned in the east of the circle, the direction
of the rising sun at that time of the year. It has on it spring flowers such
as daffodils, narcissus and early primroses, one of the flowers of the faery
folk.1he narcissus is associated with the witch-goddess in her aspect as
ruler of the underworld and in spring it is traditionally used to decorate
graves.
On May Day the stang is moved to the south-east and decorated
with hawthorn and apple blossom and twigs of birch, hazel and willow.
Hawthorn with its feminine musky smell is the tree of Our Lady as the
Q!ieen of Elfhame or Faeryland. For this reason in folk tradition it is
unlucky to bring it indoors as misfortune will surely follow. The apple is
the 'food of the Gods' and in the British Mystery Tradition is associated
with the underworld. Hence Afallon or Avalon, meaning the 'Island of
Apples' and the old name for Glastonbury, the Isle of the Dead. It is
also the 'Silver Branch' of apple blossom that is the passport given by
the faery queen to chosen mortals so they can safely enter and, more
importantly, leave her realm and return to the material world.
Birch is another sacred tree with a feminine influence connected
to birth and fertility. In folklore and Celtic mythology the hazel is a
tree linked to wisdom, foresight and gnosis or knowledge. Traditionally
both witches and magicians made their wands from a hazel branch. Its
twigs are also used in dowsing to locate water, oil, minerals, precious
metals such as gold and silver, and buried treasure. The willow is another
tree sacred to the witch-goddess in her dark lunar aspect. In Somerset
folklore it is said to strangle anyone who sleeps underneath its branches.
Contrawise the willow was also a healing tree, as its bark was a popular
cure for rheumatic pain, headaches and migraine. Country folk also
wore crosses made from willow twigs as a protective amulet or charm to
ward off evil influences and bad luck.
The stang is positioned directly in the south on Midsummer's Day
(June 24th). 1hen it bears a garland made of the flowers of St John's
wort, red and white briar roses, honeysuckle, foxgloves and oak leaves.
St John's wort was the magical herb thrown on the midsummer
 Liher Nox

bonfires that were lit on hills in a folk custom that recollects rites of
pagan sun worship. It was also placed on the front doors of houses as a
protective charm to ward off the lightning flash and malevolent ghosts.
Honeysuckle and roses belong to the goddess and the oak tree to both
the Green Man and the ancient sky and thunder gods. Foxgloves, a
corruption of 'folk's gloves', are named after the faeries. 'lhe oak, the
'king of the wood', protects against summer storms and is the principal
host of mistletoe, itself allegedly created by lightning ('the fire from
heaven') blasting the tree.
'lhe next festival of the Wheel of the Year is Lammastide at the
beginning of August. Before the harvest is gathered in, the stang is in
the south-west of the compass or circle decorated with red poppies and
if available the first ears of barley, corn or wheat. Today the red poppy
is a powerful cultural symbol associated with the fallen in wars, and
this fits with the sacrificial theme at this time of year from Lammas to
Hallows. Crossed arrows and a sickle are also attached to the shaft of
the stang. These symbolise the weapons used by the goddess of the land
to send the divine king or sacrificed god on his way to the underworld.
At Michaelmas, at the end of September near to the autumn
equinox, the stang is placed directly in the west. !his is the direction
of the underworld, the Hollow Hill, the Land of the Ever Young, the
Fortunate Isle in the western ocean 'beyond the setting sun'. !his festival
is called Harvest Home or Harvest End in the folklore calendar when
the crops are safely gathered in and stored for the coming winter, and
it is celebrated with merrymaking. 'lherefore the stang is decorated
with the fruits of the harvest created by humans and nature working
in harmony together. It is the time when the God passes through the
gates of death, represented by the trilithon at the entrance of the burial
mound within the henge, and descends into the underworld for the
winter.
When All Hallows or Hallowtide is celebrated at the end of October
and the Mighty Dead are evoked, the stang is in the north-west. It is
the door or gateway through which the ancestral dead pass into the
circle, after travelling along the spirit paths or ghost roads led by the
elemental spirit of the puckish Jack O'Lantern. 'lhe stang represents
the Old Horned God as the Dark Master of the Wild Hunt and is
decorated with a garland of periwinkles, yew and elder leaves, rowan
berries and pine cones. Periwinkle is also known as Sorcerer's Violet
and theElizabethans believed it was protection against 'wykked sprites'.
In fact peri is an old English word for faery and there is a suburb of
north-west London called Perivale meaning 'valley of the faeries'. In
 Tools of the Arte

Italy it was known as faire de moire or the 'death flower' and in medieval
England criminals were forced to wear garlands of periwinkles on their
way to the gallows.
Yew frequently grows in churchyards as a symbol of death,
resurrection and eternity and in medieval times it provided the wood
for longbows. Elder is considered unlucky because its wood was used
for the cross on which Jesus was crucified and was also the tree Judas
hanged himself on. However in pagan times it was sacred to the Elder
Mother, the Germanic witch-goddess Dame Holda. It was considered
highly dangerous to cut down an elder or take one of its branches
without first asking her permission. Even then it was considered bad
luck because cutting the tree raised the Devil, unless of course that was
your desire! Elder was known as a 'wicked wood' and in Staffordshire
burning it on the hearth was supposed to invite the Owd Lad to come
down the chimney into the house like a demonic Santa Claus.
Rowan, also known as mountain ash, quicken, quickbeam and
witchwood, was widely regarded as an antidote to or a protection
from malefic witchcraft, the malicious tricks of the faery folk and the
crippling effect of the Evil Eye. An old Scottish saying was: "Rowan
tree and red thread keeps the witches from their speed." It is sacred to
the pagan thunder gods, and crosses of rowan placed above_ the doors of
farm buildings warded off the faeries and stopped witches 'hag riding'
horses at night to their Sabbats. When they were returned at cockcrow
the horses would be covered with sweat and their mane and tails would
be tangled in elf knots. Horse owners today still report this phenomenon
although alternative reasons are given for it.
Some traditional witches place a candle or lantern between the forks
or 'horns' of the stang. Medieval illustrations of witch meetings often
show the Black Goat of the Sabbat, Old Nick, the Devil or Horned
God, sitting on a throne presiding over the event with a lighted candle
between his horns. 'Ihis is a symbol of the Lightbringer or Lightbearer
who brings wisdom, knowledge and enlightenment to those who revere
him. Although they did not understand its symbolism, the witch-hunters
described how the participants in the Witches' Sabbath each brought a
candle to light from this central flame. 'Ihis represented the passing of
gnosis or divine knowledge from Old Hornie to his human followers.
'Ihe knife is another of the primary magical tools used by traditional
witches. Some modern followers of the Old Craft have adopted the
word 'athame' used in Wicca and derived from a black-handled ritual
knife from the Key ef Solomon grimoire. However there are historical
references from Byzantine, Crete, Greece and Ireland of the use of a
 Liber Nox

black-handled knife in folk magic for exorcising demons, banishing

faeries and drawing magical circles. Originally the ritual knife or dagger
was a sacrificial weapon used in ancient times to sacrifice animals, and
sometimes humans, to the Old Gods. Today it is used to cast the circle
and consecrate the bread and wine in the Houzel or sacred communion
at the end of witch meets. 'The knife or dagger can also be used to project
psychic energy to its desired goal and exorcise or banish malevolent
ghosts, elementals and spirits.
Some traditional witches will not allow any metal into the Circle
of Arte. 'This is because of a magical belief that metal interferes with
the 'earth energy' at sacred sites and power centres and disturbs their
guardian spirits. This is reflected in the folklore that the faery folk
cannot bear iron and it can be used to banish them. Instead they may
use a ritual implement made from an antler or a knife with a wood,
bone or horn handle and copper, bronze, obsidian or flint for the blade.
In ancient times sacrificial knives had blades made from obsidian or
volcanic glass, which can be honed razor sharp. Obsidian can also be
used as an amulet for magical protection, for contacting the dead and
the underworld and as a material for scrying mirrors. 'The famous mirror
made from obsidian and used by the Elizabethan magician Dr John
Dee is on display in the British Museum.
'The besom or broomstick features in fairy tales and in folklore about
the witch where she is ofren depicted either holding or riding upon
one. It was widely believed that witches rode through the sky to their
meetings on broomsticks, forked staves and hurdles, or on the back of
wolves, horned animals like rams and goats, and birds like geese. One
of the earliest medieval illustrations of night-flying shows 'good women'
or witches riding on forked sticks to a nocturnal gathering presided
over by the witch-goddess of the moon, hunting and the woods,
Diana. In reality this goddess was misidentified by the churchmen
who condemned such activities. She was probably Frau Holda or the
'Bountiful One' mentioned before; the central European female leader
of the Wild Hunt. She was also associated with fertility and prosperity,
witchcraft, the dark season of winter and the land of the dead.
Of course witches cannot actually physically fly through the air and
in fact the witch-hunters did not even believe their own propaganda.
'They said that such activities were demonic delusions sent by the Devil
to sinners or a nightmarish dream where foolish women falsely believed
they flew to the Witches Sabbath. However many recipes and examples
were found of so-called 'flying ointments' or 'lifting balm' that the
witches smeared on their naked bodies to accomplish their 'night flying'
 Tools of the Arte

while riding their stangs like horses. 'Ihese recipes included psychoactive
or narcotic plants such as belladonna or deadly nightshade, wild parsley
and henbane that made the witches fall into a deep trance-like sleep.
When they awoke they related sensations of flying through the air at
high speed and travelling to a remote wild place. !here they danced and
feasted with other members of the sisterhood, a company of faeries,
spirits and demons and worshipped a horned bestial figure. In an occult
sense the witches were projecting their astral body or practicing 'spirit
travel' and using the besom as a symbolic 'steed' or horse to journey to
the Otherworld.
In traditional witchcraft the besom used for magical and ritual
purposes is made from the three sacred 'feminine' woods of ash, birch
and willow. These represent the elements of air, water and earth; life,
death and birth and the 'Ihree Mothers, Wyrd Sisters or Fates who are
aspects of the traditional witch-goddess. Ash for the handle is symbolic
of the axis mundi or World Tree, birch twigs associated with fertility
make the brush, sometimes seen as representing female pubic hair, and
willow withies bind them to the besom's shaft. Sometimes the end
of the broom handle is carved in the shape of a phallus concealed in
the female brush. !his symbolically represents the conjunction of the
male and female energies in the Great Rite, the heiros gamos or 'sacred
marriage' - ritualised sexual intercourse.
Ritually the besom is used to sweep the meeting ground or the Circle
of Arte. Psychically this rids it of any negative influences and physically
creates a clean and clear working space. Alternatively some traditional
witches will use small ritual sweepers to cleanse the circle. 'Ihese are
made from goose feathers or blackthorn twigs bound with wax or string.
Sweeping away evil spirits or negative influences with a broom is an
ancient magical practice that dates back to Roman times. !he besom is
then crossed on the ground with the sword at the northern quarter of
the circle and each participant enters the sacred space by stepping over
them. !his is the symbolic stile, gate, bridge or 'gap in the hedge' the
witch passes through from this world to the Other, from the mundane
to the magical and spiritual.
!he cup or chalice is a primary feminine symbol associated with
healing. However, as the drinking horn it can have a bisexual nature
depicting both the phallus and the yoni and the male and female creative
principles. It can also be a copper or pottery bowl, sometimes with two
handles. !he main use of the cup in Traditional Craft is for the Houzel
or communion at the end of seasonal rituals or magical workings, when
it is filled with wine, mead or cider. As in the Christian Mass, which
 Liher Nox

is itself based on the pagan agape or love feast, the wine in the chalice
is symbolically believed to be the blood of the sacrificed god and the
accompanying bread is his flesh. By partaking of the 'cakes and wine' the
communicant is imparting the life-force or spirit of the God in what
is basically a cannibalistic rite. Reflecting this symbolism, originally the
cup may have been made from the skullcap of the sacrificial victim.
Usually, out of common politeness, a small offering of the ingredients of
the Houzel are given to the genii loci, the wights or land spirits.
In Celtic mythology the cauldron has a multiple symbolism
connected with spiritual transformation, initiation, fertility, prosperity
and immortality. It also acts as a cornucopia that produces unlimited
amounts of food. Archaeological excavations have revealed the
importance of ritual feasting in prehistoric religious ceremonies and
seasonal observances. Bran, the mythic divine king of the Island of the
Mighty (Britain), owned a cauldron that could bring dead warriors back
to life. In the rituals of traditional witchcraft the cauldron is not the
holder of fire as it is in W icca, but the receptacle or magical vessel for
the creation of the aqua vitae or 'water of life' and the potions brewed
using psychoactive plants and fungi. It is similar in its occult nature to
the chalice because it is 'feminine' and represents the stellar or cosmic
womb of the Magna Mater, the Great Mother Goddess, where all life
originated.
In a Welsh legend the witch Ceridwen owned a famous cauldron.
In it she brewed a potion of magical plants and herbs which created
the Drop of Awen or inspiration that granted psychic vision and bardic
powers. Some writers see Ceridwen's ritual chase of Gwion Bach, who
stole the Awen, with its shape-shifting into animals and birds, as an
initiation into the Mysteries or the witch-cult. The story survived in
the popular folk ballad 7he Two Magicians or 7he Coal Black Smith
with a seducer chasing a young maiden. !he smith of the title is Tubal
Cain, Vulcan ot Wayland with his face blackened from working in the
forge. 'There are also fantastical accounts in the witch-trials of people
physically transforming themselves into bestial form. It is more likely
they wore masks and costumes to represent the totemic animals of the
Craft and the sacred beasts of the God and Goddess.
!he early medieval Welsh poem Prieddu Annwn is an account of a
raid on the Otherworld by King Arthur and seven of his warriors. !heir
mission is to capture a magical vessel in the form of a cauldron guarded
by nine maidens. !his legend is a forerunner of the later romances about
the quest for the Holy Grail, believed to have been the cup used by
Jesus at the Last Supper and carved from an emerald that fell from
 Tools of the Arte

Lucifer's crown when he was cast down from heaven to Earth. The
Grail, however, no longer exists on a physical level, although many have
sought for it in vain through the ages. The visionary sight of this sacred
vessel in the Grail Castle achieved by the questing seeker leads to the
lightning flash of spiritual illumination and enlightenment. In fact the
attainment of the vision of the Grail at the end of the spiritual quest
frees the soul from the cycle of birth, death and rebirth and unites it
with the Godhead.
In traditional witchcraft the Grail also symbolises the mystery of the
union between the Lord and Lady and the divine king and Sovereignty,
the goddess of the land, which takes place in a greenwood bower under
an oak tree on May Day. In the Circle of Arte this ceremony is enacted
by a symbolic marriage or the Great Rite between the Magister and
Magistra as the human representatives of the solar/sky god and the
moon/earth goddess. It also represents the union of the sky world
(heaven) and the earth world At a psychological and spiritual level the
sacred marriage is the alchemical conjunction between the masculine
and feminine aspects of the human psyche - the anima and animus
represented as the sun and moon - producing the divine androgyne.
lhe stone can be used for different purposes and has several forms
in the Traditional Craft. For instance it can simply be a large flat stone
used as an altar for an outdoor or even an indoor meet. Some traditional
witches have a carved stone head to represent the God and this is
known literally as a Godstone. Prehistoric standing stones can be used
for this purpose, and examples are the King Stone at the Rollrights
in Oxfordshire and the Heel Stone at Stonehenge. A famous one in
Brittany is the St Duzaz menhir or standing stone. It is carved with
Christian iconography that the traditional witch Robert Cochrane
interpreted as disguised symbols of the male and female mysteries of
the witch-cult. A smaller Godstone carved or fashioned as a life-size
phallus representing the virile power of the Horned God is also used in
certain private rituals and sex magic.
It can also be a whetstone used to hone the blade of the ritual knife
or sword. In the old days it would have sharpened agricultural tools like
scythes, sickles and hedging hooks and bladed weapons of war such
as swords, daggers and axes. It is symbolically linked with the magical
aspect of smithcraft and the millstone used to crush grain. In Northern
European mythology the heavenly Mill grinds out the stars at creation
and in operative witchcraft 'Turning the Mill', walking, running or
dancing around the circle, is a magical ritual technique to raise psychic
energy and magical power.
 Liber Nox

Striking two stones together can also create a spark to light the
balefire or needfire and this is symbolic of the divine sparks or human
souls hammered out on his anvil by the smith-god in his forge. There are
also links with the 'sword in the stone' in the Arthurian legends. It is the
removal of a sword embedded in the stone, or significantly an anvil, that
first identifies the 'chosen one' of the tribe who is destined to be king.
'lhe esoteric symbolism in this act of choosing a worthy candidate for
kingship refers to the arts and mysteries of metallurgy and smithcraft
taught to early humans by the Old Gods.
Other uses of stones in the Old Craft are crystals or 'shewstones'
for scrying or healing and they can also be used to store psychic energy
like a magical battery. In some forms of the Old Craft, quartz crystals
are used at ancient sites to control and manipulate the earth energy
for magical purposes. Hagstones (stones with a naturally made hole
in them) are used for warding, protection and dream incubation or
'magical dreaming' for divination or contacting spirits. The modern
Essex cunning man Andrew D. Chumbley has described a form of
spellcraft using a hagstone to travel in spirit form in the dream world.
First a hagstone and a leather thong are procured. Seven knots are
placed at intervals in the thong. It is then threaded through the hole
in the stone and a loop is tied at one end so it can be held in the hand.
When the person doing the spell goes to bed they hold the hagstone
in the hand they generally use the most, and wrap the thong around
their wrist. !he spirit of the sleeper will then pass through the hole in
the hagstone and join the procession of night-walkers travelling to the
Witches' Sabbath or the followers of the Wild Hunt, returning safely
when they awake.
The Troy or Mazey Stone is also used by traditional witches in
Cornwall. !his is flat smooth pebble either painted or carved with a
spiral or maze, the symbolic path to the Otherworld or the land of
the dead. !his symbol is then meditated upon by tracing the forefinger
of the left hand along the lines carved in it to the centre. Eventually
this practice creates a light trance state that enables the user to obtain
clairvoyance or contact the spirit world. An example of one of these
witch-stones can be seen on display in the Museum of Witchcraft at
Boscastle in north Cornwall.
!he symbol of the maze or labyrinth is a universal and ancient one.
Examples have been found in cave art at Galicia in Spain dating back
thousands of years to the Neolithic (New Stone) Age. When traced on
the ground with stones or cut out of the turf, mazes were used for rituals,
with dancers following the pattern to the centre. !his ritual activity was
 Tools of the Arte

mentioned by the Roman writer Virgil in the r" century BCE and he
described it as 'the game of Troy'. In Scandinavia the mazes were called
'troll circles' and walking them was supposed to bring good luck and
create good weather for hunting, fishing and farming. Shakespeare
mentions 'the quaint mazes in the wanton green', and how they are in
disrepair, in his play A Midsummer Night's Dream.
1he cingillum o r cord is sometimes called the 'witch's girdle' and at a
basic level is tied around the robe to secure it. Different coloured cords
can be used to indicate the rank of a witch or their initiatory grades
in the Craft and can be red, white and black to represent the colours
associated with the witch-goddess. 1he cord may have seven, nine or
thirteen knots in it with the latter two numbers representing the lunar
phases and the thirteen moons (months) of the ritual Wheel of the Year.
In the Cochrane tradition a plain hemp cord is worn around the neck like
a halter. In ancient times it was the garrotte used to despatch sacrificial
victims offered to the Goddess and later became the hangman's noose.
Some of the preserved bodies found in peat bogs and dating from the
Bronze and Iron Age are such victims and have cords or collars around
their necks. In ancient Mesopotamian anti-witchcraft rituals, red, white
and blue coloured cords were used to bind images or dolls representing
the bewitcher and were then destroyed.
The cords in traditional witchcraft symbolise what binds us to lifo,
the physical world, Fate and the Gods while we are incarnated. 1hey
symbolise the cutting of the umbilical cord at birth that attaches us to
our mothers during pregnancy and the silver thread severed at death
that releases the soul from its physical vessel. 'These two acts are ruled
and carried out by the Norns or Fates and, as Robert Cochrane said,
Fate is the true name of the witch-goddess. In Greek mythology it is
the thread of Ariadne used by the hero to travel into the centre of the
maze or labyrinth representing the underworld. Primarily the cords are
a magical tool that allows access to the spirit realm and they also guide
the seeker safely back to Middle Earth.
Magically the knotted cord can also be used as a 'witch's rosary' for
meditation and trance work. Knotted with goose, black chicken or crow
feathers in spells the cord also becomes the so-called 'witches' ladder'
used for cursing. In fishing ports 'sea witches' once sold knotted cords to
sailors and fishermen as a form of weather magic. If wind was needed for
their sails of boats the knots were undone one by one depending on the
strength required. A painted board on the wall outside the witchcraft
museum in Boscastle depicted one of the local witches performing this
service on the adjacent harbour. As will be seen later in the book, the
 Liher Nox

cord is also used in combination with the stang and the ritual knife or
sword to mark out the boundaries or perimeter of the Circle of Arte
when it is cast or inscribed on the ground.
!he conjuring stick or wand has probably been regarded as more
important in ceremonial magic than in the Craft. However, there are
historical references to it and illustrations of witches and cunning folk
carrying walking sticks used for magical purposes. !he wand can be an
ordinary stick that is consecrated or charged, or a specially made magical
rod. In ancient times it was the sceptre or staff of office carried by a king
or queen as a symbol of their divine authority as representatives of the
Gods. The wand is ruled by the element of air and symbolises the mind,
the intellect and communication. It can be used to trace and cast the
Circle of Arte and conjure or summon spirits. It is usually a shortened
version of the stang with a forked top, or sometimes it is surmounted by
a pine cone to represent a phallus. !he shaft can be decorated with runes
or occult sigils that are significant to its owner or the coven.
According to tradition the wand should either be gifted by your
initiator when you enter the Craft or made by one's own hand. !he wood
used depends on the magical purpose of the wand. To make a 'blasting
rod' for instance, the witch will use blackthorn. For divining or dowsing
and gaining knowledge it would be hazel, and willow for healing. Before
cutting the wood the permission of the arboreal or tree spirit should be
asked and an offering made in return. This can be a libation of alcohol,
a silver coin or some personal item of jewellery buried at the roots of
the tree. Opinions differ as to the required length of the wand, but
generally it should be no longer than the distance between the elbow
and the end of the forefinger of its proposed owner. In biblical times this
measurement based on the proportions of the human body was known
as a cubit. It is still used in the country craft of laying hedges to mark
out the length between stakes.
The ritual sword in the Traditional Craft is not as common as the
dagger or knife, and its use can be controversial. In fact it has been
suggested that it is a fairly recent innovation borrowed from ritual
magic. When ceremonial magicians joined witch covens they may
have introduced the use of ritual swords. In historical times only the
aristocratic elite in society would have been wealthy enough to actually
own one. As an expensive weapon it was very much the mark of a
nobleman or knight rather than a commoner like a feudal peasant or
tenant farmer. Where the Magister of a coven was a gentleman, a local
landowner or the lord of the manor, as he sometimes was, he might have
introduced his personal sword as a working tool in the witches' circle.
 Tools of the Arte

However, the sword does have an ancient history.

For magical purposes the ritual sword has a phallic/fire/solar
symbolism and can be employed for casting or marking the circle on the
ground and subduing or controlling any lesser spirits or elementals that
are conjured or evoked in it. 'The sword can also banish any wayward or
unwanted spirit visitors and direct the power in cursing rituals. Plunged
blade tip down in the earth at the end of a ritual or magical working it
also 'earths' the energy that has been raised. Crossed with a besom or
broomstick it provides the symbolic 'crossing point', the bridge or stile
used by the coven to enter and leave the circle.
In practice all kinds of different swords such as sabres, cutlasses,
scimitars and broadswords are used in the Craft. If a sword is bought
from an antique shop, rather than being made by a local friendly
blacksmith, it should be magically cleansed of all previous associations.
This is very important if a sword has actually been used in anger as a
weapon on the battlefield and tasted blood, rather than just being a
ceremonial object. 'The last thing that should be done is to bring any of
its past negative associations into the circle.
As with all the other working tools, the knife and sword have
elemental attributes or correspondences, e.g. the stang and wand are
'masculine' in nature and are ruled by the element of air; . the cauldron
or cup belong to the element of water and are feminine in nature and
symbolism; while the stone is obviously of earth, and the brazier, censer
or incense burner belongs to fire. In some Western magical traditions
such as the Golden Dawn and Wicca, the athame and sword are
assigned to air and the wand to fire. As we have seen, one of the aspects
of the witch-god is the divine smith who makes the weapons of the
Gods. 'Therefore, as the blade of a sword or knife is forged from the fire
of his forge, it is right and proper that they should be assigned to the
fiery element.
In ancient times the.sword was associated with 'fire from heaven', the
lightning flash that comes to earth as a thunderbolt and symbolically
represents spiritual illumination. Several of the pagan sky and thunder
gods like Zeus, Baal and 'Thor actually used thunderbolts as weapons.
It is also the 'Sword of Light' owned and carried into battle by the
Pendragon or warrior king to destroy his enemies, and one of the
Hallows of the Tuatha de Danaan, the Irish 'People of Danu'. 'Ihey were
an ancient race of magicians who with the coming of Christianity were
banished into the 'hollow hills'. Some witches compare them with the
Watchers or 'fallen angels' in the Bible, who have a significance in some
forms of Old Craft.

33
 Liber Nox

'Ihe Sword of Light is the symbol of the temporal or earthly power

granted to the divine king by Sovereignty, the goddess of the land, and
the magical or supernatural weapon used to defeat those who threaten
his people. An obvious example of this in British mythology is the sword
known as E xcalibur, gifted to King Arthur by the faery Lady of the
Lake after his first sword drawn from the stone broke. While he holds
the Sword of Light the divine priest-king has the power to rule over the
land and its people. When the king dies the sword has to be returned
to the realm of Faerie from whence it came and this is also found in the
Arthurian legends when the once and future king is defeated in battle.
'Ihe sword's scabbard also had mystical powers and was of a feminine
nature associated with the Goddess. After he has received E xcalibur,
Merlin the kingmaker asks Arthur whether he esteems the scabbard
or the sword most. When the king replies that he prefers the blade,
the wizard rebukes Arthur for his choice, telling him that the scabbard
is far worthier. In fact he should treasure it, for while he carries it no
wound made on his body will bleed. !his refers to the healing power of
the Goddess. In the Arthurian legends there is an account of the faery
lady Morgan Le Fay stealing the scabbard of E xcalibur from the once
and future king, who is her half-brother. !his was in a failed attempt
to negate his power over the land and destroy the Fellowship of the
Round Table and his kingdom. Conversely it is Morgan who, at the end
of Arthur's life on earth, transports his body to Avalon. Once there, she
uses her herbal knowledge to heal him of his mortal wounds so Arthur
can become the 'once and future king.'
It is said that Arthur's sword Excalibur was decorated on its blade
with battle runes and two entwined serpents (dragons?) etched in gold.
Every time Arthur drew the sword from the scabbard its blade shone
with a bright light, and flames seemed to issue from the mouths of
the twin serpents. Again this is symbolic of the sword connection with
lightning and the 'fire from heaven'. Also of its regal holder's power over
the land and the so-called 'earth energy' or 'dragon energy' that flows in
the enchanted landscape. !he dragon or winged serpent is also a symbol
and mythical beast sacred to the traditional witch-god. 'Ihe weapons
forged by the smith-god for the other deities and mortal heroes had
supernatural powers, made their owners invincible and caused death by
the slightest blow or wound.
As we have seen, when the divine king gives up his position, this
symbol of sacred kingship has to be returned to the Otherworld or its
faery source. !here the Sword of Light is held until the next candidate
for king is regarded as worthy enough to own it and wield its power.

34
 Tools of the Arte

That the sword is only on temporar y loan to the warrior who is the
divine king is underlined by the words carved in runes on its blade.
On one side of the haft it says 'Take me' and on the reverse side 'Cast
me away'. Therefore Arthur, at the end of his earthly reign as the
Pendragon of Albion, has to return Excalibur, the Sword of Light, to its
faery guardian, the Lady of the Lake. This is also a far memor y of the
weapons, including swords, deposited as sacrificial offerings to the Old
Gods in lakes and rivers during the Bronze and Iron Ages.
While it is known for traditional witches to occasionally go 'skyclad'
or naked in their rites, sometimes when they are initiated into the
Craft, a form of ritual clothing is worn because they commonly work
outdoors. This can be either a cloak, usually with a hood, or a thick robe
made of natural materials like wool. Lighter, thinner robes made from
cotton are used for indoor meets when the weather is bad or for outside
rituals in the summer when, hopefully, it will be warmer. Hooded cloaks
are sometimes worn over ordinary clothing, especially when there is a
danger of being disturbed by cowans (outsiders) during a ritual, as they
can be removed quickly.
The type of robe or gown worn by a traditional witch is based on
the simple design of an Arab kaftan or a monk's habit with a hood.
In trance work or meditation the hood covers the head or is placed
over the face if required. Normally the robe is plain black, the colour of
darkness and night, but some groups may wear brown or grey ones or
different dyed ones for the Magister and Magistra, e.g. red and blue or
green respectively. Red is the colour of the life-force and the God. Blue
is sacred to the divine feminine and green is the predominant colour of
the natural world and the faer y folk. White robes are very rarely seen in
traditional witch circles as they get dirty far too easily when working or
meeting outside! Traditionally robes are not cleaned, but ifit is deemed
absolutely necessar y it should be by hand in a fast flowing stream or
river and not in a washing machine or tumble dryer.
In a symbolic or magical sense the donning of a robe or cloak
separates the wearer from the outside mundane wor ld. As they represent
the night, by wearing a black robe or cloak the witch is 'wrapping herself
in darkness' and becoming invisible to the outside world She is also
identifying herself with the chthonic gods and goddesses of the witch
cult, the so-called archetypal 'powers of darkness', especially the ancient
primeval goddess known as Nox or Night. Clothing, especially for ritual,
is spun and woven, and in the old days it would have been on a spinning
w heel, spindle or loom. This connects the magical robe with the aspect
of the witch-goddess as the spinner and weaver of fate, destiny or the

35
 Liber Nox

Web of Wyrd. In the Old Craft this aspect is represented by the biblical
Naamah, sister of Tubal-Cain, the Norns, the Fates, Dame Holda, the
'Ihree Sisters, the 'Ihree Mothers or the three Weird (Wyrd) Sisters
of Norse, Germanic and Anglo-Saxon mythology. In Shakespeare's
Scottish play they are the triad of witches on the blasted heath with
their cauldron who predict the fate of the king. In classical mythology
one of the three fate goddesses cuts the umbilical cord at birth, the
second measures the thread of life and the third cuts the silver cord at
death that attaches the spirit to the body.
Today the scourge is a witch's working tool that has become more
associated with modern Wicca where it is used for ritual purification
and gaining 'the Sight' (clairvoyance) . When it is used in traditional
witchcraft the scourge is symbolic of the threshing flail and is made
from horsehair, leather thongs or by tying a bundle of twigs together. As
the 'lightning whip' or 'spirit whip' it is used by some witches to subdue
and control lesser spirits or elementals that are summoned to the circle.
More rarely and archaically the scourge was used as a tool of discipline.
Scottish witches said that the Devil (the presiding human master of
the coven) chastised them if they got out of line, misbehaved or broke
the rules. The 1 7h century witch Isobel Gowdie described in her freely
given confession that the Devil beat those who lagged behind in the
ritual dances with a whip. Hence the popular saying: '"The Devil take
the hindmost".
Traditional witches often wear ritual necklaces made from coral,
amber, jet, ebony, hagstones, 'elf-bolts' (prehistoric flint arrowheads),
acorns, semi-precious stones, snake vertebrae, the bones, skulls and
claws of birds of prey or the feet of small animal such as moles, mice,
rabbits and weasels. Although it is not as commonplace as it is in Wicca,
some traditional witches may wear a copper or silver bracelet. !his is
engraved with the owner's witch name written in the magical 'Iheban
script or the Norse or Germanic runic alphabet, symbols, images or
magical sigils of a personal nature or relating to the coven or tradition.
Most witch meetings feature the burning of herbs or incense as a
sacrificial offering, to purify or consecrate a working place or to provide
the medium by which spirits can manifest or materialise in the smoke.
High quality incense is also used to create a magical atmosphere and the
right state of mind or altered state of consciousness that is conducive
to meditation, trance work, spirit ingress or spellcraft. In ancient times
as well as in religious ceremonies and magical rites incense was burnt
to mask the odour of animal or human sacrifices and to purify the
atmosphere during funeral rites and the disposal of the bodies of the
 Tools of the Arte

dead. Obviously this use of incense is now out-dated and not applicable
to modern times where blood sacrifices (apart from sometimes a small
quantity of the practitioner's own blood) are no longer practised.
Incenses are usually a mixture or compound of essential oils, dried
herbs, flowers, plants, resins and gums. Although various commercial
blends of incense can be purchased as joss sticks, cones or in grain
form, many traditional witches prefer to make and blend their own or
buy high quality incense from church suppliers. Censers on chains can
be purchased from ecclesiastical shops, and various types of incense
burners from New Age shops or those selling ethnic Eastern goods.
Alternatively a fireproof bowl half-fi1led with sand or earth can safely
burn joss sticks or incense in grain form on small charcoal blocks.
lhe type of incense used in the Craft depends on the type of ritual
being worked or the seasonal festival that is celebrated. For example, the
witch-goddess may like incenses and perfumes based on roses, poppies,
lilies, camphor, Balm of Gilead, patchouli or jasmine. lhe witch-god
might prefer honeysuckle, musk, pine and sage. For seasonal festivals
the summer ones could feature thyme, fennel and geranium, and in
winter laurel leaves, vervain and fir. In necromantic rites henbane,
yew and myrrh would be burnt. Magical rituals or spells relating to
communication and matters of the mind require incense made from
mint, cloves, cinnamon or lemon leaves. However, for a money spell it
would be borage, sage and lilac. In love magic, magnolia, musk, violet
and essence of roses are used. Genera1ly a high quality incense such
as frankincense, sandalwood or the Ancient Egyptian kyphi can be
employed for general ritual and magical purposes.

37
 RI N G- H CRAP

I
NITIATION or induction is generally defined as the admission into

a 'mystery' or a secret society, usually one of a occult (hidden),

esoteric (for the few) or religious nature. It is very much a spiritual
'rite of passage' signifying the transition from one stage of life to another
or a change in a person's beliefs and outlook on the world. At its most
basic level, initiation is symbolic of death and rebirth. !his is graphically
illustrated in some indigenous tribal cultures where the candidate crawls
on their hands and knees through the open legs of a standing priestess
or wise-woman. By this act he is symbolically being reborn as an embryo
from the womb of the mother goddess. !his can be compared to the
mortal who travels to a burial mound or 'hollow hill' and is initiated by
the fairy queen. In Freemasonry and some magical traditions a coffin
or tomb may even be used in initiations. When in indigenous cultures
a person becomes a shaman he or she falls into an induced trance and
may experience being torn limb from limb by a totem or sacred animal
such as a bear or wol !he body parts are then reassembled to create a
new being. While not so dramatic or traumatic, the 'ordeal' during an
induction into the witch-cult is similar, for the candidate is tested and
has to pass through it to achieve initiation. Failure will lead to rejection
at the edge of the circle.
In the Craft, initiation is called 'entering the circle' and even by that
act the initiate is changed. In the initiation rites performed by Australian
aboriginals, a circular ring of earth (similar to an Iron Age earthwork)
is regarded as 'sacred ground'. 'lhe candidate steps into this space and
symbolically moves from one world to another, one life to another. In
simple terms, 'entering the circle' and the rite of initiation marks the
progression from cowan, or outsider, to initiate or insider, the accepted
member of a closed, exclusive and often quite elitist group. Obviously
taking such an important step brings with it responsibilities and duties
that are not found in outside society or the candidate's ordinary life.
One important question asked of the initiate is what he or she can offer
 Entering the Craft

or bring to the Craft in the way of personal skills, qualities or abilities.

In the past, initiation or induction into the Old Craft could be
gained in several ways. Both the confessions given by witches and
folklore records indicate it could be obtained by direct contact with a
supernatural or Otherworldly figure or spirit. !his was either a male
spirit, described as the Man-in-Black, the Dark Man or a 'black man', or
a female entity called the 0!1een of Elfhame or Faerie. Not surprisingly,
the Man-in-Black was identified by the Church as the Devil and this
name was also used by members of the Craft. However, the witches
sometimes described him as the 'king of the faeries', a 'shining angel'
or an ordinary man dressed in dark clothing with his true diabolical
nature indicated by horns, animal legs or hoofs for feet. 'lhe witch
hunters who branded followers of the Craft as 'devil worshippers ' were
quick to identify any mention of a shining angelic being as the fallen
angel Lucifer. In many cases of course, the Devil or 'Man in Black ' was
not a supernatural being or demonic manifestation. Instead he was the
human leader of the local coven or the controller and supervisor of a
group of solitary witches in the area.
When the Man in Black turned up at the prospective witch's front
door or materialised in her bedroom at night, he would ask her to
renounce her Christian baptism and devote herself to his service for
the rest of her life. In exchange, he would offer physical and material
incentives such as the promise she would not go without money, food
and clothes if she did what he asked. 'lhe popular belief was that the
witch signed a Faustian pact with the Devil in their own blood and
sold him their souls after death in exchange for material wealth and
happiness in this lif e. !here are many folk tales of Old Nick being seen
by witnesses turning up to claim his prize when the witch or wizard died.
'lhe 1 7'h century Scottish witch Isobel Gowdie said she met the
Devil in the form of a dark stranger while walking near the farm where
she lived. He spoke to her in a friendly manner and invited her to meet
him after dark at the local parish church. Significantly, this stood on
prehistoric earthworks that were probably the former site of ancient
pagan worship. When the farmer's wife kept the rendezvous the Devil
initiated her into the witch-cult. He first asked Gowdie to renounce her
baptism into the Christian faith and gave her the new witch-name of
'Janet '. 'lhe dark stranger then placed one hand on top of her head and
the other on the sole of her left foot. Gowdie promised the Devil that
everything that lay between his hands would hence belong to him and
be dedicated to his service. Finally he bit her on the shoulder creating
the so-called Diablo stigmata or 'Devil's Mark'.

39
 Liher Nox

When searching suspects, the professional witch-hunters stripped

them and examined their naked bodies for this incriminating mark.
It was supposed to be a place on the body that was insensitive to
pain, and this was tested with a bodkin. Some of these instruments
had retractable points that went back into the handle when pressed
against the suspected witch's body, so she felt no pain. Of course any
wart, birthmark, scar or skin blemish could easily and conveniently be
identified as the Devil's Mark. Possibly if the suspect was really a witch
it was also in the nature of a ritual tattoo or brand of a spider, toad, or
a magical symbol like three dots or a pentagram given at initiation.
Some male witchfinders like the notorious Matthew Hopkins in
eastern England employed matronly women as 'witch prickers' because
men were not supposed or allowed to see the naked flesh of female
suspects. Others were not so prudent, and stripping a female suspect
and examining her naked body for a 'witch mark> became a popular
spectator sport.
'Ihe ritualistic format for entry into the witch-cult seems to have
been common in both England and Scotland. Sir George Mackenzie
in Laws and Customs ef Scotland (1699) said: ''Ihe Solemnity confessed
by all witches, is the putting of one hand to the crown of the Head, and
another to the sole of the Foot, renouncing the Baptism in that posture.'
'Ihe English writer on demonology Joseph Glanvil published several
i1lustrations of witch rites in his Sadducismus Triumphatus. One depicts
an initiation ceremony, and a woman is going through this rite at the
hands of a winged and horned demonic figure in an outdoor location.
In a talk given to the Friends of the Museum of Witchcraft at
Boscastle in December 2003, traditional Essex witch and cunning man
Andrew D. Chumbley listed several different ways a person could receive
entry or initiation into the Old Craf t. These included the 'passing on' of
magical power or 'virtue' and occult knowledge such as spells, charms,
recipes, ritual objects or tools, 'words of power' and magical books and
texts, often handwritten and handed down from a witch to the initiate.
Other methods were sexual induction, birth or adoption into a witch
family, and the consumption of a potion brewed from psychoactive
plants and fungi that causes visionary experiences or facilitates contact
with the spirit world. !his was usually done as part of a nocturnal vigil
and was known in the Cochrane witchcraft tradition as the Rite of the
Poisoned Chalice. At the end of this test the would-be witch would
be questioned about what they had experienced, seen and heard, and
if the answers were satisfactory, initiation would follow. !his ritual is
similar to the Native American vision quest, shamanic initiations and
 Entering the Craft

the solitary vigils in churches by knights in medieval chivalric orders

and the Arthurian legends.
Traditionally the process of initiation into the Old Craft follows a
set pattern. It includes a probationary period of teaching and training
before formal admission, that is usually a year and a day in length. The
actual 'rite of admission' may include the magical purification of the
postulant, a vigil or test and ordeal, an oath ofloyalty and confidentiality,
the display or gifting of ritual or magical objects and working tools
with an explanation of their significance, symbolism and use, and the
transmission orally or in writing to the new initiate of myths, philosophy
and teachings they must keep secret from outsiders. It is very similar to
an initiation or induction into a Masonic lodge or rural secret societies
like the Guild of Horsemen and the Miller's Word. In fact traditional
witches believe that there was an overlap in the past between all these
clandestine and esoteric groups and witchcraft.
In the old days when the Craft was exclusively an underground
movement facing persecution, members of covens are supposed to have
 LiberNox

not known the names of their colleagues in the circle, and worn masks
to conceal their identities from each other. This seems highly unlikely
in rural areas where everybody knew everyone else. Also the initiate was
required to swear a bloodcurdling oath binding them to the coven. !his
was to prevent them talking about what they saw or heard and revealing
the identity of their fellow witches to cowans or outsiders. During the
witch-hunts, as in wartime, careless talk did cost lives.
In his classic book Mastering Witchcrcift ( 1 970) P aul Huson
recommended that those initiates with a Christian background should
recite the Lord's Prayer backwards. !his suggestion caused controversy,
but Huson justified it as a hangover from the days of persecution to
prevent Christian spies infiltrating covens and expose informers. He
also said that in a psychological way it deconditioned people who
had once held strong Christian beliefs and was an anti-establishment
symbol of defiance against the oppression of organised religion and the
state. In the witch-trials there are stories of initiates renouncing the
Christian religion, God and the Virgin Mary and spitting or trampling
on a crucifix, and that may have been for the same purpose rather then
deliberate blasphemy.
Initiation into modern traditional witchcraft takes several forms
depending on the coven or tradition. It may be carried out only at a
specific festival such as May Eve or Hallows Eve and be performed
before the whole coven or privately between initiator and initiate. 'Ihe
candidate will be hoodwinked or blindfolded and bound with cords, and
is challenged at the edge of the Circle of Arte. !hey are then questioned
about their motives for entry into the Craft. Even at this late stage they
may be rejected as "not worthy". Providing the candidate's answers and
attitude are considered acceptable and satisfactory they will be invited
by their initiator to enter the 'space between the worlds' in the traditional
manner by crossing the 'stile' or 'bridge' (a crossed sword and besom laid
on the ground). It is interesting that such a procedure of questions and
answers or responses was carried out during the ordination in March
2013 of the new Archbishop of Canterbury as he stood outside the
cathedral door waiting to be admitted. It was also practised by the
Society of the Horseman's Word and the Freemasons.
'Ihe candidate may be purified or 'exorcised' by the elements,
represented physically by a candle, incense, a bowl of earth or salt and
a flask of water. !hen he or she kneels at the altar or before the stang.
The blindfold is removed to symbolise the initiate's transition from
the darkness of materialism and ignorance to the light of spirituality
and gnosis. 'Ihe first thing the new initiate will see when the blindfold
 Entering the Craft

is removed is the horned goat, stag or ram's mask either worn by the
Magister or Grand Master as the representative of the Devil/Horned
God or attached to the stang. When the initiate looks around the circle
they will see their new brethren standing silently, robed, hooded and
masked.
The Magister then asks the initiate to recite an oath of allegiance to
the Elder Faith, the coven, its tradition, patron spirits and sometimes its
human leaders. If a sword is used in the circle then it may be held at the
initiate's throat or pointed at their heart when the oath is taken. This is
to ensure it will not be broken on pain of banishment from the coven
and the curse of the Goddess on the initiate. Some covens symbolically
adopt the ancient ceremonies of knighthood and chivalry from the
Arthurian legends and dub or touch the initiate on each shoulder with
the flat blade of the Sword of Light. 'Ihey may be asked to take the oath
with their hand on the sword or kiss its blade afterwards.
In some covens the 'measure' is taken. 'This is done by measuring the
body of the candidate with a thread or cord and pricking their thumb to
soak it with a drop of their blood. This is then kept and can be magically
used against an initiate if she or he is banished from the coven and
decides to reveal its secrets. The M agister then 'passes the power' to the
initiate using the traditional ritual gesture of one hand placed on the
head and one on the foot. Acting as the middle man, he then 'wills'
all the power and virtue of the coven into the initiate. 'This provides
a psychic and magical link between the new initiate and the patron,
guardian and ancestral spirits of the coven, clan or tradition.
Some branches of the Traditional Craft have grades of initiation
similar to the three Masonic degrees of Entered Apprentice,Journeyman
and Master Mason. It is possible that these grades, degrees or stages of
initiation were introduced into the Old Craft by members who were
Freemasons in the 18'h century. Alternatively they may have been
borrowed more recently from modern Wicca. However, whether these
grades are used or not, the initiate will begin a period of learning and
practice that both instructs them in the Old Ways and Elder Faith and
assesses their qualities, skills and abilities and what they can offer the
Craft and the coven. In time this may lead to appointment to one of the
officer roles in the coven. Eventually, if they so desire and permission is
granted by their initiator and parent coven and they have the necessary
qualifications and attributes, the initiate may be allowed to 'hive off' and
form their own group.
As mentioned before, there are other ways of entering the Craft
apart from a ritualistic and formal acceptance and initiation into a

43
 Liher Nox

coven. One of these is the 'Way of the Book' and is accomplished by a

formal transmission of a (usually handwritten) magical text or grimoire
or a ritual object. !his from of initiation is sometimes used when, for
whatever reason, face to face personal contact is not possible, and it
includes the forging of a psychic link between teacher and pupil. A
similar process is the passing on of spirit guides and familiar spirits
and this features in the accounts of witch trials and the folklore about
witches and cunning folk.
A famous historical example of the latteris that of the Cambridgeshire
witch Old Mother Redcap recorded in 1 9 2 8 . Her neighbours told a
reporter from 7he Sunday Chronicle newspaper that she became a witch
when a mysterious 'black man' knocked at her door. He asked her to
sign a 'black book' and in return gave the witch a wooden box. When it
was opened it was found to contain five familiars. Shortly afterwards the
old woman was seen out walking accompanied by a rat, a cat, a mouse,
a toad and a ferret. Apparently the imps or familiars had previously
belonged to another witch in the same village who had died recently.
Family traditions of witchcraft have already been mentioned and
some people are hereditary witches born into the Craft. Everyone has
heard the stereotypical 'granny stories' and read grandiose claims about
witch traditions surviving intact since the Middle Ages or even Celtic
times. For obvious reasons such tales are often lacking in documentary
evidence and are hard to prove. Sadly many are sheer fantasy. However,
despite this, genuine claimants to a family tradition do exist, although
they are very rare nowadays. Outsiders can join such hereditary groups
or clans either by marriage or by being ritually adopted into the family
tradition. Hereditary witch clans and families should not be confused
with the metaphysical Old Craft belief in the 'witch blood' or 'elven
blood' passed down spiritually through incarnations into physical bodies.
Perhaps the most controversial aspect of entry into the Old Craft is
so-called 'self-initiation', or more accurately solitary initiation, outside
the coven system. Although it has been said by some modern writers
on Wicca that a witch can only be created by another witch, thereby
presumably rejecting the existence of hereditary witchcraft, the solitary
initiation or self-dedication to the Craft is a valid process. In fact in the
old days the majority of witches were solo practitioners, although they
might meet up with others in their area for spell making, exchanging
charms and herbal recipes and perhaps working magic together,
sometimes under the supervision of the local Man in Black. Also today,
despite the Internet and various forms of social media and networking
such as Facebook and Twitter, most people do not have access to a coven

44
 Entering the Craft

in their locality or within easy travelling distance. If they want to be

followers of the Craft and walk the Old Path then they have to do it
alone as solitary practitioners of the Arte.
!he term 'self-initiation' is a bit of a misnomer as any form of
initiation involves a symbiotic relationship between a human teacher
and their pupil, or on a higher level, a spirit and its follower. If the
solitary initiation is as the result of a spiritual revelation, spirit contact
or gnosis received from a supernatural source, then it is a legitimate form
of entry into the Craft. In such circumstances there is no reason why the
person involved could not 'pass on the power' and initiate others. !hat is
providing they do not make grandiose and fantastical false claims about
the historical origin of their tradition or claim to belong to an existing
tradition they have not been initiated into.
Historically there are several references to solitary initiation. One
classic example found in Wales and the West Country involves the
would-be witch going to a church service as normal. !hey attend Mass
but instead of swallowing the host they transfer it to a handkerchief or
a bag. At the end of the service they walk nine times 'against the sun'
around the building i.e. in a widdershins, moonwise or anti-clockwise
direction. !he host is then fed to a black dog or large toad found sitting
by the lych-gate at the magically liminal boundary of the churchyard.
!his animal was said to be the Devil in disguise. !he person who did
this rite was then declared to have all the powers of a witch or wizard.
W hen the creature was a toad it had to be kissed by the would-be
witch for the rite to be successful. 'Kissing the toad' is a cryptic or coded
reference in traditional witchcraft to the use of the fly agaric fungus
with its distinctive red cap and white spots. !his hallucinogenic and
poisonous toadstool (!) which is frequently seen in illustrations to fairy
tales increases perception and access to the spirit world and for that
reason has been used by shamans and witches through the ages. It also
features in some initiation rites into the Old Craft. However it should
be noted that under current anti-drug legislation its use is illegal.
A folklorist called William Dennison described a solitary witch
initiation performed in the 1 8 8os on the Orkney Islands in Scotland.
At full moon the person went to a remote beach at midnight - to a
magically liminal place between earth, sky and sea at a liminal time.
She turned three times widdershins before lying down on the sand in
the area between the limits of high and low tide. !hen she stretched out
her arms and legs (in the shape of a pentagram or five-pointed star) and
placed five stones beside them. !hree other stones were placed at her
head, on her chest and over her heart, making the mystical number of
 Liher Nox

seven in all An invocation was recited beginning "O Master King of all
that's ill/Come fill me with the warlock's skill/And I shall serve with all
me will that made her a witch. After reciting the invocation she threw
"

the seven stones into the waves.

Today anyone seeking solo initiation into the Craft should go to
some remote secluded spot in the countryside, such as a wood, a hill, an
ancient site like a standing stone, megalithic circle or burial mound, or
a churchyard built on the site of former pagan worship, where they will
not be disturbed. Graveyards built on pagan sites can be recognised as
they are usually circular, may be surrounded by prehistoric earthworks
and could have a standing stone in their precincts. A church on the road
from Cardigan to Devil's Bridge in West Wales actually has a stone
circle built into its surrounding churchyard wall.
At midnight on a full moon the would-be witch calls on the Lord
and Lady, the Horned God and the Goddess. She then places one hand
on her own head and one on her left foot and dedicates everything
between to the Old Gods and the guardian and ancestral spirits of
the Craft and to their service. Offerings of food, a libation of alcohol,
fresh flowers and a few drops of the witch's own blood (menstrual or
otherwise) are then offered to the spirits. Bread and wine is blessed and
eaten as a sacred communion rite or Houzel to bind and end the rite.
 liar" thnt<
I N CT H C I RL

HEN
W
celebrating the seasonal festivals, contacting the
spirits or working magic, the traditional witch usually casts
a Circle of Arte. 'Ihe symbol of the circle is an ancient,
universal and archetypal one. It represents such important mystical
concepts as wholeness, unity, cosmic and spiritual harmony, the totality
of existence, the celestial or heavenly realm, the divine, eternity and
infinity. The circle is also symbolic of the ritual Wheel of the Year, the
seasonal and agricultural cycle, the power of Fate (hence the Wheel of
Fortune card in the Tarot) and the progression from birth to death and
rebirth that ends with the attainment of the vision of the Grail. '!he circle
with a point in the centre is a sign of the union between humankind and
the Godhead, the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey or Grail Q.est.
An equal-armed cross enclosed in a circle used in traditional witchcraft
symbolises the sun and the four elements of fire, earth, air and water.
The circle can also be a symbol of equality, and one example of this is
the Round Table in Arthurian legend where the knights who sat around
it each held an equal position in the chivalric fellowship associated with
it. In June 20 r 3 the results of a study by Canadian academics published
in the journal ef Consumer Research suggested that the use of a round
table or a circle in classrooms, restaurants and business meetings prevents
conflict and arguments. Sitting in a circle also created positive feelings
of belonging to a group and made the participants less aggressive and
therefore more like to co-operate with each other.
One possible origin for the concept of the Round Table in Arthurian
legend is that when the ancient druids met for discussions or ceremonies
they sat in a circle. In the r 8th and 1 9th century, antiquarians mistakenly
believed that the megalithic circles and standing stones were druidic
monuments. '!here is an echo of this in the Arthurian legends where
Stonehenge, called the 'Giants' Dance' because it was supposed to
have been erected by a race of giants, is said to have been magically
transported by Merlin from Ireland to Salisbury Plain. In fact this may

47
 Liher Nox

be a folk memory of the journey taken by the famous bluestones at

Stonehenge from a quarry in the Preseli hills of West Wales, an area in
prehistoric times that had a close connection with Ireland. 'Therefore
the Arthurian Round Table may also be symbolic of a prehistoric stone
circle and their use as communal meeting places.
While we now know the druids had nothing to do with the ancient
monuments built by the megalithic cultures, although they may have
used them ritually and magically, an idea put forward by archaeologists
about a form of proto-druidism first surfaced in the public domain in
7he Independent newspaper in June 1 9 8 8 . 'They suggested that there may
have been a continuity of religious belief and practice that dates back at
least 7000 years. While it is not suggested there was any kind of survival,
this pre-Celtic proto-druidic cultus had a number of key elements that
can also be found in historical and traditional witchcraft.
1hey include the worship of underworld deities associated with
water, sacrificial offerings, the sacred symbolism of weapons, the use of
circles and spirals in religious art, astronomical, astrological and calendar
observations as part of a seasonal cycle of ceremonies and festivals,
the sanctity of fire, the worship of trees and stones, and the magical
significance of the number three and its multiples. 'The late Dr Anne
Ross also divided the Celtic deities from the Iron Age into categories
that correspond to traditional witchcraft, with a horned god personified
in bestial form as a stag, ram or bull and sub-categories for the cult of
the sacred head and totemic birds and animals. It should also be noted
that the different tribes of the Celts also worshipped their own local
gods or genii loci, the 'spirits of place' and the land. 'This was a religious
practice that continued during the Roman occupation of Britain. It
also survived into Anglo-Saxon times when such pagan survivals were
condemned by the Christian Church and banned in the same royal laws
that prohibited the practice of witchcraft.
One of the earliest physical manifestations of the circle symbol, as
we have seen, are in prehistoric times with the henges or earthworks,
stone circles and round burial mounds scattered across the British Isles
and Europe and also found in other parts of the world. Various places in
the countryside have always been regarded as contact points, gateways,
doorways or portals where the 'veil is thin' and contact or access can
be gained to the Otherworld. Many of these are liminal places such as
parish (formerly tribal) boundaries, hedgerows (especially where oak,
ash and thorn grow together), fords, streams, rivers, lakes, fens, bogs or
marshes, and the seashore where water, earth and sky meet; woods and
forests adjacent to moors and fields, burial mounds and churchyards, and
 Casting the Circle

crossroads where leys or spirit paths cross and meet. All these natural
places reflect the concept and purpose of the magical circle for spanning
or linking the worlds, and are used by modern traditional witches as
meeting places for seasonal festivals and magical working sites.
Magical circles were used thousands of years ago in Mesopotamia
by exorcist-magicians in anti-witchcraft rituals for both protection and
retaining magical power within an enclosed space or area. Information
on this practice has been found inscribed on clay tablets featuring
magical texts. In classical times the Roman writer and historian Pliny
described how circles were carved on the ground around plants when
gathering them for magical purposes. A dagger or sword was used to
make the circle, although the tusk of a wild boar, a deer's antler or the
horn of a ram or bull could also be employed. In the medieval grimoire
tradition, salt, charcoal, chalk and wood ash were used to physically
mark out the circle on the earth. Today flour is sometimes used. After it
had been cast or drawn, the magical circle was purified or consecrated
with a mixture of holy water and herbs.
Although it has been claimed that the magical circle has been
borrowed by modern witches from ceremonial magic, it has always
been used in folk magic and there are many old illustrations of witches
standing or working in circles drawn on the ground and summoning
spirits. One famous illustration was published in Rochard Bovet's
Pandaemonium or the Devil's Cloyster ( 1 6 84). It depicts an elderly witch
wearing a hooded robe and holding a lighted candle and a wand.
She is standing inside a small double circle on the ground inscribed
with planetary symbols and zodiac signs. In 1 6 1 5 a Cambridgeshire
witch was asked at her trial if she had ever "made a circle by charm or
enchantment". At Horseheath in the same county it was said witches
drew a circle on the ground with chalk. lhey then recited the Lord's
Prayer backwards and summoned the Devil to appear and he manifested
in the shape of a black cockerel or a mouse, rat or toad.
lhe purpose of the Circle of Arte has been described as creating a
boundary to enclose the practitioner and protect them from outside,
mundane, negative or harmful influences, and hostile presences that
might disturb or disrupt their activities. In that respect it can symbolically
be seen as a fortress or castle and is sometimes metaphorically referred
to in traditional witchcraft by those terms. Its other use is to concentrate,
focus and contain any psychic energy or magical power raised within
it. Medieval woodcuts depict magicians and witches standing within a
small circle drawn on the ground while evoking spirits or demons that
appear inside a triangle outside it.

49
 Liher Nox

Andrew D. Chumbley has said of the Circle of Arte that when you
stand within it, 'cast true about you like the horizon itself ', your presence
preserves the lineage and tradition of the witch-blood, i.e. those who
have gone before in the Craft and those incarnated today who are their
magical and spiritual successors. In this way, those who belong to the
Craft in modern times are tracing or retracing in the circle the footsteps
of their ancestors and ancestral spirits. Chumbley added that this links
the circle and the ritual practices in it to a tradition that is native to
the land upon which you stand. 'Ihis, he says, is because the power is
drawn directly from the earth where the witch performs her rites. 'lhe
circle is the gateway that opens between this world and the spirit realm
and allows contact with the Otherworld and the power within the land
(2010:5 l). As Florence Farr, one of the prominent members of the late
l9'h century Order of the Golden Dawn said about the magical circle:
''A circle is nothing to the profane, but to the initiate it is All. When we
step into the circle we step into a void and we create everything and our
true self within it."
'lherefore in traditional witchcraft the primary purpose for casting
a circle is to create a liminal 'space between the worlds' where contact
can be more easily made between the witch and the Other. It is an
artificial gateway or portal between the spiritual realm and the physical
plane and a specially designated place of spirit access and ingress. 'Ihis
is represented by the 'point within the circle', for above its centre is the
Pole Star in the night sky. 'lhe cauldron and fire are placed symbolically
in the exact centre of the circle and the presence of the stang fixed in
the ground links the microcosm and the macrocosm; the earth and the
sky, the heavens and the underworld, time and space. As the famous
Hermetic axiom says: 'As Above, So Below'.
W hen the circle is cast it has to be realised that it is not one
dimensional. In fact it can be visualised as a sphere that extends equally
below the flat circle drawn on the ground and above it. 'lherefore,
symbolically and psychically and physically, the Circle of Arte exists
in and links three places in a liminal way: the land, the sky and the
underground. Like the stang, it connects Middle Earth or the Middle
World with the Upper World (Heaven) and the Lower World or realm
of the dead. 'Ihree worlds are temporarily connected as one by the
casting of the magical circle, and the link is broken when it is closed
down at the end of a ritual.
In medieval magic, the four quarters of the circle and the compass
points were believed to be ruled by demon kings and their attendant
spirits. In the more sophisticated type of ceremonial magic practised

50
 Casting the Circle

by the Golden Dawn, the four quarters were assigned to angelic beings
and elemental powers or guardians representing the spiritual essence of
fire, earth, air and water. In ancient Zoroasterism it was believed that
the four quarters of the heavens were guarded and watched over by
spirits called 'watchers'. In the stellar cult of Mesopotamia there were
four 'royal' stars known as 'the Lords' or 'Watchers' representing the four
quarters of the sky, the four cardinal compass points and the seasons.
'lhese royal stars were Aldebaran in the east ruling the vernal
equinox, Antares in the west ruling the autumn equinox, Formahout
in the north ruling the winter solstice, and Regulus, the south and
the summer solstice. Later in ancient Greece the 'Watchers' became
associated with the four winds coming from the compass points and
their attendant spirits. 'lhe early Roman Church only recognised four
archangels: Michael, Raphael, Gabriel and Uriel, and they were named as
'Watchers'. These angelic beings entered the Western magical tradition
as the rulers of the four compass points of the circle or Watchtowers and
their elemental attributes.

In Italian witchcraft the Watchers are also the name for the guardians
and protectors of the ritual circle. Each one oversees a 'watchtower' or
fort and they are doorkeepers or gatekeepers to the realm of the Old
Gods. It is commonly believed that the Italian witch-cult originated
in the pagan beliefs and practices of the ancient Etruscans in northern
Italy. 'lhe Romans adopted many of their beliefs including the fares or
household and land spirits. Ovid referred to them as the 'night watchmen'
and said they were worshipped by placing small towers before the house
altar. '!here were also shrines to these spirits in their outdoor form at
crossroads. At the annual festival in honour of the fares, the roads were
left open in all four directions to allow them to pass freely.
In some forms of modern traditional witchcraft the Watchers
feature as the group of angels who watched over humanity and they
were known as 'the Shepherds'. In Genesis and the apocryphal Book
of Enoch the Watchers took their role a stage further. As mentioned
earlier, rebelling against Yahweh they incarnated on Earth in physical
form and married the 'daughters of men' or human women to whom
they taught the arts and crafts of civilisation, divination and magic.
As a result of this illicit union the 'witch blood' or 'elven blood' of a
hybrid half-angelic, half-human race of powerful magicians was born.
'lhey were called the Nephilim and are described in the Bible as
giant in stature and 'mighty men which were of old, men of renown'
(Genesis 6: 1 -4). Paul Huson refers to them as the so-called 'demonic
hierarchy' that modern traditional witches have contact with at times.
 Liher Nox

He also refers to the Watchers in archetypal form as the parents of the

human race, whether represented as masters of wisdom and love or as
benevolent powers of fertility and hunting, and the witch's true deities.
Robert Cochrane expressed it in a similar way when he said that in
the past the Gods helped humanity, and from this union between the
mortal and divine came forth the art of magic.
In practical terms the Circle of Arte is delineated on the ground
by using the ritual knife or sword to mark its circumference. 1he knife
is tied to a length of string, cord or rope that is attached to the stang
placed in the middle of the designated circle. In the Cochrane tradition
a shallow circular furrow or ditch is dug around the outside of the circle
and filled with wood ash, water, vinegar and salt. 1his represents the
River Lethe or Styx dividing the physical plane from the spirit world. It
also relates to prehistoric earthworks or hill forts that are known in Irish
folklore as 'faery raths' and to the concept of the 'hollow hills'.
Some witches place small stones around the edge of the Circle
of Arte at each quarter or compass point to resemble or replicate a
megalithic circle. Banners painted with images, sigils or symbols of the
patron or guardian spirits or totem animals of the coven, clan, grove or
tradition can also be placed around the circle. If working indoors, the
magical circle can be drawn on the uncarpeted floor in chalk or traced
with flour. Alternatively, borrowing a practice from magical lodges, a
permanent circle can be painted on the floor and after use covered with
a carpet or rug. If this is not possible, a circle can be drawn or painted
on a square plain piece of carpet, cloth, canvas or lino. After use this is
rolled up and stored away until next time.
1he Circle of Arte is usually cast deosil, sunways or clockwise, and
closed down in a widdershins or moonways direction. Naturally the
Church claimed that witches performed their rituals in a widdershins or
anti-clockwise direction because it was a demonic and perverted version
of the standard practice of moving clockwise around a sacred building
or holy place. Interestingly, considering the astrological, astronomical
and cosmological symbolism of the Circle of Arte, in his Primitive
Traditional History ( 1 907) J.F. Hewitt claimed that in ancient times
moving ritually in an anti-clockwise direction represented the circuit of
the constellation of Ursa Major or the Great Bear and the other stars
around Polaris or the Pole Star, which as we have seen has an esoteric
significance to the traditional witch.
In ceremonial magic and modern Wicca the four cardinal points of
the compass in the magical circle are assigned to the elements and their
ruling powers - air in the east, fire in the south, water in the west, and
 Casting the Circle

earth in the north. In the Old Craft in Britain, fire is in the east (the
direction of the rising sun), earth in the south (the tropics of Africa),
water in the west (the Atlantic Ocean) and air in the north (the polar
regions and Arctic circle). In the P ickingill Craft and the Cochrane
tradition the four compass points are visualised as being marked with
four castles associated with the elements and the four bestial aspects of
the god of the witches.
Robert Cochrane took this concept ofcastles from our native British
mythology, while in the Pickingill Craft, named after the r 9rh century
Essex cunning man and witch-master George Pickingill, they are
associated with air, fire, earth and water and the traditional aspects of
the Horned God as a stag, ram, bull and goat. In Cochrane's symbolism
the male rulers of the quarters are four 'kings' i.e. the Divine Child or

53
 Liber Nox

Lord of Light (Lucifer) in the east, the Lord of Animals in the south,
a sea god in the west compared to the Celtic deity Nodens and King
Arthur, and the Lord of the Mound in the north who is identified with
Cain as the 'man in the moon'. They are complimented at each compass
point by the Qlieens or goddesses.
!he centre of the Circle of the Arte is usually marked by the fire and
the cauldron while the altar or stang stands in the north. Outdoors this
altar could be a tree stump or a flat stone. Indoors it may be a small table
or a wooden chest in which the working tools can be stored when not in
use. On the altar are candlesticks, an incense burner, the witch's working
tools, images of the Lord and Lady and anything else required for the
rituals. !he circumference of the circle has candles made of beeswax at
each of the quarters or compass points, placed in lanterns if working
outdoors or in candlesticks indoors.

54
'Il-E WH1:
OF 'Il-E YAR
 CAN E>L1"AS

HIS seasonal festival is celebrated by the Christian Church on

February znd as Candlemas or the 'mass of candles' and is also
known as the Feast of Lights. Originally it marked the ritual
purification in the temple at Jerusalem of the Virgin Mary after the
birth of Jesus, a ceremony carried out by all Jewish women. Its popular
name comes from the medieval ecclesiastical custom of blessing the
new candles used in church. They were placed on the high altar on
this day and the priest said a special Mass over them. This Christian
ceremony possibly had its origins in the ancient rituals of lighting
candles and torches at this time to symbolise the returning sun. It was
also to welcome the goddess back from the underworld and greet the
first signs of nature's rebirth as winter came to an end. One of the early
popes banned this pagan festival and instructed all good Christians to
go to church instead and light a candle in honour of the Blessed Virgin
Mary.
Candlemas derived its Irish Gaelic name lmbolg or lmbolc, 'ewe's
milk', from the first milking of the sheep when lambs were born. This was
a sign that winter was nearly over and the appearance of new life in the
barren fields heralded the promise of spring. Despite this belief: some of
the coldest weather is recorded after the beginning of February. As the
old saying goes: "As the light gets longer, the cold gets stronger. " In the
agricultural calendar Candlemas was important because the weather on
that day was an omen of the coming season. If the day dawned bright,
clear and dry, and stayed that way, then more cold weather would follow
before springtime. A dull and wet day was supposed to mean an early
and warm spring.
In pagan Ireland and Scotland the festival known as Brigid's Day
was sacred to the goddess of the sun and light, Brigid, known as the
'Bringer of Fire', 'Great One', 'Fiery Arrow' and the 'Bright One'. She
was the patron of healing, prophecy, poetry, childbirth, marriage, arts
and crafts, and smithing. With the arrival in Ireland of missionaries

57
 Liher Nox

such as St Patrick, the goddess was Christianised as St Bridget or St

Bride, pronounced Breed, and became known as the Mother Saint of
Ireland. Her father was a prince (most Celtic Christian saints were of
noble or royal birth) and her mother a commoner, a maid in royal service
when he fell in love with her. In popular tradition St Bridget was the
midwife to the Virgin Mary and the wet nurse to the baby Jesus. She
was popularly known as the 'Bride of the Golden Hair' and the 'Bride
of the White Hills'. The pagan goddess Brigid was a deity invoked for
protection and help in childbirth and her new saintly role in relation to
Jesus provided a powerful link between the old pagan religion in Ireland
and Celtic Christianity.
According to legend, St Bridget was born at sunrise 'neither within
the house or without it'. In fact her mother gave birth to her straddling
the threshold with one foot inside the house and one outside it. This
strange birth is a strong indicator that the saint was originally a pre
Christian figure and a goddess ruling over the liminal 'inbetween',
the symbolic and sometimes actual boundary between this world and
the Otherworld. 'This is also shown by her festival being on Imbolc
and marking the seasonal transition between winter and spring. It
is also why the saint was invoked as a protector of houses and their
inhabitants.
As a young woman, St Bride or Bridget worked as a milkmaid
before taking holy orders, becoming a nun and founding a famous
religious community at Kildare. The site had already been used for
druidic worship, and in Gaelic was known as Kildara or 'the place of
the oak. This tree was sacred to the druids and when Bridget laid the
foundations of her abbey it was on the site of a great oak venerated
by the local tribal people. In another echo of pagan sun worship, the
shrine of St Bridget at Kildare had a perpetual fire tended by nine nuns
who were under strict orders not to let it go out. It was only finally
extinguished in the 1 5 oos when King Henry VIII of England closed
down the Irish monasteries and ordered their demolition.
St Bridget also is supposed to have travelled to Glastonbury - the
Arthurian Avalon - and a pre-Christian healing well there is named
after her. Before Glastonbury Abbey was destroyed in the Reformation
it was said that several of the saint 's relics were held there. The site of
the spring at Beckery just outside the town is called Bride's Mound
and there are views across the surrounding landscape to Glastonbury
Tor and Wearyall Hill. 'The area was once known as Beckery Island and
when the surrounding land was submerged by water it was the western
gateway to the Tor. It is now an environmental conservation area and
 Candlemas

home to a variety of wildlife including deer, hares, barn owls and bats.
Archaeologists have also unearthed the physical remains of a small
chapel and cemetery dating from Anglo-Saxon times that survived until
the Reformation.
1he primary magical sigil of the goddess Brigid and her saintly
counterpart was the sun wheel or fire wheel. 1his sacred symbol was
known in Celtic art as the triskele and for thousands of years in the Far
East it was a sign of good luck and fortune. However if not in its deosil
form it represented death and destruction. It was in this negative form
that it was adopted by the German National Socialist Party or Nazis
in the 1 9 20s as the reversed swastika. 1he Celtic Christian version of
the sun wheel was known as St Bridget's Cross and was made from
straw plaited in the form of a central square, diamond or lozenge shape
with four arms extending from it at right angles. Irish peasants placed
it above the doors of their cottages, farmhouses, stables and cow sheds
at Candlemas to ward off evil influences and attract good luck and
fertility. 1he cross was also hung on a blue ribbon, the sacred colour
of the goddess, above the cradles of new-born babies. 1his was to stop
them being stolen by the Gentry or Good People and replaced with a
faery changeling.
In the Scottish Highlands and Islands, as the midwife to the Virgin
Mary, St Bride was a legendary figure. Women in labour prayed to the
saint, calling on her for relief from the pain of childbirth, a safe delivery
and no miscarriages. On Candlemas Day a young woman who had not
given birth yet, and wanted a baby, made a female image from a sheaf
of wheat from the previous harvest. 1his was then decorated with shells,
snowdrops and jewellery. A quartz crystal was placed over the heart of
the effigy to represent the Star of Bethlehem that led St Bridget, like
the 1hree Magi later, to the stable or cave where Mary was waiting to
give birth to the Christ or 'anointed one'.
1his image was known as the 'Bride's Doll' and was carried in
procession from house to house accompanied by the chant: "Bride is
come! Bride is come! Bride is in the bed!" At every stop each family
made an offering of a flower or shell that was added to the image. Finally
a small bed or cradle was made for the Bride Doll and she was placed
in it. By her side was laid a wand made of the 'feminine' woods of birch
or willow. Incense or dried herbs were burnt on the hearth and next
morning the ashes were carefully examined for the footprints of the
saint. If there was no sign it was seen as a bad omen and more incense
would be burnt as an offering to gain the saint/goddess' protection for
the house and its inhabitants.

59
 Liher Nox

Brigid has an important position in some forms of modern

Traditional Craft as one of the bright aspects of the witch-goddess.
Her associations are with poetry, prophecy, healing, smithcraf t, fire and
strangely also warfare. Some writers link her with the Iron Age goddess
Brigantia worshipped in northern Britain, or with the Roman goddess
of wisdom Minerva. Brigid represents the spiralling 'dragon power' or
earth energy detected at standing stones by dowsers that is believed to
pass along the spirit paths, ghost roads or leys between natural power
centres. At Candlemas it is said that "the serpent comes out of the
mound" for the first time after winter and it is supposed to be when
adders wake from their hibernation. In an esoteric sense this belief
refers to the re-awakening of the winged serpent or dragon force (earth
energy) af ter the dark season. ''Ihe mound' is a reference to prehistoric
burial places that were believed to mark an entrance to the underworld.
In Christian times many of the sacred springs from the pagan
period were rededicated to St Bridget or Bride as holy wells and used
for healing. In folklore there are many tales of ghostly 'White Ladies'
haunting holy wells and 'witches' or wise-women acting as their
guardians or priestesses offering healing and divination to local people
and wayfarers. To traditional witches who revere Brigid her gifts of
healing and prophecy can be gained by her followers if they visit these
wells and tap into the leys and ancient power centres at certain times of
the year.
In bygone days Candlemas was known as 'the quickening of the year'
or 'the budding'. 'Ihis referred to the first flowering of snowdrops as an
early sign of the spring. Today, with climate change, if by any chance
there is unseasonably mild weather this flower is more likely to appear
in late December or early January. Although the snowdrop was not
introduced to Britain until the r 6'h century it soon became associated
with St Bridget and Candlemas. 'Ihis is indicated by its popular names
of 'Fair Maid of February' and 'Candlemas Bells'. It was also linked to
the Virgin Mary and called 'the flower of purification'. However, it was
considered very unlucky to bring snowdrops into the house. 'Ihis was
because the milk from the cows would become thin and the butter turn
out colourless.
A Scottish legend links Brigid or Bride with the Irish and Scottish
pagan goddess of winter called the Cailleach, sometimes known as the
Old Woman or the Veiled One. 'Ihe Cailleach was the guardian spirit
of rivers, springs, hills and mountains, the contro1ler of the weather and
the protector of the great herds of deer and giant elk that roamed the
Highland glens in the Ice Age. She also ruled over boars, mountain

60
 Candlemas

goats, wild cattle and wolves. In Celtic times she was supposed to reign
over the winter months from Samhain or November I sr to Candlemas,
or sometimes from the autumn equinox to the spring equinox.
1he Cailleach appeared as an ancient hunchbacked crone with
weatherbeaten and wrinkled blue skin, large fangs resembling boar's
tusks and with one eye in the middle of her forehead like a Cyclops.
1his hideous and repulsive old hag was seen walking on the seashore, on
the crags of mountains and by holy wells. She could also appear in the
shape of a seagull, cormorant, eagle or heron. As a winter goddess she
had a bad attitude, a wild nature like the storms and a vicious temper.
If angered she would roam the countryside blasting the vegetation with
her magic wand so it wilted, stripping the leaves from the trees and
raising thunderstorms.
Traditionally the Cailleach was supposed to live in a cave on top
of Scotland's highest mountain B en Nevis. At Samhain the old hag
goddess of winter washed her black plaid skirt in a stream until it
turned white. 1his magical act was supposed to bring the first snowfall.
Although the Cailleach was said to end her wintry reign on Candlemas
Day by turning into a standing stone, she was always reluctant to give up
her power every year. In fact she often did not return to her underworld
realm until March 2 5 h. 1his was (Our) Lady's Day, dedicated to the
Virgin Mary and known by the Scots as the Auld (Old) W ife's Day in
honour of the Cailleach, when there could still be snow on the ground.
In fact in the Highlands there can be snow as late as Beltane at the
beginning of May.
According to one legend, in the spring the Cailleach attempted
to extend her reign by kidnapping Brigid and holding her captive on
the Scottish mountain Ben Nevis. As in all the best fairy tales the
imprisoned maiden was rescued by a handsome young man riding a
white horse. In Brigid's case this was her brother Aengus, the sun god
who lived in Summerland, a lush and green island in the western sea.
As its name suggests it was an enchanted place of constant sunshine
inhabited by young and beautiful people. In fact it was T ir-na-nO g or
the Land of the Ever Young, the Celtic paradise. Aengus saw Brigid's
plight in a dream, rode to her rescue, killed or at least defeated the evil
Cailleach and set the bright goddess free. All this allegedly took place
on Brigid's Day, lmbolg or Candlemas.
Another legend explaining the transition from winter to spring
suggests a more symbiotic relationship bet ween the young pagan
goddess and her elderly kidnapper. Brigid and the Cailleach appear in
this version to be bright and dark aspects of the same deity like the
 Liher Nox

witch-goddess. On lmbolg Eve the Cailleach travelled to the Land

of the Ever Young. In its deep woods she went to the Well of Youth
at the liminal time of dawn and drank from the clear water bubbling
up from a fractured rock. Instantly the old hag was transformed into a
beautiful young woman, the Q1een of Summer. At the same time her
black blasting rod turned into a white healing wand. The transformed
Cailleach returned to Middle Earth and at the touch of her new wand
the grass began to grow, the first spring flowers burst into bloom and
leaves appear on the trees. 'lhis story reflects the twin or dual aspects of
the Goddess, the bright and the dark, and the transition between their
power over nature and the land as the season slowly passes from winter
to spring.
In Celtic myths the story is also found of a warrior or knight who
meets an old woman. She usually asks for a kiss or even asks him to
marry her. His initial reaction is repulsion, but because he follows the
code of chivalry that includes respect for all women, the knight kisses or
agrees to wed her. If the knight complies, the hag turns into a beautiful
woman who offers him the keys to the kingdom. In patriarchal times
this process was reversed as it was the princess who had to kiss a frog or
toad and then he turned into a prince.
An example of this story is the Irish legend of a young warrior called
Niall and his two brothers, who met a hideous old crone at a sacred
spring while out hunting on a hot summer's day. 'lhe hag demands a kiss
from the thirsty men in exchange for a cup of cold water from the well.
Niall's two brothers refuse, but not only does he kiss the old woman
but also makes love to her. 'lhe guardian of the well then turns into the
most beautiful woman Niall has ever seen in his life. She informs the
warrior he has acted wisely, as she reveals herself to be Eriu, the goddess
of Ireland. When they marry he becomes High King of lreland because
she is the Land which all rulers must serve.
It has been suggested that the sheela-na-gigs, crude stone carvings
of an old woman exposing her genitalia found on medieval churches,
may represent this hag goddess. St Columba was descended from Niall
and the royal family of the High Kings, and sheela-na-gigs are often
found on buildings associated with the saint and his disciples. In Irish
folk tradition these carvings are actually called 'the hag by the well', 'the
hag of the castle' and 'the witch on the wall'.
Sovereignty, the goddess of the land, who is often associated with
death and sexuality, sterility and fertility, marries or mates with the
sacred or divine king. He has solar and underworld attributes and is
paradoxically both her son and lover. When he suffers a ritual death
 Candlemas

and is sacrificed at her hands the king becomes the 'Son of the Veiled
One or Widow'. 'Ibis was a term used to describe male initiates of the
ancient pagan Mysteries and was adopted by the medieval guilds of
stonemasons, who built the Gothic cathedrals and churches, and the
later lodges of Speculative Freemasonry.
In modern traditional witchcraft:, Candlemas is the Festival of the
Waxing Light or the Quickening of the Year and a time for purification
and initiation. In both a material and spiritual way it is a period for
'spring cleaning'. There is the hope of new beginnings as the weather
slowly improves, the sun rises earlier and earlier in the morning and the
waxing light returns with the gradually lengthening days towards the
spring equinox. The Old Year is finally exorcised, and some traditional
witches mark this by performing a banishing ritual to get rid of unwanted
influences and psychically cleansing the covenstead or working site.
Candlemas is also traditionally the time for the last outing of the
Wild Hunt before it returns again at All Hallows. If the weather is
kind enough and the festival is celebrated outdoors, then after the ritual
has ended and the circle has been closed, the coven will leave the site
to blasts from a hunting horn, making loud noises imitating the Hunt
in full cry as it rides abroad harvesting or gathering up the souls of the
departed.
 EA DY DAY

4
N
I
the Christian calendar Lady Day is known as the Feast of the
Annunciation of the Virgin Mary and is celebrated on March 2 5 'h .
It marks the announcement by the Archangel Gabriel to Mary
that she would conceive and give birth to Jesus, the son of God. Until
1 75 2, when the new Gregorian calendar was introduced, Lady Day was
known as 'New Year's Day'. 1his is why today if the 1 1 days 'lost' in the
calendar changeover are taken into account the tax year ends on April
h
5 ' . Lady Day is also one of the quarter-days in the agricultural calendar,
coming half-way between Candlemas and May Day.
In classical Rome the month of March also marked the beginning
of a new year and agricultural cycle at the vernal equinox. As its name
suggests, the month was sacred to Mars, an ancient deity of agriculture
before he became associated with war. In the spring the god was invoked
to avert storms, protect livestock from disease, increase the fertility of
the crops, herds and flocks, and look after the welfare of farmers and
their families. 1he twelve priests of Mars were known as the Salli or
Leapers and they dressed as warriors with pointed caps and carrying
short swords and shields. At the equinox they danced in the fields,
leaping high up in the air waving their swords aloft to stimulate the
growth of the crops.
At least from medieval times, New Year's Day was celebrated as it
is today, on January 1 ", and was part of the Twelve Days of Yule or
Christmas. As Lady Day fell between the periods of ploughing and
harvesting it would have been logical for our ancestors to start the new
agricultural year at the spring or vernal equinox, which in the northern
hemisphere is around March 2orh!z 1 " . Lady Day was also when tenant
farmers signed their new annual contracts with the landowners. 1here
is no date given in the Bible for the announcement by Gabriel to
Mary. 1herefore it can be presumed that Lady Day was probably the
Christianisation of a pagan celebration of the vernal equinox around
this period.
 Lady Day

According to the British Meteorological Office that forecasts the

weather, March r sr is the first day of spring. In many rural communities
and among farming folk the season actually does not begin until the
vernal equinox. The spring and autumn equinoxes (equal nights) are the
two days of the year when the hours of day and night are supposed
to be of equal length. It marks the date when the sun, as viewed from
Earth, appears to cross the equator and head northwards. In astronomy
it is when the sun crosses the celestial equator, which is an imaginary
projection of the physical one into outer space and the constellation of
Pisces. Two thousand years ago the event occurred in the constellation
of Aries the Ram. On the spring equinox the sun also rises in the sky at
dawn due east and sets due west in the evening. This marks a period of
'
the year when the hours of daylight start to get longer and the weather
gradually warmer as the sun rises in the sky.
'The marking or celebration of the spring equinox seems to have
been an important event to ancient people. For instance, archaeologists
and astronomers examining the lunar and stellar alignments at the
prehistoric circle of Stonehenge in Wiltshire believe that one of its
purposes was to mark the dates of the two equinoxes. Other ancient sites
worldwide that have alignments to the sunrise on the spring equinox
are a Neolithic burial chamber at Knowth in southern Ireland, King
Arthur's Seat outside Edinburgh in Scotland, the Great Sphinx at Giza
in Egypt, the Angkor Wat temples in Cambodia, the Chichen Hza
pyramid in Mexico, and the T ikal temple in Guatemala. The ancient
people who built these sites all over the world recognized that from a
spiritual perspective this time of the year was very important.
In mythological terms the spring equinox was interpreted as a time
when there was a final struggle between the forces oflight, represented
by the rising sun, and the fading powers of darkness, the chthonic spirits
associated with the winter. When the equinox had passed, people living
in the Scottish Highlands said that the Cailleach or hag goddess had
finally lost her battle to keep the new growing season at bay. In fact
they called Lady Day in Gaelic Latha na Cai/leach or Old Woman's
Day. Magically it was a liminal or in-between time and in medieval
Sweden it was said that witches 'rode the fence' dressed in a 'troll skin'
(mask or ritual costume) 'at the time when day and night are equal.'
'The fence or hedge is the symbolic boundary between Middle Earth
and the Otherworld and therefore witches were called 'hedge-riders'
because they had the ability to cross from one dimension to another.
The equinox is a period when day and night are equal, yet in spring
the dark half of the year prepares to give way to the light half of the
 Liher Nox

year. Today in Britain this is marked in a mundane way by the putting

forward of the clocks to British Summer T ime (BST ) on the last
weekend in March. In this respect it is a period of balance or equality
between warring natural powers represented as dark and bright twins.
'1he preceding winter has been ruled over by darkness, death and
stagnation. On Lady Day or the spring equinox the first signs of leaves
coming into bud on the trees and early flowers like snowdrops, crocuses
and daffodils blooming heralds the coming summer.
In the Christian calendar, Lady Day is when the Mother of God is
impregnated with the Holy Spirit, and nine months later at Christmas
or the winter solstice she gives birth to the Lord of Light. '1he vernal
equinox is also important because it is the date that the Roman and
Protestant Churches use to calculate the moveable festival of Easter,
marking the death and resurrection of the Christ. Easter Sunday is
designated as the first Sunday after the first full moon that follows the
spring equinox. '1herefore it can fall any time between March 2 2d and
April 2 5 'h. '1his method of dating Easter was established by the Council
of Nicea in 3 2 5 CE and would appear to be an attempt by the Early
Church to take over the old pagan rites of spring.
Although opinions differ as to the actual origin of the name 'Easter',
an 8'h centuryclergyman called the Venerable Bede linked it to Germanic
paganism. He claimed that around the time of the spring equinox the
pagan Anglo-Saxons in England celebrated a festival dedicated to a
goddess called Eostre, who later gave her name to Easter. However it
is claimed there is no real evidence that this derivation is historically
correct. This information was contained in Bede's book Temporum
Ratione or 7he Reckoning efTime, which discussed lunar and solar cycles
as the basis for calculating calendars and listed the names the Anglo
Saxons gave for their months (moons).
The name 'Eostre' is said to derive from 'eos' meaning either 'shining'
or 'east' and it may be the archaic name for a solar goddess associated
with the sunrise. In his monumental work Teutonic Mythology, the
folklorist Jacob Grimm also mentioned a Germanic goddess called
Ostara or Eostre who represents the growing light of spring and the
waxing powers of the sun. Grimm described special plays performed
in Germany around Easter featuring a mock battle bet ween human
representatives of winter and summer and accompanied by a sword
dance.
'1he association between Easter and a possible Germanic or Saxon
solar goddess may survive in a British folk tradition that is still carried
on today. Traditionally it was believed that at dawn on Easter Sunday

66
 Lady Day

the rising sun can be seen to 'dance with joy', and traditionally people
gathered in anticipation of seeing this event. It is supposed to be
a reaction to the news that Christ has risen from the tomb. Grimm
mentions that on this day girls and young women went out as the sun
rose to wash their faces in the morning dew or the water from holy wells
and sacred springs. 'Ihis folk magical practice to preserve their youthful
looks, which is also associated with the sunrise on May Day, is supposed
to have originated with pagan rites to honour the dawn goddess Eostre.
Rising early at Easter to greet the sun, whether it dances in the sky or
not, is still regarded as bringing good luck to those who actually make
the effort to do it.
Some modern traditional witches call the full moon that falls in
March the Hare Moon. This may be the reason why the goddess Eostre,
has become associated with that particular animal. '!here is also the
common phrase "As mad as a March Hare" referring to its mating habits
 Liher Nox

in spring when the males fight a duel over the females that involves
boxing with their paws. '1he hare was widely regarded as a powerful
and potent fertility symbol because the female can conceive again while
already pregnant. It is also, as we have seen, one of the sacred animals of
the traditional witch-goddess.
Before it was recently banned, hare coursing or hunting hares was a
popular pastime carried out on either Good Friday or Easter Monday.
Many country folk, however, were very superstitious about hunting
the animal as they believed it brought bad luck and misfortune to kill
one. '1his fear may be connected with the popular belief that witches
disguised themselves as hares or had the animal as their familiars. '1here
are many accounts in folklore of a hunter shooting and wounding an
unusually large hare. When he follows the blood trail to finish the job it
leads to the cottage of a local woman reputed to be a witch. When the
huntsman enters the house he finds its human occupant either badly
wounded or actually dying from a gunshot. '1his story is found all over
the British Isles, and in the 1 7'h century was even exported to the new
American colonies.
Originally, the hunting of hares was to obtain the eggs it was believed
to lay, and this may be the basis for the modern chocolate Easter Egg
hunt. The Easter Bunny who brings the eggs to good children who
have behaved themselves may be the present-day equivalent of the
hare. '1his custom is first recorded in writing in 1 7'h century Germany
and it is a hare, not a rabbit, that brings the eggs. '1he concept of the
Easter Bunny crossed the Atlantic to America in the 1 grh century with
German immigrants. It was originally called the Osterhase or Easter
Hare because that was what it was known as in their homeland.
In Christian lore the hare was said to be an animal associated with
the Virgin Mary, and it appears in some medieval paintings at the feet
of the Holy Mother who is holding the infant Jesus. '1his provides an
interesting link between Lady Day and Easter. Eggs in general were
regarded as symbols of fertility, creation and new life. In fact in some
ancient myths all life is hatched from the great Cosmic Egg. Dyeing
hard boiled eggs at Easter either red or green represented the virile life
force that is awakened in the earth at this time of the year and the foliage
that begins to appear from the spring equinox onwards. In the Christian
Church eggs were forbidden during Lent, so Easter was a good excuse
to start eating them again. Royalty covered the Easter eggs they gave as
gifts to their courtiers with gold leaf, and the jewel encrusted ones made
by the court jeweller Faberge for the royal family in pre-revolutionary
Russia are world famous today and very expensive to purchase.

68
 Lady Day

Another medieval Easter custom which may be a far memory of

pagan rites was the eating of hot cross buns, and this practice survives
today. These are glazed buns made with spices, raisins and currants,
decorated on the top with a cross and eaten during Lent before Easter
and on Good Friday. Because the cross on the buns is an equal-armed
one it has been suggested they originated in classical times as offerings
made at crossroads to Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting, the moon
and woods, or her Greek dark alter-ego Hecate. In Christian times
uneaten hot cross buns had a magical significance. '1hey were often
preserved as good luck charms and for their alleged medical properties
in curing all diseases.
In the old days Easter Monday was reserved for sports, fairs, games,
dancing, horse and dog races and feasting, as people celebrated the
passing of winter into spring. Some of the popular games that were
played included an element of subversive social reversal and were mock
battles or trials of strength between men and women. If the weather
happened to be warm enough, maypoles and Morris dancers made their
first appearance on the village green. It was also a day when the hunting
of stags and hares began. Farmers walked around their fields with cider
and plum cakes and offered up prayers that the crops would grow strong
and healthy and there was fine weather in the coming summer.
Traditionally the British custom at the beginning of the new season
is to have a 'spring clean'. This includes not only physically or spiritually
cleansing the house and its contents, but throwing out old clothes
and buying new ones for the summer, redecorating and acquiring new
furniture. Magically it is a time for getting rid of outworn and unwanted
things and attitudes that are no longer wanted and banishing negative
influences. These physical and spiritual changes in the household at the
spring equinox are symbolic of changes in our self and our relationship
to the outside world.
 MAY DAY

4
N
I
prehistoric times May Day, or Beltane from the Irish Gaelic for
the 'fire of [the sun god] Bel', was connected with rites to encourage
plant growth, fertility in humans and animals and a good harvest.
Scandinavian rock carvings dating from the Bronze Age show a naked
man with an erection ploughing a field and a man and woman making
love. Other carvings depict a couple embracing each other surrounded
by a hedge or circle of foliage. 'Ihese images symbolise the fertility
rituals and 'sacred marriage' or Great Rite between the sky/solar god
and the earth/mother goddess that was enacted at this time of the year
in prehistoric times.
'Ihe month of May is named after the Greco-Roman goddess
Maia, who was one of the 'Seven Sisters' or stars of the constellation
of P leiades. She was the mother of Mercury or Hermes, the young god
of communication, wisdom and trade, and married to the smith-god
Vulcan. 'Ihe Romans identified Maia with Bona Dea, the 'good goddess',
wife of the woodland god Faunus, whose main festival was celebrated at
the beginning of May. In later times the month was dedicated to Flora,
the goddess of flowers. Today w e still use the Latin terms fauna and
flora as generic names to describe animals and plants.
In British folk tradition the oldest rituals associated with May Eve
were the lighting of special fires on hills to ward off evil spirits and
negative influences. In the Iron Age it is believed that the druids lit
twin fires and drove herds of cattle between them. 'Ihis was to protect
the animals from disease and increase the milk yield during the summer
season that the Celts believed started on Beltane. In r 740 John Toland,
one of the founders of the neo-druidic revival, described seeing these
twin fires lit in Ireland at sunrise on May Day and he said they were
called 'the eyes of the [sun] goddess' (Aine). In r 83 8 it was noted that
following the old druidic practice a farmer in Ulster had driven his
cattle between two fires on May Eve. In 1 927, excavations of an Irish
hilltop sanctuary at Uisnech revealed a prehistoric trackway and ring
 May Day

ditch covered with wood ash. !here was also evidence of burnt animal
bones and it has been suggested this was evidence of ancient Beltane
fires and feasting.
Farming communities in southern Ireland made their cows leap over
burning straw on May Eve. This was to stop their milk being stolen
by witches and the Good People or faeries. It was supposed to be the
night when the faery folk moved house from hollow hill to hollow hill
and various charms were employed to prevent them causing harm to
humans. !his included hanging up bunches of rowan twigs tied with
red thread above the doors of the farmhouse, pig sty, barn and cow shed.
This practice was still being carried out in rural Somerset in the 1 96os
and was witnessed by this writer. May Eve or Walpurgis Night (April
3o'h), named af ter a medieval German female saint, was supposed to
be one of the nights when witches gathered for their Sabbaths on holy
mountains such as the Brocken.
When the Beltane fires had died down, pregnant women leapt over
the burning ashes to make sure that their babies would be strong and
healthy. Lighting these ritual balefires or needfires was surrounded
by magical symbolism and taboo. Nine men were involved and they
had to remove all metal from their person and clothing. Anyone who
was guilty of any crime, however minor, was not allowed to take part.
Also nine different types of wood had to be collected to build the fire.
Traditionally in South Wales it had to be lit 'in the old way' by striking
two flint stones against each other to create a spark or rubbing two oak
twigs together so the friction produced a flame. In the Scottish islands
quantities of the hallucinogenic amanita muscaria or fly agaric fungi
were collected, dried and used to kindle the balefire.
The pagan origin of these Bel fires, named af ter a Celtic solar god, is
illustrated by a May Day custom in Wales and Scotland. Oatmeal cakes
were cooked on the fire, broken into pieces and placed in a bag. Whoever
selected the most burnt portion was regarded as the 'chosen one' who in
ancient times would have been sacrificed to the sun god. Afterwards the
ashes from the fire were collected as a magical charm and scattered on
the fields to bring a good harvest. Generally the Beltane fires offered to
those who lit them protection from malefic witchcraft. !here was also
a popular custom of getting up early on May Day morning to greet the
sunrise, which is suggestive of a far memory of ancient solar worship,
and washing in the fresh spring dew.
It has been claimed that until the late 1 9 70s or early 1 98os a number
of hill farmers in the Peak District of Derbyshire continued the old
tradition of lighting ritual fires on May Eve. Offerings of flowers and
 Liher Nox

foliage were also made at local holy wells and sacred springs that had
a reputation for having healing powers and were used for divination.
Strangely these folk traditions did not conflict with churchgoing. 'lhey
were based on an ancient belief in a symbiotic relationship between
farming communities in the area and the land, and the acknowledgement
of the genius loci or 'spirit of place'.
'lhere were also rumours of the survival of the worship of a female
deity known as Anu, a goddess of the land associated with both Brigid
(the summer goddess) and the Cailleach (winter goddess). In her bright
aspect Anu was known as 'the Mother' and in her dark one as the
'Devourer of Men'. A horned god with stag's antlers or ram's horns who
was the leader of the Wild Hunt was also revered by the local farming
families in the Peak District. He was known by the titles of either the
'Lord of the Green Leaves' or the 'Lord of Light'.
'lhe season's fertility aspects were reflected in the preparations on
May Eve for the following day. Young people went out into the woods
to gather the flowers and foliage that would decorate the village streets
and the phallic Maypole and make May Garlands for hanging on the
doors of houses. Birch, hawthorn, primroses and rowan were the most
popular, and the herbs rue, hemlock and rosemary were also gathered
to be burnt in houses on May Day to ward off evil influences. In the
Arthurian legends it is said Q.!1een Guinevere rode out into the woods
on May Day in a green gown to gather herbs, mosses, hawthorn flowers
for the court. 'lhere is an i1lustration by famous Edwardian artist Arthur
Rackham depicting this scene. Possibly by this act Guinevere was
symbolically taking the role of the goddess of the land and the Q.!1een of
Elfhame or the faery queen who ruled at Beltane. Some esoteric writers
on the Arthurian mythos believe Guinevere, whose name in Welsh
means 'white phantom', was not a mortal woman and came from the
realm of Faerie.
'lhis apparently innocent pastime of flower gathering on May Eve was
often a cover for more sensual and erotic activities that may have once
been associated with pagan fertility or sexual rites. In the 1 7'h century
the Puritans condemned the gathering of May Day greenery because it
encouraged 'lustful acts' and young maidens to lose their virginity in the
woods. In fact so-called 'greenwood marriages' lasting only a magical
year and a day were once popular among the lusty country folk. Before
the English Civil War, when the P uritans denounced them as blatant
pagan symbols, May Garlands made from wild flowers and foliage
gathered in the woods were placed by young unmarried women on the
altar in churches. 'lhis was in the hope that they would soon be married.

72
 May Day

The centrepiece or focal point of the May Day festivities was the
blatantly phallic Maypole, which was drawn to the place where it was
going to be erected by a team of oxen. It was covered with flowers, herbs,
leaves and ribbons and was often painted in several different colours.
'Ihe wood used for the Maypole was either birch or ash and both those
trees have a sacred symbolism dating back to pagan times. The birch
was traditionally associated with fertility goddesses while in the Norse
myths the ash was the World Tree or axis mundi.
For these reasons the Maypole was often condemned as a symbol
of paganism. In the 1 5oos a vicar in London condemned the raising of
it as "idol worship". A hundred years later a P uritan writer described it
as a "stinking idol". He criticised the country folk who danced around
the Maypole "like the heathen people did at the dedication of the idols,
whereof this is a perfect pattern, or rather the thing itsel" Another
P uritan writer claimed it was an obscene symbol of the phallus dating
from Roman times. At the May Day celebrations in the Cornish village
of Padstow today young women deliberately touch the Maypole "for
luck". In the 1 640s, during the Cromwellian dictatorship following
the English Civil War, the Maypole and its accompanying revels were
banned. It was not until Victorian times and a new interest in folklore
and seasonal customs that the May Day festivities experienced a revival.
Prominently featured in the May Day celebrations was the folklore
character known variously as the Green Man, Jack-in-the-Green or
Jack-in-the- Hedge, and he was revived by London chimney sweeps and
milkmaids in the 1 gm century. Green Jack was represented by a man
enclosed in a wicker frame covered in leaves and flowers. 'Ihe involvement
of the latter in this custom was connected with the productivity of milk,
butter and cream because of the fresh grass at this time of year. 'Ihe
sweeps took part because the winter fires were no longer needed and
it was a way of begging for money to see them through the warmer
months when work was short. W hen a law was passed stopping the
employment of small children as sweeps to go up chimneys the custom
faded, but it has been revived in recent years.
'Ihe name 'Green Man' was first given to foliate masks, often found
carved in wood and stone in pre-Reformation churches, by the folklorist
Lady Raglan in an article in the Folk-lore journal in 1 9 3 9 . 'Ihese images
depict an elven or human face peering out through leaves and flowers
with fronds of vegetation sprouting from their mouths and ears. Some
examples in Christian art are in the form of human skulls with leaves
and plants growing out of the eye sockets and jaws. 'Ihese forms of the
Green Man represent life and death, the Summer and Winter King

73
 Liher Nox

and the dual aspects of the traditional witch-god as the Lord of the
Greenwood and the Wildwood.
'1he earliest images depicting leaf or foliate masks are in fact pre
Christian and have been found on temples and tombs throughout the
Roman Empire dating from the 1 " century CE and in the Middle East
and India. To the people who carved them they were more than fertility
images, and symbolised the seasonal cycle of growth and decay, the
survival of the soul after death and the resurrection of life. In their pagan
form they also represented woodland gods such as Sylvanus, Dionysus,
Faunus and Pan who were associated with nature and agriculture. On
an early 1 3 'h century font in the Abbey of St-Denis in France, a carving
of a foliate mask is actually described as Silvan or Silvanus and has oak
leaves growing from its forehead. It seems that the Christian versions of
the Green Man were copied from the pagan originals and in the early
medieval period became transformed into symbols warning of human
mortality, the sin of lust and wickedness.

74
 May Day

Today Green Jack or the Green Man has been adopted by neo
pagans and Wiccans to represent the Horned God in one of his roles as
the indwelling spirit of the green world and the Lord of the Forest and
Animals. As such he is the protector of the environment and the patron
of ecological issues and protests. In traditional witchcraft the Green
Man or Jack-in-the-Hedge (who can be quite sinister in nature) is an
arboreal and vegetation spirit, the guardian of the natural world and its
creatures and the spiritual equivalent of the divine ruler of the land as
the King of Summer.
'1he Arthurian wizard Myrddin or Merlin can be seen as a form
of the Green Man or the Wild Man, the medieval woodwose or tree
spirit also associated with Robin Hood, and the ' Lord of Animals'.
After witnessing a fierce battle in which several of his companions
were killed, the Arthurian wizard reportedly went insane. As a result he
became a recluse in the Caledonian Forest in Scotland, living there as a
'wild man' or 'man of the woods' among the animals and birds. It is said
Merlin tamed and rode a stag and even shape-shifted into the form of
that animal. '1his state of returning to nature and the wilderness after
suffering a traumatic experience can be seen as a form of'divine madness'
where those affiicted find they can communicate with the Otherworld
and exhibit the gift of prophecy. Merlin Sylvester or 'Merlin of the
Wood' can also be linked with Rex Nemorensis, the 'king of the woods',
the priest-king who was the guardian of the sacred grove of the goddess
Diana near Lake Nemi in Roman mythology.
Merlin is 'described as 'being without father or mother', a coded
term referring to the strange circumstances of his birth and indicating
someone who is of an Otherworldly origin. In fact Merlin is said to
be the offspring of a liaison bet ween a Welsh princess and a 'tall dark
knight' who visited her bedchamber while she was sleeping. Other
versions of the birth say that the 'knight' was in fact a daimon or demon
of the incubus type who live 'between the Earth and the moon'. It
is therefore suggested that Merlin is of the elven or faery blood. In
modern traditional witchcraft he is seen as a guardian spirit and magical
protector of the Blessed Isles of Albion, a position also taken by King
Arthur as the Pendragon (from the Welsh 'head chieftain'). In Welsh
this is illustrated by an old name for Britain, Clas Myrddin or 'Merlin's
Enclosure'. In the Old Craft 'merlin' is a generic term for somebody
belonging to an ancient bloodline of priests who takes that role and is a
magician.
One of the traditional May Day customs that has survived today
despite the onslaught of modernity is the election of a May Qyeen and

75
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May King. Although since Victorian times these roles have usually been
taken by children, this custom is a echo of the ancient 'sacred marriage'
or Great Rite between the Lord and Lady or the God and Goddess.
In folk tradition the crowning of the May O!ieen and her consort was
also another way of marking the seasonal transition from winter to
summer. In the 1 9 80s the crowning of the May O!ieen-was still carried
on in the Nottinghamshire village of Wellow. A wooden platform was
set up at one end of the village green and was covered with flowers
and greenery as a bower for the May O!ieen. Accompanied by Morris
dancers, the girl or young woman playing the role was escorted to the
platform. Once there she was crowned with a wreath of wild flowers by
her predecessor. lhe coronation was followed by the villagers dancing
around the Maypole led by the Morris side holding up a stag's head on
a pole.
Some of these coronations . of M ay kings and queens or summer
lords and ladies featured elements of misrule, social role reversal and
cross-dressing more usually associated with the anarchic Twelve Nights
of Yule. In the 1 S'h century on the Isle of Man the M ay O!ieen was
opposed by the Winter O!ieen, who was a 'she-male' or man dressed in
female attire. Rival groups supporting both parties fought each other
and the aim (always frustrated) was for the May O!ieen to be taken
prisoner so as to prevent the onset of summer. lhis ceremony was still
being practised on the island in the early 1 9oos. In Wales the followers
of the 'summer lady' carried green branches while those wielded by the
followers of the winter king or queen were bare, leafless ones. In these
late spring rituals can be seen similarities with the symbolic struggle
between Brigid and the Cailleach at the end of winter and beginning of
summer.
Sometimes the role of the summer lord and summer lady presiding
over the May revels was taken by human representatives of Robin Hood
and Maid Marian. Victorian folklorists identified the popular legend of
the greenwood outlaw, or 'Robin of the Wood', as a folk memory of the
ancient worship of an arboreal fertility spirit and 'divine king' who was
sacrificially bled to death. One of the earliest references to Robin and
Marian as the May King and O!ieen is in the 1 3h century. It was said
that Robin led the traditional dancing at dawn on May Day morning to
greet the rising sun. In the 1 6th century it is recorded that King Henry
VIII was out riding near Greenwich when they saw a company of
archers dressed in green as the Merry Men. lhey invited the king to the
woods, where an arbour had been set up decorated with flowers and a
floor strewn with fragrant herbs, 'to feast with Robyn Hode'. This was
 May Day

the name of their chief tain and he invited King Henry to watch his men
firing arrows at targets and judge their skills. In May 1 5 0 8 both Robin
Hood and his trusty lieutenant Little John featured in the May games
held in Aberdeen and an archer dressed in Lincoln green as Robin also
attended the seasonal festivities at the Scottish royal court. By 1 5 77 the
outlaw had become associated with the role of the Morrice or Morris
dancers in the May Day revels. lhe person wearing a Robin Hood
costume danced to the beat of a drum around the garlanded Maypole
with a woman representing Maid Marian.
Although it has been claimed that the concept of a winter king and
the summer king is a modern neo-pagan invention, the story of the
dark and bright twins is a common one in ancient mythology. Famous
examples are the Egyptian tale of Osiris, a god of the harvest, killed by
his dark brother Set, and the biblical story of Cain and his brother Abel.
As mentioned previously, Sir James G. Frazer in his seminal thirteen
volume work 7he Golden Bough describes a ritual in pre-classical Italy
where a priest with the title of Rex N emorensis, or the king of the woods,
ruled over a grove sacred to the goddess of the moon, hunting and the
forest, Diana. Every seven years his role was challenged in combat by
a new candidate for the post. Whoever won became the priest of the
sacred grove for the next period until they in turn were challenged or
replaced.
In Welsh mythology, as described in the collection of medieval tales
called 7he Mabinogion, Gwyn ap Nudd ('White Son of the Night')
fought with a warrior called Gwyther ap Creidaul or Greidyawl. lhis was
for the hand in marriage of a maiden called Crieddylad, the daughter of
either Llud Silver Hand or the sea-god Lyr and the sister of Bran. lhe
combat took place on the first of May each year and was destined to be
repeated annually until Doomsday. In the Welsh Triads the contested
maiden is named as the mother of Arthur's queen, Guinevere. Indeed
it was even suggested that her father was in fact Gwyther. lhis ritual
combat 'for all eternity' is the struggle between the twin gods of the
dark and light halves of the year that in the Celtic tradition began at
Samhain and Beltane respectively. Gwyn is the Master of the Wild
Hunt, lord of th underworld and 'king of the faeries' who in Somerset
folklore inhabits the 'hollow hill' of Glastonbury Tor.
In the Arthurian legends Qeen Gwenhyfer (Welsh) or Guinevere
was kidnapped by Melwas of the Green Cloak, the ruler of the 'Summer
Country' whose kingdom called the Glass City was at Glastonbury, and
he may be another aspect of the summer king and the king of Faerie.
Ynys Witrin or the 'Glass Castle' was an old name for the area and

77
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has underworld assoc1at10ns in Celtic myth. A second abduction of

Guinevere was by King Valerin of the Tangled Wood who seized the
queen while Arthur was away hunting the mysterious white stag that is
a creature of the Otherworld. Valerin may also be a form of the elf-king,
as he lived in a shining castle on the top of a mountain surrounded by an
enchanted wood infested with serpents. A third kidnapper of Guinevere
called Gasozein Le Dragoz claimed Arthur stole her from him. Le
Dragoz is said to have spent his nights under a blackthorn tree at a ford
singing songs dedicated to the queen. He may therefore also be of faery
origin because such a place is a traditional gateway between Middle
Earth and the Otherworld. All these kidnapping attempts sound very
much like attempts to return Guinevere to her elven homeland.
A possible survival of the ancient tradition of twin kings of winter
and summer could be found until fairly recently in the Welsh county of
Breconshire (modern Powys). Two boys were chosen by the tossing of
a coin (i.e. Fate) to take on these roles on May Day. Each was dressed
in a costume made of birch twigs, and the summer king wore a wreath
of wild flowers while the winter king was crowned with holly. A similar
custom was practised at the annual May Day fair in the village of Clun
in Shropshire. Each year a Green Man wearing antlers and clad in leaves
challenged a rival figure representing the spirit of winter to a fight on
the bridge across the river. Of course the Green Man always won.
On the Isle of Man the person representing the winter king dressed
in a long coat trimmed with fur, and a furry cap. He carried a blackthorn
staff and a shield covered in tufts of white wool to represent snow. His
rival the summer king wore a white agricultural smock decorated with
coloured ribbons and wild flowers. He also had a broad brimmed hat
and a willow wand that were both similarly decorated. '1he two rivals
then fought a battle aided by their supporters. When the summer king
triumphed, as he must always do, he nominated the most beautiful
woman present to be the May Q.yeen and took the secondary role of
her consort.
'1he challenge and combat between the winter king and the summer
king not only marks or celebrates the transition between the two seasons
but also the transfer of the rulership of the land. As we have seen, some
modern streams of the Old Craft draw their inspiration from Arthurian
legend and lore, which features several examples of this process. It is
usually carried out at magically liminal places such as bridges (as at
Clun), fords, causeways across a marsh (traditionally considered one of
the entrances to the underworld in Iron Age times), and at crossroads. In
the medieval legend of Robin Hood the greenwood outlaw is challenged
 May Day

by Little John to a fight at a disputed river crossing, a liminal bridge or

a ford.
It has been suggested that the medieval tale of Gawain and the
Green Knight is a disguised account of the myth of the Winter and
Summer Kings. The story dates from the 1 4'h century and it is claimed
was written by a monk living in an abbey on the borders of Cheshire
and Staffordshire. Allegedly it was an attempt by the cleric to revive the
Arthurian tradition by drawing on the pre-Christian mythology of the
surrounding area. Certainly the Green Knight of the title appears to
have pagan overtones as a Green Man type figure and the whole story
revolves round a seasonal ritual of sacrificial death and resurrection.
Sir Gawain was the nephew of King Arthur and therefore belonged
to the royal and sacred bloodline of the P endragons, the rulers of Albion.
Gawain is described as 'the hawk of May', an English translation of his
Welsh name Gwalchmai and possibly a title associated with the sun
god. It is said he was knighted on St John's Day or Midsummer Day
and was at his strongest at noon, slowly losing his physical powers as
the day grew longer, just as the sun does in the sky. Gawain was not
only a skilled and brave warrior performing heroic deeds, but also the
king's champion, an upholder of chivalry and the protector of women.
However, his connection to the myth of the winter and summer kings
relates directly to his close relationship with his royal uncle and his
role as Arthur's champion and his substitute in what appears to be a
midwinter sacrificial rite.
In the medieval romance the Christmas celebrations at Arthur's
palace at Camelot are rudely interrupted on New Year's Day by a
mysterious gatecrasher. He is described as a giant figure 'of great age'
with 'a [red] face as fierce as fire', a bushy red beard and green skin.
He wore green clothes, rode a green horse and carried a club made
from a holly bough, and an axe. lhe stranger tells the assembled court
that he has come to play a 'Christmas game' (known as the Beheading
Game) and he challenges all present to take part. When the courtiers
are reluctant to accept the Green Knight's invitation, Arthur decides
that as the king he must volunteer. However Gawain intervenes and
says that as his champion he will take the king's place instead.
Apparently the aim of the Green Knight's game is that the players
engage in single combat, with each exchanging blows in turn with
the axe. Gawain is first and he cuts off the intruder's head with one
stroke. lhe court breaks into applause, which is short-lived as the Green
Knight stands up and replaces his decapitated head on his neck. He
then challenges Gawain to meet him again in a year and a day at a

79
 Liher Nox

place called the Green Chapel. '1here the knight will have the right of
delivering the second blow to the king's champion, which obviously will
cause his death as he is not a supernatural being like the Green Knight.
As one of the Knights of the Round Table and a man of honour,
when the year had almost passed Gawain set off at All Hallows (the
old Celtic festival of Samhain) on his long journey to the mysterious
Green Chapel. On his way he came to a castle owned by a nobleman
called Sir Bercilak, who informed the knight that his goal is only a few
hours ride away. However the nobleman invited him to stay for supper
and Gawain was introduced to his beautiful wife and her companion,
a hideous old hag. Despite her appearance the old servant was treated
with great respect and deference by the inhabitants of the castle.
'1he next day Bercilak went out with a hunting party searching for a
wild boar, and left Gawain in the castle to rest after his arduous journey.
While her husband was absent, Lady Bercilak attempted to seduce the
knight, but living up to his code of chivalry he accepted only a chaste
kiss from her. When the nobleman returned he offered Gawain the
spoils of the hunt in exchange for anything the knight might have done
in his absence. Gawain admitted to receiving a kiss from the lord's wife
and said that was all he could offer. '1his was repeated for two more
days, with Gawain receiving two more kisses from the noblewoman
and offering them to Lord Bercilak in exchange for the animals he had
hunted. Finally, on the third day, Gawain refused the lady's kiss, and
instead he was rewarded with the gift of a girdle or sash made of green
lace or cloth, which would protect a knight from harm.
On the morning of New Year's Day, Lord Bercilak guided Gawain
to the Green Chapel. As he approached it, the knight heard the sound
of an axe blade being sharpened on a whetstone. '1he Green Knight
appeared and Gawain honoured their agreement by freely offering his
bared neck for the fatal blow. To his surprise, twice the Green Knight
aimed the axe but failed to follow through. On the third blow he gently
nicked Gawain's neck so a little blood flowed. He then declared that the
third blow has now been struck and the agreement between them has
been duly honoured.
'1he Green Knight then revealed himself as Sir Bercilak in disguise.
His temporary form was the result of an enchantment placed on him by
his wife's old servant. In fact she is really King Arthur's half-sister, the
faery woman and enchantress Morgan Le Fay, in disguise. It was her
plan that the nobleman should travel to the court as the Green Knight
and challenge the king to take part in the beheading game so he would
be killed. The Green Knight is a supernatural being who can shape-

80
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shift into human form. He is therefore an entity who spans both the
Otherworld and Middle Earth and moves freely between them. We can
also presume that the beautiful Lady Bercilak who tried to seduce Sir
Gawain is another form of Morgan and represents the bright aspect of
the witch-goddess. 'Ihe old woman who is her companion is her alter
ego representing the dark goddess.
One of the most important sacred and mystical animals of the witch
goddess as the <2.!ieen of Elfhame is the unicorn found in medieval
heraldry. 'Ihe modern traditional witch Robert Cochrane described
how he had a vision of the 'White Lady' riding one of these mythical
beasts. Although today it has a gentler image in New Age beliefs, in the
past the unicorn was regarded as a fierce and wild animal with erotic
symbolism attached. It was said that the animal could only be tamed if
it 'laid its head in a virgin's lap'. To entice the unicorn into doing this
suggestive act, the maiden had to first offer it her breasts to be suckled.
In her lap the unicorn is so overcome by her 'maiden's fragrance' that
it falls into a deep sleep and can then be easily captured. 'Ihe erotic
overtones of this taming of the unicorn are obvious, and in fact with its
single phallic horn it represents sexual prowess and virility.
'Ihe writer John Williamson has claimed that in medieval times
the unicorn paradoxically symbolised both the Christ and Lucifer. His
examination of a r 5 rh century French tapestry called 7he Huntfar the
Unicorn, presently housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New
York, led Williamson to believe that the unicorn is a pre-Christian
image. One that he believed is associated with pagan lunar goddesses,
the seasonal rituals of the Wheel of the Year and the ancient myth of
the summer and winter Kings.
In the first scene on the tapestry, a hunting party stands near a grove
of trees that includes ash, birch, oak and a exotic and foreign palm tree.
In the second scene the unicorn is shown kneeling to dip its horn into a
flowing stream. 'Ihis suggests the stream has been polluted or poisoned
and the water is being purified, because in folk tradition the horn of
a unicorn was said to be a powerful antidote to poison. In the central
panel is a fountain or spring with oak and holly trees (arboreal symbols
of the two kings) in the background. Twelve hunters (the Knights of
the Round Table, the disciples of Jesus or the zodiac signs of the stellar
Wheel of the Year) watch the unicorn in awe.
'Ihe third panel of the tapestry depicts the actual beginning of
the hunt with the unicorn fleeing across a stream pursued by a pack
of hounds. Again, both oak and holly trees are prominently displayed
in the scene. Hawthorn and pomegranates, symbols of the Goddess in
 Liher Nox

Western and Eastern cultures and religions, are also present. It can be
presumed this scene symbolically represents the transition from winter
and the powers of darkness to summer and the forces of light. 1he
unicorn, having purified the 'water of lif e' so the plants can grow again,
leaps over the purifying stream symbolically dividing the two seasons.
By the fourth panel the season has passed to Beltane or Midsummer,
and W illiamson sees the image of the unicorn defending itself from the
hunters and their hounds as symbolic of the 'sacred marriage' or Great
Rite between the Lord and Lady, or God and Goddess. 1his is followed
by the sacrificed god or divine king's death and the transference of
his phallic power of regeneration to a virile successor. In the medieval
tapestry this is symbolised by a hound wounded by the unicorn's
horn and a red rose representing death and the dark goddess of the
underworId.
1he next stage of the unicorn hunt in the tapestry depicts the taming
of the mystical beast by a maiden. She sits under an apple tree (symbolic
of the Otherworld) and is the Qpeen of Faerie who leads her mortal
lover, or the sacrificed god, to her enchanted realm in the Hollow Hill.
In some medieval representations of this scene while the maiden holds
the unicorn in her lap it is killed by a warrior with a spear, referencing
both Jesus' death on the cross and the sacrifice of the divine king. 1he
maiden suggestively fondles the unicorn's horn, representing its phallic
solar power, while holding a circular mirror above its head so it watches
a reflection of its own death. Mirrors in folklore and magic are symbolic
gateways to the spirit world. In the Mysteries when the initiate had
found their way through the maze or labyrinth and reached the 'inner
sanctum' they found themselves facing a mirror. Hence the famous
maxim of the ancient Mysteries, 'Know thyself '.
In the sixth panel of the tapestry the unicorn has been killed and is
brought in triumph by the hunters to a castle where its body is presented
as a gift to a noble lord and lady. Williamson interprets the birds, animals
and plants in this scene as symbols representing the midwinter solstice
marking the rebirth of the solar god and the sun. Behind the unicorn
are holly bushes and the castle is surrounded by oak trees. Blood flows
from the wound in the animal's side made by the spear. In pagan terms
the sacred life blood of the sacrificed god pours on to the female earth
and fertilises the land.
1he scene of the unicorn's death is divided from the castle by a river -
the Styx or Lethe that separates the mortal world from the spirit world
The 'noble lord and lady' are the God and Goddess who lead the soul
of the unicorn (the initiate into the Mysteries) across the river to their
 May Day

underworld Castle of Roses. Nearby is a hazel tree, symbolising the

attainment of Otherworldly wisdom and knowledge, and in its branches
is a squirrel, the messenger of the Gods who runs up and down Yggdrasil
or the World Tree in Norse mythology connecting humanity and the
heavenly realm. To the right of the hazel tree stand three hounds (the
three-headed Cerberus of Greek mythology), the guardians of the Gate
of Death who belong to the pack of the Wild Hunter or winter king.
1he final panel on the French tapestry shows the unicorn
apparently alive but now in captivity. He lies within a fenced
enclosure, representative of the division between Middle Earth
and the Otherworld, and the boundary bet ween the human-made
environment and the wilderness. The enclosure is also the archetypal
mythical paradise or sacred garden, the magical land of the Ever Young,
the Summer Land or Eden, where w inter is banished and all creatures
live in harmony. 1he unicorn is chained by a decorative collar to a
pomegranate tree and the enclosure is surrounded by plants known f or
their fertility and power as aphrodisiacs. This suggests the sexual power
of the wild unicorn has been tamed, controlled and sublimated by the
maiden or Goddess.
Morgan Le Fay is regarded in some branches of modern traditional
witchcraft as the aspect of the witch-goddess in her role as the Qyeen
of Elfhame or Faerie. A r 4t11 century French romance relates how after
a long martial career, an elderly knight called Ogier, a cousin of King
Arthur, is taken by Morgan Le Fay in her guise as an old woman to
her castle on the Isle of Avalon. There he is given the gift of eternal
youth that was promised by Morgan at his birth when she was his faery
godmother. When Ogier is first taken to the faery queen's realm he finds
himself in a large orchard. After eating one of the apples, a fruit of the
underworld, all he desires is death.
Turning around, Ogier sees a beautiful young woman enter the
orchard from the east, and at first the knight mistakes her for the
Virgin Mary who he believes has come to rescue him from the wicked
Morgan. However, she informs the old man that in fact she is the Dame
de Afallon or the Lady of Avalon, Morgan Le Fay herself. She places a
magical ring on his finger that restores his lost youth, and a crown on
his head that makes him forget about his former life in the world of
mortals before coming to the island. Crossing the River Lethe to the
underworld was said to erase the memory of the departed.
Morgan Le Fay is described in Middle English accounts of the life
of Arthur as a 'sorceresse' and 'wytche'. In rural parts of France it was
said that any woman who practiced witchcraft belonged to Morgan's
 Liher Nox

bloodline and was therefore descended from her. As Arthur's half-sister,

Morgan belongs to the royal bloodline of the Pendragons. Yet her name
of Morgan Le Fay and the French folk tradition suggests she is also of
elven or faery blood. She was a shape-shifter, could fly through the air
(spirit flight) and both heal and harm, cure or curse. Morgan therefore
encapsulated both the dark and bright aspects of the traditional witch
goddess.
In the early Welsh poem Preiddu Annwn Morgan Le Fay is
connected with a sisterhood of nine maidens or priestesses who tend
an underworld cauldron sought by Arthur. She is therefore a female
guardian of the Grail. In her role as healer, Morgan possesses an unguent
or ointment that can treat all wounds, and it is possible she creates it
using herbs brewed in the cauldron. In some versions of the Arthurian
legends Morgan is seen as an evil figure, plotting to undermine Arthur,
his idealistic vision of the Fellowship of the Round Table and the
harmony of the kingdom. Paradoxically however, at the end of the king's
reign it is Morgan who receives the king into the Otherworldly realm
of Avalon and heals him of his wounds. In this respect she personifies
both the bright and dark aspects of the witch-goddess in the Arthurian
mythos who can grant resurrection and immortality.
In 1homas Malory's Morte D'Arthur, Morgan is described as a 'clerk
of necromancy' who was taught the magical arts in a 'nunnery', possibly a
training college for pagan priestesses. It was said she had been instructed
in astrology and sorcery by the wizard Merlin himself. An alternative
version says her teacher was the 'king of the elves' who was the 'master
of enchantment'. He gave his pupil a magical horn made from ivory,
and when it was blown an army of warriors would materialise to do
her bidding. Morgan passed this gift to her son Auberon, who has been
identified with the dwarf smith Alberich in Germanic mythology and
Oberon, the king of the faeries in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's
Dream. Oberon was the name of a spirit evoked by medieval magicians
to reveal the whereabouts of buried treasure.
In European folklore Morgan Le Fay was sometimes associated with
Queen Sybille or Sybil, worshipped by witches in medieval Italy and
Sicily. She lived in a mountain cave reached by crossing a stone bridge
above a chasm in which there was a fast flowing river. 1he entrance
to the cave was guarded by two fierce dragons, and if the seeker could
get past them, a crystal door led to Sybil's castle. A German knight
managed to elude its dragon guardian and entered her realm. He quickly
made his escape when he discovered that every Friday at midnight the
Sybil was transformed into a giant serpent that the pious Christian
 May Day

knight identified with the Evil One, Satan. 1his story is similar to one
from France of the faery woman Melusine, who was half woman, half
serpent, and is supposed to have been the mother of several sons who
were founders of European royal dynasties.
Morgan seems to have been brazen enough to have visited Arthur's
court. One day when the Knights of the Round Table were feasting in
the Great Hall of Camelot, the doors flew upon of their own accord
A white stag or hart, an animal that is a messenger or guide from the
Otherworld and an animal sacred to the Queen of Elfhame, raced into
the room. It was pursued by a baying pack of hounds followed by a
strangely dressed woman. She wore a short green tunic and high boots
made from brown calfskin, had an ivory horn on a cord around her neck,
a hawk perched on her gloved hand and carried a bow and a quiver of
arrows on her back. One of the knights drew the hounds away from the
stag, and he rode off with them following. The woman demanded that
Arthur acted immediately to return her hunting dogs. On the orders of
Merlin, the gallant knight Gawain was sent to recover the hounds and
he returned with both them and the head of the white stag.
1he Queen of Elfhame was renowned for seducing and luring
mortal men, often a warrior or knight, to her realm. Sometimes she
sends an Otherworldly creature in her place as a lure, such as a white
hart or roebuck, a white boar or a white bird, while her quarry is out
hunting. 1he hunter is led by his prey - except of course he is the one
who is being hunted - to a river, where there is moored a boat or barge
made of glass or ebony. 1his magical vessel conveys him to the realm of
Faerie, usually an enchanted island paradise where only women rule.
In other versions of the story, the hunter or knight will encounter an
unearthly elven woman at a 'faery hill' (prehistoric burial mound), a
sacred mountain or at a fountain, spring or holy well in the depths of an
enchanted, faery-haunted wood.
In one medieval French romance a young knight is out hunting in a
forest believed to be the home of faeries. He chases after a larger than
normal white stag that darts from a thicket. W hen he eventually runs
the animal down, it stops and seems to be inviting him to jump on its
back. W hen the knight does so, the stag gallops off and plunges into a
nearby lake. Under the water the knight seems to fall asleep and dreams
of his lover. W hen he awakes he finds himself in the presence of three
beautiful women. 1hey ask him what he is doing in their realm and
tell him they are 'nymphs of Diana'. Likewise when the Scottish seer
1homas the Rhymer died, who was seduced by the Queen of Elfhame
on May Day and spent seven years in her realm, people reported seeing
 Liber Nox

a white stag near his house. '1his was interpreted as the faery queen
coming in animal form to claim the soul of her 'chosen one' among
mortal men and take him home to her realm.
In another medieval romance about Sir Gawain called 7he Weddying
efSyr Gawen and Dame Ragnellhe is again seen as the helper and saviour
of Arthur. '1he king is out hunting in a forest when he sees and chases
a white hart. '1he animal runs so quickly that soon the king is separated
from his men and finds himself lost deep in the forest. A knight appears
from nowhere who is called Sir Gromer Somer Joure, or Summer's Day
(May Day or Midsummer Day?) and is described in some accounts as
Turkish. He accuses Arthur of stealing his lands and giving them to his
favourite knight Sir Gawain. He says unless the king returns in a year
to the same spot and has the answer to the question "What do women
love best?" he will kill him in revenge for his loss.
On his return to the court Arthur confides in Gawain about his
experience and explains his dilemma. '1he knight agrees to help, and
the two men spend the next year searching for the answer to Gromer's
question, without any success. Just before he is due to meet his would
be killer, Arthur is out hunting in the forest again. He meets a hideous,
humpbacked crone with yellow teeth like boar's tusks strangely riding a
very expensive well-bred horse with a bridle made of gold and decorated
with precious stones. She tells him her name is Dame Ragnall and seems
to know all about his encounter with Gomer. '1he mystery woman says
she will provide Arthur with the answer to the question and thereby
save his life if he will give permission for Gawain to take her hand in
marriage. If the king agrees to her request she will meet him in the
forest again on the day that he is supposed to see Gromer.
As Arthur has no wish to die yet, he asks his nephew to do him a great
favour and marry the old woman from the woods despite her extreme
ugliness. Chivalrous as ever, Gawain agrees to the forced marriage, to
save his king's life. Arthur travels to his assignment with Sir Gromer
and gives him the answer to his question, which has been provided by
Lady Ragnall in their earlier meeting. What a woman wants best is not
marriage or lots of lovers or to remain young and beautiful; what she
really desires is sovereignty over all, especially mastery over men, and
her own way. In fact she wants to be independent and lead her own life.
W hen Gromer is told this, he realises that he has been betrayed by his
own sister, who has interfered by giving Arthur the answer, and thereby
spared his life.
Arthur takes Lady Ragnall back to the court and Gawain keeps his
promise to marry the ugly old woman. Q.yeen Guinevere suggests that

86
 May Day

the marriage should take place at night in private so nobody can see,
but the chivalrous knight insists it is in daytime, in public in a church,
and followed by a wedding feast attended by the whole court. On his
wedding night Gawain is reluctant to make love to his new bride, but she
reproaches him, saying he would if she was beautiful. She asks him for
just one kiss, and when Gawain responds she turns into a young woman
who is 'the loveliest creature he ever saw, without equal'. However Lady
Ragnall says the transformation is only temporary and the knight must
choose if she is to be ugly during the day and beautiful in the night
when they are alone, or attractive during the day and reverting back
to an old woman after dark. Gawain replies that it is not his choice
to make, and says that his body and goods are hers to do with as she
wishes. At this response Lady Ragnall says that the knight has answered
wisely and he will have her as a beautiful woman by both day and night.
Unfortunately the marriage is short-lived as she dies within five years,
or perhaps more likely she returns to her own realm.
Lady Ragnall, or the Loathly Lady as she is called in the medieval
romance, is in fact another aspect of Sovereignty, the ancient goddess of
the land who grants kingship. Her marriage to Gawain is symbolic of the
'sacred marriage' where the would-be king married the land, represented
by a human woman or high priestess of the Mysteries. Not only does
Gawain become the consort of Sovereignty, substituting for Arthur, but,
like the Italian priest in the sacred grove of Diana, her champion who is
destined to serve until he is challenged and defeated by a rival. As both
an old crone and a beautiful young woman, Lady Ragnall represents the
dual dark and bright nature of the witch-goddess.
'Ihe hierogamos or sacred marriage, enacted in the greenwood on
May Day between the Flower Bride and the Green King, Arthur and
Guinevere or Robin Hood and Maid Marion, representing the higher
powers in human form, is the union of earth and sky, the earth energies
with the stellar forces, which regenerates the vegetation and greens
the land. It is also symbolic of the alchemical conj unction between the
male and female aspects of the human psyche, described in modern
Jungian psychology 'as the contrasexual anima and animus. In physical
forms these male and female principles are seen in the traditional
witch's working tools, as the knife or sword (Excalibur) and the cup or
chalice (the Grail) . Sometimes it is the spear and the cauldron. Within
every man is the chalice, the anima or feminine aspect of his psyche,
while every woman has the sword, the animus or male aspect of her
psyche. 'Ihese are the secret keys to sexual attraction and love between
the sexes.
 Liher Nox

It is also through balancing these male and female aspects in the

psyche that the attainment of the Grail can be achieved at the end of
the spiritual quest. The knight (who can be of either gender) is sent out
with sword in hand into the wilderness to seek their purpose in life, to
survive the challenges they will face, to learn wisdom and gain gnosis
or divine knowledge. lhe climatic vision of the Grail achieved by the
pure knight in the Arthurian legends is nothing less then the goal of
the magical path and the witch's way, offering union between spirit and
matter and spiritual enlightenment or illumination.

88
 . I DS U1\i.MR'S DAY

I
N British seasonal traditions and folk customs, midsummer, or the
summer solstice in June, is celebrated as the longest day of the
year. It is when the sun is at its highest point in the sky and at
its maximum strength. W hen the Early Church took over the pagan
rites that marked this season, they chose Midsummer's Day, June 24th,
as the feast day of St John the Baptist. In the mid-Devon village of
Witheridge, whose parish church is dedicated to the saint, an annual
St John's Fair dating from the Middle Ages is still held on the nearest
Saturday to Midsummer's Day. In folk magic St John was petitioned
for good luck, healthy crops, fertility and protection from malefic
magic.
1here is an interesting link between St John the Baptist, the Celtic
sacred head cult and the medieval name of one of the female leaders
of the Wild Hunt, Herodias. In one account of the death of John the
Baptist, a pivotal role is taken by King Herod's wife, Herodias. She lusted
after the saint, but when he resisted her advances she conspired with
her daughter Salome to have John executed by decapitation. Herodias
asked to see the severed head, and it was brought to her on a platter by
a servant. Although she kissed it, even in death the saint rejected her
and his head avoided her attentions by levitating through an opening in
the roof. Ever since then St John has chased Herodias through the s ky
tormenting her, a s she knows he will never love her in return.
According to the legend, two thirds of humanityowed their allegiance
to Herodias, who is doomed to ride the night sky until cock crow and
sunrise. St John's Eve or Midsummer Eve is one of the rare times of
the year outside the winter months that the Wild Hunt rides forth.
Referring to this story, the late r 2th century cleric John of Salisbury
said that Herodias was the 'witch ruler of the night' and convened
nocturnal assemblies where her followers 'feasted and rioted'. She was
accompanied by demons called lamias who were half woman, half
snake, and were believed to kidnap, kill and eat children. However,John
 Liher Nox

of Salisbury added that it was only 'poor old women and simpleminded
men' who believed such demonic manifestations actually existed.
Midsummer Day was sometimes when people went guising or
dressing up in animal costumes. 1his was not as common as it is at
midwinter, but it was a custom still practised as late as I 830. In that year
in East Anglia a man was charged with causing a public disturbance by
terrifying people at midsummer. His crime was that he had walked up
and down the street with a pair of painted ram's horns on his head and
a green veil covering his face. At the same time he was reported to be
making 'strange and frightful noises' that scared the people passing by.
Traditionally midsummer folk customs involved the lighting of
bonfires on hills. In the 1 6t11 century some people in Aberdeenshire were
charged with doing so on 'Midsomer Evin', even though the practice
had been outlawed. In 1 66 5 , Presbyterian clergymen condemned those
"superstitious folk" who carried blazing torches "through their corns"
afrer sunset. Such rituals dated back to Roman times when farmers also
lit fires in their fields at midsummer to protect the crops from disease.
Such rites are connected with the universal magical belief that fire had
a purifying influence and was a protection against the demonic and
chthonic powers of darkness.
In Ireland, the smoke, embers and ashes from the midsummer fires
were believed to have magical powers, and were used with the recitation
of Christian prayers to bless humans, livestock and the crops. Torches
made from straw and hay tied on poles were also carried around the
fields in honour of the sun goddess Aine. It was said that on St John's
Eve the faeries came out of the raths (Iron Age forts) and processed
across the countryside carrying lighted torches in her honour. Michael
Dames mentions a group of young girls who had stayed late on a hill
to watch the midsummer fires when Aine suddenly appeared. She
thanked them for the honour done to her but wished they went home
to their beds because her Otherworldly friends now wanted the place
to themselves. Aine was also known as Ana, Dana and Danu as the
'Mother of the Gods' and could appear as either a beautiful woman or
an old crone.
In the Orkneys the material used for the midsummer fires was a
mixture of peat, dry heather and faggots (bundles of dry sticks) collected
by the local children. Before each of the fires was lit, an animal bone was
thrown onto the pyre, hence the term 'bone-fire' or bonfire. 1his custom
may be a far memory of pre-Christian pagan rites of animal sacrifice
involving burnt offerings. Any farmer who wanted a good harvest lit his
own individual faggot at the communal fire. He then carried the burning
 Midsummer's Day

bundle of twigs around his fields deosil or 'sunways' (clockwise) and

used it to fumigate the cow shed, to ensure his cattle were not plagued
with diseases like ringworm or foot-and-mouth. In Elizabethan times
young men and women joined hands and leapt over the flames of the
midsummer fires accompanied by music played on the bagpipes.
Midsummer Eve (June 2 3'd), in common with May Eve, All Hallows
Eve and Christmas Eve, was one of the special 'spirit nights' of the year.
For this reason it was not only believed that both witches and faeries
were extra powerful on this day, but divinatory rites could be performed
to tell the future, especially if it coincided with a full moon. In the r 2 rh
century the Church condemned those who practised sorcery (originally
divination by lots) on St John's Eve. It was also a magical time to gather
herbs and plants to be used in charms and for medicinal purposes. As
would be expected, it was a good time for picking St John's Wort to
ward off the spells of malefic witches and the Evil Eye. 'lhis plant also
protected houses and farm buildings from evil spirits, and lightning
from summer thunderstorms. Fern seeds collected on Midsummer's Eve
were used in divination, and elderberries picked on this day protected
those who ate them from witchcraft, and it was claimed even gave them
magical powers.
The close association between midsummer and the Fey or faery
folk is important in its celebration by traditional witches. It should
be understood that the faery folk are not the twee, gossamer-winged
creatures of Shakespeare, Victorian children's stories or today's New Age
books. 'lhey have an amoral nature, sometimes an indifferent or even
hostile attitude to humans and can be scary, malicious and dangerous.
In r 7'h century Huntingdonshire it was recorded that on Midsummer
Day people fired guns in the air to scare away evil faeries. 'lhey had to be
respected and bribed with offerings or, like malefic witches, they could
cause endless damage to crops and livestock and bring misfortune to the
family.
Modern West Country folklorist Jon Dathen has recently interviewed
several Somerset residents who believe in faeries and claim to have seen
them on many occasions. One sighting of a faery is described as being
female, about three feet tall with blue skin, long bony fingers like twigs
and a round head with a nose like a bird's beak. Other faeries are described
as having a physical appearance that is a hybrid mixture of birds, insects
and animals, with feathers and fur, spindly knobbly limbs and a gnarly
skin that looks like the moss found on tree trunks and branches.
Some faerie folk however are not the archetypal 'Little People',
but can be either human size or taller. In fact they resemble the elves
 Liher Nox

depicted in the movie version of ]. R. R. Tolkien's Lord efthe Rings. '1he

modern occultist R.J. Stewart, who has written extensively on faery lore,
has described ferocious faery warriors who appear wearing leather or
metal armour with jewelled helmets, and elven folk dressed in animal
skins, feathers and leaves. Others wear more exotic clothing such as
coloured cloaks, embroidered robes, leather kilts, tunics with hoods and
embossed jackets.
According to Jon Dathen's West Country informants, the faery folk
live near the 'faery paths' or leys, and the ancient sites associated with
them such as stone circles, burial mounds and standing stones. '1his is
because they allegedly feed off the 'earth energy' that flo ws along the
leys and which is focused at natural power centres in the countryside.
Such 'spirit paths' are places where power flows through the land, and
they also mark liminal boundaries between the material plane and the
Otherworld. When humans interfere with, obstruct or block these
lines of power or energy crisscrossing the landscape they often suffer
misfortune, illness and even death. '1hese are also the places where
traditional witches hold their rites and magical workings.
One of the common names for the witch-god mentioned in the
trials was 'Robin' (a common and popular derivative of Robert) and
this was believed to have come from the English folk character Robin
Goodfellow. In popular folk belief he was a small, hairy and mischievous
hobgoblin or spirit associated with the hob or hearth. '1his domestic faery
would carry out household tasks such as churning the butter, threshing
the corn, sweeping the floors, baking the bread, making the beds and
even mending torn clothes. He was usually well behaved, but was also
notorious as a trickster making mischief, pinching the female servants
and playing practical jokes on the household. '1his would usually happen
if the hobgoblin believed he had not been treated as well as he should
have been or rewarded sufficiently for his work. Robin Goodfellow was
also accused of causing old women to have nightmares, blowing candles
out to plunge the house in darkness and pulling off bedclothes on cold
nights.
However, as well as being a supernatural being of the brownie or
domestic spirit type, Robin Goodfellow also had a more important and
sinister role that may have been diminished by the folklore about him.
Hob was also a popular name given by country folk to Old Nick or the
Devil. In Robin Goo1fellow: His Mad Pranks and Merry jests published
in 1 6 2 9 there is a woodcut depicting the hobgoblin as the satyr-like
god of the witches. He is shown as a Devil-like horned, bearded figure
with pointed animal ears, a human face, torso and arms. His legs are
 Midsummer's Day

covered in fur or hair; he has cloven hooves instead of feet and sports an
erect phallus. A hunting horn hangs at his waist; he holds a besom or
broomstick over his left shoulder and a lighted candle in his right hand.
He is dancing in a double circle drawn on the ground and is surrounded
by small figures, both male and female, depicting witches who form a
ring around him holding hands.

'1he 1 7'h century Puritan writer Robert Burton mentioned Robin

Goodfellow in his book Anatomie C!fMelancholy. In it he appears as a
'terrestrial devil' in the company of pre-Christian spirits such as the
Roman fares or household gods, the genii loci, or 'spirits of place', fauns,
satyrs and wood nymphs. In William Shakespeare's play A Midsummer
Night 's Dream, Robin Goodfellow appears as the faery P uck. In Anglo
Saxon times the puca or pooka (Irish), pwca (Welsh) or bucca was a
woodland elf, very much seen in terms of a geni loci or spirit of the land.

93
 Liher Nox

To be 'puckish' is defined as behaving in a playful or mischievous way

and indicates one side of Puck's character.
In more modern times this ancient woodland sprite features in
Rudyard Kipling's famous children's book Puck efPook's Hill, published
in I 906, and its sequel Rewards and Fairies. In the story two children,
Dan and Una, visit Pook's Hill (a real place in Sussex near one of
Kipling's former homes) on Midsummer's Eve. By reciting part of
Shakespeare's famous play in a faery ring they summon up Puck, who
tells the children he the last of the 'Old People of the Hills' (faeries) . He
points out that he is different from other faeries, however, because they
cannot abide salt, horseshoes and rowan berries nailed over the door,
running water, iron or the pealing of church bells. In folk magic these
are charms that are also supposed to negate the power of witches but
they have no effect on Puck.
The name 'Robin' also links Goodfellow/Puck with the archetypal
E nglish outlaw Robin Hood, who as we have seen was a popular folk
character in the May Day revels. In I 846 Thomas Wright suggested,
controversially, that the legend of Robin Hood was in fact based on
'Robin of the Wood', an elven and arboreal spirit of the forest who was
kin to Robin Goodfellow. '111e evidence provided to back up this claim
was the outlaw's choice of Lincoln (faery) green for his clothing, his
outlaw role as 'the hooded man' (a nickname for the Norse-Germanic
god Odin or Woden, one of the leaders of the Wild Hunt), his habitat
in the greenwood, the ritualistic and sacrificial nature of his death by
bleeding at the hands of a wicked Christian abbess (possibly originally
a priestess of the old pagan religions), and the fact that 'Robin', as we
have seen, is a generic name for the Devil or god of the witches.
Robin Goodfellow was sometimes said to be the son of Oberon,
the king of the faeries. He is another character who appears in A
Midsummer Night 's Dream, although he has an older origin that predates
Shakespeare by many centuries. Oberon, or Auberon, meaning 'elf king',
is found in medieval and Renaissance literature, and as we have seen
already he is sometimes described as the son of the Arthurian faery
enchantress Morgan Le Fay. As such he owned a magical Grail-like cup
similar to the famed cauldrons of Celtic myth that supplied an endless
flow of food and wine. Oberon is therefore an entity associated with
the fertility and prosperity of the land and is regarded as a witch-god in
some Old Craft traditions.
Oberon is also related to Alberich, a dwarf smith who guards
gold and treasure and makes the weapons of the gods in Norse and
Germanic mythology. In this respect Alberich connects with one of the

94
 Midsummer's Day

aspects of the traditional witch-god as a divine blacksmith. Other forms

of the ancient smith-god revered by modern traditional witches are the
biblical Tubal-Cain, the Anglo-Saxon Wayland and the Roman Vulcan.
It is interesting that in medieval times magicians summoned Oberon as
a spirit who could tell them where buried treasure was hidden.
In A Midsummer Night 's Dream, Oberon's wife and consort is
Titania, the queen of the faeries. It is believed that Shakespeare took
this name from one of the daughters of the Titans, the primordial giants
in Greek mythology. In the play, Oberon and Titania are always arguing
and fighting, and interestingly this affects the weather and the state
of the land. 1heir conflict creates fog, high winds, overflowing rivers,
diseases in livestock, unseasonably cold weather and failed harvests. 1his
very much suggests that Titania is a form of Sovereignty, the goddess
of the land, and the relationship between her and Oberon is very much
a 'sacred marriage'. When the faery king and queen are at peace with
each other then the wasteland flowers and flourishes, but when they are
estranged the vegetation withers and dies, the weather is bad and the
land becomes barren. In Ireland it was believed that the faery folk had
to be respected because they controlled crops and their ripening.
1hose few mortals who have had the privilege of meeting the G.!leen
of Elfhame or Faerie are struck by her unearthly beauty that is unlike
any mortal woman's. R.J. Stewart has written of his own close encounter
with the faery queen. He describes her as a spiritual being of great
power, both beautiful and terrible. She had a pale white face, a long and
narrow nose, and lips that changed colour from red to purple and black
and back again. Her eyes were tawny gold with black pupils like a hawk
and her long and flowing hair was red in colour and streaked with black.
She wore a green robe interlaced with gold, silver and crystal threads
and sat upon a throne made from the stump of an ancient tree.
In both European and British witch trials the female leader of the
coven was often called the 'faery lady', the 'queen of elves' or the 'queen of
the faeries'. As mentioned before, there are historical accounts of mortal
beings enticed or taken into 'faery mounds' (Neolithic burial mounds)
by the faery queen and taught the arts of seership, divination and herbal
healing. In the 1 7th century John Heydon, a London astrologer, magician
and mystic who foolishly predicted the imminent death of the dictator
Oliver Cromwell, was forced to flee for his life to rural Somerset. 1here
he set himself up as a 'cunning man' and healer following a meeting
near a faery (prehistoric burial) mound with a strange lady "dressed in
green." She took him inside the mound where there was a glass castle
and "taught him wisdom". In 1 5 8 8 the Scottish witch and healer Alison

95
 Liher Nox

Pearson confessed to having been friendly with the queen of Faerie and
her court for many years. Ten years later a man called Andro Man was
also executed in Scotland after confessing to having sexual relations
with the Q.yeen of Elfhame. In return she promised Man he would
"know all things" and that his material needs would be supplied by the
faeries until he died.
Some witches like Andro Man entered into 'faery marriages' with
their so-called 'demon lovers'. In return they were granted psychic
and healing powers and the knowledge of herbcraft: and the medicinal
properties of plants. One classic example are the famous 'faery doctors' or
physicians of Myddffai in Carmartenshire, South Wales, who survived
into the 1 8 rh century. 'They claimed descent from two brothers who were
taught herbal lore in the Middle Ages by a faery 'lady of the lake' who
had married a local farmer.
'The belief that the Fey or faery folk are the rebel angels who defied
God, or descended from the forbidden mating between them and the
'daughters of man' as described in the Bible, can be found in folklore and
traditional witchcraft. 'This connects the stories of 'fairy marriages' and
'demon lovers' with the belief in the Old Craft in spiritual continuity
of the 'elven blood' or 'witch blood' from ancient times. Folklorist John
Garland has recounted a meeting he had with a modern 'conjure man' or
cunning man who lived on Exmoor in north Somerset. His informant
told Garland that pixies (the local name for faeries) and witches were
"one and the same". In fact he said that witches could traditionally
communicate with the realm of Faerie because they were in fact faeries
"half-born in human form."
'The full moon in June is known as the Faery Moon and indicates that
any rituals in the month should be on that theme. However, a warning
should be issued that dealing with the Good People can be potentially
dangerous. As mentioned earlier they are amoral. At best their attitude
to humans is ambivalent and at worst downright hostile. When dealing
with them it is always best to go through the medium of the Q.yeen of
Elfhame and the Elf King rather than try and contact any of the lesser
denizens of Faerie direct. Midsummer Eve can also be used for magical
workings to gather herbs and plants for use in healing and hexing.
 IA1".MASI D

HE word 'Lammas' derives from the Anglo-Saxon or Old

English hlefmaesse or 'loaf mass' celebrated in the pre

Reformation Christian calendar on August 1sr. As recorded
in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, this was when a special Mass was said
using bread made from the first wheat or corn cut in the harvest. 'Ihe
consecrated bread was then broken into four pieces and placed in the
corners of the barn to protect the grain that was soon to be harvested
from the fields. In Ireland the feast of Lughnasadh at the beginning
of August was dedicated to the god of light, Lugh, with his magical
'lightning spear' that destroyed the enemies of the land.
In a pagan sense, Lammas refers back to the ancient rite of offering
the 'first fruits' of the harvest to the Old Gods to ensure fine weather,
so it will be safely gathered in. August Eve (July 3 1 st) was also a time
for reinforcing and repeating the protective and warding rites already
associated with May Day and Midsummer's Day. Crosses of rowan
wood were placed over the doors of farmhouses, cow sheds and barns to
ward off the witches and faeries who were believed to be out and about
on this Lammas Night causing mischief and mayhem.
However the primary purpose of the Lammastide rites was to
ensure a good and prolific harvest. In the Old Craft it was a time for
sympathetic magic to make sure any threat to the harvest from outside
forces was banished or eliminated. In 1 6 1 7 a woman called Margaret Ine
O!iane and her young son were burnt at the stake in the market place of
Castletown on the Isle of Man. She had been caught in possession of a
'riding pole' with its top end carved in the shape of a phallus. Allegedly
Ine O!iane and her son had gone out into the fields before the harvest
and 'ridden' on the pole as part of a witchy fertility rite.
'Ihree hundred years later in the 1 94os, witches in rural
Buckinghamshire went into the fields at harvest time for a similar
magical purpose. 'Ihey 'rode' either a forked stave (stang) or a horse
headed rod in a ritual dance to the land to banish the old powers of

97
 Liber Nox

decay and increase the new power of growth. 'Ihis story was told to
Andrew D. Chumbley by one of his Old Craft initiators. According to
John of Monmouth, in the 1 960s Robert Cochrane's traditional Royal
Windsor Cuveen did a similar dance, riding ash staffs or a besom to
drive or sweep out 'evil from the land'. It was also danced to 'make the
crops grow and avert drought'.
In r 9'h century Scotland, the traditional bonfires lit at midsummer
in June were transferred to the period around Lammas. 'Ihe last day
of July, Lammas Eve, was dedicated in folk tradition to St Margaret,
the patron saint of Scotland, even though her official feast day was in
November. On St Margaret's Day a large cartwheel was heated in the
Lammas fire until the metal rim glowed red-hot, and then rolled down
a hillside. In pre-Christian symbolism this fiery wheel travelling down
the slope of the hill represented the disc of the sun. In some parts of the
country the sun actually appears to 'roll' down the side of certain hills
and Glastonbury Tor is one example-:''At this time of the year the sun
also begins to drop from its midsummer zenith in the sky to its position
low on the horizon at midwinter. 'Ibis can be seen as the descent of the
Horned God from his superior summer heights to the depths of the
underworld.
'Ihe key theme of Lammastide, and the period of the agricultural
cycle from the beginning of August to the autumn equinox in late
September, is sacrifice and death. Specifically the sacrificial death of
the virile God, or his human representative as the divine king or priest
king, that deprives him of his spiritual and temporal power on the
material plane. 'Ihis is followed by his transition from Middle Earth
to the underworld and the afterlife. On May Day the witch-goddess
married the God in the greenwood and by this act she made him her
king to rule over the land, in both a physical and metaphysical sense. At
Lammastide his reign ends and Sovereignty, the goddess of the land, is
the instrument of his death among the red poppies in the corn field. At
Beltane the Lady captured his heart, but at Lammas she cuts it out of
his body so that his royal and sacred blood fertilizes the land he rules.
'Ihe concept of sacrifice in religious rites is as old as the human race.
It originally arose in the superstitious belief that the dangerous and
destructive forces of nature could be appeased and even controlled by
making sacrificial offerings to the gods and goddesses who represented
them. Obviously in the rites in the agricultural cycle associated with the
harvest, sacrifices would have been made to ensure the safe gathering
in of the crops and that they were plentiful and healthy. Alternatively,
if it looked as if the harvest would be poor or _fail, the life of the king
 Lammastide

himself was offered to the Old Gods in exchange for a good and healthy
crop.
Although sacrifices are more associated with the old pagan religions,
in the Book of Genesis it is recorded that Yahweh ordered Abraham
to sacrifice his own son on a stone altar. Just as he was about to obey
the divine commandment, the patriarch saw a ram trapped in a thicket
nearby and he substituted it as a sacrificial offering instead of the boy.
Even in the time of Jesus, the high priests of the temple in Jerusalem
still practised blood sacrifice. In modern Christianity the rite still exists
in a sublimated and symbolic form as the celebration of the Mass. At
its climax the worshipper is invited to partake of the bread and wine
representing the blood and flesh of their saviour. Similar rituals were
practised in ancient pagan cults such as Mithraism and the Eleusian
Mysteries.
In Iron Age Europe there were sacrificial rituals involving the
depositing of bodies of human victims in the land, especially bogs and
marshes. '1his was because it was believed such places were entrances
to the underworld. As some of these bogs were rich in peat, many of
these sacrificial victims have been excavated in modern times in a semi
mummified state. Two classic examples were unearthed in the 1 95 0s
in Denmark and have been named the Tollund and Graubelle Man
respectively, after the places where they were found. '1he remains of the
bodies were so well preserved that their facial expressions could still be
seen. Both victims had suffered a ritualistic 'triple death' in the sense
that they had been garrotted or hung, had their throat cut and a blow
had been administered to the head with an axe or club.
'1he most famous of several so-called 'bog bodies' unearthed in
Britain in modern times was found at Lindow Moss in Cheshire in
19 84. Archaeologists called him the Lindow Man, although tabloid
journalists soon nicknamed him 'Pete Marsh'. After nearly two thousand
years in the peaty soil, his body was so well preserved that the local police,
called to the scene by the peat workers who made the discovery, at first
believed they were dealing with the victim of a present-day murder. The
body was of a young man in his twenties and he was naked except for an
unusual armband made of fox fur, which may have had some religious
or magical significance to its wearer. Possibly it represented his personal
totem animal or that of his tribe or clan. Lindow Man had died as a
result of several blows to the head with a sharp instrument, and he had
also been strangled and his throat was cut. Oddly, either before or after
his death, the skin of the body had been painted green using a copper
based pigment, thus turning the sacrificial victim into a 'Green Man'.

99
 Liher Nox

'Ihe modern hereditary witch E.W. Liddell has claimed that the bog
bodies provide evidence for the worship of the Great Mother Goddess
in Bronze and Iron Age Europe. He cites the discovery in 1 9 5 2 of the
body of a teenage girl in a peat bog at Schwesling in Denmark, who was
blindfolded and had a leather collar around her neck. Liddell claims
that in Scandinavia and northern Germany, sacrificial victims, male and
female, had a halter or leather noose placed around their necks to signify
they belonged to the Great Mother Goddess and had been killed in her
honour.
An alternative form of sacrificial death was the decapitation of the
victims, and we have already seen this depicted in the medieval tale of
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with his grisly 'beheading game'.
Human skulls were ritually deposited in rivers during the Bronze
Age, and the Iron Age warriors of ancient Britain were head-hunters,
collecting the skulls of their enemies as trophies to be displayed or for
ritualistic or magical purposes. The skulls of those killed in battle or
executed prisoners-of-war were often displayed on the entrance gates or
walls of Iron Age hill-forts. 'Ibis grisly practice was both a warning to
would-be enemies and to magically ward off evil influences that might
threaten or harm the tribe.
Human skulls were also ritually deposited in the ditches and earthworks
surrounding sacred sites or settlements as well as in rivers, marshes and
bogs. In prehistoric times there is also archaeological evidence that
after the bodies of the dead were interred in burial mounds the skeletal
remains were later removed for important rituals and then replaced. 'Ibis
custom may well have involved using human skulls as oracular devices to
contact and communicate with the dead, the ancestors and the ancestral
spirits of the tribe. Today there are still ghost stories about so-called
'screaming skulls' kept in country houses that seem to be the medium for
Otherworldly contacts, poltergeist-type phenomena or family curses.
Oracular and protective magical practices using a head can be found
in the legendary story of Bran the Blessed, the 'Blessed Raven', the
High King of the Island of the Mighty, or Britain, mentioned in 7he
Mabinogion. Bran gave the hand of his favourite daughter Branwen to
the king of Ireland to seal a political alliance between the two countries.
When his daughter was mistreated by her new husband and his
courtiers, Bran and his warriors launched a rescue mission that resulted
in the high king's death. Before he died Bran told his companions to
cut off his head and carry it back to Britain for burial. Only seven of the
original warriors survived, and on the trip home they used the talking
head of the high king as an oracular device.

IOO
 Lammastide

Eventually the skull was buried on the White Hill, now the site of
the Tower of London, facing towards Europe. It was said that as long
as Bran's severed head remained there in situ, no foreign army would
invade the Blessed Isles. However, when King Arthur became the new
Pendragon of Albion he ordered the head to be exhumed. I n that way
the once and future king was exerting his authority and divine right
received from Sovereignty, the goddess of the land, to replace Bran as
the new protector and guardian of Britain. However, no good came of
the act, as the Saxons invaded England, Arthur was killed in battle and
his Fellowship of the Round Table ended in failure as his rule ended.
1he ritual deposit of severed heads or skulls was also associated
in prehistoric times with wells and springs. When these sites were
Christianised the symbolism oftheir connection with the sacred head cult
appears to have survived in the legends of the Celtic saints. For instance,
in the 6th century CE when St Dewi or David arrived in the area on the
coast of south-west Wales that now bears his name he came into conflict
with a local tribal chieftain. His wife is supposed to have decapitated her
own daughter as a sacrifice to the Old Gods in the hope they would get
rid of the saint. Where her blood fell on the ground a fountain or spring
appeared, whose waters were reputed for many centuries to possess
healing powers. It was still being visited in medieval times and the I 2 th
century chronicler Geraldus Cambrensis or Gerald ofWales mentions it
in the written account of his travels around the country.
In North Wales the legend of St Winifrede may possibly have echoes
of the Celtic cult of the severed head. She was a young virgin pursued by
a prince who was desperate to marry her. When Winifrede refused his
overtures in his sexual frustration and a fit of anger the nobleman drew
his sword and beheaded her. Where the young woman's blood flowed
into the earth a spring bubbled up out of the ground. Today people still
visit St Winifrede's Well on the site of her death seeking cures.
Another early Celtic saint called Teilo established a religious
community at Llandeilo in West Wales, where there is a holy well in
the churchyard dedicated to him. Another well named after St Teilo can
be found at Maenclochog in present-day Pembrokeshire. In the Middle
Ages, pilgrims visited the site to drink the water from the well in a cup
made from a human skull said to be the saint's. 1his bizarre drinking
vessel was in the ownership of a local family who acted as the hereditary
guardians of the shrine. 1he practice only died out as late as the I 92os
when the last of the family died, and the skull cup disappeared from
sight. Some years ago it was recovered from a relative of the family
living abroad and is now displayed in Llandaff Cathedral near Cardiff.

IOI
 Liher Nox

The Celtic head cult seems to have survived in one version of the
medieval Grail Mysteries. 1he Estoire de/ Saint Graaf or History f the
Holy Grail, based on a 1 3 th century work by Robert de Boron, describes
how one of Arthur's knights, Sir Perceval or Parsifal, visited the castle of
the wounded Fisher King. 1here he saw the Grail carried in a procession
by young boys and girls accompanied_ by a bleeding lance and a severed
head on a platter. In the Christian Mysteries the Grail in question
was the cup from the Last Supper, and the lance is the spear used by a
Roman centurion to pierce the body ofJesus on the cross. Known as the
Spear of Destiny, it is no ordinary weapon, for its point is made from
meteoric iron and it was forged by the biblical smith Tubal-Cain, who
Paul Huson has described as one of the aspects of the witch god.
1he Holy Grail was allegedly brought to Glastonbury, the Celtic
Otherworld, by Jesus' uncle, foster-father and disciple Joseph of
Arimathea and in some legends is hidden in the vicinity of the Tor. It
has been suggested that the Grail Hallows is of a faery or elven nature.
Once used in the mortal world, such supernatural objects are returned
to their place of origin, as in the story of Joseph hiding or burying the
Grail at Glastonbury Tor, Avalon or the Island of the Dead, would
indicate. 1he sacred objects of spear or lance and the platter are used in
a special Grail Mass, and it is tempting to see this as referring to a far
older sacrificial ritual.
1his is also indicated by the Fisher King or Wounded King suffering
a wound 'in the thigh' which renders him both lame and infertile. As
a result, an area surrounding the Grail Castle becomes a wasteland.
It is only returned to its fertile state when a brave and pure knight
attains the vision of the Grail and the king is healed. 1he knight then
replaces the king as the next guardian of the Grail. It has been suggested
that because the Fisher King's injury is 'in the thigh' this is a polite
euphemism for the genitals and possibly even castration. 1he king's loss
of virility mirrors the infertility of the land, for he is an example of the
divine priest-king married to the goddess of the land, whose symbol is
the Grail. Although he does not actually die, the Wounded King can
be compared to the Lammas sacrificial victim whose blood fertilises the
land and ensures prosperity for his tribe or subjects.
In the Arthurian legends the Wounded King is the first guardian
of the Grail. This role is taken in the Christian Grail Mysteries by
Joseph of Arimathea. Joseph is allegedly present at the crucifixion,
where he collects in the cup used at the Last Supper the sacred and
royal blood of Jesus that flows from the wound in his side inflicted by
the Roman soldier's spear. Eventually this cup, the Grail, is taken by

10 2
 Lammastide

Joseph of Arimathea to Britain and hidden somewhere in the environs

of Glastonbury Tor, the 'hollow hill' that was sacred to the Iron Age
people, and possibly the Bronze Age folk before them, and reputed to
be one of the entrances to the Otherworld in the physical landscape.
Echoes of the Celtic sacred head cult still survive in the Peak District
where pagan rites were said to have been practised by local farming folk as
late as the 1 97os. Stone heads excavated in the area have been associated
with the Brigantes, an Iron Age tribe who once inhabited the area,
worshipped the goddess Brigantia and were notorious head-hunters. An
archaeological survey in the 1 990s identified at least 250 carvings of
heads in the Peak District, Cheshire and Lancashire. Although it has
been claimed they date back at least two thousand years, the majority
have now been classified as dating from Victorian times when the art
of making them was revived. Others are of modern origin and may be
evidence of a local folk or magical tradition that still persists today.
 Liber Nox

Some of these stone heads can be seen displayed on the outside of

buildings, usually above the liminal entrances of doors and windows,
or inside on fireplaces. '1heir primary purpose seems to have been as
protective devices or 'house guardians' to ward off witches and evil
spirits. Stone heads in a Celtic style have also been found embedded
in the stonework around holy wells and on bridges. '1hey were believed
to be cursed, and anyone who damaged or removed the heads would
suffer misfortune and illness. In the 1 9 70s the Celtic historian Dr Anne
Ross was told by local people that stone heads were also buried upon
the moors in the Peak District. On 'special days' they were exhumed
and used in a rite where a lamb was sacrificed to the Old Gods. When
Dr Ross was sent one of these 'Celtic heads' to examine and comment
upon, she and her family experienced psychic manifestations of a half
human, half-animal entity.
Today witches do not practice human or animal sacrifice, but it
remains a powerful symbolic and metaphorical image and act within
Craft workings. Sacrificial offerings are still made to the spirits, and they
can include small quantities of blood, either obtained using a sterilised
needle or a medical instrument to prick a finger, or if the giver is a
pre-menopause woman she can use her own 'moon blood' or menses.
Not all spirits require blood, and other suitable offerings are perfumes
and essential oils, food (especially sweet items like chocolate and cakes),
honey, milk, fresh flowers, alcohol, tobacco, eggs, coins (especially
currency that is no longer legal tender), small personal items such as
jewellery and the burning of high quality incense.
Magical fountains, holy wells and sacred springs often appear in the
Arthurian legends as entrances to the Otherworld, guarded by witches,
'White Ladies' or mysterious faery women. '1hey also have a connection
with Lammastide because growing crops need water to sustain
them. On the nearest Wednesday to August r o'h (probably originally
corresponding with Old Lammas in the pre-Gregorian Julian calendar)
the folk custom of well-dressing is still carried out in Derbyshire.
Although it is said that it began as a thanksgiving for deliverance from
the bubonic plague in the 1 4'h century, it may also be a far memory
of the pagan veneration of sacred springs with sacrificial offerings. In
earlier times the wells were just 'dressed' with bunches or garlands of
wild flowers. Then in the 1 Soos the more sophisticated practice arose
of creating mosaics made of leaves, berries, pressed flowers, bark, glass,
coloured sand and pebbles.
At Droitwich in Worcestershire there was an ancient custom
of dressing a local well with 'green boughs and flowers' every year.
 Lammastide

'lhis custom was interrupted by the Civil War and the Cromwellian
dictatorship, when the Puritans banned it as a heathen practice. It was
then reported that once the custom stopped the well dried up. Despite
the Parliamentary soldiers attempting to stop the villagers from carrying
it out, the custom was revived, and immediately the water came back
into the well.
In modern traditional witchcraft it is the goddess of the land, the
spring bride of the sacrificed god or divine king who is responsible for
his death at Lammas. He has to die at the climax of his seven year
reign so that the fertility of the land can be revived and continued into
the future. Often a good harvest was linked to the prosperity of the
tribe. On those occasions when the harvest failed, the tribe lost in battle
or their livestock sickened and died, it was believed the chieftain or
king had to be sacrificed for the good of the people so as to restore the
natural order of things.
In a mythological sense, the sacrificial death of the God heralded
both his transition from the world of the living to the realm of the dead
and eventual replacement by his dark twin, the Lord of the Wildwood
and the Wild Hunt who rules over winter. 'lhe motif of the battle
between twin bright and dark gods is found in the Lammastide struggle
between the Celtic god Lugh, the Lord of Light, and Crom Dubh,
the 'black bent one', who is the Lord of Darkness and a form of the
corn -spirit worshipped at the end of summer, as we will see in the next
chapter.
Although the Lammas myth and its accompanying ritual is one
of sacrifice and death, it is also one of transition into the afterlife and
spiritual transformation into a new state of being. 'lhis is represented
by the crossed arrows and a sickle fixed to the shaft of the stang at this
festival. 'lhe Lord of the Waxing Year goes into the earth or descends
to the underworld and becomes the hidden Lord of the Waning
Year. Lammas is a period of intense sadness illustrated by the dying
or waning power of the sun from its zenith at midsummer. 'lhere is
the gradual fading of vegetation, the loss of the leaves from the trees,
and the drawing in of the nights as the light fades towards the autumn
equinox when day and night are equal.

IOS
 M I HALMAS

o the pagan Anglo-Saxons, September was known as

halegmonath or 'holy month', reflecting the fact that it was an
important time of the agricultural year when the harvest was
gathered in. In the Christian calendar, Michaelmas (September 2 9'h)
is the feast day of S aint Michael the Archangel. It is also known as
the Feast of St Michael and All Angels or the Feast of the Archangels.
'1hese archangels are Michael, Gabriel, Raphael and Uriel, who in
ceremonial magic and some forms of traditional witchcraft are the
rulers of the quarters or four compass points in the Circle of Arte. I n
Christian mythology St Michael was supposed to offer protection from
the powers of darkness, so early churches dedicated to the archangel
were built on sites of former pagan worship. Astronomically his festival
coincides with the autumn equinox, when in the northern hemisphere
the sun crosses the equator and heads towards its lowest point at the
winter solstice in December.
A special meal was prepared on Michaelmas Day from a goose that
had been fattened on the stubble from the harvest. It was said that
anyone who ate the bird on this day would not want for money in the
coming year, thus connecting the meal with the attaining of prosperity.
I n Scotland a special St Michael's bannock was baked and eaten. '1his
was a scone-like cake made from the cereals grown on the farm mixed
with sheep's milk. Again it was supposed to bring wealth to those who
ate it, as well as the protection of St Michael, who may have replaced an
ancient sun god to whom offerings of the harvest were once made.
In the agricultural calendar, Michaelmas was one of the quarter
days when tenant farmers paid their rent and outstanding bills were
settled. It was also the day by which farm workers should have safely
gathered the harvest in. I n fact the full moon in September is popularly
known as the 'Harvest Moon', and work in the fields went on by its
light. Today harvest is often a few weeks early as farmers take advantage
of any good weather in August or early September. At Harvest End or

I06
 Michaelmas

Harvest Home, various seasonal customs were observed that appear to

date back to ancient rituals connected with the twin themes of fertility
and sacrifice and life and death.
Prominent among these folk customs was the ritualistic cutting of
the last sheaf in the harvest field. 'lhis was believed to symbolise the
dwelling place of the corn spirit, who could take male, female or animal
form. Sometimes the last sheaf was called the Old Woman, the Old
Wife, the Old Witch, the Old Hag, the O!ieen, the Maiden, 'lhe Old
Sow, the Mare, the Bitch, the Hare, the Goat or the Gander. 'lhese were
either forms of the bright and dark goddess or the totem animals sacred
to her. In Scottish folk tradition two 'corn dollies' were made from the
last sheaf and called the Cailleach and the Maiden, representing the
aspects of the Goddess in transition at this time of the year. In the
Highlands the last sheaf was known as the Maiden before Samhain
(November l st) and the Cailleach after that date, when the dark half of
the year began.
In Ireland the ancient god ruling the period from Lammas to
Samhain and the harvest was Crom Cruach or Crom Dubh ('the bloody
dark' or 'black bent one' or 'crooked one of the [burial] mound'). He was
an underworld deity who was supposed to have invented the plough,
and his myth may date back to Neolithic times. He was depicted
carrying the Kern Baby (the last sheaf) on his hunched back, and was
accompanied by two large black hounds. On Lammas this dark god
fought a ritual combat with the god of light, Lugh, who gave his name
to the festival of Lughnasadh. Crom owned a huge pet bull that was
a danger to the harvest, and the supernatural beast had to be killed by
Lugh's magical spear before the crops could be safely gathered in.
Offerings offirst-born humans and animals, milk and grain were made
to stone images of Crom on Samhain Eve (October 3 1 ). It is claimed
that St Patrick destroyed one of these idols that was being worshipped
by pagans, with a blow from his crosier. When the demon inhabiting
the stone left, the saint consigned him to perpetual punishment in Hell.
In this story Patrick seems to have taken over the former role of the
god Lugh in banishing the dark god Crom to the underworld. In 1 9 2 l
an image believed to represent this harvest deity was excavated near a
prehistoric stone circle in County Cavan, southern Ireland.
It was lucky for a young woman to be responsible for accompanying
the last sheaf back to the farmhouse, and she was called the Lady or
O!ieen of the Harvest. In the late l 6'h century a pageant was presented
to O!ieen Elizabeth I featuring a wooden effigy of the Roman corn
goddess Ceres described as 'riding in a cart like a harvest queen'. When
 Liher Nox

the last sheaf arrived back at the farm it was woven into a corn dolly and
dressed in female clothing with ribbons and wild flowers. This effigy
would be hung up over the hearth until Plough Monday. Then it was
taken down and buried in the first furrow of a newly ploughed field as
a fertility charm. Alternatively it was kept above the fire until the next
harvest and replaced with a new one.

1he male farm worker chosen to cut down the last sheafwas given
the title of Lord of the Harvest. O n English farms this custom was
known as 'Crying the Neck', when the reapers threw their sickles at
the last shea It was considered unlucky to be the one who actually cut
the sheaf down. Sometimes the man who was responsible was violently
jostled by his fellow workers or had corn stalks thrown at him. There was
also a tradition that if the 'neck' was cut by an older man, a younger farm
worker would seize it from his hands and run back to the farmhouse
with his trophy.
O nce the last sheaf had been cut and the crops safely gathered
in, a Harvest Supper was arranged by the farmer and his wife for the
workers. If all had gone well this was a sumptuous feast where joints

I08
 Michaelmas

of roast beef, sides of bacon, chicken, goose, cheese, home-made bread,

plum pudding and ginger cake were washed down with large quantities
of home-brewed cider and beer. On the Scottish island of Orkney the
Harvest Supper featured the slaughter, cooking on a spit over an open
fire and eating of a whole sheep, in a custom that is believed to date
back to Viking times. 1he supper was presided over by the Lord and
Lady of the Harvest and, in a reversal of the normal social rules and
norms, the man was regarded as her consort and took a secondary role
in the proceedings. After everyone had eaten their fill there was country
dancing accompanied by music from a fiddle and the bagpipes.
1he corn spirit or corn king is celebrated in the popular English
folk song John Barleycorn dating from the 1 6'h century, where the
central character is a personification of barley and the alcoholic drink
brewed from it. 1he academic Kathleen Herbert has claimed that 'John
Barleycorn' is a reference to a mythical Anglo-Saxon figure called
Beowa whose name in Old English means 'barley'. He was the son of
a mysterious ancient king called Sceafa, descended from the Germanic
god Woden, and appeared from nowhere as a baby, adrift Moses-like in
a small boat. Other writers on folklore identify John Barleycorn with
the Celtic god of light, Lugh.
1he folk song traces the life story of John Barleycorn who is killed
by "three men out of the west" and buried in a field using a plough.
When the rain falls, "little Sir John" raises his head on Midsummer's
Day, grows a long wispy beard and becomes a man again. He is then
cut down where he stands, pricked all over with pitchforks, bound to a
cart and beaten with sticks "to cut him skin from bone". His remains are
then taken to the miller so he can grind his bones between two stones
to make brandy for the huntsman and the tinker.
The lyrics of the song about poor John Barleycorn feature the dark
and sinister seasonal theme of sacrifice and resurrection from the dead.
1his is carried forward from the previous festival of Lammas and the
death of the divine king among the ripening corn. We have already
seen how the person who cuts down the last sheaf in the harvest field
was often badly treated by his peers. In fact if the farmer or his wife
entered the field on the last day of gathering in the harvest they could
be threatened, have a rope tied around their arms and be bundled into
a shea In some European countries any stranger who accidentally
wandered on to the threshing floor was beaten with the flail used to
separate the grain from the husks.
1his sacrificial theme can also be found in folk traditions relating
to the scarecrow as the spirit of the harvest or corn king. In several
 Liher Nox

English counties the scarecrow was known as a mawkin, an old dialect

name for a ghost or ghoul. In Yorkshire, Warwickshire and Devon it
was called a mummet or mommet meaning a spirit that walks at night.
In Old Cornish a bucca can refer to a scarecrow, ghost or goblin and in
northern England and Scotland it was known as a tatty-bogle. Tatty
means potato and bogle is derived from bogey meaning any evil spirit
or malicious faery, hence the bogeyman used to scare naughty children.
In Shakespeare's play 7he Merry Wives of Windsor the scarecrow
is called a Jackalent or Jack of Lent. 'lhis refers to the old and rather
curious custom of pelting any stranger visiting the area with sticks and
stones. By the 1 9'h century a puppet or scarecrow had replaced a human
victim. It was beaten with sticks in a folk ritual to increase the fertility
of the fields and ensure there was a good harvest. Originally the mawkin
was the name for a bundle of rags on a stick used to clean out bakery
ovens. After use it was placed in the fields to symbolically promote the
growth of the grain used to bake the bread. When it was windy the rags
fluttered in the breeze and were seen to scare off crows and other birds
attacking the new crops.
Sometimes in the old days a man desperate for any work was hired
to be a human scarecrow and stand all day in the field warding off the
birds. Some folklorists trace this custom and indeed the origin of the
scarecrow back to human sacrifices in pagan times to protect the crops
and livestock from disease and bring a fertile harvest. In this respect it
could be a more socially acceptable and civilised substitute for the divine
king ritually murdered so his blood fertilised the land.
Dr Jacqueline Simpson of the Folklore Society believes the scarecrow
may have originated in the ugly or aggressive effigies once placed in the
fields to drive away evil spirits. She has linked them to the puppets
in European folk customs that were destroyed in spring fertility rites
as symbolic representations of winter and death. After the coming
of Christianity, farmers in Brittany in northern France placed a life
sized wooden image of the crucified Jesus in the fields instead of these
puppets, as they believed it would produce a good harvest.
Everywhere in folklore there is evidence of the association of
scarecrows with the supernatural, ghosts and the spirits of the dead. In
North America there was a folk belief that scarecrows came alive on the
night of Hallowe'en (October 3 1 ") and roamed the countryside. The
popular American author Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote a short story
based on this belief; which was common knowledge in his home village
of Salem, famous for its witch-trials. In the story, which is similar to the
Italian fairy tale of Pinocchio, an old witch called Mother Rigby made

110
 Michaelmas

a scarecrow from a broomstick and used a spell and a tune played on a

pipe to bring it alive.
In some forms of the modern Traditional Craft this time of sacrifice
between Lammas and Harvest End is also for thanksgiving for the
fertility provided by the land. While thanks are given for what has been
achieved and received during the summer and the successful gathering
in of the harvest, it is also a time for sorrow. 'This is because the long
bright days are giving way to the coming dark season with its hardships
and terrors. 'lhe Horned God also leaves the world of the living and
descends to the land of the dead or the underworld.
'The period around the autumn equinox marks the time when the
sacrificed god undergoes a transformation. He descends through the
trilithon or stone gate in the mound to the realm of the Old Queen in
the underworld. Just as at Candlemas, where the dark goddess of winter
gives way to the bright goddess of summer, as All Hallows approaches
the summer king is replaced by the winter king in a reversal of roles. In
7he Mabinogion, Pwyll, the prince of Dyfed in West Wales, lefr his court
at Arberth (modern Narbeth) to go hunting in Cwm Guch. He became
aware of another pack of hounds chasing down the same stag as his own
hunting dogs. However, they were brilliant white with red ears, and the
prince realised they were Otherworld animals. 'Their master, dressed in
grey and astride a grey horse, rode up to Pwyll and introduced himself
as Arawn, the king of Annwn or the underworld. To win his friendship
the prince agreed to change places with him for a year and a day, and as
a result united both their kingdoms.
Following the sacrificial death of the God in the cornfield, his body
is either cremated and the ashes spread, or he is dismembered and the
parts are scattered to the four quarters of the land. 'The modern occultist
R.J. Stewart has written about the sacred priest-king being buried in the
land, where he dies so that his spirit merges with the local environment.
In this way the discarnate king remains earthbound, quite literally, and
close to the tribe. In this position, halfuray between the material world
and the spirit world, he acts as a teacher, guide and link between his
people and the Otherworld. United in death, the sacrificial king and
the land become one. 'The idea of the dead buried in the ground has an
interesting link to agriculture and fertility, as the anthropologist Mircea
Eliade saw corpses as symbolic of seeds buried in the womb of the earth
awaiting rebirth. He said that the dead come under the jurisdiction of
the Earth Mother or the Great Goddess, who rules fate and fertility.
In folklore, Arthur takes this role of the 'sleeping king' slumbering
in a cave with his company of warriors. He awaits the blast from a

III
 Liher Nox

hunting horn that will awaken him in Britain's time of dire need, to
once more rule over the land and fight its enemies. 1he most famous
example of this legend of the Sleeping Warriors is associated with the
ancient wooded ridge of Alderley Edge in Cheshire, a place known for
the practice of traditional witchcraft in the zoth century. According to
a local folk tale, a farmer crossing the Edge on his way to Macclesfield
Fair with his prize white mare was accosted by an old man dressed in a
flowing robe and holding a staff. 1he stranger offered the farmer a large
sum for the horse, but it was refused. In response the old man predicted
that nobody would buy the horse at market, and he would be waiting
when the farmer returned.
At market no one was interested in purchasing the horse, so when
the farmer returned home via the Edge and found the old man patiently
waiting, his offer was accepted. 1he man said that if the farmer followed
him he would get paid. 1hey walked for a while and came to a rock
face, which the old man tapped with his staff. A vast door appeared and
opened, and the farmer found himself in a cave where a group of armed.
warriors lay as if asleep. 1here were also several piles of gold in the cave
and the old man invited the farmer to take his payment from one of
them.
1he mysterious stranger then explained that he was Merlin the
wizard and that the sleeping warriors were King Arthur and his Knights
of the Round Table. When the time came they would awake and fight
a great battle to save their country. 1his story underlines the magical
roles in traditional witchcraft of Merlin and Arthur as guardians and
protectors of the British Isles. During the Second World War it was
reported that a group of students from Manchester University visited
Alderley Edge and attempted to awake the sleeping warriors in the
hope they would rise up and defeat the Nazis. Magical rituals using
Arthur and Merlin as guardians to protect Britain from a German
invasion were practised during the war by the occultist Dion Fortune
and members of her Fraternity of the Inner Light.

II2
 AEL HALL0WS

A
LL Hallows Eve or Hallowe'en, also known as Allantide or

Hollentide, is celebrated on October 3 1 ", the day before

All Saints Day in the Christian calendar. In Celtic times
this was Samhain (pronounced 'Sow-in', from the Irish Gaelic for
'summer's end' or 'summer's rest'). Hallows was known in Wales as Nos
Galan Gaea or 'Winter Night's Eve' when the spectral 'White Lady'
could be seen walking the country lanes accompanied by a phantom
white sow. It marked the beginning of winter and a new year and was a
festival associated with the waning strength of the sun. It was a time to
remember, honour and commune with the ancestral dead.
In the agricultural calendar it was when the flocks and herds were
driven down from the hills or in from their summer pastures. Livestock
were also slaughtered and the meat preserved for the coming winter. In
- the gth century C E the clerical writer the Venerable Bede said the pagan
Anglo-Saxons called November blodmonath or 'blood month'. 1his was
because it was when the blod or blot, the blood sacrifice of animals, was
practised. As well as having a practical function for storing food it was
a ritual petitioning of the Old Gods for a mild winter. Requests were
made to the spirits that not too many of the elderly members of the
tribe would die before the following spring.
Hallowe'en is also one of the 'spirit nights' in the year when
traditionally the veil between the worlds is thin. It is therefore a liminal
or marginal time when spirits, ghosts and faeries roam the land, and
this is still reflected in the secular celebration of the festival today.
Because of its old Celtic reputation as the beginning of a new year and
its association with the spirit world, Hallowe'en was traditionally a time
to carry out rites of divination to foresee the future. Again this can be
found in popular folklore and customs associated with the festival.
When the new religion of Christianity replaced the old pagan beliefs
and practices, Samhain became the Feast of All Saints or Hallowmas.
1he original date of this Christian festival was in May, until in 8 3 5 CE
 Liher Nox

Pope Gregory IV transferred it to November r ". All Saints Day

celebrated those members of the Roman Catholic Church who had
been canonised after death and joined the blessed company of saints. In
99 8 cE, February 2 1 st was designated as the Feast of All Souls, a special
day set aside for the remembrance of the faithful dead and prayers for
those unfortunate souls stranded in limbo. On that day people went
to church to pray for the dead and visited the graves of their relatives
and ancestors. It was eventually transferred to November 2nd, and in
Catholic countries like Mexico is still celebrated in this way as the
annual Day of the Dead.
'Ihe spirits of the departed were believed to revisit their old homes or
their relatives and descendants at All Hallows. For this reason candles
were left burning in the window to guide the dead home. Also the fire
was left alight in the hearth all night, and food, drink and tobacco were
left out for the spectral visitors. Special 'soul cakes' were sometimes
baked for the dead. An Irish custom was to leave the front door open or
unlocked, set an extra chair at the table and put out a bowl of porridge
for any ghostly visitors. It is difficult not to see this practice as a relic of
ancestor worship and the sacrificial rites associated with this time of the
year in pre-Christian times. While it seems strange that the departed
would require physical sustenance, it was widely believed that spirits
took the life-force or vitality from any offering that was either food and
drink or an animal sacrifice.
From this folk custom of sustaining the dead came the magical ritual
practised in traditional witchcraft known as the Dumb Supper. 'This
is a necromantic rite for calling on the spirits of the dead to manifest,
although it can also be used on Hallowe'en for divination. It features
the laying of a table with cutlery and food and inviting the spirit of the
person you want to contact to attend. 'This rite can be used to evoke a
dead loved one or to call up and identify the wraith or spectral apparition
of a future lover or partner.
If a young woman wanted to find out who her future lover or husband
would be, she went out into the garden at the first stroke of midnight on
All Hallow's Eve. If she picked a cabbage from the vegetable plot it was
said that the wraith of her destined loved one would appear. Alternatively
that night she would have a dream in which he made his presence known.
Hemp seed was also scattered at crossroads, sacred to the goddess of
death, and in churchyards at midnight for the same purpose.
'Ihe traditional Hallowe'en game of apple-bobbing also probably
originated in ancient divinatory rites to predict future events. A large
bowl was filled to the brim with water and several apples were placed
 All Hallows

in it so they floated. 1he aim of the game was for a single person to
attempt to bite a piece out of one of the apples without using their
hands. Whoever was successful was said to be destined to marry or enter
a long-term relationship by the same time in the next year.
Another popular form of divination was for a young woman to sit
in front of a mirror at the witching hour of midnight. It was said that
if she looked in the mirror she would see either the face of her future
partner or an apparition of him standing behind her. 1his folk custom
is based on the use by witches of mirrors for scrying or contacting the
spirit world. Often the magical practitioners known as cunning folk
used a magic mirror to identify those who had stolen goods or to find
the location of missing or lost property.
Many people in Britain today mistakenly believe that the
controversial tradition of 'trick or treating' is a recent import from
America. In fact it was widely practised by our ancestors and ironically
was probably introduced into the United States by Scottish and Irish
migrants. In the north of England and parts of the Midlands, Mischief
Night was once celebrated on the eve of Bonfire Night (November 4'h).
On that night young people ran riot, letting off fireworks in the street,
splashing front doors with paint, smearing door-knobs with treacle and
stealing any wood that was lying about for their Guy Fawkes bonfires.
Before the First World War, Mischief Night was actually celebrated
on Hallowe'en and it was only later transferred to November 4'h. In
Somerset the last 1hursday in October was known as Punkie Night
when children roamed the streets with lanterns, called punkies, made
from hollowed out mangold-wurzels. 1hey chanted: "It's Punkie Night
tonight/Give us a candle, give us a light/Ifyou don't, you'll get a fright."
In the Peak District of northern England, November 1" was known
as Cakin Neet or Caking Night and was marked by guising and masking.
Special 'soul cakes' were baked from butter, treacle and oatmeal and left
in churchyards as offerings to the dead. Hill farmers would also carry
blazing torches from the traditional Hallowe'en bonfires and throw
them on the fields as a fertility charm. In more recent years the custom
of lighting of these fires at Hallows was transferred to Guy Fawkes
Night five days later. However, a memory of them survived in naming
the effigy of the mastermind of the 1 7'h century Gunpowder Plot as
1he Lad or the Old Lad, both local names for the Devil. The 'guy' on
the bonfire was also regarded as a scapegoat type figure who went up in
flames to absorb the bad influences in the community.
A prominent feature of 'trick or treat' was the wearing of masks and
costumes to disguise the wearer and conceal their day-to-day identity.
 Liher Nox

'111is tradition of masking or (dis)guising also had a deeper meaning

because the participants represented the dead and the chthonic spirits
of winter and darkness. Coincidentally, Dis was the name of an ancient
Roman god of the dead.
In North Wales in Victorian times, masked men roamed the streets
wearing ragged clothing and sheep fleeces. Irish guisers processed
from house to house with one of their number dressed in a white sheet
surmounted by a horse's skull. Today's children are more likely to wear
masks representing horror film characters such as Count Dracula, Baron
Frankenstein's monster, Freddy from Nightmare on Elm Street, the Joker
from the Batman movies or whoever is a current cultural villain. However,
beyond the blatant commercial aspects of the modern secular celebration
ofHallowe'en, by dressing up in scary outfits, today's younger generation
are unconsciously recognising the chthonic powers of darkness and the
underworld who rule the season as autumn gives way to winter.
Instead of the pumpkins later imported from the States, originally
lanterns were made on Hallowe'en from turnips and swedes. In fact in
America pumpkins had been associated more with harvest festivities,
and carving them into lanterns at Hallowe'en is only first recorded as late
as 1 83 4. '1hey were hollowed out to take a candle, and eyes and a nose
and a mouth was carved into the flesh to represent a demonic or goblin
face. In Britain they were called a Jack O' Lantern (Jack of the Lantern)
and were carried around the streets mounted on poles. Sometimes
these improvised lanterns were placed in the windows of houses or
on gateposts to ward off the evil influences. '1hey also represented the
Otherworldly spirits who were out and about at this time.
Jack O' Lantern was originally associated with the will-o'-the-wisp
or ignis fatuus (fool's fire), a ghostly ball of light often seen hovering
over graveyards, bogs and marshes after dark. '1hey were also called
'spook lights', 'corpse candles' and 'ghost candles', and were associated
with a mischievous spirit who led travellers astray. In some folktales
the lights were said to be the souls of wicked people who have been
forbidden entry to Heaven, and are doomed to wander the Earth for
eternity. Alternatively they are those who have sold their souls to the
Devil, and after death their shades remain earthbound, haunting remote
places. In Cornwall, Jack O' Lantern was a mischief making pixy. He
had similar attributes to the hobgoblin Robin Goodfellow who pestered
maid servants working in country houses with his tricks. In Cornwall
and Devon, Jack and his female consort Joan the Wad are the king and
queen of the piskies or pixies and local representations of the witch-god
and witch-goddess.

n6
 All Hallows

In the old days, peasants locked their doors and shuttered their
windows on Hallowe'en because it was believed that spirits roamed the
countryside. In Wales stiles, crossroads, churchyards and other liminal
places were avoided because on this night they were haunted by the
White Lady and the Old Black Sow, possibly folk memories of the
hag goddess. 1he sow was an animal associated with the Welsh witch
Ceridwen, and Merlin was sometimes symbolically represented as a
swineherd. In Ireland there was a similar belief and Hallowe'en was
known as Puca Night or Goblin Night. 1his was because it was the
 Liher Nox

night when troops of faeries paraded from hill to hill playing music.
Scottish people believed it was the time when trolls attacked livestock
and crops, and God-fearing people stayed indoors.
1he traditional Hallow fires to keep witches and the 'green and black
faeries' away were lit in Ireland, Wales, northern England and Scotland,
and for a short period in the 1 6'h century the Church banned them.
1hey were lit by young people to the sound of hunting horns as dusk
fell. Everyone danced in a ring around the fire holding hands, and when
it died down the young men leapt through the Hames or ran over the
burning embers. Sometimes people blackened their faces with the wood
ash as a protection against malefic magic. In Ireland a cold ember from
the Hallowe'en bonfire was placed under children's beds to protect them
from being stolen in the night by the faery folk.
When Q.veen Victoria was in residence at Balmoral in Scotland on
Hallowe'en a huge bonfire was lit in front of the castle and an effigy
of 'an old witch' (the Cailleach?) was burnt on it. All the royal family
attended the mock witch-burning and were said to enjoy it immensely.
In Lancashire, large candles were carried into the hills. If their flames
went out on the journey, the person holding it was destined to become
a victim of the powers of malefic witchcraft. In this custom the candle
Harne symbolised the immortal soul.
All Hallows Eve was also traditionally when the Wild Hunt rode
out from the 'hollow hills' lived in by the faery folk. In fact it was said
that this was when it made its first outing, which connects it with
the traditional witch-belief of the Horned God descending to the
underworld at this time. It was said that anyone who was out and about
after dark on Hallows Eve could be taken away by the spirit host. It
was led by the faery king and the elf-queen, a pagan god or goddess
like Woden or Holda, and in Christian times by the Devil. In localised
folklore some famous or infamous personages like Cain, Herod, or even
a national hero such as the Emperor Charlemagne, King Arthur or Sir
Francis Drake were its leaders. 1he mythos of the Wild Hunt is an
important aspect of traditional witchcraft, as it represents a symbolic
link between Middle Earth, or the material world, and the spirit realm.
1he legend of the Wild Hunt can be found all over Europe and was
even taken to North America by the early colonists. In the mythology of
the Old West it was commemorated in a country and western song made
popular in the 1 95 0s called Ghost R iders in the Sky featuring phantom
cowboys driving a herd of spectral cattle. In European countries the
Wild Hunt is known by many different names such as Wotan's Army
(Scandinavia), the Family of Harlequin (France), the Furious Host

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 All Hallows

(England), the Rade (Ride) of the Sidhe (Ireland) and the Slaugh
(Host) of the Dead (Scotland).
lhe Wild Hunt has been described by witnesses as a cavalcade or
procession of spectral beings including witches, faeries and the spirits
of unbaptised children, suicides and those who have suffered a violent
death either by accident, murder or execution. Although there are female
leaders such as the goddesses Diana and Holda, it is usually led by the
Wild Hunter or the witch-god in his wintry aspect. He is described as
a black or grey-clad man wearing a broad-brimmed hat or hood, and
a long cloak. He rides a black, grey or white horse and is accompanied
by a pack of black hounds with fiery red eyes, and breathing flames.
If a mortal has the misfortune to meet the Wild Hunter riding along
one of the ancient trackways they should throw themselves face down
on the ground until he has passed by. It was believed that if a mortal
actually saw the Wild Hunt they would die and be carried away to join
its retinue for eternity.
lhe Wild Hunt is recorded in English folklore in the legend of Herne
the Hunter, who is still supposed to haunt the grounds of Windsor
Castle, formerly known as Windsor Great Park, which is mentioned
in Shakespeare's play 7he Merry Wives ef Windsor. It is said that many
centuries ago when the park was a royal hunting ground its steward and
gamekeeper was a man called Richard Horne or Herne. One day he was
accompanying the king on a hunting trip when they wounded a large
stag. Enraged with pain, the beast charged at the king. Herne bravely
threw himself in its path to save his regal employer.
The stag was killed in the collision, but Richard Herne was also
mortally wounded. As he lay on the ground dying with his blood
seeping into the earth, a mysterious stranger suddenly emerged from
the surrounding trees. He told the distraught king he was a wizard and
could save Herne's life using his magical powers. lhe stranger then told
the king to cut off the stag's antlers and attach them to the keeper's head.
lhis he did, and Herne miraculously recovered from his fatal wound.
After this event, depending on which version of the tale you read,
Herne either lost his hunting skills, which was the price he had to pay
for being resurrected from the dead, or was caught poaching the king's
deer. Although Herne had saved his life, the king did not want to show
the hunter any special treatment because the other servants were already
saying he favoured the gamekeeper over them. lherefore the king was
forced to dismiss Herne from his employment. The distraught hunter
then committed suicide in the Faeries' Dell in Windsor Forest by
hanging himself from a 'blasted oak' that had been struck by lightning.
 Liber Nox

It is interesting that in their modern Wildwood Tarot, actor Mark

Ryan (from the Robin f Sherwood televisions series) and Arthurian
writer John Matthews have transformed the major arcana card The
Hanged Man into 1he Blasted Oak. Esoterically the lightning flash or
'fire from heaven' is the light of spiritual illumination or enlightenment
associated with the aspect of the witch-god known as Lucifer the
Lightbringer. 1he oak is also known as the 'king of the forest' and was
sacred to the druids. In Sherwood Forest the Major Oak was associated
with Robin Hood, the greenwood outlaw who some folklorists have
identified as an arboreal spirit.
Allegedly Herne's Oak was on a ley that passes through the Round
Tower at Windsor Castle, a nearby church, Roman remains and a
prehistoric burial mound and earthworks. 1he tree was cut down in
r 796 on the orders of King George III but a new oak was replanted on

the site by (h1een Victoria. When that in turn was removed in r 906
yet another 'Herne's Oak' was planted by King Edward VII, suggesting
an ongoing interest in the legend of Herne by the Hanoverian royal
family.
Ever since his violent death it is said the ghost of Herne has haunted
Windsor Great Park in the traditional guise of the Wild Huntsman.
In W. Harrison Ainsworth's Victorian novel Windsor Castle, Herne is
described as wearing a deer skin as a cloak, a helmet made from a stag's
skull complete with antlers, and an iron bracelet on his left wrist that
glows with an unearthly light. A large owl flies above him as he rides on
horseback with two black dogs through the woods, blowing his hunting
horn. 1his owl is the totem bird of the witch-goddess in her dark winter
aspect. Sometimes Herne is accompanied by snakes and a swarm of
grotesque imps. Although this description is in a fictional work it is
based on local folklore and corresponds to eye-witness accounts of the
Wild Hunter.
Sightings of Herne the Hunter, which still occur today, were usually
reported during the winter months and especially during the liminal
Twelve Days from Christmas to Twelfth Night. Herne has a connection
with royalty and these sightings often coincided with times of national
crisis or tragic events surrounding the royal family. Old Herne was also
regarded as a general omen of misfortune, and in 7he Merry Wives f
Windsor Shakespeare says that when Herne rides out in the winter at
the magically liminal time of midnight he makes the milk of cows run
with blood. 1here have been several sightings of the Wild Hunter in
recent years. Local people claim to have often heard the sound of a
hunting horn and dogs barking in the park after dark. In 1 9 26 a local

120
 All Hallows

justice of the peace, Mrs Legge, reported that she and her daughter had
heard the baying of hounds near the Castle.
Another version of the Wild Hunter whose appearance is also seen
as an omen of national disaster is Eric Silvanus or Wild Edric who
haunts the Shropshire hills near the Stiperstones and the Forest of Clun
on the Welsh Border. Edric was a real historic person, an Anglo-Saxon
nobleman who owned land in the area during the 1 1 'h century. When
the Normans invaded England in 1 06 6 it was Earl Edric who led the
brief English and Welsh resistance against their occupation.
1he legend says that Edric was out hunting in the Clun forest
and when he met a beautiful woman called Lady Goda. Edric was so
captivated by her unearthly beauty that he kidnapped her and took her
back to his castle. She remained silent for several days before telling the
nobleman she was in fact the (h1een of Elfhame. She eventually agreed
to marry him, providing he treated her well according to her status, and
never mentioned her elven origins. 1he earl was so besotted with the
faery woman that he gladly agreed to her conditions.
Edric and his faery bride lived happily together for many years
until one day the earl lost his temper and broke the conditions Goda
had placed on him at their marriage. When Goda was late preparing
his breakfast Edric said: "I suppose you have been cavorting all night
with your sisters in the woods". Immediately the faery lady left him and
returned to her own folk. Edric was heartbroken at his loss and gradually
pined away and died After his death it was said that Earl Edric and Lady
Goda were reunited and now lead the Wild Hunt together across the
Shropshire hills. Some modern traditional witches revere the couple as
local aspects of the witch-god and witch goddess. Goda is identified with
the Germanic goddess Dame Holda, the female leader of the Wild Hunt.
In ancient Greek mythology Hecate, the goddess of the underworld
and witchcraft, was said to have a pack of'swift hounds of Hades [Hell]'
who were described as 'death spirits' and 'cleavers oflife'. 1hese demonic
creatures were said to hover in the air like hawks over the death bed and
then swoop down on the dying to take their souls to the underworld.
Hecate herself sometimes took the form of a black dog and even when
she was in human form it was said she howled like a hound.
In the 1 o'h century Canon Episcopi, the Church condemned the
'wicked women' who allegedly rode at night in the company ofDiana 'the
goddess of the pagans'. 1his female deity was probably not the Roman
goddess at all, but Dame Holda. A late medieval account of the Wild
Hunt describes it as 'the wild host, very strange, horned, beaked, tailed,
moaning and shouting, behind, on a black wild steed, Frau Holda, the

121
 Liher Nox

Wild Huntress, blowing into the hunting horn, swinging the cracking
whip, her head-hair slaking about windy like a true wonder-outrage.'
'1he night-riders who accompanied her were described as 'good women',
i.e. witches.
In Dion Fortune's anthology of short stories 7he Secrets efDr Taverner
( 1926), a story called 'A Daughter of Pan' features an example of the
Wild Hunt. '1he occult adept and psychologist Dr Taverner and his
assistant Rhodes are consulted by the mother of a feral young girl called
Diana because she is totally out of control. On the night of the vernal
equinox Diana runs away to join the Wild Host and they are described
as 'an undisciplined army passing across the sky' with 'ragged banners'
flapping' and discordant music, 'furry snouts on human faces, clawed
paws on human limbs' and 'green, vine-like hair falling over flashing
eyes'. Eventually Rhodes comes to understand that Diana is no 'daughter
of Eve' but a faery changeling who belongs to the 'Dark Lilith', and at the
end of her story she meets and marries her soul mate.
In Celtic mythology, as we have seen, the entrances to the underworld,
Summerland or Land of the Ever-Young were either a cave, underwater
in a river, lake or marsh or the sea, in a hollow hill, or on an island in the
western ocean 'beyond the setting sun'. Physical places in the landscape
such as fords that cross rivers were also access points and secret entrances
to the spirit world, where contact could be made between the living and
the ancestral dead. Such places were said to be haunted by a banshee
(beansidhe or 'faery woman of the mound') type figure known as the
'Washer of the Ford'. She appeared as an old woman washing in the
river the bloodstained armour or shrouds of warriors killed in battle and
is a folkloric version of the dark goddess of death and the underworld.
In the Bronze Age and Iron Age period, Avalon or Glastonbury Tor
was regarded as the Isle of the Dead and one of the primary entrances to
the underworld. '1his was when the Tor was virtually an island separated
from the surrounding countryside by marshes and lakes. An underworld
castle or fortress, four-sided or with four doors, situated on an island in
the sea or surrounded by a moat or river is a motif that can be found
in modern traditional witchcraft. It was to Avalon that the mortally
wounded Arthur was carried on a barge by three queens - Morgan,
Guinevere and Nimue - to be healed of his wounds and thus become
'the once and future king'.
After his death Arthur also became one of the traditional human
leaders of the Wild Hunt. A popular legend still known in the district is
that on Midsummer's Eve the king and his knights ride out from beneath
the Iron Age hill fort of Cadbury Castle where they have been sleeping,

122
 All Hallows

and travel along the spirit path that links it with Glastonbury Tor. 1hey
each carry a spear or lance whose point shines with a bright blue light. In
the 1 960s excavations by archaeologists for a BBC television programme
identified Cadbury as the home of a high status Iron Age chieftain. They
even speculated it was the site of the legendary Camelot.
Glastonbury Tor was ruled by the Welsh god Gwyn ap Nudd,
the king of the faeries and lord of the underworld, who is still said to
ride out from this archetypal hollow hill leading the Wild Hunt. 1he
enchantress Morgan Le Fay and her priestesses also guarded the sacred
spring that lay in the shadow of the tor and can now be found in the
Chalice Well Gardens. Dion Fortune describes this spring as 'the dark
blood well of ancient sacrifice' and, linking the old paganism and Celtic
Christianity in the mystical realm of Avalon, the place where Joseph
of Arimathea hid the Holy Grail before he passed to the spirit world
(Fortune 1 934).
Gwyn ap Nudd is a neglected form of the witch-god, although he is
still revered by traditional witches in the West Country. He is mentioned
by the l 9'h century writer Lady Charlotte Guest in her collection of
medieval Welsh tales published under the title 7he Mabinogion. She
refers to an account in the Life ef St Collen concerning the Celtic
saint's close encounter with Gwyn. After being a missionary in 'foreign
countries', Collen settled down and became the abbot of Glastonbury
Abbey. Afrer several years in this position he decided to lead a more
austere life as a hermit or recluse, and retreated to Glastonbury Tor
where he built himself a stone cell.
One day when he awoke, Collen heard two local men conversing
outside his door. 1hey were talking about Gwyn ap Nudd and saying he
was the king of the faery folk and the ruler of Annwn - the Welsh name
for the underworld. On hearing this conversation the saint poked his
head out and admonished the two men, saying that the one they spoke
about was merely a devil. In response the men turned on Collen and
told him to "Hold thy tongue or thou shall receive a reproof from him
[Gwyn]". 1his suggests the Celtic god was still revered in the area.
1he next day Collen heard a loud knocking on the door of his cell.
When he opened it there stood a stranger who said he was a messenger
from Gwyn ap Nudd, the king of Annwn, and his master commanded
the saint's presence at the top of the Tor at noon. In reply St Collen
slammed the door in his face. 1he next day the messenger appeared
again and repeated the command. Again the saint ignored it. Finally, on
the third visit, the messenger told Collen if he did not obey the king's
demand "1hou wilt be the worst for it."
 Liher Nox

!his time Collen reluctantly obeyed, but before setting off he

concealed a flask of consecrated holy water under his monk's habit. The
saint struggled up the hill through the mist. When he arrived at the top
of the hill he was amazed to see the fairest castle he had ever beheld,
bathed in sunlight and guarded by an army of the finest and fiercest
warriors. !here were also minstrels with wonderful voices playing fine
musical instruments, handsome youths and beautiful maidens and all
the trappings of a wealthy king. Collen entered the palace and saw
Gwyn sitting on a throne made of the purest gold.
The king offered his guest every type of food his mind could desire
and any drink his heart wished for. However, Collen rejected the feast
saying: "I will not eat the leaves of trees". !his is a reference to the
prohibition on mortals eating faery food, because if they do they will
be trapped for ever in the Otherworld. !he saint condemned Gwyn's
realm as an illusion and a hellish place pretending to be paradise. He
then threw the holy water over the assembly, and the king, his courtiers
and the castle vanished into thin air never to be seen again - although
of course they were.
Gwyn's role as the king of Annwn is underlined by the name of his
favourite hunting dog, Dormarth, which translated from Welsh means
'Death's Door' and suggests he was the canine guardian of the entrance to
the underworld. Some writers have associated Gwyn with the constellation
of Orion the Hunter because it appears in the sky near Hallows in October
and remains there until the end of April (Beltane). We have already seen
Gwyn's role in the ritual combat on each May Day for the hand of a
maiden and therefore he can clearly be seen as a representative of the
Winter King who leads the Wild Hunt during the dark season.
In medieval times a church dedicated to St Michael or the Archangel
Michael was erected on top of the Tor. In Judeo-Christian mythology
he was the angel who led God's army against the rebel Lucifer, banished
Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden with his fiery sword and
guarded the gates of the underworld. Many churches built on former
pagan sites of worship across the West Country were dedicated to St
Michael because he was the vanquisher of the powers of darkness.
Unfortunately the Old Gods had the last laugh as St Michael's church
on Glastonbury Tor was demolished by an earthquake in the Middle
Ages and only a ruined tower remains today. Paradoxically some streams
of modern traditional witchcraft revere Lord Michael as a solar god
figure and angelic intermediary with the Lord of Light.
Today in our modern society the majority of people are rightly
opposed to hunting as a so-called 'blood sport'. However, to our ancient
 All Hallows

ancestors hunting was not a leisure pursuit carried out for pleasure.
Instead it was a matter of daily survival and life and death, because the
survival of the tribe relied on the skill and expertise of its hunters. If
animals were not hunted down and killed then the tribe would starve
and this was a fact of everyday life. Also the ancient hunting people
had a different attitude to the animals they pursued. In some cases they
asked their quarry permission to kill them and afterwards ritualistically
placated their spirits. Today, the nearest most urban dwellers come to
hunter-gathering is visiting the local supermarket.
To accept the myth of the Wild Hunt, its role in traditional
witchcraft and connection to the festival of All Hallows, its magical
and spiritual significance must be understood. The primary role of the
Wild Hunter in esoteric terms is to harvest the souls of the departed. In
fact as the lord of the underworld he acts as a psychopomp or guide on
their journey to the afterlife. Death is the final frontier of life and the
Wild Hunter is the guardian of the border and the gatekeeper between
the realms of the living and the dead, who aids our transition from one
to the other. Yet, paradoxically the hunter and the hunted are one. !hat
is the central mystery recognised and acknowledged at this time of the
year as the dark closes in.
Hallowe'en or Hallows is one of the special times of the year when
witches communicate with the spirit world and specifically with
ancestral spirits. On this night they will call on the Mighty Dead or
the Hidden Company; the spirits of discarnate witches and warlocks
who have chosen to remain earthbound as teachers and guides to those
left behind. Two circles are cast to represent the land of the living and
the realm of the dead, and during the Hallows rite the celebrants will
ritually process or pass from one to the other. !he spirits of the dead are
then invited to travel along the spirit paths or ghost roads and join in
the celebrations and participate in a ritual meal with the living.
The Magister of a traditional coven that met in Windsor during the
1 9 7os described the festival in the following terms: 'The Wild Ride of
Samhain crosses the gulf that is The Day Between the Years'. In this
group the priestess led the rite because the God was in the 'other lands'.
!he balefire was lit and it was a time of'sad and happy memories, skulls,
cobwebs, ghosty and gouly.' !he Dumb Supper or magical feast where
the living and spirits meet marked the end of the coven's ritual year.
It is this unification of the mortal and spirit worlds that is the special
significance of this festival marking the turn of a cosmic tide. ( T#zx &
ne magazine ofthe Mystery Faith ofWitchcraft No 1 , Autumn 1 975).
 YB L

H E time of the year when Jesus was supposed to have been born

is not recorded in the New Testament. However the fact that

the shepherds who first received the news of his birth from
angelic beings were, according to the popular carol, 'tending their flocks
by night' suggests that it may have been in the early spring rather than
midwinter. In fact December 2 5 h seems to have been selected as the
Christian messiah's birthday in the 4'h century CE to replace pagan rites
of sun worship at the winter solstice ('sun standstill' or the shortest day)
that falls either on the 2 1 st or 2 2nd of the month.
It is known from archaeological evidence that this time of the year
was important to the megalithic culture of prehistoric Europe because of
the number of stone circles, standing stones and burial chambers aligned
to the solstice sunrise or sunset. Although it was not so significant to
the people of the Iron Age, midwinter or Yule (from ]ol or 'wheel') was
important to the Germanic and Nordic tribes of northern Europe and
possibly also to their Bronze Age predecessors. At this time, temples,
shrines and houses were decorated with evergreen foliage such as holly,
yew, laurel and ivy to represent longevity and eternal life.
Although the traditional Christmas tree was a 1 9h century
innovation introduced into Britain either by immigrants from Germany
or <2.!ieen Victoria's German consort, Prince Albert, decorating fir trees
at midwinter was a common pagan practice in Northern Europe. 'There
is a story that the missionary St Boniface ordered the cutting down
of the sacred trees revered by the Germans. He replaced them with
the Christmas tree, and allegedly then the pagan tribes quite happily
converted to the new religion. In fact there is a reference in the 1 5 th
century to a tree decorated with holly and ivy set up at Cornhill in the
City of London to celebrate Christmas. It was considered noteworthy
at the time because it was destroyed in a thunderstorm on Candlemas
Day, the traditional day when Yuletide greenery was taken down and
burnt.

nz6
 Yule

Another midwinter custom that probably dates back to the old days
of paganism was the Yule Log. This was a relic of the balefires lit at
dawn on the winter solstice to greet the rebirth of the sun. Traditionally
a large branch of oak or ash was collected by children and dragged home,
or sometimes horses were used to pull it. Passers-by who encountered
the log on its journey were obliged to raise their hats or bow. If they
neglected to do so it was said bad luck or misfortune would soon follow.
Once safely in the house a libation of cider or ale was poured over
the Yule Log before it was placed in the hearth and lit from a remnant
of the branch from the previous year. It was expected to be large enough
to be relit each evening, and burn during the Twelve Days of Christmas.
After Twelfth Night (January 5 h) the ashes from the log were scattered
in the newly ploughed fields as a fertility charm. In Scotland the branch
was carved into a representation of an elderly female and called the
Cailleach, the hag goddess of winter, and in Wales it was similarly
known as the 'Old Wife' or 'Old Woman'.
In urban districts the Yule Log was substituted by the Yule Candle,
made ofpure beeswax and decorated with gold and silver paint or lacquer
and holly leaves. This was lit at dusk on Christmas Eve and burnt until
dawn. If it went out during this period then the household would be
cursed with bad luck for the next twelve months. !he remnants of the
Yule Candle were kept because it was regarded as a potent charm. On
Plough Monday it was melted and the wax was smeared on the blade of
the plough to bring healthy and plentiful crops.
Despite the general atmosphere of celebration, merrymaking, fun
and games and good living at Christmas, there was a darker side to
the festival, associated with supernatural happenings and the telling of
ghost stories around a blazing fire. While it has been suggested this was
largely due to the publication in r 843 of Charles Dickens' A Christmas
Carol, in fact he was drawing on a pre-existing folk tradition long before
his novel was written. Since ancient times, midnight on Christmas
Eve was regarded as a spooky and sinister time when the gates of the
Otherworld opened and the dead communicated with the living. In
Anglo-Saxon times the Venerable Bede said it was still observed in
the pagan way as the 'Night of the Mothers' when people attempted
to communicate with the ancestral dead. In more modern times, as in
Dickens' novels A Christmas Carol and 7he Chimes, Christmas Eve was
when restless ghosts wandered abroad as 'night walkers' and haunted the
living. However, the novelist turned this theme into a tale ofredemption
based on his own views about the social conditions and treatment of the
poor in Victorian England.
 Liber Nox

1his belief in wandering spirits on the night might be one of the

reasons the Church decided to hold a Midnight Mass on Christmas
Eve. In West Wales until the outbreak of the Second World War,
young men holding blazing torches formed a bodyguard to escort the
vicar through the dark lanes to the church for the service. A late r 9 'h
century writer commenting on this custom claimed it was a survival of
'the superstitious rites of the heathen Britons.' In Shetland, lights were
burnt in the houses throughout the long night of the winter solstice
when the powers of darkness were at their strongest. An iron blade was
also left on the threshold to ward off the trolls and other supernatural
creatures that were believed to be abroad just prior to the birth ofJesus.
Midwinter was also a time when all over Europe people called guisers
dressed up in animal costumes or ragged clothes and masks to represent
the spirits of the winter and darkness. Again this is a throwback to
pagan times, and in the 7'h century, 1heodore, the Greek archbishop of
Canterbury, condemned superstitious and heathen English people who
still dressed up in animal skins and impersonated beasts at midwinter.
Mumming plays with a theme of death and resurrection were also
performed, and still are today. 1hese featured folk characters such as
St George the dragon slayer who fights and kills a Turkish knight, Old
Father Christmas (not to be confused with the modern Santa Claus)
and a shamanic doctor figure who has the necromantic power to revive
the dead.
One of the overtly pagan midwinter practices of animal masking
that seemed to have survived as folk customs was the Christmas Bull,
found mostly in the West Country counties of Wiltshire and Dorset.
1he most famous example of these was the Dorset Ooser. 1his was a
wooden mask depicting a bearded human face with bulging eyes and
real bull's horns. 1his ritual mask was in use until the end of the r 9 'h
century when it mysteriously vanished from the local family who were
its guardians. Many years later the mask was found stored in an attic
but unfortunately it was in such a dilapidated condition it could no
longer be used. In recent years a new Dorset Ooser has been made and
the custom has been revived by Morris dancers in the Dorset village of
Cerne Abbas, famous for its hill figure of an ithyphallic giant holding a
club.
In South and West Wales the equivalent to the Christmas Bull was
the Mari Lywd, or 'Grey Mare', which may be a relic of pagan horse
goddess worship, or associated with the legend of the Wild Hunt as the
steed ofWoden. 1his was a real horse's skull with pieces of coloured glass
for eyes and a hinged jaw that could open and snap shut. 1he skull was
 Yule

mounted on a pole held by its operator who was concealed from sight
beneath a white sheet. 1he Mari travelled around the parish bringing
good luck and fortune to the houses it visited. 1he horse's attendants
were rewarded with mince pies and mulled wine while it was invited
in to play the trickster by chasing the women of the household and
playfolly biting their bottoms. In England the similar hoden or hooden
(hooded) horses were sometimes referred to as 'Robin Hood's steed'.
Animal masking features in modern traditional witchcraft, and can
be associated with most ofthe seasonal festivals ofthe Wheel ofthe Year.
The animals and birds can include totemic beasts of the coven, clan or
tradition, those associated with the Lord and Lady, and with witchcraft
in general. Popular examples, as we have seen previously, include the
hare, cat, badger, owl, raven, boar, fox, goose, stag, ram, goat, bull, mare
and hound. In practice the use of such masks connects the wearer with
the group soul of the animal concerned. Also their symbolism and its
attributes may have significance to the person who chooses to wear
a mask representing a specific totem animal. 1he wearing of spirit
masks is a universal way in many cultures worldwide of representing or
impersonating or connecting with Otherworldly beings, and as such is
a useful aid for trance work and spirit ingress or possession.
Of the animals listed above used in masking and guising, the hare is
a popular form taken by the fetch or spirit double of the witch when it
leaves her physical body and is 'out and about'. As we have seen, it is an
 Liher Nox

animal associated with the spring equinox and Lady Day representing
fertility, physical activity, sexuality and 'divine madness' e.g. the Mad
March Hare. It is also a lunar animal, and in East Anglia the new moon
is known as the 'owd [old] hare'. The poet Robert Graves affirmed that
the animal was the special totem of the 'White Goddess' of the moon
and witchcraft.
The cat is a lunar animal, although some 'big cats' like lions can
have a solar attribution. In the Middle East cats were said to originate
from the moon and were regarded as sacred in Ancient Egypt, where
wild African cats were probably first domesticated, and associated with
such feline goddesses as Bast and Sekhmet. Ancient people may have
revered cats because they were the natural predators of mice and rats,
who threatened granaries. In the Middle Ages it was said that black
cats were the familiars of witches, although the real traditional witch's
cat is a brindle. Because of this association and the common belief they
were creatures of the Devil, in medieval France cats were burnt on pyres.
In Britain many old houses have been found to contain mummified
cats ritually deposited in walls so their spirits either ward off malefic
witchcraft or protect from infestations of vermin. In traditional
witchcraft the cat is sacred to the witch-mother Lilith and Hecate, the
goddess of death and the underworld.
1he badger, although a legally protected species, is currently under
threat in England from a government cull because it is believed to be
a carrier for bovine tuberculosis. Country people called it the 'earth
bear' although it belongs to the same family as weasels, and Brock,
from the Celtic word broc believed to mean 'grey'. In Scotland, old-time
witches boiled up badger fat to use in their flying ointments and the
animal's foot was carried as a lucky charm. 1heir bones and tufts of hair
were worn in small leather bags as a protective amulet against malefic
witches, although they were also said to take badger form when they
shape-shifted, so this might have been sympathetic magic. To change,
the witch had to acquire the skin of a badger and wear it. A popular
country belief was that badgers and owls were linked, and hunt together.
1he owl is also sacred to the witch-goddess, especially in her lunar
forms, and is connected to the acquisition of wisdom, awareness and
clear-sightedness. It is often regarded in folklore as a bird of ill-omen or
doom, misfortune and death. In Scotland the bird is sometimes called
the Cailleach and it belongs to the hag goddess representing the winter
and death. 1he owl is supposed to be a bird that protects the faery folk
when they are out at night, and for that reason they wear costumes
made from its feathers. Cornish people claim that the owl can be a
 Yule

baby killer. It also takes infants from their cots and replaces them with
faery changelings. However, it is also one of the shapes taken by the
witch when she is 'out and about' in her astral form. In those streams
of modern witchcraft that follow a Luciferian tradition the sinister and
frightening 'Owl Lady' is associated with Lilith.
!he raven was also a bird of ill-repute, a trickster and an omen of
death, sacred to the Cailleach and the sinister Washer at the Ford.
However it was also a bird of prophecy, foresight, and intelligence and
is also associated with battlefields and the fallen dead. A raven's tongue
kept in a leather bag around the neck with hagstones and dried gorse
flowers was said to grant the wearer the power of the Second Sight. In
its protective or guardian role it is associated with the old Welsh god
and mythical king Bran the Blessed.
!he boar or wild pig was sometimes an animal that was associated
with the moon because of its crescent-shaped tusks. However, it was
also an animal that was sacred to the witch-god in his sacrificial role.
A popular custom at Christmastide was the Ceremony of the Boar's
Head. In medieval times in large country houses the severed head of a
boar was carried to the dining table on a large platter garlanded with
sprigs of bay, rosemary and holly. In Scandinavia the last sheaf from the
harvest was baked into a loaf in the shape of the animal called the Yule
Boar. It was kept until it was time to sow the fields, then was broken up
and the crumbs were mixed with the seed in the furrows.
Female pigs were associated with the Welsh witch Ceridwen, who
was called the sow-goddess, and the role of Merlin as a swineherd has
already been mentioned. Prohibitions against eating pork are known
from Ancient Egyptian religion and appear in Judaism and Islam. !his
taboo may be for health reasons but possibly it has something to do
with its pagan role as a symbol and sacred animal of both the sacrificed
god and the Great Goddess. In one Arthurian legend the king and his
knights went out from Camelot to hunt a giant enchanted boar, called
Twrch Trwyth in Welsh. !his beast had once been human and was a
man who had been transformed into a pig for unknown sins.
!he fox is an animal of the master Cain and the Devil or Horned
God and associated with the Magister, Man in Black or witch-master as
his human representative. Its attributes include cunning, craftiness and
trickery. In Finland the Northern Lights are known as 'fox fire'.
!he sacred bird of the winter goddess Dame Holda, as the female
leader ofthe Wild Hunt, is the goose. In the old nursery rhyme she is 0ld
Mother Goose and snow falls from her wings as she flies through the
sky on the first real day of winter. Geese were once kept as watchdogs to
 Liher Nox

guard property and warn their inhabitants of intruders. For that reason
the bird is associated with protection, both physical and psychic, and the
guardianship of secrets or forbidden knowledge. In Cornwall, witches
were sometimes called 'geese women', possibly because they took this
form when spirit travelling, and the magical symbol of the pentagram
used in traditional witchcraft is sometimes known as the 'goose foot'.
Goats, rams, bulls and stags are obvious animal forms taken by Old
Nick or the Devil. Stags, as we have seen, are messengers from - or
guides to - the Otherworld, and the sacred animal of the sun god. In
the Arthurian legends the king and his knights went on a hunt for a
rare white stag. When it was killed its decapitated head was offered as a
special gift to 'the fairest lady in the land', which was C2.!,1een _Guinevere
as Sovereignty or the C2.!,1een of Elfhame. Today albino stags are still
highly prized by poachers. 'Ihe hound is represented by the phantom
Black Dog of folklore, the black dogs that were owned by Cain, Crom
Dubh and Merlin, the white-coated, red-eared faery dogs and the
canine pack that accompanies the Wild Hunt. Finally the (night) mare
is another sacred animal of the Goddess in her underworld role as the
Old Queen or ruler of the realm of the dead. It is associated with equine
goddesses such as Epona and Rhiannon. According to Robert Graves
in The White Goddess, the 'night mare' made her nest from the bones of
dead poets.
Ofcourse the most famous folk figure associated with the Christmas
festivities is Santa Claus or St Nicholas, named after an early saint who
gave gifts out to children. His popular image is very much a modern
invention based on a series of famous advertisements in the 1 93 os for
the Coca-Cola drink company and featuring its corporate colours of
white and red in his costume. However, in the 1 7h century he was a
far more uncanny and eldritch figure known as Old Father Christmas.
As the spirit personification of the midwinter season he wore a green
robe and a holly wreath on his head. In 1 809 the American writer
Washington Irving represented Father Christmas or Santa Claus as a
jolly fat man in a fur robe and cap, riding through the night sky on
a sleigh drawn by reindeer and distributing presents to children. In
this way he represented the leaders of the Wild Hunt, like Woden or
Holda, who also rode through the sky as midwinter gift-bringers to
their followers.
In European countries, Santa Claus' pagan origin is preserved in his
dwarf assistant, known in Dutch as Swart Peit or Black Peter. He appears
in the form of a black-coloured demon and punishes young children
who have been naughty during the year and do not deserve presents
 Yule

from the jolly white-bearded gentleman. Another pagan hangover is

the popular belief in elves associated with Father Christmas, who toil
in his workshops at the North Pole making toys. At Christmas 2 0 1 3 a
Danish priest hanged an image of an elf on a gallows outside his church,
allegedly because elves "belong to Satan".
'Ihe feast day of St Stephen on December 26'h is now secularised
in Britain as Boxing Day, when people carrying wooden boxes used
to go from house to house begging for alms. 'Ihe day used to feature
a cruel folk custom of killing a wren, which has been identified with
druidic rites, the sacrificial god and the summer king and winter king.
The ancient druids regarded the bird as a symbol of the human soul and
its survival in the afterlife. Despite its small size, the wren is known as
.
the 'king of the birds'. It gained this title because it flew higher in the
sky than all the other birds in the woods. It did this by an act of trickery,
riding on the back of a soaring eagle.
'This Boxing Day custom was known as the Hunting of the Wren
and was mostly found in the Celtic fringe regions of Wales, Ireland and
the Isle of Man. In the ritual a wren was hunted down, killed and then
given a mock funeral during which the dead bird was processed through
the streets in a specially made 'wren's house'. 'This was a box with glass
windows, surmounted by a wheel whose spokes were decorated with
coloured ribbons, possibly representing the ritual Wheel of the Year.
At the end of the procession the wren was solemnly buried, but before
interment its feathers were removed and kept by the so-called 'wren boys'
as good luck charms. When the cruelty of wren-hunting was criticised,
public opinion forced the participants to capture the bird, imprison it in
a cage for the street procession and then release it back into the wild.
 EFH N I (l-H

HE Twelve Days of Yule or the Ember Days are a magical

liminal period usually lasting approximately from Christmas
Day to Twelfth Day (January 6'h). It is known as the 'inbetween
time' because it spans the dying days of the Old Year and the beginning
of the new one. Although the Twelve Days were recognised by the
early Church at the Council of Tours in 5 67 CE, and Twelfth Day
(Old Christmas Day) was designated as Epiphany in the ecclesiastical
calendar, when the Magi visited Jesus in the stable, the customs and
festivities associated with it resemble those of the Saturnalia celebrated
in classical Rome. 1his was a festival held for seven days over the winter
solstice and was marked by misrule and anarchy when social norms
were reversed, subverted or ignored and masters waited on their slaves.
1his is a custom still practised in the British Army, where officers serve
the lower ranks Christmas dinner. A mock king was also elected to rule
over the Saturnalian revels. If he refused to play the role then he could
be offered up as a sacrifice to the gods.
1he Twelve Days was a period of anarchy, subversion, social inversion
and anti-establishment customs featuring cross-dressing and masking.
In our more politically correct time, outsiders who have attended folk
rituals at this time of year, such as the carrying of blazing tar barrels
through the streets, have criticised the aggressive nature of these local
events for local people. In the past, some of these customs have been
stopped by the police or banned because of their lawlessness, vandalism
and anti-social aspects.
Elements of folk rituals, such as men dressing up as women, the
wearing of masks and the blackening of faces to disguise identity, were
also adopted by anti-establishment political protestors in the early
1 9'h century. 1hese included the Luddites in the north of England,
campaigning against the new technology introduced into mills and
factories, and 'Rebecca's Daughters' in West Wales who objected to
the taxes on toll roads. Today anti-capitalist and pro-environment
 Twelfth Night

demonstrators frequently wear plastic masks representing Guy Fawkes

based on the graphic novel and movie Vfar Vendetta written by occultist
and magician Alan Moore.
Following the association of Christmas with ghosts, in the post
Christian period the Twelve Days had a spooky and rather sinister
ambience. It was when the Wild Host came out of the 'hollow hills'
to hunt the souls of the departed, werewolves roamed the woods and
forests, the undead rose from their graves to haunt the living and the
faery folk were out and about looking for mischie Following the
shortest day and the longest night, the Twelve Days were temporarily
the darkest part of the year. In the old days before electric lighting,
work virtually stopped on the farm and people stayed indoors huddled
around the blazing hearth scaring each other with ghost stories.
Twelfth Night (January 5'h) is only remembered today as the
traditional time to take down the Christmas decorations and pack them
away for another year. However, even that custom is changing because
decorations are put up as early as November, instead of Christmas Eve
as in the old days, and people often take them down immediately after
New Year's Day. In the past the winter greenery such as holly, ivy and
mistletoe was often kept hanging in the house until Candlemas Day.
Special fires were lit on farms on Twelfth Night called the Twelve
Apostles. As the name suggests, these were twelve small fires in a circle
with a larger one in the centre or nearby. 1he farm workers gathered
around the Hames to toast their employers and make wishes for a good
harvest in the coming year. Although a Christian veneer was put on
this ritual, with the 'Apostle fires' supposed to be symbolising Jesus and
his disciples, those who participated in the custom firmly believed that
without it the fertility of the land would be diminished and the crops
would fail.
Elements of the ancient pagan Saturnalia survived into Christian
times with the election of a Lord of Misrule or Abbot of Unreason
who organised and presided over the Twelve Days and Twelfth Night
revels. 1he Lord of Misrule or Lord of the Games was popular in Tudor
times, and King Henry VIII appointed a 'Master of Revels' to oversee
the celebration of Christmas at his royal court. In the r 5 5 os King
Edward VI also had his own Lord of Misrule with a personal heraldic
symbol that was a holly bush. The custom of the Lord of Misrule was
briefly revived at the end of the r 9'h century by a Gloucestershire music
teacher called D'Arcy Ferrers, who claimed to be descended from the
one appointed by King Edward because they shared the same surname.
He organised Christmas pageants where an actress dressed as Q..een
 Liher Nox

Elizabeth I elected Ferrers as her Lord of Misrule. 1hese celebrations

included Morris dancing, hobby horses and animal-masked guisers, and
Ferrers was also responsible for reviving the Morris in the area.
1he Lord of Misrule was usually elected by baking a pea or bean in
a special Twelfth Day cake. If a man received the piece of cake with the
bean in it then he became the mock king. However, if it was a woman,
she had the right to choose any man she liked or fancied to be the Lord
of Misrule. 1his practice may have survived in the popular custom of
placing a silver coin in the Christmas pudding mix. 1he person who
found it was said to be blessed with good luck for the year ahead.
1he old tradition of the Lord of Misrule is preserved in a new folk
custom in London every year on January 5 h. A figure dressed up in a
costume of holly and other evergreen foliage with a green coloured face
disembarks from a cutter on the River 1hames at the S hakespearian
Globe theatre on the South Bank. After he makes a toast in mulled
wine to everyone present, a traditional mummers' play is performed
and a Lord and Lady of Misrule are elected from the watching crowd
by the selection of a bean or pea. 1hey then lead the procession of
various folklore characters associated with Yule and the Twelve Days
through the nearby streets.
Another figure that was associated with the Twelve Days and
the Lord of Misrule, as the fool, clown or jester, was the Harlequin
or Hellequin found in France, Spain and Italy. He was a black-faced
emissary of the Devil wearing a red and black domino or half-face mask
ofwood or leather, a fox-tailed cap and a multi-patterned or patchwork
costume of many colours. 1his resembles the clothing of the Pied Piper
of Hamelin, who lured the town's children away into a hollow hill,
and the attire of Sufi masters in the Middle Ages. In French folklore
Harlequin is said to lead a band of demons around the countryside
chasing the damned souls of evil people into Hell In that respect he is
an aspect of the male leader of the Wild Hunt, and in France it is called
the 'family ofHellequin'.
In Italy, from just being a clown in a travelling troupe of Italian
players, the harlequin took on the attributes of a scary figure who was a
magician and shape-shifter capable of transforming objects by striking
them with his magical baton - hence the wand of the stage conjuror.
He was a jester and trickster figure who could not be trusted, and a
symbolic representation of the phallic life force that had the power to
overcome death and revive the dead. In German folklore the harlequin
figure was identified with the Harlenkoenig or Erlking - the king of the
elves - and also with Woden as a leader of the Wild Hunt.
 Twelfth Night

1he Harlequin and the Wild Hunt has also been connected with
the folk custom known as the Charivari in European countries and the
'Rough Band' in Britain. D uring the Twelve Days, and especially around
Twelfth Night, people processed through the streets hitting pans, pots
and other household utensils, beating drums, blowing horns, shouting
and making animal noises. Some pretended to be clergymen and wore
monk's habits, turned their clothes inside out and donned masks and
false beards. As they passed, the mob played tricks on passers-by, broke
windows and threw animal manure at people in a public display of
anarchy and misrule that was generally accepted and tolerated.
Twelfth Day was Old Christmas Day, and in some rural areas
continued to be observed with a special service. It was also the day
when the ashes from the Yule Log were taken out and scattered on the
fields to increase the fertility of the land. In European folk tradition
the Twelve Days and Twelfth Night are associated with female folk
characters known as the 'Christmas Mothers', 'Christmas Aunties' and
'Good Ladies' who traditionally bring gifts at this period, and may be
 Liher Nox

aspects of Dame Holda. 1hese spirits are a leftover from pagan times,
when at this period of the year sacrifices were made to the dead, the
'good ancestors' and the bright elves for a peaceful and prosperous year.
The Celts dedicated the Twelve Days to a trinity of mother goddesses
known as the Matronae, while as we have seen in Anglo-Saxon times,
Yule or Christmas was called the 'Night of the Mothers' afrer the
goddesses who ruled fate and had the power to grant fertility to their
followers.
1he 1hree Mothers were identified with the classical Fates, Dame
Fortune, the Norns, Disir (female spirits) and Valkyries ofNordic myth,
the Weird (Wyrd) Sisters of Anglo-Saxon paganism, faery godmothers
and female leaders of the Wild Hunt such as Diana, Frau Holda,
Lady Goda, Dame Habondia and Perchta. However, these triads of
deities should not be confused with the historically and mythologically
incorrect triple goddess of Maiden, Mother and Crone invented by
Robert Graves. On the Night of the Mothers, people left food and drink
out in exchange for gifts, just as today children leave milk and cookies
for Father Christmas. It was said that the nocturnal visitors consumed
the offerings without reducing them in quantity, which suggests they
were just extracting their vital life-force.
1he most famous survival of the belief in the Mothers is the Italian
folk character known as Befana the Christmas Witch. She is depicted
as an old woman in a black dress, wearing shoes whose points curl up
and a long cloak. Witch-like, she has long grey hair down to her waist,
a large beaked nose, is hunchbacked and carries a sack of toys. Befana
sometimes appears with a blackened face, and that clearly links her to
the witch-goddess in her dark aspect as the ruler of winter. On Twelfth
Night children leave their stockings above the hearth, and during the
night Befana arrives riding a broomstick or on the back of a goat. She is
usually seen as a 'good witch' and a faery godmother or ancestral spirit. It
has been suggested by Italian folklorists that she could be a far memory
of a pagan goddess of the grain and agriculture associated with the dead.
During the reign of the tsars in pre-Soviet Russia, the winter goddess
who brought gifts at midwinter or on New Year's Eve was personified
in folk tradition as Old Mother Babushka. She appeared in the form of
everyone's favourite grandmother with a round face, rosy red cheeks and
twinkling eyes behind round spectacles perched on her nose. She wore
the traditional garb of a peasant woman, carried a large sack stuffed
with toys, and was ofren accompanied by her pet bear cub. Babushka
lived in a highly coloured log cabin deep in the woods, with a weather
vane on its roof in the shape of a rainbow.
 Twelfth Night

!he period between New Year's Day and Twelfth Day was usually
when the custom of wassailing was performed. Wassail comes from the
Anglo-Saxon was ha/ meaning 'be whole' or 'be in good health'. A large
wooden bowl decorated with ribbons and sprigs of evergreen foliage
was filled to the brim with a hot drink such as mulled wine or beer, or
cider laced with spices and roasted apples. The contents of the wassail
bowl were either consumed at home in a family setting or it was carried
around the streets from house to house. Wassailing carols were sung,
wishing the residents good health in the coming year, and in return the
singers were given small amounts of money or food and drink.
In parts of south-west England (Devon and Somerset) cider apple
orchards are still wassailed around Twelfth Night, and also on Old
Twelfth Night (January qh). After dark the wassailers process from
orchard to orchard carrying lanterns or blazing torches, shotguns and
hunting horns. !he most prolific or oldest tree in the orchard is selected
for attention and a libation of cider is poured around the base of its
trunk. Pieces of toast or fruit cake are also placed in the branches and
offered to the tree, while a special wassailing song is performed, wishing
for a good apple harvest. Finally the horns are blown and the guns
fired into the air to 'scare away evil spirits' who might damage the trees.
Sometimes plum and pear trees were also wassailed.
During the Twelve Days of Yule only a minimal amount of work
was done on farms. Even the farmer's wife did not knit, sew or spin. !his
may be because of the short days and inclement weather, or a throwback
to pagan times when it was forbidden to spin and weave during the
Twelve Days in case it incurred the wrath of the goddess of winter
Dame Holda. The first Monday that fell after Twelfth Day was called
Plough Monday and it marked the resumption of serious work on the
farm after the midwinter festivities. In fact it was actually a day when
various folk customs were carried out before work began in earnest.
On this date an actual plough was decorated with ribbons, greenery,
jewellery and horse brasses and dragged around the streets by a group
of young farm workers disguised with soot blackened faces and some
wearing women's clothing. They were known variously as Plough Colts
or Horses, Plough Bullocks, Plough Jacks, Plough Boys or Plough
Witches. They begged for money and in pre-Reformation times part of
this collection was used to pay for the Plough Light, a large candle that
was lit in the parish church and kept burning every day until harvest
time. If money was not forthcoming then the event could turn ugly,
with the Plough Boys digging up people's lawns or throwing stones
through windows. In Cambridgeshire in the 1 8 5 0s the police had to
 Liher Nox

intervene several times to restore order and deal with complaints from
people who had suffered the displeasure of the Plough Boys.
Today in many country areas a plough is actually taken into the
church on the nearest Sunday to Plough Monday. It is blessed by the
vicar while the congregation offer up prayers for a good harvest. On this
day farmers would also place a piece of fruit cake in the first furrow they
ploughed in a field. 1his was a far memory of the sacrificial offerings
or bribes made in ancient times to the wights or land spirits. It was
to make sure they did not interfere with the ploughing, and helped
produce a plentiful harvest.
 LI BR N OX - 'Il-E
RIS OF 'Il-E BLACK
B GD K OF S HAD ES
 HE following rituals in Liber Nox - the Book efNight have been

especially written for this book. 'Ihey are drawn from various
traditional witchcraft sources and the writer's inspiration, and
are broadly based on the esoteric and exoteric symbolism of each season
on the Wheel of the Year and its folk customs. Rather than following
any specific form of Old Craft, or any of its traditions, they are basic
rituals designed to give an overall idea of what it represents. They
have been written primarily for group working, although with a few
changes and a little imagination they can be adopted for use by solitary
practitioners of the Craft, or couples. 'Ihese rituals are not 'written in
stone' and they only provide a guide, structure and template. 'Ihey can
be changed, adapted and added to as necessary for individual and group
requirements. Also, radically, you can reject them and write your own
rites based on the material in the earlier part of this book.
As we have seen, dancing is an important aspect of many folk rituals
and seasonal customs, and range from clog and sword dances to the
Morris. 'Ihese dances are often associated with former pagan festivals
such as Yule and the Twelve Days, Plough Monday, the vernal equinox
or Eostre, Beltane or May Day, and Samhain or Hallowe'en. 'Ihe dances
also feature folk characters such as Robin Hood and Maid Marian, the
Fool and a 'she-male' or Bessy/Old Woman (a man wearing women's
clothing) who may have pre-Christian overtones. 'Ihis is confirmed by
the elements of sacrificial death and resurrection or rebirth or pagan
imagery associated with folk dancing and customs, e.g. the Padstow
Obby Oss on May Day, the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance in September
(originally midwinter) and mumming plays at Christmas and New Year.
Dancing was also important in the historical witch-cult, and the
most famous example was the back-to-back dancing at the Witches'
Sabbath. 'Ihis was either performed by couples with linked arms or in a
circle with the participants holding hands and facing outwards. In fact
Reginald Scot, author of the Discoverie ef Witchcrcift ( I 5 8 5 ), quoting a
Continental witch-hunter, claimed that the popular dance known as
La Volta was brought to France from Italy by 'night-dancing witches'.
 Liher Nox

Some renegade Catholic priests were supposed to say mass in the day
and dance at the Sabbat at night. These dances seem to have been
performed as a social event for the enjoyment of the participants at
the end of witch meetings. They were accompanied by music played on
a pipe, drum or fiddle. However, the ritual dance can also be used as a
means of raising psychic energy or magical power, achieving by self
hypnosis, a trance state and accessing spirit ingress or possession.
In modern traditional witchcraft there are various forms of ritualistic
dance performed at seasonal festivals. !hey include the Round Dance,
representing the turning of the Wheel of the Year and the Wheel of
Life, the cycle of birth, death and rebirth, and the circulation of the
stars around the Pole Star and the planets around the sun. !he Chain or
Snake Dance features a line of dancers weaving around objects such as
the central fire, cauldron or a standing stone, and twisting and turning
back on themselves. !he Pole Dance as mentioned by Robert Cochrane
is performed with stangs or besoms to drive negative influences from
the land, bring rain and sunshine and stimulate the growth of the crops.
!his has been discussed earlier, in the chapter on working tools, in
relation to the Manx witch and the Buckinghamshire circle of wise
women. Cochrane also mentions riding the stangs in a dance to imitate
the Wild Hunt at Hallowe'en. (John ofMonmouth 20 1 2 : 3 9 5 and 3 9 7).
There i s also the Spiral Dance performed at Beltane or All Hallows.
It is started by the Magistra or Magister who leads the dancers in a
widdershins or anti-clockwise spiral. Once the leader is at the centre
the dance is then reversed into a deosil or clockwise spiral. !he Maze
Dance is similar and is also performed at All Hallows following as its
name suggests the traditional maze pattern. As such it represents the
journey to the land of the dead. !he Crane Dance or Dance of the Lame
God (the smith-god) is a way of raising power and is performed by the
Magister in a shuffiing, limping fashion dragging one leg behind him.
Other dances include the so-called Chase Dance or Shapechanging
Dance based on the popular folk song known either as 7he Two
Magicians or 7he Coal-Black Smith. As mentioned before, it is probably
based on the Welsh legend of the witch Ceridwen and her Cauldron
of Inspiration, and is believed to be a symbolic description of initiation
into the native British Mysteries. It can be combined with the donning
of the appropriate masks or costumes representing sacred or totem
animals. An example of the words as chanted by the Magister and
Magistra during the dance is given below.
 Introduction to Liher Nox and the Rites

Cunning and art he did not lack,

But aye her whistle would fetch him back.

0 I shalt go into a hare

With sorrow and sighing
And mickle might,
Aye I shalt go in
!he Devil's name,
Till I be fetched home again.

Hare, take heed of

a grey bitch hound,
Who shalt harry thee
All these fells around,
For her come I
In Our Lady's name,
All but to fetch ye home.

Cunning and art etc.

Yet I shalt go into a fish

With sorrow and sighing
An mickle might,
A show ye a merry game,
Aye I shalt go in the Devil's name
Till I be fetched home again.

Fish take note of an

Otter lank will harry thee
Bank to bank,
For here come I
In Our Lady's name
To fetch thee home.

Cunning and art etc.

Yet I shalt go into a bee

With mickle horror and dread of thee,
And flit to hive
In the Old Un's name,
Ere be fetched home again.
 Liher Nox

Bee take heed of

A swallow hen,
Will harry thee butt and hen,
For here come I
In Our Lady's name
To fetch thee home.

Cunning and art etc.

Yet I shalt go into a

Wee grey mouse,
And haste me to
1he miller's house
1here in his corn to
Have a good game,
Ere in the Devil's name
I shalt be fetched home again.

Mouse take heed

Of a grey tabby cat,
For I'll crack thy bones
In Our Lady's Name
Till ye be fetched home.

Cunning and art

He did not lack,
But aye her whistle
Would fetch him back
In Our Lady's name.

1he ritual Wheel of the Year in the modern Traditional Craft basically
follows the journey of the Horned God through the seasonal and
agricultural cycle, symbolically from his birth to his death and rebirth. It
reflects his dual or twin roles as the Lord of Light and Darkness and of
Life and Death and his relationship to the Goddess, the Magna Mater
(Great Mother) or Supreme Creatrix. 1he God walks the solar path of
the year with its thirteen moons following the changing seasons and the
weaving pattern in the sky of the sun -;nd stars.
At Yule, the midwinter solstice, the time between time, when the sun
stands still at bull's noon, the witching hour of midnight when the clock
chimes thirteen, the God is Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun or the Lord
 Introduction to Liher Nox and the Rites

of Light. At this magical time of the year he is born - or reborn - from

the womb of the Great Mother as the Horned Child of Promise. He is
Arthur of Avalon, the once and future king, and Lucifer the Lightbearer
and Lightbringer, saviour and redeemer of humanity. In the midwinter
darkness of the longest night, the Morning Star shines bright as a sign
of hope and redemption for both those of the elven or witch blood and
the day-born.
On Twelfrh Night, at the end of the liminal Twelve Days ofYule, the
Young Horned God temporarily adopts the mask of the jester, clown
and the trickster. He is the Master of Misrule and the Lord of the
Revels, the Harlequin, mock king for a day, presiding over the darkly
subversive and anarchic rites of the season. In the apple orchards the
wassailing song and loud noises scare away any malicious sprites that
might harm the crop, and cider and apple cake is offered to the good
earth.
1he God is initiated into the mysteries of manhood, the path of the
warrior and sacred kingship by Our Lady. It is she, as Sovereignty, the
goddess of the land, who instructs the Young Horned God in the ways
of a king and the just rulership of the folk. It is the Lady who arms the
young warrior with her deadly gifts of the Sword of Light, the Spear
of Destiny, the Shield of Protection, and the Bow and Arrows he must
use to defend the land and its people. She is the faery Lady of the Lake
gifting Arthur with Excalibur, the symbol of his kingship, and he is also
Robin Hood with his longbow defending the weak and oppressed from
the corrupt rulers of the State and Church.
On Plough Monday the Young Horned God is Cain the Ploughman,
first Blacksmith and Master of Horses. In the sacred circle of standing
stones, now often under the shadow of tower and cross, the plough
is blessed anew by priestly hands. Cake is buried in the first furrow
ploughed in the field, alongside the old corn dolly kept safe from the
previous year's harvest, to promote the fertility of the crops and appease
the spirits of the land.
As Candlemas, the festival of the waxing light, draws nigh, cold and
bright with snowdrops and snowflakes, the Young Horned God is the
roebuck who bears the rising sun between his antlers. When the icy mist
and frost melt away in the late dawn's early rays, the Maiden overcomes
the Old Hag as winter starts to give way to summer. Lady Day is when
night and day are in equal balance and the earth is slowly awaking from
its wintry slumber with the first spring flowers.
1he Young Horned God as Arthur or Robin accepts the offered hand
of the faery woman Guinevere or Maid Marian and is betrothed to his

1 47
 Liher Nox

bride-to-be. 1his love pact is sealed on May Day in the maze dance in
a faery ring under an ancient oak, the 'king tree' of the woods. 1hen the
Horned God becomes the Summer King ruling until All Hallows. He
dons the foliate mask and cloak of green leaves of the Green Man and
the Lincoln green of Robin Hood as the Lord of the Greenwood.
1he God is the Green King, Robin Goodfellow, Jack-in-the-Hedge,
the Lord of Animals. In his sylvan guise he celebrates the Great Rite
in the greenwood bower with the Maid, who is now the Lady. She is
the May (h1een, the (hieen of Elfhame, the mother of elves, faeries
and gnomes, and Sovereignty, the primordial goddess of the land whose
wedding gift in this sacred marriage is kingship. She can appear as
either a beautiful young woman or an old crone. It is for the candidate
to the throne to choose which she should be by day or night and by that
choice is the kingdom won or lost.
Midsummer comes with faeries, owl feathers and elderflowers. The
Bright Champion is at the zenith of his solar and phallic power. As the
longest day comes the Horned God is the king stag with seven tines on
his rack of antlers. He stands proud and erect on the hill overlooking
the land. Yet in the corn fields below the flowering red poppies are a
dark omen of his waning power and eventual wyrd.
Yet this is still only a bad dream because the sun shines bright and
hot in the noonday sky. On Midsummer's Eve as dusk sweeps across
the hollow hills and through the enchanted wood the king and queen
of Faerie, the Lord and Lady, Oberon and Titania, wearing crowns of
wild flowers, dance in wild abandon with the Good Folk. A balmy wind
blows and the night air is filled with the heavy perfume of wild roses,
night scented stock and honeysuckle.
By Lammastide the powers of the Horned God are wilting in the
summer heat and waning with the ever decreasing light in the evenings.
Harvest is coming and with it the time of sacrifice approaches like a
dark shadow across the land. 1he barn owl hunts across the fields at
dusk. 1he dog fox stalks its prey in the woods.1he washerwoman is seen
at the ford and the banshee cries on the wind. 1he smell of death and
blood is on the air.
As the harvest is gathered in the days are shortening quickly and
they herald the fall - the falling of the autumn leaves and of the Lord of
Light. 1he Horned God becomes the sacrificed Roebuck in the 1hicket,
the Hunter and the Hunted. He is drugged with a potion made from
deadly nightshade and mandrake root and tied by willow thongs to the
Tau Cross of oak branches. 1hree iron nails are hammered into the cross
to hold him fast. His blood, red as the petals of the poppies in the
 Introduction to Liher Nox and the Rites

harvest field, is spilt by the Dark Mother with her silver crescent sickle
and flows to the earth to fertilise the land. 'Ihe Horned God is Old
Father Cain and John Barleycorn, the scarecrow and the Corn King
whose blood and bone is mixed and ground to dust to enrich the earth.
"The Old King is dead! Long live the King!"
As the nights silently and relentlessly draw in after Lammas, so
autumn comes creeping onwards with mists and fruitful mellowness.
'Tis Michaelmas or Harvest Home, and corn dollies are made from
the last sheaf to hang above the hearth until next year's ploughing. 1he
Horned God faces his final initiation. He stands alone in the circle of
sacred stones and passes through the trilithon or stone portal of the
dolmen or mound. He is Arthur journeying to Annwn, the underworld,
to seek the Cauldron of Inspiration or the Grail. The God is now
the Dark Lord of the Mound who descends to the realm of the Old
Qiieen, the Dark Lady, the witch-goddess of fate, death, transformation
and rebirth, guardian of the cauldron, who initiates mortals into the
Mysteries.
As the dry leaves turn to autumnal colours and drift down from the
branches heralding the onset ofwinter's icy grip on the land, the Horned
God makes his final journey. In Our Lady's barge in the form of a silver
crescent moon he travels like the mortally wounded Arthur across the
water to mystic Avalon, the island in the western ocean beyond the
setting sun on which stands the Hollow Hill. On the Isle of the Dead
the once and future king crosses over the bridge of alder branches
spanning the river of forgetfulness. He follows the thorn-hedged path
that leads to the Castle of Roses beyond the grave, the home of the Old
Qiieen, the castle with four doors that spins between the worlds.
As winter approaches with swirling fog and early frosts, the Old
Horned God prepares to don the silver mask and starry cloak of the
Winter King. He will be Old Father Christmas in his traditional green
gown crowned with holly, mistletoe and ivy leaves and Jack Frost with
his long thin fingers like icicles scratching at the window pane. Before
then it is All Hallow's Eve, Winter's Night or the Night of the Dead.
1he spirits of the ancestors are always with us, but this is their special
time when they are at their most powerful and dangerous. It is also the
time when the Wild Hunt rides out from the Hollow Hill to harvest
the souls of the departed.
Black candles gutter in turnip masks, restless spirits and the undead
wander the cold land, and scarecrows come alive in the barren fields
to become night-walkers. It is the time of the Dumb Supper and the
calling of the ancient ancestral dead into the homes of the living. Jack O'

I 49
 Liher Nox

Lantern or Will o' the Wisp is evoked to open the spirit paths or ghost
roads in the enchanted landscape so the Mighty Dead can travel into
the mortal world to meet, feast and dance with their kin.
'The transformation from the Child of Promise, the Young Horned
God, to the Old Horned God - the summer king to the winter king -
is now complete. He is the dread Lord of the Wildwood, the Devil,
the Dark Rider, the Man-in-Black, Old Herne, the Wild Hunter with
his hell hounds and the owl of the Goddess flying before the demonic
pack to lead the way along the spirit paths. He is Azrael, the Angel
of Death, who flies swiftly on shadowy wings, the Grim Reaper in
his black cowled robe with skull face and scythe whose skeletal fi nger
beckons the chosen to their fate. He comes when he is least expected,
the Masked and Hooded One who rides the Night Mare from dusk to
dawn when the cock crows.
In his dark aspect the Old Horned God wears a cloak of shadows
and the goblin mask or stag skull of the Terror by Night and the
Harvester of Souls. He is also Grim (the Masked O ne or Hooded Man)
or Woden on his eight-legged horse accompanied by black, fiery eyed
faery hounds howling at the gibbous moon as they hunt down their
human prey. He is the ruler of the Mighty Dead, Cain as Master of the
Hidden Company of discarnate witches, and Azazel as the Black Goat
of the Witches Sabbath and leader of the Fallen O nes or Watchers, who
mated with the daughters of men and taught them the forbidden arts of
the Old Magic.
'The Great Wheel of the Year slowly turns again at Yule and once
more the Morning Star shines in the night sky to herald the birth of the
Lightbringer. In the stygian darkness of the longest night, the Horned
God comes forth from the Cauldron of the Goddess. As he is born
anew, the 'sun shines at midnight' and the stars dance and sing as the
Lord of Light once more walks the land among his people.
Always behind the skull mask of the Old Horned God is the green
foliate mask of the Young Horned God, and they are twin aspects of
the same power. As mentioned before, the god of the witches represents
several different forms of masculine energy and divine force. He has
multiple faces and is a solar deity, a god of vegetation, agriculture,
phallic fertility and the seasonal cycle of nature. He is also co-ruler of
the underworld and the guide to the dead, master craftsman, architect
and blacksmith, tamer and controller of horses, king of the faeries,
cosmic trickster, lord of the animals, sacrificed god, teacher of wisdom
and occult knowledge, and paradoxically both the son and lover/consort
of the Great Goddess.
 Introduction to Liher Nox and the Rites

At his most elementary level the Horned God, the Owd Lad,
Scat, Hob, Old Nick, the Devil or by whatever name he is known to
humankind, is the ruler of death and resurrection. He is represented
by an erect phallus, symbolised by the Maypole at Beltane, as the Lord
of Life and by the skull and bones resting at the base of the stang at
Hallows as the Lord of Death. He is the dying and sacrificed god,
the divine priest-king, the sacred warrior, the redeemer and saviour of
humanity. The initiatory experience of birth, life, death and rebirth in
the Old Craft is represented in symbolic form by the journey of the
God around the Wheel of the Year, as we have seen. Physically it is
represented by the annual cycle of growth, death and renewal in the
natural world. For that reason the Horned One is sometimes called the
Lord or Prince of the World.
Although the Wheel of the Year is based on the solar journey of the
God through the seasons of the year and his relationship to the Great
Goddess, through enacting the themes and symbolism of each festival
the celebrant also becomes a player in the Game of Life. He or she is a
Cainite figure, the Wanderer who walks the stations of the ritual Wheel
of the Year in the form of a mystic spiral and then stands at its hub or
centre. !he point within the circle is represented by the axis mundi or
World Pillar, the Nowl or Nail, the North or Pole Star in the night sky
called Polaris with the other stars revolving around it. It is below the
starry heaven and Lilith's Lantern (the full moon) that the initiates of
the Old Craft enter the Circle of Arte and celebrate the Mysteries as
their ancient ancestors did before them.
 HE following is a procedure for casting the Circle of Arte, and

like all the rituals in this book it can be adopted for indoor or
outdoor practice.
When all are assembled, the tools and other magical objects required
for the rites are placed in the working area or meeting ground in their
proper positions, or on the altar. 'Ihe quarter lights (in lanterns or
candlesticks) are placed around the circle at the compass points and
lit, and if it is used, the fire is prepared. Suitable offerings are first given
to the faery folk and the genii loci, the wights or land spirits, to placate
them so they will not disturb or disrupt the rite.
All those taking part are to be 'properly prepared' i.e. they are to
be robed and will have cleared their minds of all mundane thoughts
and worries by a period of silent contemplation. '!hey will also privately
recite charms of psychic protection, offer prayers to their patron spirits
and meditate on the meaning and significance of the rite before entering
the Circle of Arte.
When all are ready the Magistra/Master or Magistra/Mistress
takes the besom and sweeps the working area, to symbolically clear all
mundane and negative influences. Depending on the season, the Master
or Mistress will then cast the circle. 'Ihe stang is placed in the ground in
the middle of what is to become the circle. A cord or rope of sufficient
length to mark out its required diameter is tied to the stang. To the
other end is attached the ritual knife or the sword and the point of the
blade is used to mark out the circle on the ground. While this is being
done a circle of blue light or flames is visualised being created by the
moving blade. Indoors, obviously, the point of the blade does not touch
the floor.
'Ihe Master then blesses and consecrates a bowl of spring water by
making the sign of an equal-armed cross over it. '!his sigil represents the
sun and the four elemental forces or powers of earth, air, fire and water,
plus the fifth element of ether or spirit. He then says:
 Casting the Circle ofArte

I bless, puriJY and consecrate this water,

In the Names efthe
Great Horned One,
Lord efthe Forest
Master efthe Wild Hunt,
and Our Lady
Witch-Mother,
Veiled One,
Old Fate,
Queen efthe Night
and Darkness.

1he water is then sprinkled three times around the boundary of the
circle using either fingers, a goose feather or a small bundle of herbs or
twigs.
1hen the circle is consecrated with fire, earth and air by a candle or
lantern, incense burning in a censer or a sage bundle and by sprinkling
salt three times around it. As this is done the Master says:

By the elementalpowers,
Fire, earth, air and water
7hree times three,
7he circle is purified and blessed,
7he Castle is raised,
Cast and bound,
So Mote it Be,
So Sha!t it Be.

Once the circle has been cast and consecrated, the other participants
in the Rite, who have been waiting silently outside, enter through
the 'gateway' in the north, passing over a 'stile' created by the crossed
besom and sword. 1his represents the entry into the Otherworld. Once
everyone has taken their appointed position in the circle, the Master or
Mistress calls upon and summons the spirit guardians of the compass
points in whatever form they take. 1his is done in a deosil direction
beginning in the north:

Black spirits and white,

Grey spirits and red,
Come ye,
Come ye,
Come ye,

I S3
 Liher Nox

7hroughout and about,

Around and around
7he circle is drawn,
7he circle is bound,
7he Castle is raised
All good come in!
All ill stay out.'

Black spirits efthe north,

I summon and call theeforth,
Arise ye powers efair and wind,
Guard our Circle efArte
And all who stand in it
From bane and blast.

All members of the coven facing north repeat the evocation substituting
'I' for 'we'. A small bell is rung, a ringing bowl struck or a silver whistle
or hunting horn is blown to summon the spirits. The Master or Mistress
then moves to the eastern quarter and evokes its guardian spirits.

Red spirits efthe east,

I summon and call theeforth,
Arise ye powers effire and.flame,
Guard our Circle efArte
And all who stand in it
From bane and blast.

!he coveners repeat the evocation and the bell is rung three times.

!he Master or Mistress then goes to the southern quarter and evokes:

White spirits efthe south.

I summon and call theeforth,
Arise ye powers efearth and stone,
Guard our Circle efArte
And all who stand in it
From bane and blast.

!he coveners repeat the evocation and the bell is rung three times.

Finally the Master or Mistress moves to the western compass point and
evokes its guardian spirits:
 Casting the Circle ofArte

Grey spirits efthe west

I summon and call theeforth,
Arise ye powers efmist and water,
Guard our Circle efArte
And all who stand in it
From bane and blast.

The evocation is repeated by the coven and the bell rung three times.

'Ihe Master or Mistress returns to the centre of the circle and declares:

7he Circle efArte has been cast

By proper rite and rule,
7he Guardians have been called,
Uninvited wights wend away,
Old Ones draw near.

'Ihe bell is rung three times and the Old Ones, the Lord and Lady, the
God and Goddess of the Wise Ones, are invited to attend, witness and
participate in the Rites. 'Ihe Master or Mistress invokes:

Lord efLight,
Lord efShades,
Lord efAnimals,
Great Horned One,
Witch Father if Cunning
Grim efface,
Black efattire,
By stag's tines,
By goat's skull,
By ram's horns,
By badger'spaw,
By raven'sftather,
By toad bone,
By standing stone
And ancient oak
T# do honour thee.
Come, come,
Rule oer our Rites,
Within this circleJane
Power and cunning
T# would gain.

155
 Liher Nox

Black Goat efthe Sahhat

Master efthe Fallen Ones,
Bearer efthe Inner Light,
Be a watcher at our Rites,
Old Hornie
Protect and guide
Allgathered here.

The bell is rung three times.

Queen fthe Night

Lady ifMists and U'aters,
Bright and Dark Lady,
Witch Mother (Wisdom,
Mistress (Fate,
Weaver fdestiny,
Wrapt in the cloak efnight
Shining with moon's waxing light,
By hare's skull,
By cat'spaw,
By goosefoot,
By owl's claw,
By hawthorn, birch and willow
We do honour thee.
Come, come,
Rule oer our Rites,
Within this circlefane
Love and Wisdom
We would gain.

Ancient Veiled One,

Pale-faced Goddess,
Old Queen efthe Dead,
Queen efFaerie,
Be a watcher at our Rite,
Protect and guide
All gathered here.

Old Ones come nigh,

By chanted voices
And charms efpower,
In the old tongue spoken
 Casting the Circle ofArte

We call on thee,
By offerings ofblood
Freely given
We honour thee,
Drtl'W near.'
Drtl'W near.'
Drtl'W near.'

Before the Rite begins proper, the Master or Mistress purifies and
blesses each member of the coven in turn with the elements. 'This is
done using soil or salt and then spring water to mark an equal-armed
(solar or elemental) cross in a circle, a pentagram or a Tau cross on their
forehead, by censing their body and wafting a goose feather around it.
While this is being done the Master or Mistress says:

Child ofthe earth,

Whose true home
is the starry heavens,
Be blessed andpurified
In the Names ofthe Old Ones,
Our Lord and Lady,
7he Old Lad and Lass.

'Ihe Master or Mistress then announces the intention of the Rite, e.g.

Brethren gathered here,

Brothers and sisters
Ofthe Coven/Clan of . . . . . [insert coven or clan name]
. .

We meet this night

Beneath the summer/autumn/winter/spring stars
In the light ofLilith's Lantern
To revere the Lord and Lady and
Celebrate the Mysteries ofthe
Festival ofAll Hallows, [insert alternates]
Calling upon the Ancestral Dead
And the Hidden Company [insert alternatives] .

'Ihe fire is then lit and becomes the focus of the next part of the Rite.
'Ihe Master or Mistress says:

7he circle is cast,

7he circle is bound,
 Liher Nox

Well and true,

7he castle spins and turns
Between the worlds,
7hree times three
Around the point we turn,
Onefor the Lord
Onefor the Lady
OneforAncient Providence
Who has no name.

The circle is trod with everyone walking silently about the fire led by
the Master and Mistress. Hoods on robes or cloaks are raised and the
meaning of the Rite is contemplated before it commences.

TI. 1"z:!
The Rites generally end with the Houzel or sacred communion. The
Master or Mistress bless and consecrate the bread by making the sign of
the equal-armed solar and elemental cross or a pentagram over it, saying:

I bless and consecrate this bread

In the name efthe Old Ones,
7he Lord and Lady,
Witch-Father,
Witch-Mother.

'1he Mistress kneels or stands holding the chalice or drinking horn

while the Master plunges the ritual knife into it, saying:

7he Knife is to the Cup,

7he Spear is to the Cauldron,
7he Lance is to the Grail,
17Je Stang is to the Horned One
7he Horn is to the Great Lady
Spirit to Flesh,
Sun to Earth,
Lover to Beloved,
As Two become One
United they are blessed
 Casting the Circle ofArte

With this sacred bread

Ui> renew our bodies
And our souls,
With this sacred wine
Ui> renew
Our pledge
To the Old Ones
And the Elder Faith,
Blood to blood
Our ancient heritage
Passed down,
For in life is death
And in death
the promise frebirth,
7hus we become one
With Our Lord and Lady.

'Ihe Mistress passes around the bread or cake saying:

Eat this bread in Old Hornie's name,

With great terror andftm:ful dread.
For he is the God who dies
But is never dead,
And the bitterness fdeath is the
Sweet promise efrebirth.

The Master passes around the wine, saying:

Drink this wine

In Our Lady's name,
And she willgather
Ye home again.

A libation of the wine and an offering of the bread are made to the
wights or land spirits.

To the Shining Ones,

7he Faery Folk,
Good People
Ofhill and wood
and stream,
Blessed be one and all.

I S9
 Liher Nox

After the Houzel, the Circle of Arte is formally closed and bound in a
widdershins direction, beginning in the sacred quarter of the north. !he
Master or Mistress says:

Black spirits efthe north,

Powers efair and wind,
T# thank theefar thy ward
Andprotection this night,
Return to thy midnightplace,
7he castle in the north
With our thanks and blessings
Now our Rite is ended.
So Mote it Be,
So Shaft it be.

All repeat the words of dismissal and the bell is rung three times.

!he Master or Mistress moves to the west and says:

Grey spirits efthe west

Powers efmist and water,
T# thank theefar thy ward
Andprotection this night,
Return to the great waters
Ofthe western ocean
And the castle in the west
With our thanks and blessings
Now the Rite is ended
So Mote it Be,
So Shaft it Be.

All repeat dismissal and the bell is rung three times.

!he Master or Mistress moves to the south and says:

White spirits efthe south,

Powers ef earth and stone,
T# thank theefar thy ward

160
 Casting the Circle ofArte

Andprotection this night

Return to the earth
From whence ye came,
And the castle in the south
With our thanks and blessings
Now the Rite is ended
So Mote it Be
So Shaft it Be.

All repeat dismissal and the bell is rung three times.

Finally the Master or Mistress goes to the east and says:

Red spirits efthe east,

Powers effire andflame
T# thank theefar thy ward
And protection this night,
Return to thyfiery abode
And the castle in the east
With our thanks and blessings
Now this Rite is ended.
So Mote it Be
So Shaft it Be.

The dismissal is repeated and the bell rung.

!he Master or Mistress moves to the centre of the Circle of Arte and
says:

Brethren, the hour efour

Gathering draws to a close,
In peace we came
Inpeace we depart
Go to your homes
Disturbing nothing
Ofthe substance efthe world

May we go.forthfrom
7his sacredplace
7he Circle ef our Arte
With wisdom increased,
 Liher Nox

Our strength renewed

Andfurther understanding
For wisdom is the gift
Given to the Wise.

As we close this Circle efArte

7he sacred space between the worlds,
li-e call on the Old Ones,
Our Lady and the Horned One,
7he First Parents
From the Dreamtime before time,
To keep usfrom harm,
Watch over us,
Protect and guide us
In the Old T#lys and
on the Crooked Path
Until we meet again
In this Circle efArte.

All: So Mote it Be
So Shaft it Be
Amen.
 HE altar or stang is decorated with holly, ivy and mistletoe.

A garland made of the same plants, a bowl of holy water

(consecrated or from a sacred spring), red candles and the
cauldron are present. Also bread and elderberry wine for the Houzel.
Red candles on altar and at the quarters of the circle, plus a special
large red Yule Candle and images or icons of the Lord and Lady as
Old Father Christmas and the Snow Qyeen. If performed indoors, a
decorated Christmas tree is present with coloured electric lights and
baubles and a faery or star on its top. Outdoors (or indoors if there is an
open fire) the fire is not lit at the beginning of the Rite as is usual.
The Mistress casts the circle and the Master performs the rites. !he
intention of the meet is announced.

Master: 7he knell ef inbetween

Has been struck
7he bell ifmisrule has rung
At Bull's Noon
Echoing between the worlds,
At the gap in the hedge
7hrough the stone stile
Over the gate
7he spirits come amid
Grey icy mist and snow.

Aligned are star and mound

In the ring efsacred stones,
7his blessed night,
Comeforth Upright Man
Shadow Man,
Stag-masked one,
Sharp eftine,
Hard efhoof,
Strong efsinew,
Comeforth
 Liber Nox

Master efMisrule,
King efFools,
Dark Lord ef Wights,
Peacock Angel,
Blessyour children
Gathered here
This blessed holy night.

The Master places a cross with spring water on the brow of each of the
coven.
Queen (the Night,
Queen (the Moon,
Queen (the Stars,
Bring to us the Child ifPromise
7he Young Horned God,
It is the Witch-Mother who
Gives birth to him,
He is the Lord fLight
Born anew,
Darkness is set aside,
7he sun rises in the east
To shine oer the land,
Illuminating all.

The Master gives each celebrant a red candle from the altar.

Master: This is the night ef

The 7hree Mothers,
7he Lord efthe Morning Star
Is born at bull's noon
When the clock chimes thirteen,
Reborn againfrom the
Cauldron fCreation
In Annwn's dark depths.

1he bell is rung thirteen times. 1he Yule Candle is lit on the altar.

Master: U-1! light the Yule Candle

As solstice bells ring out
U-1! tend the sacredflame
7hrough midnight 's vigil
To praise the Witch Mother's name
 Yule: the Rite of Rehirth

And the Lord ofLight

Lux Mundi.

1he coven light individual candles from the Yule Candle on the altar
and position them in a ring around it.

All : We light theflame that

Heralds the dawn,
Weftar not darkness
Nor dread deepest night
For the dark bears
7he shining light
Within it,
7he Sun at Midnight.

7he Wheel ofthe Year

Stands still this day,
7he sun rises again,
Brightly shines
7he Morning Star,
The Star in the Stone,
Light ofthe World,
The gate ofcreation opens
The shadowsflee
Death is conquered
As lije is exalted

1he holly, ivy and mistletoe garland is taken from the altar and processed
around the circle. 1he Master takes the Yule Candle and holds it aloft.
1he coven take the garland and place it over the candle so it is in its
empty centre. Holding it, they walk slowly deosil around as the Master
stands still in their centre with the candle.

Master says thrice: Sacred is thefire-seed

Ofthe Lord ofLight
Scattered oer the earth
Flowing through the land,
Sacred is the witch-blood
From the watchers ofold,
Blessed are the
Children ofthe Light
And the Elder Faith
 Liher Nox

!he Master lights the central fire in the circle using the flame of the
Yule Candle and says:

7hefires efwinter blaze

Bringing light to the dark
Conquering the shades efnight,
Banishing the shadows.
Round spins the wheel,
Fires ef winter bring bliss
In the witches' dance
And kiss.

When the fire is ablaze the Mistress places the cauldron half filled
with wine either in or over the flames. !he circle dance a merry round,
stamping, clapping and chanting.

!he Houzel. Wine is shared from the cauldron. !he Mistress takes sprigs
of greenery from the garland and gives one to each of the celebrants to
take home.

Mistress: May the blessing ef

7he Lord efLight
7he Horn Child,
Child efPromise,
Be upon you andyours,
May your homes and hearts
Be blessed,
7he Light is in the Darkness!
7he Darkness is in the Light.'
All hail the Lord efLight
Rebornfrom the darkness!

All : Hail Lux Mundi!

Hail Lux Mundi!
Hail Lux Mundi!
Lord efthe World!

!he cauldron is removed and all leap the fire holding their sprigs of
Yuletide greenery alofr.

Circle closing. !he remains ofthe Yule Garland are kept until Candlemas
and used to kindle the balefire at that rite.

I6 6
 HE altar or stang is decorated with holly and ivy. Crossed arrows

are fixed on the stang shaft. Images or icons of the Lord and
Lady, a bowl ofspring water, a sprig ofthe herb rosemary, a single
tall white candle, a long cord of hemp or jute, a platter of homemade
bread, fruitcake and mead are present. Red candles on altar and at the
quarters of the circle, plus extra candles so each celebrant has one.

!he Mistress casts the circle and the Master celebrates the rites. !he
intention of the meet is announced as !he Dressing of the Stang.

Master: 7he Twelve Days efYule

7he Ember Days
Draw to a close,
7he time
Between time
At the turning
Ofthe year,
When the Wheel turns anew
7he Horn Child
Born in the midnight darkness
Shines as a bright star
In the light ofthe dawn.

A stang is raised at the north-east compass point of the circle. !he white
candle is placed between its forks and lit. !he coven gather around it.

Master: Now is the time,

7he young lord's calling,
As the callow boy drew
7he swordfrom the stone,
7he anvil ofthe divine smith,
To claim his right
To rule the land
As its king.
 Liher Nox

The ritual knife is placed by a celebrant to the right of the stang at its
base with the blade in the earth. Another blesses the arrows thrice with
holy water using the sprig of rosemary. A third celebrant takes the cord
and fastens one end to the left fork of the stang so the rest of it hangs to
the ground. !he Mistress passes a cup of wine around the circle and it is
placed at the base of the stang with the bread on the platter. !he coven
join hands and circle the dressed stang slowly nine times. !he Master
takes the extra candles from the altar, lights each at the light in the forks
of the stang and gives one to each of the coven saying:

Hail Lux Mundi,

The Light
Ofthe World!

Master: As the archer drew back

Hisyew bow
In the greenwood wild
To vanquish evilfrom the land
And restore the
Rightful king.
So the Horn Child
Grows to manhood,
A mighty warrior becomes
Armed by Our Lady.

He is the Lord ifHosts,

Arthur and Lugh,
With Sword ifLight
Lightning Spear efDestiny
Shield efProtection,
Guardian efland andfolk,
A mighty helmeted warrior
Clad in spiritual armour
Shining bright,
Travellingfrom sea to sea
Along the spiritpaths
Carrying the weapons
Ofhis calling.

Count ye the weapons ef the Wise,

Make and master them well,
Stang and Rod,

168
 Twelfth Night: the Rite of Beginning

Knife and Sword,

Cup and Horn,
Shield and Cord

Empowered by their making

And the Old Magic
Taught by Mer/in
To Arthur.

7he Stang efForce

Is the circle's ward,
7he watcher at the gate,
7he door whose key is a star.

7he Rod efPower

Is the ruler and measurer
efkingship
To guide and guard.

7he Knife efEqulibrium

Is the holder efbalance,
Death is in its blade
Engraved with runes efblood
It cuts the umbilical cord
At birth,
7he silver thread
At death.

7he Sword efLight

Is the bringer efjustice
Power wisely used
By the warrior king
Ofthe Blessed Isles
OfAlbion.

7he Cup efJoy

Is the giver efvisions
Andgranter efdeath,
Drink deep
See what is hidden
From mortalgaze.
 Liher Nox

7he Horn fPlenty

Provider effertility,
Physical and spiritual,
Both male andfemale.

7he Shield efProtection

With goosefoot inscribed
Is the protector ef the Wise Folk
And the Old Uizys.

7he Cords efFate

Are the binders efsouls
Bound one to another
7hrough eternity
And to Our Lady
7he Weaver and Spinner
Ofour destinies.

Mark well these weapons

Respect them lest they
Turn agin ye.

All : Uk give thanksfar the

Young Horn Child,
Now warrior and man
May he wisely rule
7he Land and thefolk
Blood and earth
joined as one
In spirit and kinship
Beneath the sun and stars
May wise leadership
And a brave heart
Bringpeace and harmony,
Mayjustice replace
Strife and c01iflict,
So peace rules the land,
May our brothers and sisters
Ofthe Old Crcift
Draw together in sacred circles
In harmony and concord,
May the brightflame ef
 Twelfth Night: the Rite of Beginning

Love and truth burn

in every heart and home
for now and evermore.

It is Twelfth Night
7he Wheel turns anew
Blessed Be the Children fLight
Blessed Be the Elder Faith and
7he Lord and Lady.

So Mote it Be
So Shall it Be.

Coven dance around the dressed stang and the fire in a figure of eight
pattern while the Master repeats the following Charm of Beginning:

7he year is turning

From the long night efYule
7hrough spring,
Midsummer andfall,
Hear the Old Ones calling us
On hillside and mountain,
In wood and brake,
In meadow andfield,
On moor and wasteland,
By spring and stream
Mere and marsh.

7he stars circle around

The point in the sky
The Pole Star,
As the warrior-king
Ridesforth with his host,
Hunting the white hart
And the sacred boar
In the enchantedforest.

In the greenwood
He marries his Lady,
Maiden and Bride
They leap thefire
 Liher Nox

7hat on May Day

Burns bright
With the light
Ofthe sun.

On midsummer's watch
7he sun stands still,
7he elven queen rules
As thefaeryfalk dance,
Owls hunt at dusk,
Nemesis ofthe twilight
Phantoms ofthe night,
Witches clad in.feathers.

7he hot sun at noon

Turns the corn into gold,
7hefalk slay the king
Hoarding his yield
Weepfor the Bright One
Lord ofthe Corn,
King ofthe Harvest
Cut down in his prime,
Dance and be merry
For the king he is dead
In the blood soakedfield.

At thefall ofthe year

7he leavesflutter down,
7he sun is sinking
In the west ofthe sky,
As the Horned One
Descends into the earth,
Lord ofthe Mound
He now becomes,
Lord ofthe Hunt
Master ofthe Shades.

On winter's dark night

7he dead come alive
And walk in the night,
Skulls are enjleshed
 Twelfth Night: the Rite of Beginning

Bones that are broken

Become whole again
In the smoke ef
7he b01ifire.

7he Wheel turns anew

As the sun stands still,
Frost andfire
Rule the season,
Bright in the sky
7he winter moon is burning,
7his is the tale ef
7he Old Year's turning.

The Houzel.
Circle closing

1 73
0 N the altar are placed the necessary ritual tools, a large white

candle, a large glass bowl, elderberry wine or mead and bread

or fruit cake for the Houzel. If the rite is held indoors there are
white or blue candles in holders on the altar or if outdoors in lanterns.
Each celebrant is also given a candle. 'Ihe altar or the stang is decorated
with snowdrops, primroses and crocuses. An image of the Goddess as a
maiden draped in a white veil is placed on the altar.

The circle is cast and in some covens and traditions this is done by
the Mistress and the Master performs the ceremony. 'Ihe Mistress then
sweeps the circle with the besom saying:

With this act I cleanse

7he working ground,
Ofall banejUl io/luences,
Dark elves and wood goblins
Evil spirits and shades,
Ghosts and wraiths,
Casting them awayfrom this place
Never to return.

All: So Mote it Be
So Shall it Be

'Ihe purpose and intention is announced as the Rite of the Waxing

Light.

Master says: Our Lady efMoon, Earth and Stars,

Bright One efthe Wt:ixing Light,
Virgin and maidenfair,
Great Goddess
Ofthe sacredfire,
Rufer eftides and all things growing,

I 74
 Candlemas: the Rite of the Waxing Light

May yourpower aid us,

Grant us your blessings,
Protect all here,
Andfit!fil our needs
Now and evermore
As the circle we do tread

All process around the circle three times in silence.

Master says: As the Wheel efthe Year turns

So the Light increases,
Come back to us Bright Lady
Across the dark waters
From the mists efAvalon,
Mystic Isle efApples,
Return this Candlemas Day
To the Land and itsfolk.

Shining One,
Maid and Bride to be,
7he Sign efthe Mark
Ute make on our brows,
Saluting thee as
Our guide andprotector
For all the days to come.

All make ritual gesture of placing three fingers to the middle of forehead
where the psychic ''Ihird Eye' is located.

A candle or lantern is lit on the altar as a symbol of the waxing light as

the days lengthen.

Master: As darkness comes befOre the light,

Night befOre the dawn,
Winter befOre the spring,
Let there be light to show
7he way ahead,
As this sacredflame is lit
So the dark is banished
By the rising sun,
May its light burn bright
In our Circle efArte

I 75
 Liher Nox

And within our hearts,

To illuminate the Path
And our way ahead

Celebrants light their own individual candles from the central flame
saying:

T# light thisflame
7he_ symbol ef
7he waxing light efthe year,
As the sun rises
7he dark efwinterflees,
7he Old Woman returns
To her cave,
7he Bride comesforth
With the serpent,
From the mound,
T# invoke herpower
Over all things that grow
From the dark earth.

Within theftrtile ground

Stirs the seed eflife,
Asflowers spring
From deep roots
In the earth's
Cold womb
So grow seeds
Ofhappiness andjoy
In our hearts.

From the
Witch-Mother
T# are born
Into the Light,
And to her we
Return at death
To tread the spiralpath
Oflije again.

As the seed grows

T# reach maturity,
 Candlemas: the Rite of the Waxing Light

When the harvest comes

ne are cut down,
So in old age
7he Lady ofFate and Death
Reclaims us all.

When the silver cord is broken,

Across the alder bridge
M-e do go,
Over the dark waters
Ofmemory lost
Into the Rose Castle,
To be reborn again
As Our Lady wills it.

By many names
She is known,
Demanding her due
In blood andflesh
and souls
At rings ofstone
And infields ofcorn.

There in sacred circle cast,

Time and space are one
Present andpast
Are dulyjoined,
To create thefoture,
Three mystic worlds
The alder bridge spans,
From earth to spirit
And ifinity.

'Ihe coven circles the fire nine times holding their lit candles.

Master says: Awake Bright Lady

From your slumber
Trangorm the wasteland,
This barren earth,
Frozen in winter's icy grip.

177
 Liher Nox

From the Cauldron

Of Creation
Life dothflow,
Seeds burstforth,
7he grass grows,
Leaves urifUrl,
7heflowers bloom,
Animals lie
togethe7;
7he dead land comes alive
And is greened anew.
Great Lady,
Flower bride to be
At summer's coming,
Stirfrom thy dreams
Melt the snows,
Banish ice andfrost,
Lighten the darkness
Restore the green world
With thy holy breath oflife.

Standing around the fire, all present in the circle turn to the person next
to them. Holding the lit candle aloft they perform the Blessing of the
Light upon each other in turn as follows.

Moving the candle to the right hand of the person saying:

7he Light is in the Darkness.

Moving the candle to the left hand of the person saying:

7he Darkness is in the Light.

Moving the candle to the heart and then the 'Ihird Eye of the person
saying:

And they are one

For all eternity.

!he candles are then taken to the altar and are placed on it in a group.
A glass bowl of water from a sacred spring is held so that the glowing
 Candlemas: the Rite of the Waxing Light

candle flames are reflected in it. All gather around the bowl to witness
the shining light of Brigid's Fire.

!he Round Dance or S nake Dance is performed around the fire and the
altar or stang in a figure of eight to awaken the sleeping earth with the
stamping of feet. When the dance is finished a member of the coven
takes the Bowl of Light to the edge of the circle. !he water is poured on
the earth outside the circle.

If there is no other magical work to be done, no spirit ingress or oracles

to be heard, the Houzel follows, and then the Circle of Arte is closed
in the traditional way. If circumstances allow it, the coven leaves the
meeting ground imitating the Wild Hunt with the blasting of horns
and loud cries.
 f
, e- 13.J.mce-
0 N the altar are placed the necessary tools of the Arte with

images or icons of the Lord and Lady, mead or elderberry

wine, bread and fruit cake and a platter. Spring flowers
decorate the stang and/or altar. Pale green or silver candles are used.
1he Circle of Arte is cast by the Mistress and the Master declares the
intention to celebrate the Rite of B alance.

Master says:
Now is the time when
Day and night are equal,
7he sun waxes ever stronger
Giving light to the earth
and all living things.

1he Mistress brings forth an equal number of black and white cords
or ribbons, enough so each member of the coven has either a black or
white one. 1hey are mixed up on the platter and she calls each person
forward so that with closed eyes they can select one. When all have
either a black or white cord they tie it around their waist. 1hen they
circle the fire with those wearing a white cord alternating in place with
those who have a black one.

Now the Dance of the Bright Lady and the Dark Lord can begin.

Master: Green bud the.flowers

In meadow and wildwood,
Tread we the primrose path
Ourfaery queen has trod,
Bringing herpower
At this witching hour.

Dark Horned One

Out efthe brake

1 80
 Lady Day: the Rite of Balance

All our homage take,

For in the witches' dance
ue seek ecstasy and trance

Celebrants dance around the circle, weaving in and out with black and
white corded celebrants crossing and re-crossing as they go round the
fire.

Before the rite each person has written down on a piece of new clean
paper something they want to remove or banish from their life, a situation
they want resolved or an obstacle removed. In turn they approach the
fire and throw their pieces of paper into the fire.

All : ue cast these words,

Written true
Into theflames efthe
Sacredfire,
May all negative i1ifluences
Be banished
As the ashes scatter
On the.four winds
So our cares and worries
Go with them,
Begone dark thoughts
And actions
Never to return
In the name ef
7he Lord and Our Lady -

So Mote It Be!
So Shall it Be!

1he Master holds the cake and the Mistress the wine while another
celebrant holds the platter. !he cake is placed on the platter and wine is
poured on it. 1he coven gathers around the platter and raises it to the
sky.

All : 0 Great Witch-Mother

And wights efthe land
Accept our sacrifice
Freely given
 Liher Nox

Withoutftar orfright
By our sacred right
As those efthe witch blood.

1he coven now turns a circle with the raised platter.

Master says: Gracious Lady

Bountiful Lady,
Fertile Lady,
Prosper all things
By your care.
In thy bounty
Let us share,
Bright Maiden
Make all seeds grow
Bless all living things
Under thy dominion.

A libation of wine and a sacrificial offering of moon blood (menstrual

blood) is also made. If working outdoors a member of the coven digs a
furrow in the ground with the blade of the ritual knife. 1he wine soaked
cake is cast into the furrow and the earth is replaced. If indoors it is
offered on the altar to the wights or spirits of the land.

Master says: As the Great Plough

Shines in the heavens above
So on earth also
Does it reign.

May the plough run true

In thefarrow
As its blade cuts the earth,
A blessing be on the plough
and all who use it.

As day equals night

And night equals day
Balanced in harmony
Are theforces eflight
And the powers efdarkness,
Each partaking efthe other
In equal measure.
 Lady Day: the Rite of Balance

7he Light is in the Darkness

7he Darkness is in the Light
7hat is the Great Mystery.

Lord and Lady

T1;e ask you to bless us
One and all,
In the name ef the lowliest
7hing that lives,
And in the name efthe
Highest efthem all

'Ihe Houzel follows in the traditional way and the circle is closed. 'Ihe
coven keep their ribbons for use at the Michaelmas meet.
 HE ritual tools are placed on the altar with apple cake and

elderberry wine or mead for the Houzel. The stang is decorated

with a garland of hawthorn, birch, willow and primroses. A
second garland is placed on the altar along with green and red ribbons
of various lengths. A large bowl of mead and a long pole or stick at least
six feet in height and tapered at one end or fashioned in the shape of a
phallus. Dark green candles are on the altar and in the lanterns around
the circle. Images or icons of the Lady as the Spring Maiden and the
Lord as the Green Man are on the altar.

The Master casts the circle and the Mistress performs the rites. The
purpose and intention of the rite is announced before the Invocation.

Mistress says:
Lady of Wild 7hings,
Green Mistress,
Bride-to-be
We ask our rite
Be blessed this
Merry May time.

Lord ofthe Wood,

Master ofAnimals
Green One,
We ask our rite
Be blessed this
Merry May time.

Leef-masked Lord,
Flower-faced Lady,
Queen ofthe Sabbat,
Wild Man and Wild Woman,
Robin and Marian,
 May Day: the Great Rite

Arthur and Guinevere,

We ask this rite
Be blessed and hallowed

Horned One
Enter this sacredplace
In the name efoak, ash and thorn
As weprepare to honour
7he Lord and
Maid efSummer
joined together in
Mystical union.

!he Rite of the Crowning of the O!ieen of the Sabbat is performed:

Four male celebrants come forward and present the Mistress with a
lighted candle (representing the power of fire), a cup of spring water and
some bread (earth). !he Master anoints the forehead of the Mistress
with perfumed oil, water and wine, and censes her. He places a crown of
real wild flowers on her head and says:

Witch andpriestess
Mistress efthe circle
I crown thee
As the Queen efthe Sabbat,
May Queen efthe bower,
Flower Bride to the Horned One.

In the name efthe

Green Lady efNature,
Mistress efthe Wildwood,
Guardian efthe Seashore,
Protector efAnimals,
May this Rite be blessed.

If thought suitable or appropriate, the sacred marriage is enacted by the

representatives of the Lord and Lady, the Master and the Mistress. He
wears antlers, a foliate mask and animal skins and the symbol of the sun
disc. !he O!ieen of the Sabbat is dressed in a green gown with a green
leafed, half-face mask and a crown of wild flowers and she wears the
symbol of the crescent moon.
 Liher Nox

!he Mistress takes the bowl of mead from the altar. !he Master holds
aloft the ritual knife and plunges it into the vessel.

Mistress: In greenwood wild

7he king embraces his queen,
A sign eflovefar all to see,
Joined together
Two become One,
Earth and sky,
Sun and moon,
All worlds
Unite together
In Middle Earth
Two as One.

!he bowl is held aloft and then returned to the altar. The second garland
is brought forward and each of the celebrants ties a ribbon to it. !he
garland is attached to the top of the pole but so it can revolve around
it. !he Maypole is then firmly embedded in the earth as the coven say:

Earth and sky,

Sun and moon,
Beloved and loved
All worlds
Unite together
Conjoined as one
Like Our Lord and Lady.

The Round Dance of Life begins. !he coven dance around the Maypole,
each holding a coloured ribbon and weaving in and out. !hey then
turn about and dance around the Maypole in the opposite direction to
unwind the twisted ribbons.

All say: Summer is a-coming in

With the May King and Queen,
With merriment andjoy,
By seed and root,
Fruit andflower,
By oak, ash and thorn.
 May Day: the Great Rite

From the distantpast,

In the present time
To thefature yet to come
In the Elder Faith we live,
In the Elder Faith we will die,
In the Elder Faith we will be reborn,
So it was and ever shall be.
Amen

!he dance continues until all are exhausted and sink to the ground.
Spirit ingress may take place and oracles may be spoken.

!he garland is taken down from the Maypole and passed around the
circle deosil. Each person in turn places it on their head and asks a boon
from the Lord or Lady before passing it on to the next. !hen the garland
is thrown over the top of the Maypole so it slides down to the ground
to represent the union of the phallus and the yoni. All cheer, shout and
stamp their feet.

All : 7he earth has awakened!

Love is broughtforth anew
In the greenwood wild

Master and Mistress say:

7he sap rises
In the trees
Powers eflight and life
Entwined as one
In the embrace eflove.
A blessing be on
All living things.

T# have danced here

In circle cast around,
As those who went before us,
By standing stone and elder tree,
Hawthorn and blasted oak,
7he blessings eflove
T# seek to have
 Liher Nox

7he old lore is writ

In the purity effire,
In the depths (water,
In the endurance efstone,
In the stillness efair,
In the wind in the trees.
So shall we keep the
Old Wilysfor ever more.

Mead for the Houzel is now taken frc.""'1 the bowl and the cake is dipped
in it. !he circle is closed.

!he sacred marriage may be enacted by the coven privately afrer the
closing of the circle or when they return to their homesteads.

188
 HE necessary tools are placed on the altar together with images

or icons of the Lord as the Green Man and of the Lady as the
0!,1een of Faerie. Bread and elderflower wine for the Houzel
and two bowls, one filled with milk and the other with honey. A long
red ribbon, cord or thread long enough to encircle the fire and a tealight
for each member of the coven. !he altar or stang is decorated with briar
rose, honeysuckle and vervain. Two extra stangs are placed in the circle
to form a gateway to the realm of the Fey. Green candles are on the
altar and at the four quarters of the compass circle. No iron or any other
metal is allowed inside the circle at this festival.

!he Master casts the circle and the Mistress performs the rite. !he
intention of the Rlte is announced before the Invocation.

Mistress: Owl-faced Lady,

Fox-masked Lord,
Fair Queen efE!fhame,
Elven King,
Horned One,
Lady efBeasts,
Lord efthe Wood,
Great Enchantress,
Oberon and Titania,
Mer/in and Morgan
Robin and Marian,
T# gather this
Midsummer's night
To do ye honour.

As the sun rises high in the sky

T# invoke the power efthe
King Stag with seven tines,
7he Lord on the Hill
Lord efLight,
 Liher Nox

Come into this world

As you did in days ofold,
Walk on the high places,
Lift up thy Sword ofLight,
Thy blazing Spear ofDestiny,
Put toflight all
Dark elves,
Woodgoblins,
Barrow wights,
Ghosts and the undead.

Protect this sacred land,

Merlin's Enclosure,
The Island ofthe Mighty,
7he Blessed Isles ofAlbion,
Britannia's holy realm,
As King Arthur once did,
From all enemies andfaes,
Cast away the darkforces
Ofmaterialism andgreed
Threatening our sacred land
And itsfalk.

Give us green woods,

Flowery meadows,
Blossoming orchards,
Ripening.fields,
Open spaces andparks,
Clear waters,
Fresh wind,
Clean ai1:

Old Hornie's
Time is nigh
His power waxes at
This mystic hout;
Bright shines hisface
In the heavens above

Yet the shadowsgather,

Soon to the Hollow Hill
He must away,
 Midsummer Day: the Rite of Faerie

By Fate's behest,
Descend to darkness
To rest in
PeacefUI sleep.

As the Lord ofLight

Is reborn at the
Turning ofthe Wheel
From the sacred cauldron,
So the Lady leads us
7hrough the Gate ofLife,
Other lives shall be
7hat we may learn anew
and the true Path
seek once more.

All : At this time ofsun triumphant,

We give thanks to the Old Ones,
7he Lord ofLight
And the Green Lady
For the bright rays of
7he golden dawn
and their blessing
on our rite

Mistress censes the 'gateway' to the land of Faerie with incense, fire and
water. Takes up red cord or ribbon and hands other end to the Master.
Celebrants also hold the cord with their right hands, standing between
the Master and Mistress, and everyone paces around the fire imitating
the planets circling the sun. When exhausted they keep dancing, holding
on to the cord whatever happens, or whatever they hear or see.

Mistress: On this Midsummer Night

May the gates ofFaerie
Open wide,
Morgan Le Fay
Queen ofFaerie,
Oberon,
King ofFaerie,
Bring us to stand
On the Hill of Vision,
7he Hollow Hill
 Liher Nox

Show us with the Sight

the secret world
Ofthe Fey.

All visualize the gates to Faerie opening in the Hollow Hill and the
Lord and Lady as the <2.!ieen of Elfhame and the Elven King standing
in the gateway formed by the two stangs.

When the dance is completed and all have recovered from their visions,
oracles may be given of what has been seen and experienced. All then
take a tealight from the altar and light it. 'They are placed around the
circle in a ring leading to the bowls of milk and honey. A libation of
wine or mead is made on the ground with offerings of the milk and
honey to the faery folk.

All: Blessings to the Good People,

7he bright sprites of
U'Ood, stone and stream,
Dwellers in the hidden mounds,
U'atchers in the trees,
Riders on the hill,
Blessings on the Shining Host
The Lordly Ones
Ofthe Hollow Hills

This magical night

T# ojjer ye this libation
Good Folk all,
May ye in turn
Bless andprotect
Our homes andfields,
Farms and cottages,
Valleys and dales,
Bringing no harm
To us or ours,
In the name ofthy
King and Queen,
The Dragon Mother
and the Lord ofElves.

The Houzel. Circle closing.

At the end of the rite all leap the fire.
 ":'""s: t

HE altar or stang is decorated with red poppies and if possible a

sheaf of early wheat or barley, plus images or icons of the Lord

and Lady. Crossed arrows (bought in a sports shop or made
from sticks fixed with copper points) and a sickle is fixed to the shaft of
the stang. At its base is a human skull with crossed bones. A cauldron,
platter, a large spoon or ladle, a pestle, rock salt and apples are present.
All members of the coven bring an apple and seasonal red soft fruits.
Bread and elderberry wine or mead for the Houzel and apples are on
the altar. Yellow candles are at the quarters of the circle.

!he Master casts the Circle ofArte and the Mistress celebrates the rites.
!he intention of the meet is announced.

Mistress: It is Lammastide
7he golden time efyear,
Great are the Old Ones,
7he Lord and Lady efthe Harvest
Who gave us tools
To till the earth,
And seed to.fertilise it
As harvesting approaches
give thanksfar nature's bounty
7hefirstfruits efthe earth.

Offerings of apples, wine and bread are made to the Old Ones.

All : Lord and Lady

Bright spirits
Ofharvest time
offer the
Firstfruits ef
Our labour.
 Liher Nox

Grant us in return
Fine weather
So the harvest
Is safely gathered in.
Health, prosperity,
And thejoys oflife
Tofarm andfalk

Corn King,
John Barleycorn,
Master Cain,
Lord fthe Harvest
Show us yourpower
As the light begins
To wane.

Your blood stains

7he cornfield
As redpoppies bloom,
7he lightfades
Summerflowers
Wilt and die,
7he last sheeffalls,
Our Lord is the
Shadow on the hill,
The whisper on the wind,
The ghost at the crossroads.

All bring their apple and other fruit to the altar. The soft fruit is placed
on the platter and crushed by the Mistress using the pestle. 1he apples
from the celebrants are given to her one by one. She cuts them in half
with her ritual knife displaying the pentagram concealed within their
cores. Using some of the juice from the crushed fruits she marks an
equal-armed cross on the forehead of each celebrant. The Master then
gives one half of the apple back to each person. Fruit juice is poured or
smeared on the arrow points, the blade of the sickle and the skull to
represent the spilt blood of the Sacrificed God.

Mistress says: To the darkness

Thou must descend 0 Lord,
Yet we await thy return.
Before ye go
 Lammas: the Rite of Sacrifice

Grant us a store efwisdom

Against the dying efthe light
As the nights grow longer,
Autumn days beckon
Withfrost, ice and rime.

Lord efLight and Dark

7hough we mourn thy departure,
Powerful spells we know
To bring thee back,
Runes carved in wood and stone,
Cast in circle round,
7he Old Magicfrom sunken lands
And lost races
Evoked once more,
As the Wheel efthe Year turns
So the sun rises once more.

7he old king dies

So that the new king lives,
7he king is dead,
Long live the king!

All : 7he king is dead!

Long live the king!

Mistress: Blood unto blood,

Flesh untoflesh,
Spirit unto spirit,
His seed lives on.
In winter's dark and cold,
7he Hidden God is
Ever with us,
Concealed in golden seed
In the womb efearth,
7he starry seed
In the night sky,
7he Star within the Stone.

1he halves of the apples kept by the Master are given to the Mistress
and she places them on the platter with the reminder of the soft fruit.
She holds the platter aloft to show the assembly. Pours mead into the
 Liher Nox

cauldron and tips the contents of the platter into it. !he vessel is placed
over the flames of the fire and the Mistress stirs the contents with her
ladle.

All : 7he old king dies

7hat the new king lives,
Old Horned God,
Young Horn God
7he king is dead!
Long live the king!

!he coven dance around the fire with the Mistress leading, holding the
ladle alofr. When all are exhausted spirit ingress and oracles may follow.

Bread from the altar is broken and dipped in the salt, and pieces are
distributed to the assembly (the salt should give the bread a bitter taste).

Master: Eat this bread

In the Old One's name
With great terror
And.fearful dread

Mistress then ladles the potion from the cauldron into the ritual cup or
drinking horn and passes it around the circle.

Mistress: But Our Lady

Gathers ye home again

!he apple halves given back to the celebrants are held aloft and then
thrown into the fire.

Circle closing.
 HE altar or stang is decorated with oak leaves and acorns, wheat

and a corn dolly. Images and icons of the Lord and Lady are
present, and bread and elderberry wine for the Houzel. Each
celebrant brings a candle or a lantern, and the cords they used on the
Lady Day rite. These are placed on the altar. A 'winnowing flail' is made
by tying black and white cords on the top of a small stick. Orange
coloured candles at each quarter of the circle.

Master casts the Circle of Arte and the Mistress celebrates the rites. !he
intention of the meet is announced as the Rite of Harvest Home.

Mistress: It is Harvest Home

Nature's bounty is gathered in,
Silver Queen,
Corn Queen,
Hallow this rite.
Lord oflife and Death,
Corn King,
Bedye down on yonder corn,
Your red blood drawn
Andfreely given

Come ye all.folk
With cheerjUl tread
Good men and women all,
7he corn is ground
Within the Mill,
have bread
Tofeed the
Mighty Dead.
 Liher Nox

By the yellow light

Ofthe harvest moon,
7he Lord has sown his seed
And raised the crops,
Let him now
To his rest away.

Sacrificed One,
Dying God,
Pass into the
Ring efstones,
7hrough the dolmen gate
Into the burial mound,
7he Hollow Hill
Beyond the setting sun
7he golden land
In the western sea.

With song and dance

And lanterns bright
1# light the merry way,
1# give thanks to
7he Green-faced One.
Restye well
Beneath thefrosty weald,
Return to us
With the waxing light.

1he coven gather before the altar and each takes a cord. 1hose who wore
a black cord on Lady Day change it for a white one. 1he Master presents
each celebrant with a candle or lantern from the altar. 1he coven then
process around the altar in a widdershins (moon wise or anti-clockwise
direction) with their lanterns raised up.

All: Farewell 0 sun,

Light efthe World,
Hidden god in seed and corn,
7hrough the gates efdeath,
Guarded by the
Trusty black houndye go,
Now Lord efthe Mound
To become.
 Michaelmas: the Rite of Harvest Home

Mistress: weep no tears

As Our Lordpasses to
7he Otherworld,
7he realm ef the Old Queen
Sitting on her throne efbones,
He will return to us
At the turning efthe year
With the Midnight Sun
And the Morning Star.

As the days grow shorter

7he shadows are darker,
give thanksfar
Allgood things efthe earth,
7he harvest and itsfruits,
Bounty efthe Corn Mother
and Corn King.

thank yefor the

Food on our tables,
7he lijC-giving water,
7hefire that cheers and warms,
7he air we breathe,
7he earth our home,
Flax and.fodder,
Flags andfrigg,
7he sun by day,
7he moon at night,
7he stars above.

1he coven place their lanterns at intervals around the circle and the
Dance of the Bright Lord and the Dark Lady begins. 1hey circle the fire
with those wearing a black cord alternating with those wearing a white
one. 1hey dance, weaving in and out, crossing and re-crossing around
the fire.

1he Master takes up the flail from the altar and beats the ground with
it, left to right. Eventually all dance around the fire in a widdershins
direction with the Master hindmost chasing the celebrants as he flails
the ground until the dance ends. 1here follows spirit ingress and oracles.

199
 Liber Nox

All : Dark days cometh

Withflying leaves
And gathered sheaves,
7hrough the winter be long
May the Old Ones
Bless us,
Ifdark the path
May their light shine on it
Lord and Lady biess us.

The Houzel. Circle closing.

200
 HE altar or stang is decorated with yew, elder and pine cones.

Images or icons of the Lord and Lady of Death are present

and a human skull rests at the base of the stang. Black candles
on altar and at each quarter of the circles. A single candle or lantern is
fixed to the top of the stang and another candle or tealight is placed in
a hollowed out pumpkin or turnip lantern carved with a goblin face.
A small votive light can also be placed in the skull if it is safe to do so.
Extra candles. A small metal or pottery bowl. Enough small silver coins
for each of the coveners to have one. Bread, an apple and elderberry
wine for the Houzel.

The Mistress casts two circles to represent the land of the quick or living
and the realm of the dead. 'Ihe second circle is directly to the north of
the first. In its centre is placed the bowl containing wine. No fire is lit in
this second circle because it is the realm of darkness and the Ancestral
Dead. The Master celebrates the Rite.

All assemble as usual in the first circle. 'Ihe intention of the meet is
announced. Before the Rite proper begins the Mistress gives one of the
coins to each of the celebrants as payment for the Ferryman to cross the
River Styx or Lethe.

Master: Dark Lady

Pale-faced Goddess
Elder Mother
Old Queen,
Mistress efthe Boneyard,
Guardian efthe Dead,
Chooser efthe Slain
Ruler efthe Netherworld,
Ule call on thee
7his Hallows Night.

20I
 Liher Nox

Dark Lord,
Pale Rider,
Stag-masked Master
Ofthe Spirit Hunt,
Dweller in the Mound,
U-1! call on thee
And thy Hounds ofHell

U'i!lcome all here this

Hallow's Eve
As the dark season begins
7hefires burn bright
In the hills,
With candle andflame
U-1! callforth
7he Mighty Dead

A candlefor the Lady

A candlefor the Lord
[light two extra candles]
Lighting the way
Down the low road

Master processes around circle widdershins or anti-clockwise, holding

aloft the skull for all to see and meditate on. Each person contemplates
their own mortality and death while looking at this symbol of death.

Master: White Lady,

Owl-faced one,
Night Mare,
Elder Mother,
She who brings
birth and death,
Cutter ofbirth's cord
and life's thread,
Dread Spinner ofthe
U'i!b ofWyrd
U'i!aver ofFate

Reveal to us
7hefinal mystery

202
 Hallows: the Rite of the Mighty Dead

Let us speak to the dead

And our spirit guides
Now the veil is thin
Between the worlds
Ofmen and spirits.

7his Hallows night

Gwyn ap Nudd,
Wild Hunter,
Lord ofthe Mound,
Lord ofBones,
Black:faced God,
Masked one ofthe night,
Rides the wind,
Both hunter and hunted,
your children
Born ofyour dark blood
Call upon you.

7he Wild Host rides out

From dolmen and t01;
Riding the secret
Circle ofHeaven,
7he spiritpaths open
And the dead walk again
With the spirits ofthe unborn
Along ancient trackway
Andgreen road,
Past ancient circle
and standing stone,
Over stile and hedge,
7hroughfield and wood
7he Wild Hunter rides,
Death is but a doorway
7hrough which all must go.

When the winds are high,

And the moon sails by,
7he horn ofthe Hunter
Is heard on high
Cover your ears,
Cover your eyes,
 Liher Nox

7hefaery hounds are

Crossing the sky.

7he Old One rides by

Clad in cloak efblack
Speak to him once
And never come back.

Mistress holds aloft a lantern on a stick. 1he Master stands at the place
where the two circles meet or intersect, holding the skull. 1he coven
process from the first circle to the second, led by the Mistress and
following her light.

Master: Follow OldJack O' Lantern

And his guiding light
His is the low road
7he crookedpath
7he spiralpath
must all travel,
Into the Maze,
Land efthe Dead,
7he Land efApples,
Realm efthe Old Queen
and the Old Gods.

As they pass into the land of the dead the coven offer their silver coins
to the Master, who refi1ses them. They circumambulate nine times
widdershins around the second circle with the Master in the rear holding
aloft the skull. He then places it on a mound of earth and stones that
has been previously placed in the north of the second circle. 1he coven
process around the circle widdershins to the skull. 1hey bow to it and
place their silver coins at its base. When all have done this they gather
around the bowl of wine.

Master: 7his is the Netherworld.

7his is the place efashes,
7his is the place efbones,
7his is the place efwaiting
7he dark place
Between the worlds
7he Land efShades
 Hallows: the Rite of the Mighty Dead

Where hunt the

Faery hounds
Curse not the
Dying ofthe light
Tis a kindly light
Shining in the dark,
Calling ye home
Promising rebirth among
7hy kith and kin.

All : Old Queen,

Ruler ofthe tides
and the unborn,
ask to hear the
voices ofthe dead
And see theirfaces
Once more.

Masked Hooded One,

Dark Rider
God ofLife and
Bringer ofDeath,
Dread master ofthe
Living and the dead
Unlock the gates
7hrough which all mustpass.

Grey King
Heron King
E!fKing
Open the spiritpaths
And ghost roads
So the dead may come.
OldJack Lantern
Light the way betwixt
Hill and mound,
Crossed roads
And corpse roads.

205
 Liher Nox

A blessing on the
Ancient dead and
the ancestral spirits,
"Welcome here to attend
Our gathering

"We call on those

Who have passed this way before
Come ye back
Across the alder bridge
Over the dark waters
To the land efthe living

All the celebrants think of their deceased loved ones and friends and
gaze deeply into the bowl. If aught is seen, it should be spoken of in a
whisper. Visions of the spirit world should be sought.

Master: Tonight we drink the dark draught

From thepoisoned chalice
In memory ef
Our departed kin,
The Mighty Dead
And the Hidden Company.

When our time comes,

As it must one day,
When the Dark Rider
Comesfor us,
"We will stand bravely
To be embraced
In his dark wings
Tojoin happily
7he Company efShadows
And the Sabbat Feast at Midnight,
Until then we toast
And remember our departed kin
And the ancestral spirits
Of our clan.

A libation is made to the dead and a toast is drunk in their honour and
memory.
 Hallows: the Rite of the Mighty Dead

All : To the Owd Lad,

The Dark Master,
To the Owd Lass,
The U'eaver and Spinner,
Old Fate,
To the Mighty Dead,
To Providence
Who has noform
Or name,
May we always
Remember those who have passed
To the Hollow Hill
And the Castle efthe Rose.

Meditation and silent communion with the shades of the dead. Spirit
ingress and oracles.

Master: Ye ancient dead

Now your leave take,
Passfrom here with
Silent steps along
7he low road,
Disturbing none and
Nothing as you go.

Return to the Isle efApples,

7he Isle efthe Dead
Beyond the setting sun,
In the western sea,
Along the spirit paths go
As we light a beacon
To show the way home.

Coveners stand and process nine times widdershins around the circle
before leaving it and returning to the first circle. A votive candle is lit
by the Master and placed at the point between the two circles and it is
left to burn out.

Celebrants gather around the fire in the centre of the first circle. Candles
are lit from the fire by each person. 'Ihey are held aloft and the name of
somebody who has passed to spirit should be spoken by each celebrant
 Liher Nox

and remembered with the words:

Blessings upon [name]

. . . .

Peace be withyou
In the name efthe
Lord and Lady
So mote it be!

The Houzel is celebrated and a portion of the bread, apple and wine
should be left on the ground next to the votive candle between the
circles.

Circle closing.

Before leaving the working site or meeting ground the skull is collected
from the second circle, but the coins are left as an offering to the Mighty
Dead.
 APPN E> I X A

Do you understand
Child of Earth,
Your heritage of old?
Have you seen
The blasted oak,
'Ihe Shining Ones at dawn?
Is the night a dark cold tomb,
Or the Lady's silver womb?

Have you walked

'Ihe woodland ways,
Spoken to the trees?
Is your heart a magic centre,
'Ihe kingdom of the Gods?

Do you hear the Wild Hunter's horn,

See the hounds a-following,
Kiss the stone that blesses all,
The merry sign of Puck,
Can you cast the circle round,
To watch the rites ofjoy?

Are the leaves your resting place

The stars your guides above?
'Ihe Hollow Hill your chosen goal
'Ihe Good Folk your kith and kin?
Do you understand
Child of Earth
Your heritage of old?
M.H.
 APPN EJ I X B

In traditional witchcraft each of the full moons of the year has its
own magical name reflecting its attributes, influences and the seasonal
weather. Examples are given below:

January Ice Moon

February Snow Moon
March Hare Moon
April Seed Moon
May Merry Moon
June Faerie Moon
July Mead Moon
August Barley Moon
September Harvest Moon
October Hunter's Moon
November Fog Moon
December Frost Moon

When there is the rare event of two full moons in a month, the second
one is known as a Blue Moon. Hence the old saying: "It only happens
once in a blue moon."

!2 I O
 B I B LI 0GRAP HY, RFRNCS
& FURHR RAB ING

All titles have been published in the U K unless otherwise stated.

Aldcroft Jackson, Nigel. Call efthe Horned Piper (Capall Bann Ltd l 994)
Ashe, Geoffrey. Mythology efthe British Isles (Methuen l 990)
Allen Paton, Dr L. Studies in the Fairy Mythology efArthurian Romance (Ginn &
Company, USA 1 903)
Artisson, Robin. 7h e Witching Wily efthe Hollow Hill (Owlblink USA 2005)
Baker, Margaret. Folklore and Customs efRural England (David & Charles 197 4)
"
Discovering Christmas Customs (Shire l 994)
Discovering the Fdklore ifPlants (Shire Publications 2008)
Barber, Richard. 7he Holy Grail 7he History efa Legend (Allen Lane 2004)
Basford, Kathleen. 7he Green Man (D.S.Brewer Ltd l 978)
Berg, Wendy. Red Tree, White Tree: Faeries and Humans in Partnership (Skylight
Press 2 0 1 0)
Gwenevere and the Round Table (Skylight Press 2 0 1 2)
Billingsley, John. Stony Gaze: Investigating Celtic & Other Stone Heads (Capall
Bann Ltd 1 998)
Burrow,} (ed) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Penguin Classics 1 972)
Chumbley, Andrew D. Azoetia: A Grimoire efthe Sabbatic Creft (Xoanon l 992)
"
Opuscula Magic: Vo/ I. Essays on Witchcreft and the Sabbatic Tradition (1hree
Hands Press USA 2 o r o)
Clarke, David. Supernatural Peak District (Robert Hale 2000)
Cochrane, Robert. 7he Robert Cochrane Letters (Capall Bann Ltd 2002)
Dames, Michael. Mythic Ireland (1hames & Hudson l 996)
Danaher, Kevin. 7he Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs (Mercier Press l 972)
Darrah,John. Paganism in Arthurian Romance (1he Boydell Press l 994)
Darthen,Jon. Somerset Faeries and Pixies (Capall Bann Ltd 2 0 1 0)
Davies, Sioned. (trans) 7he Mabinogion (Oxford University Press 2007)
Deveraux, Paul. Haunted Lands (Piatkus 2 00 1 )
Fairy Paths & Spirit Roads (Vega 2003)
De Vries, Eric. Hedge-Rider (Pendraig Publishing USA 2008)
Dixon,Jeffrey John. Gawain and the Grail Quest (Floris Books 20 1 2)
D uerr, Hans Peter. Dreamtime: Concerning the Boundary between Wilderness and
Civilisation (Basil Blackwell 1 98 5 )
Duffy, Martin. 7h e Devil's Raiments (1hree Hands Press USA 2 0 1 2 )
Eliade, Mircea. Rites and Symbols ifInitiation (Spring Publications USA l 994)
Patterns ef Comparative Religion (Bison Books USA l 996)
"

Fernee, Ben. 7he Society ef the Horseman's Word ( Society of Esoteric Endeavour
20I I )
Fitch, Eric L . In Search ifHerne the Hunter (Capall Bann Ltd 1 994)
Fitzgerald, Robert. Arcanum Bestiarum; Ofthe Subtil and Occult Virtues efDivers
Beasts (1hree Hands Press USA 2 0 1 3 )

2II
 Liher Nox

Fortune, Dion. 7he Secrets ef Dr Taverner ( 1 9 2 6 . Llewellyn Publications USA

edition 1 962)
"
Avalon efthe Heart ( 1 934. Aquarian Press edition 1 9 7 1 )
Frazer, J.G. 7he Golden Bough (Macmillan 1 9 2 2 )
Garland, John. Haunted Somerset (Tempus 2007)
Gary, Gemma. Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book fUtays (Troy Books 2008)
Glob, .P.V. 1be Mound People: Bronze Age Man Preserved (Faber & Faber 1 973)
Graves, Robert. 7he White Goddess (Faber & Faber l 948)
Gray, Miranda. Beasts fAlbion (Aquarian 1994)
Gray, William. 7he Rollright Ritual (Helios Books l 97 5 )
Green, Marian. A Witch Alone (Aquarian Press 1 9 9 1 )
Grigsby,John. Utarriors efthe Utasteland:A Questfor the Pagan Sacrificial Cult behind
the Grail Legend (Watkins Publishing 2003)
Gwyn. Light From the Shadows: A Mythos efModern Traditional Witchcrqft (Ca pall
Bann Ltd 1 999)
Hartley, Christine. 1be U'estern Mystery Tradition ('The Aquarian Press 1 968
Hole, Christine. English Custom & Usage (B. T B atsford Ltd l 94 3)
"
British Fdk Customs (Hutchinson l 976)
Howard, Michael. 7he Sacred Ring; 7he Pagan Origins fBritish Fdk Festivals &
Customs (Capall Bann Ltd 1 99 5 )
Children fCain:A Study efModern Traditional Witches (1hree Hands Press
2 0 1 2)
Huson, Paul. Mastering Witchcrqft (Rupert-Hart Davies 1 970)
Hutton, Professor Ronald. 7he Stations f the Sun: A History fthe Ritual Year in
Britain (Oxford University Press l 996)
7he Triumph fthe Moon (Oxford University Press 1 999)
Jones, Gwyn and Jones, 'Thomas (trans) 1be Mabinogion (J.M. Dent 1 949)
Jones, E.O. Seasonal Feasts and Festivals (1hames & Hudson 1 9 6 1 )
Jones, Evan John. Witchcrqft: A Tradition Renewed (Robert Hale 1 990)
"
Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance (Llewellyn Publications USA l 99 7)
1be Roebuck in the 7hicket; An Anthology f the Robert Cochrane Witchcreft
Tradition (Capall Bann Ltd 2 00 1 )
Kiesel, William. Magic Circles in the Grimoire Tradition ('Three Hands Press USA
201 2)
Knight, Gareth. 1be Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend (Aquarian Press l 9 8 3)
"
Dion Fortune and the Magical Battle efBritain (Golden Gates Press, USA
1 993)
Merlin and the Grail Tradition (Skylight Press 20I I )
Larrington, Carolyne. King Arthur's Enchantresses: Morgan and Her Sisters in
Arthurian Tradition (l.B. Tauris 2006)
Lecouteux, Claude. Phantom Armies fthe Night (Inner Traditions USA 20 l l )
Leitch, Yuri. Gwyn. Ancient God {Glastonbury ('The Temple Publications 2007)
Lewis, Ralph Ritual Sacrifice: Blood and Redemption (Sutton Publishing 200 1 )
Long, George. We Folklore Calendar (Philip Allan l 934)
Loomis, Roger Sherman. 1be GrailFrom Myth to Christian Symbol ( 1 9 2 6 Constable
1 963)
Celtic Myth and Arthurian Romance ( 1 9 2 7 Constable 1993)

2I2
 Bihliography, references &>further reading

Lyon, Russell. 7he Questfor the Original Horse Whisperers (Luath Press 2003)
Kerven, Rosalind. Arthurian Legends: Retoldfrom Medieval Texts with Extended
Notes (National Trust Books 2 0 1 l )
Malory, Sir Thomas. Le Morte D'Arthur (William Caxton l 48 5. Penguin Books
edition l 969)
Mann, Nicholas R. 7he Isle q,fAvalon: Sacred Mysteries ifArthur and Glastonbury
(Green Magic 200 1 )
Markale,Jean. Merlin: Priest ifNature (Inner Traditions USA 1 99 5 )
Matthews, Caitlin. King Arthur and the Goddess ifthe Land (Inner Traditions USA
2002)
Matthews, John & Caitlin. 7he U't?stern l#ly: A Practical Guide to the U't?stern
Mystery Tradition. Vo/ L 7he Native Tradition ( Penguin Books l 98 5 )
Ladies ifthe Lake (1horsons l 992)
Matthews, John. Sir Gawain: Knight ifthe Goddess (Inner Traditions USA 2003}
Matarasso, Pauline (trans). 7he Quest ifthe Holy Grail (Penguin Classics l 969)
McNeill, F. Marian. We Silver Bough Vols I-III (William MacClaran l 96 l )
Monmouth, Geoffrey 0 History ifthe Kings ifBritain translated from the Latin
by Sebastian Evans (J.M. Dent 1 904)
Monmouth,John 0 Genuine Witchcrefi is Explained: 7he Secret History ifthe Royal
Windsor Coven & the Regency (Capall Bann Ltd 201 2).
Murray, Margaret Alice. 1be Witch Cult in U't?stern Europe (Oxford University
Press 1 9 2 1 )
Naddair, Kaledon. Ke/tic Folk & Faerie Tales (Century-Rider 1 9 87)
Nennius. Historia Brittonum (History if the Britons) translated from medieval
Welsh by J.A. Giles (].Bohn l 841)
Pearson, Nigel. Treading the Mill Practical Craft fVorking i n Modern Traditional
Witchcrefi (Ca pall Bann Ltd 2007)
Pennick, Nigel East Anglian Magic (Robert Hale Ltd l 995)
"
Operative Witchcraft (Lear Books 2 0 1 l )
7he Toadman (Society of Esoteric Endeavour 201 l )
Rankine, David and D'Este, Sorita. 1be Guises q,fthe Morrigan (Avalonia 2005)
Richardson, Alan (ed). Dancers to the Gods: 1be Magical Records q,fCharles Seymour
and Christine Hartley I937- I939 (1he Aquarian Press 1 9 8 5 )
Roberts, Andy and Clarke, David. Twilight if the Celtic Gods (Cassell l 996)
Robins, Don and Ross, Dr Anne. 1be Life and Death if a Druid Prince (Rider
1 9 8 9)
Roh-Wheeler, Francis. Mystic Gleams from the Holy Grail 1be Legend if Spiritual
Chivalry, the Mystery ifits Divine Origin, its Secret in the WOrld ifFaeries and its
High Initiation (Rider and Company n.d.)
Ross, Dr Anne. Pagan Celtic Britain (Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd l 967
Stewart, R.J. 1be Underworld Initiation (Aquarian Press l 98 5 )
"
We Living WOrld q,fFaery (Mercury Publishing USA l 99 5)
Troyes, Chretien de. Arthurian Romances translated from medieval French by
W.W. Comfort (JM.Dent & Sons 1 9 1 4)
Wells, Deborah. 7he Dark Man (0 Books 2 0 1 0)
Weston,}essie L. From Ritual to Romance:An Account ifthe Holy Grailfrom Ancient
Ritual to Christian Symbol (Cambridge University Press l 9 5 7 ).
 i N E>X
Abbots Bromley Horn Dance 143 castle 49, 53, 122, 124
Aine 70, 90 cat 14, 44, 129, 130
Alderley Edge 1 12 cauldron 28, 33, 54, 84, 87, 94, 144, 150
All Hallows 17, 22, 24, 80, 1 1 3 censer 33, 37, 153
ancestors 50, 64, 100, 1 14, 1 15 , 125, Ceridwen 28, 1 1 7, 1 3 1 , 144
138, 149, 201 Cerne Abbas 128
Anu 72 Christmas Bull 128
anvil 30 Chumbley, Andrew D. 8, 10, 30, 40,
apple 23, 139, 184, 193-96, 201, 208 50, 98
arrows 22, 24, 105, 167, 168, 193 cider 27, 69, 109, 127, 139
Arthurian legend 8, 9 , 28, 34, 35, 4 1 , Circle ofArte 1 3 , 2 1 , 22, 26, 27, 29,
47, 48, 72, 75, 78, 88, 1 0 1 , 104, 32, 42, 47, 49, 50, 52, 54, 106,
1 1 1 , 1 12, 122, 1 3 1 , 132 1 5 1 , 152
ash (tree) 21, 27, 48, 73, 98, 127 Clun 78, 121
Avalon 23, 34, 58, 83, 84, 102, 122, Cochrane, Robert 8, 13, 22, 29, 3 1 , 40,
123, 147, 149 52, 53, 81, 98, 144
Awen 28 Collen 1 23-24
badger 129-30 copper 26, 27, 36, 99, 193
balefire 30, 71, 125, 127 cord 3 1-32, 43, 52, 152, 167, 168, 180,
barley 24, 109, 1 93 1 89, 1 9 1 , 197-99
Befana 1 3 8 corn dolly 107, 108, 147, 1 97
beheading game 79 corn spirit 105, 107, 109
belladonna 27, 148 Crom Dubh 105, 107, 132
Beltane 16, 70, 71, 77, 82, 98 crossroads 1 1 , 16, 49, 51, 69, 78, 1 14,
Bercilak 80, 81 117
besom 26, 27, 33, 42, 93, 98, 144, 152, crow 14, 3 1
153, 1 74 Cultus Sabbati 1 3
birch 23, 27, 59, 72, 73, 78, 1 84 cup or chalice 27, 2 8 , 3 3 , 87, 102, 1 5 8
black cockerel 3 1 , 49 Dance of the Lame God 144
black dog 16, 45, 107, 120, 1 2 1 , 132 Dathen, Jon 91-92
blackthorn 27, 32, 78 Dennison, William 45
blasting rod 32 Diana 26, 75, 77, 85, 87, 1 1 9 , 1 2 1 , 1 3 8
blindfold 4 2 divination 1 3 , 30, 5 1 , 60, 72, 9 1 , 95,
boar 49, 6 1 , 80, 85, 86, 129, 1 3 1 1 13-15
Boscastle 30, 40 Dorset Ooser 128
Bran 28, 1 00, 1 0 1 , 1 3 1 dragon energy 34, 60
Brigid 57-6 1 , 72, 76, 179 druidism 9, 16, 47, 48, 70, 133
British Mystery Tradition 8, 9, 23 Dumb Supper 1 14, 125, 149
broomstick flying 1 1 , 26, 1 3 8 Edric, Earl 1 2 1
bull 1 5 , 22, 4 8 , 4 9 , 5 3 , 107, 128, 129, elder (tree) 1 1 , 24, 25, 9 1 , 148, 163,
132, 146 1 74, 1 80, 1 84, 1 89
Cadbury Castle 122-23 emerald 28
Cailleach 60, 6 1 , 62, 65, 72, 76, 107, Eostre 66, 67, 143
. 1 1 8, 127, 130, 1 3 1 Excalibur 34, 35, 87, 147
Candlemas 1 7, 23, 5 7 , 6 3 , 126, 1 3 5 Faerie 8, 10, 23-26, 34, 39, 59, 71, 72,
cardinal (compass) points 50-54, 106, 85, 9 1 , 92, 96, 130, 1 3 1 , 1 9 1 , 1 92
152, 153 Farr, Florence 50
 Index

Fates 14, 27, 3 1 , 36, 1 3 8 Herodias 89

Faunus 70, 74 Heydon,John 95
Ferrers, D'Arcy 135-36 Holda 9 , 14, 25, 26, 36, 1 1 8, 1 1 9 , 1 2 1 ,
Fisher King 102 1 3 1 , 132, 1 3 8 , 1 3 9
fly agaric 45, 71 hollow hill 8, 1 5 , 24 , 33, 3 8 , 5 2 , 71, 77,
flying ointment 26, 130 82, 103, 123, 135, 1 36, 149, 1 92
Fortune, Dion 9, 1 12, 122, 123 holly 22, 78, 79, 8 1 , 126, 1 3 1 , 135, 136,
fox 14, 22, 99, 129, 1 3 1 , 136, 148 163, 165, 167
foxglove 23-24 Holy Grail 9, 28, 29, 47, 84, 87, 88, 102
full moon 45, 46, 96, 106, 1 5 1 Hooded Man 16, 94
furrow 52, 108, 1 3 1 , 140, 147, 1 82 Horned God 12, 1 3 , 14, 2 1 , 22, 25, 29,
Gardner, Gerald 7, 1 4 43, 46, 48, 53, 75, 98, 1 1 1 , 1 1 8,
Garland,John 96 1 3 1 , 146, 147
Gawain 79, 80, 8 1 , 85-87, 100 Horseman's Word 10, 42
Glastonbury 8, 23, 58, 77, 98, 102, horse's skull 1 16, 128
103, 122, 123, 124 hounds 8 1 , 82, 83, 85, 107, 1 1 1 , 1 1 9 ,
goat 12, 1 5, 22, 25, 26, 43, 53, 6 1 , 107, 1 2 1 , 1 2 9 , 1 3 2 , 150
129, 132, 138, 150 Houzel 26, 27, 28, 46, 158
Goda, Lady 1 2 1 , 1 3 8 Huson, Paul 42, 51, 102
Godstone 2 9 Imbolc 16, 57, 58, 6 1 , 62
Good Friday 17, 68, 69 incense 36, 37, 42, 59, 104, 153
goose 14, 26, 27, 3 1 , 106, 107, 109, lne O!lane, Margaret 9 7
129, 1 3 1 , 132, 153, 157 initiation 8, 10, 28, 38, 40-45
Gowdie, Isobel 1 7, 36, 39 iron 2 1 , 26, 94, 102, 120, 1 8 9
Great Rite 27, 29, 70, 76, 82, 148 lsle ofMan 7, 76, 78, 9 7 , 133
Green Chapel 80 ivory horn 84-85
Green Jack 73, 75 ivy 23, 126, 163, 165, 167
Green Knight 79-80, 100 Jack-in-the-Green 73
Green Man 13, 14, 2 1 , 24, 73, 74, 75, Jack O'Lantern 24, 1 16, 150
78, 79, 99, 148, 1 84, 1 8 9 Joan the Wad 1 1 6
greenwood marriage 72 John Barleycorn 109, 149
Grimm,Jacob 66-67 Joseph ofArimathea 102, 123
Guest, Lady Charlotte 123 king of the faeries 15, 39, 150, 1 92
guisers 90, 1 15 , 1 1 6, 128, 129, 136 knife 25, 26, 32, 33, 52, 152, 168, 1 82,
Gwyn ap Nudd 77, 1 23-24 1 86, 194
hag riding 25 knotted cord 30-31
hagstone 30, 36, 1 3 1 Lady Day 17, 23, 6 1 , 64, 130
hare 14, 67-69, 107, 129, 130 Lammastide 17, 22,24, 97
Harlequin 1 3 6-37, 147 Liddell, E. W 100
Hartley, Christine 9 Lilith 122, 130, 1 3 1 , 1 5 1
harvesting 64, 97, 98, 105, 106, 107, Lindow Man 9 9
1 1 0, 1 1 1 , 1 3 1 Lord ofDeath 1 6
hawthorn 23, 72, 8 1 , 1 84 Lord o fMisrule 135, 136, 147
hazel 23, 32, 83 Lord of the Greenwood 14, 74, 148
head cult 79, 1 00-03 Lord of the Harvest 108, 109
Hecate 14, 69, 1 2 1 , 130 Lucifer 10, 1 5 , 29, 39, 54, 120, 124,
hedge 7, 27, 48, 65, 70 1 3 1 , 147
hemlock 72 Lugh 97, 105, 107, 109
henbane 27, 37 Lughnasadh 1 6 , 97, 107
hereditary witches 12, 44, 100 Mabinogion 100, 1 1 1 , 123
Herne the Hunter 15, 1 1 9-20 Mackenzie, Sir George 40
 Liher Nox

Magister 12, 1 3 , 22, 29, 32, 35, 43, owl 14, 120, 129-3 1 , 148, 1 50
125, 1 3 1 Padstow 73, 143
Magistra 1 3 , 2 9 , 35 Peak District 71, 72, 103, 104, 1 1 5
Man, Andro 96 Pearson, Alison 95
Man in Black 12, 1 5 , 16, 39, 44, 1 3 1 peat bog bodies 3 1 , 99-100
Mari Lywd 128, 129 Pendle witches 16
mask 12, 42, 43, 65, 73, 74, 1 15, 1 16, periwinkle 24-25
128, 129, 134-36, 144, 1 85 Pickingill Craft 53
Matronae 1 3 8 pine cone 24, 32
May Day 17, 23, 29, 67, 70, 1 4 8 ploughing 64, 70, 107, 109, 127, 139,
maypole 6 9 , 7 2 , 73, 7 7 , 1 5 1 , 1 86, 1 87 140
May Qeen 75-76, 78 Plough Monday 108, 127, 139, 140,
maze 30, 3 1 , 82, 144 143, 147
Maze Dance 144 Pole Dance 144
mead 27, 167, 1 74, 180, 1 84, 1 86, 1 8 8 Pole Star 52, 144, 1 5 1
measure 43 pomegranate 8 1 , 8 3
Merlin the Mage 9, 34, 47, 75, 84, 85, Pook's Hill 94
1 12, 1 17, 1 3 1 , 132 poppy 24, 37, 98, 148, 1 93
Michaelmas 1 7, 24, 106 Pratt, Elizabeth 1 1
Midsummer's Day 9, 17, 23, 79, 89, 109 Prieddu Annwn 28, 84
mill 29 Puck 93
Miller's Word 41 Pwyll 1 1 1
mirror 82, 1 1 5 quartz crystal 30, 59
mistletoe 22, 24, 163, 165 Qeen of Elfhame 8, 23, 39, 72, 8 1 -
moon/earth goddess 29, 70 8 5 , 9 5 , 96, 121 , 1 32, 148, 192
Moore, Alan 135 Qeen ofthe Harvest 107, 109
Morgan Le Fay 9, 34, 80, 81, 83, 84, Ragnall, Lady 86-87
94, 122, 123 ram 15, 22, 26, 43, 48, 49, 53, 65, 72,
Morris dancers 69, 76, 77, 128, 136 90, 99, 129, 132
mummers' play 128, 136, 143 raven 1 5 , 100, 129, 1 3 1
Museum ofWitchcraft 7, 30, 40 robed covens 10, 1 2
Myddffai 96 robes 3 5 , 1 5 2 , 1 5 8
myrrh 37 Robin Goodfellow 92-94, 1 1 6, 148
Nameless One 16 Robin Hood 1 5 , 75-78, 87, 94, 120,
Nephilim 51 129, 143, 148
New Forest 7 Rollright Stones 1 1 , 12, 29
Niall, High King oflreland 62 rosemary 72, 1 3 1 , 167
niding pole 21 Ross, Dr Anne 48, 104
Nodens 54 rowan 24, 25, 71, 72, 94, 97
Norns 14, 3 1 , 36, 1 3 8 Royal Windsor Cuveen 13, 98, 125
Nox 1 6 , 35 rue 72
oak 21 -24, 48, 58, 71, 74, 8 1 , 82, 1 1 9, sage 1 53
120, 127, 148, 197 salt 42, 49, 52, 94, 153, 157, 1 93, 1 96
oath 42-43 Samhain 16, 6 1 , 77, 80, 107, 1 1 3 , 125
Oberon 1 5 , 84, 94, 95, 148 Saturnalia 134-35
Ogier 83 scabbard 34
Old Father Christmas 128, 132, 163 scarecrow 109-1 1 , 149
Old Hornie 1 6 , 25 scourge 36
Old Mother Babushka 138 Scribe 13
Old Mother Redcap 44 Seer 13
Orkney Islands 45, 90, 109 self-initiation 44-46
 Index

Seymour, Charles 9 Tubal-Cain 15, 28, 36, 95, 102, 1 3 1

Shapechanging Dance 144 Turning the Mill 2 9
sheela-na-gig 62 Twelfth Night 120, 127, 134
shewstones 30 unicorn 81, 82, 83
sickle 22, 24, 29, 105, 1 94 Venerable Bede 66, 1 1 3, 127
silver 14, 36, 201 , 204 Verdelet 13
silver branch 23 virtue 40
Simpson, Dr Jacqueline 1 10 Vulcan 28, 70, 95
skull and crossbones 22, 1 5 1 , 1 93, 194 wand 32, 33, 59, 6 1 , 62, 78, 136
skyclad 10, 35 Ward 1 3
Sleeping Warriors 1 12, 122 Washer of the Ford 122, 131, 1 4 8
smith-god 15, 2 1 , 30, 33, 34, 70, 95 wassailing 139, 1 47
Snake Dance 144, 179 Watchers 5 1 -52, 150
snowdrops 23, 59, 60, 66, 1 74 Wayland the Smith 15, 28, 9 5
solar/sky god 29, 70 Way of the Book 44
soul cakes 1 14, 1 1 5 well-dressing 104
Sovereignty 2 9 , 34, 62, 87, 95, 9 8 , 101 , Wellow 76
132, 147 wells and springs 60, 6 1 , 67, 72, 1 0 1 ,
spear 82, 87, 97, 102, 107, 123, 147 104, 123
Spiral Dance 144 wheat 24, 59, 97, 1 93
stag 15, 22, 43, 48, 53, 69, 72, 75, 76, White Lady 8 1 , 1 1 3 , 1 1 7
78, 85, 86, 1 1 1 , 1 1 9, 120, 129, white sow 1 1 3
132, 148, 150 white stag 78, 85, 86, 132
St Andrew's Day 17 wights 10, 28, 140, 152, 159, 1 82
stang 1 3 , 2 1 -25, 32, 33, 42, 43, 50, 52, Wild Hunt 8, 1 1 , 1 5 , 24, 26, 30, 63,
54, 97, 144, 151, 152, 163, 167, 72, 77, 83, 89, 94, 1 1 8-25 , 128,
168, 1 74, 1 79, 1 89, 1 93 , 197 1 3 1 , 132, 136-38, 144, 149, 1 79
St Duzaz menhir 29 Williamson, Cecil Hugh 7, 12
Stewart, R.J. 92, 95, 1 1 1 Williamson, John 8 1 , 82
stile 27, 33, 42, 1 1 7, 153 will-o'-the-wisp 1 1 6, 150
St John's Eve 1 7, 89-91 willow 23, 27, 32, 59, 78, 1 84
St John's wort 23, 91 Windsor Castle 1 1 9-21
St John the Baptist 89 wine 27, 28, 136, 139, 159, 166, 174,
stone (as ritual object) 29, 30, 33, 45, 1 80-82, 1 84, 201 , 204, 208
46, 52, 54 witch blood 44, 50, 5 1 , 96
stone circles/megaliths 10, 1 1 , 46-48, witches' ladder 3 1
60, 92, 107, 126 witch-god 14-16, 3 3 , 74, 8 1 , 92, 94,
Stonehenge 29 123, 1 3 1
St Winifrede 101 witch-goddess 1 4 , 16, 2 1 , 23-26, 3 1 ,
Summoner 1 3 60, 83, 87, 120, 130
sun wheel 5 9 witch's girdle 3 1
sword 29-35 , 42, 43, 52, 87, 152, 153 Witheridge 89
Sword of Light 33-35, 43, 147 Woden 1 5 , 94, 109, 1 1 8, 128, 132,
Sylvanus 15, 74, 121 136, 150
Tau cross 22, 148, 157 woodwose 75
Thomas the Rhymer 85 wort-cunning 10, 14
Tir-na-nOg 6 1 wren 133
toad 10, 40, 44, 45, 49 Wyrd Sisters 27, 36, 138
Toadmen 10 yew 2 1 , 24, 25, 37, 126
Toland,John 70 Ynys Witrin 77
Tuatha de Danaan 33 Yule 17, 22, 126
 cJrZczse an/ imJOltant treatise
lefineates between Pari<JUS l111Ylem neu-f'f}an Wiccan traliti(!rtS,
cunni'!!}fol!,, tralitiJrZS, heatffln foll_ (Jr }<ffan( anl an
assortment of rituaf m'f}icians anlyatf?w(Jrhers in (Jrler w
!resent a jrama[!je' distinct(Jf(Jr tf0-se who ire w 'Ofl
Cn{t.' .An e;perience'.JractitiJrZer, writer, researcher,fol!,,fonst
an/m'f}azine editor of res_fectelwitchcr{t m'f}azine,
CauflrM {since f 976}, Howarlefucilates im.f'ntant ekments
oj_ t TralitiMafCr{t, incfuli'!!};r9amtiJrZ rituafs, tovfst
i Me,'fenowsh!f J coven anl casti'!!} of circ es,
fina!fJ tafii'!!J h Wheef of Year an/ t
us

asscrtment of sacrdrites asJerfrmdwitfi?n.

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