Marian Green - A Witch Alone - Thirteen Moons To Master Natural Magic

The second part of making progress on the path is not receiving ‘initiations’ from other people, going

through group degree ceremonies, collecting notches on your wand for spells performed and so on, but the genuine experience of having made contact with the Goddess and the God of the Old Religion. No one else can do this, and most ceremonies do not actually make that contact for you.

You stand a far better chance of gaining true initiation, and the touch of power that that will bring with it, quite alone in a wild place when, with your knees knocking and your hand clutching the lantern shaking like an aspen, you actually encounter the High Ones face to face.

It really is important to have worked through most of these exercises and produced results before you decide to commit yourself to the path of witchcraft, whether solo or with a group. In fact, if you have been making efforts at some forms of meditation and the areas of inner analysis which such experiments require, you may well have decided that you would prefer the companionship of others, or that the lone path really does work and suits your needs.

It is certainly possible to use the simple kinds of spells and talismans described earlier to make yourself known to others in the esoteric world. Like all aspects of magic, it is not enough just to do a working and then sit back and expect the Inner to turn up with your request on a silken cushion.

If you seek occult friends then you will either have to go to the places where they may be found, perhaps at psychic or healing fairs or talks that the local library runs, or read announcements at the back of pagan journals (of which there are about a hundred published in the UK) covering all aspects of the Craft, magic, paganism, Earth Mysteries, healing and much more! A few of the more ‘popular’ varieties, dealing mainly with astrology and fortune-telling, are to be found in newsagents; the better ones, small, local or simple-format magazines and journals, need to be tracked down and are very well worth supporting.

There are even a number of occult contact magazines, but do read these first and be sure they are offering genuine pen-pals or training groups. The more simple the layout, the more likely they are to be genuine. Newspapers have always been happy to make out that witches involve children in their rituals or that they harm animals, when the opposite is the truth. To join most of the genuine training schools or covens the students have to be over 21 years of age; some won’t take on people under 25.

Covens do not encourage sex outside marriage or involve youngsters under the age of eighteen. They never use drugs and very seldom even smoke cigarettes, and the drinking of wine is generally part of a communion and again not used to excess. This may all seem rather dull, but real magic does not take place in this everyday world but in the inner realms and there you need your wits about you, and to have absolute control over what is happening.

There are a few evil people who operate under the guise of magic, who do involve children and do some of the things the media is all too happy to pin on every witch and shaman, but those lawbreakers are a long way from the Path to the Light which lies at the heart of the Western Mysteries, on all levels.

They are being hunted just as much by the real adepts and the ‘esoteric police’ as they are by the social services and the ordinary police force. They are also likely to come under the thrall of the Lords of

Karma, and they will then have to pay for their destructive actions in full.

You cannot be cruel, mistreat children or expand the drug culture without discovering that there is a threefold penalty for such disruptive behaviour. Be warned; if you dabble in selfish magic, try to curse or harm other people, take risks with drugs, alcohol or practices which common sense tells you are foolish or dangerous, then you will inevitably be caught, for karma reaches everywhere.

If you commit yourself to the Hidden Paths or walking the Old Ways you will certainly be in for some surprises. The most common of these are the feelings, which never entirely go away, of ‘Why on Earth am I doing this? Why am I wearing this strange robe, talking to trees or invisible beings, thinking that “spells” can possibly work in the twenty-first century?’ You will often find, right in the middle of a meditation or ritual, such thoughts creeping into your head, making you feel a fool.

This is a sure sign that your magic is working, for you have so certainly stepped out of your normal role in life or set aside, just for the moment, the very ordinary self to adopt that magical inner personality, that it is trying to reassert what it considers normality.

It never entirely goes away, as any adepts you come across will tell you, and even after decades of participating in celebrations, speaking directly with the Old Ones, venturing into the wilderness, both without and within, this sense of amusement, of fun and wonder, never really dies. It is a recollection that you are indeed straying from the ordinary world and it should never trouble you, just provide a moment’s humour when the power is coming through.

If you meet other people on the Path, look at them closely. Are they your ideal sort of folk? Do they look healthy, act as if they are happy, or are they always bragging about the power they handle, or the secrets they know? Do you believe they have really walked the road to fairyland, but somehow returned without the stars in their eyes and the spring in their step? Do you see them as kindred to the Old Ones, grandchildren of the Goddess, known and loved by her and partners in her magic?

Have a good look and a good think, especially if they are inviting you to join their covens or training groups. If you have really worked at some of these exercises and made your own direct contact with the Great Ones then you would be a valuable prize to a failing occult group, adding not only new blood but new power to be drained off too.

That is why I have said that any magic work which leaves you tired or worn out has not been worked properly, for you should become a clear channel for the Light to flow through, no matter how much power is required, for in the end there will still be a residue of the Light left within you. Trust your own inner feelings, which ought to be becoming more sensitive and accurate, the more you walk in the Otherworld, free and clear.

Perhaps you do seek to be an initiate above all things. Well, you can join the Companions of the Inner Way on your own, in your own sacred place, making promises you can keep, and dealing with aspects of the Goddess and the God with which you feel at home and at peace. It is not something to do today, nor tomorrow, but if you plan carefully, walking gently and preparing thoroughly, you may well find you can enter that rare companionship as a free and equal member very soon.

Every initiation consists of several distinct and equally important parts. When these ceremonies are enacted as group rituals it is inevitable that the drama of the occasion may alter or change the balance or that some parts may be shortened or omitted, and more weight given to other considerations.

When you are making a personal dedication you will be able to make a timetable which allows plenty of time for everything to be done as you want it, and also sufficient free periods to await a response from the Old Ones who, after all, are the only beings who can grant true admittance to their eternal company.

You can begin to search out a suitable place and look through your diary for a day or weekend which can be largely devoted to making a permanent commitment to the magical ways. If you shy away from this great step then you are very wise; don’t force yourself to take on any work that you know in your heart of hearts you are not ready for. On your own, that choice is absolutely yours.