It’s been two years now since this course first started writing itself. I know that’s kind of a funny way of expressing it, but it’s true – I didn’t so much write this, as get out the way and let it write itself. This way of writing is true of many of my creations, such as the Birth Path booklet, written in a flurry when preparing a manual for my 6-week antenatal course. so much to say, only so many hours to say it!
The Way of the Witch has been an awakening of sorts, a reclaiming of an old word that starts with w-wooing, like an exaggerated kiss, and ends with an itc. W-Itch. And much like an itch it consumed me, even though I refused and said the word was too strong, that people had moved on, that Instagram had killed it by packaging it as some kind of fashion accessory. Just check out #witchesofinstagram to see what I mean. I’m guilty. I’ve been there. It’s a lonely world for fringe dwellers. We have to stick together, find solace in the fact we’re not alone. But that’s old-thought, separatist mentality. whereas my witchy sense tells me of the wonders of weaving, of the world as a loom and the warp & weft we weave, the magic we sing creates the reality of our waking world. Words are not the best vehicle for this kind of communication. Symbols are good. Experiences are better.
There’s nothing that can quite describe the sight of a field full of spider web, where every single blade of grass as far as the eye can see is topped by a shimmering multicoloured gossamer thread linking if from one blade to another. A world of uncountable threads, each with a tiny spider attached, who has flown in drifting on the wind wherever it will take her.
So..this course. Now three quarters way through it’s first year, those brave souls who trusted me to jump in, to be the pioneers of this uncharted territory. Together we have journeyed through the wheel of the year, noting the witches sabbaths’ as we go
Imbolc first stirrings of spring, the season of the girl-child, the bright freshness of youth.
Spring Equinox – the world in perfect balance between light & dark, the transition to maiden, the first of the of blood rites – seen and honoured.
Summer solstice – The sharp heat of summer, the ripeness of the harvest, the season of motherhood, the one who has the power to create. The rite of passage to adulthood, maturity.
Autumn Equinox – again the world in balance, soon to tip back towards the darkness, the age of the matriarch, of a woman in her full glory and power. Bleeding and leading.
Samhain – the doorway between worlds, the honouring of ancestors, the season of the change, the beginning of the perimenopause, along with the first signs of winter come the first signs of age, the end of cyclical bleeding is coming.
And from here we are approaching the Winter Solstice – the darkness night of the all, the Mother Night. The crone energy awaits, inner wisdom and the rite of menopause. The honouring of the ancients, the old ones, the wise ones.
and then death, and rebirth in spring. The cycle of life follows the wheel of the year. This is the course. This is the living, the journeying together. I know you don’t have to do with with others. With nature as teacher and guide we can each follow our own path, listen to the signs and sing our own songs. Yet the group is safety, it is sisterhood, it is home. It a place to rest and open the vulnerable tender heart, from where to grow stronger together.
The Way of the Witch is a 12 month journey, with monthly meetings in a cosy yurt in the words near Exeter, Devon. Introductory days are held in November 2019 and January 2020. The course starts March 2020. For more information: https://welcometofullcircle.com/womens-circles/wayofthewitch/
Welcome to Full Circle 