Hedgewitch Grimoire

Hexen Sabbat

In Sapphic dreams, beyond the gloaming.
Where Winter's spirits have gone roaming.
There lies the root of all my sorrow
It waits for me at the edge of morrow.

If you be quick enough to rise,
With grains of sleep still in your eyes.
Perhaps then you will also see,
What has caused me untold misery.

The purpose of this site is to share with you some of my thoughts and feelings and experiences while on this path of discovery so that you may have a better understanding how I found my way to many of my beliefs and practices within this Traditional Witchcraft framework.

I am companion and friend to those with similar spiritual interests and inclinations and I offer my trust and words of truth to those that call me friend and hope the same to be given in return. I leave darkened breads and honey'd milk as gifts beneath the Elder tree. I tread my Compass path beneath the pale Moonlight. I fan bright my Sacred Fire in the heart of Woods at midnight. I listen to the Voices of the Spirits of the Leaf, the Blossom, the Bud, and the Fruit of the Greenwood. I sing the Old Songs and make the Calls to Change. I plant my Stang in Sandy Fields at Water's edge. I follow the Serpent's Tracks within and without. Born in High Summer, in July, that makes me a Daughter of the Moon.

Nigel Jackson

This site was created with MS Front Page and Paint Shop Pro.

There you and I my loves, There you and I will lie,
When the cross of resurrection is broken
And our time has come to die,
For no more is there weeping
For no more is there death
Only the golden sunset,
Only the golden rest.

© Robert Cochrane

The recipes listed below are for entertainment purposes only - I am *NOT* responsible for your misuse or abuse of this material.

Traditional English Flying Ointment

3 grams annamthol

30 grams betel

50 grams extract of opium

6 grams cinquefoil

15 grams henbane

15 grams belladonna

15 grams hemlock

250 grams cannabis Indica

5 grams canthreidin

Blend with oil of your choice, baby fat, vaseline, safflower oil, or butter.

Modern American Flying Ointment

1 jar hand cream

1 tsp. vegetable fat

1/2 tsp. belladonna

3 drops liquid detergent

1/2 tsp. wolfbane juice

Mix well with perfume of your choosing

French Flying Ointments: Three Recipes

I. Du persil, de l'eau de l'Aconite, des feuiles de Peuple, et de la suye.

(Parsley, essence of aconite, poplar leaves and soot.)

***

II. De la Berle, de l'Acorum vulgaire, de la Quintafeuille, du sang de chauvesouris, de la Morelle edormante, et de l'huyle.

(Water parsnip, sweet flag, cinquefoil, bat's blood, deadly nightshade, and oil.)

***

III. De graisse d'enfant, de suc d' Ache, d'Aconite, de Quintefeuille, de Morelle, et du suye.

(Baby's fat, juice of the water parsnip, aconite, cinquefoil, deadly nightshade, and soot.)

*Obviously, real baby's fat was not used, this was written to provide shock value and awaken the sleeping mind.

A List of Sacred Woods and Trees

from Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed

by Doreen Valiente and Evan John Jones

With regards to the "Nine Woods of the Beltane Fire"; ash, birch, yew, hazel, rowan, willow, pine, thorn and all other trees mentioned as being traditionally sacred may be used, with the exception of oak. This is because oak is the king of the woods. The available woods will, of course, differ in different parts of the country; the tradition is simply that the fire should consist of nine woods, with the exception of the oak.

APPLE - This is one of the holy trees possessing magical powers. Its fruit, when cut across, displays the magical sign of the pentagram (five pointed star). Avalon, the old name for Glastonbury, one of Britain's most sacred centres, means, "The place of the apple-trees." At Hallowe'en a large apple, called the Allen or Hallowe'en Apple, is eaten for good luck.
ASH - This wood is used for the stang, and in this way it represents the Horned God-King. Dressed with garlands and crossed arrows, the stang is used as an altar. In the old Norse mythology, the World-Tree was an ash, Yggdrasil, the Cosmic Axis.
ASH-FAGGOT - This is made up of ash twigs. It should be burned at Yule to ensure good fortune. This is the origin of the "Yule Log". A miniature one can be kept in the house for good luck.
BIRCH - This is one of the trees that is traditionally associated with the May Eve celebrations, when people used to go out overnight into the woods and bring home green boughs to decorate their homes for May Day. It is the tree of good luck and purification and as such is used in the making of the besom. It is regarded as being feminine.
BLACKTHORN - This is an ominous tree. The blackthorn staff is sometimes used as an altar stang when a curse is being put to someone. The tree has formidable spines and is associated with the "Blackthorn Winter", a time of renewed cold in the spring associated with the appearance of the blackthorn blossom.
ELDER - This tree is regarded as unlucky because of its traditional association with Witchcraft. In some parts of Britain it is thought to be female. In olden days judgment was sometimes given under it. Hence the clan sword of judgment is occasionally hafted with elder wood.
HAWTHORN - This is also known as whitethorn and the maytree, because of its time-honored association with May Day. Because it was a sacred tree, it was considered very unlucky to bring in branches or flowers of the hawthorn indoors. However, if used as a decoration outdoors on May Day, it brought good luck.
HAZEL - A holy tree connected with fire, fertility, knowledge, divination and poetry. The favorite wood for a water-diviner's rod. It is one of the nine sacred woods for the Beltane fire.
OAK - The oak is the king of the woodland, especially if bearing mistletoe. Ancient oaks frequently marked a meeting-place or boundary. This is shown by the number of place-names, such as Gospel Oak, which often survive on the map even though the original tree is still gone. The oak is one of the seven "Chieftain Trees" named in old Irish law, the unlawful felling of which was regarded as a serious crime. The other six were the hazel, apple, yew, holly, ash and pine.
ROWAN - This is otherwise known as the mountain ash. Sprigs of this tree are considered to bring good luck, and protect from the evil eye. Hence an old Celtic salutation was, "Peace be here and rowan tree."
WILLOW - This was a tree of mourning in olden days and is often referred to as such in old songs and ballads. However, its catkins gathered in May Day could be luck-bringers. It is a water-loving tree and hence traditionally associated with influence of the moon.
YEW - This is the tree of death and resurrection. Some of the oldest yew trees are to be found in churchyards, because of this symbolism. It is a very long lived tree, and because of this and its evergreen foliage it was regarded as a symbol of immortality.

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