Part III: The Spirit Lover: Faery Romances and Daemonic Partners
The Spirit Lover: Faery Romances and Daemonic Partners
A Spirit Lover is a spirit with whom the witch may have an intimate, sexual, or simply erotic relationship. In Scotland, these were usually faeries, but they could also be spirits of the dead in some cases, such as with Bessie Dunlop, whose spirit Thomas Reid died some 30 years before her trial in the Battle of Pinkie. Her attending spirit was not her lover, but they did seem to share a close, intimate bond with one another akin to a deep friendship. It is interesting to note that she called him a faery, even though he was a spirit of the dead. I think this is a subtle clue as to what faery meant for the people of Scotland. Faeries were spirits of the dead, spirits of nature, and great powerful spirits, such as the King and Queen of the Faery. The lines were not so cut and dry as we try to make them in modern magic.
We might note that in the Ballad of Tam Lin, Tam Lin is also a spirit of the dead, and an elfin knight. He tells fair Janet:
And ance it fell upon a day
A cauld day and a snell,
When we were frae the hunting come,
That frae my horse I fell,
The Queen o’ Fairies she caught me,
In yon green hill do dwell.
Janet must free this young knight from Elfland. He gives her instructions on what to do. He says:
You may go into the Miles Moss,
Between twelve hours and one;
Take holy water in your hand,
And cast a compass round.
Then she must wait while different companies of faeries ride by. These are indicated by the color of their horses’ coats. Some are black, some are brown, and some are white. I believe there also to be possibly a fourth company of horses, whose color would possibly be grey, but these are not mentioned in this particular tale (see Willie of Winsbury). I believe these horses, and their colors, to possibly be related to the four Celtic Airts, and thus the four spirit courts within traditional British spirit ecology. Doreen gives us an indication of these in book Witchcraft for Tomorrow:
Black spirits and white,
Red spirits and grey,
Hearken to the rune I say.
Four points of the circle, weave the spell,
East, south, west, north, your tale to tell.
East is red for the break of day,
South is white for the noontide hour,
In the west is twilight grey,
And north is black, for the place of power.
Three times round the circle’s cast.
Great ones, spirits from the past,
Witness it and guard it fast.
These spirits are also mentioned in Reginald Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft:
Now, how Brian Darcie’s he-spirits and she-spirits, Titty and Tiffin, Suckin and Pidgin, Liard and Robin, &c. his white-spirits and black-spirits, gray-spirits and red-spirits, Devil-toad and Devil-lambe, Devils-cat and Devils-dam, agree herewithal, or can stand consonant with the Word of God, or true Philospohy, let Heaven and Earth judge.
Readers of Gemma Gary will also note these spirit colors. For my colleagues and me, these colors represent certain spirit courts that make up a certain ecological categorization of spirits. Red spirits are usually spirits of animals, living physical things. White spirits are usually celestial beings, such as angels. Grey spirits are commonly spirits of the dead, faeries, and green growing spirits. Black spirits are also spirits of the dead, but usually in the way of vampyric spirits, trolls, and darker spirits of the stars. This is just one way of categorizing spirits. I note it here to give note to the continuance of this lore within modern traditional craft.
Returning to Tam Lin: Janet is instructed to cast a compass round with holy water, and wait for the correct company of horses to trot past. By tradition, this occurrence took place around the time of Samhain, a time when the realm of spirits and realm of the living were overlapped. Janet pulls her lover from his horse, and he is transformed into a variety of horrid and harmful objects before becoming a man in her arms. These are usually a serpent, a bear or lion, a red-hot bar of iron, and melted lead. We can note the elemental significance of this materia. The melted lead is to be thrown into a well of water, and then the man will appear. The man is to be covered with her green mantle, and kept out of sight. I believe this to be a significant ritual which can easily be translated into the creation of a vessel suitable to house a Faery Lover.
(Legend of Tam LIn, Wylie Beckert)
How did Janet get the attention of this Faery Knight? I have mentioned in posts past that in order to attract the Faery Lover, you yourself must make yourself attractive. Depending on how you interpret this, and what kind of spirit you wish to invite, this will vary from witch to witch. In most versions of Tam Lin, the king forbids any maidens from approaching Carterhaugh if they should wear gold in their hair. This is precisely what fair Janet does, however! She is a wild creature, she longs to be in Carterhaugh. She pulls her kirtle above her knee, and runs to the wood to pull roses. Breaking the branches gets the attention of Tam Lin. This is his home; she has come to him rather than summoning him into a circle round like some magicians might do (see Reginald Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft, Chapter VIII). These are the next words of one of personal favorite versions:
“What makes you pull the rose, the rose?
What makes you break the tree?
What makes you come to Carterhaugh
Without the leave of me?“
“But Carterhaugh is not your own
Roses there are many
I’ll come and go all as I please
And not ask leave of any”
And he has took her by the hand,
Took her by the sleeve
And he has laid this lady down
Among the roses green
Some interpret this as a rape scene, others see it as something far less sinister. Their spell is sealed, let it be so!
It is interesting to note that in Scotland, a form of divination to find one’s lover is to toss a spool of thread or yarn into the forest, and stand at the edge holding the yarn taut, calling out to your lover. When you feel a tug on the other end, your lover is there, and you may speak to them. This is rather similar to the Swedish version of obtaining a spiritus. The lover may then approach the witch in spirit vision, or perhaps the witch may gather them up in their green mantle and bring them home if they should appear as a small animal or perhaps an interesting stone which catches eye.
Another popular ballad of Scottish origin is the Ballad of Thomas the Rhymer. This ballad is based on an actual person named Thomas of Erceldoune who fell asleep beneath a Eildon (Hawthorn) tree and was taken away be the Queen of Elfland. Indeed, it is terribly bad luck to sleep beneath a Faery tree, as one may taken away to Faerland and never come back! However, it is also an excellent way for a sorcerer to happen upon a Faery Lover.
(Thomas the Rhymer by Katherine Cameron)
A Method to Call for the Fetch Mate or Faery Wyfe
Wash yourself in a sacred stream or holy well, and put on a set of clean cloths of naturally made fibers. Green colors are best. Go to a faery tree such as Hawthorn, Rowan, Elderberry, or Ash, and bring with you a honey, milk, sweet wine, flowers, a silver bell, a musical instrument if you should have one, some poetry either your own or your favorite, and a bowl of water. Have with you also a piece of iron, for if the faery should take you away to Faeryland, it is best to have something to block the door to Faery so you can get back out again.
Lay a compass round and strew the ground with the flowers. These may be petals of the rose, lavender, hyssop, carnations, flowers of St John, and pearlwort. If you have long hair, let it down now. Dance and sing, and conjure the faery lover with your entire being. Let yourself become aroused by your conjurations. Look into the bowl of water and see how beautiful you are! Here is some of my own poetry for inspiration.
“Come! O Spirit, come!
Your kisses fill me with fire.
Lift me, take me, steal me.
Upon the Moon’s bright beams we go,
Upon the tracks no man can see.”
“Beloved, Heart of my Heart,
Soul of my Soul,
Thine eyes are like two fluttering doves,
And your hair smells of almonds,
Sweet and fragrant,
And smooth.”
“Star of my desire,
Worthy am I that this Lustful Fire
Should love one of Clay such as I.
I love thee with all my passion,
My Partner of my Deep Soul.
Come forth from the Undying Lands.”
“Your lips (those forbidden blossoms
Within a sacred garden)
Are the keys to my release.
Kiss me, O Fiery God!
Kiss me; Kiss me. Kiss me!
With your sun-drenched mouth
As light on the leaves
Kiss me!
That my shivering limbs may cease
And my heart become still.“
When you feel you have become “mazed” and are thoroughly in the Other, lay or sit beneath the tree, and perceive what you will. Perhaps you will hear the chattering of birds, which it is said is the language of the faeries. Perhaps you will see the faery lover at the edges of your vision within the greenery. Do not look directly at them, for they will vanish if you do. If you receive such signs, offer the milk and honey to them. If you have the Second Sight, perhaps will see them sit with you. If not, you can imagine a faery being sitting with you. See them as your deepest desire in a person or faery being. Conjure them with your entire being, with your entire soul, for part of your soul they are. They have been calling for you, too. Take note of any sensations you experience. Does the wind change? How do you feel emotionally? Does the grass move in a certain way? Watch and listen.
Perhaps they will lift you out of your body, and you will make love in the space above the compass. Or perhaps you will depart from that place, and return home, and they will visit you in dreams. Ask for a sign of how they may be conjured again. Perhaps it is a name (keep this above all most sacred) that you call three times. Or perhaps it is an amulet that you must make. Or, if they wish to be housed with a vessel, perhaps you must rap upon the vessel or rub it to conjure them to be with you from out of Faeryland. Never reveal your secret password for each other.
The Queen of Elfland bestows upon True Thomas the powers of prophecy and magic. He becomes part faery by eating the fruit of Faeryland. There-in-lies the danger of such entities. You become a little like them, and they become a little like you. It is possible for you to pine for them unto the point of death. You may become lost in Faeryland as they suck the humanity out of you. Care must be taken with the Faery Lover: they are powerful allies, but certain faery spell death for the unwary mortal.
Similar to this is the the Daemonic Lover. These are incubi and succubi which bestow certain powers to the sorcerer when coupled with. For me, I think I do not see much of a difference between Faery and Daemon: I believe them to be different names for the same spirits, who have just changed names over time due to religious and political shifts. Perhaps the Faery are of the Seelie Court and the Daemon are of the Unseelie Court, if one wishes to interpret it this way. In his book Witchcraft and Sorcery of the Balkans, Radomir Ristic relates to the reader of witches who had sex with dragons to obtain their powers. According to folklore, these dragons were stars that fell out the sky and materialised as trees, certain mountains and boulders, rivers, and lakes. This is very similar to the Scottish and Irish myths about the Fallen Angels falling from heaven; those that landed on earth became the faeries of lakes, rivers, trees, and certain stones. Ristic tells us that the line between dragon, faery, angel and demon within Balkan traditional craft is rather blurred.
(Lilith with a Snake by John Collier)
The angels fell from heaven because they adored the daughters of man. They thought they were the most beautiful creatures they had ever seen. The spirits, angels, daemons, dragons, and faeries, find humans irresistible. The more human we are, the deeper they fall in love with us. In some lines of witchcraft, the events in the Book of Enoch are how witches, and the Witchblood came about. Indeed, sexual initiation is how some lines of witchcraft still pass on the power of their tradition.
The Lover may be conjured into a phallus shaped object made from clay or stone, and ridden in lust as an offering to the Faery or Daemonic lover. I know some witches who use their besom for this exact purpose! Alternatively, one may also create a vessel to serve as a yonic shaped object within which one shoots their seed after adoring their selves and their spirit lovers. Chumbley relates that attendants of the Sabbat may become possessed by such sexual genii. Indeed, a participant may become possessed by the Devil in some orgiastic rituals, and power shared amongst attendants. One way to offer the sexual energy created is to blow the energy towards the Spirit Lover. I have heard from some that it is important to delay orgasm for as long as possible: the Spirits are feeding off of the sexual foyson, not the orgasm itself.
Introduction
Part I: The Familiar Spirit: Divining and Domestic
Part II: Familiars as Fetiche
Part III: The Spirit Lover: Faery Romances and Daemonic Partners
Part IV: Famulus Regis: The Genius of the Witch as Indwelling Familiar, with Conclusion
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