☽ Wicked Woods ☾

Grimalkin (also spelled a Greymalkin) is an archaic term that was often used to describe cats; particularly haggard, female cats. The term stems from the color “grey" and the archaic word "malkin", which was a term with various meanings and was derived from a hypocoristic form of the given name Maud. Debate surrounds the etymological evolution of the term from woman to cat, but regardless, Grimalkin eventually came to be referenced in Scottish legend as a Faerie Cat that prowled the highlands. Though mythological sources are scarce, The Grimalkin is consistently identified with the Cat Sìth (or Cat Sidhe) of Celtic folklore, and is generally represented as a demon or shapeshifter. In line with Celtic Faerie-lore, Grimalkin is described as a Spectral Cat the size of a wolf or horse, who stalks the Scottish hills and moors.

According to legend, the Cat Sìth is said to appear as a large black cat with a white spot on its chest. Further cementing the role of Grimalkin as a ferocious Faerie of the Cat Sìth is the fact that virtually all Scottish legends surrounding the beings make reference to their size, ferocity, and propensity for the highlands. Some of the more common folklore suggested that the Cat Sìth was not a faerie at all, but, in fact, a witch who could transform into a feline guise nine times. The tales indicate that, while a witch could transform freely between her humanoid and feline forms, she had only eight opportunities to do so; if she were to transform a ninth time, she would be doomed to spend the rest of her days as a cat. It is believed by some that the idea of a cat having nine lives originated with this folkloric concept.

As with the dangerous reputation of the Grimalkin, the people of the Scottish Highlands were often untrusting of the Cat Sìth. This was largely, in part, because it was believed that a Cat Sìth was able steal a person's soul before it could be claimed by the gods, needing only to pass over a corpse before burial to claim the soul for its own. Therefore, protective watches called the Feill Fadalach (Late Wake) were performed through both night and day, in order to keep at bay any Cat Sìth that might appear to claim a person’s spirit. Methods of "distraction" were frequently employed to keep the Cat Sìth away from the room that housed the body of the deceased, such as games of leaping and wrestling, offerings of catnip, musical performance, and the telling of riddles. Aditionally, no fires were to be lit in the vicinity of the body, as it was widely believed that, much like mundane cats, the Cat Sìth were attracted to the warmth. Even though most folk in the region were distrusting of the Cat Sìth, certain rites were to be performed in their honor. On Samhain, for instance, it was said that a Cat Sìth would bestow blessings upon any house that left out a saucer of milk for it to drink. Those who did not leave offerings of milk, however, were at risk of being cursed by the Sìth with scarcity; particularly in the form of their cows’ milk running dry. Contrasted with their menacing reputation throughout the Scottish highlands, one of the less daunting accounts the Faerie Cat can be found in the British folktale “The King of the Cats.” In it, a man comes home to his wife and housecat, Old Tom, and explains enthusiastically that he had seen nine black cats with white spots on their chests carrying a coffin topped with a crown. The man relays that one of the cats told him to "Tell Tom Tildrum that Tim Toldrum is dead." The cat then exclaims, "What?! Old Tim dead! Then I'm the King o' the Cats!" before climbing up the chimney to never be seen again. It would seem, then, that the vast majority of the tales regarding the Cat Sìth which might lend themselves to the figure of Grimalkin arose in Scottish folklore.

Another practice related to the Cat Sìth, which illustrates certain connections to the Grimalkin, is the grizzly ceremony that was known as the Taghairm. Sometimes translates as "spirit echo," the Taghairm was an ancient Scottish method of divination reviled throughout much of the Hebrides. The defined requirements of the ceremony varied, but always involved the torture of animals or people, and sometimes included animal sacrifice. One variation of the Taghairm, aiming to raise the Devil for the sake of fulfilling dark wishes, called for the roasting of live cats, one after the other, for several days without eating or sleeping. This was said to summon a horde of shrieking devils who appeared as black cats, with their master at their helm. Another version of the ritual was said to summon a Great Demonic Cat known as “Mòra Cluasan” (Big Ears,) who would answer any question and grant any wish of the summoner. Both these variations on the Hebridean ceremony make reference to a mighty demonic cat, vicious even amongst the Cat Sìth, which ties in clearly to multiple aspects of the figure known as Grimalkin.

Godesses of night in paintings

Auguste Raynaud (French, 1854–1937)

Auguste-Alexandre Hirsch (French, 1833-1912)

François-Léon Bénouville (French, 1821-1859)

Baby witches, my gates are wide open. My door has a lovely soft, wooded noise when you knock: please enjoy it as you do. Step lightly, so the butterflies, bees and fairies know you are approaching. We like to make sure everything is nice and welcoming when you arrive, so do send word in advance (cookies take time to bake don't you know?) Don't mind the breeze flowing through the trees as you enter our yard, that's the old ones bidding you good morning. Being a notepad and a new pen, there's lots to discuss.

I hope you like tea.

You may think you and alllll the other traditional elders want to live in the same bitter hobbit hole as you. But don't tar is all with the same brush; some of us are not exclusive elitists. Some of us enjoy sharing something so life changing and beautiful as our magic, our history and our lore.

Do not speak on behalf of all traditional witches. We are not necessarily aligned.

♡♡

Baby witches, my gates are wide open. My door has a lovely soft, wooded noise when you knock: please enjoy it as you do. Step lightly, so the butterflies, bees and fairies know you are approaching. We like to make sure everything is nice and welcoming when you arrive, so do send word in advance (cookies take time to bake don't you know?) Don't mind the breeze flowing through the trees as you enter our yard, that's the old ones bidding you good morning. Being a notepad and a new pen, there's lots to discuss.

I hope you like tea.

You may think you and alllll the other traditional elders want to live in the same bitter hobbit hole as you. But don't tar is all with the same brush; some of us are not exclusive elitists. Some of us enjoy sharing something so life changing and beautiful as our magic, our history and our lore.

Do not speak on behalf of all traditional witches. We are not necessarily aligned.

Baby witches, my gates are wide open. My door has a lovely soft, wooded noise when you knock: please enjoy it as you do. Step lightly, so the butterflies, bees and fairies know you are approaching. We like to make sure everything is nice and welcoming when you arrive, so do send word in advance (cookies take time to bake don't you know?) Don't mind the breeze flowing through the trees as you enter our yard, that's the old ones bidding you good morning. Being a notepad and a new pen, there's lots to discuss.

I hope you like tea.

Divination:

To learn the present character of a person:

Take the stem of an apple between your fingers and begin to twist counter clockwise whilst reciting the alphabet. Keep the person of interest in mind. Then refer to the rhyme.

Example: The stem breaks at “A”. The person in mind is currently focusing all their attention on accomplishing a specific goal. This could mean everything aside from this goal has been placed on the backburner and other life aspects are suffering for it.

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“Tom Thumb’s Alphabet”

A was an Archer, who shot at a frog,

B was a Butcher, and had a great dog.

C was a Captain, all covered with lace,

D was a Drunkard, and had a red face.

E was an Esquire, with pride on his brow,

F was a Farmer, and followed the plough.

G was a Gamester, who had but ill-luck,

H was a Hunter and hunted a buck.

I an Innkeeper, who loved to carouse,

J was a Joiner, and built up a house.

K was King William, once governed this land,

L was a Lady, who had a white hand.

M was a Miser, and hoarded up gold,

N was a Nobleman, gallant and bold.

O was an Oyster girl, and went about town,

P was a Parson, and wore a black gown.

Q was a Queen, who wore a silk slip,

R was a Robber, and wanted a whip.

S was a Sailor, and spent all he got,

T was a Tinker, and mended a pot.

U was a Usurer, a miserable elf,

V was a Vintner, who drank all himself.

W was a Watchman, and guarded the door,

X was Expensive, and so became poor.

Y was a Youth, who did not love school,

Z was a Zany, a poor harmless fool.

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To cause confusion:

Simply use the name of that which you want to confuse.

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Anna Elise, she jumped with surprise;

The surprise was so quick, it played her a trick;

The trick was so rare, she jumped in a chair;

The chair was so frail, she jumped in a pail;

The pail was so wet, she jumped in a net;

The net was so small, she jumped on the ball;

The ball was so round, she jumped on the ground;

And ever since then she’s been turning around.

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To trap a spirit:

Recite “Anna Elise” whilst braiding rope and tying knots. Replace the lines after, “…she jumped in the net”, with:

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“…and now I’ve tied the final knot, and in my net was Anna set.

Try all her might, it’s structure is sound,

And ever since then she’s been turning around.”

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At the end of this last line, tie one end of the string to the other to create a circle.

To Overcome Adversity

Or to Strengthen a Wind or Storm:

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Arthur O'Bower has broken his band

And he comes roaring up the land;

The King of Scots with all his power

Cannot stop Arthur of the Bower.

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To Induce Spirit Flight with a “Fail Safe”:

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How many miles to Babylon?

Three score miles and ten.

Can I get there by candle-light?

Yes, and back again.

If your heels are nimble and your toes are light,

You may get there by candle-light.

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Use a small candle and when it burns out, you shall be pulled back to your body.

Hagriding with use of a Poppet:

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Ride a cock-horse to Banbury Cross,

To buy little Johnny a galloping horse;

It trots behind and it ambles before,

And Johnny shall ride till he can ride no more.

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To Replace What’s Been Lost:

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Little Betty Blue,

Lost her holiday shoe.

What will poor Betty do?

Why, give her another,

To match the other,

And then she will walk in two.

Is it even the SAME if someone tells you how to accomplish the task if you haven't dragged yourself through the work to learn it?

In a lot of cases it isn't.

A foundation you build from is not a home you live in. And asking someone else to build you your home by hand is beyond rude.

The Familiar Spirit: Divining and Domestic

The familiar spirit is a spirit with whom the witch is intimately familiar, and who grants powers to the witch, insight, protection, and sometimes their skin in the form of a shapeshifting mask, as well as a host of other magical abilities. As such, in the lore of British witchcraft, there are many types of familiar spirit that match this description.

Margaret Murray in her book The Witchcult in Western Europe gives us two forms of the familiar: the Divining Familiar, and the Domestic Familiar. Of the former she has this to say:

The essence of this familiar is that it did not belong to the witch but was an animal which appeared accidentally after the performance of certain magical ceremonies.

[…]  it would seem that the Devil appointed to the witch, on her admission, some kind of animal or animals by which she should divine, and which therefore represented himself for the time being, for he claimed the power, as God, to know and reveal the future.

We also see evidence of this type of familiar within the story of the Witch of Endor, who sends her familiar spirit to go and fetch the dead prophet Samuel for King Saul. The Witch of Endor has what is called an “Ob”, which may mean talisman or, probably more accurately, a wine-skin. As we will see later, there were some witches who kept their familiar spirit in bottles, such as Biddy Early and her Blue Bottle. The Divining Familiar can also be found within necromantic rites, wherein a dead spirit is housed within a vessel, and questions are asked of it.

(Witch of Endor by Nicolai Ge)

This dead spirit is usually a criminal, and can either be compelled out of a grave to serve the witch, or, as is communicated in Martin Coleman’s book Communing with the Spirits, the dead spirit may come to the witch after they have seen how well the witch treats other spirits. In this case, the witch sets up a separate place for this spirit, and may house the spirit within a vessel and used for divination. Sarah Lawless gives instructions on the construction of an ancestral spirit vessel, but it can be easily adapted. All those stories about genies kept in lamps weren’t so far off!

The Divining Familiar, as Murray writes, may also be a manifestation of the gods whom the witch worships. These may be statues, or certain herbs, and items sacred to the gods through which the god sends a messenger. A statue of a god may be enlivened with the god’s power, and a certain spirit or intelligence in their governance may be housed within to receive messages from these gods. The old grimoires are full of spirits in that specific spirit ecology where a witch may draw a certain spirit under the governance of one of the princes and kings and dukes. There are certain Goetic spirits that give familiars, or may become familiar spirits themselves, such as Paimon, Buer, Valefor, Purson, and Marax. There is even a Goetic demon who can steal another magician’s familiars! His name is Gaap. If the witch works with the faery, perhaps petitioning the King and Queen of the Good Folk for a faery messenger may bring about a Divining Familiar spirit.

The second type of familiar which Murray relates is that of the domestic familiar, or what I call an Imp. This is the familiar which I think most people think about when they think of witches. She gives a quote by Forbes

Forbes, the great Scotch lawyer, says that ‘to some he [the Devil] gives certain Spirits or Imps to correspond with, and serve them as their Familiars, known to them by some odd Names, to which they answer when called. These Imps are said to be kept in Pots or other Vessels.’ Though the domestic familiar is thus mentioned in the law of Scotland, it never occurs in the trials. It is confined so strictly to England that Hutchinson is able to say ‘I meet with little mention of Imps in any Country but ours, where the Law makes the feeding, suckling, or rewarding of them to be Felony’. It is not found north of Lancashire, and the chief records are in Essex, Suffolk, and the other Eastern counties.

These animals were usually small, such as toads, rats, small cats, birds, and the like, and apparently kept within a small vessel! This familiar would be fed on bread, milk, or blood suckled from a third nipple on the witch, according to folklore. There are a couple things that may be happening in this case. I believe that either the witch was gifted a “faery” animal (one which was, at birth, switched, kind of like a changeling) or that the witch has housed a spirit within the animal, or that the animal is, rather like the witch, innately magical and simply wants to work with the witch.

I have found only a few magical formulas on how to acquire such a living familiar. One is found in The Azoetia, and the others are found within the works of Nigel Pearson and Robin Artisan in Traditional Crafte. Essentially, the animal must be obtained upon its birth, and cared for as if it were the witch’s own child. The animal is baptised in the name of the Spirit Familiar with the witch’s blood and fed blood every full moon with milk. Through this, I believe, the animal gains a little bit of the witch’s power and life force, so that they are bonded for life. The beastial familiar may then speak for the gods by certain signs and movements, and may also be used to spy on one’s enemies, send spells, and be used for shapeshifting by “borrowing”. However, naturally, there are many ways to obtain a beast famulus. Simply having a pet who assists you in magical works, or warns you in time of danger, would definitely constitute as a familiar.

Introduction

“The witching gods are the gods who made the gods who made man.” I don’t know where I first heard it, but it rings true: our gods are old…some might say…old as balls.

Who are these eldritch forces of witchery? How did they come to be associated with witchcraft and witches? It is my belief that these old forces have been with us since the beginning, since man first became conscious of the spirits that roamed the universe, and were able to commune with them. The forces were those that struck us in the depths of our mind, mainly the forces of Life and Death, and some darker power behind both of these forces.

These forces were not always associated with witchcraft, of course. This came much later. Before this, they were great spirits of nature, usually worshipped outside of the established, civilized religion of a given society. They had their own folklore among the common people.

In modern traditional craft, these forces tend to be personified as the Devil of the witches, and the Faery Queen. The Devil is associated with death, initiation, transformation, ecstatic dancing and liberation. While the Faery Queen is associated with mirth, mystery, the moon, madness, illusion, divine drunkenness, prophecy, and sexuality. The Devil is usually depicted as a half man-half beastial figure, while the Faery Queen is a beautiful maiden, but sometimes also an old hag.

They have been known by many names throughout Europe and the British Isles. Sometimes these names are regional, and sometimes they relate to classical myth. Naturally, Christianity subsumed these names into quite simply the Devil, but earlier on the Catholics did keep records of some of the names given by the witches and heretics who went on night flights through the air with a host of spirits.

I shall take you through what I know about these gods. However, it is important to go out and meet these great spirits for yourself irrespective of what I write here.

That Spry Old Goat

The Devil of the Witches is the anthropomorphic spirit of death, transformation, and liberation. With his ever-erect phallus, he is also the god of sex, and the rising serpent power of the Land. He often appears as some black beast, most commonly as a goat, but also sometimes as a black dog or cat, and even a toad in certain bits of lore. He also appears with a flame shining between his horns.

He has many names, many of which you, dear reader, already know. Lucifer, Andras, Bucca, Old Horny, Nick, Scrat, Herne, Pan, Cernunnos. He makes his presence known by a whipping wind, and a winding horn, the baying of hounds and the creeping of flesh. When he touches those who pay him homage, one can not help but dance in ecstasy.

He is the Lord of Death. He dies to rise again, shedding his serpent skin, his horns, his leaves, and then returning resplendent when the sun shines bright. He is the Master Turncoat who is able to traverse through many different forms. He can not be caught for if caught he often turns into a pile of dead leaves.

He was there when we first crawled out of the caves, and drew his images on the rocky stones. He was there when we danced with strange nymphs in the hills Greece, dancing to his piping tunes. He was there when we were lifted out of our beds to dance about his effigy in a grand circle under threat of fire and rope. And he is here now. Calling to us, howling for us to join his Faery Rade across the night sky, to revel forever in the halls of the Sabbat Mound.

He is the Two-Faced Janus and Janicot who gazes into the past and to the future, his four horns branching off into the four winds. The Light Between His Horns he can give to his witches who play for him, filling them with his mastery over Death. The light crystallized in the blood so that they can be as gods and live forever.

Queen of the Fairies

The Queen of the Fairies is a major spirit in earlier witchcraft lore of Europe and Great Britain, but during the early modern period the focus of the leader of the witches shifted to simply the Devil. However, there are a few witches who mentioned her, such as Isobel Gowdie and the Andro Man. She is a spirit of the stars, the moon, illusion, sex, and the good folk. As the faery are often associated with the dead, she is also the Elfen Queen over the Dead. She lives within mountains and faery hills, and rides a white horse with silver bells.

Nicnevin is her name, and Diana, Titania, and Herodias, Habondia and Hulda, Anis, and Bride. She appears as a beautiful, alluring maiden whose skin is as white as the moon, and other times as a old hag, who is hollow when seen from behind. She is a tamer of wild beasts, and a granter of strange visions induced by soporific unguents. She makes love to mortal men, and snatches up dead knights whom she fancies.

She is the Lady of Fate, often associated with the noose tightening around our neck and dragging us into Hell. She is there when the red blossoms bloom on the trees, heralding the return of the summer and the time for planting. She is there when the first winds of winter begin to howl through the trees, turning all to death and decay. She is there when the stars shine, and when the moon moves through her phase. She is found in the sweet perfume of roses, and the rotting smell of henbane. She is there the draughts of love, and the poisons of despair. She is there in the sexual yearnings, urgings, and moanings. Every pleasurable orgasm is her delight.

Our Lady of Twilight is the protector, but also the all-devourer. She will consume your mind, and you will write poetry to her (or is it poetry to you?). She will grant you the power of prophecy, and the power to doom kings, and raise kingdoms. Hers is the screech of the owl, fortelling terror. She is also the beauty of the green earth, and the refreshment of the rippling waters. She is what IS at the end of Desire.

A Merry Round: The Sabbat of the Witches

The Sabbat of the Witches is an old rite. I do not mean that the rites that we have passed down are old, rather that the concepts and imagery and effect the rite produces is very old: that of communing with the forces of life and death and the universe. The Sabbat is a convocation of spirits and man and beast. All is ONE within the Sabbat round. Call it a Bacchanale, a Sabbat, Communion, the effect is ONE.  

The Sabbat was sometimes a physical event, and other times a visionary ritual. It has been my experience that both may occur at the same time. That is, if one is a Seer, they may See the One Sabbat occuring while one is performing the rites of the physical Sabbat.

What -is- the Sabbat? The Sabbat, as I have gathered, is a celebratory event of communion between witches and the gods. This consisted of offerings of wines, animals, as well as sexual intercourse and drug offerings (the ointment). Today, these Sabbats are usually (in a British context) held on one of the Old Festival days of Celtic origin. Now we also have added the four equinoxes which have festival occurrences in various cultures of antiquity. In my tradition, we are of both Celtic and Scandinavian descent, so we combine the two (any excuse for a party!).

I will now give a method for participating in the Sabbat based on various sources. I tried to make this as simple as possible, but of course you can make it as elaborate as you like. It is important to note that the imagery you use, the cultural milieu you’re accustomed to, and the folklore you study will affect any visions which appear to you. It is up to you to discern what is truth from these visions. While I write this for the use of one person, the ritual works all the better with more people involved.

A Ritual to Participate in the Sabbat

Lay a circle in whatever way you are familiar with. Have with you in the circle an instrument which you can easily handle while dancing, such as a drum or tambourine. If you’re inside, you might play some music that conjures up Sabbatic imagery to you, but I know a lot of witches who don’t like to use any modern technology in their circles, and that’s fine. Have with you also some representation of the witching gods, which can be either photographs which remind you of them, or statues, or even just a stone or horn to represent the Horned God of the Witches, and a mirror or sea shell to represent the Witch Queen. You can even draw sigils of them with flour on the ground. A traditional symbol for the God is a skull and crossbones, and for the goddess a symbol of the moon.

If you are using a flying ointment or some entheogen, make use of this now. As you do so, whisper an old transvection chant over the substance, such as: “Horse and haddock, horse and go, horse and pellatis, ho ho!”, “Emen hetan, emen hetan!” or “Tout tout a tout tout throughout and about.”

Lay the circle with a candle lit at the center (or, if you are outside, a fire), and when you’re ready to call up the gods of Witching, you might strip yourself of your clothing. This is not strictly necessary, but it certainly gives an old witch feeling to the rite, and hearkens to a time of dancing nude in the forest with strange gods. For me, it divests me of the “civilized” culture of man, and brings me closer to the beastial nature of reality.

There are some beautiful invocations of the gods which can be found in Doreen Valiente’s Witchcraft for Tomorrow, or you can make up your own. Or just simply say names of the gods which you are drawn to in a rhythmic way which may turn into a song you sing as you dance. As you say these invocations, light a candle before each representation of the witch god. Then dance around the icons of the gods you have placed in the center, howling up their names to the heavens. What follows are some traditional calls I know of:

Eko eko azarak Eko eko zomelak Eko eko KERNUNOS Eko eko ARADIA!

O IO PAN O IAO IA IA ARADIA IO EVOE KERNUNO IO EVOHE DIANA

IO DIO HU HAR HYA

Har har hou hou Danse ici, danse la, Joue ici, joue la, SABBAT SABBAT HO!

Dance around the circle, or alternatively something I have found to help, as dancing alone can be rather tiring, sit down and sway in a circle or rock back and forth. This may give way to a visionary trance, and you may lay back and experience this, and possibly lift out of the body to fly to the Sabbat at which point the rest is up to you (you can return with the words I give below).

When you feel the gods and their attending spirits are potently with you (which may manifest as visions of being surrounded by other similarly dressed people upon a hill or mountain, or possibly inside of the hill or mountain. You may feel as though other people are with you, and you might hear other people talking with you. It can manifest in many ways I have discovered), you may begin to commune with them for a time. Share in the Red Meal, and pour the offerings over their icons. If you feel sexually aroused, you might offer your sexual fluids as an offering to the gods. After this sharing of the senses, you might dance again to celebrate your union, dancing and singing, or perhaps you take the time to perform some divinations, or some other form of magic.

You may end the rite with final offerings as you respectfully dismiss the gods and return to physical reality. Run once around the circle and leap over the fire with the words: “Rentum tormentum in the Devil’s name!” to return.

This simple ritual may be done on the full moons, the dark moons, Fridays are also traditional, or upon the traditional festival days. Find what works for you. The Sabbat is always occuring, it is we who join in the dance.