#fencraft

[rainsandrains]

The point of being here is to be here. An hour or two into my time in the forest, I wrote these words in my notebook, and drew a box around them to emphasise their authority and self-sufficiency. And then I stopped writing words in my notebook altogether, because writing words is my work, and I was wary of taking an utilitarian approach to the solo. The point of being there, after all, was to be there. [...]And what did I do, while I was being there, in the forest, by the river? Nothing, more or less. [...]In these moments, I find myself thinking of the place itself as somehow conscious of my presence. To be alone in a forest, and to be thinking of the forest as somehow aware of you: I will acknowledge that this sounds like the very substance of nightmare, but, in fact, it is a strangely beautiful and quietly moving experience, and I think it must be what people mean when they talk about intuiting the presence of God.

Mark O’Connell (source)

[fenpai-draws]

Finished my last pre-made project.

[petitalbert-blog]

The Witches Round

A Circle Chant

(Chanted while walking widdershins - repeat as long as necessary - can be set to the tune of Ecci Mundi Gaudium or any strong beat)

--

This is a place that is not a place

This is a time that is not a time

Spirits of the land awake,

hearken as I speak this rhyme,

as we tred the circle round as we spiral, down and down

By wood of wand and cauldron round, (round and round and down and down)

wake the spirits of the ground (round and round and down and down)

By witches herb and broomstick flight,

wake the spirits of the night

By circle fire and drummer's din,

call the coven spirits in

By dancing with the folk unseen,

Welcome we the witches queen

---

The lines of the Round are thoroughly interchangeable. You can intersperse a chant with the verses:

By wood of wand and cauldron round, (round and round and down and down)

wake the spirits of the ground (round and round and down and down)

You can repeat the call as many times as feels necessary:

By wood of wand and cauldron round,

wake the spirits of the ground

wake the spirits of the ground

wake the spirits of the ground

wake the spirits of the ground

wake the spirits of the ground

wake the spirits of the ground

wake the spirits of the ground.........

You can repeat a chorus between verses:

as we tred the circle round as we spiral, down and down

And you can repeat the invocation:

By wood of wand and cauldron round (this is a place that is not a place)

wake the spirits of the ground (this is a time that is not a time)

If you are in company, different members of the coven can be given a line to chant (for example, "round and round and down and down"); and of course, you can make up as many new verses as you like.

If you forget a line while dancing or chanting, just repeat the last line you can remember.

----

(Fencraft is a new witchcraft tradition, focused on the natural world, the myths of old England. It rejects imagery around sex, gender or bodies, and welcomes any witches who want to do earth-centered, liminal/ecstatic tradcraft as part of a tradition rather than as an eclectic. The Round refers to some specific concepts in Fencraft - but you are welcome to use it for whatever; here is a further explanation of what the round is supposed to "do", and give ideas for how you might want to use it:

1. we don't create a clean "bubble" circle by banishing and consecrating, that's rather like putting weedkiller on a flowerbed and watching as the weedkiller wipes out all your plants and the local bees. We seek to thin the veil wherever we are and become more aware of the spirits already present; we don't invoke them to be present, we welcome them to make themselves visible.

2. We believe all witches in our path are members of a spirit coven, who come to dance with you, and is lead by the Witches Queen. These spirit figures replace the necessity for other humans - they help raise power, act as circle-guardians and teachers, and so on.

These are the goals of the Round, but you are welcome to use it however you wish - adding new lines as necessary)

[petitalbert-blog]

(That awkward moment when you used the term "Your Court" for referring to the Powers that exist around you, then found out it's also what they use in vodou. And you don't know whether to claim ignorance, tough out any challenges, or admit what actually happened was you were listening to Court of the Crimson King while writing your holy books)

[petitalbert-blog]

Be secret. Child be strange, dark, true, impure, and dissonant. Cherish our flame

Penda, last Pagan king of England

[petitalbert-blog]

So the basic cosmology for the No Sex Witchcraft Path is all down, but what's more importany is I feel closer, and calmer, than I have in a very long time. I feel like I've struck upon something very real and very powerful - although it may be that I've simply found the pathway which works for me, and it will mean very little to others. And it may be that I'm about to be very unwell again, as so often that is connected to experiences of the supernatural. Still -I feel like my third eye is "on", if thst makes sense. I have a sense on going to some places, a sense I associate with there being "something" there; but of late, I've had that sensation everywhere as if the land was alive with spirits. I've been finding bones in my garden and (more worryingly) whenever I go to graveyards; and Ive been seeing the dead in my house. Anyway, I will try and finish up the basics soon to show you, in case it helps your thinking and exploring.