The Solitary Witch - A Path Misunderstood !

The word Witch usually for most of us is associated with pointy hats, black cat’s large warts and cauldrons containing eye of newt. With film and television came an additional play on the theme with the Wicked Witch of the West all the way though to the more modern Blair Witch. However, the similar running factor in the silver screens adaptation on the Witch was that the witch was evil! This pretty much covers our view of witches, our stereotype we have given them of being evil and all in all bad people, who could not possibly be a part of our normal community.

History it seems has had this view too, persecuting the witch through time, pushing them out of our communities and even hunting them down. From the witch trials and subsequent killings of witches in the middle ages right through to modern times when the differences of the witches beliefs are seen as wrongful by usual religions.

Ironically though witchcraft, as its known is actually an older belief system than many modern religions, which seek so hard to label it as evil. It’s possible to trace some of its origins right back to prehistoric times. Where the first gods to be worshipped would be those of the hunt, as this would be related directly to man’s source of food. Following the development of farming, which created the second source of food, a second god was created. As the hunt was tended by the men, the related God was identified as male, the Father God. And as the crops were tended by the women the God associated with this was identified as female, the Mother Goddess. These are thus referred to as the God and Goddess of witchcraft today.

As the Witches religious practices became more refined, certain men and women developed an affinity for their worship and became leaders in the rituals. These individuals became known as the Priests and Priestesses. As the seasons changed, so did the needs of the people, creating set days for the rituals to be performed. Each of the rituals was specialised for the needs of the people and the seasons. The Sun and the Moon movements would determine this too. Creating most celebrations on the solstices, Full and New Moon, possibly even equinoxes.

As man evolved further he began to classify things to masculine and feminine, determining which deity would be responsible for certain things. The Moon was determined to have feminine qualities and naturally associated with the Goddess. The Sun was in a similar way associated with the God. The Horned God became a solar deity and the Goddess a lunar one. More Gods and Goddesses were added to have influence over every facet of human life.

As religion developed over time these principles remained similar across the board, with variations and changes to names and types of Gods. It wasn’t until Christianity became the main religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th Century that it began to spread across the continent. It was the far reaches of the Roman Army which aided its quick growth.

As we enter the Middle Ages Christianity continued to grow with the aid of Missionaries. Who would entre territories and try and convert them from the top down. The monarch and more populated areas would be targeted first. They set up Christian altars in the same place as Pagan ones. This meant the towns were converted, but those who lived out in the country were left worshipping the old religions. They became known as Pagans. The Christian soon labelled these Pagans as heathens or non-believers. Then they brought in the Inquisition to convert everyone to Christianity. They labelled deities of old as Satan, by associating the Horned God with the devil. They used death and torture to force the people to convert. Their message was clear, convert or suffer the consequences.

This would lead into the Witch Hunts, where individuals were tried for their beliefs in the old ways. Once accused of being a Witch there was little chance of escape and the torture was so great that the individual would usually confess to anything.

As the Trials continued across the continent and many lost their lives, the Craft was driven underground, which is where it would remain and still does today really. However, through time it has had associations with key figures. Amongst these were William II, King Edward III, Duchess of Salisbury, and others.

As the 1800’s drew to a close it would have seemed that the old religion of Witchcraft had died out. The trials had left numerous lies and half-truths in the place of Witchcraft, and it seemed there was no one to speak on behalf of the Witches. However, a book called Aradia: The Gospel of the Witches emerged at the turn of the century. Its author Charles Leland passed on information from a practicing Italian witch. This acknowledged that the craft hadn’t yet died out totally.

As the last of the anti-witchcraft laws was withdrawn in 1951, Gerald Gardener wrote a series of books. These books told of witchcraft through the eyes of its practitioners. Correspondents from other covens came to Gardener from all over the world, each coven believing that they were the last. Although it had gone under ground the craft was still as strong as ever. Right up until his death in 1964 Gardener helped to found many covens and bring witchcraft to new generations.

It was at this time whilst Gardener was trying to sort things out and bring some order to the craft, that much of the current Wiccan Rituals were developed. As ever with witchcraft many accused Gardener of making it all up. However, Doreen Valiente has found evidence to prove the existence of Gardener’s High Priestess, Dorothy Clutterbuck and thus validating his information. Gardener played a large part in the crafts revival and was a trained witch. He drew from his sources, rituals that had meaning and embodied the spirit of what the witches’ ancestors celebrated.

Others came forward in Gardener’s wake and wrote books on the craft, such as Alexander and Maxine Sanders, Robert Cochrane and Ray Buckland. The craft was at the beginning of a revival and clearly had a lot to offer. Witchcraft has become, I suppose it always was, a beautiful religion, which has been based a little on tradition. However, the craft has now been rebuilt using many disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, and others. The religion holds many possibilities for people in modern society.

During 1974, the Council of American Witches came together and drew up a “Principles of Belief”. These were deemed to be the core principles of the Wiccan belief.

Following this many new leaders and authorities have emerged, such as Laurie Cabot, Stewart and Janet Farrer and Silver Ravenwolf. As with many subjects and causes the internet has exploded the ability to communicate with others and exchange information. Witchcraft, although an ancient belief is no exception to this technology and as others, has benefitted from it also. Witches now communicate, exchange ideas and information faster than ever, helping the craft to grow stronger.

However, even today it seems that admitting that you are a witch is not easy. Telling friends and family that your chosen religion is that of witchcraft, is still not accepted like that of Christianity. So, why in this day and age, when an individual’s freedom to choose is so prominent do witches remain in the shadows?

So, what would we define a modern day witch as, someone who hasn’t got a job, lives off the land with natural remedies? Well maybe, but in fact they are more likely to be anyone you know. I spoke to a modern day solitary witch, to discover more about the craft. My first shock, although her chosen religion was witchcraft, her day job was Marine Science. Obviously not the first career which I would guess, in fact I don’t think I would have it on my top ten guesses as that of the career of a witch! In reality this witch is a normal person holding down a normal job.

My 30 year old practicing solitary witch tells me that being a witch today is all about being in tune with your environment, honouring the Lord and Lady in their various aspects and having respect for all living things. She tells me that this may not be the view on witchcraft, but it’s her own. I guess that is the wonderful thing about the craft, although there are certain guidelines, it can pretty much be manufactured to suit the individual. Unbeknown to her work colleagues this solitary witch has a small altar at home, she celebrates the sabbats and her garden is full of herbs and plants. The craft allows her to emerge herself in nature, learn about herb lore and the old ways.

Witches are known to have in their possession information personal to themselves and that of the old ways. The information is usually collected in a form which has become known as ‘the book of shadows’. There have been many theories and representations of what ‘the book of shadows’ contains, but in reality each book is personal to the witch which created it. My solitary witch has a book, but it doesn’t contain spells, as this isn’t something she likes to dabble in. Her book reflects her path, places she has visited, energy work she has done, spirits she has come across and meditations she has felt important enough to write down. In reality, the witches ‘book of shadows’ doesn’t seem as magical or spooky as we have been led to believe. Obviously it is possible that more powerful witches with more experience may have more dangerous information in their book. Perhaps even spells!

From what I have read of witchcraft there are guidelines to follow and my solitary witch is no exception to this rule. However, as she is solitary and is creating her own path, she has tried to keep it simple living by two main rules. The first is the three fold rule. This is the belief that anything you do (including casting spells) will come back on you three fold. A bit like karma I guess, just times three. Her second rule is, ‘ye harm none ... do what ye will’. As it sounds, this is one of the old sayings followed by many witches and wiccans. It includes not harming yourself in anyway, so it’s a lot about developing self worth and treating others with respect.

Wanting to know more about the witches’ rituals I decided to ask my solitary witch. She gave me a quick example of a protection ritual. ‘You would get next to your altar, cast yourself a magic circle using salt, call in the elements, then the Lord and Lady. Then say a few words to ask for protection and close down the circle. That’s a quick one’

I had to ask her if these rituals involved any dancing naked around fires, but she assured me there was no naked dancing. Although, there may be dancing around fires its more like a beach party, just without the dance music. Also, for the record witches don’t sacrifice anything for the pure sake of magic – human or animal. It would go against the creed of the witch to harm none. Now if they were killing a rabbit say for meat and hide, and used part they didn’t need for magic then that would be the only reason why. However, even under those circumstances it can not be classed as sacrifice.

My solitary witch has been following the craft for about 8 years now, but what lead her to this religion. Like many who decide on a religion, we like to make sure it fits in with our beliefs. The reasons for choosing the craft for this witch was relatively simple though, it just ticked all the boxes and it all just seemed to fit in with her beliefs. However, in my opinion though it took great courage to take on such a religion, which has been passed off for being evil for so many years.

Our opinion of witchcraft is one shrouded in evil and darkness, but how is this? The solitary witch helped me to understand. She explained it as the energy of the Earth/Divine is just energy – neither good nor bad, but balanced. It is up to the individual to choose how to use this energy. Some use it for the ‘good’ of all and quest for balance. However, some become twisted by the power of it and use it for their own purposes. In life we all have our own path to walk, mistakes to learn from and there are those who will exploit the energy. Whether this makes them a ‘black witch’ or a ‘Satanist’ or something else, unrelated to witchcraft is unknown. This depends on the individuals’ belief system and what they want to call themselves. If they were a true witch then they would be fully aware of the codes and the repercussions of their behaviour.

So as there are no hard and fast rules, or Holy Scriptures to be tied to, witchcraft can almost be whatever you want it to be. To use the current buzz word, it’s all very fluid. You can honour the Lord and Lady (God and Goddess) in whatever way you see fit as long as ‘ye harm none’. The concept is to impact as little as possible on the environment, be in synch with the world and those who live in it. A witch must know about their surroundings in the form of geology, herb logy, etc. A witch won’t attempt to convert you to the craft, as they believe we each have our own path to lead.

With Christianities attempt to suppress witchcraft, societies continuous demonization of the craft to surround it with all things evil it’s a wonder it ever managed to survive. However, my solitary witch seems to side with me in the notion that witchcraft may never be seen as socially acceptable. Though with the development of Wicca as a religion, there is more of a chance it would seem. In writing this I have learnt many things about witches, discovered some things which make no sense and generally come a custom to believe that witchcraft may hold higher credibility than some of the other mainstream religions. Of course, all are entitled to believe in what they want, but if that is the case why should we continue to judge those who choose the more enlightened path of witchcraft.

I won’t be subscribing to the craft myself just yet, but that’s because I don’t wish to subscribe to any religion. However, if I was forced to choose, then this would be a high candidate. I truly hope the craft continues to grow and finds its place amongst the mainstream religions where it belongs. I hope it gains the recognition it deserves and our witches don’t feel they have to remain in the shadows, hiding their chosen religion. A religion they should be aloud to be openly proud of.

As ever I am by no means perfect and may have missed something or misunderstood information, if this is the case or you just wish to comment on this post, please feel free. All comments are welcomed and help me to ensure I get it right.

Farsight Files Update !!

My appoligies for not posting anything on here for a little while, but with Christmas, Birthdays and Work my paranormal research has almost been side lined. Almost I said. Although I havn't written anything on here or placed any updates some things have still been happening.

I have spent some time interviewing and researching Witches with the aim to write up a piece on them outlinning our modern Witch and their beliefs. Hopefully they wont be trialed like their ancestors, but still a great many keep their belief behind closed doors through fear of todays societies reaction. We are a world and even a country of many races, religions and beliefs surely accepting Witches can be achieved now. Well I will write it up and post here for your opinion and usual comments, see what you think?

What else has Farsight been up to? Well I was recently in communication with Jessica Foreman of Knuts of Bolts Productions. Knuts and Bolts specialise in paranormal productions and are currently putting together a series called 'I Want To Believe', which takes a group paranormal enthusiasts such as Farsight and puts them with a resident Ghost Hunter and Medium for a possible three plus night investigation. Myself, Jim (ISP) and my girlfriend made the trip to central London for the shows 'Open Call'. I must add at this point that myself and Jim are not really the types to just do something with the hope of being on TV, well I know I am not and pretty sure Jim isn't. However, this would be an opertunity to work with Ted Thornby (trained by the legendary Andrew Green), also it may be a chance to investigate a single location for more than just a single night.

Well the 'Open Call' passed swiftly and to be honest I didn't think I would get in, mainly due to my lack of field experience or experience at all for that matter. Plus my lack of confidence, its not every day you are asked to answer questions looking at a camera instead of the person who asked you. However, Jessica, Alek and crew were all very nice and made the experience pass without a hitch. We were soon on our way home wondering the results. My girlfriend and I said goodbye to Jim at Leicester Square tube station, as he headed off on a long train journey to join an investigation at Bisham Abbey. Lucky man.

A few days later the result came through from Jessica, and myself and Jim had been given a place in the second group. This means that if the Pilot is successful and the series gets the go then we would appear in the second group of episodes. So fingers crossed on that one.

So whats next then for Farsight? Hopefully a few more posts on the blog regarding the paranormal. A possible TV appearance and taking part in a investigation lasting more than one night. I hope to get some proper investigations under the Farsight belt in the new year also, giving us more to document and higher credibility. After all it would be nice to enter the TV thing with some investigation experience!

As ever if you have anything you would like mentioned, discussed or researched on the blog, drop me a comment. Until next time..