Category Archives: Witchcraft

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: How would you define your craft?

Leave a comment

This post is inspired by Question #8 from this list.

I want to start this blog post with the same disclaimer I put at the start of each podcast episode. As the saying goes, ask twelve witches the same question, get at least thirteen different answers. The answer to this question is absolutely how I define and perceive my own practice of the Craft and should not be taken as an attempt to define or prescribe anyone else’s practice. With that out o the way, on with my answer.

I really hate definitions. I especially hate giving definitions for terms that describe complex ideas. And if anything is a complex idea, it is witchcraft and how I practice it. But I have to try, so here we go:

My Craft is a religio-magical practice that is loosely based on Norse mythology and lore and involves cultivating working relationships with the goddess Freyja and other incorporeal beings and working sympathetic magic.

A few comments on the various elements of the definition:

  • religio-magical: My practice is not atheistic. I believe in the Divine and part of my Craft involves connecting with and relating to the Divine in certain ways.
  • loosely based on Norse mythology and lore: i center my practice around what I’ve learned about Norse an other Germanic cultures of old and their beliefs and myths. However, i say “loosely based” because I’m not exactly trying to perfectly clone those ancient practices (which wouldn’t be possible anyway). Also, I am somewhat eclectic in that I will incorporate other tools and ideas into my practice. One example of this is my use of tarot in divination as well as the runes.
  • cultivating relationships with Freyja: Again, my Craft is not atheistic. I have a strong relationship with the goddess Freyja and she teaches me and offers me her counsel. Her nature and values also influence and are reflected in my Craft. For example, it tends to be highly sensual and passionate.
  • and other incorporeal beings: Mediumship and shamanistic techniques are a strong part of my Craft. Speaking to, learning from, and asking for help from spirits is a common part of my practice.
  • working sympathetic magic: I tend to do simple magic where I use something to represent something else. Or I perform an act one or with something to mimic what I wish to happen.

I hope that it’s obvious that this a simplification/distillation of my Craft. No definition is going to be perfect or cover everything. I suspect if I were to attempt this exercise in another month, I’d come up with a definition that is at least somewhat different. All the same, I’m rather pleased with this one. I find it workable.

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: What are some of your favorite herbs to use in your practice? (if any)

Leave a comment

This post is inspired by Question #7 from this list.

I don’t use many herbs. I’m certainly not the kind of witch who is a genius at tinctures. About the only time I use raw herbs would be burning some purifying herbs — such as lemongrass — to ritually cleanse an area. Or I might drop some raw dragon’s blood, myrrh, and/or frankincense (I guess resins count as herbs, yes?) on a charcoal brick as an offering to the Divine.

Joe and I also both like to use stick incense — which is often based on herbs — when we meditate or offer devotions. Favorites there include sandalwood, amber (I think I’m really pushing the definition of “herb” with that one), and dragon’s blood. There are also a few incense sticks we like that are a mix of different herbs that I couldn’t necessarily identify.

Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you use tarot, palmistry, or 
any other kind of divination?

Leave a comment

This post was inspired by Question #6 on this list.

This is probably going to be a bit of a short answer, seeing as I already did an entire podcast episode about divination last summer. Personally, I think divination is absolutely essential to witchcraft or any other spiritual practice. Divination is what allows a dialogue between yourself and whatever you believe in — gods, guiding spirits, your higher self, you unconscious mind, or something else — and makes your spiritual and magical practice interactive. It’s a way to gain insight into what it is you want to accomplish and possibly how to best go about it. Personally, I am accustomed to using both runes — though I don’t divine with them nearly as often as I incorporate them into my magical workings — and tarot. And of course, I would also considering meditation and other practices I use to communicate directly with my goddess to be a type of divination.

Paganism, Witchcraft

Witchy questions: Do you work with a Pantheon?

2 Comments

This post is inspired by Question #5 from this list.

I touched on this briefly in my last post, in which I talked about my relationship with Freyja and other Norse deities. By and large, I like to keep my emphasis on focus on the Norse deities, as it allows me to keep things within the context of a single system of myths and lore. While I admire others who seem to have no problem working with and relating to deities from diverse cultural sources, it’s just not generally something that appeals to me, nor do I feel it would work well for me. Partly, I think this goes back to the idea that my ability to call on and relate to other Norse deities stems from the relationship they and I both have to Freyja. If I were to try to reach out to a Celtic deity, it would require extra work and would feel like more of a “cold call” to me.

The one exception is the Greek god Pan, who I occasionally feel drawn to. I think that has to do with the sexual energies he represents from a more masculine point of view, something I don’t quite feel with Freyja. What’s interesting to me is that I don’t have that same feeling toward Freyja’s own brother, Freyr, despite the fact that he is a deity of fertility and sexuality. But to me at least — and I’d be curious to hear the thoughts of other people with experience with Freyr — his sexual energy feels much more tame and civilized than his sister’s energy. I tend to attribute this to the fact that his fertility is linked tot he fertility of the land, often described as the king married to the land. It feels to me as if that crown and his obligations calms and constrains his own sexual energy. Pan, on the other hand, has that wild and even chaotic sexual energy that I am so familiar with through Freyja, and that appeals to me.

Paganism, Religion, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you have a Patron God/dess?

Leave a comment

This post was inspired by Question #4 on this list.

In my early years of trying to find my way in Paganism, I became a member of Ar nDraiocht Fein/A Druid Fellowship. At the time (and presumably today), that organization’s Dedicant Program strongly pushed seeking out and finding a patron deity or a pair of them. I didn’t find or connect with Freyja until after I dropped my membership, but that push for finding a patron deity or two stuck with me and has shaped my path since then.

A while back, I found a Patheos post by Ian Corrigan in which he talked about some of the motivations behind the inclusion of patronage as a central part of the ADF Dedicant program as well as some criticisms of it. I also found some of his views on the topic and how he tended to instruct newcomers at the time of that post’s writing worthy of consideration.

I especially like how Ian focuses on the idea of emphasis without exclusivity. While I have a tight relationship with Freyja, which I have talked about elsewhere, I am not forbidden from speaking with or establishing relationships with other deities. It’s as though she and I have a simple relationship: I am to keep my commitments to her and am then free to do as I please.

One of the other things that I personally find is that my relationship with Freyja can shape my relationships with other Norse deities and can provide context and even a starting point for them. For example, if I need the aid of Thor, I feel that being strongly connected with a goddess who has helped him out with a sticky situation or two (see: lending out her falcon cloak so Loki could find Thor’s hammer when it was stolen) gives me a certain standing to call on him.

Of course, at the same time, i was building a relationship with Freyja, I also thought about building a relationship with Thor on its own merits. This was at a time when “gender balance” was more important to me in my divine interactions. Alas, my attempts to build something with Thor was quickly demolished when I found myself ushered into the presence of Odin who informed me that I needed to work with him and his energies instead.

Of course, at this point, I don’t really consider even Odin to be a patron deity. This is partly because he is not ever-present int he same way Freyja is. In fact, it’s probably been a couple years in which I’ve really felt his presence at all. For a while, I’d feel him only at those times — often in the spring — when it seemed he felt I had become too comfortable and needed to undergo yet another change or transformative process. Nowadays, he seems to be content to let me be. Which leaves me wondering if the patronage of a deity may not be as permanent as I once thought.

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: What is your zodiac sign?

Leave a comment

This post is inspired from Question #3 on this list.

I have a strange relationship with astrology. For the longest time, I found it confusing and even looked at it with a little suspicion and distrust. It wasn’t until I read “A Changing Sky” that I really came to understand or appreciate this particular discipline at all. In the book, Forrest looked at astrology as a language, and that just clicked for me. I’m still not a huge astrology aficionado and I’m a dabbler at best when it comes to interpreting natal charts. But at least I have a somewhat deeper understanding and can understand why so many other witches find this a useful tool to pursue more fully and gain a deeper understanding.

Of course, it’s also interesting to me how everyone seems to focus on their sun sign. My sun sign is Gemini, but I don’t consider that the most interesting bit of information in my chart. To my mind, the most interesting bit in my chart is still the fact that Venus was in Taurus at the time of my birth. What makes that particularly interesting is that Venus is the only planet in my entire chart that finds itself in an earth sign, making it a singularity. Understanding my affectionate, sensual nature and how it affects my relationships — especially my romantic relationships — is important to me.

And to be honest, I find that piece of information much more useful as a witch than knowing what my sun sign — which traditionally represents one’s ego identity — is. I’d far more explore how I relate to others. Or how my hopes and dreams are influenced by Jupiter.

Religion, Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you consider yourself Wiccan, Pagan, witch, or other?

Leave a comment

Today’s post is inspired by Question #2 on this list.

The word I use most often to describe myself is witch because I think that’s the best word for me. I’m an individual who practices something that is a fusion of magic and spirituality. Since that spirituality is not rooted in any particular tradition or culture — despite the fact that I heavily lean toward Norse mythology and lore — the most appropriate generic term for what I do is witchcraft. I personally do not like Wicca because in reality, my practice doesn’t really resemble what most people see as the the most common defining characteristics of Wicca.

I also identify as Pagan, as I do believe in a plethora of gods and tend to identify with the greater Pagan community. I don’t use that word much to describe myself, as I think it’s almost too generic and vague to really define who I am or what I do.

If I really want to get specific, I will often use the term Vanic witch, to draw more attention to how central my relationship to Freyja is in my understanding and practice of my Craft. On rare occasion, I will even refer to myself as a seithman (in fact, I use that as part of one of my email addresses), in reference to the practice of seidh. (Note: My practice doesn’t exactly match that as described in the linked site. But there’s certainly enough similarities, that I find it worth perusing. And I find it very inspiring.)

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Are you solitary or in a Coven?

Leave a comment

Today’s post is inspired by question number one in this list.

The interesting thing to me whenever I encounter this question is that it strikes me as somewhat of a false binary. I believe it is possible to be a witch in a coven and still have a solitary practice along-side that. In fact, I do not think I know any witch in a coven who does not also work and explore their Craft alone.

It sometimes feels that those who do not have any sort of group work at all assume that covens actively forbid their members from doing any solo work. Or if coven members do solo work, maybe those who have never been in a coven assume that the coven dictates how their members do even their solo work.

I was a member of a coven — in fact, I helped found it — for over nine years. Joe even eventually joined that coven. We both also had our private practices, which differed in many ways from our coven rituals. It was healthy for us because we were both led to explore aspects of the Craft that the rest of the coven was not interested in. So we did coven things when we got together with the others and did our own own studies and work when we were on our own.

I think that part of the real coven vs. solitary divide is an extension of the training with initiation vs. self-taught divide. Traditionally, covens have been about passing down a specific tradition and form of witchcraft, whereas solitary practitioners — and I myself spent nearly a decade practicing solo before I was ever part of a coven and have been part of no coven that offered formal training or initiation — tend to be self-taught. So I think many self-taught solitaries think of joining a coven as being forced to give up or trivializing what they have learned so far.

Experience and conversations with members of those traditions often seen as the most staunch tells me that this is not true. No one can take away what a self-taught witch has learned on their own. And their is value to that. It’s just often different — no better or worse, merely different — than what you might learn from a teacher and/or coven. And the two can exist side by side. If one wants them to, of course.

As for the question, I currently have no coven. Joe and I are working on putting together a framework for the two of us to practice together. And maybe someday that might become the basis for us to form our own coven. But that’s just a distant dream. Assuming it ever comes to fruition, I suspect it is years away.

Paganism, Witchcraft

Ramblings about Freyja from a Devotee

Leave a comment

As regular readers of my blog and Twitter feed might know, I consider myself a devotee and follower of Freyja. I mean, I’ve mentioned her a few times.

I started getting close to Freyja and feeling her draw me in during what I would call the third phase of my search for my own place in Paganism. This was after i had read enough books about eclectic Wicca to know it wasn’t quite right for me and then spent time learning Irish mythology and not quite connecting with the Tuatha de Danaan. A friend realized that my eyes lit up whenever I started talking about runes and the myth and lore that surrounded them and rightfully determined that I was meant for a Norse path. So I started looking into books about Norse mythology and even joined an Asatru organization. And I found Freyja.

At this time in my life, i was very much of the opinion that I needed to have a close relationship with both a god and a goddess. At the time, I had planned on building a relationship with Thor (that…didn’t happen). As I looked over the Norse goddesses, I decided Freyja was the best fit for me. For starters, that’s because we probably have the most information about her. The only other goddess that we know the same amount about is Frigga. The rest, like Sif and Skadi, get a mention here or there and that’s it.

Also, I liked Freyja because she was all about the sex. As a gay man who had only been out for…I’d guess four or five years at that point, I was drawn to how unapologetically sexual and passionate she was. I felt like I needed that kind of energy in my life. She didn’t see sex as nothing more than a way to make babies and she celebrated sex — and sensuality in general, which was also important to me — as something to simply enjoy and celebrate.

Of course, it also helped that she was a goddess of witchcraft, and a particular form of witchcraft called seidr. (Pronounced “sayth, where the “th” is soft like in “these.”) Seidr was also deeply attractive to me, as it’s very shamanistic in nature. Exploring the spiritual realms, relying on intuitive abilities, and communicating with spirits or entities is a common practice. So building a relationship with the goddess who taught both the other gods and mankind seidr seemed like a good idea.

As I’ve gotten to know her, I realize that another thing that draws me to her is her unrestrained and often untamed nature. In terms of sexuality, her brother, Frey, is also about sexuality and fertility. But he seems to express it in a more restrained, “civilized” manner. He has always struck me as the type who mostly plays it safe and stays within the bounds of human society, maintaining good order and making sure the land produces food and whatever else the community needs.

His sister, however, seems to prefer to run into the wild places. Or soar overhead in falcon form. If she comes into the “civilized” places, she tends to bring her wildness with her. (And if, like me, you believe that Gullveig and Freyja are the same person, you realize this can sometimes cause problems.)

My personal experience suggests that she’s not a huge fan of many of the trappings of “society.” It’s not that she’s against society or social customs altogether. She just thinks they can get in the way at times. “She obviously likes him. He obviously likes her. Why do they keep tap-dancing around like a couple of nervous soldiers heading into battle? They should just go ahead and hook up already.” That sort of thing. It’s weird having to explain to a goddess that some humans would suffer unpleasant consequences if they were as direct and blunt as she tends to be. (She finds those consequences ridiculously unjust, in case you were wondering.)

Anyway, those are just some random thoughts about Freyja and my personal history with her. How about you? Do you have a relationship with a particular deity? Feel free to share your own thoughts about and experiences with them in the comments!

Paganism, Witchcraft

Words to honor the Ancestors

Leave a comment

I give honor to those who came before me. Founders of my  bloodline who made me who I am. The now gone wise ones who explored the great mysteries and left clues that I might follow. Those who taught me, either directly or indirectly.

As I consider the strong foundations you have left for me, I thank you for shaping me and the world around me into what we are today. May what I do with your gifts be pleasing to you. Advise me so that my efforts are a fitting gift for those who come after me, those who may honor me alongside you someday.

So mote it be.