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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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 Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:13 am
X. Celebrations
There are only five celebrations that I really pay attention to and I of course pay homage to the new lunar months. The five celebrations that I pay homage to are: Yule, Candlemas, May-Eve, Lammas and All Hallows. These each hold a special significance to my path and are also the power points in the year when the Feeorin Rades appear. They are an excellent time to worship the Master and the Mistress and each has a certain meaning. I will post more about this when I am less tired...
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:14 am
XI. Code of Ethics
Believe it or not but I do have a code of Ethics. I tend to have the philosophy of "******** all! Let's just see what happens!" But I am very conscious of my actions. I go by the maxim of "A witch who can't curse, can't heal." The sword that gives life is also the sword that can take it away, the herb that could save your life is also the one that could end it just as quickly. We live upon a delicate balance between the living and the dead and everything adheres to this balance. Anything can die as quickly as it can live.
Here is a code of ethics created by the late Robert Cochrane that I particularly follow, or try to follow, in my day to day life. There are four of them so they are easy to remember:
Robert Cochrane Do not what you desire - do what is necessary. Take all you are given - give all of yourself. "What I have - - - I hold!" When all else is lost, and not until then, prepare to die with dignity.
The first I try to follow the most followed by the second. The second one I think is the most important and the most humanely possible for anyone. Give all of yourself and take everything that you are given graciously, for that is the way of Fate herself.
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:15 am
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:16 am
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Sanguina Cruenta Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 5:38 am
Isn't it strange how two hedgewitches can have such utterly different belief systems?
I have questions!
Why do you call your Underworld concept "Hel"? How is it related to the Hel of Norse tradition? If Elphame is indeed Alfheimr, you're aware that Alfheimr and Hel are located in rather different places about Yggdrasil - that is, not the same place?
Do your beliefs about "feeorin" and so forth originate from somewhere other than yourself/gnosis? I have never heard of them before. Has your experience with the dead reinforced your understanding that they have forgotten their lives?
In what way is your god related to Lucifer the Roman god? or were you just linking the two for the sake of imagery?
I have read of being eaten and regurgitated, and of being torn apart and put back together, and I have experienced the eaten-and-regurgitated. It's not really scary, and from what I know it doesn't have anything to do with a battle. It's just a metaphorical death-and-rebirth. It's Medicine. It wasn't scary. It really seems to be a way not to go mad, to be honest.
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 7:17 am
To the one that I serve Are there only the two realms (our world and Elphame)? I will give my all
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 7:32 am
I wanted to just comment on the "Evil Eye" part, kind of just FYI.
Mal de Ojo, while translated as, literally, "bad/evil of the eye" is not caused by a menacing glance. According to Eliseo Torres in the book The Folk Healer, Mal de Ojo can actually be caused by excessive admiration and babies are especially susceptible. The idea is that when one looks deeply at another, such as a newborn baby, they project some of themselves and if the person affected is young or already ill, they are susceptible to mal de ojo.
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:54 pm
I am but a servant... Sanguina Cruenta Why do you call your Underworld concept "Hel"? How is it related to the Hel of Norse tradition? If Elphame is indeed Alfheimr, you're aware that Alfheimr and Hel are located in rather different places about Yggdrasil - that is, not the same place? I do not call it Hel, but some Hedgewitches that I know do call it Hel. I was merely using it as another example of what the Otherworld COULD be for another Hedgewitch. I usually call it either the Otherworld or Elphame. Elphame, as I understand it, is the Scottish term for the Underworld. In what I have read on Nicnevin it is her Queendom. Sanguina Cruenta Do your beliefs about "feeorin" and so forth originate from somewhere other than yourself/gnosis? I have never heard of them before. Has your experience with the dead reinforced your understanding that they have forgotten their lives? In the books that I have read by Nigel Jackson and articles by Robin Artisson and it was even used once by Peter Paddon they use the term "Feeorin" to refer to the citizens of the Otherworld. I adopted the term as it fit what I see the dead as and as how I experienced the dead. And yes, as I have experienced the dead they have forgotten their past lives all I got from them is "We do not know...we all forget. Give us the apple" and I gave them the apple. This is of course a UPG and I can not prove it. Sanguina Cruenta In what way is your god related to Lucifer the Roman god? or were you just linking the two for the sake of imagery? I did it for the imagery mostly. Orphendale is similar to Lucifer but is not the same god at all. Orphendale is a more formal name for him where as Old Hobb is a more informal and friendly name. Sanguina Cruenta I have read of being eaten and regurgitated, and of being torn apart and put back together, and I have experienced the eaten-and-regurgitated. It's not really scary, and from what I know it doesn't have anything to do with a battle. It's just a metaphorical death-and-rebirth. It's Medicine. It wasn't scary. It really seems to be a way not to go mad, to be honest. From what I have read and what others who have gone through such an experience have told me that I should be careful as there is the possibility of going mad. I am not sure if this is true, but I would like to be cautious none the less. Eric de Vries has described his experience with such a thing as a battle with his shadow side (he calls it a Fylgia). There are stories that he, and others, have described of going onto a hill or mountain as a witch and battling with a demon there. ...of the Cunning Flame
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:56 pm
Loona Wynd To the one that I serve Are there only the two realms (our world and Elphame)? I will give my all I am but a servant...
In my cosmology I have only ever experienced these two realms. There is, according to Robin Artisson, a third "door" that the Master reveals to a few that follow his path. I have yet to find such a thing and he may have been speaking metaphorically about witchcraft (this is what I believe).
...of the Cunning Flame
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 12:57 pm
Synnthetika I wanted to just comment on the "Evil Eye" part, kind of just FYI. Mal de Ojo, while translated as, literally, "bad/evil of the eye" is not caused by a menacing glance. According to Eliseo Torres in the book The Folk Healer, Mal de Ojo can actually be caused by excessive admiration and babies are especially susceptible. The idea is that when one looks deeply at another, such as a newborn baby, they project some of themselves and if the person affected is young or already ill, they are susceptible to mal de ojo. I am but a servant...
I have heard of this as well in my readings about the Evil Eye. Would projecting one's self into someone be a bad thing? Possibly.
...of the Cunning Flame
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 1:23 pm
Arcanist Angus Loona Wynd To the one that I serve Are there only the two realms (our world and Elphame)? I will give my all I am but a servant...
In my cosmology I have only ever experienced these two realms. There is, according to Robin Artisson, a third "door" that the Master reveals to a few that follow his path. I have yet to find such a thing and he may have been speaking metaphorically about witchcraft (this is what I believe).
...of the Cunning Flame To the one that I serve I see. Myself I primarily work with three worlds, but those worlds have a multitude of realms with in them. I will give my all
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 12:48 am
General question: where do people not of your tradition go when they die? Quote: I do not call it Hel, but some Hedgewitches that I know do call it Hel. I was merely using it as another example of what the Otherworld COULD be for another Hedgewitch. I understood this to be your path of hedgecraft rather than hedgecraft in general. Because if it's hedgecraft in general I have a LOT of nits to pick wink Are they seidh workers? Heathens? Are they actually referring to Hel or are they nicking off with the term for reasons of their own? Do I need to go and yell at them? Because I can do that. I'll bring big bearded men with axes. And, if necessary, a horse's head on a pole. An open culture it may be but that sort of thing is uncool. Quote: I usually call it either the Otherworld or Elphame. Elphame, as I understand it, is the Scottish term for the Underworld. In what I have read on Nicnevin it is her Queendom. It's an Anglicised name for Alfheimr, abode of the Light Elves. Given how you've described her I'd say it was possible she was a Light Elf - the Scottish call the Queen of Elphame the "Queen of the Faerie", which follows well as Fae and Light Elves seem to share some characteristics - but I wouldn't trust an elf, to be honest. It sounds very much of the sort of "Daughter of the Erl-King" thing which one want to avoid. Quote: In the books that I have read by Nigel Jackson and articles by Robin Artisson and it was even used once by Peter Paddon they use the term "Feeorin" to refer to the citizens of the Otherworld. Yes, well, we all know my opinion of Artisson. I have currently no opinion of Jackson mostly because I keep confusing him with Steve Jackson and think "that gaming guy? yeah, I'm not going to be buying that". Where do they get the term from, and why do they use it? Are they referring to the citizens of Elphame or of the Underworld? (Very important distinction to me, you see, as the inhabitants are very different in Norse tradition and in my understanding.) I have found two instances of the use of the term "Feeorin" just from a quick search. One is a race in the Star Wars universe. The other is a type of Celtic Faerie. They fail to specify which culture they are referring to. I also see, by way of google, a mention of them by Artisson, who goes on to say they are "passed down to us by ancient celtic religions" which is an utter lie and he should be ashamed of himself. The "passed down to us", I mean. They bloody are not. I also dislike his implication that Celtic cultures aren't still around. Maybe I can get Cu to kick his a**. Cu is angrier than I am. Though that will probably just feed into Artisson's narcicism and he'll just get his sock puppets to suck his c**k until he feels better DAMNIT SAN STOP BITCHING ABOUT ARTISSON. WHY do I let this man annoy me! I should NEVER EVER read anything he writes EVER. I turn into a broken ******** record. It's as bad as when I get started on Andrew Lloyd ******** Weber, may he toss forever restless in his grave. YOU DESTROYED PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, YOU ARROGANT b*****d. Quote: I adopted the term as it fit what I see the dead as and as how I experienced the dead. And yes, as I have experienced the dead they have forgotten their past lives all I got from them is "We do not know...we all forget. Give us the apple" and I gave them the apple. This is of course a UPG and I can not prove it. Have you done any research into the term's use as applicable to some sort of fae thing? Do you distinguish the terms as different or do they apply to the same thing - in other words, do people become fae when they die? What with your goddess being chief of them, and the dead, and her realm being Elphame. Interesting, though, that they forget. So different to my experience. I wonder if they are a particular subset punished for something, or whether they were lying, or what. Or taken to Alfheimr. That would be interesting - humans silly enough to head to Alfheimr without invitation or understanding, trapped there, forgetting. One should ask Freyja. Perhaps I will - only that will only be my UPG, again. wink All the dead I know remember things surprisingly well. Apparently memory sharpens after death, at least according to them. Maybe the dead who serve your goddess forget, and others do not? Why is forgetting a requirement for her dead? What do forgetful dead mean for honouring ancestors, dumb suppers etc? It seems a little out of place with general Hedgewitch belief as within my experience, though I acknowledge that not every Hedgewitch pays homage to their ancestors - or the dead generally. Quote: I did it for the imagery mostly. Orphendale is similar to Lucifer but is not the same god at all. Orphendale is a more formal name for him where as Old Hobb is a more informal and friendly name. What similarities does he share with Lucifer? I don't know much about him apart from his family - Theoi's quotes only really mention him in passing. Quote: From what I have read and what others who have gone through such an experience have told me that I should be careful as there is the possibility of going mad. I am not sure if this is true, but I would like to be cautious none the less. Eric de Vries has described his experience with such a thing as a battle with his shadow side (he calls it a Fylgia). There are stories that he, and others, have described of going onto a hill or mountain as a witch and battling with a demon there. Nah, it's medicine. As far as I know that's the only way it happens, though I guess it could happen in other circumstances. It happens when you need it to, to heal you, or like an initiation. You don't ask for it to happen, it happens when it's important for it to happen - you don't seek it. And you don't fight it because that's... nonsense, it's like going to the doctor with the intent of getting well or whatever and then fighting against getting a vaccine or something. It's a very odd concept, something I've never come across - perhaps the source of distress in de Vries and some others. I get that it would be something one would fear or fight against if one didn't know what was going on. It's a very old "shamanic" thing, in that it spans traditions - never heard of it being bad before; though I'm glad I read about and understood it before experiencing it or it might have worried me. Of course, if it's an initiation, doing it without being ready is probably very bad - as would any initiation be that you were unprepared for - but I've only experienced it as medicine and it was panacea. A fylgia is like a... personal... spirit thing. Maybe similar to a spirit guide, in some ways. You seen the Golden Compass? Maybe something like that. Only not really. Sort of but not really akin to the Disir, in that female ones are guardians of the family, and also has links with, or holds, hamingja, that is, personal and family luck. Also with undertones of doppelgangers (see your one during the day in human form and you're going to die, although this may have something more to do with the following interpretation...). It also refers to one's own self or inner nature understood in animal form. Or not. To be honest it really seems like more of an adjective than a noun; it refers to things that are pretty much different, but that are all technically "fylgja", "someone that accompanies". I've heard it referred to as another word for a "fetch" but aren't fetches more like familiars? I understand those stories to be mostly metaphor, a way of saying that they are understanding themselves and their own fears - but I could be wrong. That is just my understanding; I know a lot of people are into the whole "shadow-selves" thing but I always consider that to be a way of pretending they're not as awful a person as they think they are and of trying to separate the parts of themselves they don't like instead of understanding themselves as one person. A bit disassociative, imo. More troublesome than helpful in truly understanding oneself. In other words, though insights from others are useful, you can't know you from the outside. I'm sorry, I've rather hi-jacked your thread with my comments. I didn't mean to do that. Though, I'm rather more interested in your understanding of things than of what you've read in various places or what others have said. I like to know why you call something this or that, or do things this way or that way, and "because this guy does it" is a bit unsatisfying wink Since when do hedgewitches do things because others do? What do YOU call this or that? Why do YOU think, do, use? This is your path, so tell us how you do it. Artisson isn't calling himself a hedgewitch these days, is he? God, it's like he's following me around >.> Is he still calling himself an Asatruar? His rune stuff made me want to erect a Nidstang. To think poor newbies might read that stuff and do something terrible. Thank the gods it was only on Lulu.
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Sanguina Cruenta Vice Captain
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:53 am
Sanguina Cruenta General question: where do people not of your tradition go when they die? This I am not sure of. I assume that when the dead die they go to the Underworld. Sanguina Cruenta I understood this to be your path of hedgecraft rather than hedgecraft in general. Because if it's hedgecraft in general I have a LOT of nits to pick wink My hedgecraft with shades of Jackson and de Vries really. Mostly for terminology and cosmology I think. Sanguina Cruenta Are they seidh workers? Heathens? Are they actually referring to Hel or are they nicking off with the term for reasons of their own? Do I need to go and yell at them? Because I can do that. I'll bring big bearded men with axes. And, if necessary, a horse's head on a pole. An open culture it may be but that sort of thing is uncool. That almost rhymed. Yes, most of the ones that refer to the Underworld as Hel are Heathens and seidh workers. I stopped referring to is as such after a conversation with Tea. Sanguina Cruenta It's an Anglicised name for Alfheimr, abode of the Light Elves. Given how you've described her I'd say it was possible she was a Light Elf - the Scottish call the Queen of Elphame the "Queen of the Faerie", which follows well as Fae and Light Elves seem to share some characteristics - but I wouldn't trust an elf, to be honest. It sounds very much of the sort of "Daughter of the Erl-King" thing which one want to avoid. Hmm... Nicnevin. If what you say is true about Elphame then I should just start calling it the Underworld or Otherworld xD Sanguina Cruenta Yes, well, we all know my opinion of Artisson. I have currently no opinion of Jackson mostly because I keep confusing him with Steve Jackson and think "that gaming guy? yeah, I'm not going to be buying that". Where do they get the term from, and why do they use it? Are they referring to the citizens of Elphame or of the Underworld? (Very important distinction to me, you see, as the inhabitants are very different in Norse tradition and in my understanding.) Jackson uses Elphame many times in his chapter on the Faerie Land. Jackson The underworldly realms of the Sidhe is conceived of as being literally 'beneath' the earth, 'underneath' the surface phenomena of nature and middle-earth as an underlying depth-dimension of archetypes and endlessly regenerated potentialities. This is the spiritual landscape of Elphame where the 'People of Peace' dwell, known to the Irish Celts as Tir Andomain and Tir Na n'Og, the Annwvyn of Welsh tradition and in Teutonic lore, the Kingdom of Hel. In mediaeval period the chthonic realm was known as the Land of Faerie. That is his description of what the Elf Land is. Hm...I could of sworn he used Feeorin in this book...where did I see that. Damn >> He refers to the citizens as the Fey. Sanguina Cruenta [Insert wall of text here that I read] Go and kick RA's a**. I have learned to take what he says with a large Siberian salt mine after his second book. In truth I used Feeorin with out any understanding and I should be shot. Culture raping again! End me. You do it. Sanguina Cruenta Have you done any research into the term's use as applicable to some sort of fae thing? Do you distinguish the terms as different or do they apply to the same thing - in other words, do people become fae when they die? What with your goddess being chief of them, and the dead, and her realm being Elphame. As Nicnevin is indeed the Queen of the Faeries I do see the dead as being of the Fey, that wild otherness that humane conscious can not really understand and that is beyond our field of normal awareness. Sanguina Cruenta [all the stuff about the dead] It depends. I have found that there are two types of dead, really. The ancestors are there but it is a shade, a memory of what they were. They just drift about in the Underworld. Then there is the ancestoral souls that have now forgotten and now are under the command of Nicnevin. These are the Fey (Feeorin...see what I did, and this is why I posted this here), the dead. I do honor the ancestoral dead but I do a slightly different calling from the heart than the normal servants of Nicnevin. Sanguina Cruenta What similarities does he share with Lucifer? I don't know much about him apart from his family - Theoi's quotes only really mention him in passing. He gifted man with intelligence and artifice, the Cunning Flame. I see. What I have read it is more like an initiation, but it never says when it is supposed to happen. So yes, I would assume that I shouldn't go looking for it. If you have ever read The Way of the Wyrd, by Brian Bates, it tells the story of a Christian Monk that has this happen to him. The "battle" was a battle of wits. Rather interesting. Exactly, that is exactly what the Fylgia is, but I call it the Familiar or Puckerel (mostly I call it the latter). Some others in the community call the Fetch a type of servant entity that they create, which is not necessarily untrue when I tend to either call it a Servitor or Familiar. I will agree with you on this. Reading up on the "shadow self" seems to want to do away with it when I want to embrace and utilize it. Sanguina Cruenta I like to know why you call something this or that, or do things this way or that way, and "because this guy does it" is a bit unsatisfying wink Since when do hedgewitches do things because others do? What do YOU call this or that? Why do YOU think, do, use? This is your path, so tell us how you do it. I call things this or that because I really don't have another term for them, I suppose. I could start being general and just call where I go the Otherworld until such time as another name is revealed to me. I say things from the heart, which sometimes turns out to be a bunch of vowel chanting and glossolalia (good times). Sanguina Cruenta Artisson isn't calling himself a hedgewitch these days, is he? God, it's like he's following me around >.> Is he still calling himself an Asatruar? His rune stuff made me want to erect a Nidstang. To think poor newbies might read that stuff and do something terrible. Thank the gods it was only on Lulu. I am not sure...in his blog he hasn't posted anything recently since the Haiti incident. I really don't pay attention that much anymore. I am, however, awaiting his new book because his last one was rather...lax.
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 10:54 am
I must say, Cruenta, that I did slap this together in the middle of the night, so it is good for the nit-picking and I thank you it is helping a lot biggrin
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Cunning Witch Angus Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Feb 21, 2010 11:28 am
Arcanist Angus Synnthetika I wanted to just comment on the "Evil Eye" part, kind of just FYI. Mal de Ojo, while translated as, literally, "bad/evil of the eye" is not caused by a menacing glance. According to Eliseo Torres in the book The Folk Healer, Mal de Ojo can actually be caused by excessive admiration and babies are especially susceptible. The idea is that when one looks deeply at another, such as a newborn baby, they project some of themselves and if the person affected is young or already ill, they are susceptible to mal de ojo. I am but a servant...
I have heard of this as well in my readings about the Evil Eye. Would projecting one's self into someone be a bad thing? Possibly.
...of the Cunning Flame That's a good question actually. I got the impression that projection, in this case especially with babies, was something unintentional and that the projector may not even be aware of. Then again, I'd have to compare different books and whatnot to see the bottom line.
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