A Witch Alone: Thirteen moons to master natural magic

This book is dedicated to Ronald Hutton,

who has done so much to unveil the mysteries of witchcraft to the 21st-century world

Cover Page

Title Page

Dedication

SONG OF THE ALL-MOTHER

LORD OF THE WILDWOOD

THE PARADOXICAL GODDESS

Introduction

ONE A New Moon and a New Dream

TWO Meeting the Goddess and God of the Witches

THREE The Sacred Cycles

FOUR A Circle Between the Worlds

FIVE The Journey to the Otherworld

SIX Seeking Out Pagan Traces

SEVEN Considering the Healing Arts

EIGHT The Old Crafts of Divination and Dowsing

NINE Plant Power

TEN Moon Magic and Solar Cycles

ELEVEN Recovering the Ancient Wisdom

TWELVE Dedication to the Old Ways

THIRTEEN Completing the Circle

To contact an international pagan organization

INDEX

About the Author

Other Books

Copyright

About the Publisher

I am the Mother Earth, and you’re a Child to me,

Discover who you are and seek divinity.

Rocks and stones and clay and peat – all strata are a part of me,

Jewels and crystals, gems and gold are hidden in the heart of me.

Herbs and flowers, trees and shrubs, these are growing green on me,

Mosses, fungi, lichens, vines, all of these are seen on me.

Horses, cattle, pigs and deer, bears and lions roam on me,

Snakes and spiders, rats and slugs, all creatures have their home on me.

Bubbling brooks and silent springs, living rivers flow on me,

Pools and puddles, lakes and seas, salty oceans grow on me.

Tiny tiddlers, mighty whales, sacred salmon leap for me,

Sharks and squid and crabs and krill fill the waters deep for me.

Wrens and larks and crows and terns fill my skies with darting flight,

Hawks and eagles, bats and owls catch their prey by day and night.

Creeping worm and flying fox, teeming ants fulfil their lives,

In tune with me, in Nature’s way, as honey bees enrich my hives.

Only humans rob their kin, despoil the land, pollute the seas,

Kill for fun, destroy the woods, float poisoned vapours on the breeze.

I shall live, for I can heal, even if you humans die,

But you can learn, as Children should, to grow in peace beneath the sky.

A silence lies on the Wildwood,

The light of the stars grows dim,

The wind has died in the branches,

But a shadow moves. It is Him!

He is the stag in the moonlight,

The stallion alone on the hill,

The bull that paws at the tussocks,

The salmon that leaps in the rill.

Each is a part of the Hunter,

The Godhead that lives in the Dark,

Lord of the Wild and the Hidden,

At midnight, the small breathing spark.

His is the glory of sunrise,

The greenness that rises in spring,

His is the force of the tempest,

The strength in the wild eagle’s wing.

His is the voice of the pan-pipes,

The power that governs the land,

But She is his wife and his Mother,

And he dwells in the palm of her hand.

Lady of the threefold shifting light,

Whose form is Earth, by day and night,

And yet about you flows eternal ocean,

Goddess so still, yet in perpetual motion.

Moon, sister-self and triple aspect of the Triple One,

Maiden, God creator, wise and ancient Crone.

Thou who art Earth, and Moon, and Sea,

Mother of All, thou madest me.

From your dark bones, from green and flesh,

From crystal waters and the quiet wind’s breath,

These came from you, and now are me,

Eternal spirit clothed in frailty.

Yet beyond these there endless dwells

A light that from some star-seed fell.

Goddess of Life and Love and Paradox,

Keeper of the keys to all the locks,

Of Mysteries, of Earth and Sky,

Pray answer me. Who am I?

I am brother to dragons and companion to owls…

Old Testament; Job 29:30

Many people are drawn, these days, to the idea of witchcraft. Some seek religious freedom, some wish for magical powers, some wish to reawaken the ancient links with our Mother Earth, or seek healing of both body and spirit.

Some wish to be part of covens, to share ceremonies and regular meetings with like-minded folk in the comfort of their own homes. Others, however, have heard wilder music, playing to an older beat, and wish to reunite with Mother Nature, alone, out of doors, under the light of the stars and changing moonlight, in a simpler way. It is for those people I am writing this book. Those who seek covens have been well served by recent publications and they will find the contacts they require if they look diligently, but others who do not wish to join with a group, or cannot because of their work or family commitments, those who wish to master the ancient arts of magic, the personal pagan faith, the various ancient crafts alone, may need this guidance.

The solo occult path is a traditional one, following in the footsteps of the oracle, the hermit, the shaman or Druid priest. Even those who are able to share the festivals and healing rites with others may wish to develop their personal spiritual dimensions, gaining self-confidence and power as an individual witch as well as a member of a coven. But the solo path in any study is hard, and that which leads through the hidden worlds of witchcraft perhaps even more so, because it is dealing with intangible things, with ‘inner worlds’, with gods and goddesses, and ancient myths and magic. Much of the work involves dealing with symbols, with mysterious forces, and seeing with illuminated vision things invisible to the ordinary, waking eye. Beginners will have to get used to dealing with the past, and the future, or aligning themselves with a new pattern of celebrations and milestones in the turning year, with the phases of the moon and with their own inner tides. They will have to make contact with the gods and goddesses, but they will find that the Mighty Ones are gentle, treating those nervously taking their first tentative steps into the world of magic as delicate chicks or small children. It does not mean that they are always so mild, and the student will soon discover their fiercer faces can be shown to protect or ward off interference. The kindliest goddess can still scold her children if their demands are excessive.