Manifesting the Dream: On Religious Orgs, Pagan Abbeys and our Order in particular

Pentagram - Church of Santa María d'Azougue,Betanzos, A Coruña, Galicia, Gallaecia

In previous posts, we have already covered: how to join or create pagan communities; and historic and modern cloistered communities. Next up in our Abbey series; more of the benefits of establishing modern religious organizations and how we envision our Order creating those spaces.

Advantages of our non-denominational (and not just different varieties of Wicca) pagan organization, and religious institutions in general, are many.

Incorporation and Societies

A legally religious corporation or society in Canada has the ability to:

- Own property. i.e. creating and maintaining safe space. Not just renting. Including ministry work such as permanent churches, inner city safe spaces, etc.

- Ordain, a perform legal ceremonies, such as marriage. Currently, the only forms of Paganism that have organized to this degree in Canada are Wiccan. I'm not Wiccan, and like Spiritual Humanism and other forms of Humanism, the evaluation of one's channelling of the divine should NOT be a requirement for clergy. We can all do that. Or not, depending on your personal belief system and your skill level. Heh. All I need to know is, say, can you MC a good wedding or funeral, or counsel well, and does your community support you? That is mostly enough to satisfy the need.

- Support Native Elders and other professional religious who are having difficulty obtaining legal status or are being otherwise hassled by institutions. It's friggin' hard even to do smudges working with prisoners and guards or in hospitals or schools sometimes, for example. Legal docs can help solve some of those problems by lending legitimacy to fellow professional religious that request it.

- Projects get easier to do, like co-ops, or microloan programs, publishing houses, or abbeys. Also encourages full time clergy, such as nuns, monks, and other priests.

Our problem in paganism in particular has always been organization and communication, and everyone has to re-invent the wheel in every new location. A seriously inefficient, as well as illogical, situation. A national supporting body, providing information and other resources, would save oodles of time, money, and effort. There is also the problem of where those who have different influences from many traditions, like Christian witches or Jewitches or eclectics, go to worship and get together, to organize, and to be validated and do work in the world. Pagan Humanism is ideally suited to provide that space. Paganism have always been tolerant of other traditions, as well as pantheist, and can provide an emotionally and spiritually satisfying experience for those who might otherwise not feel welcome in most other communities, without insisting on following any set of traditions or deities, or even, and this is the kicker, any deity at all. It's always better to be MORE inclusive than less, wouldn't you say?

Structure

Our choice, being who we are, is:

- Collective environment, with overseeing bodies to ordinate, provide continuity and support, and solve disputes. Like the entire Green Party of Canada, it's not actually difficult to achieve, especially with modern tech. Groups or individuals can propose projects, expenditures, visions, etc. The entire body can vote on providing funds, support, or other resources. Projects are all volunteer, no assignments. That way everyone brings their entire energy, and they can leave a project or the organization when they wish. A gestalt entity.

- Board of Directors - Emergency and day to day decision making, with ratifications by members where required. And to point directly at someone for holding the bag on certain issues, as it were... Also, required for a non-for-profit corporation in Canada, it turns out...

- Council of Elders - As a body of second thought, for those decisions that need some further consideration, if the Board may have got it wrong, if there is a dispute that the Board can't solve, and for moral and ethical drive.

- Up to three Leaders, largely as Spokepersons. Because you need someone the press can talk to... Movements have a tendency to fizzle out when the Leader(s) leaves or dies, unless they are deified, which is rare. Although it is actually easier to encourage members to join with a created Cult of Personality, and group loyalty is higher, it is far more vulnerable to corruption and ultimately more fragile if the Leader dies, leaves, or is discredited. Though harder to get going and generate group identity, I have no intention of having everything we've all worked for dissipate because we lose the face on the stamp. However, it can be handy to have a face as a known symbol and to rally around, so spokesperson Leaders are still a darn good idea. Used correctly, of course...

Funding

Donations vs. grants vs. fundraising vs. products and services:

Donations are always lovely, but never to be relied upon. We can't ever count on donations or grants. They are the gravy, not the meal. WAYYY too many pagan groups, for example, have hoped that the community will simply 'help them out'. It doesn't happen. The old abbeys used to support themselves by being as self-sufficient as possible, taking students, making products of use to the community, like medicine. It has to be funded with the same eco-capitalism in mind. The ends definitely does not justify the means in this case. Or most cases, really. 

In a University, there are oodles of disciplines working side by side, and each is finding fulfilment and increasing their own knowledge, but they are all working together. Modern abbeys must, as all abbeys have in the past, support themselves. We can produce items that are in keeping with the spiritual pursuits of our members, such as sacred crafts, but we can also consider services such as a publishing company, group home, health food co-op, holistic healing and retreat business, money lending co-op, pagan and women's insurance org., and an arts group. When we can, of course. Methods to support ourselves and our families in Right Lifestyle: with safety, purity, determination, and honour, should be a huge draw. (Hel, I was fired twice in one year for my religious beliefs alone; rather than my safety and ethics code, which were also too high, apparently. Darn integrity...) I also want more pagans or alternative lifestyle folk to be able to count on financial assistance for insurance, mortgages, etc. (without some idiot passing judgement), financial instructions like co-ops, microloan programs, and eventual credit union and insurance mutuals. It only took the women's mircroloan program in India ten years to go from a few hundred dollars to ten million. This isn't India, of course, but that kind of growth is still possible here. Don't let anybody tell you it's gotten better for women in the financial world, either. I've run and started my own businesses, and had a life insurance licence. It has been hell trying to get anyone to deal with me fairly. (And I'm smarter and more attractive than the average bear. Heh.) Apprenticeships will also help attract and train people, if we already got Masters teaching certain skills... We are open to the ideas, passions, and expertise of our members.

Currently, we generate income and promote with:

1) Retail and wholesale herbal and stillroom product business - online and itinerant.
2) Training and apprenticeship
3) Lectures and speaking engagements
4) Food and whole foods co-ops

With capital, those can easily expand into:

1) Microloan programs
2) Physical retail locations
3) Training centres
4) Hospitality ventures
5) Healing and retreats
6) Cloistered communities

The Order is a facilitator for projects and expressions of spirituality. We can back members and non-members, providing space, funding, networking, or guidance.

Membership Criteria

Different levels of involvement will be available for different levels of commitment.

- Cloistered community: nuns, monks, hermits, etc.

- Professional in-the-world members: priestess and priests, Celebrants

- Lay members: beguines, outreach workers
- Volunteers

Different levels of privileges, e.g. voting, and differing resource support for different levels. For the most casual, they must only agree to accept and facilitate everyone's else's path, or be in agreement with our principles and goals, etc. Again, alot like the Greens. Heh. I'm not re-inventing the wheel or anything. I'm lazy. More like a combination of a full church, like Unitarians, plus the broadened focus of a Pagan United Way. For the most devoted, such as nuns, we will offer even more than other Orders of dedicants: room and board for as long as they stay with us, training, sponsorship in formal education and other bonuses for them and their families, and if they chose to leave us, a repayment of their sweat equity and any investment monies with interest, depending on how long they were with us. That way, no one feels they are taking too much of a personal risk, even when dedicating their lives to spiritual pursuits.

- No one can be ousted, except by conviction of criminal act that is in the moral realm. (Parking tickets don't count.) But no one has to work with you either, and if everyone wants to have you transferred 'cause you're acting like a dictator or miss the point of the project or any number of serious personality conflicts, that's final. You can decide where else you want to go or to be solitary, and still supported at your level of commitment. Thus, hermitage can be encouraged, and power plays or groups cliques discorporated.

- One of our goals will be to ordain locals, regardless of their affiliation. Humanist priests are usually called Celebrants. One of the primary questions an applicant for ordination have to prove to us is that you can professionally MC ceremonies. Local signatures and maybe a video would easily show that. Nobody can certify you as a Divine conduit, really. I CAN tell if you can give a satisfying performance for a wedding, though... 

Pagan Humanism solves the issue of the different pagan paths very nicely. This is really a boon for those who are having difficulty finding their place in major religions or philosophies, like Christian witches or atheists, or being recognized by government as legitimate.

Abbey of the Green Flame

Imagine: an actual place where one can dedicate one's life to voluntary simplicity, learning and using one's knowledge for humankind's benefit, providing a retreat to those who are ill and helping those who are ill to achieve full health, practising one's art, all without worrying about how to make one's daily bread... Interest has already been expressed for this kind of co-ordination and professionalism several years ago. I would join one if I could find it. If you can't find it, make it, is my motto... 

My abbey will be a modern one, designed to meet the needs of modern nuns and monks, not a re-creation. Collective structure, wholistic design, green tech... The entire abbey will be pagan humanist, with many diverse beliefs and practices able to be accommodated. Rather like the inclusiveness of Unitarians, but more active and In the World, if you will. Different Paths, like Facilities, will allow everyone to study, perfect, and perform the lifestyle of their Calling. The Path of the Spoon, for example, teaches cookery and food as an act of worship, providing Masters and a place to practice in that space, without requiring dedication to Deity. My own speciality is the stillroom, and I train in the traditional manner...

However, I personally need a Celtic reClaimist subset for those of us of that persuasion, so my own sect will be a female Brigantine order in the style of the original kelles, with a focus on the Flame of Kildare as Her manifestation. Music, bardic arts, poetry, healing, the warrior arts and scholarship will be the main focii.  A full religion, not just a congregation and some ceremonies. A Circle, but much bigger. I'm focusing on women because they usually get the circle concept faster, but men and other genders are free to join, of course.

One of the projects I'm embarking on if I move to Newfoundland is a co-ordination with local universities to complete a scholarly work that translates their research of the local folk trads into a practical Celtic magic manual. In Canada, European pagan heritage and beliefs have up until now only be recently recognized as a rich tradition of 'folklore', but it now has whole University departments dedicated to it. Like their music, some of it remains uncorrupted from the 16th century. My partner comes from the Codroy Valley, which is nearly all Scottish, many of whom came from Cape Breton. They still speak with a Scottish accent. There are also those of French decent, English that is linguistically nearly identical to Shakespeare's, and Irish. All remain relatively uncorrupted, as they left before the Removals, or Potato Famine, or Corn Laws decimated their relative folk cultures. Currently, there are in flux of scholars from the UK and other European countries who come to study the more primitive, more culturally complete music, tales, dance, and other folk traditions in Canada. For the Celtic nations, many of these traditions are accumulated in the halls of academia, but not yet reClaimed by Celtic trad witches of the world. A lifetime's worth of work, and many books, await the dedicated cult leader, I mean, spiritual guide. Heh, heh.


Each of our Founders and Affiliates has their own vision for doing sacred work in the modern world, with more inclusion of diverse spiritualities and encouragement of fulfilling lifestyles. One of our affiliates, The Copper Horse Abbey, for example, focuses on wholistic wellness for animals; horse medicine and natural training in particular. Pagan Humanism is a rich, accommodating environment and we very much welcome other viewpoints, input, energy, and spirit. Make suggestions or join us as a member, volunteer or group affiliate! We are here to support you!

Witch Heritage 101: European Aborignals or When Witch haters joke about anti-Witch films

I think I'll be doing my graduate work in European Aboriginal studies, since apparently, it's rumoured that they don't actually exist, or if they did, they don't now, or aren't continuous after all the Xian fundie persecutions. Thanks for proving how necessary that research is, and for giving me the idea..

This FB status of mine was universally Liked from so many of my friends, of all different heritages and faiths. It was one of my most popular ever. Yet, it was in response to one of my alleged friends who has continually seen fit to post anti-witch hate on my FB page, in a constant attempt to deny our existence, veracity, tradition, or continuation. I remain bemused why it is so important to insist that we either never existed, or were exterminated, or are a "traditional folklore monster", and that modern pagans are somehow using the term for 'shock value.' There are so many issues with this that I can't begin to deconstruct it all at once, but it is vital to defend our right to claim ourselves, and fight the dominant Christian narrative of who we are.

I've gone into some of the pathology on anti-witch bigotry and Blood Libel before, but clearly, there needs to be more said, with movies still being produced that encourage our 'hunting', called an "exciting and informative film about witches" by my totally non-hateful friend. But we're much smarter than the dolts who slurped up the anti-Jewish Nazi propaganda, and no one believes what they see on film, especially if it's about a myth, right? Yeah. Of course not. And my neighbours don't threaten to burn down my house, either, or my otherwise intelligent co-workers quietly whisper the question "Could Blair Witch actually happen?"

I feel a little helpless sometimes. When I have these discussions, I assume that my fellow debater has the basic grasp that they are living in a background radiation of the Christian narrative. When I realize that I have to drop the level to something of a first year University course, or maybe even high school, to have a reasonable exchange, I nearly despair of ever reducing the spectre of oppression and persecution. Hence, the title of this post.  I will be using actual public comments as an example to counter some of the most pervasive, harmful, and just bizarrely weird myths. 

Claims that still pervade the literature make it nearly impossible for us to legitimize ourselves and our heritage. Here are some comments on the latest witch hate movie, from an otherwise intelligent person.

"The film's characterization of witches was true to the original traditional folk tale the Bros Grimm collected and published 200 years ago, and that has clear antecedents stretching back centuries before that. Surely all that folklore, i.e. oral history, can't be wrong? Or is it only wrong if it says bad things about witches, but is right if it says good things? ...The film doesn't say anything about modern-day witches. "there are some good "white witches" whose magic heals rather than harms, and the common (evil) witches really hate them. No sign of this in the original folk tales (unless one is re-branding fairy godmothers), so I think that's a nod to modern ideas of witchcraft (as having good as well as evil elements)." ...I'm a lot more confident in the existence of Jews than of witches, sidhe, unicorns, or dragons."

He claims that witches are a "traditional folklore monster". Whose tradition? Well, not ours, surely. Though we have many magic 'bad guys' in faerie tales, which translates close to "witches" in Irish, they are usually part of the trial of the heroine or hero; the adversarial mentor they must overcome to learn their lesson or win their prize. It's not a quality of witches per se, but those witches in those stories do have that role. "Folklore" usually applies to stories and beliefs of the peasantry, that is, the country folk, where the term 'pagan' comes from in Latin. So not the learned Christians, then, but the propaganda spread by the power elite to the people, and not the pagan people, either, but their own leadable 'flock'. "Monster' is the most obvious smear. It's used for people who are so evil they are no longer human, which makes it easy to exterminate them without mercy, or even trial, in some cases.

Obviously, if a group tells horrific, disgusting or offensive stories about another people, that must be who they are.  No one would make up that stuff up to suppress, oppress, or exterminate them. (First Nations, Gypsies, gays...cough, cough...) I've gone into the (totally non-racist) problem of the perpetuation of the myth of "white" and "black" i.e. 'evil' witches before.  Relegating witches to the category of mythical creatures, usually horrible ones, since he later suggests he could call himself an ogre but that doesn't make him one, isn't a harmless or theoretically amusing trivialization.  It is deliberately associating us with fantasy, so we couldn't really exist, except in our own minds, and even if we did, we are inherently supernaturally evil.  (Hmm... supernaturally evil...Sorry.  My mind wanders... Where were we?)

No, my ancestresses did not live in "candy cottages, worship Satan, conjure demons, eat children, ride brooms through the air, or cast spells to dry up dairy herds, blight crops, spread pox, or otherwise harm the community". Defining witches as only those who fulfil that criteria, and then insisting that I therefore cannot be a witch because I don't do all that is a most circular argument, and again, impossible to comply with. Satan is the Christian Antagonist. You have to believe in the Christian world view to be a Satanist or have any business with Him. Pagans do not, and never have. Besoms are, for most varieties of witches, sacred because of their symbolism, so most of us use them in ritual. We can't fly on them, though, so we must not be real. Another attack is confusing medieval Christian propaganda with modern reClaimist, largely Wiccan mythology to make them seem somehow equatable and equally untrue. Modern witches, the argument goes, have created themselves, and historical witches are fantasy, because they are both story sets. "Medieval Christians told stories of women who served Satan and hid in forests eating children. Modern-day witches tell stories of women who followed pre-Christian traditions and harvested forest herbs for healing. I don't actually believe either set of stories - each served or serve a purpose for the people who told/tell stories of them."  Medieval Christians told stories about their rivals, the witches, in a propaganda extravaganza. Just because those stories are ludicrous doesn't mean the real witches didn't exist. They told nasty stories about the Pope being Satan, too. Does that mean he didn't exist?

The Church adopted pagan traditions when it couldn't destroy them. Many forms of paganism survived under a veneer of Christianity. Many of those were a discrete, independent faith and tradition surviving under those very priests, and would have resulted in accusations of witchcraft if the more orthodox and especially non-local authorities got wind of it.

The word Witch is of middle Germanic origin. Similar traditional beliefs and practices were called by a different names in different languages, but they would be called 'witch' in English, and would be persecuted by the same people in the same way with the same accusations were they discovered. Witches were and are real, regardless of what they were called in that language or area, and some of those caught in the net of persecution were authentic. Many were not, of course, and some were simply heretical, which is quite different. However, the term has been co-opted by the Christians to define us, especially in the English tradition. Healers, seers, midwives, abortionists, and local authorities were often accused of witchcraft by the Church, and yet many of those were in fact authentic pagan practitioners, even with a touch of Christianity for camouflage.

This is still one of my favorite pics. It's an official witch group that made it into the 20th century, from a real institution and with the uniform intact. They weren't playacting or at a costume ball. They were healers, there were 13 of them, and they wore their traditional red robes as well as the hats. Deniers claiming that they can't be witches because they were "Christian holy sisters who attended chapel every day" and the hat shapes were just co-incidence is pushing even the bounds of common sense. WHY did those hats and those robes and that number become associated with the healing tradition, and why does that follow the witch healing tradition so exactly?  Because the tradition existed before they became Christian holy sisters.

It's actually impossible to believe that so many of these 'hunts' went on wherever fundie European Christians went without a shred of real witchcraft traditions to back up their claims. One could only consider it wilful ignorance. Social science backs up the claims of these traditional aboriginal beliefs and practices, known as witches in English, from all over Europe, in a continual line to this time. From Estonia. From Bulgaria. 1 2 From Germany. 1 2 3 

The Sami People: Shamans and Symbols

Map of Europe's tribes at the beginning of the Common Era. Click here to enlarge. 

Every culture has its magic workers, and some are professional or semi-professional, serving their communities, usually with varying degrees of respect and local power. Witch is a real term that was used with pride, and described a very specific group of English professional pagans, usually women. It was therefore the term used when the Christians wanted to usurp the power positions and land the pagans owned. In other areas, they were called by their traditional names, of course, though when translated into English, the term 'witch' is the equivalent. In Ireland, it was often 'faerie' or various forms of Druid. In Italy, it was strega. In German, it was Hexan. All of those terms and professions were attacked by the Christian fundie patriarchy that coveted their land and power. Nearly all of those terms are now being reClaimed by the traditional witches in their homelands, too, by the way...

Of course, each variety of magic worker had different traditions, but most still go by certain general roles and specialities: healers, seers, shamans, and sub-sets of those. Many had a mystical relationship with animals and plants, some could communicate with or visit the Other World, many told fortunes, some were priestesses and priests of the Old Goddesses, Gods, and Spirits of their area. Many were local judges, who carried the authority of common law and officiated at life events- another reason they were tempting targets.

ROMANIA: Stag on New Year’s Day“These traditions come from Neolithic times—
from shamanism — and they have never stopped,” Charles Fréger 
More living European Aboriginal costumes
 and descriptions here.

When the push from the Christians began, many collaborators saw it as an opportunity to remove the balance of power, which was usually more egalitarian in pagan societies, and grab everything they could. So the anti-witch hysteria was blown up as much as possible. Not only was your local professional witch suspect, but anyone who also did a bit of usual pagan magic, or healing or seeing, or hinted of it was now in the line of fire. Most weren't going to believe it at first, and even at the height, most didn't believe it anyway. But like the Communist McCarthy trials, it became political death to defend or even fight the anti-witch craze when they got going. Adding to the fuel was the bizarre torture porn of the sexually deprived monks, who conceived all manner of disgusting intercourse with Satan, and all manner of punishment for these suspected deviants. Of course, that was all part of the attack on traditional cultures. As the saying goes, a people is not gone until "the hearts of its women are on the ground", and the Christian fundie takeover was entirely patriarchal. Since witches in most European aboriginal cultures are primarily women, it was the women who were the primary targets for extermination, humiliation, and disempowerment, whether they were pagan or not. Pretty young girls were accused by local power mongers and disappeared, never making it to trial. Old women who had land were accused, and charged for every part of their own incarceration, like bits of rope to tie the witch with, soldiers to guard her, the food she ate... It was hugely lucrative, and completely transformed the political and social structure of Europe.

Options for survival were limited. Like the Jews who were persecuted in places like medieval Spain and more modern Germany, if one wanted to remain, and not flee (and where would all the magic workers go?), you had to hide in plain sight or hide out of sight. Now, in most of their persecutions, some of the Jews chose to get baptised, even though they kept most of their family traditions intact. In a few generations, they seemed like other Christians, but sometimes the family would recover and reconvert to their traditional heritage when the all-clear was visible, and the danger largely passed. Are they still real Jews? The pagan shrines and priestesses and priests who survived with most of their traditions intact did so by making a deal with Christianity: they got to keep their deities, put Saint on the front of their name, stick a cross on the lot, say your vows to Christ, and you got to keep most of your land, sacred stuff, and culture. The nuns at Kildare did that, for example. Before it was a Bridgetine Christian nunnery, it was a pagan Bridgetine nunnery. Kildare's sacred Flame to Bridget as the Sun aspect didn't go out for over a 1000 years, quite seamlessly with the Christian takeover, too. Many of the Abbeys and monasteries made the same deal. Their holy orders carried on much as usual, but under a new banner. The families experienced the same problem, and usually opted for the same solution. We are always there, however, passing on our knowledge to our children, helping out our neighbours, worshipping in the Old ways and places, even if those places now have crosses on them, and we use Saint in front of their names. During less dangerous times, however, like the Jews and Gypsies, we tend to sneak back out, just to test the waters, because the myths encouraging self-loathing and living under a veneer are always oppressive.

We can see how long it takes for pagan beliefs to be truly usurped, and what happens when fundie Christianity finally takes over. Iceland, for example, was the last place in Europe to officially convert, in about 1000 CE. Yet they still maintained much of their egalitarian society, including their matriarchal naming system, and the oldest continual democracy in the Western world. As spirits of the earth, elves are still very real and negotiated with during any building project. In this recent economic crisis, the largely women leaders let the banks fail, jailed their CEO's and saved the people who were suffering.  That's what even the shadow of European Aboriginal paganism can do. It takes an eon to destroy most of our systems and beliefs and replace it with the unnatural and exploitive patriarchy. The rest of Europe was taken over much earlier, so less of our original systems are left. In some cases, only traces remain, except where the deals were made. Cultural archaeology is useful for uncovering those traces, and many folklorists and fam trad witches are recovering their heritage with these techniques and researches. Are they still witches, even when the rest of the family for generations called themselves Christian, believed they were Christian, and did Christian things in public? Were the Jews who recovered their heritage generations later really Jews? I'm no Rabbi. Maybe I'll ask one, but I certainly can't decide for them, nor can non-witches define who we are, either.

Wiccans, which was never used as a noun for magic workers in any language, are a modern amalgam of a gathering of presumed pagan traditions from around the world, largely from Western Europe. It's very recent, but obviously satisfies, since it's one of the fastest growing religions in North America. Few therefore have a sense of long term history, like the traditionalists, or of future centuries. They usually feel the threat of persecution as an empathy of possibility, as social slights, not an imminent personal danger, like stoning. (It doesn't feel real until one hits you. I can tell you that for a fact.) They are a valid subset of witches, new pagans for a modern age, and rely on the legitimacy of traditionalist beliefs, rituals, and reClaimed and recovered paganism from many areas to form their systems.

I am not a Wiccan. I'm a traditional witch, raised in an family of no faith, which maintained a few Christian rituals when required, like weddings and funerals (which always disgusted, since we totally weren't that. I always loathe hypocrisy, especially to maintain an illusion.) Our obvious connections to the old ways were strongly denied, and I am still ostracised for recognizing and celebrating them, rather than continuing to hide and secretly hate who we are. My sense of deity, beliefs, and abilities were always with me, my skills improved with practice and training, and I now teach a mixture of internal knowledge and external scientific learning, as witches have always done. I have had witch tools since my Initiation when I was 12. My cat-friend familiar was with me for 20 years, but she didn't eat souls or babies. (Go figger!) I am a professional witch operating in the traditional trade of healing. My faith has always been a source of unfailing joy and positive interaction for me. Just wish that would follow with the Haters I meet up with... My primary mentor was raised Eastern Orthodox, but the magic and witch rituals were part and parcel of her family's personal faith, even though it clearly had nothing to do with Christianity in any way, and would get them burnt in more volatile times.They would still call themselves Christian, though my mentor has always been more honest, and changed her name to a proper witch one years ago. She'll be 70 soon... My daughter is proud of her family and who we are. She has her new familiar (she picked the only non-black kitten.  Where did I go wrong?) and just cut her first wand. My son shows no inclination. Makes sense with his personality, though...

We are still here. We will always be here. Just like Aboriginals from around the world, the only way you can truly be rid of us is to exterminate us all. Like all oppressed people, we will hide, sometime for hundreds of years, but we will rise again the moment we can. Women led, women powered, women held, we hold the key to healing the Earth, bringing forth real change and egalitarian democracy, and creating social and environmental justice. I have always stood with my FN sisters, and my sisters all over the globe, since I have always known who I was and where I had come from. Women's magic can save the world, and I will do my part to nurture, illuminate, support, and disseminate it, against the context of the Christian fundie oppressors. We, too, must be Idle No More.

Idealized and romanized Celtic/ UK Aboriginal image, including face shape.

Quotes are from my FB friend's public posts, early March 2013, unless otherwise indicated. I think he should remain nameless...


An abridged version was printed on Witchvox., March 17, 2013.  

My Transformation: A Guest blog from my Apprentice

On the eve of the anniversary of her apprenticeship, I asked my now journeywoman to write up something about her experience so far. Hopefully I can get her to contribute more to the blog in future. Hint, hint...


"Looking back on myself one year ago I am surprised to see a girl that is totally unfamiliar to me now. She resembles me slightly and has my shape, but her presence is that of a shadow. Today is the one year anniversary of my meeting with Trey, commencing my path and taking the first step away from that shadow of me. The difference between my former self and my current self is daunting to me at times and I have to pinch myself every once in a while! Taking on this traditional apprenticeship had provided me with much more than I had anticipated for: it has taught me unexpected skills and transformed me into an empowered woman. I had not only been able to change the direction of my life, but have unburied lost parts of me, and have defined, organized and prioritized myself and my future. Before never feeling that it was proper to call myself a woman, now I have that power and surety: I have arrived.

The old me, like most of my peers, was lost within the world trying to find my spot, not really sure where to put our efforts and energy. Usually my job choices ended up between other zombies on cooking lines following patterns designed by a superior. For many reasons I had decided that life in the kitchen was not for me, and walked away short some of my thumb, and bearing many scars. I had attempted to purse my happiness by working at a stable, and being around the horses was enough to satisfy for the time being. This did come at a cost, as most mindless tasks do, for I was running on a schedule not of my own and treating horses in a way I did not agree with. Never mind having to cross the large city of Edmonton in a mad rush every morning. Followed with the mad rush home to continue the endless jobs of cooking, cleaning and some quality mother-son time and that was never enough. Missing my little one was the worst. Oh, and I had an evening job too. This was my life and I was content with the choices I made but still it was just not good enough; I had craved for something more. I was really starting to feel trapped, more like I didn’t belong and was considering a move out of country. Then I saw the ad. A woman was looking for an apprentice in traditional healing which had my attention quickly. In the past when I was shown opportunities like these I rarely follow up on them, mostly because I was unmotivated, but I was propelled to respond as if by some guided force, and got to meet with Trey.

Since I was already in search for something greater it was really easy to adapt to all the new things I was being shown. One might say: I was easily programmable. Eventually I had quit the job at the stable and my night job and devoted my time to this work. Because I had the devotion and determination my transformation had happened much quicker than it could have. I went from being an unsure adolescent, to a competent businesswoman, aware of her own abilities, always looking to improve and radiating with confidence! Well I’ll be honest; I’m still working on my confidence but it has much improved. Not only did I re-write my persona but working with a traditional healer entails all sorts of great health benefits! I am in fantastic health now both physically and mentally. I have been able to sort through the mess that is inside my head. More importantly I’ve learnt to identify some of the things causing those messes, and stopped putting crap inside of my body and mind. Since I’ve done this my brain has been much more efficient, and my senses have all been heightened.

This improvement on myself as a whole, and the skills I have learnt made me realize that I have more worth than I have previously given myself credit for. And this lesson is the most important one that Trey has taught me. I haven’t even mentioned the history lessons, religious studies and people skills I’ve learnt!

One thing that didn’t change as drastically was my aspirations. I have always wanted the same thing and still do, but the scene has changed slightly. Now I envision myself not only fulfilling my desires but I see the purpose of my actions to have so much more meaning now. I’m making a difference in the world. Me. My voice is being heard and I can make things happen. I’ve realized the importance of protecting our Earth and how loud our voices can be. It isn’t a surprise that I have developed an appreciation for all that is handmade! It’s hard bloody work to make gloves, soaps, candy and chocolate contrary to popular belief, and this impression that such our goods should come cheap upsets me greatly now. Now I feel empowered and can put my empathy in the proper places to use it effectively.

My skills have increased a great deal and the priorities of which skills I want to learn first have shifted around a lot. I always have had the interest to acquire certain abilities, such as sewing, baking, wood working and leather working, but now they are much higher on my list of things to do. This is because I know that these skills will take me much closer to my visions and goals than any of my previous ambitions.

I have also taken steps to achieve all that I want much quicker than what I would have done without this change in my life. I have just bought a house, launched my career in the Green Party and started my own business; I should mention that I’m twenty two years old. And I was able to make this happen. A feat that I had never believed I could do, especially when Trey had first mentioned it. When she had mentioned it the second and third time I still refused to believe it. Even now I still am having difficulties believing it - shock perhaps?

My life has been completely and irrevocably changed in the past year, and I’ve never felt better! The possibilities are endless and I can spend many lifetimes learning all that I want to, I’m still discovering how to be selective. My old self could never have dreamt of a future like the one I’m building, and I most definitely would not have thought to stand up before. It is now much more difficult to sit down and not say or do anything than it was. I am equipped with the tools to make my living doing what I want to do: to live in abundance like I have never imagined and to make a difference in the world. I have endless gratitude towards the woman who had guided me this far, for I could not have done this within a year without Trey, and I can only hope to be as good to my apprentices as she has been to me."

Increasing Female Fertility with Traditional Medicine - Listen to the Old Wives #1

As one of the only creatures on the planet with full-time sexuality, increasing or decreasing fertility is something that women have done as soon as we became conscious. Conventional medicine in general is still so very far behind us in fertility awareness. To be fair, though, we have thousands of years more experience than they do, and they only started about a century ago. They have a great deal of 'catch up' to play before they can start to match us, especially since they generally insist on starting from scratch, rather than respect and build on our previous work.

As has often been noted in traditional medicine; foods, personal habits, and other alterable factors play a huge role in female fertility.  In one study, a more than 70% increase in fertility was recorded just by changing diet!  "Among the most common causes of unexplained infertility in women is "ovulatory dysfunction" -- an umbrella term encompassing problems with ovulation. Though a number of factors can be responsible, many doctors now believe diet is key. In a study of some 17,000 women conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, researchers were able to define a group of "fertility foods" able to improve conception odds. Which dietary tenets were key to increasing fertility?

• Eating more monounsaturated fats (like olive oil) and less trans fats (like the kind found in many baked goods or fast foods).
• Increasing intake of vegetable protein (like soy), while reducing animal protein (like red meat).
• Eating more high fiber, low-glycemic foods -- like whole grains, vegetables, and some fruits, while reducing the intake of refined carbohydrates and sugars.
• Consuming moderate amounts of high-fat dairy products -- like ice cream, whole milk, and cheese.

Jorge Chavarro, MD, a researcher in the study, believes diet made a difference because the majority of women experiencing ovulatory dysfunction were also suffering from undiagnosed or subclinical PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome), a condition related to insulin resistance that also affects ovulation. "It responds well to diet, so that could be one of the reasons these foods were so helpful," says Chavarro, who translated his medical study findings into a book called The Fertility Diet. Pollack believes it's worth giving the diet a try but says, "You should not depend on it alone -- make it just one part of your overall efforts to conceive."  http://www.midwifeva.com/categories/getpregnant.html

Now if you choose to increase your healthy fat with dairy, it should be organic, since the extra chemicals and anti-bacs from conventional factory farms have been shown to accumulate in your breast and other fat tissue.  So-called stress reduction is another key factor, for so many reasons.  "If you're tempted to handle your stress by smoking or drinking alcohol, experts say don't. Numerous studies have shown that smoking contributes to both male and female infertility and can even impair the outcome of fertility treatments. Excessive alcohol consumption can impair ovulation in women and sperm production in men. "  And caffeine, naturally.  Caffeine increases a body's nervous state, as well as robbing it of precious vitamins and minerals.

Most women are not nearly as familar with thier own bodies and cycles as they should be, and traditionally have been in the past.  If you wish to get pregnant, and are having difficulty, it is even more vital that you make use of the best of tradtional and modern techniques.  The current favorites for ease and effectiveness are http://www.justisse.ca/ and Fertility Awareness. http://www.fertilityuk.org/


FERTILITY HERBS

Overview:

When most women think of altering fertility with traditional techniques, they think of herbs.  The book Sister Moon Lodge lists a bunch. So does Susan Weed's The Childbearing Year. Jeannie Parvati has Hygeia, a Woman's Herbal.
http://www.fwhc.org/birth-control/fam.htm
http://www.sisterzeus.com/
http://www.india-herbs.com/directory/index/unq_in/Herbal_Birth_Control

All of these herbs come in raw form, which can be made into an infusion, decoction, cream, syrup, etc. It can be simply ground up, in capsule pill form, which is either just ground up or concentrated, and tablet, which is always concentrated. The price goes up with each process.

One of the cheats of CAM is to put the ground herbs in your espresso maker or your French press coffee machine to ingest. (It's a professional secret. I currently have Ginseng and Cascara in my special blend. If you come to my house for coffee, ask for regular grind.) It doesn't work so well in the drip kinds, of course. A regular daily serving of Saw Palmetto or Wild Yam in your morning coffee or tea helps you keep it as part of your regular routine without changing your lifestyle pattern at all.

Saw palmetto berries helps cure prostate in men but in women, Saw Palmetto pseudo-estrogen phyto enzymes help increase your fertility, with the added bonus of increasing your breast size and 'womanly attributes'. (Pseudo-estrogen phyto enzymes are usually referred to as simply 'estrogen' in CAM.)  Saw palmetto will increase the chance of girl children, while taking excess bioavailable zinc before fertilization increases the chances of a boy. Licorice and black and blue cohosh are also estrogen-like. Blach Cohosh is considered a uterine tonic. If you are concerned about breast cancer, Red Raspberry leaf is recommended over the phytoestrogen herbs like Licorice or Black Cohosh. Dong Quai is an excellent female hormone balancer, and highly recommended for women's complaints. Wild Yam is progesterone and dirt cheap in raw herb form. When it is taken internally, most of the beneficial hormones are destroyed by the liver. Wild Yam creams are promoted as the answer to be absorbed through the skin. However, they are very expensive, require the area of contact to be changed frequently, and really don't work much better than taking more raw Yam internally. Vitex, or chaste tree berry, is one of the ultimate womb toners. It must be taken every day for six months at least to be effective, but it has helped cure everything from endo to laser burnt womb tissue. http://www.holistic-online.com/Herbal-Med/_Herbs/h211.htm
http://www.naturesnutrition.com/SKU/14371.htm
http://www.herbs2000.com/disorders/infertility_f.htm

(I sell most of these on-line in the raw form and can find almost anything else you need.  Please see my shop for individual herb listings for more detailed information on each one. )


Individual breakdowns:

Dong Quai is an excellent female hormone balancer, and highly recommended for women's complaints.  http://www.nativeremedies.com/dong_quai_for_menopause.shtml
http://www.alternative-healthzine.com/html/0800_2.html

Wild Yam. http://www.teetercreekherbs.com/month15.html

Black Cohosh treats hot flashes and other symptoms, as well as a uterine toner. http://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/BlackCohosh.asp

Saw Palmetto. "Doctors now use saw palmetto to normalize sex hormones; they found that it increases sex drive in women and revitalizes their reproductive organs. ...Oddly, it's prescribed both for those who crave sex too much and for those with no sexual appetite at all. I rely on saw palmetto in my clinical practice. I find that my patients turn up looking sleek and well and feeling, shall we say, fully operational. " http://www.salescene.com/lovepot.html

Licorice root. "Many women's herbal formulas include licorice for its estrogenic properties as an aid to normalize and regulate hormone levels during menopause." http://www.naturalark.com/herbpreg.html

Red Raspberry leaf. If you are concerned about breast cancer, this one is recommended over the phytoestrogen herbs like Licorice or Black Cohosh. http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Pregnancy_Problems.htm

Vitex, or chaste tree berry. "Chasteberry works primarily through the pituitary gland to help indirectly regulate the production of sex hormones. Chasteberry also contains estrogen and progesterone-like compounds that are thought to alter the secretions of other sex hormones."http://www.holistic-online.com/Herbal-Med/_Herbs/h211.htm

HRT links:http://www.holistic-online.com/Remedies/hrt/hrt_herbs_summary.htm
http://www.holistic-online.com/Remedies/hrt/hrt_herbs_for_menopause
http://natural-hormone-replacement-therapy.trinityclinic.com/alternatives-natural-hormone-replacement-therapy.php


So how are these different from the hormone fertility treatments in the clinics?  Other than the obvious cost, that is...  Hormones control most of your bodies functions. Messing with them in the chemical form will inevitably start your body systems to break down. Although they can be found naturally in plants and used to promote good health, synthetic derivatives have to slightly altered from the originals to be patented by the drug companies. Synthetics and natural hormones are not the same, but because the synthetics can fool your receptors, they mimic your body's natural chemicals and can wreak havoc on it. 

Another vital issue is the solubility of the hormones. Ingested hormones normally largely break down in the liver. To ensure that they do not, the manufacturers of artifical hormones make them relatively insoluble. Just another one of the ways that the chemical stuff is different from the ones found in nature. The bulk of these created hormones then pass through the body largely unchanged, and end up in the excretions of the animals that have ingested them (including humans and livestock), which ultimately makes it into our water table. There have been numerous studies linking synthetic hormone production with mutated sexless fish, and increasingly with the lower sperm count and general increase in infertility of human males. As well as the startling increase in female and male cancers. I found many links on this part of the issue, especially in the livestock articles. People seem less reluctant to quote the stats and draw conclusions from animals than humans.  But that is not the focus of this particular article...

If you wish to get pregnant, are pregnant, or have children and are having problems with the conventional medical system, regardless of the issues involved (and we ALL have some issue or other), seek out your local midwife. She is your greatest source of pregnancy, motherhood and child related info imaginable. My midwife has a huge library, a meeting with other mothers every month with kids up to three years old, lactation consultant services, and all the safety, comfort, and support I could ever want. I found a diaper service, birth photographer, and many other eco and safe products just from looking on her bulletin board.

Since I'm currently in Alberta, Canada, here's the ones ones I know, and they should help with keywords or links to find what you need where you are.  http://www.canadiandoulas.com/midwifery.htm

Find a midwife or doula by province.http://www.birthpartners.com/Midwives/Canada

Midwifery in Alberta and in Canada.http://www.asac.ab.ca/


The Old Wives, or Wisewomen and midwives, that used to give this advice have been much maligned by the newcomer of 'modern' medicine.  Thousands of years of tradition is not primitive, ineffective superstition.  It is empirical treatment of the most experienced and tested kind, and with real human results, not merely tested on other animals.  Dismissing such profound and deeply investigated knowledge has only decreased our collective hertitage and skills.  Before you consider risker and less proven treatments, consider the advice of the Old Wives.  There is a reason they were given those respected titles.

"Irish Witches" by John Hurley (Unabridged)

This is one of my favourite articles on the topic. It's now very hard to find on the 'net, and so it is with the greatest respect to the author that I host it here so that it will not be lost to the public. It is essential reading for all those practioners of the Celtic inclination as an overview of Irish culture and Druidic practices including how it relates to witchcraft, magic and paganism.  I have included the complete bibliography and Gaelic words. If the copyright holders object, please let me know!

Looking up witch-and-seeress names in Irish, found this page in Kuno Meyer's old Contributions to Irish Lexicography. He shows three different phrases for a band of women: ban-graig; ban-lorg, and ban-trocht or -tracht. From Suppressed History Archives

Irish Witches

"One of the problems facing many modern "neo-pagans" is their inability to successfully describe their own personal spiritual paths to people outside their path. Finding terms that are readily understood by others not of the same path is often difficult, so many pagans settle for recently coined or popularly understood terms, such as "witch", "wiccan", "druid", "shaman", etc. Many pagans know that these broad terms do not fully express their own path, and many add ethnic or cultural adjectives to add to the meaning of the word chosen. They are "Celtic Witches", "Native American Shamans", "Family Trad. Druids", etc.

These terms certainly help the outsider get a feel for where the particular practitioner in question is coming from, however, more and more pagans are searching for better terms from within their own traditions. Many pagans feel that using archaic terms or terms from a non-English language to describe their paths is too exclusionary and simply alienates others from their paths. Charlatans can, all too often, find easy refuge behind impressive sounding, archaic terminology. But there comes a time when watering down one's path - even if only in name and even if only to make it more palatable to others - weakens that path, making it somewhat bland and conformist.

In this article I will discuss some terms that can be used in one of the more frequently used paths, popularly known as "Irish Witchcraft", or "Celtic Witchcraft".

Now before we get to the word "witch", let's discuss the terms "Celtic" and "Irish".

The term Celtic is used to describe the civilization, peoples and language family, of certain peoples who dominated Western Europe north of the Alps for about 1000 years before the rise of the Roman Empire. Celtic civilization continued on through the rise of Rome, and today there are six Celtic Nations, each with their own unique but related, language and culture.

Linguists place Celtic in its own language family, distinct from other European languages, but stemming from the same theorized "Proto-Indo-European Mother Tongue". The Celtic languages are divided into two branches, generally called "q-celtic" and "p-celtic" or Goedelic and Brythonic respectively. Goedelic, q-celtic, is comprised of the Gaelic languages of Irish, Scottish-Gaelic, and Manx. Brythonic, p-celtic, is comprised of Welsh, Breton and Cornish. (Both Manx and Cornish are now considered dead languages). Goedelic, q-celtic is considered the older of the two branches, and is characterized by a harder consonant sounds with regard to the letters c/k/ch/q. In q-celtic, the word for "son of", "mac" is pronounced with a hard "q" sound, "maq". In p-celtic, the same word is spelt and pronounced "map".

The term "Irish" is of Norse origin, as is the word "Ireland", the Native Irish words being "Erinnach" and "Erin" respectively.

The ancient Irish, were composed of what they considered to be many different races; some Celtic, some not. But just as today's Americans have various ethnic backgrounds and are all, at the end of the day, Americans, so the Irish eventually came to see themselves and their tribes as a unique Irish Nation in the modern sense of the word. The modern Irish people are a racial mixture of Celtic Gaels, Norse; Danes, Welsho-Normans, and Saxons. However, the tradition in Ireland has always been that the dominant and original Gaelic culture - the touchstone of Irish Civilization - absorbed all newcomers to the Island. The Norse, Danes and Welsho-Normans who came to Ireland all adopted Gaelic Irish language and culture as their own. Hence, the Celtic culture of the Gaels is not based on one's racial origins and never has been; it is based on ones involvement in, and promotion of, the traditional culture of the island. (This question of absorption into the traditional culture is at the very heart of the modern war in Northeast Ireland). It is important to remember all this when we start using "Irish" as an adjective to describe something, especially our own spiritual path, because it is such a battered term, implying different things to different people.

"Witch" is a non-Celtic, Anglo-Saxon word meaning "to bend" or "to know". In the popular mind, the term has many other connotations as well, most of them negative. Since it is not an Irish word - and indeed since it is a word associated with the very peoples who have wreaked so much havoc on the traditional Irish pagan paths - many modern Irish pagans would prefer to use an Irish word to describe their path, and dispense with English words altogether.

One of the problems with coming up for a good word in Irish for "witch", is that there are quite a few words to choose from, each with very subtle differences in meaning, depending upon the original context in which the words are said. The Irish is an extremely flexible and creative language and taking isolated words out of their context in conversation can be a very misleading and self-deluding enterprise. On the other hand, the ancient Irish were never very strict in their use of words, preferring to let the oral usage of a word dominate over a formal, "standardized" definition of it.

Another problem is that there is simply alot of disagreement over the very nature of pre-Christian Irish and Celtic religions. Some people would describe all Irish spirituality as coming from the Druidic Order, and hence would describe any pagan Irish beliefs as being "druidic". Others would say that there were probably a few different pre-Christian religions within Irish society at any given time, so the druid tag simply wouldn't and couldn't apply to all paths. To complicate matters, there were different types of religious communities (priests/priestesses, monks/nuns), within these various religions, AND some of these religions may also have been pre-Celtic in origin!!!

I'd like to briefly discuss what we *do* know about these various Irish religious paths, so that the words we use in Irish to describe some of them are better understood.

First, the Druids. Much has been written about them; most of it nonsense. Most neo-pagans accept the Victorian notion of Druids as bearded old men, dressed in white, who constituted a patriarchal, Aryan-Celtic Priesthood. One of the oddest descriptions about them is that they were all pacifists and even vegetarians.....odd when one considers some of the Gods and Goddesses who were supposed to patronize the Order!! They were, in reality, the "Aes Dana" or "Men of Art", or learning. They were the Celtic "Intelligentsia", and hence would have simply been the people with an education within Celtic society. The religious connotations regarding them stem from the fact that in Irish culture, all learning was done through the art of poetry, and poetry was the measuring stick used to judge ones educational level and intelligence. Anyone with an education was schooled in poetry, but the most educated had literally memorized the most poems about a particular subject. Poetry was always considered to be a magical art, and thus those with the most poems had the "most magic", and would be considered to be someone who was close to the gods or Sidh.

Luckily, much more is known about the *Irish* branch of Druidic Order (as opposed to the Gallic and British Orders), because the Irish Order survived as an institution until the 17th century, right up to the destruction of the Gaelic Nobility which supported it, and even beyond that. After the coming of Christianity to Ireland, certain factions of the Druidic Order struck a bargain with the druids who had adopted the Christian teaching and gave up some of their religious ritual functions. (This bargain could have been struck consciously at an historical point, or evolved slowly over a long period of time, but it might be attributed to the Christian saint and druid, St. Columba, who later Irish Bards revered as having saved their Order after an attempt to banish it). Other Irish druids never did give up their power or officially convert. At some point the druid-Christians took over the officiating at religious rituals, but for a very long time, Bishops and Druids officiated together. Even after the Christian Bishops dominated ritual events, the druids continued their educational and magical traditions as bards. The Irish definition of what is "magical" or what constitutes a ritual is simply broader in its view than Christianity. Hence in many ways, it was business as usual for the druids of Ireland.

The Druidic Order as it is popularly understood today was supposed to be divided into three sections of Bards, Vates and Druids. Now this would mean that *all* members of the Order were considered Druids, with the Order having "Bardic-Druids", "Vatic-Druids", and "Druid-Druids", all performing somewhat different functions, but all being equal as Druids, and all having overlapping duties. (Again, the Irish were never very strict about their institutions). Over time, the Order in Ireland became identified almost exclusively with the Bardic section of the Order, and that has had an immense influence on what is considered "magical" in Irish culture, and hence in the Irish language, even today.

The Bardic division of the Druidic Order became more powerful and people who wanted to become druids and NOT Christian priests now simply became bardic-druids. In this way, they continued their magical practices, yet made room in Irish society for Christianity, and it is that ability (or inability) to compromise and make room for newcomers to Ireland which is a central part of the Irish experience. In medieval times, a King's "Chief Poet", had a higher ranking than the King's (Christian) Bishop. One of the last great Irish "Official Poets", as they were called, was Eochaidh O hEoghusa, who served three successive Maguires, The Lords of Fermanagh, from 1586 to 1602. O hEoghusa retained the traditional rank of the "Ollav", or Kings' Poet, and in most ways, he differed little from his ancient Druid predecessors.

There were also definitely Female Druids as well, and it would seem that, as in most cultures, there were priests, priestesses, monks, nuns and hermits all within the Irish pagan spiritual milieu.

So, would Irish Druidesses be considered "witches" as we understand the English term "witch" today? Probably, but again, there are many different functions for many different types of clerical vocations, and one word used for one period of Irish history, may not mean the same exact thing as applied in a different period of Irish history. An Irish "Wise Woman" and healer/herbologist from the 19th century, like the famous Biddy Early of Clare, may not have been a card carrying member of the Druid Order and hence a "Ban-Draoi" (Druidess), but she certainly was a witch and, in a way, a "priestess" of The Sidh. Was she a healer, a "Fairy Doctor"? Certainly. Was she a Seer? Definitely. Was she a Prophetess? At times. She was mostly known for her healing abilities however, and what becomes clear when looking at the various words used to describe various Irish pagans is that no matter what their varying abilities or educations, they eventually were best called by whatever term best described their most popular ability. Therefore, for someone like Biddy Early, better terms than "Bandraoi" would be: "Fáidhbhean" or "Fáidhmhná"; "Cailleach", Cailleach Feasa", "Cailleach Phiseogach" or "Cailleach na gCear". All of these terms can mean "wise woman" or "witch".

Another problem in choosing terms is that many modern neo-pagan Celtic Witches don't equate Irish "Druidism" with Irish, female oriented "witchcraft". But the problem here is that in the Irish language, they often do!! It's that simple. Because the term in Irish which means Druidism, "Draíodóireacht", has a much broader definition than its modern English counterpart. The Irish worldview of magic, art, poetry and in particular, women, is much more complicated than the view held by the rest of Europe, and this would include their view of witches. There were no witch trials in Ireland, for example, until the Normans came. This doesn't mean there were no Irish witches prior to that, it just means there was no persecution of witches in Irish society, until the foreign, Euro-Normans invaded. Irish society was not as rigidly "categorized" as we today - thinking of it in abstract, historical terms - would like it to be. Since Irish society was so flexible, its views of many things overlap each other in ways which simply don't occur in the modern/neo-pagan/Anglo-centric world, in which we all have to live.

In Irish, there was and is no specific gender based split between male and female magic or magicians, period. "Draíodóir" for example, is an asexual word, *but* more often than not, words in Irish which are associated with creativity, poetry, craft, the supernatural, spirits or magic, have an inherently feminine connotation in them. This is because it was thought that these things all had their source with the Goddess Aíne, also called Anu, Ana and hence "Dana". Aíne is the "Mother of all the gods" and hence the Queen of Magic. The "Tuatha Dé Danann" are literally all Aíne's children. (Tuatha Dé Danann = The Children/Tribe/Family of Dana).

In ancient Celtic cultures, anyone one who had a special skill or "craft" was considered capable of/an inherent practitioner of magical powers. Scáthach, the trainer of CúChullian, was a "martial-witch", I suppose, or at least was clearly a woman practicing magic, mostly through the craft/trade of martial arts. When deciding who is a witch and who isn't in Irish Literature, a dead giveaway is any one characters use of incantational poetry, such as the sort Scáthach composes upon CúChullian's graduation from her Academy.

Which brings me to my next and final point. I mentioned earlier about the Bardic Order. In the older Irish sagas, the terms for poet (fíle, bard, licerd, aes dana, etc), druid (drui), and seer (fáith) are freely mixed and constantly exchange functions. The Irish "world field" concerning poets, seers, druids and magicians (of both genders), are, Irish scholars are coming to realize, virtually interchangeable.

Now, the actual terms themselves....

The most common Irish-English/English-Irish dictionary available in the United States, the "Foclóir Poca" (by An Gum, the state sponsored Irish language publishing house), lists "witch" as: "cailleach, draíodóir mna". "Mna" is a feminine prefix/suffix in Irish like "ban" or "bean" is. The same dictionary defines "witchcraft" as: "draiocht, an ealain dhubh". "ealain" is: "art; science, skill; workmanship, craft". It can also have an underlying feeling of "trickery". So "an ealain dhubh" equals "the black arts", or "the black craft".

The following terms relating to Irish witchcraft and paganism were culled from the Irish-English dictionary "Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla", by Niall ó Dónaill, An Gúm, 1992.

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draíocht, f. (gs. & pl. ~a). 1. Druidic art, druidism. Lit: draíochta druadh, druidic arts. 2. Witchcraft, magic, charm, enchantment. Briocht, cochall, clat, ceo ~a, magic spell, cloak, wand, mist. Ceol draíochta, magical, entrancing music. Luacht draíochta, magicians, enchanters. Le draíocht, by magic. draíocht a bheith agat, to have magical powers. draíocht a bheith ort le rud, to be entranced with something. Tá draíocht ar an áit, the place is bewitched. Duine, rud, a chur faoi dhraíocht, to cast a magic spell someone or something. draíocht a chur ar dhuine, to enchant someone. Bheith faoi dhraíocht, to be under a spell. draíocht a chur do dhuine, to cast a charm for someone.

draíodóir = Magician

draíodóir fir = wizard

draíodóir mná = witch, enchantress (also, crafty, sly, person; rogue, hypocrite, trickster; Secretive person)

draíodóireacht = Practice of magic; Sly cunning, hypocrisy, trickery; Secretiveness.

draoighonta = Bewitched, enchanted

draoi = Druid; Wizard, magician; Augur, diviner; Trickster

bandia = Goddess

bandraoi = Druidess

bandraíodóir = Enchantress

banfháidh = Prophetess

banfhile = Poetess

bansagart = Priestess

other "ban" words for your perusal:

banlaoch = Female warrior; heroine

banoide = Tutoress, lady teacher

banfhlaith/banphrionsa = Princess

banríon = Queen

bansióg = Female fairy

banchuire = Band, group, of women

banchosantóir = Protectress

bandáil = Company, assembly, of women

banaltra = Nurse

banchealgaire = Seductive woman, siren


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anam = Soul

anamchara = Spiritual advisor

anamachas = Animism

anamimirce = Transmigration of the soul

briocht = Charm, spell; Amulet.

briocht sí, briocht draoi, briocht suain, - fairy, druidic, sleep, charm

briocht a chanadh = to chant a spell

cailleach = Old woman, hag

cailleach feasa = wise woman, fortuneteller

cailleach phiseogach = sorceress, charm-worker

cailleach na gcearc = hag, witch

Leigheas (na) cailli = old woman's remedy

fáidh = 1.) Seer, prophet. 2.) Wise man, sage. 3.) The Fates.

fáidhbhean = Prophetess; wise woman......Another variation is "fáidhmhná"

fáidheadoireacht = Prophesy, prediction.

ealaín = Art, science, skill; craft

An ealaín dhubh = black art

Tá (an) ealaín dhubh aici = she has black magic

Chuir sí an ealaín dhubh air = she bewitched him

piseog = Charm, spell; Superstitious practices, superstition

An déanamh piseog = compounding charms, casting spells

piseogacht = Superstitious practices

piseogaí = Charm-setter, superstitious person


amaid = 1.) Lit: Witch, hag. 2.) Foolish woman. 3.) Simpleton, idiot.


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Words associated with poetry and magic:

aos = People, folk

aos dána = Poets

aos ceoil = Musicians

aos treafa = Husbandmen

aos eagna = Intelligentsia

bard = Poet (of certain rank), bard

crosán = Mimic, jester; satirist, scurrilous person

dámh = 1.) Lit: Bardic company; party, retinue. 2.) (With article) The literary caste, followers of the arts. 3.) Faculty.

dámhscoil = Bardic school

dámhchuire = Band of poets, of artists

dán = 1.) Gift, offering. 2.) Craft, calling; allotted task. 3.) Art, faculty; art of poetry. 4.) Poem. 5.) Lot, fate.

dán draíochta = druidic art

dán ceoil = art of music

Fear dána = minstrel, poet

dán diaga = sacred poetry

dán direach = Irish syllabic poetry

dán a chumadh = to compose a poem

fíle = 1.) Poet. ~ ceoil, amhrán, songmaker, lyricist. 2.) Satirist, scold. ~ mna, scolding woman.

ollamh = 1.) Lit: (a) Master-poet, ollave. (b) Master, expert, learned man. ~ seanchais, le seanchas, chief historian. ~ cearda, master craftsman. 2.) Professor. ~ ollscoile. university professor. ~ Gaelige, professor of Irish.

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Footnotes

Incidentally, Biddy Early was a native Irish speaker who spoke English; however, the vast majority of her patients were, like her, Irish speakers. They referred to her as a "Wise Woman", a common euphemism for a "White Witch". Biddy constantly admitted that she trafficked with the faeries, and as such, the faeries acted as her "familiars" when she was healing people. As you'll see below, the terms "fáidhbhean", "fáidhmhná" and "cailleach feasa" are all interpreted as "Wise Woman".

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Sources:


For general Pagan beliefs of the Irish:

The Fairy-Faith In Celtic Countries, W.Y. Evans Wentz;

The Middle Kingdom: The Faerie World Of Ireland, Dermot Mac Manus;

The Holy Wells Of Ireland, Patrick Logan; (Also by Logan, Irish Country Cures)

Time Travels Of An Irish Psychic, Sheila Lindsay;


For other accounts of Irish Witches:

Biddy Early: The Wise Woman of Clare, Meda Ryan

Witchcraft In Ireland, Patrick F. Byrne

The Táin, translated by Thomas Kinsella (with only incidental accounts of Irish witches though)


For information on some of the magical folk beliefs (especially witchcraft practiced by women) and practices of the Irish, written by people of the period and not Neo-pagan Americans:

The Farm By Lough Gur, Mary Carbery;

Traits And Stories of The Irish Peasantry, Vol 1 & 2, by Willam Carleton;


For information on the continuation of the magical practices of the Druidic Order through the Bards:

Satirists And Enchanters In Early Irish Literature, Fred Norris Robinson;

The Hidden Ireland, Daniel Corkery;

Medieval Irish Lyrics with The Irish Bardic Poet, James Carney;


For an account of warmongering Druids, medieval tax evaders and an Irish version of an ATF raid, (all of which completely contradicts the mindlessly accepted concept that the Druids were pacifists who never, ever participated in warfare), read:

Forbhais Droma Dámhgháire: The Seige Of Knocklong, Seán ó Duinn; (This same story was also butchered and lied about in the Matthews "Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom", a worthless book if ever there was one.)


For books on the continued paganism inherent in the Irish expression of Roman Catholicism, read:

The Year In Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs, Kevin Danaher;

Occasions of Faith: An Anthropology of Irish Catholics, Lawerence J. Taylor;

Mythic Ireland, Michael Dames;

Renewing The Irish Church, Joe McVeigh;

A Wounded Church, Joe McVeigh;

On Lough Derg, Purcell & Blake;

Saint Patrick's Purgatory, J-M. Picard & Y.de Pontfarcy;

Traits and Stories of the Irish Peasantry, by Carleton (again);

Wisdom Of The Celtic Saints, Edward C. Sellner; (Ed is an acquaintance of mine and is a college professor in Minnesota);

Celtic Christianity Ecology And Holiness, Ed. Christopher Blamford and William Marsh;

The Celtic Alternative: A Reminder of the Christianity we lost, Shirley Toulson;

Celtic Inheritance, Peter Berresford Ellis;


For the Celtic roots of the medieval, Continental European witch cults:

Ecstasies: Deciphering The Witches Sabbath, Carlo Ginzburg;

The Night Battles: Witchcraft and Agrarain Cults in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Carlo Ginzburg;

Forest Rites: The War of the Demoiselles in Nineteenth-Century France, Peter Sahlins;

Witchcraft in the Middle Ages, Jeffrey Burton Russell (this is about European witchcraft in general, (not Celts) and the religious/political semantics at work in the period.)


For Irish shamanistic traditions:

Sweeney Astray, Seamus Heaney;

All Silver And No Brass: An Irish Christmas Mumming, Henrie Glassie;


The earlier books I mentioned about Lough Dearg and the Sidh/Faeries;

A Celtic Quest: Sexuality and Soul in Individuation, John Layard.


Other good books on shamanism are:

Shamanism: Archaic Techniques Of Ecstasy, Mircea Eliade (the ultimate Shamanism reference book);

Shamans, Healers and Medicine Men, Holger Kalweit;

Dreamtime & Inner Space: The World Of The Shaman, Holger Kalweit

The Way Of The Shaman, Michael Harner;

The Death And Resurrection Show: From Shaman To Superstar, Rogan Taylor;

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Other books of interest:

A Guide to Irish Mythology, Daragh Smyth;

Myth, Legend & Romance: An Encyclopaedia Of The Irish Folk Tradition, Dr. Dáithí O hOgáin;

Medieval Ireland The Enduring Tradition, Michael Richter;

The Irish Mind: Exploring Intellectual Traditions, Ed. Richard Kearney;

The Irish Countryman, Conrad Arsenberg;


For concise information on the history of what the British government has actually been doing in Ireland for all these years read:

British Brutality In Ireland, Jack O'Brien;

The Unionjacking Of Ireland, Jack O'Brien;

The Cultural Conquest Of Ireland, Kevin Collins. "