#old craft

Hallowing the compass: ⛤ 𓃶

walk the perimeter of the circle and say out loud or think…

I conjure thee compass round

Be ye cast and be ye bound

By road above, and road below

By snake, by hare, by toad, and crow

By white spirits red spirits grey spirits and black,

I conjure thee up threefold track

Be ye cast and be ye bound

“Such are the myriad of wart charming methods employed within the West Country; often with each practitioner having their own modus operandi, to list them all would, if it were possible, provide enough material for at least a modest book devoted to the subject alone. Some methods, as we shall see larer, belong to the craft of the ‘Green Doctor’ for their employmenr of plants, and as with the arte of blood-stopping, the wart charmer need not necessarily work in the physical presence of their client, but at a distance. In such cases there may not even be any discernible external, or revealed, modus operandi, and the charmer's requirement may be as simple as knowing how many warts their patient is in possession of.

Here follow a selection of wart charming methods of note employed within the West Country, as I dare say they are elsewhere also.

Wart Charming by ‘Passing on Magic' — A stream must be sought whose water flows in a southwardly direction. From it are to be collected with care, being mindful not to interrupt the water's flow; white quartz stones. One stone is required for each wart possessed by the patient to which each stone will be touched three times. The stones are immediately to be enclosed within a bag, and this 'bag of warts' is to be taken to a crossroads at midnight; there to be discarded. Whosoever is driven by curiosity to pick up and open the bag shall have the warts, and the patient shall be relieved of the affliction. An alternative method for disposing of the "bag of warts' is to hitch the bag loosely to the horn of a cow, leaving her to dispose of it where she will, to be found by some unfortunate who will become the next keeper of the warts.

Wart Burying — Cord magic may be employed by the practitioner having a length of parcel string. Along its length is to be tied one knot for each wart possessed by the patient; each of these knots being touched by the charmer to the wart they represent. This 'string of warts' is to be taken at midnight to the crossroads, there to be buried so that as the knots rot so will the warts go.

Flesh may also be employed to cure flesh; a piece of bacon; which must be stolen; is used to 'strike' the wart. This, again is to be taken to the crossroads at midnight, and there buried to rot in order to relieve the patient of their wart.

A particularly interesting burying charm involves cutting a piece of turf; one for each wart, and rurning them to be replaced up-side-down. A rite of reversal and the turning of circumstance upon its head – what was green, now shall fade and so shall thy warts.

‘Get-rid-of’ magic, for that is essentially what wart charming is, may also call upun the aid of the dead to take with them the patient's affliction. To each wart is touched a pin; each of these being placed within a bottle. This charm-bottle is then to be taken to the graveyard; there to be buried within a new grave. As the pins turn ro rust, so shall the warts fade and be gone.

Wart Charming by Fire — To be rid of warts by this method, the patient is to be taken to the home of the charmer and there brought to their hearth.

The practitioner shall then remove from their fire two sticks, still burning and smoking at the ends, and these are crossed over the patient's wart whilst the charmer utters thrice;

“In the name of the Father Son and Holy Ghost I bid thee be gone!"

Wart Charming by the Moon — Upon first catching sight of the new moon, one may blow their warts away. As the light of the moon grows to consume the dark, so shall the warts be consumed.

Conversely, a wart charming rite may be performed beneath a full moon, employing the waning virtue to remove the warts as it consumes the moon's light. The patient is raken outside under a clear full moon, and there shall the practitioner hold aloft their copper basin to charm into it the virtue of the moon. This is to he set before the kneeling patient who shall then ‘wash’ their hands within it with the following charm thrice repeated:

"I wash my hands in this thy dish,

O man in tbe moon, do grant my wish,

And come and take away this.”

—

‘Old Mother Red Cap’

The Black Toad:

West Country Witchcraft and Magic

My creation when I was younger:

It took me 12 hours yesterday to make the jacket and then 4 hours today to make the matching hat and sew them up!

It has been a sweet minute since I used this blog. I feel like I keep disconnecting from my spiritual space, but I think I am going to make it an active part of my life again.  I felt very heavily connected this Samhain, and I feel like it has awoken something inside of me that I am dying to get into. Recently I have been working on having some time in the mornings and evenings to centre my energy, ground myself, and do some shielding work to ensure I have the best day possible. 

So far, I think it has been working well; I am a lot calmer, a lot happier and things of not seem to have the same affect on me as they had done previously. 

Even though 2020 is sucking to the absolute max, I am hoping this can be a glimmer of good that comes out of this year. With that, I also hope that I can reignite my passion for blogging and documenting my practises, thoughts and craft and we can go from there. 

How is everyone? 

Yours,

At the Midwest Grand Sabbat this summer, four people will be taking their oaths and receiving their Marks, and in this way joining the Tribe of Witches.