Literary Witchcraft: Geillis Duncan's Spell

I've been re-reading Diana Gabaldon's massive Outlander series, and magick does work its way through the narrative in ways both subtle and explicit. It is expressed most explicitly through a character who takes the pseudonym of Geillis Duncan and is a practitioner of what one might reasonably call the Dark Arts, what with all the killing and such.

In Drums of Autumn, the fourth novel in the series(1), we get a glimpse into Duncan's grimoire, which includes the following spell; I reproduce it here as it appears beginning on page 692 of the Nook edition of the book:

I raise my athame to the North,
where is the home of my power,
To the West,
where is the hearth of my soul,
To the South,
where is the seat of friendship and refuge,
To the East,
from whence rises the sun.

Then lay I my blade on the altar
I have made.
I sit down amid three flames.

Three points define a plane, and
I am fixed.
Four points box the earth and mine
is the fullness thereof.
Five is the number of protection;
let no demon hinder me.
My left hand is wreathed in gold,
and holds the power of the sun.
My right hand is sheathed in silver,
and the moon reigns serene.
I begin.

Garnets rest in love about my neck.
I will be faithful.

This would actually be a workable piece, though if I were to test-drive it I would alter the wording a bit to put it more in line with my own praxis (for example, I'd shift the directional attributions a bit, flipping the West and the South as given above). I like the reference to "three flames," which is then amplified by "three points define a plane"; to me this has parallels with the magician's Triangle of Manifestation as well as the symbol of the first degree initiation (at least within some traditions). The four points boxing the earth could easily be the cardinal points that mark the boundaries of the witch's personal universe. Five are the points of the pentagram, which can be used as a protective device. The gold/sun and silver/moon are familiar enough to be nearly self-explanatory. The garnets about the neck have a specific meaning in the narrative (as do the gold and silver on the respective hands), but the wearing of a necklace in ritual is common in BTW-derived witchcraft.

Tweaked to the specifics of one's personal style of working, this incantation might make a fine opening statement before a working. I may try doing just that.


(1) There are many books in this lengthy series of historical time-travel magical fantasy description-defying sagas. If you have the time and the inclination, I recommend them highly.

"Breaking Tradition"

This post by Sarah Lawless confirmed for me a number of things I'd already suspected, granted me a clearer perspective, and gave me a sense of optimism (mingled only slightly with a cane-shaking desire to chase some of these crazy youngsters off my lawn). I was fiercely rebellious against what I saw to be problematic within my parent tradition, so how could I possibly resent that same questing spirit in others? I may not agree with, believe in, or wish to participate in everything that falls within the definition of "witchcraft," but neither do I have the right to define or deny those things to others. Evolution is ever the way of things, after all.

Classic Halloween Postcard Witchery

I'm a bit late getting started on these this year, so let's get right to it.

This charming young witch, while not traditionally dressed, is nonetheless employing her wand in a traditional and appropriate manner--that is, "to call up and control certain angels and genii to whom it would not be meet to use the sword."

In this case, the entities being conjured are identified as elves, though their appearance is ambiguous enough that they could be any sort of spirit. The witch herself is garbed more like a nature spirit or sprite than a classic witch, which only serves to make me long for Hallowe'ens of old when costumes often took such puckish forms. (It's quite racy, too; look how much leg she's showing!)

She may be conjuring these elves out of the moon, though it's more likely to be a ball of papier-mache or crepe paper; such treat balls were given as party favors and typically filled with candies and small trinkets, wrapped in multiple layers of colorful paper. I can remember finding a display of them in a department store as a child, and how delighted I was by them. I almost didn't want to unwrap mine, it was so cool--though of course, I did. (Mine had a witch face, not that that should come as any surprise.)

Now these guys, on the other hand, are demonstrating an absolutely improper usage for the athame. While Gardner does indicate that the athame can be used to "dominate, subdue, and punish all rebellious spirits and demons," I'm not sure that what's going on here is exactly what he had in mind--and in any case, the athame is generally not to be used for cutting. We use our curfane for that. (They did hold to the old recommendation of using tools that look like common household objects, though, so there's that.)

For today, I'll leave you with this one. Here we have as classic a witch as one could ask, although she's dressed in red rather than the more familiar black. Full moon, bats, owls, cats, jack-o-lanterns, cornstalks, all the most evocative symbols of the season are present. And best of all, there's a simple and effective little charm given:

Softly cross your fingers

At the Witching Hour;

Over Fates and Fortunes

The Moon will give you power.

 

Soon.

Britain's Wicca Man

I thought you all might enjoy this short documentary as much as I did. Whatever you may think of the man or his brand of craft, I believe it is fair to say that anyone practicing witchcraft today owes at least a bit of gratitude to Gardner for his work. (Plus, it's great to see footage of locations such as the house wherein GBG was alleged to have been initiated, along with a huge honking pile of witchstuff inherited by John Belham-Payne from Doreen Valiente.)

All Hallows Eve

Hazelnuts at Halloween

The use of hazelnuts in Halloween divination rites is well-attested. There are several methods, which are somewhat contradictory, but this is likely attributable to regional variations in tradition and transmission.

Today's card shows an imp-like figure with what looks like a nineteenth century bedwarming pan filled with smoking roasted nuts. The smoke is being carried upward to a classic witch in silhouette flying across a crescent moon. The verse at the bottom reads:

"A hazel nut is named for you
And dropped upon the coals.
If it burns and burns to cinder
There's nothing more to hinder
For my love burns true."

This echoes the variant of the spell in which one would name a selection of nuts after one's suitors and line them up before the hearthfire, or, alternately,  cast them directly into the fire. A nut that burned cleanly would indicate that the person's affections were true, while a nut that popped or did not burn suggested that the lover would be dishonest. Yet another variation has a couple each naming a nut for him- or herself, then casting them into the fire, watching the behavior of the nuts to determine their partner's true feelings. (Personally I think watching your partner's behavior a better indicator of their true feelings than watching nut activities, but hey--it's Halloween).

The hazelnut spell with which I am most familiar involves naming the nuts for your potential love interests, then lining them up at the edge of the fire and chanting the following:

"If you love me, pop and fly;
If you hate me, burn and die."

This is a reversal of the imp's method above, but to each his own; again, the difference can most likely be ascribed to regional variations and to changes that occur in transmission. Who hasn't received a bit of "oral lore" that, upon later comparison with another practitioner, has proven to have come through as garbled as a message passed through a child's "telephone game"?