Archive for the ‘Study’ Category

Call of the Horned Piper – Nigel Jackson

Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits – Emma Wilby

Hedge-Rider: Witches of the Underworld – Eric de Vries

Secrets of East Anglian Magic – Nigel Pennick

Shamanism: Archaic Techniques of Ecstasy – Mircea Eliade

The Nature Path – Starhawk

Masks of Misrule: The Horned God & His Cult in Europe – Nigel Jackson

Natural Magic – Doreen Valiente

Shamans – Ronald Hutton

Psychedelic Shamanism: The Cultivation, Preparation & Shamanic Use of Psychoactive Plants – Jim Dekorne

The Way of the Hedge Witch: Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home – Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History – Owen Davies

The Way of the Green Witch: Rituals, Spells, And Practices to Bring You Back to Nature – Arin Murphy-Hiscock

Spiritwalking – Poppy Palin

Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healing – Stephen Pollington

Encyclopedia of Natural Magick – John Michael Greer

Craft Of The Wild Witch: Green Spirituality & Natural Enchantment – Poppy Palin

Healing Wise (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed

Ecoshamanism: Sacred Practices of Unity, Power and Earth Healing – James Endredy

Ancient Herbs – Marina Heilmeyer

Plant Spirit Shamanism: Traditional Techniques for Healing the Soul – Ross Heaven, Howard G. Charing, and Pablo Amaringo

Nine Worlds of Seid-Magic: Ecstasy and Neo-Shamanism in North European Paganism – Jenny Blain

The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill – Robin Artisson

The Other Side of Virtue – Dr. Brendan Myers

The Basic Essentials of Edible Wild Plants and Useful Herbs – Jim Meuninck

Peterson First Guides: Trees – George Petrides, Olivia Petrides , Janet Wehr

The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety – Simon Mills

The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs – Lesley Bremness

The Secret Garden: Talking Beetles and Signaling Trees: The Hidden Ways Gardens Communicate – David Bodanis

Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth – James Lovelock

The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth – James E. Lovelock

The Magical Household – Scott Cunningham

Herbs of the Northern Shaman – Steve Andrews

Pagan Visions For A Sustainable Future – Ly de Angeles Emma Restall Orr, Thom van Dooren

Walking With Spirit: A Guide to Working with the Otherworlds – Poppy Palin

Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft: The Complete A-Z for the Entire Magical World – Judika Illes

Irish Witchcraft – Lora O’Brien

Earth Spirit Living: Bringing Heaven and Nature into Your Home – Ann Marie Holmes

Green Pharmacy: The History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine – Barbara Griggs

Sacred Gaia: Holistic Theology and Earth System Science – Anne Primavesi

Wild Witchcraft: A Guide to Natural, Herbal and Earth Magic – Marian Green

Natural Witchcraft: The Timeless Arts and Crafts of the Country Witch (Natural Way) – Marian Green

The Wild Plant Companion: A Fresh Understanding of Herbal Food and Medicine – Kathryn G. March

The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy: An Herbalist’s Guide to Preparing Medicinal Essences, Tinctures, and Elixirs – Manfred M. Junius

Veterinary Herbal Medicine – Susan G. Wynn

Psychedelics Encyclopedia – Peter Stafford

The Secret Life of Plants – Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird

The Magical Garden: Spells, Charms, and Lore for magical Gardens and the Curious Gardeners Who Tell – Sophia and Denny Sargent

The Healing Power of Celtic Plants: Their History, Their Use, and the Scientific Evidence That They Work – Angela Paine

The Fairy Faith In Celtic Countries – WY Evans Wentz

The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It – John Seymour

The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore – Ann Field

Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up – Ellen Dugan

Spellcraft – Robin Skelton

White Magic: And the Cunning Folk – Karen L. O’Brien

Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic – Cat Yronwode

The Horn of Evenwood – Robin Artisson

Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants – Claudia Muller -Ebeling, Christian Ratsch, Wolf Dieter Storl ph.D

The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales

Aradia: or the Gospel of the Witches – Charles G. Leland

Traditions And Hearthside Stories Of West Cornwall – William Bothell (an old Celt)

The Philosophy of Natural Magic – Henry Cornelius Agrippa, ed. L. W. de Laurence

The Roebuck in the Thicket: An Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Witchcraft Tradition – Evan John Jones, Robert Cochrane, and Michael Howard

The Pillars of Tubal Cain – Nigel Jackson

Leechdoms, Wortcunning, and Starcraft of Early England: A Collection of Documents, for the Most Part Never Before Printed, Illustrating the History of Science in This Country Before the Norman Conquest. Volumes I; II: III – Thomas Oswald Cockayne and Charles Singer

The Forager’s Harvest: A Guide to Identifying, Harvesting, and Preparing Edible Wild Plants – Samuel Thayer

(By no means complete or anything)

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” ~ Joseph Campbell

Throughout history the hearth has had a special significance in the home. For ancient cultures, the hearth was the center of the home. Nearly every household in history had a hearth, in one form or another, which was particularly respected by each member of the family, but typically cared for and safeguarded by the household matriarch. The fire had greater meaning than merely the source of light and warmth it symbolized the lifeline of the family and its ancestry.

In Modern days, the kitchen is still a focal point of the home, as is the fireplace. Even the fire pit out in the backyard is still a place around which humanity instinctively congregates. Personally, the sound of the furnace “firing up” is very welcome in my home during winter.

Finding the sacred in your home is as easy as stopping for a minute, and thinking about the sources of heat, warmth, comfort, food and togetherness in your home. This may be the ornamental fireplace, the stove, the fire pit outside, even if you lack all these things, there is still someplace in your home where you and any members of the household congregate.

It may seem daunting to select a windowsill in the kitchen, a place on the mantle etc to create a new shrine. It doesn’t have to be. Are not the family photos on the television a kind of shrine? Is not the collection of knickknacks and oddball items on the microwave stand full of sentimental value and fond memories?

Choose one such place in the home and finding a way to signify the importance of the spirit of hearth and home. This spot will be shrine to family, home and the hearth flame. It will be a place to honor household gods and invite helpful household spirits to bring protection to your home.

“To this very day fire is sacred to all Lithuanians. No other phenomenon fits religion so well as fire. Only the flame turns wisdom to the path of spirituality” ~ Vydunas

Lets take a look at what Sacred really IS:

Sacred:

* Dedicated to or set apart for the worship of a deity/In the service or worship of a god

* Worthy of religious veneration

* Made or declared holy

* Dedicated or devoted exclusively to a single use, purpose, or person

* Worthy of respect; venerable/ Regarded with particular reverence or respect.

* Of or relating to religious objects, rites, or practices

* Protected from violation or abuse by custom, law, or feelings of reverence

* Given over exclusively to a single use or purpose

A lot of what is Sacred boils down to perspective. Making the conscious decision to treat your kitchen, fireplace, woodstove etc as something sacred. An electric range or modern stove can have a dual purpose, to provide food and to act as a ritual object in its own right. Even the most modern oven can be home to the ancient hearth flame.

The simple act of placing a candle or lamp in a corner of the kitchen or living room can bring the sacred into that room, if done with the right will and intent.

Take a second look at your kitchen, or around the area of your chosen “hearth”. Sometimes something as simple as painting or wallpapering a border, putting an attractive piece of fabric on a shelf or placing family mementos and pictures of your dog can help to encourage a sense of a sacred and magickal home. Hanging something decorative in the window, or hanging a new picture on the wall may seem like ordinary acts, but that is entirely the point. Hearth craft is all about finding the sacred and magickal in ordinary, everyday acts.

Hearth Craft

“An rud a nitear sa chuil, thig e dh’ionnsaigh an teine” ~ What’s done in the corner will come to the hearth.

“No matter where I serve my guests, it seems they like the kitchen best” ~ A decorative plate that once hung in my Great Grandmother’s kitchen.

In these modern times, in Western society especially, the home of today is centered on the television. The furniture is placed strategically around it; the couch or sofa faces it and the faces of the family are also turned towards it. Often our most prized family photos, trophies, mementos and the like rest on or near it. Surely if archaeologists one day dig up the bones of our civilization, they will think the television was our God.

But before primetime TV and soaps operas took over our lives, before Nintendo and Xbox, the household and everyone in it would gather around the family stove, and before that, the hearth. The hearth was such in integral part of European (and Colonial) culture that there was no separating hearth and home, fireside and family. In fact, the word for “hearth” in Latin is “focus”.

Hearthcraft is working with the magick and spirit of hearth, home, kith and kin. In Hearthcraft the entire house and the land it sits on is sacred space, the home the family’s temple, centered on the hearth. Be that hearth a fireplace, a woodstove or modern electric range. In Hearthcraft, the home is hallowed.

Even cleaning can become a ritual. In fact, life is made up of a series of little routines we go about day by day; hearthcraft is the practise of recognizing the magick in every day routines and traditions. There are many spells involving the use of a mop or broom. Many “cleansings” that Pagan practitioners do, involve literally cleaning the space before doing the spiritual cleansing.

The hearth plays an important part in folklore and the traditions of the family home. A large part of most holidays and festivals throughout history is feasting, as well as lighting the hearth.

Hearthcraft is grounded in commonsense and practicality; it is using what is available to you. A healing spell is a bowl of chicken soup; a purification ritual is sweeping the floor; a ritual to honor the gods is cleaning the fireplace.

Hearthcraft is finding the sacred, the spiritual and the magickal in everyday things. It is bringing that “special something” into a house that makes it a home.

I came across this old reading list on Mysticwicks the other day. I like the MW Magazine (I have a couple of articles in early editions) but have neglected the forum for a while now. Anyways it seems 4 years later people are still using this reading list and I realized its not on the Hedge!

It used to be, back in the early days when the Hedge was lavender, pink and pastel green … written by hand in novice HTML code. Remember those days? hehehehe

So for old times sake, here is an old reading list. Not sure if all these books would be on this list today, and I wouldn’t be so bold and arrogant as to separate things into categories such as Beginner or Advanced. But I will let it stand as it was some 4 years ago (or however long its been, has it been that long???)

You can find a somewhat updated list here.

Some Book Suggestions for a Nature Witch

* Books with an asterisk are on Juniper’s favorite list.*

I would recommend reading at least one book in each subject group before moving on to the next level (beginner to intermediate, intermediate to advanced) as an absolute minimum.
Beginner

Identification, Science & Research

* Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in Wild (and Not So Wild) Places – Steve Brill *
* National Geographic Field Guide to Trees of North America – Keith Rushforth, Charles Hollis
* North american wildlife: trees and nonflowering plants field guide – Reader’s Digest Editors
* The Basic Essentials of Edible Wild Plants and Useful Herbs – Jim Meuninck
* Trees of North America: A Guide to Field Identification, Revised and Updated – C. Frank Brockman, Rebecca Marrilees
* American Horticultural Society A to Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants – H. Marc Cathey
* Flora: A Gardener’s Encyclopedia – Sean Hogan *
* Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide – Thomas Elias
* Peterson First Guides: Trees – George Petrides, Olivia Petrides , Janet Wehr *
* Earth Science – Edward J. Tarbuck
* National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers (Eastern Region) – William A. Niering, Nancy C. Olmstead, Susan Rayfield, and Carol Nehring

Propagation & Cultivation (Gardening & Growing)

* Growing Herbs from Seed, Cutting & Root: An Adventure in Small Miracles – Thomas Debaggio
* Jerry Baker’s Giant Book of Garden Solutions: 1,954 Natural Remedies to Handle Your Toughest Garden Problems – Jerry Baker
* Let It Rot! the Gardener’s Guide to Composting (Down-to-Earth Book) – Stu Campbell
* Rodale’s Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening – Anna Kruger

Herbal & Natural Health

* The Essential Guide to Herbal Safety – Simon Mills *
* The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism: A Comprehensive Guide to Practical Herbal Therapy – Simon Mills *
* The Herbal Medicine Maker’s Handbook: A Home Manual – James Green
* Jeanne Rose: Herbal Body Book: The Herbal Way to Natural Beauty & Health for Men & Women – Jeanne Rose
* The Way of Herbs – Michael Tierra

Magickal & Spiritual

* The Wicca Garden: A Modern Witch’s Book of Magickal & Enchanted Herbs & Plants – Gerina Dunwich
* The Magical Garden: Spells, Charms, and Lore for magical Gardens and the Curious Gardeners Who Tell -Sophia and Denny Sargent
* The Green Witch Herbal: Restoring Nature’s Magic in Home, Health, and Beauty Care – Barbara Griggs
* Magical Herbalism – Scott Cunningham *
* Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs – Scott Cunningham
* Garden Witchery: Magick from the Ground Up – Ellen Dugan
* Real Witches Garden – Kate West
* Earth Power – Scott Cunningham
* Natural Witchery: Intuitive, Personal & Practical Magick – Ellen Dugan
* Herb Magic For Beginners – Ellen Dugan
* The Elements of Natural Magic (Elements of) – Marian Green
* Craft Of The Wild Witch: Green Spirituality & Natural Enchantment – Poppy Palin
* Green Witchcraft: Folk Magic, Fairy Lore & Herb Craft – Aoumiel, Ann Moura
* Grimoire For The Green Witch: A Complete Book of Shadows – Ann Moura
* Green Magic: The Sacred Connection to Nature – Ann Moura

Incense, Oils & more

* Wylundt’s Book of Incense: A Magical Primer – Wylundt
* Incense: Crafting and Use of Magickal Scents – Carl Neal *
* Complete Book Of Incense, Oils & Brews – Scott Cunningham *

Lifestyles & the Environment

* It’s Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living – Crissy Trask
* Living Green: A Practical Guide to Simple Sustainability – Greg Horn

Home & Hearth

* Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Wicca in the Kitchen – Scott Cunningham
* Cottage Witchery: Natural Magick for Hearth and Home – Ellen Dugan
* The Magical Household – Scott Cunningham *
* Clean House Clean Planet – Karen Logan
* The Naturally Clean Home: 100 Safe and Easy Herbal Formulas for Non-Toxic Cleansers – Karyn Siegel-Maier

Folklore & Mythology

* The Meaning of Herbs: Myth, Language & Lore – Ann Field
* Folklore and Symbolism of Flowers, Plants and Trees (Dover Pictorial Archive Series) – Ernst Lehner (Author), Johanna Lehner

Well Rounded (or a little bit of everything)

* The Complete Book of Herbs: A Practical Guide to Growing and Using Herbs – Lesley Bremness *
* Herbs & Things – Jeanne Rose *
* Your Backyard Herb Garden: A Gardener’s Guide to Growing Over 50 Herbs Plus How to Use Them in Cooking, Crafts, Companion Planting and More – Miranda Smith
Intermediate

Identification, Science and Research

* Green Pharmacy: The History and Evolution of Western Herbal Medicine (Paperback) – Barbara Griggs
* The Healing Power of Celtic Plants: Their History, Their Use, and the Scientific Evidence That They Work (Paperback) – Angela Paine
* Botany for Gardeners – Brian Capon *

Propagation & Cultivation (Gardening & Growing)

* The Secret Garden: Talking Beetles and Signaling Trees: The Hidden Ways Gardens Communicate – David Bodanis
* Making an Herb Garden: Beautiful Designs, Plantings and Ornamentation -Catherine Mason
* Growing 101 Herbs that Heal: Gardening Techniques, Recipes, and Remedies – Tammi Hartung
* Burpee : The Complete Vegetable & Herb Gardener : A Guide to Growing Your Garden Organically – Karan Davis Cutler, Cavagnarok David, Barbara W. Ellis, David Cavagnaro
* Bud, Blossom, & Leaf: The Magical Herb Gardener’s Handbook – Dorothy Morrison
* Herb Garden Design – Ethne Clarke
* Gaia’s Garden: A Guide to Home-Scale Permaculture – Toby Hemenway *
* Introduction to Permaculture – Bill Mollison *

Herbal & Natural Health

* Wicca Herbal: Guide to Healing Body and Spirit with Magickal Herbs -Jamie Wood
* Mastering Herbalism: A Practical Guide – Paul Huson
* Healing Wise (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed *
* Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed
* New Menopausal Years, The Wise Woman Way: Alternative Approaches for Women 30-90 (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed
* Breast Cancer? Breast Health! The Wise Woman Way (Wise Woman Herbal Series) – Susun S. Weed, Alan McKnight, Christine Northrup

Magickal & Spiritual

* The Nature Path – Starhawk *
* The Magical and Ritual Use of Herbs – Richard Alan Miller
* Wild Witchcraft: A Guide to Natural, Herbal and Earth Magic – Marian Green
* Natural Witchcraft: The Timeless Arts and Crafts of the Country Witch (Natural Way) – Marian Green
* Natural Magic – Doreen Valiente *
* Green Witchcraft II Ann Moura

Incense, Oils & more

* 375 Essential Oils – Jeanne Rose *
* Aromatherapy Book: Inhalations and Applications – Jeanne Rose
* Jeanne Rose’s Kitchen Cosmetics: Using Herbs, Fruit and Flowers for Natural Bodycare – Jeanne Rose
* Magick Potions: How to Prepare and Use Homemade Incense, Oils, Aphordisacs, and Much More – Gerina Dunwich
* A Dyer’s Garden: From Plant to Pot Growing Dyes for Natural Fibers – Rita Buchanan

Lifestyles & the Environment

* The Self-sufficient Life and How to Live It – John Seymour
* Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth James Lovelock *
* The Ages of Gaia: A Biography of Our Living Earth – James E. Lovelock *

Home & Hearth

* The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Solar Power for your Home, 2nd Edition – Dan Ramsey

Folklore & Mythology

* Celtic Tree Magic – Elizabeth Pepper

Well Rounded (or a little bit of everything)

* Herbs: Gardens, Decorations, and Recipes – Emelie Tolley
* The Herb Society of America’s Essential Guide to Growing and Cooking With Herbs – Katherine K. Schlosser
* The Wild Plant Companion: A Fresh Understanding of Herbal Food and Medicine – Kathryn G. March *
* The Meaning of Trees: Botany, History, Healing, Lore – Fred Hageneder
Advanced

Identification, Science and Research

* The Secret Life of Plants – Peter Tompkins, Christopher Bird *
* Seed to Seed: The Secret Life of Plants – Nicholas Harberd
* Scientific Validation of Herbal Medicine – Daniel Mowrey *

Propagation & Cultivation (Gardening & Growing)

* The Medicine Wheel Garden: Creating Sacred Space for Healing, Celebration, and Tranquillity – E. Barrie Kavasch
* Herbal Tea Gardens: 22 Plans for Your Enjoyment & Well-Being – Marietta Marshall Marcin
* Growing At-Risk Medicinal Herbs, Cultivation, Conservation and Ecology – Richo Cech
* The Self-Sustaining Garden: A Gardener’s Guide to Matrix Planting – Peter Thompson *
* The Organic Gardener’s Handbook of Natural Insect and Disease Control: A Complete Problem-Solving Guide to Keeping Your Garden and Yard Healthy Without Chemicals – Barbara W. Ellis, Fern Marshall Bradley
* Permaculture: A Designers’ Manual – Bill Mollison *

Herbal & Natural Health

* Leechcraft: Early English Charms, Plantlore and Healing – Stephen Pollington
* Veterinary Herbal Medicine – Susan G. Wynn
* Principles and Practice of Phytotherapy: Modern Herbal Medicine – Simon Mills *

Magickal & Spiritual

* Herbs of the Northern Shaman – Steve Andrews
* Psychedelic Shamanism: The Cultivation, Preparation & Shamanic Use of Psychoactive Plants – Jim Dekorne
* Psychedelics Encyclopedia – Peter Stafford
* The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications – Christian Ratsch
* Ecoshamanism: Sacred Practices of Unity, Power and Earth Healing – James Endredy *
* Planetary Herbology – Michael Tierra
* Green Witchcraft III: The Manual – Ann Moura
* Gaia Eros: Reconnecting to the Magic and Spirit of Nature – Jesse Wolf Hardin

Incense, Oils & More

* The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy and Herbalism (Illustrated Encyclopedia) – Julia Lawless
* The Book of Incense: Enjoying the Traditional Art of Japanese Scents – Kiyoko Morita
* The Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy: An Herbalist’s Guide to Preparing Medicinal Essences, Tinctures, and Elixirs – Manfred M. Junius

Lifestyles & the Environment

* The Renewable Energy Handbook: A Guide to Rural Energy Independence, Off-grid And Sustainable Living – William H. Kemp
* Sacred Gaia: Holistic Theology and Earth System Science – Anne Primavesi *

Home & Hearth

* Natural Remodeling for the Not-So-Green House: Bringing Your Home into Harmony with Nature – Carol Venolia, Kelly Lerner
* The Homeowner’s Guide to Renewable Energy: Achieving Energy Independence Through Solar, Wind, Biomass And Hydropower – Daniel D. Chiras

Folklore & Mythology

* Ancient Herbs – Marina Heilmeyer

The Song of Spells

145.
Those songs I know, which nor sons of men
nor queen in a king’s court knows;
the first is Help which will bring thee help
in all woes and in sorrow and strife.
146.
A second I know, which the son of men
must sing, who would heal the sick.
147.
A third I know: if sore need should come
of a spell to stay my foes;
when I sing that song, which shall blunt their swords,
nor their weapons nor staves can wound.
148.
A fourth I know: if men make fast
in chains the joints of my limbs,
when I sing that song which shall set me free,
spring the fetters from hands and feet.
149.
A fifth I know: when I see, by foes shot,
speeding a shaft through the host,
flies it never so strongly I still can stay it,
if I get but a glimpse of its flight.
150.
A sixth I know: when some thane would harm me
in runes on a moist tree’s root,
on his head alone shall light the ills
of the curse that he called upon mine.
151.
A seventh I know: if I see a hall
high o’er the bench-mates blazing,
flame it ne’er so fiercely I still can save it, –
I know how to sing that song.
152.
An eighth I know: which all can sing
for their weal if they learn it well;
where hate shall wax ‘mid the warrior sons,
I can calm it soon with that song.
153.
A ninth I know: when need befalls me
to save my vessel afloat,
I hush the wind on the stormy wave,
and soothe all the sea to rest.
154.
A tenth I know: when at night the witches
ride and sport in the air,
such spells I weave that they wander home
out of skins and wits bewildered.
155.
An eleventh I know: if haply I lead
my old comrades out to war,
I sing ‘neath the shields, and they fare forth mightily
safe into battle,
safe out of battle,
and safe return from the strife.
156.
A twelfth I know: if I see in a tree
a corpse from a halter hanging,
such spells I write, and paint in runes,
that the being descends and speaks.
157.
A thirteenth I know: if the new-born son
of a warrior I sprinkle with water,
that youth will not fail when he fares to war,
never slain shall he bow before sword.
158.
A fourteenth I know: if I needs must number
the Powers to the people of men,
I know all the nature of gods and of elves
which none can know untaught.
159.
A fifteenth I know, which Folk-stirrer sang,
the dwarf, at the gates of Dawn;
he sang strength to the gods, and skill to the elves,
and wisdom to Odin who utters.
160.
A sixteenth I know: when all sweetness and love
I would win from some artful wench,
her heart I turn, and the whole mind change
of that fair-armed lady I love.
161.
A seventeenth I know: so that e’en the shy maiden
is slow to shun my love.
162.
These songs, Stray-Singer, which man’s son knows not,
long shalt thou lack in life,
though thy weal if thou win’st them, thy boon if thou obey’st them
thy good if haply thou gain’st them.
163.
An eighteenth I know: which I ne’er shall tell
to maiden or wife of man
save alone to my sister, or haply to her
who folds me fast in her arms;
most safe are secrets known to but one-
the songs are sung to an end.
164.
Now the sayings of the High One are uttered in the hall
for the weal of men, for the woe of Jötuns,
Hail, thou who hast spoken! Hail, thou that knowest!
Hail, ye that have hearkened! Use, thou who hast learned!

Source: The Elder or Poetic Edda, commonly known as Sæmund’s Edda, part I: The Mythological Poems, edited and translated by Olive Bray (London: Printed for the Viking Club, 1908), pp. 61-111.

And since it is this verse that interests hedgewitches so much, here are a few other translations of that part:

I know this, the tenth:
If I see the hedge-riders magically flying high,
I can make it so that they go astray
Of their own skins, and of their own souls.

I know the tenth:
if I see witches
playing in the air,
I can so arrange it
that they go astray
from their proper shapes
and proper thoughts.

I know a tenth:
if troublesome ghosts
Ride the rafters aloft,
I can work it so they wander astray,
Unable to find their forms,
Unable to find their homes.

The tenth rune-spell that I know:
When the witches have gone Hedge-riding
I can close the gap in the Hedge
So that their minds and souls
Cannot find home and return to their bodies

I have just as much issue with thoughtless Pagans who blindly follow whatever they are told or read, who run off into the bush to do some spell or ritual without properly understanding the whys and wherefores and meaning behind them, as I do with armchair Pagans who only read, think and theorise but never get off their ass and DO something.

Because both, in my not-so-humble opinion, are missing out on half the equation.

If you practice and pray and ritualise lots without understanding the theory behind what you are doing, you don’t know shit.

And if you theorise and philosophise endlessly without actually practicing, you also don’t know shit.

There is a balance that must be achieved. And yes, so long as there is a balance, you can lean more one-way than the other (I’m more of a practice girl myself)

The Pagans and Witches who run off and, just as an example, go out into the woods and cover themselves with flying ointment hoping to get that deep spiritual experience without doing their research, without understanding the whys and the wherefores, will almost always at some point learn the hard way. (Yes, I am speaking from experience here)

But those armchair pagans, what happens to them? Other than their ass growing fat that is. Do they ever learn the hard way? Maybe so, when they one day find themselves with nothing but ideas, can you be spiritually fulfilled by just ideas? I dunno, but I don’t think so. Not really, deep down.

Now don’t get me wrong, both camps have something to offer. The thinkers give us the material we work with after all, and the practitioners give the thinkers somebody to actually try out their theories and research. You can’t have one without the other.

It’s all about balance.

I’d like to see more armchair pagans come out and play in the woods, and I’d like to see more practitioners sitting in the library. I’d also like to see more actual cooperation, dialogue, discussion and sharing between the two camps. Folks who are in the middle make great bridges as well.

Imagine how fully and maturely Paganism and Witchcraft would grow then … beautiful isn’t it?

“If facts are the seeds that later produce knowledge and wisdom, then the emotions and the impressions of the senses are the fertile soil in which the seeds must grow.”
~ Rachel Carson