October | 2008 | Walking the Hedge

Monthly Archives: October 2008

Rollright stones, and Elder Tree

Published October 19, 2008 | By Juniper

An ancient Elder stands alone
With dark-leafed ivy overgrown:
Thick perfume, and the milky white
Flowers in the growing night.
Here in the bark your eye may trace
The outline of a wizened face,
But few are those who’ve lived to see
Who lives within the Elder tree.

A Danish king with men four score
Came to England to make war;
They fought their way up to the wolds,
Pillaging and stealing gold,
Until at last one summers night
He came to camp in old Rollright.
He came there shouting, Stick, stock, stone!
As England’s King shall I be known!

Three of his men were less than sure
That he was right to thus wage war;
A wee way off they stopped to stoop,
And huddle, in a little group.
But up the hillside forged the king,
His other men stood in a ring;
They stood there chanting, Stick, stock, stone!
As England’s King shall he be known!

But as the King climbed up the hill,
All down his back he felt a chill;
He turned around: naught could he see
But a gnarled old elder tree.
He shrugged his shoulders and he grinned,
Why, it was nothing but the… Continue reading →

Posted in Bardic Circle | Tagged folklore, Poems, stone

The War of the Ring

Published October 18, 2008 | By Juniper

The War of the Ring

Shadows strange and cold are growing,

the darkness is slowly deeping

Dreams of a great wave crashing

over green fields drowning

Where were you when the Westfold fell?

Courage hewn in the heart of Helm’s Deep

Ride with speed my horse lord brother

let us fight and die together

In a forest deep and groaning

an ancient force no longer sleeping

The filthy fires of war and evil

drowned in nature’s roaring fury

Do not despair when all hope is lost

and the white city is burning

ride in wrath at the world’s ending

Face evil in a charge of fearless frenzy

Death, death, death, death!

blows the mighty horn

Against and enemy so great

today the world of Men decides it fate

And when the Nazgul are screaming

a shield-maiden finds her valour

Did Denithor see the Witch King fall

while he burned of his own making?

Slake my thirst in Mordor

Heavy burden around my neck

Carry me up the mountain Sam

There is no going home again

The White Rider is coming,

will he keep faith knowing

the world’s hope is resting

in the hands of a little half-ling?

Be strong standing… Continue reading →

Posted in Bardic Circle | Tagged Poems

The Hedge

Published October 15, 2008 | By Juniper

The Hedge: A very English and Anglo-Saxon term for the Veil between Worlds. To “thin”, “prune” or “create a gap” in the Hedge is akin to opening a gateway to the otherworld.

Hedge Riding: Also known as Walking the Hedge or Crossing the Hedge, soul flight or shamanic journey.

Laying, or Raising, the Hedge: Somewhat similar to Circle casting, or creating a Grove in Druid ritual, the witch visualizes a hedgerow growing up about the ritual space, acting as a filter to keep certain spirits and entities out, while keeping others in.
Also used as a method to create or mark out a gap in the Hedge (or Veil between worlds) so that witches can interact with, or enter into, the otherworlds.
Laying the Hedge may also be used to “dam in” the Bloody Acre. There are many different interpretations and methods.

Walking the Hedge: 1) The state of being where a witch stands “with one foot in this world and one foot in the otherworld”; a kind of ritual or altered state of consciousness.
2) Also refers to soul flight and journey into the other world.

Posted in Crossing the Hedge, Getting Started | Tagged 101, Crossing the Hedge

This Weeks Featured Links

Published October 15, 2008 | By Juniper

Happy reading folks!

http://www.archaeology.org/

http://www.tangledwoodstradition.org/

http://diannesylvan.typepad.com/dancing_down_the_moon/2008/01/witch-please.html

http://www.ancientscripts.com/

Posted in Getting Started | Tagged 101, Links

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Published October 11, 2008 | By Juniper

I will be out of town for Canadian Thanksgiving folks, so if I’m not around for a few days, that would be why. Have a great Turkey Day my fellow Canucks!

In the mean time, here is a piece if some beautiful literature for you to enjoy:

An excerpt from Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

Chapter Seven: the Piper at the Gates of Dawn

… Then suddenly the Mole felt a great Awe fall upon him, an awe that turned his muscles to water, bowed his head, and rooted his feet to the ground. It was no panic terror- indeed he felt wonderfully at peace and happy- but it was an awe that smote and held him and, without seeing, he knew it could only mean that some august Presence was very, very near. With difficulty he turned to look for his friend. And saw him at his side cowed, stricken, and trembling violently. And still there was utter silence in the populous bird-haunted branches around them; and still the light grew and grew.

Perhaps he would never have dared to raise his eyes, but that, though the piping was now hushed, the call and the summons seemed… Continue reading →

Posted in Bardic Circle | Tagged Bardic Circle, Horned One

Walking the Hedge

Rollright stones, and Elder Tree

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