Metaphorically speaking
the unseen parts of us and our life combine to form an inner spiritual
landscape. Symbolically it is like an ancient forest filled with wonders,
secrets, the hidden, legions of participants, the cycle of life and death, joy,
pleasure, fear, terror, and much more. The analogy of traveling through this
symbolic forest is a useful one for describing the spiritual journey and the
process that we as Witches undergo in our Craft. At times the traveler may
become lost, lose faith, or even give up when the spiritual sun of the forest
descends below the horizon and the night takes hold.
Like any forest we have
never traveled through, it is useful to know something of the area and its
inhabitants prior to undergoing the journey. From the point of view of
religion, this is what the function of myth does. It is through mythology that
we know not just that there will be trials and tribulations but can garnish an
idea of the shared human experience of these.
Tribal
I know that in this blog I
often speak of Witchcraft in generic terms but there is a folly in it. The
Craft I speak of is Western Contemporary Pagan centric heavily influenced by
British Traditional Wicca and derived Traditions. As such, the Craft I often
present is not representative of Witchcraft that falls outside of this
umbrella. For example, the folk craft of Iberian Witchcraft does not in the
least bit resemble these forms of Witchcraft. This is important to be aware of
when not only reading this blog but when thinking in terms of mythology in
regards to the Craft.
There are many Witchcrafts—Witches
all. As a result there are many Witchcraft mythologies. To further complicate
the whole matter, not only is each form of Western Contemporary Pagan
Witchcraft different but furthermore so is each Tradition, each Lineage, and each
Coven. What this means is that Witchcraft mythology is Tribal. It is locally experienced,
expressed, and understood. This complex myriad of expression that is the human experience
manifesting itself in the various forms of Witchcraft is a thing of beauty to
behold.
By learning the names of
the Gods and Goddesses, allied spirits, ancestors, and other players and the
stories of the myths of your tribe you can align yourself with the shared experience
of the practice that you engage in. You can enter your inner landscape
informed.
Universal
There are some shared
human experiences that are more universal and so many themes and motifs can be
found throughout not only the various mythologies of Witchcraft but throughout the
world. Your various Tribal mythologies overlap the universal. They leave the
specific realm of your group and touch upon the primal root knowledge of what
it is to be human.
Where the Tribal myths
inform us of the inhabitants of the forest, it is the universal that informs us
of the general landscape. Sure the details of whether the center of the forest
is a mountain, a tree, or other form of the axis mundi, is missing, but it does
tell us that there is a center. We know that night and day come and go. The
seasons change. Hunger exists. The primal emotions, such as fear and joy, are
all present.
Knowledge of where and how
your Tribal myths intersect the Universal will empower you. It won’t make the
onset of spiritual winter any easier but it will tell you how to prepare for
the season and not only survive but thrive through the trials it brings.
Traditionalist
Anyone that is part of
group engages in the tribal. By simply being human, regardless of the group,
you engage in the universal. The difference in Traditional Craft verses
Eclectic Craft is not because of this. The difference is a minor one. It’s not
about being told what to believe. Really it isn’t. From a practical standpoint
is so that the group practice does not have to be reinvented every time we get
together and we can instead focus elsewhere.
The difference mythically
is that a Tradition has already done the work in regards to the mysteries they
focus upon to see exactly where their tribal myths intersect the universal. There
is a map. No it doesn’t cover the whole forest. However, in the specific
context of the mysteries that the Tradition is centered around, and there are
specific mysteries (vaguely) speaking, there is a path in the forest.
So ritual is the symbolic enactment
of myth. By following the ritual praxis of a Tradition, the mapped out
landmarks are the same and can be purposefully and mindfully approached. Not only
is there knowledge of a ravine but we know that when you get there you will
encounter a specific entity.
Traditional Craft is a
group practice and so the specifics of the map are shared and can be related
to. Your map when thus approached has a legend.
Eclectic
The Eclectic journey into
the mysteries of the forest does not have a path, map, or legend. It is like
picking a random spot to enter the forest and exploring the landscape from that
point with only your feet and experiences to guide you. There is nothing wrong
with this approach either. It just means that the individual must craft for themselves
a consistent practice by which to use as the vehicle of exploration.
There are times when it is
best to just set off on the journey. It means that you don’t have to wait. The
life lessons learned are no less meaningful.
Balance
In truth, we are all both
in some regards. As a Traditionalist, the parts of the forest and path that are
mapped out for me are only in regards to the specific mysteries. Everything
else is wandering through the forest. There are times when we all leave the
path into a part of the forest not on the map. As Traditional Craft is a group
practice only, everything we do as an individual in our personal work is
throwing the map to the wind to carry away. At other times, any shared experience
can bring us onto a distinct path.
By embracing both the
tribal and universal, group and personal, the trappings of each is easier to
avoid. Rigidly sticking to a map can make life stale and refusing to set foot
in a part of the forest mapped out can deny experiences that could be the
difference between living and merely surviving.
The reason that the Craft
focuses upon orthopraxy is because there is room for the individual to
interpret their inner experiences. The praxis tells us that there is a central
axis in the forest, and the tribal may tell us its symbol, but the nature of
that axis is the mystery for us to find out. The nature of the landscape is for
the individual.
When the nature of the
individual experience is not defined by the individual, the myth ceases to
point towards a reference. At this time thinking becomes concrete. At the New
Moon it is traditional to kiss the hand twice to the moon. Kind of like blowing
kisses. One of the lessons here is that we should not confuse the hand for the
moon. That is to say that the symbol should not be confused for the reference.
In this particular example, we kiss the hand but the adoration is turned to
that which the moon veils. This is why we focus upon the ritual of kissing the
hand and leave the nature of the connotation up to the individual Witch.
Regardless of whether in
this moment we are on a known path or lost in a labyrinth, the experiences of
the forest are shared as the human experience. The only way to know what
exactly lay in the forest is to set out. Go. Do. Explore. Live the myth of
life, experience the forest, and come to know that which is hidden behind the
symbol.
Boidh Se!
-SM
“Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.”
