Author: andersonfaerycraft

An Etymology of “Warlock” (by Niklas Gander)

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An etymology of the word “warlock” by Niklas Gander (1959-2014). Niklas held a PhD in Philology of Germanic Languages. This piece is published with the permission of Willow Moon.

It has long irked me that compilers of Modern English dictionaries seem so very ignorant of the role the Scandinavian languages played in the development of English in England and Scotland. Allow me to illustrate with the word “warlock.”

From Niklas Gander’s private collection.

First of note is that the Modern English definition of the term has nothing to do with traitors or such. At least according to Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, “warlock” is defined as “1 : a man practicing the black arts: sorcerer; 2 : conjurer.” Whatever its hypothetical etymology, it is nowadays not used to indicate a traitor. And any who choose to self-identify as warlocks are saying nothing at all about their ability to keep an oath.

If, as is posited in many Modern English dictionaries, the word “warlock” comes from a ME “warloghe” from OE “wærloga”, then the Modern form we should expect to see would be something like warlow, or werlow, since the tendency to move from ‘gh’ to ‘w’ is strong in English, and from ‘gh’ to ‘ck’ unknown. This is a trait it shares with Danish, and to provide an example, the Old Swedish “lagh” (meaning “law”) is spelled in Modern Danish “lag” but pronounced “law” and in English, orthography and pronunciation are again in sync, with the form “law.” That “gh” in the Middle English form “warloghe” indicates a uvular fricative, that is a g that is pronounced as if one were gargling (as in Dutch “gulder”). That aspirated “g” is what, in English, is usually exchanged for a “w”. Other examples in English: “through”, “drought”, etc.

When one also considers the semantic shift, i.e., from “traitor, oathbreaker” to “sorcerer, conjurer”, this all begins to introduce an element of doubt as to the actual etymology. Now, when I find corroboration for this hypothesis in dictionaries of Old Norse (Cleasby, Vigfusson and Craigie), I must, as a trained linguist, seek another more satisfying etymology. Here, then, is an alternative etymology for “warlock”, one which I find both satisfying as a linguist and as a magic user.

In the Old Norse tale, Eiriks saga Rauða (The Saga of Eirik the Red, mid 14th century), the term “varðlokkur” appears in the context of a prophecy-session at a farm in Greenland. It is used to mean a song of conjuring. When the two constituent terms are split, we see “varð” which had by that time the sense of a spirit, and “lokkur” or a song of luring or attracting. In Modern Swedish, the term “lock” is used for the pastoral songs that are sung to call the cows home from the meadow — “kolock”. In just this same way, the song to attract or call the “varð” or spirit, was the “varðlokkur”. Gradually, with time, the term for the song and for the singer became interchangable, i.e., the same term was used for both. Semantically, we can interpret the term as “enchanter, conjurer.”

Now, is all of this linguistically feasible? Yes, and here’s why: The term varðlokkur is a compound noun. The consonantal combination “rðl” could never occur otherwise. As it is, this consonantal cluster is very difficult, even in Norse, so the tendency is to simplify. Since in Old Norse, the rolled “r” followed by the liquid “l” would have organically produced the medial “Ý”,this consonant is the most likely candidate for deletion.

Also, word initial “v” was commonly anglicized into word initial “w” in English.Examples: voerd = ward, vurm = worm, vatten = water, ved = wood, etc. 

And finally (and in my mind, most convincingly) the geminate “k” at the end of the Norse is reflected in the “ck” of the English. Orthographic tendencies in English tend to reflect “kk” as “ck”. 

Lastly, the nominative “ur” ending in Old Norse is superfluous in English, as we had abandoned case endings long before. 

And the fact that the Scottish and East Anglian coasts had been battered by Scandinavian raiders for quite some time prior to the word’s first attestation in *English* adds historical probability to linguistic possibility.

Now, even if my etymology back to the Scandinavian form for enchanter is unconvincing to you, at least remember that the Modern English term has nothing to do with traitors. Only in American Wicca has the term “warlock” been associated with “oath breaker.” Scottish (male) Witches still refer to themselves as warlocks, as they have done for many generations. If some of us choose to reclaim the term “warlock” for our magical identity, it does not indicate that we are in any way magical poseurs.

Since it’s a Scottish word…. I would say they are the ones that have it right! 

Six Haiku as one poem, written after the December New Moon Deipnon for Hekate (by Peaseblossom)

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Dark Moon Crossroad, why
Hekate? Light your torches, please!
Choices? Can we make?

Red star in his arm,
Three are blue upon his belt,
Grant meaning, midnight.

Hekate, more than
I would ever want to know,
Three faces bring light? 

Three-fold Hekate
You brought light, not meant for me,
Yet it guides my way.

I O Hekate
Barking dogs, frigid air, stars,
Look, one who is lost!

Cold and three breaths rise,
Your lips Hekate? kiss?
Blinding light, one star!

A Witch Perceives First, then Believes (by Helix)

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[Or: the personal is political, but the political is not necessarily meant to be personal]

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

In 1988, Mike Nichols wrote an essay on how the experiences of new Pagans in the 1970s and before differed from those in the 1980s and after (read it here: “Old Guard Paganism”). Some of his observations continue to ring true today; others are out of date now that the internet is the main way that new seekers come to Pagan traditions.

Nichols’ remarks about feminism, however, have continued to resonate with me. He writes that before the late 1970s, many Pagans became feminists as a result of their Pagan beliefs. In the late 1970s and thereafter, the causality of that relationship flipped: many feminists became Pagans because of their feminist beliefs. Nichols considers both approaches valid, emphasizing that these different generations of Pagans are indeed each others’ siblings (complete with sibling tensions and rivalries).

Nichols’ essay got me thinking about my own journey with feminism and Paganism, especially about how my attitude toward ideology in general changed as I became more committed to the Craft. So I will tell you this, and some of you will not like it any more than I would have when I was most committed to my feminist identity:

The Craft will always challenge your ideology, regardless of which one you hold. To perceive before believing, you must be able to lay ideology aside.

Before I go on, let’s make sure we’re on the same page. What do I mean by “ideology”?

An ideology is a system of ideas and ideals, especially relating to social policy and politics. Ideologies guide us in making big-picture decisions about ethics. They give us frameworks to look at how decisions play out socially, politically, economically, and otherwise. They contribute to a coherent worldview and help us determine what things mean and how to tell right from wrong. Examples of ideologies are feminism, neoconservatism, Marxism, and nationalism.

Religions can also be ideological, sometimes in an all-encompassing way. Evangelical Christianity, for example, offers an ideological worldview that can help the believer figure out how to do basically everything, from having sex to losing weight. All decisions, even the most minor, can be tested against core evangelical principles, which are discussed in community using specialized language (“Have you surrendered?” “How’s your walk with God?”).

Ideology is not something we can ever escape. Human culture is shot through with competing ideologies. Our thinking is informed by them, regardless of whether we “drink the Kool-Aid” and fully embrace one, or whether we attempt to remain skeptical of all.

The ideologies we grew up with can be especially hard to think critically about, as the attitudes we were exposed to in childhood form our perceptions of what is “normal.” Even if we reject the ideology with which we were raised, it can be easy to get stuck in a reactive mode where we criticize everything associated with our upbringing rather than evaluating it piece by piece.

All of this is to say, most of us are trained to believe first—to filter all new information and experiences through an ideological lens, either one we were raised with, or one we embraced as adults. Our ideologies tell us what our experiences mean and what to do about them. Only rarely are children raised to sit in a state of uncertainty with experiences and allow their meaning to unfold. Children look to adults for answers and, hoping to grant a sense of safety and stability, adults often give answers—and yet in that moment of dictating meanings, the opportunity to perceive first can be lost.

Needing a feminist religion was a large part of my original motivation in seeking out Paganism. I was struggling with being female, struggling with my gender identity, and groping for tools to explain myself to myself. Happily, I came to Paganism through a part of the women’s spirituality movement that was feminist but not gender-essentialist. The feminist Paganism I found showed me many, many different ways to inhabit a female body, and in that freedom I found healing.

For some years I was a committed feminist. Feminism opened my eyes to systemic inequalities that affect women in superficially egalitarian Western countries, as well as to the overt oppression that women and girls face internationally, oppression that white Christian nationalists now seek to return to the United States. Feminism became a lens through which I approached the world and evaluated political decisions, media, and my own life choices.

Even as I was embracing feminism, however, feminism was losing much of its ability to engage younger generations. When I taught my first college class in the early 2000s, none of the young women considered themselves feminists at all—as far as they were concerned, it was a movement that had accomplished its aims and was no longer needed. The feminism I embraced in the late 1990s had more complex ideas about gender and sexuality, race, and class than feminism had had in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, new queer, postcolonial, and neo-Marxist theories were popular in universities. I was thoroughly seduced by the sophistication of these theories, which feminism could not completely assimilate. For a time I became critical of feminism, particularly feminist philosophies that seemed to deny the full range of female sexuality or the fluidity of gender. My ideological loyalty shifted toward queer theory and stayed there for a time.

At length, I got out of grad school. I took jobs that involved working with people from a large variety of race, class, and educational backgrounds. I lived in predominantly Black neighborhoods. I had a child. And I studied the Craft, always practicing to see the world and the beings around me more clearly.

None of those university-based ideologies held up in the face of experience. In fact, some of them threatened to get in the way.

An example. One summer, a Black teenager was murdered on my block by two other teenagers. The neighborhood came together to mourn; my neighbors were his relatives, his friends. I went to the community vigil that the neighborhood held for the young man, and I walked there thinking about the injustices of systemic racism, the impact of poverty, the ongoing intergenerational trauma of broken families, the legacy of slavery and colonialism.

When I arrived, I listened to the local leaders of the Black community speak about the ongoing gun violence between young men in our city. They talked about the negative influence of rap music and of video games, and the need for Jesus. I saw a woman scoop up her four-year-old son and mutter, half to herself, half to him, “You’re never going to listen to that music.”

I held space for the community and for the young man. I walked home, and I kept my mouth shut. Nothing I had learned from theory helped me be an effective support for my neighbors. To the extent I was a positive influence at that vigil, what I was able to bring came from studying the Craft: being present, being open-hearted, suspending judgment, mourning with respect.

Feminism ultimately broke my heart. I withdrew from groups identifying as feminist when it seemed to me that the members spent most of their time criticizing each others’ beliefs and behavior, rather than building coalitions and pursuing actions to create a more just society for all people. After the success of the movement to legalize same-sex marriage in the US, I noticed the same concern with ideological purity (and resulting infighting) in the LGBTQ+ movement that I continue to serve. Too often I observe fellow activists—even friends—shouting at each other without listening in return, objectifying each other as straw men for the opposing viewpoint, to be torn down at any cost.

Without a robust sense of justice—an idea of a community in right relationship, one that benefits all—ideology is dangerous. It leads us to categorize each other with collections of identity labels, rather than being open to the inconsistent and multitudinous complexity that makes up every human being. It leads us to cast aside or embrace others’ opinions based on their apparent gender or sexuality or race or class, rather than waiting to fully perceive who they are.

What a disappointment it can be when a brilliant representative of one’s favorite ideology turns out to be driven by revenge! What a sweet surprise when the seemingly backward and old-fashioned neighbor is the one that rushes to others’ aid regardless of who they appear to be!

None of this is to say that my engaging with ideology was useless. I am far more sensitive to power dynamics, and far more aware of the privileges I enjoy, than I would have been without those theories. When I hold those ideologies loosely, informed by all of them but committed to none, they often guide me in making ethical decisions.

But—and here’s the most important part—all of them tried to tell me about how the world is, and from that analysis, how it should be. But the world is too complex for any ideology to encompass.

It is not easy to perceive first, then believe, as Victor Anderson often advised. I do not claim mastery of that skill, though I aspire to it. I do believe, however, that a certain skepticism is necessary in order to see others accurately. We cannot take for granted the things we are told are true—not by our families, not by our communities, not by our friends or our religions. We must wait, and test; we must listen and touch and see for ourselves.

I no longer call myself an –ist of any kind, although there are –isms that continue to inform my thinking and behavior. As I grow older, however, and especially as I raise a child, I desire ever more deeply to see what’s really there.

Without being able to see the child I have, I cannot parent him well; if I am driven too much by ideology, by a fixed idea of who my child is and should be, I will inevitably deny his authentic self and damage our relationship. It is ideology that leads conservative Christians to try to reprogram their queer and trans children; it is ideology that causes parents to dress their children exclusively in pink or blue and provide them with “gender-appropriate” toys. If I had taken away my son’s beloved trucks and given him only dolls, would that not also have been ideology? Shouldn’t my parenting be guided by my insight into my child’s needs, talents, and joys, rather than by expectations set either by mainstream culture or by the queer subculture I joined as an adult?

I have the same goal when it comes to my Craft: to see what’s really there. For me, true seeing is the foundation of relationship, the foundation of intimacy. True seeing is at the heart of my work as a witch.

The Conduct of a Feri Witch (by Willow Moon, with Helix, Shea, and Peaseblossom)

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Introduction: View Teachings as the Basis of Conduct

Conduct, or the way one comports oneself, is critical to building community. One’s conduct will either build bridges or burn them. Our conduct is as inescapable as our shadow, and it flows from our worldview.

As Helix wrote in “Feri and View Teachings,” worldview orients practitioners of religious or spiritual paths in their lives. It describes what right relationship with natural and divine forces looks like by giving us examples. Worldview, in other words, is a kind of belief, a belief that is based on anatomy and physiology. Each animal has their own particular sense organs that determine what is possible to perceive. However, it is our habits both physiological and psychological that determine what we actually perceive. We can alter our view of the world by changing what we pay attention to, thus developing new neuropathways that change our experience. In biology, this is called neuroplasticity. What we believe in drives what we pay attention to; thus, belief is the foundation of our worldview. 

Our worldview shapes what is possible for us and determines how we will act. For instance, if we view ourselves as independent individuals in a competitive, hostile world, it could make sense to harm others to better one’s own lot. If we instead see ourselves as cells in an integrated living body that is the earth, we are more likely to behave cooperatively.

Feri is an extremely diverse tradition, and our rituals, our gods, and even our initiations vary from line to line. Yet our story of creation—which is the basis of our worldview—is one of the core things that unites us. Although each telling of the story is different and emphasizes different elements while omitting others, we all still recognize and treasure the origin myth of the Star Goddess (one version of which is quoted here). Helix explains:

The creation myth conveys much about the qualities of Feri. Ours is an embodied, fundamentally relational tradition that affirms the erotic nature of being in all things, especially the interdependent ecosystem of which humans are a part. The life force that we move in our practices arises from love and desire between Self and Other, who are part of each other, reflections of a divine and holy birth. We know that the universe began in lovemaking, not by word or commandment. We honor these ways of being not just in our overtly spiritual practices, but in every breath and moment of our lives. To practice Feri is to seek the constant awareness of God Hirself’s unfolding in us.

We are a relational tradition in that we relate to our world with pride and care. We recognize that we live in an interdependent ecosystem from which we are never separated for a moment, even after death. We can fantasize about the past and future, but we can never leave the present moment. Since the present is inescapable, we must live in and relate to it, including the environment of which we are a part. 

When we retell our creation myth, we remind ourselves of how it feels to embody our tradition. It gives us an anchor point that keeps us from losing ourselves in philosophical speculation that leads away from the deeper experience of Mystery. When we teach students, our worldview also acts as a signpost along the path. It keeps us pointed in the direction we want to go and helps us recognize our destination. That recognition can be felt in our bodies as a current of life force. Body sense connects us to the present and to the presence of the Feri current. The flow of the current doesn’t stop where our bodies end, but rushes ever onward into the future. 

The Feri current is a mighty river of life itself. Tumbling and surging with desire, we learn to subtly seduce the raging raw power of sex that flows through the land. Unapologetically and with delight, we skillfully steer the course of our own boat through the rapids and eddies of life. 

Recognizing this inherent blissful life force, we don’t need to coerce spirits to cooperate with us, and we instead engage them with a lover’s tenderness. The universe is that which desires, and like responds to like. Do we not feel deep in our bones that the greatest gift we can give to the gods is to honor ourselves and each other? Not only in the lofty space of spirit, but in everyday life as well. 

Ritual is the pillow talk of the witch with the world. The rites of witchcraft are our way of talking to nature, the divine, and each other. The world’s response is found in subtle signs and omens: a look, an offhand comment, a suddenly rising wind, the moon revealed from behind a cloud, or any of a range of natural human or other-than-human expressions. When we understand the part we play in the dance of life, we are able to talk with our world as an expression of our spirituality.

Our spiritual practice is embodied because our world is itself spiritual. Our breath synchronizes naturally with the rhythm of our hearts and the beating pulse of the earth. Resting in being, there is no greater seduction, and no greater honor.

Photo by Zongnan Bao on Unsplash

Conduct: The Self and the Other

How does the worldview described in our creation myth lead us to interact with others?

1. Mutual, Consensual Relationships

In our creation myth, the Star Goddess, complete within Hirself, looks into the curved black mirror of space. This alone tells us that the universe is a reflection of Godhirself. At the very core of our being is Godhirself; what we experience is our own reflection. Considering this makes sense of the phrase, “Do unto others as you would have done to you.” Mutuality is the basis for all authentic interactions. If you want respect, give respect. 

By hir own light, Godhirself sees hir reflection and falls in love, desiring Hirself. This part of our creation story shows us that love of the other flows from the feeling of love within. It also calls us to honor desire as the driving force of creation, without which we would not be. Love and the desire to unite with love is holy. Sex is holy just by itself. 

Of course, sex must be completely consensual, or it not an expression of love, but of power. Victor Anderson saw sexual predation as the worst sort of violation against humanity and condemned it vigorously. He insisted those who sexually prey on others for whatever reason or in whatever way are anathema to the Goddess of all creation. They must be held accountable regardless of their status in the community. When consensual, however, sex is to be celebrated as a divine act. That includes sex in all its forms. Thus Feri witchcraft celebrates all diverse gender expressions and sexualities. 

2. Hospitality

The way we treat others is encapsulated in our hospitality, or lack thereof. How we welcome people into our home or community reflects how we welcome people into our coven or indeed, into our hearts. Do you want your guests to have everything they need to be comfortable? Do you want everyone to be respected and listened to? Being conscious about welcoming guests and seeing to their needs helps to create warmth and respect among all people in the home, whether they are newcomers or old friends. Hospitality also plays a part in public places, whether physical or electronic. We can choose to be hospitable by co-operating with others as siblings of the Star Goddess, or we can have a hostile attitude by viewing our interactions as competitive.

Hospitality is not a difficult practice. Simply ask yourself how you would like to be treated as a guest, and be curious about your guests to learn how their needs may differ from yours. The opportunity to welcome a guest well is an opportunity to honor Godhirself in all hir mystery, as it honors yourself.

3. Responsible Power Dynamics in Teaching

As an initiate of several witchcraft traditions, I have led training covens for decades in traditions that are based on a degree system of initiation. I was fortunate to have been trained by a dedicated and professional teacher in these systems, and I have experienced harmonious coven dynamics in the various covens I have led.

However, I have also witnessed damage done to covens and coven members from authoritarian behavior within these hierarchical systems. Although authoritarianism is not necessarily inherent in hierarchy, I have seen how easily it can arise as an expression of fear. Fear and its subsequent desire to control another often drives the complexes of superiority/inferiority which can interfere with healthy relationships.

In hierarchical coven structures, the teacher rules the circle, but the teacher must always understand the value of their students: not for their skills, but for who they are. If the teacher doesn’t recognize the inherent value of the student from the beginning of training, then the teacher will never fully accept their equal status later. 

The Feri creation myth informs the responsibility Feri teachers have toward their students. As children of the Star Goddess, we are all equal and deserve equal respect, although we may not have equal levels of skill or knowledge. As teachers, if we want to produce the best sorcerers, then we have to support our students in developing their maximum ability. One cannot fully develop one’s capabilities from a sense of being “lesser than.” 

If the student’s value is diminished by the teacher, then the teacher is restricting them by encouraging a lack of self-esteem. The student can maximize their potential only if they can feel their worth and that they are capable of meeting their goals. The teacher’s confidence in the student is infectious. It is part of a teacher’s job to encourage their students by helping them change their thoughts of “I can’t” into “I can.”

Thus the dilemma of training someone with lesser skill to become one of greater skill than yourself! If one starts the training emphasizing the lesser ability of the student, then one needs to ask, at what point does the student become a master? Is that at initiation? After a certain number of years or amount of skill and wisdom developed? What is the test and what are the necessary skills?

The benchmarks to assess this must be based in reality and appropriate to each student. They need to be definitive and expressed openly so that there are clear goals and boundaries. Otherwise, there is the danger of the student never gaining the status of an equal in the mind of their teacher. However, if the teacher simply focuses on teaching to the best of their abilities instead of being overly concerned with the status of the student, then the learning process develops naturally to nurture the student.

We are fortunate in Feri witchcraft not to have a degree system of initiation with its potentially incumbent hierarchy. Theoretically, this means that helping a student to develop their sense of empowerment should be less encumbered. A good teacher will rejoice when their student exceeds them. For is that not why we teach—so our traditions will thrive and flourish?

4. Ethical Community Relationships

Occasionally, a situation develops where a student who is studying with a teacher of the Craft expresses interest in studying with another teacher. If we respect all seekers and students, as well as our fellow initiates, as children of the Star Goddess, it follows to handle all involved with tact, courtesy, and care.

Firstly, before taking on a student, it’s helpful to protect yourself by doing some research. As a prospective teacher, it’s a good idea to talk with others who know the potential student. If they were previously studying with another teacher, it can be useful to talk with that teacher to learn about possible pitfalls the student may be prone to. 

If the student is still studying with a teacher, it’s especially important to get feedback from their teacher, not only to avoid possible conflicts of interest, but to show respect for the teacher themselves. Perhaps there is a good reason why the student wants to change teachers, or perhaps not. In either case, talking with their current or previous teacher can help to avoid problems with their training. 

It may be that asking questions reveals that the teacher was exploiting or abusing the student, either sexually, financially, or for labor. Teaching someone is a lot of work, which can lead teachers to feel that they must be due some compensation. However, Victor and Cora Anderson never required any form of payment, labor, or other compensation for their teaching. They are the source of every Feri lineage, and I follow and recommend their example in this matter.

For me, the best “payment” a teacher can receive is for the student to practice well and then to ensure that the teachings are properly passed on. This is the only energy exchange that is necessary for a healthy teacher/student relationship. In my opinion, the continuation of the tradition is why teachers teach: because we recognize that it is valuable for our traditions to continue, and we wish to pass on the benefit that we were freely given.

Abuse or exploitation of students is never okay. If I became aware of such a situation, I might not be able to change the behavior of the teacher, but I would consider helping the student to circumvent that behavior. 

5. Equality Among Initiates

My initiator Niklas Gandr often said: “All are equal within the Feri circle of initiates because all points of the circle are equidistant from the center.” This means to me that no Feri initiate has authority over another. One’s teacher or oath mother may feel protective and wish to guide the new initiate, but that has to be done while recognizing the initiate as an equal. After initiation, it is not appropriate for a teacher or oath mother to try to restrict the behavior of their initiates or exert authority over them. Every initiate is autonomous and free, bound to other initiates only by love.

As members of a diverse tradition, different teachers and Feri lines train students differently. Accordingly, we often have different understandings of what lore is held secret based on the ways we were trained. This can cause friction when initiates gather together with students to discuss our tradition.

When in a forum where a teacher expresses a desire not to share certain lore with students, I respect their wishes. What is the harm of deferring to that other teacher so that one doesn’t interfere with their students’ training? There seems to be only benefit from showing respect to them and to their teaching process, even if it is different from one’s own methods. Showing respect makes it more likely that one will be treated with respect in return.

We all know what respect does and doesn’t feel like. It is obvious when an initiate treats others as reflections of Godhirself, and it is also obvious when they treat others as a mere means to benefit themselves. Healthy relationships between initiates are based not on power or control, but on co-operation and respect for self-determination.

6. Respectful Treatment of Creative Works

Feri initiates and their students have responsibilities to other initiates surrounding their original contributions to the tradition, such as ritual, poetry, and liturgy. If our rituals are the pillow talk of the witch with the gods, our poetry and liturgy are our love letters. If the appropriate boundaries around a piece of liturgy are unclear, then if possible, ask the creator or their close Craft kin what they would want. After asking for advice, then respect their wishes – or else, why bother to ask?

In the past, original liturgy and other materials that my late husband Niklas Gandr gave another initiate in confidence were published without his permission under that person’s name. We were deeply hurt by this person’s choice to steal our creative work and others’ in this way. Additionally, because of this violation of trust, traditional training materials that we believe require person-to-person context and guidance have now entered the public domain, where they may be easily misunderstood, exploited, or used unethically. 

Ethical behavior toward others simply requires treating other initiates as you would want to be treated. Would you like it if material you created were published and copyrighted by someone else who makes money from your work? How would you feel if a prayer that was special to you was taken out of context, commercialized, or used against its intended purpose? Respectful treatment of ritual, poetry, and liturgy helps to maintain the integrity of our tradition, as well as to preserve harmonious relationships between initiates.

7. Integrity in Diversity

Different rivers take different courses. Each river traverses different terrain and has its own beauty; each is fed by many tributaries, and each creates their own rich mud. Yet a river with many sources and traversing many environments is still called by one name. So it is with the many lines within a tradition of witchcraft. 

The various branches of the traditions of witchcraft are like a tree rooted deep in the earth. Like a thicket of hazel trunks arising from a single root of wisdom, traditions of witchcraft arise and branch abundantly. All are equal in value and splendor, in that they all can entice and seduce the divine through ritual. 

It can be difficult to determine what is and isn’t specifically Feri as opposed to simply witchcraft or esotericism. However, our tradition does have a distinct flavor. It is different from other witchcraft or magical traditions in certain ways, particularly in its co-operative approach to spirits and magic. Although we are incredibly diverse, kin can be sensed. Some initiates say that Feri initiates have a certain glint in the eyes or scent about them that is recognizable. 

As a bardic tradition, creativity is encouraged in Feri, but there is a recognizable cultural milieu which is passed in training. This milieu, which we express as the Iron and Pearl Pentacles, is based in a self-empowerment that recognizes the value of others. As teachers we each must decide for ourselves whether or not certain creative output should be recognized as Feri. My test is simple: Does it resonate with my Feri worldview? Does it teach the skills necessary to practice Feri witchcraft? If it was adapted from another tradition, was that tradition learned in an authentic and appropriate way? We return to our creation myth as our anchor point in order to maintain the integrity of our tradition while also celebrating its many expressions. In the same way, the multitudinous variety found in nature and in human culture remains connected to its source and is thus integrated within Godhirself.

The Ethics of Interconnection

This article is written in the hopes of encouraging discussions. We don’t need to tell each other what to believe or do, but discussion helps us come to a greater understanding of our role in making our world a better place. Although Feri is amoral, our ethics are based on our creation mythos of a mirror-gazing Star Goddess. These ethics are not a set of rigid moral rules, but instead are principles of conduct. We recognize as sorcerers that our actions have effects. If we want a certain effect, we must pay attention to our actions to discover for ourselves their real consequences. Otherwise, we stumble through life blind.

As part of a tradition that emphasizes the importance of embodiment, we draw some of our understanding of ourselves from the life sciences. Biologically speaking, we are holobionts: in other words, we have evolved as discrete biological entities composed of many different organisms, each with their own consciousness. Within, on and around our bodies live communities of many diverse organisms that help make our bodies functional. Forests with matrices of mycelium and oceans teeming with life are holobionts, as are human societies and earth Hirself. Our inherent interconnectedness within a complex web of life is the reason why we feel enjoyment in harmonious natural settings and in harmonious interactions with other humans and non-humans. That interdependence is the basis of our biology and a source of basic satisfaction and strength, particularly in times of difficulty.

When we acknowledge our interdependence, forming communities of initiates and students can be of great benefit to us all. Talking with community members can help us develop appropriate boundaries, deepen one-on-one relationships, and learn more about our customs. A community can be relied upon in times of need, which helps us survive individually and as a tradition. Additionally, supportive bonds between Feri witches help us to be of service to our friends, family, and larger communities. We are interconnected, and we cannot survive isolated or cut off from the world of people, politics, and societies.

If a view of Feri based in our creation myth and in interdependence naturally leads to appropriate conduct, then conduct is the glue that holds communities of Feri witches together. Having codes of conduct that are based on core beliefs can strengthen Feri communities, but only if transgressions carry consequences. We obviously cannot police such codes with force or law. However, in addition to encouraging appropriate behaviors through training and community norms, ancient methods of discouraging harmful behaviors such as shunning can be applied. These tools are not used lightly; careful discernment is necessary for how we hold each other accountable.

Conclusion: Kinship Among Initiates

Though our creation myth continues to connect Feri witches in spirit and guides our conduct and ideals, our tradition has grown rapidly and our practices have become ever more diverse. There are now many lines and communities of Feri witches that have little to no direct communication with each other. As a result, our assumptions about what it means to be an initiate among initiates have diverged.

We have found that when relationships deepen between initiates of different lineages, it can be helpful to craft rituals that align our expectations. We suggest to our estranged or distant siblings that affirmations articulating the joys and responsibilities of kinship are one tool that may help us better recognize the mystery of each other. With statements of trust, gifts of love, and acts of service, we stitch the fabric of our tradition back together where it has become frayed.

May we work to reweave bonds of kinship when we are called to do so, not out of some misguided optimism, but in recognition of the values that Victor and Cora taught us and the love of God Hirself—and so strengthen our bonds as bearers of the beloved Mystery that we hold in common.

Articles by Willow Moon and Niklas Gander

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Editor’s Note: I am pleased to say that Willow Moon has granted us permission to share articles written by himself and his late husband Niklas Gander (also known as Tom Johnson) in the early 2000s. Willow and Niklas have been important mentors to me and many others in our beloved Feri tradition. Their generosity in sharing their knowledge, wisdom, and experience has touched many of us over the years, both those who have been their students and those who have corresponded with them from a distance. Their thoughtful contributions to the Witch Eye zine and to online discussion lists helped make them two of our most respected elders. We are deeply grateful that Willow Moon has continued to share his work here on the Anderson-Faery.org blog.

Niklas was a scholar of the Swedish grimoire tradition and an initiate of multiple lineages of witchcraft. He crossed over in 2014 and was beautifully memorialized in The Wild Hunt. Niklas is very much missed, and we are blessed to honor him as one of our ancestors in the Craft.

“Concentration: Gateway to the Celestial Arts” by Willow Moon

“Mountain and Lake: Primal Polarities” by Willow Moon

“The Names of Our Tradition” by Tom Johnson

“Feri and Wicca: So What’s the Difference?” by Tom Johnson

“Glimpses of the Swedish Cunning Tradition” by Niklas Gander

“The Lead Pentacle of Night Hares” by Willow Moon

“Buddhism and Feri” by Willow Moon

“Musing on the Dark Time” by Niklas Gander

“Quickening Heart” (poetry) by Willow Moon

“Feri and Chaos Magic: A Marriage of Methods” by Tom Johnson

“Fith-Fath or Shapeshifting” by Niklas Gander

“Christian Agendas: A Study in Social Control” by Willow Moon

“By Which Eye?” by Willow Moon

“The Divine Twins: A Mystery of the Feri Faith” by Niklas Gander

“The Athame, or Knife with the Black Handle” by Tom Johnson

“The Art of Divination” by Willow Moon

“Scourging in Witchcraft” by Niklas Gander

“Spirits Abound!” by Willow Moon

“Is Feri an Eclectic System or a Tradition?” by Willow Moon

Photo by Emily Underworld on Unsplash

How Many Feri Witches Does It Take to Screw In a Light Bulb? (by Peaseblossom)

On By andersonfaerycraftIn Uncategorized

How many Feri witches does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Only one, so long as you yearn for the feeling of the curve of your own bulb, radiant in your own darkness–just as She did as She first turned on the Light.

How many Feri witches does it take to screw in a light bulb?

An infinite number, for all life in all the worlds screws in Her womb, Her radiantly dark/light bulb.

How many Feri witches does it take to screw in a light bulb?

There is no simple answer, as there is significant dispute among the various lines of the tradition about the exact number required. The discussions about this issue are often heated and even acrimonious. However, all agree that the current is dangerous, and that in changing light bulbs, one will become either dead, mad, or an electrician.

Happy New Year!

Feri Division (by Eldri Littlewolf)

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Editor’s note: It is an honor to share the wisdom of one of the Andersons’ earliest initiates with a wider audience. This reflection was originally published in early 2011—over ten years ago now—regarding the conflict of values that resulted in the writing of our principles. Since then Eldri’s essay has been my favorite explanation of why esoteric traditions must split from time to time, as part of a natural process of growth and change. In editing, I have preserved Eldri’s style of capitalization and punctuation (reminiscent of another poet, Emily Dickinson), as part of her distinctive voice.

No doubt in the future, there will be other splits, other divisions among those of the Andersons’ lineage. I pray that the witches of that time will realize that such separations can be necessary for the health of the whole and need not be acrimonious.

Long ago, all dogs were wolves. Now there are Many kinds of dogs—each with a thing they (to human eyes) Do well. The others are not ‘Wrong’, just not that breed…
English Springers, American Springers—Now judged to ‘Different Standards’, still springers. Still dogs.

Apples: some sweet, some tart, some store well-, some with *Pink Flowers!*-
all apples. No one would take them for plums.

Feri; some public, some private—*Still Feri*, just not the *Same kind* of Feri.
Different needs, from deep in our souls—All still changing, and growing, all Her children.

…We are still working out our ‘standards’ here.
To Stop kinstrife, this Had to happen—It Did Happen, years ago. (That part is done.)
Nobody is ‘better’, ‘more Feri’ or ‘less Feri’—we are Different, and that is Good.
When tribes get too big, they often divide—bands go different Directions- (hunt different game)—sometimes they meet up and camp together, later, then go separate ways once more.
This is not war—only clan division.

Photo by Hudson Hintze on Unsplash

Change happens—we are witches.
We choose our paths, sometimes they diverge—that does not make us better, or worse, than those who have taken another path. But, we Cannot remain tied together, and still freely follow All Paths.
—Paths need walking, some are called to one, some to another.

We chose to cut the rope instead of *Endlessly Tugging*, trying to make others follow One path, instead of the ones that call Their feet.
Now we have fallen in a Heap—and some are hurt, and angry.
Hopefully we can get up, go our ways, agree to ‘report back’ our adventures, when next our paths may cross—or *Write* in civil words, and with respect, what we have found.

I hear a lot of loose talk about ‘evolution’. I don’t buy it.
We can Not know about that, we haven’t the time scale- Changes, sure, That we have Got.
No one in our tradition is Exactly the same—as each other, as we were when we were ‘brought in’—and, isn’t that kind-of the point?

Folks are taking offense where *None was intended*—and then not listening when we say, that Is Not what we meant.

“Look, we had to move the work-bench, folks were jostling our elbows—”

Outsiders were Telling me what my tradition was… I get Tired of it.
I spent many years defending the honor of Wolves (no, really, kids, they were Hated) or explaining that all ‘hippie chicks’ do not sleep with anything that moves…
That part is done… but now I should start all over with my religion…? NO.

Now I can just say, “Sorry, you mean those other Feri, over there…”
I can point to a page that explains, with *No Name Calling*, what *I* am about.
I am private, and do not Owe my time to strangers, but feel like I ought to explain.
“I am not a ‘red delicious’, I am some other apple from that!”

I bid you all—
Good Hunting!

Intercourse, Shape-Shifting, and the Witch (by Peaseblossom)

On By andersonfaerycraftIn Uncategorized

The word ‘intercourse’ is used for both speech and sex. This is no coincidence, and for those who practice magic, it points to deep truths about our interconnectedness, the relationship between witchcraft and shape-shifting, and the mystery of our embodiment at this difficult point in history. I offer this essay to you in the hope that it will change your shape to be a bit more like mine, that you may experience some of the blessings I have gathered in my sixty-nine years in this life.

But I’m running ahead of myself. We were talking of speech, and sex!

Dialogue

When I touch my lover, we are in dialogue. I enlarge and open my entire body, my hands and mind as much as my sex. In response to my touch, their breath changes: perhaps they sigh, or they reach to kiss; perhaps they arch their back.  My touch arises when I imagine what my lover will become in response to my touch. Will they change with my touch, becoming like my internal image of their future? What I do next is guided by their sigh, or the change in their pulse, or what I hear in their breath, for this listening influences my image of what they are becoming, and this image dictates my body’s shape—that is, the entire constellation of my sense of self changes in response to this dialogue, and thus my hands and my body move. As my lover touches me, my breath changes: perhaps I sigh, or I reach to kiss; perhaps I arch my back in response to their touch. I change, and I become more like them.

Yet if my lover and I were talking, and I apprehended that which they meant to convey, how would this dialogue, in its bodily and mental essence, be any different from our lovemaking? In speech, meaning is conveyed by so much more than the dictionary meaning of the words. The shape of your bodymind when you speak conveys meaning, and I receive that meaning through the shape of my bodymind when I am touched by the sound of your words. As my bodymind apprehends your thoughts, in response to your words, I become more like you were when you spoke.

Dragonfly Love

It was on the day of the solstice that I stood by my friend’s pond in New Mexico and watched the dragonflies make love. It was a warm day, and I watched for several hours as they hovered, remaining connected. Yet to say they ‘made love’ is presumptuous, anthropomorphic, because it assumes their experience of coupling parallels mine when I am with a lover. If I say ‘the dragonflies were making love,’ versus ‘the dragonflies were mating,’ I am implying that the dragonflies were not only having an experience, they were aware of that experience. I am even suggesting that the dragonflies were communicating their experience to me because I was able to watch them. I imagined that the shapes that I saw on that hot summer day meant the same to them as they would to me, were I to hold my body in a similar way.

Watching, I saw their slowly changing cojoined shape, and I remembered.  I have been privileged to hold a similarly changing conjoined shape when receiving, when giving, while touching and being touched. And as I watched, my imaginal body, my palpable sense of ‘what could be,’ took on the dragonflies’ shape as I remembered communications of hands and lips and skin: how my body arched, and how my lover’s body arched; how their touch and my touch made us take on the same shape as these insects. More than that, however, I knew this: to have that shape was what told me (and perhaps also my lover) that the sex was love.

Was what the dragonflies were experiencing also love? Did my watching mind, taking on their trembling shape, allow me to become more like the dragonflies?

Sharing a Shape

You have a thought and you decide to speak to me. You speak words and I hear them, and I am changed by the meaning of the speech. Your desire that I comprehend your words suggests a desire that I become more like you. Your speaking does not necessarily involve a wish that I accept what you have said as truth. Rather, it is a wish that upon hearing your words, I will have thoughts and see imagery that reflects your own imagery as you spoke. Your desire, perhaps, is that my bodymind should hold a shape that resonates with your shape when you spoke, and that we might become more similar in the shapes we each hold.

What has happened to both of us to allow meaning to be shared? Observe as your speech arises in your mind and your breath, tongue, and lips move in concert; observe how meaning develops as your senses and mind receive and interpret my words. The process between us that we call conversation or dialogue is largely invisible to the inner-eye of the conscious mind. Yet larynx, lungs, diaphragm, tongue, eardrum, and middle ear are as much involved in speech as my hand and sex are when making love.

I feel a scintillation here in my bodymind as I speak words. The words direct how I shape the tissues and organs of my body to emit a sound that moves through the air to touch your ear. Upon hearing, you also create within yourself a similar scintillating structure, and this structure carries the meaning.

I have tried to catch the moment where sound becomes meaning and I have never succeeded. I hear the words and something happens within me: perhaps mind’s-eye images appear; or as you yell ‘Stop!’ I cease to move; or my own wordy thoughts bubble forth from my mouth in response. What occurs appears instantaneous and without an intermediate step. An internal dictionary does not seem an appropriate explanation; I can find no a priori mapping between word and image. Rather it seems that the process of conversation pervades my bodymind. It has no location and seems to have no clearly defined steps. Emotional affect, metaphorical imagery, and intellectual meaning all emerge and develop simultaneously within me when I either speak or listen.

The meaning of language, then, resides not in the words themselves, but rather in their effect on my embodiment. By sharing language, we share our bodies.

Creative Resonance

It is a commonplace to say, regarding relationships, that opposites attract. As with magnets, our differences connect us and bind us. Gravity, however, is a non-polar force: like attracts like. Language seems more like a type of gravity than a type of polarity. In dialogue, the desire for similarity, to become the other’s mirror, provides the binding force. The Moon and Earth are in their joint and loving orbit around the Sun because of a three-way mutual attraction due to gravity. In this oversimplified metaphor, they all love each other and dance together because they share a similarity, the state of having mass.

For there to be communication, both speaker and listener must also share a similarity. Perhaps communication is possible because language preserves memories of the shared history of our separate embodiments—in other words, we create a shared narrative to contain both our personal histories and the history of the relationship. A friend prefers another metaphor for this kind of non-polar, gravitational attraction: we resonate together, like affecting like, as sounds do. If I play a guitar in a room full of unattended guitars, all the guitars will sing, though more quietly than the one I am playing. Instead of sharing “mass,” the guitars share vibration.

Is dialogue, then, not so much a process where those involved become ‘like each other,’ but rather ‘in resonance, they create something in each other that has never existed before’?

A Shape-Shifter’s Blessing

I am a witch, and I cast spells. The words of my spells are crafted and spoken with careful intent, sometimes with a particular gesture or a specific breath pattern. My careful intent, the words, my gestures, this dance, all form my shape. When I speak a blessing, someone listens, and the world is touched, and the world’s shape is changed.

Speech, sex, magic: we are shape-shifters, ever-changing our shapes in response to the speaking world, and causing changes with our speech. This is witchcraft, and intercourse; and in the full bloom of our practice, perhaps it is also love.

For the sake of the union of Shekinah with her Holy-and-beloved-hidden-face-of-the-divine,
We take upon ourselves the mitzvah (performing the beautiful deed),
“That we love our neighbor as ourselves,”
And by this merit
We accept the gift
Of our heartbeat and our breath,
And we act within the world,
As we open our mouths
and speak.

All images by Peaseblossom.

 

 

 

 

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Why You Should Hide in Plain Sight (by Maya Grey)

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As we navigate through our occult and especially our witchcraft studies, we often hear the phrase “to be hidden in plain sight.” For some of us, this philosophy passes as a side note about times past, when witches needed to be careful not to attract violence from the ignorant banal masses. But for others, it is a practice of perseverance in today’s so-called “modern age.”

Conflict around the idea of hiding in plain sight seems to arise from initiates and students who, having had to be “closeted” all of their lives, want to be free and to express who they are. And why should they not? After all, many have worked hard to leave toxic families and religions who view them as undesirable outliers that need to conform (or worse). They, as gay or trans or poly or merely called to The Work, have left much behind to create new family and community. So why should they not be loud and proud? Perhaps they should while living in the vast and crumbling empire that is America, where they can do so in relative safety in certain areas. I would not suggest such actions in places like Afghanistan, India or Ethiopia.

While Feri/Faery does accept and honor all of our “strange flowers,” as Victor put it, identity politics does not a witch make. A witch is fluid and transforming, walking the hidden roads, the roads “out of sight”: the moonlit roads of shadow, not the bright glaring sunlit roads of religious conversion. A witch may be many things, but many things are not a witch.

Now don’t hear me saying that you should repress yourself. I am not. What I am saying is that a witch needs to have the skill of being visible in either terror or beauty, or completely invisible depending on the situation at hand. Dear witches, most of this country does not like you, indeed fears you, and we all know where that can lead.

What does it mean to practice being hidden in plain sight? Unlike the color of our skin, we can hide our philosophies and religion much more easily. I believe that in order to practice this, we must go into “hostile territory”: places where we can practice not being seen, and then pushing that to being accepted and thought of as “one of the in crowd.” This can be different for everyone, but it is best practiced outside of toxic families of origin where one can be triggered and where the family knows of your past and your triggers. It may be that you join a group or club which interests you, say of gardeners who are mostly Christian, or a bowling league that is frequented by people who voted for the opposite candidate that you did. Whatever you choose, the possibilities are endless in this society.

Being hidden in plain sight also gives us a chance to push our comfort level in various social situations. For me, it was my job at a very conservative institution, where all the people who held power over me (from my immediate boss to the executives) were conservative Christians. Every board meeting was started with a Christian prayer. If I paraded into work demanding my “Pagan rights,” insisting on my high holy days of Beltane and Samhain, and waving around all my pentacle jewelry, how long do you think I would have lasted? The benefits of being in that job meant that not only did I not lose my job during the COVID pandemic (still raging as I write this), but I actually paid off all my debt AND got a raise AND was able to work from home. This benefited my family greatly, as I have a small child whom I must feed, and others who depend on my income.

I have been thought of as “one of them” for years. Is this my end goal? To be here in this environment? No. I have other plans that required these steps and which I will be keeping close and secret. My plans are my own.

Hiding in plain sight also is the practice of the fourth power of the Sphinx, “To Be Silent.” I have written other articles about this much-ignored power, and I find that it is often the hardest one for my brethren to follow, as one of the gifts of our tradition is glamour. Sometimes, the glamourer is themselves glamoured as they hold the dark mirror too close to their face! I will never understand those who post images of altars on Instagram or who “seek” students. But I digress.

In terms of application, the power “To Be Silent” and being “Hidden in Plain Sight” work well together. Think of the example I gave of my own situation, where I am thought of as belonging to a group that in all reality would fear and loathe me if they knew the true me. Most witches who follow “To Be Silent” think this means not sharing their workings or spells publicly or even talking about them at all until the Work is finished. Indeed, it does mean that, but it also means not attracting large amounts of negative energy while just merely living your life. Large amounts of negative thought from people will make it harder for you to navigate your life and workings. If all of the people around you, especially those responsible for your income or other necessary areas of life, hate you, then you can consider yourself all but cursed, even if they have no actual ability in that department. Constant hate or prayer has an effect. Being hidden helps to negate the unwanted influences of others, and if you need to strike an enemy or sweeten a boss, no one will see it coming or suspect you. People in the African Traditional Religions (ATRs) know this well.

This brings me to the main reason you should hide in plain sight — Climate Change.

No, really, hear me out.

The humorist Mark Twain is quoted as saying that “History doesn’t repeat, but it often rhymes.” I have found this strangely comforting during the times we live in as I have tried to make sense of the Trump presidency, the pandemic, and worsening climate change. Our times won’t be identical to historical times, but they will rhyme.

So how will history rhyme for us? How will our rhyme effect people like us and what can we do about it? Scientists are saying that by 2030, we will experience an increase in global temperatures by 1.5 degree Celsius or possibly 2 degrees, and it will be catastrophic — hell, it already is. So what happened to humans when we had a similar occurrence? Our last major shift of this kind is called the “Mini Ice Age” and the global temperatures dropped 1 degree Celsius, causing catastrophic climate change in vast areas of the globe, but especially in the Northern Hemisphere and Europe. This period lasted from around 1303 to 1860, and scientists have various theories as to why it happened. Decreased summer solar radiation? Volcanic pollutants? Both? Regardless of the reason, it happened, and society was never the same thereafter. Advancing glaciers destroyed farms in the Swiss Alps, ice seas surrounded Iceland for much of the year, severe famines occurred as traditional ways of medieval farming were challenged and had to be adapted, bread riots occurred, and people experienced mass hypothermia in winter due to the lack of fire fuel, as forests had long since been felled. Winter sucked during these centuries, and people dreaded it much as people are now dreading our summers as we warm the planet. We now have fire and smoke season in the West and flood season in the East.

Due to lack of understanding about climate combined with magical thinking in the majority of the populace, violent scapegoating occurred during the Mini Ice Age. This period was the height of the Inquisition. This was when the Malleus Maleficarum or Witches Hammer was written. (They really REALLY hated and feared our kind back then!) This was the period of the witch trials where witchcraft was seen as a major crime, unlike in the early Middle Ages where it was a minor crime largely ignored by the powers that be. According to the thinking of the time, who controlled the weather and made it bad? Witches. Who made the cows’ milk dry up? Witches. Who made women die in childbirth or not bear children at all? Witches. Who stunted crops or called in locusts? Witches. Many women died as a result of these issues, which were likely to have occurred due to climate change — not by the hand of the old midwife widow at the edge of town that no one liked because she cussed a lot and no man told her what to do.

But you know the story. Of course you do.

This was also a time of religious fervor and change in the West. The period started with the Protestant Reformation and a seemingly endless eruption of cults followed. Many people were persecuted, most notably in wars between Catholics and Protestants, but there were also other victims. Some were horribly killed, from old widows to Jews to foreigners, by the torch and pitchfork mobs that tried to relieve their collective fear, grief, and frustration with the spectacle of violence. How many of these victims were actual witches?  Probably not many… or, not the smart ones anyway. The smart witches knew how to hide in plain sight. As the mobs progressed, the smart witches were packing up their wagons and going in the opposite direction!

In addition to the religious crazies (will they ever go away?), this was also a time of forward thinking, science, and enlightenment. In fact, one period is literally called “The Enlightenment,” and there are many influential occultists who emerged during these times. We often look to them as historical Mighty Dead: people such as Bruno, John Dee, Dr. Rudd and H.C. Agrippa, to name a few. Indeed, this was the Golden Age of the Grimoire!

Today, we are facing climate change so extreme that we may not make it through, as well as more dumb-ass magical thinking religionists. We see them from a distance now through the news media or social media; the torches and pitch forks are not quite in the rear-view mirror yet. These low-information religionists disavow actual science for the false prophets of YouTube. They scream that the COVID vaccine will microchip us and 5G cell service will fry our brains. They worship Donald Trump as a God emperor savior of America and Christianity. They have many new/old cults: new in name, old in flavor. There is the cult of Yoga Karen whose adherents eat organic food and try to get Black people killed by invoking the Old South trope of the “violated White woman.” There are the angry cults of the hypermasculine man which worship guns and rape and believe themselves to be heroes fighting against all evil. (I call them the Beer Belly Brigade.) And of course, let us not forget the cult of “Republican Jesus” who came to make us (well, White men) rich.

The mind boggles, but it also rhymes. We are back here to a place we have known before: climate catastrophe. Who are the scapegoats now? Jews, of course. Immigrants. Women, especially feminists. Gays, clearly. People of color. Liberals and Democrats. Could witches also be lumped in with these other scapegoats? Perhaps not in the same way we were hundreds of years ago, but if you look at the rhetoric of QAnon, you will see the “cannibal, devil worshiping” labels being applied to Democrats, Jews, feminists, gays and immigrants the same as they once were to witches. My guess is that we will be lumped in, especially those of us who happen to be gay, immigrant, witch women of color! I think that checks all the boxes, don’t you?

Many, many people believe in these conspiracy theories, and many of them have guns. They are extremely afraid because they are ignorant and they feel that they are losing control. But who can actually control Mother Nature?

The torches and pitchforks are sharper and hotter now, the weapons more devastating. Think tanks have concluded that the main driver behind the January 6 capital rioters was the fear of “being replaced” by people of color. Most of the rioters were upper middle class or elite White men.

In America, we have become fat on ignorance and empire as it crumbles around us. We are a people completely dependent on corporate food and shelter and work. Once those systems are disrupted more acutely (we saw this in 2020, and I guarantee you they will be again in the future), we will see these low-information, magical thinking, angry, fearful people come at us in unimaginable ways. We must not be targets. We must learn how to hide in plain sight. Don a red hat, camo shorts and wear a cross? Gross. But okay, I will do it if it means I can live and get the fuck out of Dodge. Know thy enemy and be clever. Be strategic. There are too few of us as it is.

In addition to hiding in plain sight, there is another concept that has been used to keep witches in the modern era safe, that of the “dual faith observance.” This practice was widely utilized by various witches and covens in England prior to the removal of the witchcraft laws in 1951. (The mediumship/fortune telling laws were not repealed in the UK until 2008. As of this writing, there are still anti-fortune telling laws in some US states.) Dual faith observance is the perfect way to hide in plain sight. Many witches and occultists attended church in the early 20th century. Some were even model citizens that were never suspected. Dual faith observance was also practiced in Europe after the Christian conversions. During the Mini Ice Age, occultists were priests, minor lords and extremely talented craftsmen. They attended church on Sunday, and then on the full moon they did other things.

I am not saying you need to adopt a dual observance and go to church, but it is a tactic, something to think about. The fact that anti-fortune telling laws are still on the books tells you that our kind are still feared. We could be perfect scapegoats for mobs, don’t you think?

Don’t be a scapegoat. Be able to hide. Be able to thrive. Be able to be a safe place/space for others of our kind in need. Don’t “die on your pentacle” as it were. We are not martyrs. We have done many things to survive and we will have much to do to help the Mother and our kindred before we leave the coil of this incarnation.

I write this to tell you that I want you to survive. Initiate, student, seeker, other: I WANT you to survive. More than that, I want you to thrive.

In order to do this, you will have to wear many masks. You will have to be quick and clever, and you will have to learn skills you never thought you would.  You are going to have to be agile and not static in the coming days. You are going to have to gauge your enemy and the landscape around you. The plan for your life may not be the one you had in mind. Mine isn’t, but I plan on surviving. I plan on thriving, and I plan on helping this beautiful hurting Earth we all reside and depend on.

I also want to say that even though I may have had difficulties with brethren in the past or we did not see eye to eye, we are still of Her. I offer my hand and a knowing eye to show that I Will Be Silent, and I will help you should you ever find your way to my door in need.

To Will. To Know. To Dare. To Be Silent. Walk in Power. Walk in Her Bright Darkness.

The Law of Polarity (by Willow Moon)

On By andersonfaerycraftIn Uncategorized

“The old Kahunas would transmit their power from one to another via sperm. To be a Kahuna was to be bi-sexual because their relationships with their Gods was sexual. Homosexuals are so greatly feared in our culture because of an ancient memory of the awesome power of homosexual sorcerers.” –Victor Anderson 2/21/1995

The so-called “laws” of magic are descriptions of how magic works. There are many laws which are used singly or in combination to produce spells. The law of polarity is one description of the way in which magical body force is generated. Magic, in the traditions I am heir to, is of the body. The body is the battery, conduit and shaper of the power of the witches. So, it is no surprise that polarity is grounded in the body and is such a wonderful, delightful and powerful force. Freely accessible to all, everyone has the potential to feel it; the only requirement is to have a living body.

The Law of Polarity, like sex, is a straightforward function of the body. Unfortunately, it seems that many people make it more complicated than it is. By straightforward, I mean it’s easy for people to understand once the complicated social issues are stripped away.

The conceptual edifice that often accompanies the word “polarity” is fraught with emotional tensions. Rigid social conventions around gender and gender roles are overlaid onto a simple sexual attraction. The way that polarity is explained in some circles causes some to freeze their understanding of power into a small box and others to feel that it is a ridiculous concept that alienates many worthy people.

Image by Filter Forge via Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

My understanding of the Law of Polarity is simply that it describes how sexual attraction can generate a lot of power. By power, I mean the energetic juice that exudes from our bodies and flows throughout the world around us. It is a power which fuels our magics. When there is sexual attraction between people, a joyful force is generated by the bodymind which is noticeable: noticeable in facial expressions, movements, and other changes in their bodies. The power is palpable to others. It’s called “polarity” because it’s like charged electrodes which are separate and yet emit a force around them. It is in the magically charged gap between the poles where the discharge happens, releasing the built up charge. When the charge is released, the deed is done and the spell is sent.

Simple biology! However, as humans, we have a need to elaborate, which in this case often confuses the issue. Some conflate the build-up of sexual tension and its release with unrelated issues of gender and sexuality. Yet power is power no matter what form it takes, and no matter what human form we happen to be in. In the womb, each and every one of us starts out as female in form. All the diverse bodies we see around us are manifestations of the female body, even the most apparently male ones. This reality is also expressed by the simple fact that every body contains both female and male sex hormones. Each person, of course, has their own unique mix.

A well-respected American Gardnerian high priestess of the most conservative line once used pheromones to explain why polarity must alternate only between females and males. As a medical professional, I kindly explained that in fact pheromones are a good explanation for why power doesn’t only flow between females and males. Pheromones are hormones that are excreted into the air around us. Pheromones work like hormones. Hormones are spread throughout the whole body equally. They operate in specific locations in the body because that’s where the receptors for the hormones are located. In terms of sexual attraction, the sexual pheromones emitted by every person present permeate the whole room equally. Pheromones do not travel in a straight line from person to person; they disperse into the whole space. Yet they only activate sexual/emotional feelings in those who have the proper receptors. Homosexual men and heterosexual women have receptors that are activated by male pheromones, so naturally both might experience sexual attraction for a male. Sexual attraction is sexual attraction regardless of gender.

An Alexandrian priestess once told me that her coven felt the energy of a circle moved only between the women and the men of their circles. It seems natural to me that would be the case in groups of heterosexuals, who are attracted to the opposite sex, but it isn’t natural for non-heterosexual members. Preconceived and learned ideas of social relationships come into play when we perceive power and may prevent us from perceiving realities we do not expect.

Some practitioners of witchcraft believe that the Goddess can only possess a female body. This belief seems to me to be based on the same narrow view of gender polarity that I have questioned above. It seems inconsistent to me to believe that the Great Goddess, who is the mother of all, can be found everywhere and in everything, except inside a man’s body! In fact, I know from experience that the Goddess can be wherever She wants! In Faerie witchcraft, which is historically older than Gardnerian witchcraft, it is common for both men and women to be possessed by both Goddesses and Gods. This practice does not harm them, it enriches their lives and the lives of those around them.

Some may wonder how non-gendered roles would work in traditions that have specific roles for women and men. In Feri witchcraft, there are typically no specific roles based on gender or sex. In some traditions of witchcraft, however, it is believed that women and men must fulfill certain ritual roles in order for the rite to be effective. Although women are allowed to fulfill the role of a man, men are forbidden to fulfill the role of a woman. Some have said in the past that women must rule the circle to counteract the harmful effects of living in a male-dominated society. That surely has a healing effect on the psyches of both women and men. For women to claim power and men to release control is most certainly an important part of healing our society by redressing wrongs. However, I personally feel that at this time in our history, equality is a more powerful longing and a greater force of positive and deeper change in our social structures.

One advantage of conceiving the power generated by Polarity as based on something broader than gender or biological sex is that power can be generated and recognized by everyone present regardless of sexual orientation or gender expression. There is no need to try to trap the power into flowing in narrow lines between specific participants. Power can thus be raised exponentially because there are no barriers to power. Energetically, pheromones cause the power to boil like water in a cauldron, roiling in all directions! Thus trans, non-binary or intersex members of the circle can fully participate.

In popular imagination, Gardnerians are famously connected to the concept of alternating female/male polarity. Once, I was in a California-Gardnerian coven meeting with some friends. The tradition is one that allows same-sex initiation. In that circle was a woman (a guest, not a priestess in the circle) who insisted that my male lover and I should not stand together even though she was standing next to four other women. Niklas and I refused to separate; the circle continued, and the Gods were pleased. The enforcement of the alternating female to male “rule” is an example of how these guidelines are social rather than magical or spiritual: it is as unequal as the distribution of women and men in that circle. Too often, such policing of behavior in witchcraft circles only pertains to and affects queer men.

Some say alternating female participants with male participants is the tradition that Gardner passed and thus it must be adhered to. However, what Gardner “passed” and what he did were not always the same. I once had the chance to ask Dayonis, who was for a time the high priestess of Gardner’s coven, if a man could cast a circle. She replied, “Of course; Gardner did!”

Clearly, such “rules” are adapted to suit an occasion. They can be used to uphold the integrity of a tradition or to denigrate and disempower members. The reality is that each of us is unique and valuable. What does it mean for our integrity if we don’t uphold that belief when we stand before the Gods?

Some covens hold the belief that a woman must teach a man and vice versa. If that is the case, then a woman must know the man’s parts and the man, the woman’s. A part or role cannot be known by reading it a few times. In order to know a role, one must perform it repeatedly. So, ironically, the only way for a woman to teach a man or a man to teach a woman is for there to be no gender-based roles at all.

Social concepts and rules that deny reality do not last. The Law of Polarity as I teach it acknowledges the power of people of all gender expressions and sexual orientations. I am confident that this view is the future of witchcraft.