Worlds - The Cosmology of the Pagan

I thought I would attempt to put together a very quick and to the point essay on the worlds in the pagan cosmology as my tradition understands them. This, hopefully, will help define our way of thinking about life, death, and what else is to come.

The Middle Garth. That is where we live right now. This reality where we work, play, love, hate, live, and die. The term Middle Garth is the Anglo-Saxon term and has been used by us for a very long time. I suspect it is a hold over of Anglo-Saxon invasion, but no certain documentation details why we call it that.

The Land of the Dead - or Hell - This is where all shades end up after the body dies. It is a place of repose, if you will, and not a place of torment. Originally, the term Hell, was actually the name of a Norse goddess called Hel. She ruled the underworld and kept the dead in her halls. The Christians usurped the name and made it a place where the bad folk went, which included pagans.

Upper Garth - This is the land of the gods. The places where one can go if one is taken by a god to be at their side. This is also a place of the fey. Or the land of Faerie. Entry to this land could be gained by death, or at certain times of the year through a howe or grave mound. Some unfortunates inadvertently followed parades of merry peoples into caves and were never heard from again, or if they did come back out it was many years later.

In many other pagan cosmologies have many other world. The Norse have nine worlds each containing spirits or gods, and some even giants or Jotuns. The above is a basic outline of my tradition and how we see things.

I hope this brief introduction helps make some sense of one pagans way and will give you a guide to more investigation.

Until next time.....

Magick Day to Day

I was reading at a party not long ago and many asked me if I actually believed the things that I do.. It never occurred to me that there may be any question of validity or belief in my practices. So, I decided in this post to address the question of what we do at Arcanus and what we do in our every day lives.
Lets take a look at divination. I utilize methods every day to help guide me on the path that I have chosen. I also use it to get advice on issues that may confound me at some level. I use anything from the Tarot, to Runes, to the bones to get the answers to my questions. This helps level the playing field for me daily. Divination is not just for a once a month touch stone. It is a tool that begs usage in our day to day lives.
Now to Magick. This is always a part of my life. I may cast spells for prosperity, health, good weather, and even love. It all depends on my need and if I feel the universe could use a little more ordering or a bit of a push. In my traditions, we consider magick as another tool in the spiritual toolbox and we have no issue utilizing it to help us.
I like working up a Rune spell to bring me luck throughout the day. Also a little push for love doesn't hurt.
The important thing is that all the things that we do and present at Arcanus is a huge part of our every day living. We use it personally as well as helping others. I encourage you, if you are just starting out, to try to incorporate your practices into every aspect of your life. Hell, even use a bit of sorcery to get a better parking spot. It is a tool after all.. Why not use it...?

Until next time........

The Queen of Elphame

Who is the Lady that we lift up our voices to? Who is the Great Mother that turns the wheel of nature? She is the Queen of Elphame. The Fairy Queen. The Queen of the Hollow Hills. The Queen of the Dead. Through the centuries those of the Traditional Witchcraft bent would make their prayers and supplications to gain the favour of this wonderful and frightening Matron. She who could turn the powers and grant miracles. To this day we still honor and make our prayers to she of the wee folk.

She gives us life and grants us death when we walk the crooked paths of our traditions. With her consort, the Master or Horned One, we cast our spells and bend the natural world to our will. She has been called by many names, Annis, Hecate, etc.. But through all time, she has ruled the lands of night. To see her is to know true beauty, and true terror. To honor her is to know true love and experience the dark ways of all things. She is truly great, and truly terrible. But in all the one to whom we see as the true embodiment of above and below. A true Queen.

Herbs and Psalms... Healing with the Psalter

Through the centuries cunning men and women cast healing spells using herbs, blessed waters, and many potions derived from the natural world. When Christianity started to take hold, many practitioners turned to a great wealth of magickal information most commonly known as The Psalms. They would prepare their mixtures and pray a particular Psalm over it to empower the components and speed them on their way to their intended purpose.

This practice became a very common feature of cunning sorcery and also helped get a pass from the local vicar or other church official. For if one were to be found using the "word of God" in their healing, then they couldn't be of the Devil. Could they? In nearly every home of a healer, you would find the family Bible. Chocked full of births, deaths, and healing formulas. Indications of which Psalm did what and which herbal preparation gave healing and wholeness to the subject. So in effect, these Bibles would become the grimoires of the natural sorcerer, or witch. Hiding in plain sight, if you will.

Thus the local parishioners would look at the cunning man or woman as an asset to the community and blessed of God. And many were of the Christian ilk, but many  more were of an older way and their gods were draped in the cloak of those in power. In the times when no one was listening, they would call to the Master of the Art, or the Mistress of the Path to open the ways and grant them power. The horned father would be asked to bless their path and guide their hands in their work. Of the Devil? Certainly to the uninformed and crazed church official, but that was never for their eyes. Only for the eyes of those of the same blood. The same path. The same gods.

There are many very good books on the subject of using Psalms in casting spells and performing healings. One of the most popular, especially with the Hoodoo folks, is The Power of the Psalms by Anna Riva. One of my personal favorites, which also includes a bit of Kabbalah, is Secrets of the Psalms by Godfrey A. Selig. It is a bit harder to find, but well worth the effort. Within the pages of the aforementioned books you will find many uses that could take a person down a long road of craft and cunning. To some using the works of Christianity seems incongruous with the pagan path of witchery, but remember this... Power is power. Here is an example of using an herb in healing a cut from my families store of knowledge, though the language is somewhat archaic, it lends itself to the mystical use -

 "This physick I know from old times for hurts of the flesh... Take ye of an amount Old Man's Pepper and press it into the wound. Look to the North saying -

'To the lands of the departed do I cast my minds eye. Draw back the flow and staunch the flood. Hold and Heal. Wend and wane. And keep ye safe from harm.'

Recite Psalm 147 and the malady shall be remedied."

Note: The secrets of  using the Psalms is to know which passages to utter in concordance with the purpose intended.

Somewhat simple, but used for years to heal cuts and scrapes and stop the bleeding of various wounds. Old Man's Pepper is an old name for Yarrow. A very efficacious herb. And I, personally, have benefited from this spell when I was but a child. Try it and look into use of the Psalms in your work, you may be surprised at how powerful you can be.

Until next time....

Announcement - Traditional Witchcraft Class Series

Arcanus is very pleased to announce this exciting upcoming series of classes on Traditional Witchcraft. This course takes you through all of the aspects needed to begin your journey along the path of lifestyle Witchcraft, and provides enough material and tools to truly set you on the path of right life. Along with expert tuition, tools and hand-outs, a certificate is provided upon successful completion.

This course is slated to begin in early February 2014. Classes will be two hours in length, and will be held once a week for six weeks. We will be accepting a minimum of four students and a maximum of eight. As soon as we have the attendee list formed, we will verify the best time and day of the week for all involved.

Traditional Witchcraft Synopsis -

        Class 1 – The Base - History, Lore, and Tradition 

Class 2 – The Tools -  Stones, Bones, and Herbology 

Class 3 – The Players -  Gods, Spirits, and the Dead 

Class 4 – The Light -  Divination, Spells and Charms 

Class 5 – The Dark -  Ethics, Hexes, Curses and Familiars 

Class 6 – Your Beginning -  Initiation, Ritual, and Communion

Tuition for the Traditional Witchcraft course is only $240, which covers all classes, plus all hand outs, tools and baubles that will be given away. (For those that have taken previous classes, be assured that there is very little overlap in this course). 

You may enroll now by visiting this page:

http://www.arcanusmagickus.com/Classes.html 

If you have any questions prior to enrolling, please call David at (303) 800-5793.

See You There!

Toads

I decided to do this entry on the much maligned and greatly overlooked familiar of witches, the Toad. The Toad has been associated with conjurers and cunning folk for centuries and is even mentioned in the Witches Hammer as a way to single out one of our kind.
So what makes the Toad so special? Certainly not the warts and ruddy brown complexion. Historically it was a certain bone that was contained within the confines of the Toad itself that when gathered in a certain way it gave the sorcerer power. Much has been written on this practice, so I won't go into it here. Suffice it to say that I have never felt the need to slaughter Mr. Toad in pursuit of said bone, but have instead utilized the amphibious witches familiar for more benign operations. They are quite amazing creatures when one actually spends time with them. They have personalities and it can bee seen why they were considered imps of the Devil. My own  Toad, Mr. Hobbs, has been with me some time and lends his own magickal elements to my workings when done in my personal temple. He also has given me insight into the realms of the dead, for the Toad is a great guide down that rabbit hole.
Their long life and interesting habits lend them to the witch as a magickal companion to enhance ones workings and just lend a bit of friendship, though be it a bit warty.

That's it for now.. Until next time.....

Traditional Witchcraft

As many of our clients and friends are aware, I was raised in a non-Wicca Traditional Witchcraft tradition. Many have asked what exactly is Traditional Witchcraft and what are it's practices? In this short post, I will list some of the practices that my family has been part of for generations and hopefully give a bit of an insight into what we actually do...

Traditional Witchcraft is not Wicca. It is based upon older practices that would be considered almost shamanic in some respects. We have a matron goddess and a patron god, but we also work with other deities and spirits. Spirits are hugely part of our work. Both ancestral and other. We do not particularly practice a great many festivals as do Wiccans, but have a handful of celebrations of which we take part. Yule, Beltaine, and Samhain are three of the main ones that occupy our focus.

We do not go in for circles much unless we need to generate and focus a great deal of power. For to us the land is sacred and so are we so protection abounds within us all.
We also do not invest in a great number of "sacred" objects. All that we use are fairly mundane. We have a sharp knife, a cauldron, a staff or wand, a stang, and other items that are utilized. However, we are just as likely to cast a spell with our knife and cauldron in the evening and make breakfast with the same tools the next morn. In the using, they attain their magick and so are not magickal in and of themselves.
The power lies in the sorcerer.
We believe that one can curse as well as cure and that one must know both sides in order to be powerful and useful. For there is no light or dark, there is just energy and how one  uses it is up to them. We do not have the law of three that Wiccans do as we do not believe that we will bring back the energy upon us if we curse. However, we do believe that if you go around cursing for the sake of cursing, then someone else will eventually give you a slap, so you must use that power judiciously.
We do not go in for huge, elaborate rituals. These are time consuming and my ancestors had animals to tend and crops to bring in. So we build up the energy and cast the spell and away we go. That is one reason for the small number of tools that are actually used.

Well, that is about it for now.. I will add more to this subject as time permits.

Until the next time.......

The Fool!

Since we will be discussing "The Fool's Journey" at our Meet-Up group this month, I thought we would quickly revisit this card . . . 

Major Arcana - The Fool!

  In the house of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, the very first card we find is "The Fool". This card is typically given the number zero, and the Major Arcana itself is sometimes called "The Fool's Journey"! In this capacity, the Major Arcana follows the Fool on his physical and spiritual journey through life and through the Major Arcana itself as he meets various people and entities, and goes through numerous emotional and spiritual change.

  So who is this Fool? Well, if we are very lucky, it is us! The Fool represents many things. He is childlike innocence, and one who still views the world with a sense of wonder. He wanders through his life with his head in the clouds and is awestruck by the miracles around him. In the traditional symbology, he is so oblivious to his surroundings that he does not even notice that he is about to step off a cliff, even though the little dog at his feet is trying to warn him! Over his back he carries a sack on a stick. This sack contains everything that The Fool needs to get him through his life, if only he would stop long enough to open it up and learn the secrets that it holds.

  If you are interested in learning more about The Fool, feel free to access this free report on him that we at Arcanus have put together for you. Here's the link:

http://www.privatetarot.com/Reports/The_Fool. pdf

  Do you have your own interpretation of this card? As always, we would love to hear from you!