Cursework and 'Real' Witches

There's a new round of blogs and online commentary about how 'real witches don't hex' going around, spurred it appears by the recent call to hex a public figure and the support and backlash that garnered. The public call for mass hexwork got a lot of attention and the response across social media has been strong, not only about the subject of the hex and whether it's appropriate to hex a political leader, but whether cursework and hexing in general are acceptable to do. Not at all surprisingly there has been a strong thread of disapproval towards the practice and also a very public outcry proclaiming that 'real'* witches don't hex. Period. The end. A variety of arguments are put forth for why 'real' witches don't use baneful magic but generally it boils down to; 1) it's naughty and naughty magic only really hurts the person casting it; 2) hexes don't work anyway; or 3) a 'real' witch is wise enough to know better than to do naughty magic, because vague reasons. 
So let's take a look at this.  
 
I'm not going to speak to whether or not I'm real. I mean I do think a lot which I'm given to understand is one criteria of reality, but for all any of us know we could be a dream within a dream or characters in a story. So let's table the question of reality. I am sure that I'm a witch though, and I do hex. I've talked about it publicly before and I'm not ashamed of it; I don't think it should be done if you aren't willing to own up to doing it. So real or not real, I'm a witch and I hex. I guess that entitles me to an opinion on the subject. I've written about hexing before here and here because its a subject that I feel strongly about. I am not, however, out to convince anyone that they should or should not do it. I believe that it is up to each individual to decide for themselves whether cursework is something they are comfortable doing. What I do want though is to work towards removing the stigma around it that says anyone who hexes is a terrible, morally corrupt person; this is no more or less true than saying a member of the military or a martial artist is inherently violent and dangerous just because they have the skill set to cause harm and an ability to use it if necessary.  

Cursework is a specialty. It requires study just as much as healing or prophecy magic does, and I'd argue that to do it well you have to make it your focus, at least for a time. It isn't something you play with. It has its own rhythms and rules, its own flow and form. It's not for everyone, and not every witch needs to do it, just like anything else. Some people are vegetarians and some are omnivores; some are pacifists and some are fighters; some let energy work itself out and some hex. Different witches have different ethical approaches and beliefs that shape the acceptability of cursework and any kind of magic that  impacts other people's free will. For some people it will always be out of bounds and for others it will be acceptable within certain contexts. I certainly don't know anyone who does serious hexwork who takes it lightly or sees it as a game, for what that's worth. Rather the other people I know who do it approach it very soberly, and often as a last resort when other options have been exhausted. 

Hexing is not inherently dangerous and it isn't a practice that dooms the practitioner to suffer terrible consequences. It is no more or less dangerous to the person doing it than healing is, and just like healing the risk only comes in if the person makes a mistake, which can happen just as easily with blessing magic as baneful magic. I've been at this a long time and I've done more than one hex in my time - and done them knowing exactly what I'm doing and how to do it - and I have never once experienced any negative repercussions on myself, nor has my magic failed to achieve my goal, although it may work faster or slower or stronger than I intended which is exactly why it has to be done with care. This narrative that anyone who hexes will be awash in bad energy, usually described as karma but in the Western sense of instant consequences, is not something I have ever personally seen as true. And I say that as someone who has been practicing witchcraft since the early '90's and admits to hexing, binding, and banishing when necessary. Yes everything we do ultimately affects us but it is far more nuanced and subtle than do good = get equivalent good, do bad = get equivalent bad. And as I like to remind people good and bad are matters of perspective and we must always be careful in judging what is which, especially when it comes to our own actions. 

I've also seen a lot of anti-hex arguments that say that positive magic works but negative does not. By this logic healing spells work, but curses do not, because somehow what helps us and is judged good (remember what I said about judging) is effective but what is judged bad or harmful is seen as impossible or ineffective. It can't be both. Either they both work or neither does. We can't acknowledge the power of one and deny the power of the other, whether or not we ourselves participate in it. To me this just smacks of a way to reassure one's self that good magic works but naughty magic doesn't, as if the Universe only allowed goodness. I think it should be pretty self evident that nothing works that way. I'd also point out as an aside that no type of magic is any more or less addictive than any other, as that has also been mentioned as a reason not to hex. absolute power may corrupt absolutely but this isn't some fictional Dark Side of the Force we're talking about here, where even one slip into practicing it will mean your light saber turning red forever. This is reality, where people are nuanced and complicated and can be good people with functional ethics who still believe its okay to bind a stalker or punish a rapist using magic without plunging into uncontrolled all-Evil-all-the-time-ness.

The third main argument I've seen is that a 'real' witch is wise enough to know better than to hex or curse. Um, in all seriousness why? What exactly is so wrong in hexing or cursing that being 'real' enlightens you so much that you won't do it? Ignoring for a moment the enormous implied insult here that everyone who does hex is not only not a real witch but also unwise or uneducated I genuinely don't understand this argument. I'm impeding someone else's free will. Okay. I'm also impeding their free will when I get a restraining order or use mace to defend myself from a mugger, but I'm going to do both of those things if necessary too, and I don't see how defending myself against someone else's aggression isn't the best course. I suspect this ties back into the assumption that hexing is just done to be mean, but let me tell you something here, the hexing that I've done that falls into the bounds of cursework has usually** been done because I had exhausted all my other options and I was desperate. I or people I cared about were usually in physical danger or other serious situations were occurring that needed an immediate response but for which I had no options.

If you want to argue against hexing then argue against it from a moral standpoint making it clear that you are discussing your own morals or explain your own reasoning for not doing it, but don't use scare tactics that make the practice seem like magical Russian roulette. It isn't. If done with skill and knowledge hexing and cursing are powerful tools and can be useful to achieving goals that otherwise may not be achievable, especially relating to justice and some types of protection. I'm not saying it can't be misused just like anything else, of course, but it can and often is done well and safely for the practitioner. And effectively. And keep in mind that anything is judged good or bad purely based on our own perspective. There's nothing wrong with choosing not to hex because it goes against your own morals or makes you uncomfortable. That's fine. But there's also nothing wrong with deciding that you are morally comfortable with hexing.

 So can we please stop with this divisive 'real witches don't hex' stuff? Yes some 'real' witches do. And some don't. There is no one single type of witchcraft, no single ethic that unites all witches, no agreed on witchcraft code that defines who and what witches are based on what magic they do. What makes a person a real witch isn't whether or not they adhere to one particular moral viewpoint. And cursing and hexing whether anyone likes it or not are deeply ingrained in historic and traditional witchcraft, and in some forms of modern witchcraft as well. If your particular form or tradition of witchcraft doesn't do cursework, that's okay. Don't do it. But that doesn't give you or anyone else the right to dictate what other witches or witchcraft traditions, or other types of pagans who practice magic for that matter, can and cannot do, or should or should not do. Let us stop with the logical fallacies, the 'no true Scotsman' and the appeals to authority and tradition, that are being used to justify condemning anyone who does things differently or who we disagree with. Witchcraft is dazzlingly diverse in its variety and scope of practice. Let's try celebrating that, even when we don't agree with what other people do in their personal traditional magic, rather than condemning and trying to limit other people to conform to our own expectations and comfort zone. 

I am a witch. I hex. And I'm proud of the knowledge and skill it takes to do that well.


*I'm putting real in quotes here to convey sarcasm. I know that doesn't read well online but I can't type real witch in any seriousness.

**usually

Pantheacon 2017

  If I had to guess I'd say the biggest pagan conference in America is probably Pantheacon, an event that happens each February in San Jose California. I had attended my first Pantheacon in 2015 and honestly didn't think I'd go to another since traveling to California is a bit of a challenge for me, logistically and financially, but somehow I found myself back there again this year. It will be my one big travel thing for 2017, and the only other event on my schedule is the Morrigan's Call Retreat.

Unlike my first time at this event, this time around there were some notable difference. Firstly although I once again taught a workshop in the ADF hospitality suite I was also on the main schedule with 3 presentations, and I had a book signing. Also unlike the first time I was staying in the Doubletree itself, not in one of the overflow hotels. Both of these things were rather significant changes. I was really happy (and honestly quite surprised) to have had my workshops chosen for the main schedule but teaching a total of 4 classes and having the book signing made for a busy conference. I was also staying in a hospitality suite - East Coast Pagans Hospitality Suite to be exact - and so most of the time when I wasn't teaching something I was there. In practical terms this meant that I didn't have very much time to visit other hospitality suites or get to many workshops.

I did attend one RDNA style ritual in the ADF suite which I really enjoyed. I'd never done anything in that style before and it was very interesting to see the similarities and differences in how it was structured. I've been a member of ADF since 2001 and I always like spending time with other ADF members, especially people I know online but don't see often in real life. It was fun teaching a class on the Irish Gods in their suite, and I liked the questions and discussions that followed. As I could say for many things at the conference, I wish I'd had more time to spend there.

altar for the aos sidhe

My main spiritual contribution in the East Coast Pagans suite was to maintain an altar there for the Otherworldly spirits. Usually when I travel I have some small place set aside for the deities and spirits I honor but I think because this was a space open to the public for 8 hours of the day it required something more elaborate. People were able to leave things on this one, and regular offerings of butter, fruit, and water were being made as well. I quickly made friends with the local crows disposing of the old offerings each morning.

I didn't have much time to socialize but I did find a few moments to get out to some of the other rooms nearby. I was able to visit the Heathen Hospitality suite, which I am so glad I did. I met several Troth members in person who I have only previously known online (having been a Troth member since 2006). They also had some of the best ribbons, in my opinion. Again I wish I'd had more time to spend there, particularly since I have a trip to Iceland coming up in 2018 that several people from that suite are also going on with Land Sea Sky Travel. I was also able to briefly stop into the Sisters of Avalon suite and visit with some familiar faces as well as picking up a very cool new oracle deck.

Pantheacon in general offered a chance to meet some new people, reconnect with friends, and meet people in person I'd previously only known online, which was a wonderful experience. I did find some time, eventually, to have some fun and to hang out with friends, to share stories and to create some new phrases including 'when in doubt cattle raid' and 'no fadas given', although my favorites may have come from my friend Jon of An Scealai Beag who was the source of  such quotes as 'Dagda approves'. One of the best things about the conference, I think, is that so many people attend from so many places and from so many different pagan/polytheist approaches that it allows for a lot of diversity and experiencing new viewpoints, as well as connecting to people from all sorts of different traditions and areas. And of course competitive ribbon collecting.

the beginning of the ribbon collecting

I attended one class which was taught by Lora O'Brien about Medb of Connacht which I highly recommend; Lora also offers the class online here (you may have to scroll down a bit to find it, but its there). Lora had a meet and greet/book signing afterwards and we had some time to talk so there was a bit of crossover between the class and that. I found the ideas brought up really intriguing, including the idea that Medb may have been both a name as well as a title for a priestess at Rathcroghan, and that Medb could have been active in warrior initiation rites. There's speculation in that last of course, but there is certainly a tenuous pattern of male warriors being trained in myth by female warriors* that could indicate a wider socioreligious pattern. Naturally being me I ended up getting a bit speculative about the meanings of Medb's sisters' names and why they may or may not have been fit rulers compared to her based on name etymology. That aside though it was a great class and I'm glad if I only was able to attend one in its entirety it was that one.

My own classes went well, as far as I can judge. The first was meant to be on land spirits and house spirits but ended up being a bit more on land spirits. I did one in the ADF suite, as I mentioned, on the Irish Gods. The second official Pantheacon workshop was on Macha, horses, and sovereignty in Irish culture. And finally I had one on the darker side of Fairy, which was looking at the Unseelie court , who and what they are, and how we interact with them. Turnout seemed good, the audiences were engaged and quick to ask questions, and for the most part we covered all the material I wanted to touch on.

Pantheacon is always an adventure, both the travel to get there and then the experience of being there itself. There are great workshops and diverse hospitality suites, vendors and adventures to be found. As with the first year I attended I think my favorite thing was the experience of community, of being able to spend time with friends I don't see often, or ever, and to relax and discuss everything from theology to linguistics with people who share those interests.


*examples could include Fionn and Cu Chulainn who were both trained by female experts in warfare; more widely in the Ulster cycle we see not only Cu Chulainn but also Ferdiad and Connla similarly trained by women, albeit the same one.

Practicing Safe Hex

Hexing is one of those things that some people feel comfortable doing and others disagree with. This post isn't about the ethics pro or con, but purely offering some safety tips for people who may feel motivated to hex and who are not well versed in the practice. Like any other magical specialty it is a niche practice that requires its own study - in my opinion - to do well. And like most magical specialties if done wrong a person can potentially cause themselves some serious problems.

Black Nightshade

First lets clarify some terms. Technically hex just means to use magic but it's taken on connotations of harm that make it in common usage synonymous with cursing, ie to use magic to inflict harm or punishment on someone. I use the two terms interchangeably in English. In many views both binding and banishing magic falls under the purview of hexing/cursing because they involve forcibly altering another person's freewill. Binding means magically controlling someone's actions, often by limiting what they can do; banishing means sending them away from an area or keeping them away from a person or situation. Hexing in general terms can be a diverse practice that may involve a wide array of methods intended to affect a person in a negative manner, often as a means to achieve justice*.

So, with that in mind some general tips on how to hex safely:

1. If you are calling on deities of justice or associated with justice, be 100% sure you are innocent in the situation. Generally speaking just because you invoked them doesn't mean they won't weigh your actions as well. Justice is their thing after all.
2. If you are invoking other types of spirits that historically expect to get paid make sure you pay them something. Most spirits don't work for free, unless you go the route of calling them and binding them to your service which is a whole other conversation. Spirits will help you out but they expect something in return, so offer it to them up front. 
3. If you invoke, you dismiss. Don't just open that metaphysical door and leave it swinging in the wind. Make sure you show your guests out and close and lock that door when you are done.
4. Keep your wording consistent. If you are using positive language like 'may he be destroyed, may he lose his prosperity' or whatever then stick with that throughout; if you are using negative language** like 'may she be without rest, may she be without peace' stick with that. Don't mix and match the two, it muddies the waters. 
5. Keep your intent consistent. Focus matters. Don't try to cram in a variety of goals in a single working, just stick with a single strong intention and be clear on exactly what your intended outcome is. 
6. Be really clear with your symbolism and know what you are using, what it represents, what its associated with, and any possible deeper layers of meaning that could apply. Don't use foreign symbols or items that you don't understand or know the meaning of. As long as you believe you know what a symbol means or you have a strong association with it that's fine. 
7. Although there is a lot of historic precedent for using languages you don't speak yourself, I don't personally recommend it. If you don't know what you are saying, don't say it.
8. Be specific in naming your target.
9. Do not use your own name especially if you are invoking spirits. This is what magical pseudonyms are for, and no I don't mean your True Name - you guard that like your ATM pin number - I mean that magical name that you share around like free candy. The one that has no real meaning for you. That one. If you don't have one make one up. Think of it as a hexing code name. 
10. If its a binding be aware you are tying yourself to the person, thing, or situation. Consider whether that's your best option. If its any other type of hex be willing to accept whatever consequence results from it. 
11. Always cleanse afterwards and double down on your own protections. 

A basic classic hex*** would go along the lines of: "Spirit of ---- I call you to punish (person's name) who has (done X) and caused me (this specific harm). May they suffer (lack of sleep and lack of peace, etc.,) until (item is returned/they are sorry/justice is done/etc.,). In the name of --- I offer (specific offering) let (person's name) be brought to justice."

We also have a wide array of maledictions and satire to look to for examples of traditional hexes in Celtic culture. These usually combine physical actions and spoken charms. Similarly the Norse culture offers an array of cursing options we can look to for examples of how it's done in that tradition. These all help provide guidelines for ways to hex safely.

*historic, mythic, and folkloric examples of hexing often are predicated on attempts to restore social order or avenge harm done to people who have no other recourse. Often, but not always.
**some people prefer to avoid negative phrasing altogether but there is some precedent for it, for example in Irish satire practices.
*** based on curse tablets found in healing springs

Looking forward at 2017

"Ata la i ndegaid aloile" [A day follows another]
- Etain, Tochmarc Etaine
2016 was in many ways a pivotal year for me, and I think at least some of that was reflected in the content of my blog. I can honestly say that nothing went exactly as I expected it to, and some things happened that I very much didn't expect, but overall I am glad for the place I am in now both with my writing and my spirituality.

 I put my blog on hiatus for the last month in order to finish a manuscript I was working on for a new book. The last blog I posted in 2016 was an excerpt from it and I decided as we moved into 2017 that I needed to focus all my attention on finishing it. I had three books contracted with my publisher, two new Pagan Portals which are by nature shorter texts (25K words each) and the full length Fairies book which I was anticipating would run between 80K and 90K. At the end of last year I was halfway done with the longer book and one of the shorter ones, and I was confident that I could get the longer one finished in a month if I focused exclusively on it.

I'm pleased to say that the Fairies book is done and currently going through copy editing with my publisher. I put everything I knew into it and I learned a lot researching it as well; I think it may be the best thing I've ever written. I still have the two Pagan Portals to write however so I'm not quite ready to hang up my keyboard just yet. I'm hoping that one of those, which I was already about halfway done with, will be completed this month. Additionally I have plans for a sixth novel in my series, although I'm not sure exactly when I'll get to that project.

Now that the longer book is done I should be returning to my regular blogging. I've been working on several translation pieces that should be ready soon so expect to see those coming up this month. I'd like to get back to doing a couple translations or more a month, ideally, and am planning to work through all the Echtrai. I've also had a lot going on in my own spiritual life that I want to share and I'd like to write about topics of interest to people who read this blog. The Fairies book took a lot out of me, more than I expected and more than any other book has before, so right now I'm just looking at what to do to re-set and begin again.

I'm also in the process of making some crucial decisions about exactly where to focus my energy and what venues to use to get my writing out to people. I have this blog of course, and have had it now since July of 2011, but I may look at restructuring or adjusting what I offer here somewhat. I have the books I write, both fiction and non-fiction. I write for Air n-Aithesc twice a year as well as occasionally having articles in other publications - for example I have something in an upcoming issue of Watkins Mind Body Spirit. I'll be speaking at Pantheacon in a few weeks and I'll be back at the Morrigan's Call Retreat again this year in June. Next year I have two sacred sites tours, one in Ireland and one in Iceland. So that's quite a lot going on really. I want to make sure I'm giving my full effort to everything I do.

Imbolc – Divination practices

Hawthorn berries under snow, Imbolc 2016

Divination practices are found during all of the significant Irish celebrations and Imbolc is no exception. The timing for taking the omens varied but could occur anytime from the night before Imbolc to the morning of the festival. Particularly the period immediately after the feasting portion of the celebration was often used for divination (Estyn Evans, 1957). In some specific cases relating to the casting of lots for fisherman or the reading of the marks in the ashes the divination occurred on the morning of the festival (Danaher, 1972).

Several Imbolc omens relied on seeing certain animals, and sometimes on noting what the animal was doing. Seeing a hedgehog on Imbolc was believed to be an omen of good weather to come, as it was believed that if the hedgehog sensed bad weather coming in the early spring season he would return to his burrow (Danaher, 1972). This seems to be reflected in the American practice of looking to groundhogs for weather predictions at the same time of year. If you hear a lark singing on Imbolc it is an omen of a good spring (Danaher, 1972). The lark is a bird often associated with Brighid and of good weather.

Weather omens more generally were also very commonly noted. Rain on Imbolc was believed to foreshadow pleasant weather in the coming summer (Danaher, 1972). A windy Imbolc means snow in March, according to this traditional saying:
“As far as the wind shall enter the door
On the Feast Day of Bride,
The snow shall enter the door
On the Feast Day of Patrick.” (Carmichael, 1900, p 173).
By looking then at how the weather is on Imbolc we can foretell what the spring is most likely to look like. I have found it helpful in my own area to keep notes about each feast day's weather and an significant or memorable signs and then what follows or is notable in the next season to form my own ideas about omens, but I have found that a hard Imbolc tends to mean a hard spring and a light Imbolc an easy or early spring.

A ritual for divination involved the use of the slat Brighid, or Brighid’s wand, a peeled stick made of a white wood that was left with an effigy of Brighid near the hearth overnight. The ashes of the fire would be carefully smoothed when the family went to bed and in the morning the marks of the wand appearing in the ashes were a good omen (Carmichael, 1900). An even better omen was the mark of a footprint, seen as a sign that Brighid herself had visited and blessed the home (Carmichael, 1900). Very unlucky though was the home with no mark left in the ashes at all. To turn this ill omen incense is burned through the next night on the fireplace and a chicken is buried alive as an offering at the joining of three streams (Carmichael, 1900).



References
Danaher, K., (1972). The Year in Ireland. Mercier Press.
Estyn Evans, E., (1957). Irish Folk Ways. Routledge & Keegan Paul, ltd.
Carmichael, A., (1900). Carmina Gadelica volume 1, retrieved from http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/cg1/cg1074.htm

Fairies and the Dead - An Excerpt from my W.I.P

The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book 'Fairies: A Guidebook to the Good People'


Fairies and the Dead

The relationship and connection between the fairies and the dead is a complex one, and likely always has been. The human dead aren't fairies, except when they are. Fairies aren't the human dead, except when they might be. The places of the dead belong to the dead, except when those places are fairy mounds, like the neolithic tumuli. Even the Slua Si, whose name means 'fairy host', are sometimes said to consists of the spirits of human dead, as in some cases does the Wild Hunt, making it hard to draw any clear lines between the groups. In a very general sense we can say that human ghosts are not the same as fairies, but fairies can include people who were once human. The key difference may be, as we shall see, how exactly the human came to join the Fey.

Kildare, Ireland

There is some old Celtic belief, recorded by the Greeks and Romans, which hints at the idea of rebirth or reincarnation, that a person born in our world was dying in the Other World and a person who died in this world was born in the Other World. This idea, perhaps, explains the reason that fairies who wed mortal men were known to cry at births and laugh at funerals. It may also explain in some way why the Irish name for the Other World, an Saol Eile, literally means 'the Other Life'. It is not just another world in the sense of being a place, but it is also another life, another type of existence.

There is some suggestion that the initial depiction around the 16th century of fairies as small beings was actually related to the connection between fairies and the dead and the belief that human souls were small in appearance when separated from the physical body (Briggs, 1976). In turn this idea may reflects a related idea, that the soul was separate from the body and could leave it at times, either temporarily or permanently. We see this in the folktales were a person is taken by the fairies but their dead body is left behind and in anecdotes where a person goes into a trancelike state while their spirit is off with the fairies. The idea that the soul can be separated from the body and once separate has a reality and substance that can even be injured is an old one seen in multiple sources (Walsh, 2002). It may be difficult for us to grasp the idea of a soul as a tangible, physical thing when our modern culture tends to prefer the idea of souls as insubstantial and ephemeral but it’s clear that the older belief gave the soul substance.

Fairy tree with rags in a cemetery, Boa Island, Ireland

Another level of entanglement is more straightforward, that is sometimes the Fairies are known to take people to join them and often these people were thought to have died. In a wide array of folklore from Ireland and Wales we see stories where a young woman is thought to die and is buried, only to be seen later among the fairies in one context or another. In at least one story it was a young man who died and was buried, only to have a fairy doctor tell his family that he was among the Other Crowd; when they attempted to retrieve him he appeared and begged to be allowed to stay with the people of the sidhe (Briggs, 1976). The Scottish witch Alison Pearson claimed a dead relative was among the fairies and that it was he who acted as her familiar spirit with them (Wilby, 2005). Getting back to the earlier point about the soul as a tangible presence we must understand that these are people with presence and physicality who were interacted with and who are clearly counted among the ranks of the fairy people.

In the book ‘Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries’ several anecdotes are related that connect the Good People directly to the dead, in both the sense of describing some fairies as being humans who have died as well as saying some of them are people who were taken and thought to have died. One person related a story about a woman who died and shortly after, before the body had been buried, her husband was visited by one of the Good People who told him she wasn’t dead but taken by the fairies; the husband then waited by the body with the door open and his wife came in to see her infant at which time he grabbed her (Evans-Wentz, 1911). After being restrained and struck with a charm he had prepared the wife returned to her body, as the story was related, which revived and she went on to live a long mortal life (Evans-Wentz, 1911). In another tale with a less pleasant ending a bride died at her wedding, only to appear to her new husband later and tell him that she was actually among the fairies and that if he went to a certain place he would see her passing by and could save her (Evans-Wentz, 1911). The husband went as she’d told him to but when he saw his bride among the fairies passing by he found himself paralyzed and unable to move to grab her; he never saw her again after that, but refused to re-marry (Evans-Wentz, 1911). The people interviewed in that section of the book, who were relating the beliefs of different areas of Ireland around the turn of the 20th century, also made it clear that there were fairies who were never human and had never been human, assigning them origins among the Fir Bolg and Tuatha De Danann, as well as saying they were fallen angels. There were also those among the human dead who could and did return as ghosts or other types of undead spirits that were not considered fairies.

The entrance to Newgrange, sometimes called Bru na Si, known as a fairy mound, home of the Gods, and a neolithic burial place

The subject of the fairies and the dead is not a simple one, but it is clear that the two groups are intertwined. There are those beings who were never human spirits and those human spirits who are not and will not be fairies. But there are also those who were once human and are now fairies because the fairies themselves added the human to their ranks. The different layers of belief make it apparent that while there was crossover between fairies and the dead there was also distinction and separation of the two groups in other ways. If one could imagine it as a Venn diagram we would see fairies as one circle, the human dead as another, and the area where the two circles overlapped – how small or large that is no one can say for certain – would represent those who fall into both groups.



References:
Briggs, K., (1976) A Dictionary of Fairies
Evans-Wentz, W., (1911). The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries
Wilby, E., (2005) Cunningfolk and Familiar Spirits
Walsh, B., (2002) The Secret Commonwealth and the Fairy Belief Complex


All text and images copyright Morgan Daimler

Spirituality - Why I Don't Believe in Easy

  The other day I was talking to a friend and I happened to mention that when it comes to spirituality I no longer believe in the concept of easy. Simple, yes, because there are aspects of spirituality and spiritual practice that can be simple. But easy, oh no, easy is one of those things that will trap you into laziness and inattention. More often than not the simplest things are actually the hardest precisely because they require the most attention not to mess up. Something that is complicated or difficult by its nature requires a lot of care to do correctly and so we tend to be less inclined to slack when we do those things. Lighting a candle seems easy doesn't it, but when you are doing it with a spiritual intention you have to always guard against the simple action becoming routine and then losing its purpose and power. After all, what is the difference between lighting a candle for its physical light and lighting a candle for a spell or a prayer, except the focus and intent you put into it?

Do you see what I mean? Easy is a deception. Constant vigilance is necessary to keep simple from becoming ineffectual, and that makes simple very, very hard to do properly.

There are many aspects of pagan spirituality and witchcraft that seem easy. They aren't. And so they are usually the things that are most often neglected or messed up. Shielding. Warding. Cleansing. Offerings. These should all be simple to do, and done regularly, yet too often they fall by the wayside or are not given the attention they deserve.

The difficult thing about having a regular spiritual practice is doing the easy things well when the easy things become routine. Because what is easy is to fall into that sort of mindless action that happens when we've done something so often that the doing becomes automatic. When we light incense regularly in our spiritual practice how quickly do we stop doing it with intention and just light it so we can move on to the next step? When we pour out a bit of drink or give a bit of food as an offering to the spirits [outside of ritual] how quickly does the action become habit and the meaning get lost? doing by rote means doing by reflex without the mind engaged and with things like spirituality and witchcraft that isn't always the best idea. Easy is hard.

As soon as we stop thinking about what we are doing and why we are doing it, we are in trouble. Because like everything else, once we stop thinking about it we stop caring about, stop putting emotion and energy into it. Laziness and lethargy sneak in and it is surprising how quickly we can stop doing the 'easy' things altogether. Stop grounding and centering regularly. Stop shielding constantly. Stop cleansing often. Stop all the basic things that the complex things are built on, without realizing that in the process we are undermining ourselves.

I'm not saying everyone has to take their spirituality to a professional level, of course, there have always been lay people in every religion and its fine if spirituality is a casual concept for you. However even a casual spirituality should be done well if you are going to bother doing it at all. I mean I'm not a professional baker, but if I bake a cake I want to do my best to get the best result and the same should hold true for any endeavor including spirituality. Otherwise why bother at all?

I don't believe in easy anymore. The easier it looks, the harder it will be to do well for any length of time.