Author: A Solitary Pagan
Cornelius Agrippa
Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, 1486-1535, German mystic and alchemist. Agrippa of Nettesheim was born of a once-noble family near Cologne and studied both medicine and law there, apparently without taking a degree. In 1503, he assumed the name, Cornelius Agrippa von Nettesheim, adopting the von to suggest a noble background; three years later, he established a secret society in Paris d...
Eleanor Bone
English Witch, one of the original high priestesses initiated by Gerald B. Gardner. Eleanor “Ray” Bone followed Gardner’s footsteps in the media attention and was sometimes called the Matriarch of British Witchcraft. Bone was born in London; her mother was a school headmistress. As a child, she saw the ghost of a pet, which stimulated her interest in reincarnation, folklore, magic, and the occult....
Levitation
A paranormal phenomenon whereby a body or object is raised up into the air in defiance of gravity. Levitation has been reported in cases of bewitchment, hauntings and possession; it also is attributed to saints and holy persons. In 1550 in Wertet, Brabant, a group of nuns reportedly levitated into the air, climbed trees like cats, and were pinched by invisible fingers. A townswoman was tortured in...
Sacred Space in Witchcraft
Sacred space means different things to different people. So really, the only way I can get around that is to tell you what it means to me. Sacred space is an enclosure we create, if you like, an artificial bubble in mundane reality, inside which we create an environment that is conducive to whatever type of ritual work or craftingwork we plan on doing. Now there are a lot of different methods in d...
Witchcraft in Brief
Witchcraft is the ability to harness and use the powers of nature and one’s own personal energy in order to create a desired effect in theworld. It is ancient and found the world over, in various forms under different names and titles. It is often seen as an innate ability, something that one is born with and which may be passed down through generations. We often hear the term “Wise Woman” or “Wis...
Ill-Wishing in Witchcraft
A curse that is the product of envy, revenge and anger. In earlier times, people commonly blamed their misfortune on the ill-wishing of others. If two people argued and then one suffered a mishap, became ill or had other problems, the other party was suspected of ill-wishing them. Remarks such as “You’ll be sorry” were taken seriously as a form of negative witchcraft. If someone enjoyed a great de...
The Brocken: A Witches Meeting Ground
The Brocken, also called the Blocksberg, was the most famous meeting place for witches in Europe. An old-fashioned poet, Matthison, wrote of it with gruesome awe. The horn of Satan grimly sounds; On Blocksberg’s flanks strange din resounds, And specters crowd its summit high. One wild story even claimed that here on Walpurgis Night (30th April or May Eve), was held the Grand Coven of all the witch...
Witchcraft The Key to Manifestation
It is advantageous that you realize just what is accessible through this technique. I have spent many years charting and understanding the concept of thought and the body of the mindscape as a way of understanding and tapping into what I was sure was there as a latent or uncontrolled power. I have always been subject to random flashes of telepathy and have traveled the timescape through the use of...
Witchcraft & Service
Let’s not confuse the word service with the word servitude. You service the forces with which you interrelate. You are in service to life itself. This is our deity, which we consider both our Goddess and our God. This is Witchcraft at the core. Your service is to the truth of that which you perpetuate and the need to be on call when you are moved by the intelligence of these forces. Nothing is req...
Witchcraft Distribution & Disassociation
The term “harm” is perpetrated through either ignorance or intent. Ignorance is a social problem brought about because the flesh we eat is prepackaged and is often not considered flesh; because our fruit and vegetables are all stacked on the shelves at the local shop and other foods are boxed or jarred or tinned or wrapped in neat containers. These products very often give no hint of their having ...
Witchcraft & Self Analysis
The biological animal and the soul that infuses it has an innate ability to handle its own life and transcend both the internal and the external problems that arise through merely being alive (in this time, within certain conditions). I will begin this section by throwing into the ring a particular word that is crucial in the category of detriment: conditioning. The majority of dysfunctions that a...
Contemplation in Witchcraft
Contemplation is a very natural way of focusing and inspiring the mindscape. It is best accessed through an activity (sometimes repetitive) that doesn’t require the mental concentration of reading or learning (e.g., rocking, watching a fire, simple weaving, unhurried gardening, unhurried cleaning, unhurried, purposeless walking). Contemplation is a time-to-spare active meditation that also gives s...