Practice

My own practice has developed out of a Wiccan initiation & training which was influenced by Gardnerian, Alexandrian & Traditional Craft. I now hold a very eclectic set of beliefs. I have had some basic Shamanic training too, which ties in very well with my Wiccan background. So, what do I do? I'm only going to give you an outline, but I hope it will be enough to give you an idea of what the Craft is all about.

Many witches have some simple ritual which they do every day. This is common in most religions and is an important way to keep yourself focused and in touch with Spirit. My daily practice includes a morning meditation, a greeting to the Elements and the lighting of a candle in honour of Hekate.

Meditation calms my mind, sharpens spiritual awareness and helps keep me grounded. I use a Tibetan singing bowl to greet the Elements, turning to each of the four cardinal points and opening my awareness to the Elementals of that direction. The Four Elements of Air, Fire, Water and Earth are central to the Western Tradition of magic. Each Element has many attributes and associations. These attributions vary a little in different traditions, but the principles remain the same.

Briefly:

• The Element of Air relates to our intellectual capacities; language, communication, thought, reading, writing and reason.
• Fire is related to energy, hot passions, physical activity (like sport, dancing and sex) and sudden transformations.
• The Element of Water relates to sensitivity and emotions, especially love.
• Earth is the manifestation of the material world; physical reality, our physical bodies, money and planet Earth.
• Spirit is where the Elements dance together, weaving all that is.

Each Element is associated with a compass point. The witch would usually face East to invite Air, South for Fire, West to invite Water, and North for Earth. Spirit is often represented as being in the center of the magic circle.

Of course all the Elements are everywhere, and these directions simply provide a formal system to help cast the circle. Most witches will take as much or more notice of the natural environment they are working in. If there is a lake in the East and a mountain in the West, then we would adapt our working accordingly.

Greeting the Elements

Each morning I connect to, honour and greet each Element at the compass points. I usually use a singing bowl, but it’s not essential. I turn to each quarter, and connect to the Element of that direction. This has several strands:

• I sense and connect to the energy of the Element as it exists in the outside world;
• I greet and connect to the energy of the Element on a metaphysical level;
• I sense that Element in my self – in my body and in my Spirit;
• I bring to mind the personal pleasures (my ‘strawberries’) associated with that Element.

These aspects naturally overlap and need not be in any particular order. The key is expressing my love for the Element.

Using Fire as an example, which I honour in the South, I sense the power of fire in the world; the Sun which brings life to the Earth, the transforming power of fire, light, heat and even cooking!

Then I will tune to the metaphysical power of Fire as the great transformer in the dance of change. I bring to mind courage and passion, which are emotional expressions of Fire energy.

I then sense the fire in my own being, the sparking of electricity between nerve endings, the burning of carbohydrates that feeds my life.

‘Strawberries’ are the good things that fill you with joy. I have lots of Fire strawberries including candles, bonfires, a hearth fire, sitting in the sun, dancing and sex. Using my strawberries brings the Element to life for me, helps my connection, opens me more fully to Spirit and feels great!

For more about working with 'strawberries', see William Bloom's book, The Endorphin Effect.

When I come to the centre, I first connect to, honour and greet the Spirit of my home, then the places around the world that I love.

Then I reach up with my singing bowl and connect to, honour and greet the Spirit of Above. As I bring the bowl down toward the floor, I feel the Spirit of Above flow down into body.

Once I reach the floor, I connect to, honour and greet the Spirit of Below. Then I bring the bowl up until it’s level with the top of my head, feeling the Spirit of Below move up my body.

To close I bring the bowl level with my Heart Chakra and tap it gently to connect to, honour and greet the Spirit Of the Center. This is the point where all things meet and merge.

There is more about my daily ritual to honour Hekate in that section.

My Craft awareness is with me most of the day, which means that at a semiconscious level I am aware of subtle energy patterns. That sounds more impressive than it is, but it is very hard to explain such things in everyday language. In practical terms, it means being open to subtle signals, many of which come on a 'psychic' level. Anyone who has lived in a big city for a while develops a sense of where not to go. Some of that awareness is based on common sense reasoning, but some is pure instinct. That's the kind of awareness I am talking about.

If I am in need of advice, I may seek it through 'Shamanic Journeying'. An experienced Shaman may object to that phrase, but it is a fair description. This involves a mental journey to an inner world. You may call it an imaginary world, but I have little time for such distinctions. In this 'other world' I may receive information, advice or teaching.

At least once a month I'll join with my coven to celebrate a festival (the Sabbats), do a lunar Ritual &/or work magic. There is more information on the Sabbats in Beliefs.

This is a yew grove not far from where I live which I consider to be a sacred to Hekate, so I sometimes go there for ritual work and meditation. I've visited the grove in all seasons and try to develop a relationship with the genius loci - the spirit of the place. The Dragon Environmental Network site has more on this kind of work.

My politics and spirituality feed my work as a web designer for social & environmental groups, and all three compliment my work with ecomagic. I have written a number of articles on ecomagic & environmental issues, e.g. my Pagan Dawn article which you may find of interest.

I'm still surprised and always saddened that people dump their drink cans and food wrappers in our countryside and I recommend that whenever you work outside you make it part of your ritual to clean away any rubbish. Just take a plastic bag with you and spend 10 minutes collecting rubbish near the site as part of your preparation. You'll find more on this topic on the Dragon Environmental Network site.

The Witches Altar

Every witch will have a personal altar space. I change mine for each Sabbat.

My Hekate altar has many symbols associated with Her, including yew bark and raven feathers. The white cord is laid out as the symbol of infinity to represent Hekate's role in life and death.

Here is my Imbolc altar, decorated with spring greenery to celebrate the return of life to the Earth. The candle colours show the green of nature & sunlight yellow. The wand laying across the altar symbolises the energy of the God , & the blue bowl at the back is a beautiful symbol of the womb of the Goddess. Imbolc celebrates the return of Brigid, Celtic Goddess of poetry, smithcraft and healing.

Central to my Beltane altar is a small statue of two lovers from Celtic mythology which is based on one of my favorite Brancusi sculptures. The Cup & Athame (ritual knife) symbolise the masculine & feminine energies. Candle colours are red, for passion & green for fertility.

This is a close-up of a Summer Solstice altar. The image of the Sun God Lugh standing in the centre is a copy of a very ancient stone sculpture in Ireland.

Around the Owl are pieces of yew wood, & in the foreground is my yew wand. For a little about the history of this, see Magic. Yew is often found in Church graveyards & has strong associations with the Underworld & death. Why? Some say that it is because yew was once used to make long bows, which brought swift death to many. Almost every part of the yew is poisonous, & it has a very particular, rather dark, energy. I feel it is also something to do with the longevity of the yew tree; it symbolises the wisdom of age. Both the owl & the yew are sacred to Hekate.

These altars are only examples. Every year I will create something different, playing with the ancient paterns and using new symbols for timeless themes.

Gods & Goddesses

All this talk of Gods & Goddesses raises questions of sexual politics. I hope it is obvious that witches have respect for people of any gender, (the western habit of only recognizing two genders is rather limiting), but perhaps it may not be clear where we stand on sexuality. When I talk about Gods & Goddesses, their mystical marriage & sexual congress, I am speaking symbolically. This is a model to make sense of something ultimately beyond full comprehension. It does not mean that heterosexuality is the norm. The Gods & Goddesses can be as queer as any of us! So Mote It Be.

Several God & Goddess forms are particularly important to me, most especially Hekate & Mercury. I have already discussed Hekate in some detail.

Mercury, also known as Hermes,is the quicksilver messenger of the Gods. It's obvious to me the Mercury is the God of the Internet, so it feels particularly appropriate to celebrate Him here.

This is the glyph (symbol) of Mercury. I recommend that you copy it onto your computer immediately! His energy is rather tricky, as the God of communication is also the Lord of Lies. You can see why I call Him 'God of the Internet'... Language is a difficult thing to hold down; it has an inherent tendency to be misunderstood. We are in the realm of the poet & the Fool now, who are both dedicated to Mercury even if they remain unaware of it.

All photograph on this page are copyright of Adrian Harris and may only be used with permission or for personal private use.