Hedge Witch: A Guide to Solitary Witchcraft

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Meanwhile try as she might, the wonders of hedgecraft don’t come easy to Rowan with her aunt lecturing her non-stop about the majesty of such craft and telling her she must try harder, all while trying to make new friends, really doesn’t make for a very relaxing summer after all even when she does start to make friends and develops a crush on a rather handsome individual which obviously means she will make a total fool of herself. i meditate a lot. that is I light a candle. burn incense. listen to tantra music. in the darkness focus on the light. I just go. not much of visual memories but sensing other places. I don’t really focus to much. This is an inspiring book. It is rich with the recent history of magic, with especial reference to witchcraft and Goddess worship, as well as being rooted in folklore. The author is herself an experienced sea witch and priestess. She guides the reader into the magic and spirituality of communion with sea tides and sea Goddesses and Gods – in rites that seem simple but are profound. This book is entirely grounded in the natural world – the tides of Moon and ocean, the scent of a sea wind, the overwhelming rush of the incoming tide in the Bristol Channel, the sea caves and cliffs of Devon and Cornwall, the island of Anglesey. The book is presented in a series of letters sent to two apprentices who wish to follow the path and are seeking guidance and advice. As the book says "Her lyrical letters, accompanied by delicate pen-and-ink sketches, bring the reader towards a deeper understanding of the solitary witch's lifestyle and beliefs".

Hedge Witch was the first book I read relating to the subject matter, in fact the first book I read that related specifically to witchcraft that captured my imagination, spurred my creativity and set off a spark of inspiration for me. It is also a book I find myself returning too when I find I am feeling a little flat and uninspired. Why is this I wonder? Personally, I find Rae Beth's writing quite accessible and also inspiring. Hedge Witch is no exception. The book potray's key festivals in the pagan and witch calender and the celebrations, rituals and spells that a solitary witch may wish to follow throughout the year. Rae Beth also manages to explain the key gods and goddess and how they fit into the spirituality of a Hedge Witch in a way that does not preach nor expects one to follow, merely to understand.

IMBOLG 2023

A new book called Hedge Witchcraft,by Harmonia Saille, author of Walking the Faery Pathway, attempts to explain exactly what a hedge witch does, and how anyone with the willingness to learn can follow in the hedge witch's footsteps to learn her craft. Have two pots of earth in front of you, one full up to the top, the other one nearly empty. Consecrate the full one to represent the wealth of those who have more than they really need. Consecrate the other one to represent the wealth of yourself or of you and your family. I do like to learn I study everything. I am very cognitive aware. emotionally aware. I see myself as the master of my ship. I am fiercely interdependent. The image I see when I hear the term "hedge witch" is that of a traditional wise-woman walking along a wayside in a meadow, a basket in her arm, gathering herbs and flowers from the hedgerows to use in the cooking pot or for a healing balm or maybe a magic potion. As she walks, she watches the way the leaves on the bushes blow in the wind, knowing from ancient weather-lore that this will tell her if it will rain or if the sun will shine.

And light a third candle to welcome the kindly dead, saying ‘May this flame be seen in the Otherworld as it is in this World.’ I am about 60 now. my home is my sanctuary. I love to cook. the kitchen is like a lab to me. I never cook the same thing twice. A coming-of-age novella, set in the timeline before Threadneedle, focusing on Rowan and her journey before she enrolled to school in Threadneedle. Rowan was also a great main character for this story. Mainly because she's in every way possible a typical teenager. She wants to belong. She wants some excitement. She wants a boyfriend and her first kiss. She doesn't want to be an outsider any longer. And that means that at times she does typical stupid teenage things. And then at times she doesn't, which makes her likable. The Autumn Equinox is a big switchover point in the year. It is a day on which the light and the darkness are equally balanced, day and night being of equal length. If we take the light to symbolize the state of rational consciousness and the darkness to be the realm of dreams and psychic perceptions we can spin many a spell around the theme of bringing a balance between the outer and inner dimensions. And we can go even further and aim to help heal the balance between this World and the Otherworld of spirits. Such work is the primary concern of a hedge witch, anyway. But now the time is very propitious. And we can help it along with a charm like this.At the Spring Equinox, the hours of darkness and those of daylight are equal. But from now on, the days will be longer than the nights – until next Autumn. So we are poised between the ascendancy of long winter nights and the time of increasing light. It is a perfect time to say goodbye to whatever harms us or limits us – or to any harm we might be causing. To clear the way for a more healed and healing and creative way of life. The festival of Imbolg occurs, in the northern hemisphere, at a time of increasing daylight and new life in the natural world. It is a natural time for spells of renewal of good health and inspiration and creativity. Or of magical power……... Each of my books describes a different aspect of the work of a hedge witch or hedge priest/ess or covers a subject relevant to that. This small rite can be deeply healing, not only for the living but for the dead. It works best if you don’t try too hard but let it happen in a relaxed way. Other trees can help as well as the elder with this work. Some examples are yew (but never ingest it as it is poisonous), hawthorn and elm. The art of hedge riding can still be seen today, in the traditional portrait of a witch riding her broom. The broom is the magical tree which takes her to other worlds, and in this work we will use trees, staffs, wands, brooms and more. It is a symbol of the World Tree, the axis mundi, that so many religious and spiritual traditions the world over use in their cosmology. Through this world tree, we find the roads leading to the faery realms, the realms of the ancestors, and the realms of the gods.

What I really loved about this novella is the magic. There is so much magic! In the first book in the series our heroine is kept away from magic and we're seeing a little of it, but never its full capacity. This novella absolutely makes up for it. All sorts of magic are being shown and that also gives an idea of the endless possibilities within this world. THE LAMP OF THE GODDESS appears to be different. There are no instructions for hedge witchcraft in it at all. It is about reincarnation, the cycles of life, death and rebirth and the fate of Atlantis. And yet. And yet the book focuses upon the Dark Goddess (not an evil Deity but ‘Dark’ in the sense of hidden – like the scientific concept of ‘dark matter’ – and concerned with the realm of the dead as a place of healing and renewal. She has been known by many names, worldwide, and to the traditional hedge witch or priest/ess She is Huldra, Lady of Wisdom or Freya (the Lady) who is Mistress of Elves and leader of the Valkyries. (So for me, it is not so far after all, from the temples of Atlantis to the nearest hedgerow.)With your eyes closed, visualise the candle you have lit for the dead and the darkness around it. See what is illuminated by the candle. How far does its light go? Begin to name your Beloved Dead and bid them welcome. See who is appearing to your inner sight. Speak to them in your heart and see if you can sense an answer. This may come in words or as a sort of inner knowing or they may show you symbols. Bless them and ask them to bless you in return. For all hedge morris dancers, there will be ‘a “Dusking” celebration that will take place at 16.43 on October 31st. This will be to welcome the winter and the gifts of reflection, rest and replenishment that the darker months can bring……’ Samhain/Hallowe’en (October 31st) is the time when we can most easily commune with those among the dead whom we have loved and also honour the ancestors who lived too long ago for us to have known them. Plus, we can bless the unborn – the generations who are yet to come.

For the edge witch, the path may be simply one of life's work, a way of life that honours the cycles of nature without needing the label of religion or spirituality attached. Then again, a hedge witch may honour the gods and goddesses as they please."

Rowan met new friends and the solving bit of the mystery at her aunt's town, makes it just a fun and light read. I definitely finished this in one seating and I just laughed at some of Rowan's antiques with her friends. The fact that Rowan is just this robust character with a brilliant personality makes this a good companion novella for the main series. Most people seemed to have hated the letter format. It took some getting used to but by the end it didn't bother me. While reading I marked passages dealing with the Sabbat rituals and trance work so I could easily find these later to reference.