The Fetch and Flight

Witches do three things, and do them well.  Firstly, witches do witchcraft. This is the action of casting spells, conjure, hoodoo, cunning, rootwork, powwow, folk-magic, or what-have-you.  Secondly, witches honor the horned Witch Father, and the Goddess of life and death.  There are many names and expressions of these energies, but they are common to all witches.  Finally, witches fly.  How witches fly is a matter of debate.  Flying is not an act of levitation, but it is a means of travel.  Flying is simply the act of sending your astral body (or, as we call it, the black soul) out to travel through the realms.

There are many ways to fly.  One may use drumming, chanting, or dancing to achieve an altered state of consciousness. Warricking and stropping are another traditional way to "get out of yourself".  Also, the use of certain herbs and compounds, such as hallucinogens, flying oinments, alcohol, and herbal incenses, can produce or heighten the effect of flight.

Although flight can be achieved through the simple projection of the astral body, witches have several traditional techniques for assisting the black soul while it is mobile.  These include use of a gandreigh, or riding pole, such as a broom, a stang, a staff, or a hobby horse, and the construction of a fetch.

A fetch is an etheric construct that the witch projects herself into for the purpose of astral flight.  This construct can take the form of her own body, or that of a totemic spirit.  Totemic spirits are desirable for this work because the witch already has a unique bond with that creature, and therefore can easily assimilate herself into the new etheric body.

The fetch can be thought of as an inanimate shell of energy waiting for your own astral self to inhabit and enliven it.  It can travel through all the realms as astral space, and can be seen in the physical realm by those that are inclined to mediumship.

Just as with an incorporeal familiar spirit, it is wise to create a kind of "home" for the etheric construct

And I shall go into a hare...

of the fetch to inhabit when not in use as a vessel for the astral body.  A crystal, a statue of the animal, or a spirit bottle are all good physical anchors for this energy.

As with all things, the more you practice, work with, and feed this construct, the more effective it will be when you wish to use it. If you wish to stop working with a particular fetch, simply reabsorb its energy into yourself and deconsecrate or destroy the fetch's house.  This should, however, be avoided if at all possible, as fetches build up numen with time and use, and can become quite powerful in their own right.  They are, in fact, a kind of egregore purposed as a vessel for your own use.

You may wish to cue your transformation from astral body to fetch construct to the use of a charm, such as the Scottish witch Isobel Gowdie did as recorded in the record of her trial in 1662.

I shall go into a hare,
With sorrow and sych and meickle care;
And I shall go in the Devil's name,
Ay while I come home again.

(sych: such; meickle: great) To change back, she would say:

Hare, hare, God send thee care.
I am in a hare's likeness now,
But I shall be in a woman's likeness even now.

Listen below to a modern interpretation of the Gowdie shifter's chant by by Northumbrian folk singer and storyteller Sedayne (Sean Breadin).

The Triple Soul

In our tradition, as in many world shamanic traditions, we recognize that all living beings are born into this world with three souls. These three souls correspond to the triple colors of witchcraft. 

The first soul is the Black Soul, or spirit.  It is our astral body, and is capable of traveling beyond this world into other realms.  The spirit is what we identify as our self, our ego.  It is our identity in this lifetime, and is an exact copy of us, although it can take any form you wish for it to (the fetch).  Upon death the spirit may wander as a ghost or revenant, or it may travel back to the cauldron where its energy will dissolve to create new spirits.

The second soul is the Red Soul, or eternal soul.  It lives in the bones of each of us, and cannot be destroyed.  It is the divine spark of Qayin's blood within every true witch's heart.  It is this spirit that after death is awarded a period of rest in Ynys Avalon, or Elphame, after which it is reborn.  The eternal soul holds our past life memories, and our connection to our ancestors.

The third soul is the White Soul, or higher self.  It is also known as the Holy Guardian Angel.  The higher self exists just above our bodies, like a crown or halo.  Inspiration, enlightenment, and divine wisdom all come to us through the higher self.  It is one of the main goals of a witch to gain knowledge of this higher self, and to commune with it regularly.  Upon death the eternal soul is alchemically married to the higher self, so that true lasting communion is reveled to us.

The Ancestors

The most important link that a witch makes is the one that links her to the ancestors of the tradition.  This link is the Red Thread.  Once made it cannot be severed except by the will of the witch alone.  It is this link that creates a witch in our tradition.  It is the link that creates us as family.

The ancestors are more than just names on our family tree.  They are the guardians and guides that shape our practice from the other side.  They are our allies in magic and our protectors in spirit.

Although none can truly claim full knowledge of what happens to our spirits after our bodies expire, we believe that the spirit and the eternal soul continue on.  The eternal soul flies from us to the shining realm of the ancients, the land of fey, Elphame, the isle of apples, Ynys Avalon, where it takes its repose. This expression of the soul lives in our bones, and it is for that reason that we honor our ancestors through the symbolism of bones. The spirit, an expression of our ego and “self”, may wander here for a time after death, creating the phenomenon we recognize as ghosts, or it may return to the source, the great cauldron, from which we are reborn anew.

Of special interest to us are the Mighty Dead.  These are the dead that have returned to the cauldron and have retained themselves in whole (both spirit and eternal soul) through many lives.  They are the great heroes and heroines of myth and history.  Their influence shapes our world, and their guidance can teach us much.

We access the ancestors by honoring them in word and deed.  The names we take are a litany of the generations before us.  We make offerings to the dead throughout the year, and especially when the veil is thinnest at Samhain.  We learn to tap the bone, to create communication with our guiding ancestors, through meditation and offerings.

The ancestors are honored at the center of the compass for our rites, by the skull placed at the foot of the stang.