The magic in BONES

Bones

In a recent discussion with one of my lovely, learned friends the subject of bones came up and the magic that they hold.  It started out about bones of our ancestors and the magic they possess, but I wanted to write here about animal bones in particular.

In the old days bones and animal parts were used widely for magical purposes.  People were hunters they used all the parts of an animal primarily for food and warmth, and the bones for magic.

Now I do not advocate anyone popping out and hitting a badger over the head with a stick just to use the bones in a spell.  However nature itself provides dead animals and birds and man in his motor car provide a lot too.    Picking up road kill may sound a bit yucky and is not for everyone or the feint hearted (thankfully my lovely friend is very brave and does it for me!) but I think of it as honouring the animal, that it’s skin and bones will be put to some good use after it has passed away.

Bones are to me a sort of fetish, the word fetish originates from a Portuguese word meaning charm or sorcery, an item filled with magic.   Feathers, leaves, twigs and stones are all also types of fetish.

The bones themselves are a good way of connecting with the spirit of the animal and working with those energies.   I have a magpie skull on my altar as magpie is one of my animal totems, I put it on my altar in honour of the spirit.  The bone of the animal works as a vessel for the spirit to reside in within our realm.  Animal bones can also be carried in medicine bags to utilise their particular energies.   All animal spirits take time to bond with, so don’t rush it and it is also a nice idea to leave offerings for the animal bones too.

You can wear the bones as well to take on the attributes and power of the animal that they belonged to.  A lot of animals are shamanic in nature too, enabling you to tap into their ability to travel between worlds.

Feathers, animal skins or bones can also be used in shapeshifting.  The skins can be worn, the feathers or bones used as jewellery to aid you in taking on the form of the animal.

Ritual tools can also be made from animal bones – rattles for instance, or tie bones to your staff or wand for an added energy boost.

Divination with animal bones can also be done - I love the part in the Pirates film where Tia Darma casts her bones & shells to tell a fortune - and small bones make good oghams.  

It is a fascinating subject and one that I will be working with a lot more.

Tansy

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Our magical intent process..

Our magical intent process and how it works..

A question that we have been discussing this week.

All our Kitchen Witch items are hand crafted by Tansy & Blaiddwolf – between us we have nearly 25 years of witchcraft experience added to that our druid experience, herbalism training and Reiki amongst other things!

At Kitchen Witch when we make a magical item, a poppet or a witches bottle for instance, it starts with the herbs.

Most of the herbs we use are grown in my own garden, organically and pesticide free. So not only are they looked after with love, care and attention they don’t have any chemical nasties in. Herbs themselves as living things carry their own power and each herb has its own special magic before we even get to use them.

The items used are cleansed and blessed such as the bottle for a witches bottle or the felt used in the poppets.

If the item is for a specific use, for instance a prosperity witches bottle – each herb is selected for its magical intent so for prosperity we might add mint, basil and poppy seeds as they are carry the magical intent of prosperity, but we might also add cinnamon for success, rice for abundance etc. As we add the herbs we charge them with that intent. So not only do the herbs carry their own magical intent power they are also charged as well. Any other items we add such as a string knotted three times – we add the intent as we knot the string so again for prosperity the first knot would be abundance, the second prosperity the third money wise ability or something like that.

We also like to use colour magic, so if we are dressing a witches bottle for prosperity we will add green ribbon and green wax – again charged with the intent. Green being a good colour for prosperity.

Once an item is finished we then bless it and charge it with intent again – should be some nice power in the item by that point!

Then once the customer receives the item they can then add their own personal energy and intent to it. Usually this is done by visualisation – sending their own energy and intent into it. This then personalises the item and gives it that final magical charge. A person can also recharge their item if after a few weeks/months they feel the item needs a boost – this can be done as before by visualising their intent and sending their energy into the item.

Items you make for yourself will obviously have your own intent in them, but not everyone is crafty or has the time – that’s where we can help!

Yes herbs have their own magical energy, yes all plants do, yes colour magic helps, yes the fact that the items are made by witches helps…but at the end of the day the real magic is in YOU.

Tansy
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Beli Mawr, the Father of the Welsh Gods

Father of Caswallawn, Arianrhod, Lludd Llaw Eraint, and Llefelys. Possibly derived from Belenos, and as such he becomes a sun god , or god of Light (Shining One, or Bright One), but more probably he could have come from Bolgois, God of Lightning, or God of Death. Medieval Welsh grammatical rule tend towards the latter, whilst popular theory toward the former.

Medieval texts have him placed as the consort of Don, the Earth-Mother, and thus the ancestor of several Celtic lineages. He is also brother to Bran, and rival, which lead to the battles between the Sons of Don and the Sons of Llyr, of which Bran was one.

Caswallawn is said to have lead the rebellions to the first Roman invasions of Britain, which places him on the throne in the years just before. Arthurian legend places him as Pellinor, the father to Percival, which is grammatically feasible.

Although conflated with Belenos, he is more likely to have translated into Welsh from the Britonic Bolgios. For all intents and purposes, however, he may well have combined both roles of Belenos and Bolgios with the intense confusion of early British and Welsh history and mythology, Beli Mawr, Belenos and Bolgios have become fairly interchangeable. Perhaps it is Beli Mawr who has the wider personality, taking in both polarities of the other two, so he can range from the benevolent sun to the destructive power of lightning.

There are no myths or legends about Beli Mawr, save for him being the All-Father and consort of Don (Danu/Anu) and father of the gods and of many tribes of people. He has been christianised as the husband of Anna, cousin of the Virgin Mary, and daughter of Joseph of Arimathea, that same Joseph who has such strong links with Glastonbury and the Holy Thorn.

Dragons are also linked with Beli. The Snowdonia mountain city of Emrys, also known as Dinas Affaraon, was home to both Beli's dragons and the druid alchemists the Pheryllt. It was here that the Goddess Ceridwen visited, in her search for the formula for the Awen. These dragons are reputed to be harnessed to the chariot of the sky god, and occasionally the chariot of Ceridwen, but there are many tales of a lone flying dragon.

A common story is that of two dragons fighting, one red, one white. The red dragon is victorious. It has been said that the red dragon represents the Britons, and the white the Saxons (no coincidence between the colours of the Welsh and English rugby teams here!). But tales of dragons are far more ancient than the anglo-saxon invasions of celtic lands.

This is an article from mabinogion.info which I found particularly useful

Beli Mawr and the Belgae

Cassivellaunos, the first-century leader of British Celtic resistance against the armies of Caesar, is remembered in the Medieval Welsh tradition as Casswallon son of Beli Mawr. Beli Mawr, as we have seen, was the ultimate progenitor of the Brythonic ruling tribe, from whom a number of the most powerful royal houses in the British Celtic West claimed some kind of descent. However, there is no definable historical figure from Britain of the Late Iron Age with whom we can readily identify this figure. The origins of Beli Mawr, on the surface at least, would appear to be in mythic rather than historical reality.

Some have argued, along with the great Ifor Williams, that the name of Beli Mawr relates to the Gaulish god known as Belinos or Belenos. Numerous inscribed dedications to Belinos have been found in continental Celtic areas, especially around the Cisalpine Gaul area of Northern Italy, suggesting that this was one of a handful of meta-deities in the Celtic world to have gained pan-tribal, regional popularity. Frequently thought of as a solar figure, the name has been related both to Gaelic elements bel- / bile- meaning ‘fire’ ‘light’, as well as Celtic-derived Latinate words denoting beauty: bellisima etc. In view of this etymology and the evident popularity of this god in the Late Iron Age West, it is conceivable that this figure was somehow related to the Celtic festival of Beltain - which was celebrated in early May, when cattle were brought out of their winter quarters, and driven between two fires before being released into their summer pastures.

Furthermore, there can be little doubt that Belinos was powerful cult figure in Late Iron Age Britain as well: and it may even have been the case that (like Beli Mawr in Medieval Wales) Belinos had mythical importance as the divine progenitor of the ruling tribe. The name of Cassivellaunos itself is usually interpreted as ‘Lover (i.e. devotee) of Belenos’. The tribal grouping led by Cassivellaunos were subsequently known as the Catuvellauni ‘The Host of Belenos’, by the first century AD. One of the subsequent leaders of the Catuvellauni, who died shortly before the Claudian invasion, was known by the name or title of Cunobelinos (Welsh Cynfelyn) - ‘Hound of Belinos’.

However, much as the identities of Beli Mawr and Belenos may have become conflated, it seems unlikely that their names were etymologically related. Following the regular sound changes which caused the British Celtic tongue to mutate into the medieval language of Welsh, Belinos might be expected to produce a form like a form along the lines of Belyn or Belen. Indeed, this name is found in Welsh sources, both modern and medieval. A certainBelen o Leyn is described in the 62nd triad as the leader of one of the ‘Three Fettered War-Bands’ of the Island of Britain. The popular Welsh name Llywelyn, evidently contains this name in combination with that of another powerful Brythonic deity: Lleu (< Lugus) and Belyn (< Belinos). So if this is the medieval survival of the Gaulish god Belinos, it seems we must look elsewhere for the etymological origins of Beli Mawr. The most convincing Gallo-Brittonic exemplar for the Medieval Welsh Beli is the name Bolgios, who is described in Ancient Greek sources as a warlord from among the Galatoi (or Keltoi) in the third century BC. More of this figure and his association with the Sack of Delphi in 279 BC will be discussed below. But what must be initially made clear is that it is the name of Bolgios (rather than that of the Gaulish god Belenos) which, following all the regular sound changes of the Common Celtic language would have rendered a name like Beli (Mawr) in Medieval Welsh. A further connection is discernable between this name, and that of the tribal name of Belgae: the final wave of Late Iron age settlers who would have represented the last dominant British Celtic power before the arrival of the Romans. Although the precise details of the sound changes in Proto-Celtic and Common Celtic languages between 279 and 50 BC remain far from clear, the derivation of the tribal name of Belgae from the genitive form of the name of Bolgios would be entirely consistant with what we know about the Celtic inflections, sound-changes and onomastics. Thus Belgae (< *Bolgioi) can be understood to have had the literal meaning: ‘(The Host) of Bolgios’. The connection between the first-century Belgae, that Gallo-Brittonic hegemony of north-western Europe and the host of the Balkan Celtic chieftain some three hundred years before is reinforced by some startling correspondences in the archaeological and numismatic record. What this implies for the provenance of the Belgic people, and hence for the tribal-historic traditions of the Medieval Welsh, will be considered in more detail in the section after next. But first we must recap on the situation in Britain in the Late Iron Age, which witnessed the ascendancy of Belgic power over the British tribal scene.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Online or offline?

I have been a witch (knowingly) for over 15 years, and in that time, have been lucky enough to experience a variety of situations and environments.

As with many, I started off as a solitary. I didn't know anyone else on the path, except for a rather intimidating witch who ran a shop in the local town. Ha - she probably wasn't that scary, but to a newbie with limited confidence, everyone was intimidating!

For years I had only books to learn by. I found the types of books I was drawn to (the solitary hedgewitch ones) and the books that made me less comfortable (the wiccan coven ones). But on the whole, I mostly drifted without direction.

Fate brought me to meet and befriend another who walked a very similar path to myself. She was a member of an online college, which I sought out and also joined. One of the best decisions I ever made. The community was huge and amazingly supportive and friendly. For months I was distracted from my lessons by the wealth of information there, and the social interactions.

The first proper ritual I ever attended was an online one. It wasn't mind-shattering or life-changing - but I could feel the amazing potential. Online rituals need a bit of practise, but it is entirely possible to link many people, in all corners of our planet, into one chatroom and raise an incredible energy. Some of my best ritual experiences have been online.

Good visualisation skills are key, not seeing with your eyes, but with your mind. If you can read a book and "see" the pictures of the story as you go along, then you'll know what I mean. Everyone "sees" things differently. You can be part of an online ritual, and have a totally personal experience. No two people will "see" the same deity. I once took part in an exercise to describe how we saw Brighid. The answers ranged from a raven-haired, dark eyed woman in a deep-red dress, to an ethereal blonde in pale blue. But whatever you see - it is your personal relationship with divinity that you will experience.

In this last year, I have been lucky enough to experience some group rituals. One thing I have learned here is that location does matter. Offline rituals also take some practice to get the most from. You can attend in body, and have a nice time, or you can bring your visualisation skills, attend in mind, body and spirit, and have an amazing time. I do like the locations that are wide and open, almost a blank canvas for "other landscapes" to superimpose over the top, for other beings to come and stand around us - those that occupy the astral world.

Group rituals are nerve-wracking at first. Especially to those who are a bit shy or uncomfortable in bigger social situations. I have also learned that when I stretched my boundaries, I felt really good. Being amongst people of like mind is the best feeling, knowing that you don't have to hide, that you can talk about invisible dragons sitting on your shoulder, and that the people around you will think nothing of it...who knows what is sitting on their shoulder!

I have also learned that group rituals don't have to be rigid and theatrical ceremonies. They can be informal and FUN. They can involve laughing and cake. They definitely involve friendship.

So, which is better? Both have their advantages, and it depends on what is available to you. I am in the envious position of living close to other like-minded people, close to a druid Grove, and close to my pagan friends. Most of these friends I found online. I have very good memories of my time online, it brought me to where I am now. A good online group is better and more effective than a bad offline group. If you are unable to find a good group of people near to where you live, then definitely give the online route a go - it could well change your life, open up many more opportunities than you expect.

Blessed be

Blaidd

Paleolithic Man and Procreation

I am going to conjecture about ancient people. Over the past few months, the subject has occasionally arisen in conversations of whether or not ancient man realised where babies came from. I have some interesting conversations!

If you undertake a course of study in magic, you generally can't escape some sort of historical basis to give credence to our current studies. Usually, we will be told how palaeolithic peoples worshipped the Goddess long before they had a God. This is a belief based on the findings of the little statues, the most famous being the Venus of Willendorf.

The God figure came much later, where he is found in cave-paintings, and presumably invoked to aid in a successful hunt. He became the Lord of the Beasts, as the Goddess was the Earth Mother.

We assume that, as a Goddess worshipping society, that women were venerated as something rather special - for their magical ability to produce new people, seemingly at random. Women were magical for their obvious link to the cycle of the moon through their menstruation. Women were PART of the Earth Mother, not separate from her, separate from the earth, like the men were.

We assume that our ancestors were a bit simple...I wonder what future generations will make of us!

I digress. Personally, I do believe that women enjoyed a social status much higher than in any time period since, and I do believe that this was a direct result of their biology. In the struggle to survive as a species, the ability to reproduce is paramount. Women were valuable, and needed to be protected. Men were basically replaceable in ways that women were not. Perhaps this is why it was the men who faced the dangerous beasts of the hunt - not because women weren't good enough - but that women were too good.

But the debate remains. Did ancient peoples understand about conception, and how it took two people, a woman AND a man, to make babies?

I'm not so sure that our hunter-gatherer ancestors did. There's a long time between doing the deed and a woman being noticeably pregnant. Plus, only a small percentage of "deeds" will result in a pregnancy - though I am assuming that female biology was pretty similar then as it is now, but then, assuming that the female cycle was in tune with the cycle of the moon is a rather bigger general assumption.

I do think that by the time our ancestors became farmers, they knew about "the birds and the bees". Though I think they will have learned about biology through watching the habits of the animals they hunted. Animals have a far more predictable reproductive calendar than humans. There is a mating season and a birthing season, and this is something a good hunter would need to be aware of.

Perhaps it was realising that a source of meat could be bred in a secure field that turned our ancestors from hunter-gatherers into farmers. The knowledge of how to make babies, and baby animals. The question now is - did this knowledge make women less magical or the men more so?

Love and hugs

Blaidd