Ho! Know me as Fern (he/him), hailing from main blog @rainbluealoekitten. Adult. Witch of a kind. Aspiring friend to fungi. Explorer of words and worlds, which are sometimes the same thing. Profile picture and header taken by me.
i so often see people say that they have no need for ancestor work within their practice, or that their ancestor work is exclusive to far off ancestors. these statements often come from white practitioners, who dislike the idea of engaging in ancestor work either as a whole, or recent ancestors over fear of those in their family who are historically an oppressive group of people which utilized this to harm others.
ancestor work is not synonymous with ancestor veneration. so much of it is personally working through your families history, to understand your families history. ignoring a big part of that is doing a disservice to both your understanding of your practice as it relates to you as a descendant, and as your ability to be an ally to marginalized people. ancestor work involves unpacking generational trauma, which yes, is passed down in white families even if you had systemic power.
do not be scared to confront and unpack those parts of your families history. to operate within an ancestral practice you must, to be a good ally to others you must, to build a better understanding of your relationship with the world, with the land, you must.
by no means must one venerate ancestors, or even talk to them at all, but to ignore a massive part of your family just because they are bad people (or you fear they are) puts a block in the importance of self understanding which is so important within practice
think it's a deep consolation to know that spiders dream, that monkeys tease predators, that dolphins have accents, that lions can be scared silly by a lone mongoose, that otters hold hands, and ants bury their dead. that there isn't their life and our life. nor your life and my life. that it's just one teetering and endless thread and all of us, all of us, are entangled w it as deep as entanglement goes. v neat i think.
JSTOR Articles on the History of Witchcraft, Witch Trials, and Folk Magic Beliefs
This is a partial of of articles on these subjects that can be found in the JSTOR archives. This is not exhaustive - this is just the portion I've saved for my own studies (I've read and referenced about a third of them so far) and I encourage readers and researchers to do their own digging. I recommend the articles by Ronald Hutton, Owen Davies, Mary Beth Norton, Malcolm Gaskill, Michael D. Bailey, and Willem de Blecourt as a place to start.
If you don't have personal access to JSTOR, you may be able to access the archive through your local library, university, museum, or historical society.
Full text list of titles below the cut:
'Hatcht up in Villanie and Witchcraft': Historical, Fiction, and Fantastical Recuperations of the Witch Child, by Chloe Buckley
'I Would Have Eaten You Too': Werewolf Legends in the Flemish, Dutch and German Area, by Willem de Blecourt
'The Divels Special Instruments': Women and Witchcraft before the Great Witch-hunt, by Karen Jones and Michael Zell
'The Root is Hidden and the Material Uncertain': The Challenges of Prosecuting Witchcraft in Early Modern Venice, by Jonathan Seitz
'Your Wife Will Be Your Biggest Accuser': Reinforcing Codes of Manhood at New England Witch Trials, by Richard Godbeer
A Family Matter: The CAse of a Witch Family in an 18th-Century Volhynian Town, by Kateryna Dysa
A Note on the Survival of Popular Christian Magic, by Peter Rushton
A Note on the Witch-Familiar in Seventeenth Century England, by F.H. Amphlett Micklewright
African Ideas of Witchcraft, by E.G. Parrinder
Aprodisiacs, Charms, and Philtres, by Eleanor Long
Charmers and Charming in England and Wales from the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Century, by Owen Davies
Charming Witches: The 'Old Religion' and the Pendle Trial, by Diane Purkiss
Demonology and Medicine in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, by Sona Rosa Burstein
Denver Tries A Witch, by Margaret M. Oyler
Devil's Stones and Midnight Rites: Megaliths, Folklore, and Contemporary Pagan Witchcraft, by Ethan Doyle White
Edmund Jones and the Pwcca'r Trwyn, by Adam N. Coward
Essex County Witchcraft, by Mary Beth Norton
From Sorcery to Witchcraft: Clerical Conceptions of Magic in the Later Middle Ages, by Michael D. Bailey
German Witchcraft, by C. Grant Loomis
Getting of Elves: Healing, Witchcraft and Fairies in the Scottish Witchcraft Trials, by Alaric Hall
Ghost and Witch in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, by Gillian Bennett
Ghosts in Mirrors: Reflections of the Self, by Elizabeth Tucker
Healing Charms in Use in England and Wales 1700-1950, by Owen Davies
How Pagan Were Medieval English Peasants?, by Ronald Hutton
Invisible Men: The Historian and the Male Witch, by Lara Apps and Andrew Gow
Johannes Junius: Bamberg's Famous Male Witch, by Lara Apps and Andrew Gow
Knots and Knot Lore, by Cyrus L. Day
Learned Credulity in Gianfrancesco Pico's Strix, by Walter Stephens
Literally Unthinkable: Demonological Descriptions of Male Witches, by Lara Apps and Andrew Gow
Magical Beliefs and Practices in Old Bulgaria, by Louis Petroff
Maleficent Witchcraft in Britian since 1900, by Thomas Waters
Masculinity and Male Witches in Old and New England, 1593-1680, by E.J. Kent
Methodism, the Clergy, and the Popular Belief in Witchcraft and Magic, by Owen Davies
Modern Pagan Festivals: A Study in the Nature of Tradition, by Ronald Hutton
Monstrous Theories: Werewolves and the Abuse of History, by Willem de Blecourt
Neapolitan Witchcraft, by J.B. Andrews and James G. Frazer
New England's Other Witch-Hunt: The Hartford Witch-Hunt of the 1660s and Changing Patterns in Witchcraft Prosecution, by Walter Woodward
Newspapers and the Popular Belief in Witchcraft and Magic in the Modern Period, by Owen Davies
Occult Influence, Free Will, and Medical Authority in the Old Bailey, circa 1860-1910, by Karl Bell
Paganism and Polemic: The Debate over the Origins of Modern Pagan Witchcraft, by Ronald Hutton
Plants, Livestock Losses and Witchcraft Accusations in Tudor and Stuart England, by Sally Hickey
Polychronican: Witchcraft History and Children, interpreting England's Biggest Witch Trial, 1612, by Robert Poole
Publishing for the Masses: Early Modern English Witchcraft Pamphlets, by Carla Suhr
Rethinking with Demons: The Campaign against Superstition in Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe from a Cognitive Perspective, by Andrew Keitt
Seasonal Festivity in Late Medieval England, Some Further Reflections, by Ronald Hutton
Secondary Targets: Male Witches on Trial, by Lara Apps and Andrew Gow
Some Notes on Modern Somerset Witch-Lore, by R.L. Tongue
Some Notes on the History and Practice of Witchcraft in the Eastern Counties, by L.F. Newman
Some Seventeenth-Century Books of Magic, by K.M. Briggs
Stones and Spirits, by Jane P. Davidson and Christopher John Duffin
Superstitions, Magic, and Witchcraft, by Jeffrey R. Watt
The 1850s Prosecution of Gerasim Fedotov for Witchcraft, by Christine D. Worobec
The Catholic Salem: How the Devil Destroyed a Saint's Parish (Mattaincourt, 1627-31), by William Monter
The Celtic Tarot and the Secret Tradition: A Study in Modern Legend Making, by Juliette Wood
The Cult of Seely Wights in Scotland, by Julian Goodare
The Decline of Magic: Challenge and Response in Early Enlightenment England, by Michael Hunter
The Devil-Worshippers at the Prom: Rumor-Panic as Therapeutic Magic, by Bill Ellis
The Devil's Pact: Diabolic Writing and Oral Tradition, by Kimberly Ball
The Discovery of Witches: Matthew Hopkins' Defense of his Witch-hunting Methods, by Sheilagh Ilona O'Brien
The Disenchantment of Magic: Spells, Charms, and Superstition in Early European Witchcraft Literature, by Michael D. Bailey
The Epistemology of Sexual Trauma in Witches' Sabbaths, Satanic Ritual Abuse, and Alien Abduction Narratives, by Joseph Laycock
The European Witchcraft Debate and the Dutch Variant, by Marijke Gijswijt-Hofstra
The Flying Phallus and the Laughing Inquisitor: Penis Theft in the Malleus Maleficarum, by Moira Smith
The Framework for Scottish Witch-Hunting for the 1590s, by Julian Goodare
The Imposture of Witchcraft, by Rossell Hope Robbins
The Last Witch of England, by J.B. Kingsbury
The Late Lancashire Witches: The Girls Next Door, by Meg Pearson
The Malefic Unconscious: Gender, Genre, and History in Early Antebellum Witchcraft Narratives, by Lisa M. Vetere
The Mingling of Fairy and Witch Beliefs in Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Scotland, by J.A. MacCulloch
The Nightmare Experience, Sleep Paralysis, and Witchcraft Accusations, by Owen Davies
The Pursuit of Reality: Recent Research into the History of Witchcraft, by Malcolm Gaskill
The Reception of Reginald Scot's Discovery of Witchcraft: Witchcraft, Magic, and Radical Religions, by S.F. Davies
The Role of Gender in Accusations of Witchcraft: The Case of Eastern Slovenia, by Mirjam Mencej
The Scottish Witchcraft Act, by Julian Goodare
The Werewolves of Livonia: Lycanthropy and Shape-Changing in Scholarly Texts, 1550-1720, by Stefan Donecker
The Wild Hunter and the Witches' Sabbath, by Ronald Hutton
The Winter Goddess: Percht, Holda, and Related Figures, by Lotta Motz
The Witch's Familiar and the Fairy in Early Modern England and Scotland, by Emma Wilby
The Witches of Canewdon, by Eric Maple
The Witches of Dengie, by Eric Maple
The Witches' Flying and the Spanish Inquisitors, or How to Explain Away the Impossible, by Gustav Henningsen
To Accommodate the Earthly Kingdom to Divine Will: Official and Nonconformist Definitions of Witchcraft in England, by Agustin Mendez
Unwitching: The Social and Magical Practice in Traditional European Communities, by Mirjam Mencej
Urbanization and the Decline of Witchcraft: An Examination of London, by Owen Davies
Weather, Prayer, and Magical Jugs, by Ralph Merrifield
Witchcraft and Evidence in Early Modern England, by Malcolm Gaskill
Witchcraft and Magic in the Elizabethan Drama by H.W. Herrington
Witchcraft and Magic in the Rochford Hundred, by Eric Maple
Witchcraft and Old Women in Early Modern Germany, by Alison Rowlands
Witchcraft and Sexual Knowledge in Early Modern England, by Julia M. Garrett
Witchcraft and Silence in Guillaume Cazaux's 'The Mass of Saint Secaire', by William G. Pooley
Witchcraft and the Early Modern Imagination, by Robin Briggs
Witchcraft and the Western Imagination by Lyndal Roper
Witchcraft Belief and Trals in Early Modern Ireland, by Andrew Sneddon
Witchcraft Deaths, by Mimi Clar
Witchcraft Fears and Psychosocial Factors in Disease, by Edward Bever
Witchcraft for Sale, by T.M. Pearce
Witchcraft in Denmark, by Gustav Henningsen
Witchcraft in Germany, by Taras Lukach
Witchcraft in Kilkenny, by T. Crofton Croker
Witchcraft in Anglo-American Colonies, by Mary Beth Norton
Witchcraft in the Central Balkans I: Characteristics of Witches, by T.P. Vukanovic
Witchcraft in the Central Balkans II: Protection Against Witches, by T.P. Vukanovic
Witchcraft Justice and Human Rights in Africa, Cases from Malawi, by Adam Ashforth
Witchcraft Magic and Spirits on the Border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, by S.P. Bayard
Witchcraft Persecutions in the Post-Craze Era: The Case of Ann Izzard of Great Paxton, 1808, by Stephen A. Mitchell
Witchcraft Prosecutions and the Decline of Magic, by Edward Bever
Witchcraft, by Ray B. Browne
Witchcraft, Poison, Law, and Atlantic Slavery, by Diana Paton
Witchcraft, Politics, and Memory in Seventeeth-Century England, by Malcolm Gaskill
Witchcraft, Spirit Possession and Heresy, by Lucy Mair
Witchcraft, Women's Honour and Customary Law in Early Modern Wales, by Sally Parkin
Witches and Witchbusters, by Jacqueline Simpson
Witches, Cunning Folk, and Competition in Denmark, by Timothy R. Tangherlini
Bringing this back around for people who want free research material.
Also, since the time of the original post, JSTOR added a free membership option that allows users to access something like 100 articles a month. (Thanks @jstor!)
it's so crazy too bc i'll be like "this phrase/practice is being touted as ancient knowledge with a secret unbroken lineage, but it was quite literally made up in the 20th century. like we can trace it back to its very inception in like 1961." and someone will be like "that can't be true because my grandmother taught it to me." and i'm like yes your grandmother was 20 in 1961.
A couple days ago you posted asking for ideas for your series and I have a sort of idea. I learned magic through tumblr, it was my first exposure and teacher. Because of that, I've been a little lost lately, on what my practice is actually founded on. I wonder if you could write something up to help myself and others like me who have a shaky foundation, like how to back up to finding out what the basic building blocks are to build a practice on and to ask yourself the Big Questions that should influence your practice. I hope this makes sense! Anyway, thank you for your previous posts, they've been really enlightening! :)
This is.... fascinating.
Thank you kindly <3 Let's see if I can make anything from it.
I have been having Thoughts. A friend of mine, whom shall remain nameless due to his insistence that being known to Tumblr is a special kind of hell, brought up a concept yesterday which I have not thought of in some time.
This concept is one where magical practitioners, and for our purposes especially witches, may be divided into two categories: Laypeople and Clergy.
These titles are not ones you can choose for yourself. You either are, or you are not. And I think knowledge of this concept, whether or not one agrees, shines a floodlight on the sometimes murky waters of magical discourse.
The concept is this: There is a significant difference in the practices and needs for people who are permanently oath- and taboo-bound to their practice, and those who are not.
I have before spoken of a similar paradigm using the metaphor of oak trees and wildflowers:
Wildflower seeds are be blown all over a meadow. When those seeds land in viable soil, they strive to grow. Not every seed will take root, nor every sprout grow to maturity. But we know regardless that when May comes, the landscape will bloom with beauty and wonder, filling the meadow with something magical.
If such a time comes that the wildflowers are no longer wanted, or needed, or enjoyed, they will die out, and the meadow will go back to what it once was.
Just like wildflower seeds, acorns may not always land where they can grow. But when they do, the effect is very different. Unlike wildflowers, the oak tree does not dust the landscape with color that illuminates and enchants what already exists.
The oak tree transforms. Its roots reshape the hillside. Its branches host new fauna. Its shade reworks the nearby flora. And it never goes away. You can chop the oak tree down if you like; the roots are still there. You can dig up the roots; the hillside is now broken. Once planted, the oak tree transforms. Even if it dies, the meadow never goes back to the way it was before.
The laypeople and clergy paradigm takes things a step further. In that paradigm, "clergy" are bound to do (or not do) things, and if they fail bad things happen to them. They do not get to choose to leave their path. They do not necessarily get full autonomy in what they choose to study or practice, or how to apply their skills.
These are the kinds of people who are often found saying things like, "if you fail to uphold your responsibilities to the gods and spirits, they will get pissed off at you and can and will leave you." Or, "whether or not you want to accept it, there are rules." Or, "witchcraft is dangerous and it will consume you if you go in unprepared."
On the other hand, we more often see the opposite. "Gods love you unconditionally and you can never make them upset." Or, "there are no rules to witchcraft; anything you want to be witchcraft, is!" Or, "witchcraft is not dangerous, it is a beautiful, natural, and safe way to reconnect with your spirituality." Or, "how and when you choose witchcraft, including choosing to stop, is your choice. Nobody can tell you otherwise."
Although this simple duality obviously doesn't apply to everyone, I feel that very often everyone involved forgets the other is real and valid. The fact that gods will stop talking to you if you fail to uphold the devotional schedule they gave you, and the fact that gods will never care if you skip devotionals, are both lived experiences from valid practitioners worshiping the same god.
So, via this ask, the question is posed: "how to [find out] what the basic building blocks are to build a practice on and [...] the Big Questions that should influence your practice"?
One Big Question, and currently I feel perhaps the most important, is this:
Do you want your meadow to scintillate when the sunlight catches the rainbow hues of a thousand wildflowers that bring joy and wonder into your life?
Or do you want your meadow to be given over to the Oak Tree, remade in His image?
I will not give advice here on how to pursue the oak tree path, as I am of the mind that it should be avoided where possible.
However, if you are able to answer the Big Question for yourself, the basic building blocks then become:
For wildflower witches, what do you want?
Don't ask yourself what you want as a witch. Just... what do you want?
Do you want to be able to know about things before they happen? Do you want to be able to help and heal friends and family? Do you want to learn the uses of herbs and how to make amazing things in the kitchen? Do you want to reconnect with your ancestors and nature?
What do you want - let that be your guide. It is yours, all of it: the meadow, the flowers, where you roam and what you grow.
Take every single "how to start practicing witchcraft" guide you've ever read, throw it in the garbage, and start with you.
Why the hell should witches force a routine of energy work when all they want to do is make folk charms and read playing cards? Why should witches have to go learn divination when they just want to pray to their gods and learn about the land?
Imagine your entire path is thrown out the window, set on the sidewalk for someone to pick up and carry away. Start with nothing. What do you choose to add back? What is a relief to get rid of? What have you been forcing yourself to learn just because you were told it leads to power and success?
Start with you :) You are the building block. You are the meadow and the gardener. Release yourself from the watchful eyes of others, and do as you please.
For oak tree witches, if your acorn has already taken root:
Practice what you are guided to, do a lot of research, and survive until your initiatory period is over. I have faith in you <3
I knew this post was on my blog somewhere! I’m saving the link so we can find it the next time we need it and don’t have to spend hours looking for it.
The god of dirt
came up to me many times and said
so many wise and delectable things; I lay
on the grass listening
to his dog voice,
crow voice,
frog voice; now
he said, and now,
and never once mentioned forever.
— Mary Oliver, from “One or Two Things” in The God of Dirt: Mary Oliver and the Other Book of God by Thomas Wingate Mann · 2004 (via Alive on All Channels)
reading about the participation of children in rituals as a form of play in ancient greece and came across an incredibly charming story from julius pollux's onomasticon where a flood prevented the adults from reaching a sanctuary to sacrifice a ram to heracles, and the children solved the problem by....sticking a bunch of sticks in an apple to give it "legs" and "horns" and offering it as a sacrifice instead. it's such a charming thought and i can perfectly picture kids these days also pretending at sacrificing an apple "goat" at recess
If you can't distinguish between earth goddesses, sea goddesses, moon goddesses, and monsters that happen to be female, you definitely need to stop theorizing about ancient goddess worship.
No but seriously if you want to work with the Fair Folk please also look at local legends, myths and folklore. The "rules" often stated for working with the Fair Folk: things like "don't say thank you", "offerings should be of milk and honey", "don't tell them your name, for it gives them power over you". Are not universal concepts. Actually, they mostly come from Irish and Scottish lore.
And that's logical because they have the most written about the Fair Folk.
However, those might not be the "rules" of your local Fair Folk. For example, Dutch Fae were given offerings of pancakes. Gnomes apparently love boiled potatoes. And any Fair Folk that love to help humans will disappear forever when seen. Different rules for different Folk.
stormborns
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
andulkaphoto
turnnoffyourmind
romaincrisis
prguitarman
gamechangershow
