“The deities or spirits revered in the Old Craft are dark chthonic ones associated with the powers of creation and destruction, life and death, growth and decay. Although aptly described by Gerald Gardner as 'twilight deities', they do include a god of fire and light and a goddess who has a bright aspect. They are spirits connected to the sun, moon and stars yet also to the earth, field and woodlands. The witch-god and witch-goddess can bring their worshippers the gifts of prosperity and fertility, but they are also the rulers of fate and death. The traditional witch-goddess, who is associated with pagan deities such as Hecate, Artemis-Diana, Freya, the Morrigan, the Norns, the Fates, and Holda, has both bright and dark aspects. Her sacred metals are silver and platinum and she is associated with animals, birds and insects, such as the mare, owl, crow, goose, vixen, hare, cat and spider.
When she manifests, the witch-goddess can appear clairvoyantly or physically as either a beautiful woman or a hideous old hag. For that reason she is often linked with the waxing and waning moon and lunar magic, with nature 'red in tooth and claw", with winter and summer, heaven and the underworld. In some representations her face is coloured half black and half white, or is old on one side and young on the other to illustrate her dual aspects. Sometimes the goddess looks fair from the front while her back is rotten like a hollow tree. She has also been described as pale-faced with ruby coloured lips, shining green eyes, and long black hair. In common with the faeries and angelic beings, the witch-god and goddess in their elven form have pointed ears and slanted eyes.
The horned god of the witches is also dual-faced like the Roman deity Janus because he rules both life and death. In the summer he is the virile and fertile Lord of the Greenwood or Green Man, whose foliate mask can be seen carved in wood and stone in pre-Reformation churches. As winter comes and the God descends to the underworld he takes on the darker and more sinister persona. He becomes the harvester of deceased souls and the psychopomp or guide to the dead on their journey to the Hollow Hill or underworld. In this dark season he is the Lord of the Wildwood and the Master of the Wild Hunt. His various divine aspects include a solar deity, a vegetation god, the ‘king of the faeries', a smith god, and a lord of light and master of fire. As such, he can be mythically associated with Herne the Hunter, King Arthur, Oberon, Baphomet, Bucca, Sylvanus, Pan, Woden, Tubal-Cain, Wayland the Smith, or Lucifer. His sacred animals and birds include the stag, goat, bull, ram, dog, fox, snake, wolf, heron, peacock and raven.
Physically the witch-god as the Man in Black or Dark Man appears as tall and thin, clean shaven, with a pale skin and dark hair and eyes. He wears old-fashioned dark or black clothing that may beragged, sometimes with a long cloak, a highwayman's mask and a wide brimmed hat, and carries a forked staff that may have a lantern attached to it. Other times he will appear wearing a black hooded robe like a monk's habit, hence one of his names is the 'Hooded Man’. He is accompanied by a large shaggy black dog, and when visiting his followers in visions and dreams is often also seen in the company or vicinity of horses, wolves, dragons, lizards, large snakes and prehistoric sabre-toothed tigers and cave bears. 'The Man in Black’ can be encountered at the witching hour of midnight at crossroads, bridges, fords, stiles and gates. In his underworld aspect as the Lord of Death he is associated with precious and semi-precious jewels, gold and quartz. These gems and metals may also feature in his symbolism or physical appearance.
Some traditional witches prefer not to link their deities with any particular mythology or pantheon from pre-Christian times. Instead they refer to them in neutral or abstract terminology as the Old Ones, the Lord and Lady, the Shining Ones, the Lad and Lass, the Old Man and Old Woman, Old Hornie, the Old Queen or even just as Him or Her, or Himself and Herself. Taking this a stage further, there are some traditions of the Old Craft that do not use anthropomorphic images of the witch-god and goddess. Behind the archetypal images of the Lord and Lady, many traditional witches also recognize the Nameless One or Providence, sometimes called Nox or Night , who has no physical form and transcends all the other gods and goddesses, or an unknowable Cosmic Creator/Creatorix.”
—
Liber Nox:
A Traditional Witch’s Gramarye
Written by Michael Howard & Illustrated by Gemma Gary
