tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33573712148061560612024-03-12T20:06:26.133-07:00The Doreen Valiente Foundation BlogCentre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-17718085766320839192020-08-04T01:58:00.003-07:002020-08-04T01:58:46.338-07:00Reviews of Dark Mirror The Inner Work of Witchcraft by Yvonne Aburrow<br />
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<p>We recently announced the publication of <a href="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/2020/08/01/dark-mirror-the-inner-work-of-witchcraft/"><em>Dark Mirror: the Inner Work of Witchcraft</em></a>. Here's what a few of our reviewers had to say about it.</p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>In some ways I liken the inner work of witchcraft to Luke learning to "Feel the Force" in Star Wars. Feeling the Force is essential for anyone who wants to be a Jedi in the movie; feeling the energy of the web of life is fundamental for anyone who wants to be a real witch. This book teaches how to do that. The web of life, of course, includes the world around us, the cycles of nature and our relationships with others.<em> Dark Mirror</em> moves on from explaining how to become more attuned to our own feelings, to ways of sensing the connection between ourselves and all of these seemingly external things. </p><cite><strong>- Lucya Starza,<br><a href="http://www.badwitch.co.uk/">www.badwitch.co.uk</a></strong></cite></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>I like Yvonne’s books; they always think of things that other people don’t think of.</p><cite><strong>- Professor Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol,<br>Trustee of the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="http://www.doreenvaliente.com/" target="_blank">Doreen Valiente Foundation</a></strong></cite></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>Dark Mirror</em> will make you think why as well as how you work your magic wherever you are on the rainbow of human experience. LGBTQIA+ needs, expectations and impressions have never been so well explored in all aspects of magical practice.<br>This book is for absolutely everyone from those who have been leading a Pagan life for years as it reminds them and gives fresh options for doing things to the wonderful new generation of folk who are Witch curious. This is a very readable and reliable textbook for everyone to understand with ease.</p><cite><strong>- Geraldine Beskin,<br><a href="http://theatlantisbookshop.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Atlantis Bookshop</a>, London, UK.</strong></cite></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>We should not only be guardians of the past but contribute to the Wicca of the future.</p><cite><strong>- Rufus Harrington,<br>Trustee of the <a href="http://www.doreenvaliente.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Doreen Valiente Foundation</a></strong></cite></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>In an extremely pragmatic way, Yvonne brings us to the edge of the Circle and then reminds us that…<em>“When Wiccans enter a sacred circle, we leave our personal baggage behind - but we do not leave our identities behind. When we enter the circle, we bring our whole selves into the presence of the deities - our identity, our gender, our sexual orientation, our politics, our concerns for the Earth.”</em> She also reminds us that what people do in the Circle is not the same as what is written down in the Book of Shadows. Indeed! Inviting us to examine many different aspects of Initiatory Wicca, this book is aimed at both initiates and non-initiates. It could certainly be used as the basis of a coven training programme but is also invaluable for the solo practitioner.</p><cite><strong>- Morgana Sythove,<br>Pagan Federation International<br><a href="https://silvercircle.org/">https://silvercircle.org</a><br><a href="https://wiccanrede.org/">https://wiccanrede.org</a></strong></cite></blockquote>
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<div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/books?product_id=43" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hardback - £19.99</a></div>
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<div class="wp-block-button"><a class="wp-block-button__link" href="https://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/books/DarkMirror" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paperback - £13.99</a></div>
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<!-- /wp:buttons -->Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-1536788372742992132020-08-04T01:50:00.002-07:002020-08-04T01:58:04.786-07:00Dark MIrror The Inner Work of Witchcraft By Yvonne Aburrow<br />
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<p>The Centre For Pagan Studies and the Doreen Valiente Foundation are delighted to announce the publication of the revised and expanded edition of <em>Dark Mirror: the Inner Work of Witchcraft</em> by our latest author, Yvonne Aburrow.</p>
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<p>Later this year we will also be publishing a new edition of their groundbreaking work <em>The Night Journey: Witchcraft As Transformation</em>.<br>Both these works are important and innovative books by an established Gardnerian High Priestess and are highly recommended.</p>
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<div class="wp-block-button is-style-fill"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-background" href="https://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/books?product_id=43" style="background-color:#0a5539" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hardback £19.99</a></div>
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<div class="wp-block-button is-style-fill"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-background" href="https://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/books/DarkMirror" style="background-color:#21ab23" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paperback £13.99</a></div>
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<h3>About the book</h3>
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<p>This is a book about how to relate your witchcraft practice to everyday concerns; living comfortably in your body; how to be at peace with yourself so you can help others. It is about the inner work of ritual: what happens on an inner level while the outer forms of ritual (gesture, movement, and speech) are going on. It enables you to develop more effective rituals by thinking about how ritual works. That is why it starts from the beginning, thinking about why we set up sacred space in a specific way, why we celebrate the Pagan festivals, and how that relates to Pagan ethics and theology. Witchcraft is a system of practice with specific goals, and this book inquires into what those goals are and how our practice can help us to achieve them, creating meaning in our lives. The book is aimed at people who want to ground their magical practice in a Pagan worldview and lived values, and practice embodied spirituality.</p>
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<p>The inner work is what happens in the mind and body during ritual, and is intimately connected with embodied spirituality, which celebrates being alive and embodied. Only by connecting the inner and the outer can we create positive change in the world.</p>
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<h3>About the author</h3>
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<p>Yvonne Aburrow has been practising Paganism since 1985, and was initiated into Gardnerian Wicca in 1991. They started their first coven in 2003, and have trained a dozen people in Wicca, each with their own unique perspectives.</p>
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<p>They started thinking about how to make Wiccan ritual more inclusive of LGBTQ+ people in 1995, and about how to make it more inclusive of neurodivergent people in around 2003, when they were working with people with dyslexia. The product of these ideas was their previous book on Wicca, <em>All Acts of Love and Pleasure: inclusive Wicca</em>.</p>
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<p>From 2006 to 2008 they studied contemporary religions and spiritualities at Bath Spa University, and carried out research on queer spirituality, syncretism and dual-faith practice, and Pagan attitudes to science. The course also explored feminist spirituality, Paganism and the New Age, and the encounter between East and West.</p>
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<div class="wp-block-button is-style-fill"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-background" href="https://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/books?product_id=43" style="background-color:#0a5539" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hardback £19.99</a></div>
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<div class="wp-block-button is-style-fill"><a class="wp-block-button__link has-background" href="https://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/books/DarkMirror" style="background-color:#21ab23" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Paperback £13.99</a></div>
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<!-- /wp:buttons -->Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-21056413269036188222019-03-31T14:19:00.003-07:002020-08-04T01:36:59.114-07:00Beltane Stroll by Elaine Hindle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4q7Vw3WuvwA" width="320" youtube-src-id="4q7Vw3WuvwA"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
Beltane Stroll by Elaine Hindle<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F6kZ8CJIWR4/XKEo8w1G7hI/AAAAAAAAFfw/xV_TrRQDpfQ0Quddhfl1i2SgyA-ZmxuZwCLcBGAs/s1600/BeltaneStroll.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1022" data-original-width="724" height="743" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-F6kZ8CJIWR4/XKEo8w1G7hI/AAAAAAAAFfw/xV_TrRQDpfQ0Quddhfl1i2SgyA-ZmxuZwCLcBGAs/s640/BeltaneStroll.jpg" width="525" /></a></div>
<br />Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-3409382851336569462019-03-31T13:38:00.002-07:002020-08-04T01:54:31.681-07:00The God Who Comes by Richard Levy - Read by Geoff Stansfield<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The God Who Comes by Richard Levy - Read by Geoff Stansfield<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">The God Who Comes and
Calls</b></div>
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The God who comes does not come because he is named</div>
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He does not come because he is summoned</div>
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He does not come because he is called</div>
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He comes because he comes.</div>
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It is a basic truth</div>
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Fueled by primal fire</div>
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He is free, truly free, </div>
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Some have tried to bind him but the fetters fall forlorn</div>
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And his wrath felt by this fallen captors</div>
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When he sings the wind dances and spell books fall from his
mouth to find seeking hearts.</div>
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He is the coursing of your blood and the fire in your soul</div>
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When you weep he is the primal scream and when you laugh he
is the rapture of raw elation.</div>
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His dance is the dance of life and death and we all know its
steps, we dance to it every day even if we are unaware that we do.</div>
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For those who do call him his names,</div>
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And they are endless he comes and is often horned and goat footed
but countless are his forms though common are his ways.</div>
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And he speak storms and weeps rivers</div>
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Animals call him ceaselessly.</div>
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Trees whisper his name in the leaves </div>
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And where he steps life is fed and his shadow is death and
decay</div>
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His whisper deaths lamentation and celebration.</div>
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When you think of him poetry will fall form your lips
tempest tossed and instinctual </div>
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What can recall you scribe and what you can’t coruscates the
astral like a nebula that shines to mourn the star it once was.</div>
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To know him is pain and to know him delight</div>
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To feel him is to be yourself and live deliciously and with
potency.</div>
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When you sit with him you remember everything:</div>
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The wisdom of your bones and the memories of your fallen.</div>
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When he whispers to you it is the language of making and shaping:
it builds worlds and bridges and brings down walls.</div>
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It is the source language, it reminds you of that dream you
have had that you have had since childhood always on the edge of your memory,
haunting you like a whispering ghost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It feels like a nursery rhyme you have always known but hear
differently now</div>
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It is words on the edge of you memory you had forgotten to
speak and will become the utterance of your spells. His heart the forge of your
spell-speech. </div>
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It is the language of magic. </div>
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The language of magic can be heard between whispered secrets
and in the breeze that stirs the leaves. It can be felt in the stillness that
exists before the breathe becomes the word. </div>
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It can be heard in notes of liturgy and in the crude
swearing of the dying clutching for life.</div>
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It is the speech of truth flying directionless from the
Tower of Babel.</div>
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It exists as a fleeting shadow and pale reflection in all
the worlds’ languages and yet it can be spoken in all of them.</div>
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In the art of understanding this you are Witch, you are
Mage. </div>
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But no language is just for speaking, it is for listening,
to receive. From this we can learn his truest wisdom and the deeper magic that
comes from silence. </div>
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The God who comes does not come because he is called</div>
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He comes because he comes</div>
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And it is he that does the calling.</div>
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</style>Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-39848892820387635192018-12-28T05:07:00.005-08:002020-08-04T01:46:55.420-07:00Happy New Year from Janus (courtesy of the Doreen Valiente Foundation)<div style="text-align: center;">
Happy New Year from the Doreen Valiente Foundation Here's John Belham-Payne talking about Janus, the Roman God </div>
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<br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/mQ4941BIZVI" width="320" youtube-src-id="mQ4941BIZVI"></iframe></div>Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-78999476856581120882018-08-27T04:39:00.000-07:002018-08-27T04:46:32.139-07:00Witchcraft and the Scots - New Review by T H, Greenmantle Magazine<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "stonehenge regular"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Review; Greenmantle (Samhain 2018)</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "stonehenge regular"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Witchcraft and the Scots</span></b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "stonehenge regular"; font-size: 16.0pt;"></span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">By Arnold Crowther</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(Centre For Pagan Studies <span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">ISBN-13<b>:</b></span> 978-1999639600 Price .<i>
£10.99)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As a brief overview or
introduction to the Scottish witch trials, this is an admirable little book.
Found among his papers after his death in 1974, it sits well alongside the
other witchcraft books by Arnold Crowther, one of the early figures of Wicca.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After putting Scottish witch
law into European context, he gives examples of the full range of victims executed
there: innocent political pawns, beneficial cunning folk, the probably mentally
ill - and in at least one case, the Aberdeen witches, a possible instance of
genuine folk celebrants, whose major crime seems to have been dancing around a
standing stone on Halloween. He also includes a now-quaint chapter on the
coven-leading “Devil” as he was understood by Wiccans of the mid-twentieth
century. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Crowther pulls no punches in
his reporting, and thus I might disagree with Leslie-Anne Brewster’s
description of the book as “enjoyable”; otherwise, however, her Foreword very
accurately sums it up: “An interesting and enjoyable read for anybody curious
about Scottish witches. . . . [And] what gives this book a significance beyond
its content, is how much it confides of the thinking and theorizing of the
well-read occultist and witch who wrote it.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As usual, the production by
the Doreen Valiente Foundation makes for a pleasant volume, full of Crowther’s
own charming sketches illustrating the text. Another worthwhile lost classic
brought to light by this dedicated organization.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">–
TH</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"> We thank <a href="http://www.greenmantle.org.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Greenmantle</a> for this review, and you can purchase your copy of this special book direct from us here. http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/witchcraft-and-the-scots </b></span></div>
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</style>Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-66720395758055336902018-08-22T04:24:00.000-07:002018-08-22T04:24:42.357-07:00Richard Levy Speaking on Narrative Magic Sompting Village Hall August 14 2018A very interesting and informative evening of magic and storytelling at the Mid-sussex Children of Artemis group in Sompting Village Hall on Tuesday14th August.. <span class="highlightNode">Richard</span> Levy
packed into an hour so much information ranging from magical allegories
in the Old Testament, to Norse mythology. He taught us how to interpret
the shape/smell/colour of a plant into its magical use and how to
"read" a landscape and its magic. Afterward members stood up and told
fables and legends from Iceland, Sussex and Northumbria! The tea and
cakes provided by Mrs Prior were also very magical. Thank you!<br />
P.S. To book Richard for your event please inbox https://www.facebook.com/CentreForPaganStudies<br />
<br />
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Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0West St, Sompting, Lancing BN15 0BE, UK50.8344374 -0.3458712999999988825.3124029 -41.6544653 76.3564719 40.9627227tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-30228761331506027202018-08-09T23:52:00.003-07:002018-08-09T23:52:46.103-07:00Witchcraft and the Scots Review by Elaine Hindle<a href="http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/witchcraft-and-the-scots" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Witchcraft And The Scots by ARNOLD CROWTHER</a> (previously unpublished)<br />
<br />
Using extensive research into witchcraft court cases and folkloric tales, Arnold Crowther takes us on a thought-provoking journey through centuries of Scottish witchcraft and witch belief. From Mary Queen of Scots, who brought witchcraft to the fore in Scotland, right up to Aleister Crowley, notorious magician of the twentieth century, Crowther guides us through the most notable cases of Scottish witchcraft and magic.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KGiqCPBeLJY/W201AzLeuzI/AAAAAAAAFRo/KL6Dkt7YTxIz3I0kr1EDqtdOjwoBZhlLACEwYBhgL/s1600/WATS-1000x1000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KGiqCPBeLJY/W201AzLeuzI/AAAAAAAAFRo/KL6Dkt7YTxIz3I0kr1EDqtdOjwoBZhlLACEwYBhgL/s320/WATS-1000x1000.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">A Review by Elaine Hindle</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">"I found this book a very enjoyable and informative read. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It
digs into the witchcraft trials and the awful treatment meted out to
those accused of witchcraft in Scotland, describing good accounts of
their experiences and although harrowing at times need to be told. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">It
is interesting to hear their individual stories and although there is
some inaccurate information due to when this book was written, I still
think it has a lot of valuable information and is a good starting off
point, for anyone interested in the Witch Trials in Scotland. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">There are also tables that I had never seen before, about how much it cost to execute a witch.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">One
of the more interesting chapters I found, was on the origin of where
the name of the “devil” came from and who this person actually was
,which I found quite enlightening.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I especially like
the section giving the names of the various coven members and the areas
in Scotland where they came from, as this is good information from a
further investigation point of view.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">The book is split
into different sections and covers a wide range of topics, from Alistair
Crowley’s Scottish connection as “The Laird of Boleskine” To the tale
of “ The Brahan Seer”</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"> It also has a good chapter on
Spells and Charms, which shows how Christianity had crept in to the
wording and another Chapter on how Halloween was celebrated in Scotland.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I
would highly recommend this book, as it has a lot of useful
information and although I did not agree about some of author’s findings
regarding the origins of faeries. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: x-small;">I still think that the book is definitely worth a read."</span>Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-89740526497457226032018-06-20T21:15:00.000-07:002018-06-20T21:15:53.071-07:00Midsummer Newsletter 2018!<html>
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<body class="c41">
<h1 class="c27" id="h.xjpsgxnh2zbv">
<span class="c18">Midsummer 2018 Newsletter</span></h1>
<h1 class="c27" id="h.ir3rd4dyps2r">
<span class="c18">Centre for Pagan Studies & Doreen Valiente Foundation</span></h1>
<div class="c7">
<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 647.00px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 494.00px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image5.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 647.00px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 488.63px;" title="" /></span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c0">“Sun Dance” By Geraldine (Gera) Lambert</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c26">Gera’s website </span><span class="c9 c26"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.geraldinelambert.net/&sa=D&ust=1529324586822000">http://www.geraldinelambert.net/</a></span></div>
<div class="c20">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.xjpsgxnh2zbv">Midsummer 2018 Newsletter</a></span></div>
<div class="c29">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.ir3rd4dyps2r">Centre for Pagan Studies & Doreen Valiente Foundation</a></span></div>
<div class="c29">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.6lx90aghfeje">Introduction</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.ilrflo6faizx">Greetings!</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.helagofpag59">New Book Release</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.f49pfva4sbk8">Upcoming Talks</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.76wuepejl1nh">Speakers and Mini Exhibition</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.x7zqe3nmc3kc">What’s Your Story?</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.7vn9dljzrvl7">Membership and Subscriptions</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.k5fqtp1tye1i">Poem - Summer Solstice by Elaine Hindle</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.9r85vek66jh7">Art from Portugal Triptych - by Filipa Silva</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.hwf6wb7jeaml">Storytelling with Richard Levy</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.6hpaea9dkj8t">Poem from Portugal - Tribute to Witches Memorial<br />
by Isabel Andrade</a></span></div>
<div class="c29">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.de49egfd0w83">Incense Spell (Anonymous donor)</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.fot4iky9w7oo">Reyn til Runa by Filipa Silva</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.dhnze3qmo3an">Poem By Elaine Hindle</a></span></div>
<div class="c33">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.9rfdql672f16">The Midsummer Faerie Rade</a></span></div>
<div class="c10">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.4attqogf2kit">Book Reviews</a></span></div>
<div class="c22">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?rinli=1&pli=1&blogID=3357371214806156061#h.q2hypv82t1j">Stay In Touch!</a></span></div>
<hr style="display: none; page-break-before: always;" />
<h1 class="c19" id="h.6lx90aghfeje">
<span class="c36 c37">Introduction</span></h1>
<h2 class="c17" id="h.ilrflo6faizx">
<span class="c24">Greetings!</span></h2>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Midsummers greetings to all, this season's newsletter has taken a different format, with contributions from many artists, writers, storytellers and poets. We hope you enjoy the content herein.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">While we prepare our own rituals and celebrations for the longest day and the warming of the sun towards the harvest, we think of our various projects and relationships strengthening and coming to fruition. We are delighted to share our news with you.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c26">The Doreen Valiente Foundation </span>Trustees have been hard at work and finally we have sifted through all the documentation necessary to become recognised as a Registered Charity - we proudly announce this and our number is 1178528 and the Charity Commission can be found here:<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission&sa=D&ust=1529324586829000"> </a></span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission&sa=D&ust=1529324586830000">https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/charity-commission</a></span><span class="c3"> .</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Since the excellent exhibition we did in 2016 in collaboration with Royal Pavilion and Museums Brighton we have continued to work with them, and have had access to their curatorial experts, who have been looking over our paper archive and helping us to maintain it in a good condition.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Our work continues with them and we are still hoping to collaborate with accredited venues including Brighton on further exhibitions.</span></div>
<h2 class="c17" id="h.helagofpag59">
<span class="c24">New Book Release</span></h2>
<div class="c5">
<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 314.67px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 602.00px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image9.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 314.67px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 602.00px;" title="" /></span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">A must-have for your book shelves. A previously unpublished book by Arnold Crowther with original drawings by the author, Witchcraft and the Scots “Using extensive research into witchcraft court cases and folkloric tales, Arnold Crowther takes us on a thought-provoking journey through centuries of Scottish witchcraft and witch belief. From Mary Queen of Scots, who brought witchcraft to the fore in Scotland, right up to Aleister Crowley, notorious magician of the twentieth century, Crowther guides us through the most notable cases of Scottish witchcraft and magic.” </span></div>
<h2 class="c17" id="h.f49pfva4sbk8">
<span class="c24">Upcoming Talks </span></h2>
<div class="c5">
We are delighted to announce the talk “<span class="c26">Narrative Magic And Magical Thinking” by Richard Levy </span>(CFPS speaker)<span class="c26">. </span>The talk, hosted by the Children Of Artemis West Sussex, on August 14 at Sompting Village Hall, West Sussex, promises to be very interesting and inspiring, tickets are free but you have to book. Here’s the link for tickets:- <span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/coa-mid-sussex-pagans&sa=D&ust=1529324586831000">https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/coa-mid-sussex-pagans</a></span><span class="c3"> </span></div>
<h2 class="c17" id="h.76wuepejl1nh">
<span class="c24">Speakers and Mini Exhibition</span></h2>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">We now have a good selection of speakers who are available to speak on behalf of the CFPS and the DVF at your function/event. We can provide a mini exhibition of some of Doreen Valiente’s most tiny treasures, to go with it. Please let us know if you are thinking of hosting an event (in the UK for now) and would like our speakers to attend.</span></div>
<h2 class="c17" id="h.x7zqe3nmc3kc">
<span class="c24">What’s Your Story?</span></h2>
<div class="c5">
As you know we have many wonderful people who have been so kind in providing interviews telling their own stories about their spiritual paths. If you would like to do an interview with us to tell YOUR story, please contact us by email <span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="mailto:enquiries@centre-for-pagan-studies.com">enquiries@centre-for-pagan-studies.com</a></span> and we will devise a questionnaire tailored just for you. You can see some of the interviews we have published so far here <span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/centre_for_pagan_studies-paganism-Blog-17.php%23sthash.Db920GeA.dpbs&sa=D&ust=1529324586833000">http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/centre_for_pagan_studies-paganism-Blog-17.php#sthash.Db920GeA.dpbs</a></span><span class="c3"> </span></div>
<h2 class="c17" id="h.7vn9dljzrvl7">
<span class="c24">Membership and Subscriptions</span></h2>
<div class="c5">
Lastly we would not be able to do all of this without YOU! Thank you for subscribing and stay in touch via our membership scheme - <span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.doreenvaliente.org/Doreen-Valiente-Membership-4.php%23sthash.FeZYamxi.dpbs&sa=D&ust=1529324586833000">http://www.doreenvaliente.org/Doreen-Valiente-Membership-4.php#sthash.FeZYamxi.dpbs</a></span><span class="c3"> </span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Best witches!</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Julie Belham-Payne</span></div>
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<h2 class="c17 c14" id="h.si36ezszk2hi">
</h2>
<h2 class="c2" id="h.k5fqtp1tye1i">
<span class="c24">Poem - Summer Solstice by Elaine Hindle</span></h2>
<div class="c34">
<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 122.13px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 183.50px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image2.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 122.13px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 183.50px;" title="" /></span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">“The sun has reached its Zenith</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">And Casts a Golden Glow over the fields of ripening corn</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">Languid days without a breath of air as the heat rises</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">The sweat trickling down my collar</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">Too hot for toil</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">Even the birds are silent sheltering under the cool branches</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">The day wears on and the sun in the heavens is relentless</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">We pray for the cool of evening the lengthening shadows</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">Of purple hues as the fiery orange ball sinks slowly in the west</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">Down in a last glorious hurrah of a sunset painting the sky like a furnace</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">Flickering flames of orange and red dying down into purple deepening embers</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">A farewell to the day as the coolness of the night beckons on and the first pale star is seen beyond the horizon</span></div>
<div class="c6">
<span class="c13">The Solstice has gone the bright days of majesty imperceptibly will wane</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c32">slowly the days will shorten and the blaze of glory will be a pale reflection of its former power.</span><span class="c3"> “</span></div>
<div class="c5">
Elaine is a regular poet for our group, Pagan Poets and Writers and has written an article about Epona, See here <span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://centreforpaganstudies.blogspot.com/2018/02/goddess-epona.html&sa=D&ust=1529324586837000">http://centreforpaganstudies.blogspot.com/2018/02/goddess-epona.html</a></span><span class="c3"> </span></div>
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<h2 class="c2 c14" id="h.ndiek0jrdgis">
</h2>
<h2 class="c2" id="h.9r85vek66jh7">
<span class="c24">Art from Portugal Triptych - by Filipa Silva</span></h2>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c21">Details of this artist can be found here </span><span class="c9 c21"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://hekainart.wixsite.com/filipasilva/runa&sa=D&ust=1529324586839000">https://hekainart.wixsite.com/filipasilva/runa</a></span><br />
<br />
“<span class="c23">I traveled to a dark forest and the Seal of </span><span class="c23 c40">Runa</span><span class="c23"> appeared in front of me. I uttered "I wish to activate </span><span class="c40 c23">Runa</span><span class="c23 c36"> in my life." </span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c3">The Three Following Pictures can be seen as a Tryptych if laid side by side. </span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 341.79px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 256.00px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image3.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 341.79px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 256.00px;" title="" /></span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 320.16px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 238.50px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image8.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 320.16px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 238.50px;" title="" /></span><span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 317.50px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 233.95px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 317.50px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 233.95px;" title="" /></span></div>
<h2 class="c2" id="h.hwf6wb7jeaml">
<span class="c24">Storytelling with Richard Levy</span></h2>
<div class="c12 subtitle" id="h.ezzxzeaj074f">
<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 263.96px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 396.50px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image6.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 263.96px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 396.50px;" title="" /></span></div>
<div class="c25 subtitle" id="h.vxf164el3ljw">
<span class="c28">The Water Mage</span></div>
<div class="c5">
(For an audio version of this story you can hear Richard narrating here): - <span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://youtu.be/X3Wp9vPIEM8&sa=D&ust=1529324586841000">https://youtu.be/X3Wp9vPIEM8</a></span>)</div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c21">“ ……..</span><span class="c3">Many years ago the in West, mighty Ogres fought with the world of men. Many a great King or Queen fell to these monsters then the day The Ogres attacked the Kingdom of Serret.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">The King fought back with the might of his armies and whilst we was able to hold the monsters back, the price of this was the blood of his men and it would only be a matter of time before the Ogres overwhelmed the Kings army.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">The king decreed that any who could end this war or fight back with a strength that could hold the Ogres off forever could have half the kingdom.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">In the far west of Serret lived Heneth, the Untroubled. He wore a simple grey robe, old and ragged. He was mostly ignored; people came to him for healing, as his knowledge of herb craft was great.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">He provided for himself, the people who saw him had little and he asked for nothing in return. Though they spared him what they could.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">He lived in a simple cottage where a river ran on one side, the River was known as The Parnak-glen, which meant 'Serpent's eye' in the ancient glyphs of Rhudan. The river provided so much for him and in his gratitude he helped keep it clean and sang to it.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">It was on this day that a young thrush flew to Heneth and told him of the Kings decree. He gave the thrush some seeds and smiled. Standing on a bridge that stretched over the river he said: 'did you hear that my friend? It seems we are at war and our king is desperate. He offer half his kingdom for an answer'</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">For the first time the river spoke back.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Whilst Heneth was somewhat elated he was not overly surprised, for in time and with trust bird, beast and plant had spoken to him. It was thought this he knew how to heal and hunt, it was how he knew the secrets of leaf and root and other philosophies that many would not think a commoner could grasp.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">For someone who spoke little he was able to communicate with more than most.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">The river said 'Dear Untroubled one, you who have been so kind to me I am more than happy to show you such kindness. You must walk to the boundary of the Ogres camp and on the hill you will find a standing stone. You must ask the rock to call on me and I will come.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">So it was that Heneth the Untroubled who felt war was pointless and that all such creatures as him and Ogres need only boundaries rather than battles stood at a hilltop where a small standing stone and waited.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">He saw the Ogre camp and that of the King. The King was alerted to a grey figure on the adjacent hill by his men and though Heneth didn't summon them, he had an audience.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Heneth gently placed his hand on the stone and felt its slow pulse and depth; he felt that silence and power that all things have in connection to this power could communicate.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">He gently whispered 'Parnak-glen' and the stone felt like it shuddered. Releasing his hand from the stone water came rushing from the West like a giant serpent of water dividing the valley between the camps.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">The King and his men looked in shock and elation, the Ogres was less that pleased but they knew a boundary when they saw it. Such power drove them back to their homes in the Northern Mountains.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">The King summoned Heneth and gave him thanks</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">'But you must understand' he said looking at Heneth's modest clothing 'you are not the sort of man who can have half a kingdom'</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">'Majesty' Heneth spoke gently 'you promised that whoever ends the war will get half the kingdom. It was not myself but the river that did it. I was merely part of its current, it is the river you owe and not myself'.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">The King smiled at these words, having no intention to give his Kingdom to any body, including a body of water said he would take that up if he needed too and thought himself clever and lucky to not have to fight to maintain his whole kingdom.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Heneth returned home, but the King had made a promise and the River did not wait to be offered half the Kingdom.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">The next day when the King woke he looked outside his Tower to see the castle surrounded by water from all sides, this stretched for miles but had not touched the homes of his people. The river had learned to care for them from Heneth.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">A Raven was sent out to summon Heneth who spent several days walking. He refused to ride a horse and by the ninth day arrived at the water's edge, seeing the castle in the distance.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">He took a step on the water and his boots did not sink, he walked on the deep waters all the way to the castle, ripples forming in his wake.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">'Heneth, you must help' the king insisted</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">'You tried to cheat the tide, which is a great sin for a king' the king had no choice but to stand in silence being chided by this commoner 'but I will see what I can do'.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Smiling Heneth spoke to the waters.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">After an hour the waters shifted and began to twist, they flowed the length of the Kingdom and in time was called The Peneth-shrak (Serpent's tail) which started from the serpents eye (Peneth-glen) on the west near Heneth's cottage and spread.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">Heneth came before the king 'The River was once larger and was made small and redirected by people. In saving you it has a claim to land that was once its own. You have your kingdom back and river that can provide trade and travel and nourishment. You must be thankful for this blessing, one that shifted the tides of war and blood and will continue to be a blessing if it is respected.</span></div>
<div class="c5">
<span class="c3">From that day on the King grew in humility and was known to visit Heneth at times for advise or to sit in silence with him, sometimes joining in when he sung the River.” ……. </span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c3">〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜 〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜〜</span></div>
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<h2 class="c2" id="h.6hpaea9dkj8t">
<span class="c24">Poem from Portugal - Tribute to Witches Memorial<br />
by Isabel Andrade</span></h2>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c31">Isobel is a Doreen Valiente Foundation Trustee and Director of Pagan Federation International (Pagan Association Portugal) </span><span class="c9 c31"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://pt.paganfederation.org/o-que-e-pfi/pfi-portugal/&sa=D&ust=1529324586848000">http://pt.paganfederation.org/o-que-e-pfi/pfi-portugal/</a></span><span class="c30"> </span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">MEMORIAL </span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TRIBUTE</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TO THE SOULS OF THE SILENCED SCREAMS</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">ACCUSED BY INQUISITION</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">ACCUSED</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">OF NATURE LOVING!</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">OF FOUNTAIN AND CLIFF WORSHIPING!</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">OF STORMS NEVER FEARING!</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">ACCUSED OF BEING A SIN</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TO SING TO THE WIND,</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TO GROW CROPS WITH SPELLS</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TO DISPEL MISERY WITH SONGS</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TO LIVE OF WINE AND REVELRY...</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TO THOSE WHO PASSED AWAY</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">WITHOUT KNOWING HOW COULD LIVING BE A SIN</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">AND NO MORE COULD READ THE FORTUNE</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">WHO NO MORE COULD CRY OUT TO THE WIND</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">WHO NO MORE COULD KEEP DISMAY AWAY</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">NO MORE DID THE SUN AND THE MOON WORSHIP!</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">I MAKE THIS TRIBUTE </span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">TO OUR ANCESTORS</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">WHO PASSED AWAY IN THE GALLOW OR THE FIRE</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">IN THE NAME OF THE ONE GOD</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">NAMELESS AND FACELESS.</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">THE FOUNTAINS WENT SILENT</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">EXTINGUISHED WERE THE CANDLES ON THE ROADS</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">THE MOON GODDESS THEY OVERSHADOWED.</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">AND THE SUN GOD THEY WANTED TO CONCEAL</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">THEY BURNED THE SACRED FORESTS...</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">FROM THE THOUSAND NAMELESS VOICES</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">JUST A FEW STILL REMAIN.</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">THEIR FAITH THEY DID NOT ABANDON,</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">AND IN THE TURN OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c11">THEY RISE UP AGAIN...</span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c38"> </span><span class="c21">Isobel Andrade 2000 (HPs Lilith) Portugal</span></div>
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<span class="c36 c37">Incense Spell (Anonymous donor)</span></h1>
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<span class="c4">I wrote this spell some time ago inspired by Doreen Valiente’s candle spell. I doubt I’m the first. The point of this spell is to work work with incense in relation to its power over air, travel, speed and words (incantation / utterance). Your spell and messages can travel on the smoke</span></div>
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<span class="c4">There is a lot of scope with this you can use your own or various blends of incense or use the one</span></div>
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<span class="c4">E.g. frankincense (for cleansing); sandalwood (wish granting) etc</span></div>
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<span class="c21">The scope of this is that you are working with herbal powers which you can mix and blends as well as working with flame and air/smoke:</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Light your incense and recite:</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Herbs that burn mix and combine</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Both earthly powers and divine</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Aid my spell and incantation</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Aid this act of my creation</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Fire, smoke and air be free</span></div>
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<span class="c4">And conjure power now to me</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Spirits of flame and smoke be blessed</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Aid my spell and my behest</span></div>
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<span class="c4">And thus my wishes come to bear</span></div>
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<span class="c4">From root and herb and word and air</span></div>
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<span class="c4">*Blend example*</span></div>
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<span class="c4">One blend I like to work with: -</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Lemongrass: clearing the way</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Crow feather/feather: air ; carry spell / messages</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Dragons blood: fire, potency</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Willow bark: water and moon magic</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Rosemary: witch herb</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Honeysuckle: earth</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Bay leaf / sandalwood: wish granting</span></div>
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<span class="c4">Obviously use your own and work with what you e got but there is of course a lot of scope.</span></div>
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<span class="c24">Reyn til Runa by Filipa Silva</span><span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 519.50px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 390.20px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image4.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 519.50px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 390.20px;" title="" /></span></h2>
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</h2>
<h2 class="c2" id="h.dhnze3qmo3an">
<span class="c24">Poem By Elaine Hindle</span></h2>
<h3 class="c39" id="h.9rfdql672f16">
<span class="c43">The Midsummer Faerie Rade</span></h3>
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<span class="c3">Come dance around the faery ring</span></div>
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<span class="c3">Where all is bright and gay</span></div>
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<span class="c3">The music takes you on the wing</span></div>
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<span class="c3">As sylvan elves do play</span></div>
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<span class="c3">For they are here but for a night </span></div>
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<span class="c3">Of rapturous reverie</span></div>
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<span class="c3"> What wondrous magic they do weave</span></div>
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<span class="c3">That ere an eye could see</span></div>
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<span class="c3">The myriad colours they do spin</span></div>
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<span class="c3">Of gossamer cobweb fair</span></div>
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<span class="c3"> As light and pure as thistledown</span></div>
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<span class="c3">Float on the evening air</span></div>
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<span class="c3">The senses reel from nectar sweet</span></div>
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<span class="c3">Collected from flower to flower </span></div>
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<span class="c3">As the Faery Queen so regal Sits</span></div>
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<span class="c3">within her rosy bower </span></div>
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<span class="c3">And on the merriment doth flow</span></div>
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<span class="c3">On this Midsummer Eve</span></div>
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<span class="c3">So caught up in their magic</span></div>
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<span class="c3">You'll never wish to leave </span></div>
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<span class="c3">But the sun it is arising</span></div>
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<span class="c3">Upon a brand new day</span></div>
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<span class="c3">The faery revels over</span></div>
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<span class="c3"> They can no longer stay</span></div>
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<span class="c3">You catch the last faint echo</span></div>
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<span class="c3"> Of laughter as they leave</span></div>
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<span class="c3">And you are left wondering </span></div>
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<span class="c3">Was that only make believe?</span></div>
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<h2 class="c2" id="h.4attqogf2kit">
<span class="c24">Book Reviews</span></h2>
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<span style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); border: 0.00px solid #000000; display: inline-block; height: 505.33px; overflow: hidden; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 602.00px;"><img alt="" src="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/uploads/images/Midsummer2018/image1.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); height: 505.33px; transform: rotate(0.00rad) translateZ(0px); width: 602.00px;" title="" /></span></div>
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This can be ordered direct from the Authors’ website - <span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.greenmantle.org.uk/book.html&sa=D&ust=1529324586863000">http://www.greenmantle.org.uk/book.html</a></span></div>
<h2 class="c2" id="h.q2hypv82t1j">
<span class="c24">Stay In Touch!</span></h2>
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<span class="c3">We hope you have enjoyed the newsletter, if you are on Facebook stay in touch with us by joining our group. </span></div>
<div class="c7">
<span class="c9"><a class="c16" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/groups/centreforpaganstudies/&sa=D&ust=1529324586864000">https://www.facebook.com/groups/centreforpaganstudies/</a></span></div>
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Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-71945876314108688782018-05-26T03:45:00.000-07:002018-05-26T03:45:18.538-07:00<br />
Update! The Doreen Valiente Foundation is now a Registered Charity No. 1178528 in England and Wale. All of us who have worked to make this happen we thank you for your support. John Belham-Payne and Doreen Valiente are smiling on us today.<br />
For information on the Foundation please visit <a href="http://doreenvaliente.org/">http://doreenvaliente.org</a> and follow our Facebook Page <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DoreenValienteFoundation/">https://www.facebook.com/DoreenValienteFoundation/</a> for updates and news.<br />
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Our Twitter feed is <a href="https://twitter.com/witchJuan">https://twitter.com/witchJuan</a> <br />
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Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-77029853781531895962018-05-14T12:20:00.000-07:002018-05-16T13:06:57.532-07:00Interview with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone, Compiled by Richard Levy<h1 align="center">
Exclusive Interview with Janet Farrar and Gavin Bone</h1>
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For the Centre For Pagan Studies (Compiled by Richard Levy)</h2>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3357371214806156061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3357371214806156061" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><img alt="" src="https://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/Janandgavincronin1.jpg" style="height: 399px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 600px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janet and Gavin at Home</td></tr>
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<i>1 – Could you tell us a little about how you got started in Wicca and why you were drawn to it? </i><br />
<i>Janet: </i>When I came into the Craft, It was 1970. I was 19 at the time. I’d grown up through the ‘60’s; I was a flower child, I was a hippie, I also, though work knew the Beatles, Eric Clapton and Brian Epstein. But at the same time, I was also a Sunday school teacher. I was from a good Christian background.<br />
I became interested in witchcraft after a friend of mine read June John’s King of the Witches, and wanted to visit Alex and Maxine Sanders. I had ‘heard’ all about witchcraft, I knew it was all about sex and drugs and Rock ’n’ Roll! Well, I went to bail her out of Alex’s coven. Now Sanders was the gentleman who called himself ‘King of the Witches’. I hasten to add that he was not accepted generally as the ‘King of the Witches’. He could be a bit of an old rogue, but was a brilliant showman, and yes, he was a very, very good Ritual Magician.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" id="Janet Farrar initiation" longdesc="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/janetinitiated.jpg" src="https://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/janetinitiated.jpg" style="height: 558px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 399px;" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janet Being Initiated by Alex Sanders</td></tr>
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When I met him I was quite surprised, because I found that under the showmanship was a very genuine spirituality. He started talking about ‘the Goddess’, and I had never heard of ‘the Goddess’. She meant actually nothing to me at this stage, but I rather liked the idea of being involved in the healing aspect, because, although I had never wanted to be a healer, it was the remnants of my hippie attitude ‘Let me heal the whole world’. <br />
<i>Gavin:</i> I have a much more eclectic background than Janet and Stewart did. I first became interested in witchcraft in the early 1980’s. Initially I was going to the local Spiritualist Temple in my hometown of Portsmouth and was interested in the Healing Practises there. I picked up my first book on Wicca about that time. I had always been interested in occult subjects; I brought my first Tarot Pack when I was 16 and use to attend festivals on the unexplained (Surrey Puma, Loch Ness, UFO’s, the paranormal etc.) I had developed my own ‘system’ of beliefs. The book, which changed everything for me, was <a href="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/" target="_blank" title="Doreen Valiente Official Website">Doreen Valiente’s</a><i> ABC of Witchcraft</i>. Well, that’s when I knew what I was – a Wiccan. There in the book was everythin I already believed in.<br />
I joined my first magical group in 1985. This was an eclectic magical group and it’s members consisted of a Ceremonial Ritual Magician, a Norse Shaman, a couple of traditional spiritualist mediums as well as a Sufi practioner. It worked from the back of an Occult Shop in Portsmouth called Fifth Dimension. The group practiced a mixture of magical practises including Earth Magic, the clearing of ley lines etc, and Ceremonial Ritual. It was from one of its members, the Norse Shaman that the Seax-Wica coven was formed. I had been the youngest member of the eclectic group and had started to become a focus for a group of younger people interested in Wicca in my hometown, so in early 1986 these people were all brought together, and were formally initiated into the coven.<br />
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I should point out that although we based our initial coven work on Ray Buckland’s book <i>The Tree: The Complete Book of Anglo-Saxon Witchcraft, </i>we quickly went beyond it. It was a good base to start from, but we wanted more. We started to work more with the material from Janet and Stewart’s books and started to create our own rituals and system of working. Because of this, this group also became quite eclectic in it’s approach. None of us saw anything wrong with this as it worked.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/rayBuckland.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Ray Buckland, Seax Wica" id="RayBuckland" longdesc="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/rayBuckland.jpg" name="RayBuckland" src="https://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/rayBuckland.jpg" style="height: 399px; width: 399px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ray Buckland (31 August 1934 – 27 September 2017) Museum is set up in his honour - <a href="http://bucklandmuseum.org/" target="_blank">http://bucklandmuseum.org/</a></td></tr>
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<i>2- Is there anything in The Craft you recall seeing more of when you were younger and you would like to see return?</i><br />
<i>Janet and Gavin: </i>To be honest, we don't think there is? People always look back at the past as a “Golden Age”, but the reality is the Craft has actually evolved so much today.<br />
<i>3 – Who in the Craft would you say influenced you the most?</i><br />
<i>Janet and Gavin: </i><a href="http://doreenvaliente.org/" title="Doreen Valiente official website">Doreen Valiente!</a><br />
<i>Janet: </i>I’ve always considered her my spiritual mentor. She was humorous, educated and down to earth. I don’t think Eight Sabbats for Witches and The Witches Way (compiled as A Witches Bible) would have been as successful as they were without the input and support we received from Doreen. She helped us through the maze of writings and contradictory histories of modern wiccan and the Book of Shadows, so that we could produce something which was genuinely of benefit to those out there searching for Wicca.<br />
Do you know, that in all the years I had known Doreen Valiente, I never once heard her say a bad word about any other member of the Craft, and there was some of them she disliked immensely. One of them was Alex Sanders; she didn’t like him at all as a person, but her only comment, with a chuckle was ‘Oh Mr. Sanders, he’s still alive is he?’ It was a joke, and that’s the nearest I have ever heard her say anything nasty about anyone. It was my deepest regret I never managed to get her and Maxine together, although I nearly got a meeting between the two of them. It would have been interesting to see how they got on with each other, but sadly she died before that could ever happen.<br />
<i>4 – Are there any must read books you would always recommend?</i><br />
<i>Janet and Gavin: </i><a href="http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/books" target="_blank" title="Books by Doreen Valiente and others">Doreen's books</a> remain some of the ones we recommend the most. There are so many books out there with little substance, many of them repeating the same material over and over again. Unfortunately many coming into the Craft rarely go outside these modern books. We do of course, generally recommend the classics in Wicca, such as Gardner's, Raymond Bucklands, and Pat Crowther's but also suggest people look for real classics which include Andrew Alfoldi's <i>Diana Nemorensis, </i>Iamblichus <i>On the Mysteries, </i>Ogden's <i>Greek and Roman Necromancy </i>and <i>Magic, </i><i>Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman Worlds. </i>With a bit of research on the internet you can find some really useful classics full of useful in-depth information.<br />
<i>5 – What other traditions influence your practice? / do you work with?</i><br />
<i>Janet and Gavin: </i>Witchcraft has always been eclectic, so at different times we have worked with other spiritual traditions according to need. Gavin was heavily influenced by the teachings he learnt as a practising Spiritual Healer – Chakras, Aura, and working with spiritual energy. This has become an important part of our understanding of magical energy. As we both have Freya as our patron deity, we also took on aspects of Anglo-Saxon/Northern Tradition in our practise, particularly the practise of Seith/Seidr, Nothern European |Shamanism/Witchcraft.<br />
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<i>6 – Do you have a favourite Sabbat and why? </i><br />
<i>Janet and Gavin: </i>Ah, that’s a difficult one! So many to choose from! Are we supposed to have favourites? Well, we do anyway. We can’t really say that there is just one: Samhain for the partying, Lughnasa for the drama of the ritual and the thanksgiving, and the Equinoxes for the raw energy! At present we have to say it’s Spring Equinox. Our coven is named after the Callaighe and for the last few years the has climbed our local ancient site Slieve na Callaighe (Hill of the Witch), which is part of the Lough Crew range of mountains, to watch the sun rise. On top is a sacred site, an ancient 5,000-year-old burial mound. As the sun rises its rays hit the decorated stone at the back of the chamber illuminating it with golden light. At present, this has to be our favourite experience of the year when it comes to the festivals.<br />
<i>7 – As time has gone on has your approach to magic changed and does it continue to change?</i><br />
<i>Janet: </i>We weren’t really encouraged to look beyond what was being taught within the Alexandrian Tradition at that time. I should point out that it wasn’t that we were discouraged in anyway, just that Alex’s teachings at that time were purely based on High Magic. Stewart and myself wanted to go beyond that.<br />
When we moved to Ireland in 1976 we fully broke from many of the magical Alexandrian Traditions teachings. They were just not appropriate to the ‘Celtic Twilight’ of Ireland; the mythology, the folklore and the landscape. I like to call myself just a ‘witch’. My, and my covens practices are eclectic, but then, if you know anything about the history of Wicca so are all the other traditions. Stewart and myself did keep the basic Alexandrian framework for many years, but had already started to adapt it when Gavin came into our lives.<br />
<i>Gavin: </i>My background in spiritual healing; the use of energy, the connection to divinity (sourcing) was an important part of my practise preceeding my initiation into the Craft. My other influence was the Anglo-Saxon traditions of magic, specifically Seith; a form of shamanism which taught a system of realms or worlds with which you could travel to. This came after researching the old English traditions after my initiation into <a href="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/centre_for_pagan_studies-paganism-Wicca-53.php#sthash.dMVB6OrV.dpbs" target="_blank">Seax-Wica</a>, a tradition which was really basic in it's approach but a good base to work from.<br />
With my initiation into the Alexandrian Tradition with Janet and Stewart we began to combine what I had learnt and that influenced our system of training. As our new coven grew we realised it wasn’t enough to teach our students ‘to know how to drive the car’ and that it was becomingly increasingly important that they also knew ‘how the engine worked’. The teachings Janet had received on Caballa simply weren’t doing this. It gave no explanation that covered both the simplest and more advanced of magical practises at the same time as any integrated system should. The first component of the system we developed was a base energy system – a development of the vedic Chakra system I had learned and practised with as a Spiritual Healer. We used this because ultimately everything from the point of physics is energy. From one point you can say that we were teaching the purest form of hermetics; it even included aspects of modern chaos and quantum theory. The system encompassed Magical Practise, Drawing Down the Moon and Deity Connection, and of course how to approach The Mysteries. The other component which supported this was drawn from my previously mentioned Anglo-Saxon practises. A mythological Cosmology, a system of mapping the realms of reality; the astral and spiritual levels, which could be used both internally in pathworkings and trance, and as a basis for ritual practise. This was also sadly lacking in mainstream Wicca, which relied purely on a cosmology based around the Circle and the Four elements.<br />
<i>8 – What are some of the lessons training others has taught you over the years?</i><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/Tara2003sm.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Janet leading procession at Tara Festival in Ireland 2003" id="JanetLeadingTara2003" longdesc="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/Tara2003sm.jpg" src="https://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/Tara2003sm.jpg" style="height: 314px; width: 399px;" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Janet Leading the procession at Tara 2003</td></tr>
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<i>Janet and Gavin: </i>Easy! You don't know everything and even after so many years in the Craft collectively we are still learning. We've learnt to be open to new ideas, and to look forward rather than backwards. We've also learnt that sometimes people will come to you that you aren't suppose to train; that the Craft isn't for them. That's not being elitist. The Craft is a vocation and it just doesn't suit some people, but that doesn't mean they can't follow other paths. We've also learnt that everyone has a different path even if they are in the Craft, everyone has a speciality and this should be encouraged.<br />
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<i>9 – What general advice would you give a novice?</i><br />
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<i>Janet and Gavin: </i>When we both came into the Craft, it was a lot more underground. There were no contact networks in the UK, so you joined whatever coven or group you could find. The number of sensible books on witchcraft you could find in an occult bookstore often took up less than one shelf. So much has changed since before the 1990s. There are now contact networks for witches advertising both in magazines and on the world wide web. There was also an explosion of covens and open groups. Anyone interested in the Craft now has a choice of so many books and so much material on the net compared with what we had. Our advice to seeker, don't join the coven you find. Join an open group, work solitary for a while and find a coven or magical group that suits what you practise. Read as much as you can, but be critical of what you read. Now, for every good book on Wicca/Witchcraft out there, there are at least three which aren't so good! Stick to your original vision of what the Craft is, and don't be swayed by those who try to shoe horn you into their form of practise. Most of all be true to yourself and what <u>you</u> believe<br />
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<i>10 – What is the main kind of work you do now? Are you writing or training or trying to be less busy?</i><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/SangomaSA.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Janet and Gavin at Sangoma South Africa South Africa (2008), where we were with the Lesotho Sangoma (Traditional Healers) and made honorary Elders. " id="SangomaHealers" longdesc="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/SangomaSA.JPG" src="https://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/uploads/images/SangomaSA.JPG" style="height: 399px; width: 532px;" title="Sangoma Healers" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Visiting the Healers in Sangoma 2008</td></tr>
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<i>Janet and Gavin:</i> We're continuing to write and do workshops abroad. Janet also does Tarot Readings from home, and Gavin is doing healing work. Craft wise we are at a definite different stage in our lives. We no longer run a coven, but instead do what we call “Elder Support”; we support the existing heads of covens providing our experience and hopefully our wisdom. It's based on our current system of training. When we were approached to do a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2002 we decided that we would adapt and open up our system of teachings around magical energy work and cosmology to everyone. We felt many solitaries and self-initiated covens would benefit from having this system, which gave them grounding in experiential magical practises they could use. From this concept was born <b><i>The Inner Mysteries Intensive.</i></b><br />
<br />
Of course, these workshops have evolved over the years and they have developed considerably since that first tour, so much so, that we found that it became necessary to teach the mechanics of Drawing Down the Moon as a separate one day <b>Trance-Prophesy Workshop. </b> Eventually, the Trance-Prophesy became our major focus and it took on a life of its own. It has had a major impact on the way we view our work. Dealing with deities actually manifesting and talking through people will do that to you, particularly when again and again they make it clear that they want to be heard and want to teach directly. We have had some experiences during these workshops, which go beyond belief. Having a particular goddess say the same things almost word for word through different people on different sides of the world is quite mind blowing! Such experiences have in fact inspired us to put this at the centre of our work. Of course this became the basis of our latest book <i>Lifting The Veil: A Witches' Guide to Trance-prophesy, Drawing Down the Moon and Ecstatic Ritual. </i><i><a href="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">All rights reserved © Centre For Pagan Studies </a></i>Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-1145167788096374312018-05-04T06:42:00.004-07:002018-05-04T06:42:44.005-07:00A great Tribute to Doreen Valiente on American Poets Day<b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 24.0pt;">Review:
three Pagan poets for National Poetry Month</span></b><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10pt;">Rick de Yampert</span></u><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> — April 29, 2018 — </span><br /><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Credit: <a href="http://wildhunt.org/2018/04/review-three-pagan-poets-for-national-poetry-month.html">http://wildhunt.org/2018/04/review-three-pagan-poets-for-national-poetry-month.html</a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<br />
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If, as is proclaimed in the <i>Charge
of the Goddess</i>, “all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals,” then the
pleasure of poetry is among those rituals, too.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">April is National Poetry Month in
the United States. Here’s a look at the works of three female poets: a Wiccan
priestess, a pioneer in the modern women’s/goddess spirituality movement, and a
priestess in the Welsh Bardic Tradition.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Charge of the Goddess: the
Poetry of Doreen Valiente</span></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Doreen
Valiente Foundation in association with the Centre for Pagan Studies, expanded
edition 2014, 142 p.</span></i><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Ironically, the <i>Charge of the
Goddess</i> included is this collection by the acclaimed “mother of modern
witchcraft” is not her rhyming, poetic rendition but rather her far more famous
prose version.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The late John Belham-Payne, a
friend and “working magical partner” of Valiente’s, shepherded her poetry into
publication following her death in 1999, thus fulfilling a deathbed request by
the Wiccan priestess who had been initiated into Gerald Gardner’s coven by the
man himself in 1953.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Belham-Payne made the right
choice. Valiente’s prose version of the charge flows, slithers, breathes, and
pulses with organic rhythms in ways that are constricted out of the rhyming
version. The poetry version (available in Valiente’s book <i>The Rebirth of
Witchcraft</i> but sadly not included in this volume) reads like a poem, albeit
a beautiful one. The undulating cadences of the prose version sound as if the
goddess is whispering in one’s ear.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/image/cache/data/Products/COTG-1000x1000.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/image/cache/data/Products/COTG-1000x1000.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Fueled by the span of Valiente’s
life in this world (1922-1999), one of the charms of her poetry collection is
its mix of archaic and modern styles. In these days of hipster wannabe free
verse, a sonnet or rhyming quatrains of A-B-B-A or A-A-B-B may seem quaint, but
such formats properly evoke Valiente’s legacy as one of the key founders of
modern witchcraft.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">“The Tarot Trumps,” “To Aleister
Crowley,” “Poem on the Death of a Witch,” “To the Necronomicon,” “Deus
Cornutus” (a 1984 work which ponders “How many names has the Horned One?”),
“Homage to Pan” (perhaps a homage to Crowley’s “Hymn to Pan”), and other poems
all vibrate with an archaic beauty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">However, one of Valiente’s most
soul-stirring poems, “Elegy for a Dead Witch,” weaves its spell without use of
rhyme:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">To think that you are gone,<br />
Over the crest of the hills<br />
As the moon passed from her fullness,<br />
Riding the sky,<br />
And the White Mare<br />
Took you with her.<br />
To think that we will wait<br />
Another life<br />
To drink wine from the horns,<br />
And leap the fire.<br />
Farewell from this world,<br />
But not from the circle</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Valiente reveals her playful side
in “Computer Blues” (written in 1975!) and even a bawdy limerick, titled “An
Unsolved Problem of Psychic Research,” about “a young lady named Freeman who had
an affair with a demon.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">“Pop Song,” written in 1975,
indeed swings with the rhythms of a pop song’s lyrics, despite its lament of a
world gone awry:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">. . . Up in the Andes where the
air is thin<br />
Where Che Guevara’s ashes are blowing in the wind<br />
I heard that condor’s ghost say "Listen son<br />
When you get that power from the mouth of a gun<br />
You can’t put it back<br />
Oh oh<br />
Sorry ’bout that . . . .</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">What would a poetry collection by
the “mother of modern witchcraft” be without a piece that is more spell than
poem? That’s fulfilled by the “Witch’s Chant,” the last work in this volume:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times"; font-size: 10.0pt;">Darksome night and shining moon,<br />
Hell’s dark mistress heaven’s queen<br />
Harken to the Witches’ rune,<br />
Diana, Lilith, Melusine!<br />
In the earth and air and sea,<br />
By the light of moon or sun,<br />
As I pray, so mote it be.<br />
Chant the spell, and be it done!<br />
Queen of witchdom and of night,<br />
Work my will by magic rite.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-55363205944603953772018-02-28T02:34:00.002-08:002018-02-28T02:38:45.047-08:00Richard Levy of the Centre For Pagan Studies talks to Lora OBrien, Irish Author and Guide to Ireland><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://loraobrien.ie/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Richard-Levy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://loraobrien.ie/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Richard-Levy.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RICHARD LEVY BIO: I began my pagan path at a young age but and
magic is something I feel was always a part of my life. But with time I
learned how to nourish this part of myself. I feel today we are
encouraged to ignore these parts of who we are and it is something we
re-learn. It is in many ways learning to do what breeze and river and
bird do naturally. I studied philosophy and theology at university and
whilst I did not have formal training I learned a lot from people I met
along my path from Children to adults. Should people want to contact me
about the interview they can contact me on: <a href="mailto:rlevy285@gmail.com" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mailto:rlevy285@gmail.com</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://loraobrien.ie/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/18320637_1331503846902633_8734168364879611308_o-1-225x300.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="225" src="https://loraobrien.ie/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/18320637_1331503846902633_8734168364879611308_o-1-225x300.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LORA O'BRIEN BIO: Lora is a traditionally published Author, Teacher, and Guide: native
born Irish, with strong personal and professional experience in our
history, heritage, archaeology, mythology, & Irish Spirituality. She
is a modern Draoí – a practitioner and priest of indigenous Irish magic
and spirituality, in the simplest terms. Lora has been consciously
following a pagan path for 25 years, and dedicated specifically to the
Irish Goddess Mórrígan 14 years ago. She managed one of Ireland's most
important sacred sites - Cruachán/Rathcroghan - for a decade, and is a
co-founder and legal celebrant, a Reverend, with Pagan Life Rites
Ireland.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Today's Interview:
Richard Levy, admin on the Centre for Pagan Studies FB Group.
When and where did your interest in Pagan/Earth based Spirituality begin?
Whilst my vocabulary and intellectual understanding did not go far
till I was twelve I would say it was present from my earliest memories.
This came through in my interest and love of myths and faerie tales,
which I still have. I give talks on this subject and perform
storytelling to this day.
I talked to everything: trees, toys and animals and loved films that
involved magic, witches and wizards. I always wanted to be one.
With this I also had psychic experiences, some I interpreted as evil
or dangerous which I have learnt as I matured were not. I would see and
speak with faerie and other beings and in some ways it held such a
common place I didn't realise it was magical though I still wanted
magic.
How did you practically go about getting started, and
what resources did you have available to you eg. books, teaching
courses, events, people you met?
I wanted to explore all this more and when I was 12, an esoteric shop
opened in my local high street. I cant recall how but I had funds for
some books and used my local library to take on as many books as I could
on magic, paganism and divination.
I met some pagans early on but they wore glittery robes and to my
mind were more style over substance, this made me keep my distance.
As I got older I tried again and found some intelligent, interesting and wonderful people.
Additionally I joined a spiritualist circle which allowed me to
practice my communication with spirits as well as divination and
healing.
What does being Pagan mean to you? (or your term of choice, please explain!)
Pagan to me today is an umbrella term for those practicing earth
based spirituality, often reinvented or restructured, which is good as a
religion of the earth should evolve, which a religion of the book tends
to struggle with. I am more inclined to use the term witch or magician
as my focus is on magical work. To me these are working titles, I am not
interested in hierarchical titles or being called adept etc (which I am
not) simply I work with various powers and in doing so these terms are
titles of that.
Some see more in them and that is fine and some romanticise the terms
and I am not sure how I feel about that. For me I have simply answered a
calling but I still have to clean the kitchen and iron my clothes.
To me a Pagan path is essentially, a narrative of the earth, within various traditions are its own nuances.
What sort of things do you do on a daily/weekly, monthly or seasonal basis to explore or express your Spirituality?
I do daily meditations and simple rituals of stillness. Seasonally I perform basic rituals to bring in the power of the season to flow
through myself, home and land. Or I just walk among nature and let
myself connect. On Spring Equinox I like to go to Kew Garden for
example. I like to walk in my local woods and see how things are growing
and how it feels.
What advice do you wish someone had given you, that you would like to give people starting out on this path?
I realise that magic is in all things. It is in ritual and
conversation it is in the kabbalah and the sun, the moon and the rain.
It is all around us all the time and in our childhoods. I realised one
day I knew more than I realised and that the bible I was raised in (not
fundamentally) was full of magic, along with the faerie tales I grew up
with.
It may seem obvious that faerie tales are full of magic, but getting
at the patterns within them and the magical messages took me time. When
we mature we think magic isnt faerie tales, we know it as something
practical and powerful. In being mature we let go of Childish things,
but there is a difference being childish and being childlike and being
childlike. Being childlike is a gift.
I think mystery is in that we know more than we are aware of and that awareness comes from experience.
What is the name of the Facebook Group you admin, and how
did you get involved there? (please feel free to provide group details
eg. member numbers or general guidelines, and a link to group)
The Centre of Pagan Studies has been going on for some time. I got
involved last year after reading Philip Heselton's biography of Doreen
Valiente. I had been looking to give back to the Pagan community and
found Doreen to be an inspiration person who had been involved so
decided to offer to help. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/centreforpaganstudies/?ref=group_header" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Centre for Pagan Studies FB Group is Here.</a>
What is the most frustrating thing for you about being involved with that group?
I think it can be frustrating to find the right vocabulary. In magic
and Paganism we do not really have our own language so we have to work
quite philosophically to communicate effectively. I have seen people
essentially agree with each other but end up arguing as their words are
interpreted differently. Ultimately it is not really a problem just a
shame its hard to bypass.
What is the most satisfying thing for you about being involved with that group?
The fact that we remember those who came before us who made strides
for Paganism. We have set up blue plaques for people like Gerald Gardner
and Doreen Valiente. Also people involved are very engaged in the
subject matter and we discuss often some ancient practices which some
people still practice or have come across. We attempt to provide both an
educational resource (giving talks for example) and discussing these
subject matters keeping it organic and shifting.
If you could guarantee that each group member had read AT LEAST one book before joining, what book would that be?
I think it would be hard to pin point one book but I would go back to
faerie tales. To have read some of the Grimm brothers work and look
into the early stories as well as the colour books (The yellow fairy
book, red fairy book etc compiled by Andrew Lang).
There are some great occult books out there and some bad ones, though
I found all of those helped me develop a magical vocabulary.
Further to this I would encourage to read history and anthropology as well as classical texts.
Anything else youd like to share?!
Whilst books are great the essence of magic is doing it and living
it. The essence of paganism is in practicing it and living it. Keep it
simple and embrace the stories you were told growing up and the cartoons
you may have seen (often based on these books). When you have
conversations remember language is insufficient to express magic and
spirituality. So take care. When I talk to magical practitioners of
various traditions if you work to find a common language, we find we
have a lot in common.
would encourage people to tread lightly and to take their time and to listen.
Richard Levy works with the Centre for Pagan Studies and the Doreen Valiente Foundation.
<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://centre-for-pagan-studies.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Centre for Pagan Studies</a></li>
<li><a href="http://doreenvaliente.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Doreen Valiente </a></li>
<li><a href="http://loraobrien.ie/wp/interview-with-richard-levy-centre-for-pagan-studies">Lora O'Brien Interview</a></li>
</ul>
<br />Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-3062056208964140822017-12-06T05:02:00.000-08:002017-12-06T05:02:21.305-08:00The Witchball and other Short Stories - an Excerpt From the Black Dog read by Peter Cadman<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jAjehDg2GMc" width="560"></iframe>Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-47726835595371444242017-12-06T05:01:00.000-08:002017-12-06T05:01:01.993-08:00The Witchball and other Short Stories - an Excerpt From Wookie Hole read by Jean Fenton<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zmWYYiqLET8" width="560"></iframe>Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-33520342414687528022017-12-06T04:58:00.002-08:002017-12-06T04:58:46.134-08:00The Witchball and other Short Stories - an Excerpt From the Black Dog read by Peter Cadman<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<iframe allow="encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" gesture="media" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tSfewEriyH0" width="560"></iframe>
</div>
Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-815725165987937742017-10-27T12:54:00.000-07:002017-10-27T12:54:10.115-07:00The Witchball and other Short Stories - an Excerpt Read by Stephanie Parker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://shop.doreenvaliente.org/" target="_blank"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/6ncdGGxMQoE/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6ncdGGxMQoE?feature=player_embedded" width="500"></iframe></a></div>
<br />Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-39143001247365862392017-09-26T08:38:00.001-07:002017-09-26T08:38:36.061-07:00Special Offer for Autumn 2017 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zeYFBq0nnHA/Wcp0RRjqthI/AAAAAAAABQk/OiIiRdnXSBgFYKGg4lTR2ENiigQ3gkeCACLcBGAs/s1600/wwl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="128" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zeYFBq0nnHA/Wcp0RRjqthI/AAAAAAAABQk/OiIiRdnXSBgFYKGg4lTR2ENiigQ3gkeCACLcBGAs/s1600/wwl.jpg" /></a></div>
Discover Doreen's first book and have a limited edition (one of only
1000) to treasure. The Doreen Valiente Foundation is pleased to announce
a Special Offer of Where Witchcraft Lives, Limited Edition, Hardback
book for the Autumn period. Get your copy here: <a data-ft="{"tn":"-U"}" data-lynx-mode="async" data-lynx-uri="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shop.doreenvaliente.org%2FWhereWitchcraftLivesLtdEdition&h=ATOFtUJSyqx6alwpzvEv2gKCs8pUfHQAr_s2s0u33l9TpSW84t5FXt1k5QWFjiKCqte3RHeV7TubTVhxfSNi1hrQaVzC_d4zUVtUtXKcU0LOtD54OO3xpWQl_OqVB6X9d0qvPICS5hGfQ3BgdH2zxGG4wfINoTNT9B4bghgGfqbtpKDTOfLVWLyQT-_dAKg8mYAlZnuCXTX9o6NqoNViqP3xuXgZ25PtRWPVnv85MVxi4i-2HuE9u7a-zlnWhNZNzQLcGz0FIrJ5azl3TA1upGALRaT556SVnWPqVf7X2gPjWC7V" href="http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/WhereWitchcraftLivesLtdEdition" target="_blank">http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/WhereWitchcraftLivesLtdE…</a>Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-21260610062404802112017-09-24T07:01:00.001-07:002017-09-24T07:01:56.264-07:00Witchfest 2017 Meet and Greet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rln_rMp8fic/Wce6IAVeCtI/AAAAAAAAE9s/bBa2IiDZfIUiW38zLiZlffXZi_yJJzu1wCLcBGAs/s1600/Flyingin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="781" data-original-width="1501" height="208" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rln_rMp8fic/Wce6IAVeCtI/AAAAAAAAE9s/bBa2IiDZfIUiW38zLiZlffXZi_yJJzu1wCLcBGAs/s400/Flyingin.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Come to Witchfest 2017 in Brighton Sussex and meet the team - Please visit our Facebook Page Event to show you would like to come <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/525274957811100/?acontext=%7B%22source%22%3A5%2C%22page_id_source%22%3A130354863722983%2C%22action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22page%22%2C%22mechanism%22%3A%22main_list%22%2C%22extra_data%22%3A%22%7B%5C%22page_id%5C%22%3A130354863722983%2C%5C%22tour_id%5C%22%3Anull%7D%22%7D]%2C%22has_source%22%3Atrue%7D">Meet and Greet event link on Facebook</a>Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-27607297818948210062017-02-14T04:24:00.000-08:002017-02-14T04:36:46.694-08:00Lupercalia - What's in a Wolf Whistle?As we are in the time of the Roman - or possibly pre-Roman festival of Lupercalia, Feb 13 - 15th, I thought I would find out if it had any links to the Christian St Valentines day 14 February.<br />
<br />
My research confirmed my suspicions, that Pope Gelasius I, had super-imposed St Valentines day onto the Pagan festival of Lupercalia.<br />
Valentines day is named after 2 men who had been executed by Emperor Claudius II — both named Valentine —
on Feb. 14 of different years in the 3rd century A.D. Their martyrdom
was honoured by the Catholic Church with the celebration of St.
Valentine's Day.<br />
<br />
I must say the Roman festival sounds more fun and more likely to achieve its purpose of fertility (see the heat map of births which coincide with a gestation which would follow conception on or around the festival).<br />
The name Lupercalia comes from latin - lupus - meaning wolf, and the Lupercal was the cave where the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus were suckled by a she-wolf.<br />
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This brings me neatly to the Roman goddess Venus - who was the mother of the Roman people through her son Aenaeus, the goddess who tames Warriors but gives them victory too. Venus who turns the hearts of men and women from sexual vice into virtue, a goddess of disparate functions, is very much present at this time of year. Oh and the wolf whistle? - that's about lust! <br />
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<br />Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-27477137388125202452016-11-17T15:48:00.002-08:002016-11-17T15:50:20.981-08:00Brighton Bewitched 2016 <br />
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<img alt="Doreen Valiente - the things which unite us" border="0" height="334" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-v6nmOsyiuLw/WC5BA8XxY-I/AAAAAAAAEik/HHDsiM-CA0YUYzP0FB9ngKJqRMn3oLzMwCLcB/s640/thethingswhichuniteus.jpg" title="The Things which unite us" width="640" /><a href="http://www.wherewitchcraftlives.org/witchfest2016.php">http://www.wherewitchcraftlives.org/witchfest2016.php</a></div>
<br />
The Doreen Valiente Foundation will be back in Brighton for <a href="http://witchfest.net/" target="_blank"><b>Witchfest 2016</b></a>.
Witchfest is on 25th/26th/27th November which is also the final weekend
for the display of Doreen's artefacts at Preston Manor.
We'll have a stall out with the other community and charity
organisations during some of the day where you can buy books,
merchandise and Foundation memberships as well as a few "Witchfest
specials" (which you can also buy online from our <a href="http://shop.doreenvaliente.org/" target="_blank">webstore</a>).<br />
<br />
Of course Witchfest will see us take to the stage again, one year on
from John Belham-Payne making the announcement about the opening of the
exhibition. As mentioned above, Witchfest weekend will be the last
chance to see the exhibition, just up the road in Brighton at Preston
Manor - <a href="http://www.wherewitchcraftlives.org/Witchcraft_exhibitions--Preston_Manor-13.php">click here for more details</a>
) and we'll be looking back at this historic year, talking about the
exhibition and our future plans and remembering John who so tragically
passed away in February, just before the exhibition opened. We'll also
have our trustee Ashley Mortimer popping up on the Witchfest "Ask A
Witch Panel"<br />
<br />
As if that wasn't enough, there's the new play about Doreen Valiente
entitled "Doreen, An English Witch" which is playing during the weekend
with it's final performance on the Sunday afternoon - <a href="http://www.marlboroughtheatre.org.uk/event/doreen-an-english-witch/" target="_blank">More information here</a>.<br />
<br />
For those without tickets for the play, or those who want to have a bit of a gathering on the Sunday morning, we'll be at the <a href="http://www.marlboroughtheatre.org.uk/" target="_blank">Marlborough Theatre</a>
from 11.30am on Sunday 27th where you can come and chat to us, get
directions to Preston Manor or just warm up for the play in the
afternoon.<br />
<a href="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/" target="_blank">
<img alt="Doreen Valiente Foundation" src="https://www.wherewitchcraftlives.org/art/dvf.png" style="float: left; margin-right: 8px; max-width: 100px; min-width: 30px; width: 70px;" /></a>
<a href="http://www.doreenvaliente.org/" target="_blank">The Doreen Valiente Foundation</a>
is a charitable trust dedicated to the protection and preservation of
pagan heritage and to making it accessible to the public. Support us by
donating money, sponsoring us or by buying books and merchandise from
the
<a href="http://www.wherewitchcraftlives.org/witchfest2016.php#">Doreen Valiente Webstore</a>
<br />
<br />
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Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-85972016802275793862016-06-13T14:56:00.000-07:002016-06-13T14:56:11.445-07:00Upcoming event - Remembering Gerald Gardner - a day of talks at Preston Manor, Saturday 18th June, 10:30am, Brighton<a href="http://www.wherewitchcraftlives.org/gerald_gardner-meme-gbg1.php">http://www.wherewitchcraftlives.org/gerald_gardner-meme-gbg1.php</a><br />
<br />
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<br />
Celebrate Gerald Gardner's 132nd birthday next week. Ashley
Mortimer, Philip Carr Gomm and Tam Campbell will be at Preston Manor to
discuss Gardner's place in modern pagan history, including a reading of
his historic 1955 talk, believed to be the first legal public talk about
witchcraft since the repeal of the 1735 witchcraft act. <br />
Gardner's original Book of Shadows will be on display with artefacts
from the Doreen Valiente collection. Tickets are included in the
price of entry to Preston Manor, although limited spaces are available
for each talk. Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0Brighton, The City of Brighton and Hove, UK50.822530000000008 -0.1371629999999868250.742308000000008 -0.29852449999998681 50.902752000000007 0.024198500000013168tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-85679685581386580982016-04-23T09:35:00.000-07:002016-04-23T09:45:28.125-07:00Doreen Valiente - Witch, biography book launch at Treadwells Book Shop London<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ykq1KNXAfSI/VxtTiqDN_ZI/AAAAAAAAEa4/uMwfi9ZMCuYTxmSlWg_ZNPi_8ehIzQvBgCLcB/s1600/Philip_Hilary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ykq1KNXAfSI/VxtTiqDN_ZI/AAAAAAAAEa4/uMwfi9ZMCuYTxmSlWg_ZNPi_8ehIzQvBgCLcB/s400/Philip_Hilary.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doreen Valiente's Official Biographer, Philip Heselton and his wife Hilary.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The day arrived, 21st February 2016, and we were all assembled in the basement of Treadwells Book Shop in London, for the book launch. The room was packed, and there was a great atmosphere.<br />
<br />
The proceedings were opened by Ashley Mortimer who has without a doubt worked very hard to get the book into publication, this book is now the centre piece of the Centre For Pagan Studies ever growing publications.<br />
<br />
Philip Heselton gave an insightful talk into the life of Doreen Valiente, which included the part about
the mystery of Doreen's activities during the Second World War. <br />
<br />
Julie Belham-Payne took the floor and spoke for a short while, she called for a short silence to mark the death of her husband, John Belham-Payne, and then after thanks to all those who were involved in the publication of this magnificent book, she called for three cheers for Philip Heselton. A very enthusiastic applause followed.<br />
<br />
Then a presentation by Christina Oakley-Harrington, proprietor of Treadwells Bookshop on witches and the media. The slide show was wonderful and it was really informative as well as enjoyable to see many images of sky clad witches, and some who just couldn't go the whole way so wore a necklace as a token gesture! <br />
<br />
After that a short film on the life of Doreen which included clips of Doreen actually speaking. <br />
<br />
Following on, a reading of "Elegy for a Dead Witch" by Sarah Kay.<br />
<br />
Then we were treated to Ginger Wine, cucumber sandwiches (with the crusts
cut off), and Battenburg cake - all favourites of Doreen's.<br />
<br />
The book can be purchased online from our online store: <a href="http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/">http://www.shop.doreenvaliente.org/ </a><br />
and all profits support the Doreen Valiente Foundation. Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0Store St, London WC1E 7BS, UK51.5197959 -0.1316491999999698251.5185609 -0.13417069999996983 51.5210309 -0.12912769999996981tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-29454311259661237692016-03-11T06:49:00.002-08:002016-03-11T06:53:44.074-08:00Understanding the immense legacy of John Belham-Payne <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://i2.wp.com/www.pagandawnmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/valiente-altar-crop.jpg?resize=678%2C381" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i2.wp.com/www.pagandawnmag.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/valiente-altar-crop.jpg?resize=678%2C381" height="179" width="320" /></a></div>
A new update on John Belham-Payne and the importance of the Doreen Valiente Legacy. <a href="http://www.pagandawnmag.org/understanding-legacy-john-belham-payne/">http://www.pagandawnmag.org/understanding-legacy-john-belham-payne/ </a>Julie Belham-Paynehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02038568745766335707noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3357371214806156061.post-22959432343200861142016-01-21T14:16:00.001-08:002016-01-21T14:16:42.851-08:00Doreen Valiente back in the Brighton Argus! Just to say the exhibitions are definitely<br />
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on this coming season for 2106 Visit Brighton !!<br />
<a href="http://bit.ly/1Vc3Oc8" target="_blank">Doreen Valiente in the Brighton Argus</a>Centre For Pagan Studieshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04010875141753479109noreply@blogger.com0