Sign Post

Wake from the Crossroads of the mind and still facing the Dreaming Road with one foot in the Twilyte Realms, a place that is not a place and a time that is not a time, and the other upon the sovereign soil of here.

If you look up and read the sign post there, what will you learn? What do you see written? Perhaps the whispering winds from a hidden province will speak of silent truths.

Why is it when offered a taste of the knowledge, from the tree of life, do we only desire the fruit? What if life offers the secrets from a bite of bark? Do we recognize it for what it is and sample a nibble or are we too focused upon the sweet and juicy prizes in the boughs above?

These are the questions I face for when I woke from my night time travels I found stuck there in my mind a lapwing calling from the maze, "I will show you the way."

Old lessons tell me not to the heed call but to turn and see the truth the other way.

So I continue to muse and reflect upon what I saw on that post when I woke, "No one wants to take a bite of the tree behind you."

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Initiation

(The following is an excerpt from my Path of the Garter materials... its not oath bound and I thought I would share.-SM)

Initiation is several things; it is the beginning upon the path into the beyond, it is the act of formally becoming apart of a group, and it is the inner process of understanding the mysteries.

As you read this you have started yourself upon a journey, one that will take you from the point where you are at now into the unknowable. This is a turning point, an initiation of sorts. Sometimes we make the choice for change and sometimes we find ourselves at the doorstep of a new beginning without ever seeking it. Initiation in this manner takes many forms, moving to a new place shifts our lives in a new direction, starting a new school or career, becoming a mother or father, all of these are examples of initiatory beginnings. You have taken the first step along the path.

“The longest journey begins with the first step.” - Traditional proverb

Formally becoming a member of a group or organization in some form is another form of initiation. Some groups or traditions mark this point with a formal ceremony or ritual. This is an integral part of Witchcraft and the Western Mystery tradition as a whole. Initiation traditionally is made after and only with the completion of a year and a day’s time and when the seeker (non-initiate seeking full membership) has a full foundational understanding of the tradition as a whole (requirements for initiation vary from group to group and tradition to tradition). It must be said that initiation is not for everyone and choosing not to undergo this rite does not make your craft any less.

The third form of initiation is that of inner initiation. This is the process of understanding, of personal enlightenment of the mysteries. This is not an initiation that can be given; it can not be planned or timed. This is the “ah ha” moments of life. Sometimes they can be small or life shaking and altering, there can be many or just a few. Initiation into the mysteries is what is said to take place when we understand them on an inner instinctual level, it just happens.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Nature of a Witch

One is not a Witch only when it is convenient. The branded blood is not something that can be turned on and off. Once the mark has been ignited the cunning fire does not subdue.

Too often I have heard talk of the Craft as if it were a hobby or a way to escape the norms of life.

Witchcraft is a way of life. Every breathe a Witch takes, even if it is at the mall or while paying the bills, is the breathe of a Witch. This may confuse some people who only think of Witchcraft as the practice of magick. Well, they are correct and woefully wrong at the same time. Witchcraft is more than magick; it is so much more. It should not be forgotten that every moment is shaded with the potential and that all it takes is intent. Once one has sipped from the well of fates then the past can not be undone. The moment a Witch is stirred is the same moment the weave has patterned them into itself.

The path of the Witch may lead them down many roads, some far from where they stand. But once Old Fate Herself has recognized her own then there is no removing the memory. All that she has ever been is now. Once a Witch made, a Witch remains.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Mill

The red thread weaves, flows forth, and shapes our connection. It is when we seize the crown of sovereignty that our relation changes. We image the sacred King and marry the land, we become shapers of the flow. From us the the thread thickens and pulses with nwyfre. This is the churn and grind of serpent's breath upon our lives.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Airts

For many paths of the Craft the elements are the core or center of focus for the directional provinces. This in my opinion is unfortunate since these provinces are more then the wind that blows but the entire landscape. The elements are important but so are the rest of the directional associations. If we are to truly learn this language of symbols then we must learn to speak with more then one word. When we have been immersed in the river of tongues then our art permeates with the points of the realms and provinces.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Fate

The coldest depth of severity burns hottest. But it is from death that life is born anew. There is here an intimate relationship between the two. It is the Goddess that births the Morning Star and when the Lord of the Mound delivers the dead to her tomb it is she who stands at twilight winnowing the harvest. It is from these fated seeds that she as the Mother is impregnated with the threads of the past and the present is weaved and born.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

I enjoyed this video.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Lineage

Lineage to me matters only in certain cases. That is when your claim as membership to a certain group, that is oath-bound and initiatory based, needs to be verified. Of course lineage is only one way to do this. But that is as far as I think it should go. It doesn't make you better or more legit, it just shows you are a member of said group or at least you were at some point. The threads of tradition flow through many avenues, many of which are not 'lineaged' sources.

Don't get me wrong though. I place a great deal of weigh on training and tradition. Its just far too often that lineage is thrown around outside of the circles it matter in. Just as membership is not external to the group neither should be one's lineage.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Threads

Three threads; red, green, and purple; have been weaved and a young mind invoked. The book has been linked. Thus is how new keys are made.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Witches' Sabbath

The goal of the Witch is to journey to the Witches' Sabbath. To the grand celebration and communion with the Gods of the Witches. We must only learn to look through the eyes of a Witch to see the grand festival of the Horned Androgyne all around us and as us, within.

The Lord shows us the path and the Lady greets us with grail in hand. How do you chase the moon through our inner night? Ask the sun for he illuminates the path. When you have knelt at the altar of truth and learned the mystery of the Lady and offered yourself (the ego), as a sacrifce, as did the Lord, to yourself (for thou art God) then you transcend division from existance and become married to the weave of mandred. The Sabbath is here and now, it is the center, it is us.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."

Blog

So I will be using this blog as a place to put my thoughts and views on Witchcraft. My Craft begins and ends here. Here is where ever I am.

Boidh se!
-Spanish Moss

"Lost in a thicket bare-footed upon a thorned path."