#peter paddon

[prairiefirewitch]

My deliveries today included this little gem by Peter Paddon. Peter wrote and podcasted about traditional witchcraft and the cunning path until his passing in 2014. His podcast has disappeared into the ether but for a time, it was an oasis of old school craft in a desert of new age banality.

I had hoped to find a specific transcript for a Yule pathworking he did that remains a favorite of mine, but alas, it isn’t included in this selection. (If anyone knows the pathworking and where I can find a transcript or the recording I would love to revisit it.)

Anyhow, there’s some very good material here and I heartily recommend this and any of Peter’s other work.

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Cory over at @newworldwitchery also did a lovely tribute to Peter years ago that speaks to how Influential Peter was to many of us if you’re interested in learning more. Episode 69.

[toxicrants]

im british and ethnically scottish and i would definitely be interested in at least learning about traditional british witchcraft so yes please recommend me some books!

Sorry this took so long! I’m a teacher now and shit takes forever for me to get round too. 

The original letters of Robert Cochrane (Roy Bowers) 

Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente. 

Pretty much anything by Doreen Valiente but be careful as she did work in Wicca as well as Trad so be clear on which source you’re using.

Grimoire for Cunning Folk by Peter Paddon. Peter was part of Briar Rose after moving to the USA.

Anything by Shani Oates, the current head of the Clan of Tubal Cain, which is the coven of Robert Cochrane.

A lot of these have similar beliefs but divert in places. Tubal Cain is a hereditary/initiatory practice I believe so she won’t give EVERYTHING away in her books but she’s written tons. Peter has passed away but he ran his own training coven as an off shot of Briar Rose, who have links to Cochrane in the USA. They’re more closely what is referred to as the ‘1734′ groups.

[werewolf-gardening-club]

It is a bit like riding a unicycle. As long as there is balance, you will find that gentler controlled movement is easy and flows well, and the whole thing feels like an extension of yourself - but lose that point of balance and it will quickly get away from you, and suddenly you are being forced to move, dragged in the direction it wants to go, because you have lost control. I won't beat about the bush - this is a dangerous exercise, and should be practiced at first only for a short time, five or ten minutes, preferably with someone to keep an eye on you. Because the ramifications of letting your Drake get control of you, instead of vice-versa, is that it won't just take you for a ride (and a tempting, rollercoaster ride it will be), but it will take control of your thought, emotions and every aspect of your life too, and this is not a good place to be. You won't even notice it yourself, but you would become a predator, drawing on the life-force of those around you, like a psychic vampire, taking risks both physical and spiritual, and eventually the unbalanced energy would consume you, but not before it wreaked havoc on the lives of those you care about.

About Dragon riding, Peter Paddon, A Grimoire For Modern Cunningfolk

[werewolf-gardening-club]

It cannot be stressed strongly enough that the Crooked Path is a path that requires the practitioner to be ethical rather than moral. Morals are rules laid out by a person or organization. The Christian Ten Commandments are a moral code, to be followed without exception. And that is a good thing, because they provide a framework of ethical behaviour that can be followed without too much thought. But a Witch or Cunning Man needs to take responsibility for their own actions. Blindly following a moral code is fine for a beginner, but is presupposed a universe of stark black and white, and the universe we live in is made of endless shades of grey. So instead of the moral code of "do not steal", the Witch follows the ethical route, where the theft is weighed for its position on a sliding scale. Theft is wrong, but allowing a child to starve is more wrong, so if your child is starving and there is no better way, stealing that loaf of bread becomes a lesser wrong. You might be arrested and placed in a cell for the theft, but that is a small price to pay for the continued life of your child. The phrase, the "price to pay" is the key here. For Cunningfolk, the real question becomes, "am I willing to pay the price for what I do?" This is why the Crooked Path is unlike Wicca with its "harm none" moral code.

Peter Paddon, A Practical Guide to Witchcraft on the Crooked Path

[werewolf-gardening-club]

About the only thing I truly remember is the symbolic castration, performed by lopping mistletoe hanging between my thighs with a sharp sickle. I'm told that the priestess carrying the Mother came close to making it non-symbolic, but either way, I think I would have been okay with either outcome, because I was so in the moment.

Peter Paddon, A Grimoire for Modern Cunningfolk

[blindwormsting]

Before his untimely passing, occult author and traditional witch Peter Paddon did our community a service by publishing a great selection of his teachings and path workings in a variety of formats. His books have become, for many, prime texts for walking the wise way. For those who have not experienced Peter Paddons work, his original podcast (the crooked path ) is still pretty much intact and FREE on his original YouTube channel (praise the gods!) Anyone who wants what is basically a free audio course on traditional witchcraft from, in many people's opinion, one of the crafts brightest and best, give it a go! I only wish fate had seen fit to share him with us for longer.

[the-moth-and-the-witch]

Hello, I wanted to ask you can you give me some advice on trad witchcraft literature, or can you give me some good sites about traditional witchcraft. I know that the books of Troy Books publishing are good but I really can never ever ever buy them. I come from a really poor country, so one book and the shipping are actually a half of my mother's monthly salary. I've been trying to find good sites with information about trad witchcraft for quite some time, but it seems I miss them somehow..

Hello Anon! I’d be happy to give you advice, but first let me say I follow more of a cornish style trad craft path, so that’s what I know the most about. But, I really like Saran Ann Lawless and her blog, also Dawn Jackson had a website full of tidbits and nice things for budding trad witch(the link is: tinyurl.com/DawnJacksonWitchcraft), her site has some folklore and other bits and bobs that can be helpful. Cornishwitchcraft.co.uk is a decent site, as is cronnedhu.co.uk

As far as books go: Cheap, used books are best! I get most of mine used from Amazon and they just released Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways as an audio book, so you might want to look into that! I really recommend books based around academic stuff to start, things like folklore and superstitions of your country, as well as books like the Cunning Man’s Handbook( while this academic it’s got spells and charms, but it isn’t a cheap book, but in my opinion it is well worth the buy if you can ever afford it), which is a HUGE paperback, there’s also a list I reblogged from gardenofthequeen that’s amazingly full of everything I could EVER want and a lot of it have read! But, I’ll just say this, I didn’t like the way “A Deed Without a Name” by Lee Morgan was written, it is an excellent book mind you, I just didn’t find his style to my liking. “A Grimoire For Modern Cunning Folk: A Practical Guide to Witchcraft on the Crooked Path” by Peter Paddon is a cheap well-packed paperback for modern trad-witchcraft! 

Let me finish by saying this: Start by looking at the websites I listed, see what appeals to you before you just start buying books, and ask more tumblr users! gardenofthequeen‘s list I reblogged has plenty of other websites, book recommends, and more tumblr users to who can distribute more information than I.

I hope that I’ve helped some and if you ever have anymore questions, feel free to ask!

[psyche-incarnate]

For a lot of people who say, ‘Oh yes, I’m a sex magician!’ what they mean is ‘I dress up in robes and have sex, and it’s pretty magical.’

Peter Paddon, “Enchantment”