It’s the “Season of the Witch” [1]
Hello everyone!
Thank you again for your kind feedback on the last newsletter. I’m so glad you enjoyed it. If any of you missed the June newsletter, you can find it here and my article in Spirituality & Health, The Untapped Potential of Dreams, Signs and Synchronicities in the Western World, here.
Okay, let’s jump right in.
Halloween is pretty much my favorite holiday, and if I still prayed to the Christian god, I’d be fearful that this blasphemous declaration would bring his wrath and eternal damnation. Luckily for me, I don’t pray to the Christian god and I’ve been to hell and back so many times that God’s idle threats no longer scare me.
Because I love Halloween and everything it represents so much, I thought this would be a good opportunity to provide a brief education on the holiday and correct some related misconceptions.
Like most of the modern day, Western holidays, Halloween was co-opted from the Pagans. Halloween was originally celebrated as the Pagan holiday, Samhain (pronounced “sow-in”). Unlike the linear, Gregorian calendar we are all familiar with, Pagans use what’s called the “Wheel of the Year.” Basically, the idea is that there is no beginning and no ending, existence is cyclical (hence the wheel). What is born will die and what dies will eventually be reborn. We’ve discussed this before, this life-death-life cycle, in the context of the apocalypse and the Phoenix rising from the ashes. The Wheel of the Year follows the life cycle of the god, born of the goddess, with certain dates corresponding to different points in his life cycle [2].
Samhain is the last stop for the god on the Wheel of the Year. And, by “last stop,” I mean the ultimate last stop: death. Samhain marks his death, and Yule, on December 21st, marks his (re)birth. (Do you see the co-opting of another holiday here?)
So, on Samhain, Pagans honor the departed god and the souls of others who have left the Earthly realm by leaving food out on their front steps and burying apples in the ground to feed these souls on their journey to the afterlife, while modern-day Westerners open their doors to give fun-sized candy bars to strangers dressed as ghosts and ghouls without understanding why. [2]
It is believed that on this day, the veils between the spiritual and Earthly realms are the thinnest, making it a powerful time for performing magical rituals, as well as communing with the dead [2]. The performance of behaviors such as magical ritual and necromancy (witchcraft), tend to make most regular folks uncomfortable, and understandably so. The narrative Westerners have been given is that witches eat babies, perform ritual sacrifice, curse people and raise spirits from the dead to haunt the living. Pretty creepy. Let me go ahead and correct these misconceptions: Those are not things witches do, those are things psychopaths do. Are some witches psychopaths? Sure, but there are exponentially more non-witch psychopaths filling the state penitentiaries and walking the streets than there are witch psychopaths.
Witchcraft much more closely resembles religious ritual, prayer, and transcendental meditation than antisocial behavior. A typical Pagan ritual begins by setting an intention for the ritual (e.g., draw in soul friends, love, fortune, healing; communication with the departed), gathering physical objects that represent the intention (e.g., photos, heart-shaped rocks, money, healing crystals), gathering other, designated sacred objects typically used for rituals (e.g., special candles, a cauldron, wand, moon water, feathers, crystals), drawing a circle to designate the ritual space, purifying and sealing the energy in that space (e.g., with sage, mental imagery, physical movements), then entering a meditative state, focusing on the intention. After the ritual is complete, the energy is cleared and the circle is closed. 💥 And, that, my friends, is what witchcraft actually looks like. Now, could these methods theoretically be used for evil? Of course. But one of the cardinal rules of witchcraft, and the Law of Attraction for that matter, is that the practitioner gets back whatever they put out into the world. So, if they place a curse on someone, that curse comes back to them. If they set pure healing intentions, those healing intentions come back to them. The magic they perform is done at their own risk, or to their benefit. It’s all up to the practitioner.
If witchcraft is so benign and is part of an apparent religion, why has it been maligned and its practitioners persecuted? Good question. What most folks don’t understand is that religion, and in this case, Christianity, isn’t just a vehicle for human-to-god interaction, it is a business. And, we aren’t talking small business, we are talking megacorporation. Paganism and other shamanistic, indigenous religions were some of the early Church’s top competitors, so the Church used a common business tactic: eliminate the competition. Does everyone remember learning about the Crusades? Well, those weren’t exactly about saving souls, those were about executing the Church’s business model. There were many other methods used by the Church to eliminate competing religions: fear, persecution, conversion, banishment, murder, supplanting.
As much as early Christians enjoyed a good public hanging, supplanting was one of the primary methods used to eradicate Paganism. Change the narrative and you change the world.
Interestingly, Pagan witches have historically been portrayed as devil worshippers, but the devil isn’t a Pagan construct, it’s a Christian one. The devil literally doesn’t exist in Paganism, ergo, it’s logically impossible for witches to be devil worshippers. Pagan gods and goddesses are just gods and goddesses, with different personality traits; they are neither good nor bad. Sure, some may be associated with the underworld, but they aren’t devils of the Christian variety. The underworld isn’t necessarily a bad place either. It’s just a place where demons hide in the shadows. No big deal.
“The God of the old religion becomes the Devil of the new" (p.8). [3]
Witches have been branded devil worshipers because early Church officials transformed the Pagan goat god, Pan, into the horned, cloven-hooved devil we know. The devil we don’t know, Pan, was not a malevolent god, rather, he was a mischievous god, associated with fertility and chaos (i.e., PANdemonium). [4] [5] And, I suppose a rascally, chaos-inducing sex god might actually have appeared worse in the eyes of ultraconservative early Puritans than a malevolent one, so it’s probably no wonder he made such a great devil.
In order to become the most powerful religious corporation in the world, it wasn’t enough to demonize the competitor’s god and his followers. Associated holidays, symbolism and practices also needed to be vilified and/or supplanted. Among these were the number 13, the Sabbats, the sanctity of the full moon, and the witch’s favorite Familiar, the black cat.
Where does the conceptualization of the number 13 as “unlucky number 13” come from? Some scholars maintain that it has to do with the Last Supper and the number of apostles in attendance, because as you may remember, the 13th apostle was…Judas. So, yeah, not exactly the bearer of good tidings [6]. But, maybe Judas was a Pagan, saw the writing on the wall and knew that JC had to go.
This brings up an interesting and ironic point (albeit slightly tangential), the reason Jesus was persecuted and crucified by the Romans was the same reason the Pagans were persecuted and crucified by early Christians: They were bad for business.
Other scholars believe that the association of the number 13 with bad luck was part of the Pagan smear campaign conducted by early Church leaders. [7] Thirteen is a sacred feminine number in Paganism, associated with the goddess, fertility, and the moon. There are 13 lunar cycles in a year, which also correspond to….well, should I go ahead and spell it out? M.e.n.s.t.r.u.a.t.i.o.n. Okay, now everyone’s uncomfortable, especially the 17th century, male Puritan Church leaders. The height of these lunar cycles, the full moon, is a sacred time of celebration for Pagans, called the Esbat. There are 13 Esbats each year to honor the goddess and the lunar energy. In contrast, there are 8 Sabbats, which are ritual days of power honoring the god and the solar energy. Samhain (Halloween) and Yule (Christmas) are among these eight Sabbats [2]. Oh, and if the word “Sabbat” sounds familiar, it’s because it was co-opted as the Judeo-Christian “Sabbath.” It seems curious that the holidays honoring the masculine god were co-opted by Pope Gregory XIII, allowed to remain on the new calendar and allowed to be celebrated, while the 13 holidays honoring the feminine goddess were removed, the number 13 maligned and the sacred full moon phase rechristened as a time of “lunacy.” Seems pretty convenient for the patriarchal, monotheistic religion of new. At any rate, in modern day, all we have been left with of the number 13 is that it is bad luck.
Why do we think that it’s bad luck if a black cat crosses our path? Everyone knows that black cats are associated with witches. But, the association is much more complex than that. Pagans often have power animals they work with, similar to the concept of a spirit animal in shamanistic traditions. Black cats were a favorite among witches, though ravens, crows and toads were also popular. These animals, called Familiars, are believed to serve as mediators between the human world and not only the spirit world, but the natural world. These animals allow witches to harness special energies that many modern Westerners have lost access to because of worldviews favoring separation and domination over the natural environment. Witch and Familiar form a mutually beneficial partnership, with the witch taking on some abilities of the animal and the animal taking on some abilities of the human witch. In some cases, this can even rise to the level of complete enmeshment; thus, endowing the witch with transfiguration abilities. As you can imagine, this ability thoroughly creeped out early Christians. To them, witches were the devil’s handmaidens, and Familiars were their minions, bestowed upon them by the devil to do his bidding. Several books of the Bible reflect these sentiments and were utilized to write official law. The books of Samuel, Deuteronomy, and Leviticus effectively served as judge, jury and executioner, with Leviticus 20:27 stating, “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.” [8, 9] Holy. Fuck. Well, okay. I guess that’s how we’re going to play this. In summary, witches are bad, familiars are bad, they deserve to die, ergo, black cats are bad luck. Did you follow the logic? If you didn’t, you are probably a witch and if that’s the case, they shall stone you with stones and your blood shall be upon them. What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Alright, so that got pretty intense. I’ve also probably managed to thoroughly offend my Christian readers out there. To them, I say, “I don’t hate the player, I hate the game, and not the entire game, just the oppressive, power abusing, ignorant part of the game.”
Okay, I think it’s time to wrap this up.
So, where are the witches today? Well, most of them are in hiding and doing pretty much exactly what they were doing a thousand years ago. They are working as healers, shamans, psychics, mediums, therapists, social workers, yogis, massage therapists, reiki practitioners, chiropractors, pharmacists, medical doctors, nurses, midwives, supermoms and environmental advocates. Or, they are in jobs that don’t allow them to use their special gifts and as a result, they feel disconnected, lost, drained, and unhappy. Why are the witches in hiding? Because an unlucky number of them have been labeled “mentally ill,” locked away in institutions, and/or chemically lobotomized with psychotropic medications. The fate of this unlucky group highlights a disturbing fact: The witch trials never ended. Feeling, thinking, believing, and behaving in ways that encourage a connection to the supernatural world result in pejorative labels and concerns about mental health. And, until we all recognize our unconscious biases and their fallacious roots (i.e., the nefarious sales tactics of a religious megacorporation), the trials will continue, and the witches will not feel safe to step out of the shadows and into their precious gifts.
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Now, it’s time for shameless self-promotion! In response to the needs expressed by clients, colleagues, family, friends (and myself), I have learned a few new skills and developed some new products.
Here are the kinds of things you all have been telling me:
You feel lost and trapped in your normal life. Disconnected. Your intuition tells you to do one thing and the world tells you to do another. You feel different from others and alone even in a crowd of people. You are drowning in responsibility. It feels like a pipe dream to hope for some joy and maybe even a little magic in your life.
The reason you feel like this isn’t because of some external reason; it’s not because you have too much responsibility, because other people are getting in the way, because your job isn’t a good fit, or because you don’t have enough money. (I mean, these factors do play role but they aren’t the deeper reason.) The reason you feel this way is because of an internal reason, because old wounds, fears, memories and stories, are disconnecting you from your inner guidance and getting in the way of you living your best life. And most of this is happening outside of your conscious awareness, which is why you are having such a hard time pinning down what the problem is and fixing it on your own. In fact, pretty much all information processing happens outside of our conscious awareness. We take in 11 million bits of information every second but only 40 of these bits are processed consciously.[10] So, those old wounds, fears, memories, and stories from the past are still with you, operating just outside of your awareness. What’s more troubling is that they aren’t just running in the background, they are running your life, manipulating your moods, dictating your behaviors, and controlling how you show up in the world.
If you want to take control back, get reconnected to your true north, and finally start to feel some joy and magic in your life, you need to find a way to access these illusive and unconscious wounds, fears and stories.
One reason we have trouble connecting within is because there is so much external noise interfering with our systems. So many people I know report feeling drained or cranky after being around certain people or in certain situations. This is because energetic exchanges are constantly happening in the world among people and environments. This 10-minute guided meditation was designed to clear, calm, center and protect your energy field from the influence of and depletion by outside sources. Using it frequently can help you clear away the noise and begin to hear your own guidance system. You can access this free energy clearing mediation here.
Another way to access your unconscious is to drop into that level of your mind using special techniques to connect with different aspects of yourself, parts you may not be accessing now. These parts are often responsible for causing issues in your life because they are the ones holding onto old unconscious wounds, fears, and stories. Connecting with these aspects in your unconscious mind, using this inner child/teen guided healing meditation can facilitate a relationship, build trust, and help heal the past. This downloadable meditation combines elements of Internal Family Systems Therapy (IFS), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for PTSD, Somatic Experiencing Therapy, shamanic journeying, guided meditation, and hypnosis. You can purchase it here.
Dream work is another excellent way to access the unconscious mind because the unconscious mind (and even universal/source consciousness) speaks through dreams. Not only that, dreams utilize a language that bypasses the ego’s defense mechanisms, so information that might normally be blocked from conscious awareness is able to come to light. Through dream interpretation work, you can not only access your unconscious mind, you can take action to heal those unconscious wounds, fears and stories that have been running your life. I have a self-paced online dream course that teaches you how to interpret and work with your dreams. You can learn more and purchase it here.
Individual healing work is the traditional option for accessing the unconscious mind. If your healer or therapist is a badass, they will be able to enter your psyche, find your unconscious wounds, fears, and stories, then help you heal them. I am one such badass. I use deduction, extrasensory perception and truth telling to find what you can’t or don’t want to see. Then, together, we work to heal and reconnect you, using trauma healing techniques, Akashic Records’ work, dream interpretation and traditional psychological methods. To work 1:1 with me, click here.
Happy Samhain/Halloween to everyone!
Brianna
References
1. Donovan, Season of the Witch, in Sunshine Superman. 1966, Epic Records: New York, New York.
2. Cunningham, S., Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. 2004, Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications.
3. Murray, M.A., God of the Witches. 1933, Sampson Low, Marson & Co., LTD.: London. p. 116.
4. Wikipedia. Pan (god). [cited 2021 October 24, 2021]; Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pan_(god).
5. Wood, J., Panic and Pandemonium.
6. Hastings, C. Why is Friday the 13th unlucky? The cultural origins of an enduring superstition. 2021.
7. Panati, C., Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things. 1987, New York, New York: Harper & Row. 463.
8. King James Bible, Leviticus 20:27. 1987/1611, Bible Gateway.
9. Grimassi, R., The Witch’s Familiar: Spiritual Partnerships for Successful Magic. 2003, Woodbury, Minnesota: Llewellyn Publications.
10. Zimmerman, M., Neurophysiology of Sensory Systems, Robert F. Schmidt Ed., Fundamentals of Sensory Physiology. , in Fundamentals of Sensory Physiology, R.F. Schmidt, Editor. 1986, Springer-Verlag: Berlin.