Advice for the Prentice Witch

Words to the Wise

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1. Spontaneous Living

Try to remember, day to day, week to week, that the cycles of Nature, and all of Her
manifestations, are ancient beyond the ability of our entire species to conceive of, or even
remember. The great forces that worked at Old Fate's will to cause this world we live in, and all
of us, are powerful, vast, and they take precedence over all the silly things that we think are so
important.

So, everyday, take time to quietly appreciate the Primal and Ancient spirit in Nature around you,
which sleeps under tree roots and in the ground, and in the sounds of birds, and in the immense
feeling of night, and try to realize that there is a dark chaos and randomness inherent in Nature,
beautiful and sometimes frightening, that emerges into patterns at times, and breaks down into
wildness at others. This is true for humans and animals as well.

So don't try to be any certain way, just observe your surroundings, and let yourself be, think, and
feel anything that you happen to be experiencing. Everything that is happening is happening just
as it should be. When you eat, or drink, the power in the food and liquid cycles through you, as it
cycled through a thousand changes to reach you. It went from darkness to light, from unmanifest
to growth to manifest, to transformation, and you are just one more link in that chain. Then think
what larger forces YOU are moving through, and how they are changing you.

The eating and drinking of food is an offering to the Greater force of Nature, which operates
though you. It likewise returns the power to you in the form of your next meal. What is taken is
given, and what is given is taken. This is part of the Mystery of Wholeness.

Find peace with being a part of this world, and simply be.

You are not "IN" a world, you ARE a world.

You did not come INTO this world, you came OUT OF this world.

You will not "leave" this world at death, you will RETURN into the inner dimension of this
world at death.

This is the Mystery of Involvement.

The Landscape features are Gates, Gates into the Eternal Reality that underlies and co-exists
seamlessly with this one. Understand that You are as much a part of the environment as a tree or
a rock, or a cat, a horse, or the wind. Anything is as much a part of things as anything else. This is
more of the Mystery of Wholeness. It's not really a mystery at all.

Having an intimate and sacramental relationship with the land around you, which you are part of,
is part and parcel of returning to the "old" way of thinking. You are a part of the land that you
walk upon. Think of youself as a 'moving' part of the environment. Also, having peace with all of
the things about you that you once thought were bad or undesirable is part of the Grace of Nature.
"Good" and "Bad" are labels, and any force that is labeled with one of these names is just as
much a part of Nature as its supposed "opposite". Being a part of Nature means finding peace
with yourself, ALL of yourself, and peace with where and what you are.

2. Use of the Cunning Mind

Learn how to achieve a solid trance state, and set aside some time on at least one day a week
practicing it, and remaining in this altered state at various outdoors and indoors locations, and
recording the impressions and images that you receive from this exercise in perceiving
"extrasensory reality". Learn how to use your will to change your state of awareness, and
experience the world in new ways.

The most important part of any trance state is that you feel that the boundaries between "you" and
the "world around you" are dissolving, and you feel an expansion of "self" from "individual" to
"world". There are many ways of going about this- which is nothing more or less than realizing
that at the deepest levels, you are part of all that is, and you can take all knowledge and all being
into yourself, to discover things, attain wisdom and insight.

After you are proficient at this, you can use it to intuit the answers to questions, and to divine
with any of the traditional methods, or by simply watching the trees and the wind and animals.
See "Meadows of Elfhame" for more info on this.

3.Red Meal and Hallows

Do the Red Meal Once a week. Look at the 'Red Meal' essay for more details. Pick a day and
stick with it; I suggest Wednesday or Saturday. Also, do a Red Meal on full moons. Find a large
Old Tree or an old natural area, a cemetery, or very old stone, to act as the point at which you
leave your Bread and Drink offerings, or a spring, pond, or finally, any piece of ground with soil
and grass.

When you become proficient at Trance work, enter into a light trance when you do the Red Meal
and experience the changes in reality that your words and actions and intentions bring about as
you do it. To be able to feel and sense the presence of the departed, of the land spirits, or the True
Beings/gods as you speak to them (and you can use the Red Meal to do petitions, if you like) is a
great experience.

Also, on the Yule-Litha Axis, or on the Five Hallows, study the symbolism of the Old Holy Days,
and do rites, no matter how simple, to mark the occasion. Chiefly, all you must do is build a
bonfire and consecrate it with prayers to the Old Ones, and do a somewhat larger and more
lengthy Houzle, and meditate and pray to the Powers to talk to you in that silent space within
where the top of the spine meets the skull. The symbolism of the 'Five Hallows' has become
common in modern Craft, and has been discussed in many places. I include it here for your
reference. Just bear in mind that a "ritual" is nothing more than a recognition of a power or nature
that is present at a place or present in the season, coupled with an honest and meaningful gesture
done in recognition of that.

***

January 28-February 7: CANDLEMAS "Candle Mass", also called "Witches' Night"; The feast of
lights, symbolized by a five-branched staff; wherein the light-crowned Bride or Queen emerges,
showing the wane of the Winter-Court, and the disappearance of the Feeorin Rade. The
quickening or stirring of the sleep of the Land-Serpent;

April 29-May 7 ROODMAS "Summer Mass", the Bright Axis-night of the year-wheel, in which
Summer's powers take the Crown of Heaven and fertility Reigns, also the marriage-feast of
Heaven and Earth. Symbolized by a Tree or upright stone. The awakening of the Land Serpent;

July 30-August 7 LAMMAS "Loaf Mass", the bread and harvest festival that shows the wane of
the Summer Powers and mourns the death of the Earth-Dwelling Spirit of the Land, King Light,
John Barleycorn, or Puck, killed by the scythe at Harvest, to ensure the fertility of the Land next
year. Symbolized by a Scythe, or Bare Tree. The drowsing or the resting of the Land-Serpent;

October 31-November 7 HALLOWMASS "Sacred Mass", also called HOLLANTIDE; the Dark
Axis-night of the year, in which Summer's powers fade and the crown of Heaven is passed to the
Winter Court, and becomes the Crown of the Underworld, and the emergence of the Feeorin
Rade. The Sleep of the Land Serpent, in which it's dreams become the strange warp and
confusion of reality. Symbolized by the skulls of goats or horned beasts, and by animal masks
and apples.

This is the dissolution of the "spirament" or power of reality, in which the deep indwelling
"power" of all things becomes like that which existed in the Old Night of the Beginning, thus, the
"walls" or "structure" of the Nine Worlds is highly flexible and malleable, making otherworldly
visitations simple, and time does not operate as it should, making divination very simple;

December 16-27 MODRANIHT, YULETIDE, or MOTHER'S NIGHTS: The 12 nights around

the Winter Solstice, in which the dissolved reality re-shapes as a "child" resting in the Mother's
Arms, who promises to renew the Summer Court one day, all the while sleeping amid the
wandering host of the boiling/wailing Underworld, who scour the world of the living looking to
assuage their own conflicts and desires on those who are vulnerable. The dreamless sleep of the
Land Serpent.

***

4. Try Advanced Things A Little At A Time

After a few Hallows have passed, and you have faithfully lived according to these ideas, pick one
of the Advanced workings at "Meadows of Elfhame", such as the "Rite of the Goat's Fire", or the
"Finding of a Familiar", and try it. Keep trying them until you succeed. With patience and
steadiness, you will. Attempts to enter the Underworld lucidly, and other rituals described in
Robin Artisson's book "The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill" (available at the Bookstore linked
to this site) are suggested. Evan Jones' book "The Roebuck in the Thicket" is a veritable treasure
trove of Traditional Rites that you can work your way through, during your development. Also,
R.J. Stewart's book "The Underworld Initiation" is something you should read and put to practise
at this crucial time.

5. Become a Scholar

Cunning Men and Women in the Past were walking libraries of Esoteric Knowledge. Buy as
many reputable and authentic book sources as you can about the Old Craft and collect them, read
them, integrate them into your practise, (the parts you find that call to you) and memorize them.
Many books have been suggested other places, but naturally, Nigel Jackson's works, as well as
Nigel Pennick's, Anne Ross, Paul Huson, R.J. Stewart, Evan Jones, Katherine Briggs, Robert
Cochrane, Gwyn, and Andrew Chumbley are good starters (and finishers). Basically, you need to
collect books on the Occult and on Folklore and Witchcraft, any and all books, excluding silly
wicca books put out there by Llewellyn, and become a scholar on the subject.

6. Bear in Mind that this Spirituality is also a Religion

While you are living all the other pointers, remember that these ways, and the world-view that
springs from them, are the sacred and holy ways of our ancestors, and treat the Craft with
reverence. Genuinely pray to the Master, The most powerful of all the spirits or Gods to the old
Crafters: himself the Ancient All-Father of our ancestors, in whatever form you picture him, but
if you plan on being a Witch of the Old Persuasion, you need to research his traditional
manifestations. A Dark Man on a Dark Horse, with Antlers or Goat's Horns is a fine starter, but
likewise is the image of the "Coal Black Smith", with Rams' Horns, and hammer and Tongs, and
a Bright Fire. br>

Also, pray to the unseen forces below the Land, and to the Bloodmother or the Dame Herself,
thinking of her as a Shadowy and Titanic Matriarch or Ancestress, YOUR Ancestress, your
ultimate origin, and the being that will "gather you home again" after your death. Mother Nature,
in the greatest sense. She has much to teach, as well. It is her very being and body that you and I
and everything are already a part of, and our souls may well be reflections of her unfathomable
Self.

When you pray or have moments of inner clarity or communion with the Old Powers, REALLY
mean it, and really have faith that your thoughts and words have subtle affects on the world
around you, and can echo into Fate and into the rest of eternity, and that the Gods can hear you,
as well as lesser spirits that may be "nearby". Say what you mean, and mean what you say.

Develop a real relationship with these Ancient Beings, who are very real, and very responsive if
you approach them with seriousness. Develop a real relationship to the Land by sharing offerings
of Milk with the ground and the roots of large, old, local trees.

Try to control your learned-from-birth reaction to say "Jesus!" or "God!" when you are shocked,
and replace these exclamations with terms more proper to the Old Faith. The religion of
christianity must be de-programmed, slowly. Don't ever use the term "God", because it has too
many loaded connotations; Try to replace, on every level, your old concept of "god" with
"Mother", or with "The Old One" or "Dark One" or "Bloodmother", "The Lady" "Great One", or
"Good Woman".

If you prefer the more masculine branch of the Old Ways, instead of God say "Cunning Master",
"Old Man", or "Master".

You are a witch; think and talk like one. It takes time.

7. Live according to your own heart; Take responsibility for your actions.

Follow your heart, and take command of your life; do and go where you feel guided to go, and
live a life of peace and contentment. Trust yourself, and your inner voice. Don't do a job that
makes you unhappy, or stresses you out till you are dead. Contentment and freedom is worth
more than any amount of money. Do something that gives you peace. Never stop learning, and
never let other people tell you what to think.

Magister Cochrane said that the "Prime Duty of the Wise was involvement." So be involved in
your world, and when you see something that you know to be wrong, say it. You must harm other
life to live, you cannot avoid that, but treat life as a precious manifestation of the mystery, and
never disrupt the flow of power from one world to the next without a very good reason.

Be thankful for the beasts and plants that die so that your life can continue. You take them into
you, and become one with them. They also merge with the Land, entering into the unborn state.
You also merge with the Land one day. The Land takes all and gives all. It is very sacred.

Do not be dishonest to others, because every time you are, your own secret, internal opinion of
yourself suffers. Do not undermine your own sense of self-worth. It is hard for a liar to truly
"believe in themselves" and you must believe in yourself to be a Witch.

Do not be quick to judge others. Remember that a thousand unseen forces move behind the
scenes of every situation and even the most cunning cannot see them all. When you do make a
judgment, do it only after time and much observation. Don't tolerate others who deceive and harm
others for their own self-glorification.

Do not allow the 'Animal' part of yourself to completely dictate your actions, chiefly by not
allowing your temper to become destructive or harmful to yourself or others, and by never
allowing yourself to harm others when you satisfy your very natural and normal sexual urges. Do
not repress your emotions, but at the same time, do not allow them to over-ride your mind and
your better senses. Accept that these strong forces surge inside you, and accept that they are part
of you, and perfectly natural-and channel their force elsewhere, if you must.

Sex between consenting people of sound mind and maturity is perfectly fine, no matter what, but
do not hurt gullible or easy to manipulate people just to satisfy yourself. With the power of a
cunning mind, and the ability to have trust from others, or influence over others, comes a certain
responsibility.

We must always take responsibility for our own actions. We must embrace, totally, the light and
dark inherent in our own natures, but we must not allow extremes of one nor the other to control
us. This is the state of being that a person must seek if they wish to comprehend the Mystery that
transcends duality and reveals wholeness. The Old Masters and the Gods dwell in this state of
balance, and part of our experience in this state is to become more like them, to one day join the
'Hidden Company" of realized Souls.

Live life to the fullest, eat, drink, and be merry, but care for your body, because it is precious, and
powerful. Lack of health will undermine the body's ability to produce power and to produce the
Trance.

Enjoy the Ale at parties or at feasts, but do not abuse it, or any substance that alters the mind.
Always be moderate in the use of intoxicants. A witch, more than most people, must have a clear,
healthy mind most of the time, to aid in their Craft, and in seeking the Mystery.

8. Seek the Mystery

The mystery has been discussed at length in my essays, in my book, at Meadows of Elfhame, and
in a thousand other places. There can be no peace nor wisdom, nor the culmination of your
human purpose, until you become consciously aware of the timeless. That is the Mystery, and the
path to it. Seek this Mystery, and use all of your abilities, all of your resources, and all of your
spare time to try to comprehend it for what it is.

Find the Roebuck in the Thicket. Be a servant and a lover of the Witch's Fire that burns in you. It
is what we are, and what you are. It can accomplish anything, overcome anything, create
anything. It is the might of the Old Ones in us, and we are of them. Stay close to the Land, which
conceals all secrets.