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.As we got further from the road, sothe ordinary world receded.We were entering a magical world.It got quieter anddarker.We slowly made our way down a long avenue of trees and I was introducedto  the guardian , a fallen bough, which loomed out of the dark like an elongateddragon.The darkness took on a life of its own, of shadows, strange damp smellsand whispering noises, as the ordinary world seemed to get farther and fartheraway.Some went ahead to set up the circle; others took their time absorbing theatmosphere and energies of the place.We eventually reached a little wooded copseof mainly young oaks, which was set down in a dell, a natural clearing.Crowswere cawing in the trees, and there were rustling sounds in the undergrowth.Themoon was waxing three-quarters full, and a light misty glow made the wood seemvery magical.The place had a peaceful feel to it.I was introduced to the trees and the four quarters.We spread daffodils aroundthe circle deosil (clockwise).Then came the purification by Sarah the High Priestess:I exorcize thee, O creature of water, that thou cast out from thee all the impurities anduncleanliness of the spirits of the world of phantasm; in the names of Cerridwen andHerne.The purification for the salt by High Priest (Phil):Blessings be upon this creature of salt; let all malignity and hindrance be cast forthhencefrom, and let all good enter herein; wherefore do I bless thee, that thou mayest aidme, in the names of Cerridwen and Herne. 86Witchcraft and Natural MagicSalt-water pentagrams were painted on all the participants foreheads.A sageincense  smudge stick was lit, and the smoke was gently traced around our bodies.The salt and water were sprinkled around the circle to purify it.The High Priestess opened the circle with her athame (a small ritual knife):I conjure thee, O Circle of Power, that thou beest a meeting place of love and joy andtruth; a shield against all wickedness and evil; a boundary between the world of menand the realms of the Mighty Ones; a rampart and protection that shall preserve andcontain the power that we shall raise within thee.Wherefore do I bless thee and consecratethee, in the names of Cerridwen and Herne.The watchtowers of the four quarters were then built in turn.The coven facedeach direction, starting in the east (the place of sunrise) and drew an invokingpentagram with outstretched arms:Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, ye Lords of Air; I do summon, stir and callyou up, to witness our rites and to guard the Circle.Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the South, ye Lords of Fire.[and so on]Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the West, ye Lords of Water, ye Lords of Death andInitiation.[and so on]Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the North, ye Lords of Earth; Boreas, thou guardian ofthe Northern portals, thou powerful God, thou gentle Goddess; we do summon, stir andcall you up, to witness our rites and to guard the Circle.Three of the women, representing the Maiden, Mother and Crone aspects of theGoddess, positioned themselves in the centre of the circle around the cauldron,which contained a lantern.Each wore a veil of the appropriate colour  Maiden,cream; Mother, red; and Crone, black.Invocations were chanted to Cerridwenand Herne (the coven was working with Celtic goddesses and gods at this point)accompanied by drumming.The other coveners were positioned around the circle.We had each chosen a  special place.I positioned myself between two low branchesof a small tree in the south-west (afterwards I learnt that it was a very powerfultree that was  between the worlds ).Some of the other participants became bouldersor stones.The Maiden came with the lit lantern and awakened us individually tothe first day of spring and a celebration of the light that was lit within each one ofus.We started dancing and drumming and shaking our rattles around the TripleGoddess in the centre as power was raised.Then we held hands in a circle, male,female, male, female, and sent the energy to the Shetlands to help the environmentcope with an oil tanker spillage disaster.The Maiden, who had sensed when the 87Magic, Witchcraft and the Otherworldpower had reached its peak, called a halt, and we channelled it to help the ecologicalcrisis.Then apples and ale were shared amidst joyous hugs and celebrations.Oneapple and some ale were left for the earth.The watchtowers were thanked andbanishing pentangles drawn in the air.The coven slowly retraced its steps alongthe pathway, amidst wolf howling from the High Priest, back to the ordinary world.The waxing moon illuminated the way.I was greatly relieved that the ritual had gone well.On the day of this ritual Ihad been suddenly seized with panic, and in my fieldwork diary I had asked myselfwhy I was taking myself off in the night to the middle of some wood with a strangegroup of people who could have been sympathizers of Jack the Ripper.Myfieldwork report to my academic supervisor records that I had considered cryingoff.However, I decided that it was an opportunity that I did not want to miss, so Itried some of the magical techniques that I had been taught:  I asked Sekmet, anEgyptian lioness goddess, who is one of my four quarter guardians, for strength and it certainly worked! I went to the ritual and I was nervous, like before anyritual, but I had contained my paralysing fear. (Report from the field no 18, 1March 1993).In her response to my report, my academic supervisor asked mewhy I had felt such fear about doing the ritual.This prompted me to think moreabout it, and in my next report I wrote:Primarily I was scared because I did not know the group and I felt a little uneasy aboutthem.Also interference and possible hostile reaction is a problem with working outside(after the ritual in the wood there was a distinct feeling of relief that all had gone well).I spoke to one of the men participants and he said that he always felt nervous aboutpossible interruption.He said that they didn t work too often in  their sacred grovebecause if the place got known there would be trouble (Report from the field no 19, 1April 1993).A confrontation with such fears and an opening up of oneself to the fieldworksituation was part of the process of this research.It meant putting myself inpotentially unsafe situations, which I probably would not have done in ordinarycircumstances.Into the CovenAfter the Imbolc ritual I was invited to dinner with Sarah and Phil and anothercoven member named Ben.It was a time for them to find out more about myviews on magic.I arrived at their flat in the early afternoon and was welcomedinside amidst a flurry of tidying-up activity.Ben had just come in with someshopping and he and Phil started putting it away, while Sarah started cooking themeal.She asked me what I had been doing since I last saw her, and we startedtalking.Ben started peeling and chopping vegetables.During this time Phil straight- 88Witchcraft and Natural Magicened a bent knife with a hammer.He had carefully unwrapped the hammer from apiece of blue silk whilst talking about the sacred art of the smith.When he hadfinished, he placed the hammer back on the piece of silk and wrapped it up.After the meal Sarah asked me for my opinion on the meaning of ritual, andwhich esoteric text I found the most useful.During the conversation the subject ofpsychotherapy was raised, and Sarah said that psychotherapy was vitally importantbecause an unbalanced person could not mediate the forces.However, she saidthat there was more to magic than this  magic was about mediating the forces ina ritual circle.They said that they had a  bun fight meeting before any ritual tosort out personal differences, and discuss how they were going to do the ritual [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]