A Witchcraft of Sorts [Under Serious Construction]

[Cunning Witch Angus]

Angus's Path

**READ FIRST PLEASE**This is completely under construction. The names I give here are names of spiritual entities that I have come in contact with. Much of this is what I have pulled from various sources claiming traditional witchcraft, such as Artisson, Padon, Nigel Jackson, Cochrane, etc.
**READ FIRST PLEASE**

Right then, my path. Let's have a

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1.1 Angus, A History
1.2 How this came about
2.1 In the Beginning...
2.2 Along came a Spinner
2.3 And Her lover
2.4 And Their Children and Their Children's Children
2.5 Other Entities
3.1 The Power of the Land
3.2 The Power Beneath the Land
4.1 Tenets
5.1 Fate
5.2 Death and Rebirth
6.1 Ritual

SECTION ONE

Section 1.1 Angus, A History

I was born Christian. My father was Catholic, my mother agnostic with a Prodestant background. I did not feel comfortable being Christian. Ever since I was young I had strange experiences that I couldn't explain. As I grew I met a friend who told me about this occult shop near where I lived. So, one day I visited
the place and picked up a book entitled Merlin's Book of Enchantment. There my journey began. After much reading and many debates and time alone to think, and many ineffable experiences I found my path.

Section 1.2 How this came about

By this I mean this thread. I wasn't going to initially post my beliefs because I am very mistrustful of people. Then I learned that I need to be more trusting of who I talk to, especially those of a similar vein: paganism.
Why hide from fellow pagans. I had a revelation that it is okay to talk to others about who you are, that not everyone is going to hate you. So I am exposing myself here, and I stand naked before you all.  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

SECTION TWO

Section 2.1 In the Beginning

This is how I believe the world came about. As with most life it starts in darkness. From this darkness came the Pale Woman and the Black One. From them came light and they did create a fire that was the sun. And they did dance about the sun. And where they danced the Land formed; their passionate cries became the wind and their sweat became the seas. Life sprung from them all around. Their tears of joy became the stars and they crafted the planets and everything that is seen an unseen. And they did create night and day and created the moon to Light the path of the Dark.

Section 2.2 Along came a Spinner

The Pale One, or Dame Holda as I call Her, began to spin a tapestry starting with what was and it became what was and what was. She spun the tapestry of the Universe. She spun the Moment. Eventually because she saw that she had so much else to do she crafted from part of the flax three spinners to always spin the tapestry of Fate. Their flax comes from a sacred well which resides in the middle of Hel.

I suppose this would be a UPG, the symbology of three spinners is relevant to my path. I believe it to be pulled from the three wyrd sisters of Germanic myth whose names, according to Eric de Vries, are Future, Shall be, and to Become.

Section 2.3 And Her lover

Meanwhile the Black One was crafting the animals of the Land and the other creatures. They hailed him as their King and ruler and he and his lover, the Pale Queen, became the Rulers of the Land Beneath, the rulers of the Dead. They had two beautiful children that they did make from themselves rather than the things that they had made. But all are of Them for all sprung from the Darkness, and to it they do return.

This is my creation based on what I have learned of Old Hobb.

Section 2.4 And Their Children, and Their Children's Children

Their Children, the Quick-Silver Prince and the Lady of Roses. The Prince found one creature of his father's creation that he took a liking to. This was man and he did teach man the power of magic and creation and a great many other things that his father taught him. He is a master of Sorcery and a master Turn-Coat. He is the bringer of light, the One with the Light between his Horns. The Fairy Maiden of the Rose is beautiful to look upon and brings on the spring. She is, like her twin, tricksy and is quite the enchantress.

This is based on the writings of Robin Artisson that I echo with strongly.

Section 2.5 Other Entities

There are Other entities of the Land. One such is the Old Serpent that lies within the Land giving it power and form. He is a creation of the White King. When the Serpent moves spring is here, but when he sleeps winter grasps the Land. There are spirits that the Prince has created to help him in his trickery and the Lady has her servents and the Maiden has hers. There are of course spirits that govern every thing of the Land. There are spirits of the waters and of the trees and rocks and of the winds.  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

SECTION THREE

Section 3.1 The Power of the Land

The Land is obviously very ancient and has many stories to tell. My practice is very Earth based. I try and move with the seasons around me without paying attention to a calendar too much. The Land is sacred and is a conscious being. In my daily prayers I go out and walk amongst the Land and meditate on the beauty of it. This is more of a relaxing and better for my meditations than anything else.

Section 3.2 The Power Beneath the Land

Below the Land lies the Otherworld. This is the world of the spirits and I call it Elphame (the Scottish Underworld and court of the faeries). My practices involve travelling here through OBE thus making it an Underworld Tradition. When I lay down a compass (as Artisson and Cochrane and many others refer to it) I symbolically bring myself into the Otherworld. Here I set myself before the King and Queen and share a Housel (explained later) with them and any other spirits that I ask to join me or that wish to join me.  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

SECTION FOUR

Section 4 The Tenets

The tenets of my practice are simple and easily remembered: Always Learn, Do not do 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 last four are Robert Cochrane's that I particularly enjoy.

This is still under construction, I will speak more of my tenets and morals etc at another time.  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

SECTION FIVE

Section 5.1 Fate

When the Lady appeared thus did she become Fate as well. And yet she is not Fate. Fate is not like something that is destined to be
more of that you yourself create your own destiny by your actions. It is not set in stone, but everything effects everything else.
It is written on the tapestry woven by the three sisters.

This is a mixture of Germanic folklore and my own interpretations.

Section 5.2 Death and Rebirth  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

SECTION SIX

Section 6.1 Ritual  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

Reserved  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

Reserved  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

Reserved  

[TeaDidikai]

Arcanist Angus

She spun the Moment.

I wanted to say this is an amazing image, given what the word moment means.

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Eventually because she saw that she had so much else to do she crafted from part of the flax three spinners to always spin the tapestry of Fate. Their flax comes from a sacred well.

This is based on Germanic mythology which I adore above all else.

Why would the roles of Urd Verdandhi and Skald be likened to Fate?

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the rulers of the Pale People.

Is this suggesting that your deities have nothing to do with other ethnicities?

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Their Children, the Quick-Silver Prince and the Faery Maiden of Elphame.

How do you find consistency between the fiction that those such as Thomas the Rhymer and his like made in conjunction with Alfheim in a religious perspective?

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There are of course spirits that govern every thing of the Land. There are spirits of the waters and of the trees and rocks and of the winds.

Are the spirits you speak of assumed to be synonymous with all spirits?

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The Land is obviously very ancient and has many stories to tell. My practice is very Land based.

If your practice is land based, why is there homogenized mytho-structure in regards to the land itself?

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Below the Land lies the Otherworld.

Why?

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This is the world of the spirits and I call it Elphame

Why call it that?

While the poetry is lovely, I guess what I am trying to understand is why one would claim ties to established concepts that resemble nothing of what you have developed?  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

I'm sorry, Tea, I didn't see that you had posted XD

TeaDidikai

I wanted to say this is an amazing image, given what the word moment means.

Do explain.

TeaDidikai

Why would the roles of Urd, Verdandhi and Skald be likened to Fate?

Because I am mixing mythos without understanding it. Either that or likening it to things that really have no connection.

TeaDidikai

Is this suggesting that your deities have nothing to do with other ethnicities?

In this mythos the dead are the pale people because they have no blood within them, no life, and have become pale shadows of their former selves.

TeaDidikai

How do you find consistency between the fiction that those such as Thomas the Rhymer and his like made in conjunction with Alfheim in a religious perspective?

I have found that tale, and many faery tales, to be the lore of the land the tale originated from; in this case Scotland, the land of my mothers.

TeaDidikai

Are the spirits you speak of assumed to be synonymous with all spirits?

If you mean that a tree spirit of where I am is the same as a tree spirit of say Greece, then no because one is a Nymph the other isn't. If you are asking do you I include it in the way black man and white man are both human, then yes, both the tree spirits are spirits.

TeaDidikai

If your practice is land based, why is there homogenized mytho-structure in regards to the land itself?

I see what you mean. I see precisely what you mean, actually. This changes much for me, thank you.

TeaDidikai

Why?

The homogenized mytho-structure, don't worry it makes sense to me. I am, I suppose stealing would be the word, cosmology from another mythos-structure and putting to my own devices without really understanding it. The Otherworld is likened here to the the Hel of Norse mythology I suppose.

TeaDidikai

Why call it that?

From Artisson to de Vries they call it Elphame. And I picked it up as Elphame.

TeaDidikai

While the poetry is lovely, I guess what I am trying to understand is why one would claim ties to established concepts that resemble nothing of what you have developed?

I usually make things poetic...it is rather a curse of mine sad

This is what I have read. I should research more into Anglo-Saxon lore probably...  

[TeaDidikai]

Arcanist Angus

TeaDidikai

I wanted to say this is an amazing image, given what the word moment means.

Do explain.

You're familiar with the concept of "moment" as time, but moment is also "tendency or measure of tendency to produce motion especially about a point or axis" (a la Merriam Webster) aka, a rotation. Hence why a spinning wheel and a moment- the generation of motion about an axis, is lovely to me.

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Because I am mixing mythos without understanding it. Either that or likening it to things that really have no connection.

Hmmm...
Plan on continuing that?

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In this mythos the dead are the pale people because they have no blood within them, no life, and have become pale shadows of their former selves.

Curious.
What implication does this hold for those who aren't pale for lack of blood?

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I have found that tale, and many faery tales, to be the lore of the land the tale originated from; in this case Scotland, the land of my mothers.

Curious. By that measure- one could assert that without a set of standards, then by virtue of living in the United States, the Twilight Books should be considered to be as spiritually relevant as those tales, don't you think?

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If you mean that a tree spirit of where I am is the same as a tree spirit of say Greece, then no because one is a Nymph the other isn't. If you are asking do you I include it in the way black man and white man are both human, then yes, both the tree spirits are spirits.

Much clearer. Thank you.

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I see what you mean. I see precisely what you mean, actually. This changes much for me, thank you.

Most welcome.

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The homogenized mytho-structure, don't worry it makes sense to me. I am, I suppose stealing would be the word, cosmology from another mythos-structure and putting to my own devices without really understanding it. The Otherworld is likened here to the the Hel of Norse mythology I suppose.

Maybe it would be better to create new terms? You have a gift for titling imagery. If nothing else, it would be less confusing to others- and it may bring you closer to that which you are connecting with.

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From Artisson to de Vries they call it Elphame. And I picked it up as Elphame.
...
I usually make things poetic...it is rather a curse of mine sad

This is what I have read. I should research more into Anglo-Saxon lore probably...

I don't think it's a curse to make it poetic and beautiful.

I think there might be some more intellectually honest titles that you could create.  

[Cunning Witch Angus]

TeaDidikai

You're familiar with the concept of "moment" as time, but moment is also "tendency or measure of tendency to produce motion especially about a point or axis" (a la Merriam Webster) aka, a rotation. Hence why a spinning wheel and a moment- the generation of motion about an axis, is lovely to me.

That is very beautiful imagery actually, I like that.

TeaDidikai

Hmmm...
Plan on continuing that?

No, however, if I were to turn toward a more actual Germanic mythos and included dieties that already exist, such as Holda and Woden, would that be terribly wrong? That is of course if they accepted me...

TeaDidikai

Curious.
What implication does this hold for those who aren't pale for lack of blood?

You mean for those that have drowned? I suppose then it would just be associated to their lack of a shell. They are shadows, really. When I have tranced into the Otherworld, this is what I have seen. I am not sure what once calls that...

TeaDidikai

Curious. By that measure- one could assert that without a set of standards, then by virtue of living in the United States, the Twilight Books should be considered to be as spiritually relevant as those tales, don't you think?

I see, I see. Again, if I turned toward the actual deities of the Germanic countries, and they accepted me, would that be possible. Since most of the time from my readings the underworld is coupled with the goddess who rules it. In the case that I am researching it is deemed Hel, or Holda.

TeaDidikai

Much clearer. Thank you.

Most welcome.

TeaDidikai

Maybe it would be better to create new terms? You have a gift for titling imagery. If nothing else, it would be less confusing to others- and it may bring you closer to that which you are connecting with.

Hm...perhaps. I will have to think on this and experiement a bit more.

TeaDidikai

I don't think it's a curse to make it poetic and beautiful.
I think there might be some more intellectually honest titles that you could create.

I see, I will work on that, thank you for your insight, Tea.  

[TeaDidikai]

Arcanist Angus

That is very beautiful imagery actually, I like that.

As did I. It's almost a pun.

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No, however, if I were to turn toward a more actual Germanic mythos and included dieties that already exist, such as Holda and Woden, would that be terribly wrong? That is of course if they accepted me...

Myself, I'd find it odd. Why ascribe new mythology to deities who have their own myths?

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You mean for those that have drowned? I suppose then it would just be associated to their lack of a shell. They are shadows, really. When I have tranced into the Otherworld, this is what I have seen. I am not sure what once calls that...

I was also thinking of those who just aren't pale at all.
What would the implication be for those who are mummified?

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I see, I see. Again, if I turned toward the actual deities of the Germanic countries, and they accepted me, would that be possible. Since most of the time from my readings the underworld is coupled with the goddess who rules it. In the case that I am researching it is deemed Hel, or Holda.

Again, I would be cautious about ascribing your myth to other beings.

I'd go about it the other way- ask them their names.

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I see, I will work on that, thank you for your insight, Tea.

Happy to help.