Pardon Our Dust ... A Blog Re-Newed

On May 30, 2011 (three or so years into our practice of this path), Glaux posted this blog's first post

-- "Everything Old is New Again." We published hot and heavy in the first 12 months of the blog's existence, striving to share what we had come to experience of the American Folkloric Witchcraft tradition in a way that coincided with the Wheel of the Year. We both maintained long to-do lists of articles to write and topics to explore, and we talked almost daily about witchcraft and this path. Glaux posted a lot of articles on my behalf -- things I had written as part of the foundational materials to our work, blog articles for my other blogs that were applicable to this work. It was messy, but it didn't matter. We loved each other, and it didn't matter who posted what.

We wrote almost all of the articles in the first 18 months of the blogs existence, and then we turned our attention inward. We had more work to do -- with our coven, with the festival grounds (Camp Midian) of which we were/are founders and part owners, and with our relationship. Glaux and I got married on June 25, 2014 -- the day same-sex marriage became legal in Indiana.

It's not my intention to share too much about our relationship. We've both been open online about the love we have always had for each other, and we've also both been upfront about our struggles (together and independently) with mood disorders. Within a year of our wedding, Glaux and I were separated, mainly in an effort to find healthier ways of managing these disorders. We divorced shortly thereafter, and Glaux returned to exploring some other paths of magick and occultism (that we both share in common) while I continued to focus my efforts on American Folkloric Witchcraft with the help of the coven we founded -- Coven Caer Sidhe.

Very recently (Samhain of 2016, in fact), Glaux and I sat down and discussed the current state of the AFW trad (as we know it, through those we have personally initiated), and we are committed to maintaining a working partnership, moving forward in parallel (or at least complementary) ways within the Trad, and sharing more of our collective insight through this blog.

In an effort to sort through the blog and properly assign authorship to the pieces that are here, I'll be deleting some posts and re-posting them in my name. Glaux's original work will remain in her name. And new material is going to be added, as the covens (yes, we have at least three working covens now) continue to explore American folk magick. We're also inviting some of our well-studied members to post as authors to this blog.

It may get a little messy around here for the next couple of months while the dust settles, and you may see some posts that you've seen before, if you're an avid follower of the blog. We trust that you'll get what you need, and we encourage comments, questions, and feedback all along the way.

Charm of the Spiral Castle

In a silver castle
far beyond the sea
grows a golden apple
on a silver tree.

On the Isle of Apples
through the pearly mist
stands a spiral tor-mound
on which the castle sits.

Waters flow upon the isle,
pools of life-in-death.
A sacred river circles it
the ancient stream of Lethe.

The castle spins between the worlds
to touch the vault of heaven.
Stars dance around its towers four
two Bears, one Crown, the Sisters Seven.

Upon the highest tower
with linen at her feet
spins the castle's Lady
in her uneasy seat.

Down below the castle
iron touches fire,
where Cain pounds at the anvil
all that we desire.

The Mighty Dead reside within --
Ancient, wise, and brave --
for those who walk the Crooked Path --
seek Rose Beyond the Grave.

Seek the turning castle
by right of Scarlet Thread.
It won't be found with mortal eyes
but ones hallowed by the dead.

~Natalie Black, Imbolc 2012

The Airts: Elemental Quarters of the Spiral Castle

The Airts of Traditional Craft correspond to different elemental quarters than those found in Wiccan and Ceremonial traditions.  The Airts are based on old "Celtic" lore.

The North – Air

Values: Intellect, Thoughts, Inspiration, Communication, Flight, Divination
Colors: White, sky blue, black, silver
Symbols: Circle, bird, bell, flute, chimes, clouds, Sylphs, the Angel
Tools: Keek stone, flail, knives
Weapons: Staff/Spear
Musical Instruments: Reed instruments
Times: Imbolc, Midnight, Winter, Old Age
Places: Sky, mountaintop, treetop, bluffs, summit of a mound
Zodiac: Aquarius, Gemini, Libra
Sense: Scent
Power: To Know
Process: Chanting, Visualization, Reading, Speaking, Praying, Singing, Fragrance, Charms

The East – Fire

Values: Passion, Power, Will, Energy, Courage, Strength, Light
Colors: Red, orange, amber
Symbols: Triangle, lightning, flame, candle, Salamanders, the Lion
Tools: The lamp, wand, staff
Weapons: Sword
Musical Instruments: String Instruments
Times: Beltane, Dawn, Spring, Youth
Places: Volcanoes, ovens, hearths, bonfires, deserts
Zodiac: Aries, Leo, Sagittarius
Sense: Sight
Power: To Will
Process: Dancing, Burning, Candle-magic, Solar magic, Mirrors

The South – Earth

Values: Growth, Experience, Authority, Money, Physicality, Security, Nourishment
Colors: Black, brown, russet, green
Symbols: Square, cornucopia, scythe, salt, stone, Gnomes, the Bull
Tools: The casting bowl, pentacles, horns
Weapons: Shield
Musical Instruments: Drums
Times: Lammas, Noon, Summer, Coming of Age
Places: Caves, forests, fields, gardens, canyons
Zodiac: Capricorn, Taurus, Virgo
Sense: Touch
Power: To Keep Silent
Process: Burying, Grounding, Binding, Eating, Totemic magic, Wortcunning, Clay figures, Dirts

The West – Water

Values: Emotions, Intuition, Cleansing, Mystery, Sacrifice
Colors: Grey, turquoise, blue, indigo
Symbols: Crescent, shell, boat, anchor, cup, Undines, the Eagle
Tools: The chalice or quaiche, cauldron
Weapons: Helm
Musical Instruments: Chimes
Times: Samhain, Twilight, Autumn, Adulthood
Places: Oceans, rivers, lakes, waterfalls, wells, beaches, baths
Zodiac: Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces
Sense: Taste
Power: To Dare
Process: Bathing, Healing, Drinking, Baptism, Charged Waters, Blood magic

A Charm of the Airts

Black spirits, white,
Red spirits, gray,
Come ye, come ye
Come what may.

Around and round,
Throughout, about.
The good stay in.
The ill keep out.

Requirements for Admission

After years of working this path, tweaking it, living with it, and loving it, we have decided to open ourselves up to those who would like to walk the crooked path with us locally (within the South-Central Indiana area).  Here, then, are our requirements for admission.


Greening – green cord

• For children of the family at the age of reason, and for potential new members to the coven.
  
• Creates an informal bond between teacher and student.
  
• Before Greening the student should :
  
  • formally request to join the coven
  • obtain a binder for handouts and personal research notes
  • obtain a flash drive
• During Greening the student should:
  
  • learn to raise, form, move, and ground energy
  • create or obtain a stone bowl
  • begin their personal crane bag
  • choose a coven symbol
  • begin a personal home altar
  • attend at least 2 rituals (Sabbats or Esbats)
  • obtain a ritual robe (either white or black, depending on the time of year)
• Greening lasts through a 6 – 12 month period, or until the age of puberty.
  
  

Adoption – red cord, bone ring

• For children of the family at the age of puberty, and for formally joining members to the coven.
  
• Creates a formal bond – the Red Thread – between the student and all members of the coven.
  
• During Adoption the student should:
  
  • Memorize the year wheel
  • Obtain the three knives
  • Read:
    
    • The Robert Cochrane letters
    • The White Goddess by Robert Graves
  • Read two of the following:
    
    • Masks of Misrule, Call of the Horned Piper, & Pillars of Tubal Cain by Nigel Jackson
    • Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson
    • The Witches’ Bible by the Farrars
    • Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance by Evan John Jones
    • The Roebuck in the Thicket by Robert Cochrane and EJ Jones
    • Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed by Valiente and Jones
    • The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
    • The Witching Way of Hollow Hill by Robin Artisson
  • Perform a link cutting
  • Write a statement of personal ethics
  • obtain an ancestor skull
  • create a staff
  • obtain a cauldron
  • make an incense
  • make and amulet and talisman
  • make a scrying mirror
  • design and make a Witches’ Glove
  • become proficient in three forms of divination
  • create a totemic fetch
  • acquire a familiar (plant, animal, or spirit)
  • perform contact and possession with a Deity
  • lead a ritual
  • complete red cord checklist
• Adoption lasts a minimum of a year and a day, or until the age of majority.
  
  

Raising – red/white/black cord, witches mark

• For children of the family at the age of majority, and for naming the student as a witch.
  
• Marks the student as a fully-fledged witch.
  
• During Raising the witch should:
  
  • obtain tools, weapons, and other paraphernalia related to the compass
  • read and study as suits their interest

The Witch's Library

I'm a librarian by trade, so surely you knew this post was coming eventually.

There are hundreds of books about witchcraft available on the market today, and it can be difficult to sort out the useful works from the tripe!  Complied below is a list that I personally recommend for beginning witches, or those looking to expand their knowledge of Craft.  This is by no means a complete list, as I can only recommend those books which I myself have read and gleaned some good from.  Please add your own suggestions in the comments.

Books Central to Our Tradition
These writings are recommended to anyone who seeks to practice AFW.

The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth by Robert Graves
Call of the Horned Piper & Masks of Misrule by Nigel Jackson
The Writings of Roy Bowers (Robert Cochrane)
The Real Mother Goose by Blanche Wright

Trad Craft Basics
These books will give you a good introduction to Traditional Witchcraft practices.

The Roebuck in the Thicket by Evan John Jones & Robert Cochrane, editor Mike Howard
Witchcraft: a Tradition Renewed by Doreen Valiente and Evan John Jones
The Forge of Tubal Cain by Ann Finnin
Grimore for Modern Cunning Folk by Peter Paddon
The Witching Way of Hollow Hill by Robin Artisson

General Witchcraft
These books, combined with a few others from each section will give you an excellent foundation in Craft.

Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks & Covens by Paul Huson
The Rebirth of Witchcraft, Witchcraft for Tomorrow, & Natural Magic by Doreen Valiente
Witches All by Elizabeth Pepper
Witchcraft: a Mystery Tradition by Raven Grimassi
Wheel of the Year by Pauline Campanelli
Courting the Lady: A Wiccan Journey, Book One: The Sacred Path by Patrick M. McCollum

Wiccan Classics
These books are unabashedly Wiccan, in the sense that they can trace their way back to the practices of Gerald Gardner.

High Magic’s Aid, Witchcraft Today, & The Meaning of Witchcraft by Gerald Gardner
The Witches' Way, Eight Sabbats for Witches (available collected as A Witches' Bible), The Witches' God, & The Witches' Goddess by Janet & Stewart Farrar

Craft History
Many of these books were inspiration for the modern Craft movement.

The Triumph of the Moon-A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft & Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton
Aradia or the Gospel of the Witches of Italy by Charles G. Leland (Pazzaglini Translation)
The Golden Bough by James George Frazer
Gods of the Greeks by Karl Kerenyi
The God of the Witches by Margaret Alice Murray
Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches' Sabbath by Carlo Ginzburg and Raymond Rosenthal

Totemic Information
If you want to know more about the totems of our tradition these are a great place to start your research.

Tree Wisdom: The Definitive Guidebook to the Myth, Folklore, and Healing Power of Trees by Jacqueline Memory Paterson
The Celtic Tree Oracle: A System of Divination by Colin Murray, Liz Murray and Vanessa Card
Druid Animal Oracle by Philip Carr-Gomm, Stephanie Carr-Gomm and Bill Worthington
Sacred Mask Sacred Dance by Evan John Jones and Chas Clifton
Animal Speak by Ted Andrews

Spellcraft
When you want to work magic this is where you should start.

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs & Book of Incense Oils and Brews by Scott Cunningham
The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft & The Element Encyclopedia 5000 Spells by Judika Illes
A Century of Spells by Draja Mickaharic

I also suggest you explore these trad-craft reading lists to inspire further book lust:
Probus Lecto: a Clan of Tubal Cain reading list
The Witch of Forest Grove's suggested reading list (Sarah Lawless also writes Pagan Bookworm, a witchy book-lover's blog)
The Ancient Keltic Church's reading list
Traditional Witchcraft Research Network reading list
The House Shadow Drake reading list
The White Dragon recommended reading list

Everything Old is New Again

Welcome to American Folkloric Witchcraft. We are two witches living and practicing in southern Indiana, U.S.A. Each of us has been practicing Witchcraft since the late 1990's. In that time we have developed some opinions about what we prefer and what we don't.  We are both avid proponents of non-Wiccan Craft in the style of Robert Cochrane. We count ourselves as devotees of Tubal Cain and of the White and Black Goddesses.

We have been shaping a path -- or it has been shaping us -- for several years. We have been inspired to share this work with others through these writings, well aware that any true mystery cannot be told, it must be experienced for oneself. We hope that our work can provide a guidepost to others who seek to practice the Old Ways in a new way.

Our ways are inspired primarily by the works of Robert Cochrane/Roy Bowers, and Robert Graves.  We have borrowed elements of other American groups that also work with Cochrane's materials, American Rootwork traditions, ancient European and Native American Shamanism, and a great body of many years experience working in occult traditions.

We call this path American Folkloric Witchcraft mindful of the fact that although we work in a heavily British tradition of Craft, we ourselves are practicing in America. We are attuned to the unique energies of the land we live and work in, and understand that ours is an American expression of what began as a European mystery.

We claim no lineage to any group or tradition, although we have both worked extensively in other groups and traditions. This path is our own, and is for those who bear the Mark of Qayin. It claims no authority other than the oaths and bonds we have taken to our Gods and our Ancestors.

We hope you will join us as we walk down the Crooked Path.