British Witchcraft Across the Ages

by Adrian Eglinton

Across the ages, the magical practices of The Traditional Craft or Traditional Witchcraft in Britain has been as important to the Traditional Witch as breathing air. Magic is seen as another aspect of the energy of Nature, an added dimension of spirituality. The traditional Craft is the historic witchcraft of old Britain and is not Wicca, which dates from the early 1950's. The Traditional Witch has always been highly spiritual. We view the concept of God, as the universal consciousness that is evident in the world that surrounds us. Indeed, it is a core belief that Nature is the the very same as God. Consequently, Nature is divine. Magic itself is nothing more than the use of the forces of Nature, forces of God, to change or modify our reality to suit the desired outcome intended by the Trad Witch. Thus, magic is, when directed correctly, a divine act, comparable to prayer, which fosters positive change within the individual, their family, community, and our MotherEarth. It is an intended force for change, of creative modification. It can be used for any of the following purposes: * For personal growth and transformation. * To protect oneself and family. * To improve their life and the lives of their family. * To heal the oneself and to heal others. * To aid in obtaining a intended goal. * To remove barriers and impediments. * To create an alternate beginning or new circumstances. The magical arts can be a meaningful force for good in our lives, if we are willing to learn how to use it properly. The events in life are never coincidence, this magical results are never coincidence. Magic is based on the belief that Nature unfolds in an orderly manner and its events can be known. With this information, one can modify or alter the energy surrounding these events in manner that may influence the outcome. Magic, to most people, seems rather incomprehensible, something weird andsupernatural. Nevertheless, magic is something very different. For, rather than being something beyond knowing, the magical arts are within the reality of Nature, and affects our lives with ramifications to both the spiritual and physical planes. The spellcraft of Traditional Magic is particularly effective because the Trad Witch has knowledge of techniques that endow magic. While these techniques are not commonly thought of as applicable to magic, they go back in use in British magic for over a thousand years, if not longer. The terms commonly used for these techniques today, "meditation" and "visualization," are certainly not the same terms used our history, but their names do not matter. The substance of what is taught does. Traditional Witches subscribe to an very old concept called the Law of Return, or the principle of Cause and Effect. This is also found in physics, it states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is by this principle that every Traditional Witch knows full well that when an action is taken or they send a magical spell, the energy of that action or spell will eventually return to the sender in full force. Therefore, the wise are always careful in what they do. Traditional Magic can be a wonderful and potent force that can add to our quality of life, but only if it is used in a prudent manner.

About the Author

Adrian Eglinton is a writer, author, and began as a student of Traditional Witchcraft 30 years ago. He is dedicated to the spread of the natural and eternal truths of this old spiritual path and light the way for others. On his website you can read more abouttoday's witchcraft, and you can subscribe to a free 7-week Mini-Course on Traditional Magic.

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

The Worlds Of the Shaman - An Exploration Of Reality

by Howard G. Charing "Reality is an Illusion, albeit a persistent one." Albert Einstein. Shamans for many thousands of years have pointing in the same direction as Quantum Physics. There is a greater reality outside our limited perception. This article explores the worlds of the shaman. Shamanism is not a system of belief or faith, it is a system of knowledge, and is directly experienced first hand by the senses. The world that Shamans work in is not a consensus reality, i.e. what we have agreed is reality. The Shaman sees i.e. experiences with all the senses. The Shaman is the mediator between the ordinary world and an alternate reality. Shamanism offers a way for people to wake up to their potential, and begin to explore their spiritual relationship to the universe, to other forms of life, and to each other. The experiences which come from shamanism help a person to evolve a deeper bond and respect for all of creation, and from this perspective one is more likely to lead a life that enhances life, with an emphasis on harmony and balance, and which encourages understanding and optimism. The Shamanic path is a path to experience this expanded view of universe. The origins of shamanism pre-date recorded civilisation and the earliest findings date back forty thousand years. The word Shaman originates from the Tungus people of Siberia, it means 'One who sees', and I would like to add to this as someone 'who sees with the heart'. This brings us to one of the most important characteristics of shamans, that they are masters of energy and of the life-force which moves through the human body and all of creation. They know that there is energy normally invisible which connects all that exists, and they live with the knowledge of this energy and how to use it. This concept of the inter-relationship and understanding that man is a part of nature, not separate to it, a part of the connecting energy has been expressed in many ways and over many cultures, unfortunately not in ours. As Chief Seattle said in 1855 in his address to the American Congress; "What befalls the Earth befalls all the sons of the Earth. All things are connected like the blood that unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web he does to himself." As the Siberian shamans say; "Everything that is, is alive." One of the other important characteristics of a shaman is that a man or woman who journeys into other realities to obtain hidden knowledge and wisdom on behalf of others i.e. in service to the community. Shamans are masters of altered states of consciousness in which the normal rules of Newtonian three-dimensional existence are broken, and in which travel to other worlds, pre-cognition, distant seeing are all possible. To put another way, the shaman travels outside of time. Today shamanism survives on all inhabited continents in less 'developed' regions in spite of the constant pressure of Western materialism, and the treatment of the Earth and nature as something to be dominated and exploited. Shamanism is a practice shared by peoples the world over with an underlying cosmology that cuts across cultural differences and customs. There is a common core, and when allowance is made for climatic, cultural, and geographical considerations there is a common experience. To illustrate this, a shaman from the frozen tundra's of Siberia may not be familiar with the symbols of a shaman from the rainforests of South America, but he or she would certainly recognise the methods and techniques that are being used. Contemporary shamanism is a path, a way, that we ourselves can be aware that we are a part, a strand in the web of life, and not outside of it. This path can lead us to experience in a practical way the nature of reality, and exceed our perception of the limits of reality. Shamanism is currently enjoying a revival in the West, one of the factors in this is the re-discovery of health techniques that actively recognise and use the mind and spirit of the individual to help healing and maintain wellness. Many of these methods and the knowledge underlying these are known in ancient shamanic practices which have migrated in to Western society. Increasing numbers of people are seeking and finding solutions to their health problems, whether defined as physical, mental, or emotional. Many shamanic principles are widely used in holistic healing centres and practices. Another factor in the 'revival' of shamanism is that we ourselves as individuals can experience the inter-connectivity, the intricate web of life that unifies all things. Shamanism provides tools and techniques to help you become your own spiritual authority. By journeying to the other realities, extending the perception of perceived reality, individuals can start to see, feel, or sense the one-ness of all things. These new insights and understandings come from within you, and from the teachers and counsellors in these other realities. This is an experiential process, and this means that you know for yourself that these experiences are valid. This is the meaning of a spiritual democracy. This expanded vision of life, can touch our heart, adding power to our walk in life, and we can move into a harmony and balance with nature, the Earth, and all living things. This not only changes our life perspective, but can also have a beneficial influence on all others, the community around us, which these days (whether we like it or not) is a global one. The shamanic path is a way to transformation, a personal, and subjective experience to an expanded awareness of this great mystery we call life. Much of our universe which is hidden can be explored, a universe which is known mainly through myth and dream.

About the Author

Howard G. Charing, is an accomplished international workshop leader on shamanism. He has worked some of the most respected and extraordinary shamans & healers in the Andes, the Amazon Rainforest, and the Philippines. He organises specialist retreats to the Amazon Rainforest at the dedicated centre located in the Mishana nature reserve. He is the author of the best selling book, Plant Spirit Shamanism (Destiny Books USA). His website:

Don't forget to check out the downloads at http://dasmagicum.com

Positive Results with BMT

If you are wanting to work with a passive income system that does actually work, then try Be Motivated Today. I actually got paid a commission, and this after not even looking at for almost a year because I thought it was going nowhere so I abandoned it.

Read more about my experience here http://redgroup.co.za/archives/a-nice-surprise-from-be-motivated-today

Or go straight to BMT now and sign up for a free trial membership and test the waters. It really is a brilliant system and you get to download lots of good motivational and inspirational ebooks.

Bune Drawing

I finished the next installment of the Goetia Series drawings, Bune. This one was definitely a little more involved with a lot more detail, but well worth the time spent on it. I still need to upload it to RedBubble, but here's a small sample.

The Twenty-sixth Spirit is Bune (or Bim). He is a Strong, Great and Mighty Duke. He appeareth in the form of a Dragon with three heads, one like a Dog, one like a Gryphon, and one like a Man. He speaketh with a high and comely Voice. He changeth the Place of the Dead, and causeth the Spirits which be under him to gather together upon your Sepulchres. He giveth Riches unto a Man, and maketh him Wise and Eloquent. He giveth true Answers unto Demands.

Frith,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com
http://hlmagickschool.com
Need a Professional? http://magickforhire.com
My art - http://www.redbubble.com/people/redoak

Magick for Hire

Here's an interesting concept for you, http://magickforhire.com

 

Completely new site, looking for Practitioners to join the database, so if you are interested, fill in the application. If you have any questions there is a contact form you can use or email info@magickforhire.com

 

Frith,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com
http://hlmagickschool.com - Free Online Magick Lessons
http://proudlypagan.co.za

Errors in Positive Thinking and Sigil Work

Many of us have heard of the practice of Positive Thinking. It is mentioned by many authors and practitioners of Self-Help and Esoteric works such as Deepak Chopra and it abounds in The Secret. One aspect that I discovered which was missing from this simple but effective practice was the aspect of Positive Feeling. Not only should we be thinking positively, but also feeling positively when we do these exercises. To just think, "I want lots of money" without actually feeling it, means that we do not project a sufficient amount of energy toward that goal. You need to include the desire, the feelings that come along with it.

 

However, there is an error which I picked up. It may have been mentioned by all of the previous people before me and I was just too thick to recognize it, or they considered it to be obvious, which I don't think it is to everyone. When we do the act of Positive Thinking we tend to think of our desire as being in the future. Therefore, we do think, "I want to be rich" or "I will be rich". There is a huge problem with this.

 

Each day you may stand in front of the mirror or sit in meditation and stir up a lot of emotion about how rich you will be one day. Every day you do the same thing, but nothing happens. Why? Because every day you are projecting that desire into the future, pushing it forward or in front of you each time because you WILL be rich. What you should be doing is thinking and feeling in the present, i.e. "I AM RICH" which would bring your desire into the now and will stop pushing forward each time. It's a bit like pushing a shopping cart in front of you. It will always be in front of you until you take the crazy action of actually jumping into it (make sure you are not going downhill at the time).

 

The same goes for sigil work. In all, or most of the texts we find that this process begins with the creation of a Will Sentence, and in all, or most, that Will Sentence is to start with "It is my Will to". Now the problem I find here is that when you add to that sentence that which it is your Will to, it is more than likely you will make it futuristic (damn that was a difficult sentence). Therefore we end up with something like "It is my Will to be rich" which is always projecting into the future. We can't say, "It is my Will to I am rich" just doesn't make sense. Therefore I propose that we burn the "It is my Will to" part of sigil creation. Ban it, stomp on it, chew it up and spit it out, it has no place in the NOW.

 

Frith,
Lee 'Red Oak' Johnson
http://redoaksponderings.blogspot.com
http://hlmagickschool.com - Free Online Magick Lessons
http://proudlypagan.co.za

The Goetia Series

I have started a series of drawings called the Goetia Series, simply because they will all be of the Goetic Spirits. For the first contribution, Orobas was kind enough to pose for me and the finished drawing can be found at http://www.redbubble.com/people/redoak both with the seal and without. I added the seal in photoshop so the original is just Orobas by himself.

Will try and do one drawing per week which should keep me busy for about18 months.