The Practice of Knowing one’s land
Something I know I struggled with as a young witch was the disconnect with the lore I was learning from. All these sacred tree’s and plants that were sacred for their uses and lore, but also because of their prominence in the land. The sacred days and farming calender, all these didn’t match up. I was trying so hard to connect in every way to traditional English & Scottish witchcraft without leaving room for what mattered most to my practice, this land, these spirits, and everything I grew up to know myself. The sacredness of maple, trillium, and cedar. The local lore and stories. I was putting in the work but not feeling the connection.
There is something to say about the importance of tradition, I was studying Scottish witchcraft, because it called to me and my heritage, But it was just that Scottish witchcraft, there wasn’t a Canadian whisper in what I was learning and the disconnect was real, and the need to feel authentic was real. One day I walked in an old growth forest, and the realization I was doing it all wrong hit me like a brick ( or more like a very large pine cone ) I felt as stupid then as I do now looking back, and the realization that I can, in fact I need to integrate my land, my lore, my spirits while still practicing this tradition is not only a can but a must.
So now, I practice a very Canadian flavor of Scottish witchcraft, and while you can’t read about it or find it in museums, books, and essays, it is more real, and more fulfilling than trying to chase a tradition that wasn’t mine, and since I’ve come to that conclusion I’ve grown so much, and the connection I have is very real and very alive.
I hope that by sharing my experience it might help others who were as lost as I once was.
Wonderful lessons on mixing tradition with our own path to create new ones. That is the Trad Witches way!
