Druidcraft

by Gary Colcombe

  'The art in this kind of magic is the art of parenting, of learning how to mother and father the idea into the world. You need to develop your nurturing, protective, supporting and containing abilities, and to harness all of these in the service of manifesting your idea in the world. It is all about learning how to use the chalice and the wand. The wand represents the masculine principle of focus and direction, and the chalice represents the feminine principle of containing and nurturing. Together they bring life and creativity into the world.'

  'The God and the Goddess again?' says Brendan.

  'Exactly,' replies Elidir. 'Wiccans realize this by having the High Priestess plunge a dagger into a chalice at the high point of their ceremonies. This symbolizes the union of the masculine and feminine principles, the union of God and Goddess that creates the world. It is the same thing in our own worlds too; it is the union of our ability to direct and focus our intentions, with our ability to nurture and contain them. Whether or not we can successfully unite these two abilities determines whether we can bring ideas to birth in the world.

  'Some people can only wave their wands around, focusing and controlling but never achieving much of deep value. Others can be supportive and nurturing but lacking in any focus themselves. The magician manages to unite these two abilities within themselves to be creative in the world.'

  After a pause, Brendan says, 'Tell me about the third kind of magic, the magic that tries to change things.'

  THE MAGIC OF CHANGING

  Elidir looks around the circle of stones and then far off into the distance, before turning to Brendan again and saying, 'Most people feel at the mercy of circumstances. The world is just too unpredictable, too big, and there are too many people and too much power being wielded for them to feel as if they are in charge of their lives. But magic says that the world you see is the result of hidden forces and influences that you can learn to understand and change. You can learn how to go behind the scenes, symbolically, and open a window to let in more air and light.'

  'But isn't that dangerous?' asks Brendan.

  'Why is it any more dangerous than being a helpless victim in a world of effects?' counters Elidir.

  'Because then at least you are innocent. As soon as you start meddling with "hidden influences'' you run the risk of doing the wrong thing,' replies Brendan.

  'You are right,' says Elidir, 'which is why with the Magic of Changing you have to be very careful. You must be fully aware of the Law of the Returning Tide, and you must understand how to work the magic in just the right way. It is not for beginners. You need to have worked with the other two kinds of magic first - experiencing the Otherworld in journeying, and working with each of the stages of the Magic of Making, learning how to receive Awen and help it manifest in the world. Only then are you ready to work with the type of magic that involves generating influences in the world.

  'So, although I cannot train you fully in this last kind of magic yet, I can at least tell you a little about it.' Elidir gestures to the stones around you, 'A stone circle is like an electrical accumulator. It can store and release energy, and that is why it is a good place to work with the Magic of Changing. The primary tool for this kind of magic is the spell and this usually takes the form of a magical chant expressing an intention or desire. So, we perform a ceremony at the centre of which is a spell. We dance round and round chanting this spell and, as we do so, the energy in the circle builds and builds, and the stones add to the effect, helping to store and increase the effectiveness of the charge, just as an accumulator does with electricity. As we reach the peak of intensity, we all drop down to the ground - usually with exhaustion - and as we do this, we let go of all thoughts and desires, just knowing and trusting that the spell will work, carried by the energy generated by us and intensified by the stone circle.

  'If you're on your own it's a bit harder to build up the energy, but you can still do it by vizualizing your intention strongly and by focusing on the power flowing through the words of the spell. And you can dance on your own as well if you like.'

  'But what is a spell?' asks Brendan.

  'A spell is simply a wish expressed in a magical way. A spell asks for healing or blessing, or for something concrete and specific, such as a new house or job. Unfortunately, it can also be used to ask for something unpleasant, as in a curse, which is also a wish, but a destructive one.

  'Obviously, performing spells to harm or curse is out of the question - once you truly understand the Law of the Returning Tide you will know that. But using spellcraft for what appear to be good ends can also create problems and, unless you get it exactly right, the results can be disastrous. Most people think that all they have to do is make sure their spells are for good things, but it is not as simple as that. Sometimes we don't know what is good for us, or what making our wish come true might entail.

  'I know of someone who cast a spell to get more time in her busy life. It worked - she was fired a few days afterwards and found herself with all the time in the world, but with no money. And I have heard of a woman who worked a spell to get a million dollars. This succeeded too - a few days later her husband fell down a lift shaft. His life was insured for a million dollars and his wife received the money Only weeks after she performed the spell.

  'So, just asking for what you want can be a risky business. The trouble with teaching spell-making to novices is that they want to get started straight away on doing spells to get all the things they think they need - boyfriends or girlfriends, cars, jobs and money. It becomes a sort of spiritual consumerism and it is coming from a place of lack - or perceived lack. That is not a good place from which to base your magical intention because, according to the Law of Resonance, if you believe you are lacking in something, you will attract more of that Sense Of Lack into your life. In the first example I just gave, the spellcaster swapped a sense of a lack of time for a lack of money. In the second story, the woman swapped a lack of money for the lack of her husband.

  'Instead of working in this way, you need to approach spell-making from a position of trust and confidence that everything is working out more perfectly than you could imagine, and that you are using your prayers and spells to align yourself more fully with the current of abundance and rightness that flows through life. That is also how the best healing works - you realign yourself with the healing and beneficent current of life.

  'But how do you work a spell?' asks Brendan. 'I'm still not sure exactly what a spell is and how you make it!'

  'A spell is just the expression of a wish, desire or intention expressed in such a way that you believe or hope it will come true,' replies Elidir. 'So really it is like a prayer, where you are petitioning a Higher Power. But the magical techniques used with a spell can make it more effective than prayer.'

  WISHES, PRAYERS AND SPELLS

  'Let's now look at wishes, prayers and spells, and see how they are related and how they are each somehow different too. In the days of the ancient Druids, they would often cast spells by throwing precious objects into sacred lakes or wells. We still act out this custom, in a watered-down way, when we come across a wishing well. We throw a coin into the well and ask for what we want. It is an example of an ancient custom that still exists today, even if most people don't know of its true origins. In the old days this was a magical act, whereas today we make a wish without necessarily believing in the likelihood that it will come true. That is a wish - you just say it or think it without any special technique or belief that it will happen.

  'Now, a prayer is also a wish, but you actually ask a Higher Power, such as God or the Goddess, for your wish to come true: “O Goddess, may there be peace on Earth!'' is an example of a short prayer, whereas a wish would simply be "I wish there was peace on Earth.'' To turn a prayer into a spell you would need to add a further step, such as saying it nine times as you strike a bell, visualizing waves of peace rippling outwards.

  'A spell takes the desire that could be expressed in a wish or prayer, and uses the
power of ceremony, the power of the words that are used, the power of incantation or chanting, and sometimes dancing as well, and combines all this with the power of visualization. So you can see that it is more complicated, but it can also be much more effective.

  'In addition, spell-makers can perform their work at particular phases of the moon or times of the year to take advantage of the natural tides or energies that are flowing in the world, such as the tides of sowing and growing, reaping, dying and renewal that you have already learned about. Some people also use astrology to determine exactly the right time to work a particular spell.

  'A spell works with the power of the voice, ideally sung, chanted or spoken with great feeling. And it works with the spell-maker's ability to visualize strongly the desired outcome. A skilled magician can simply chant a spell, powerfully visualizing its realization in the World, and that Will be sufficient. Sometimes, the magician will also make a physical object to enhance the effect of the spell. She or he might write the spell down as they chant it on a special piece of parchment. Then they might burn it ritually to send its message out into the world, bury it in the ground, let the wind take it away or they might throw it into a stream - in each case using the power of one of the Four Elements. They might keep the piece of parchment and turn it into a charm, folding it up and putting it in a locket or sewing it into a garment. This is really based on the same idea as "clooties'', which are little ribbons or rags that people in Cornwall and Ireland, in particular, tie on to trees around sacred wells after saying their prayers – making their wishes by the well. They work on exactly, the same principle and the interesting thing is that you see this all over the world. In Native American sweat lodges they sometimes make prayer bundles of pinches of tobacco tied round with ribbon, and attach these to the framework of the lodge. In India and Tibet they make prayer flags, and tie ribbons to trees.

  'The idea is that the physical object you make as you recite the spell or prayer then becomes charged with the vibration of your intent, and continues to emit that vibration long after you have finished the spell-making rite. You can also do this with crystals and stones, but it is vital that you don't get preoccupied with the physical object - the charm. Most people who start working with spells get so concerned with calculating the most propitious time to do them, and then with preparing the rite and the charm that will be made, that they don't have much energy left for formulating the words of the spell and visualizing it powerfully as they chant it. And they can be very short-sighted. They will do a spell to get a lover, for example, and forget to add the vital idea that whatever they ask for should be "for the greater good of all". And so the lover appears, but makes their life a misery.

  'Asking for a specific type of person or physical object to come into your life can be disastrous. It's far better to ask for the essence of what you need - love, rather than a lover, for example. This gives life the opportunity to provide what you need in the best possible way, rather than in the way that you, with your limited viewpoint, have envisaged.

  'Unfortunately, people are often drawn to magic because they want to use it only for themselves. But when you truly know yourself, you discover that the greatest happiness and fulfilment comes not only when your own needs are satisfied, but when you are also concerned with serving something more than yourself, when you are making a positive contribution to the world.

  'If you approach the subject with superstition or selfish motives, you will become enmeshed in fear and fantasy, and the danger is that you may try to use magic to manipulate others.

  This is not to say that you cannot use spells for your own needs, but the best way to do this is not to ask for anything specific, but instead to use a spell to ask for positive qualities or to reinforce those qualities within yourself which will then, through resonance, bring you what you need. As an example, this version of St Patrick's Lorica - you may know it as St Patrick's Breastplate - which was developed from a pre-Christian invocation, is ideal as a spell spoken immediately on waking up, for protection or for overcoming feelings of weakness and vulnerability:

  'I arise today through the strength of heaven: light of sun,

  radiance of moon, splendour of fire, speed of lightning,

  swiftness of wind, depth of sea, stability of earth firmness

  of rock!

  Elidir then stands up and says, 'Let's work with these ideas now. I have been speaking to you about the way Druidcraft involves consciously sowing seeds for ourselves and for others. Come with me now and we will do this - we will perform a spell together!'

  With that, you follow her as she leads you out of the circle, across the meadow and down towards the sea. The sun is setting now, its golden beams shining across the ocean in ribbons of liquid light. As you reach the shore, the sun finally sinks below the horizon, and the sky grows darker.

  'Think of three gifts,' Elidir says softly to you all. 'One that you would like to receive in your life, one that you would like for those around you, and one that you would like for the world.'

  As you think of each gift, you remember her words of caution and try to reach to the heart of what it is that you want - not just the exterior wish. And as you do this, Elidir is busy folding waxed paper. In fact, she is making six paper boats, and into each she places a small candle. 'Just watch me, and then when you are ready, do the same. Remember, it is the spirit in which you do this, the magical intent, that is important. The outer form is just the vehicle for the magic of your spell.' And so saying, she walks to the shoreline, raises her hands to the first stars of evening and calls out:

  'O Goddess of the Earth and Heavens, God of the Moon

  and Stars, Creatures and Beings of all Realms, Spirits of

  Earth, Air, Fire and Water, Spirits of the Land and of the

  Sea, hear our prayers!'

  Elidir then lights the candle of one boat and launches it carefully on the outgoing tide. As she does this, you hear her saying, more quietly now:

  'For myself, O Goddess, compassion and wisdom!'

  Launching her second boat, she says:

  'For those around me, good health and joy!'

  And with her third boat:

  'For all Beings, may Peace prevail on Earth!'

  Gazing for a while as each tiny boat slowly drifts away, she then turns to you with a smile, and you step forward to launch your boats onto the sea of Dreams.

  Try the exercise suggested above, asking what it is you would truly like in each of the three realms - your own personal life, your immediate environment of friends, family and neighbourhood, and, finally, the wider world. The very act of determining these wishes should prove enlightening. Try to get to the root of each wish, so that, for example, if your wish is for protection from an aggressive person, go deeper to what you really want, which is the feeling of safety, and ask for that. Likewise with the desire for a physical object – if you want a car, what you really want is mobility, and behind that perhaps is the desire for freedom. The deeper you go, the closer you reach to the heart of your wish, the more effective will be your spell. If your wish is not for an obviously beneficent quality such as compassion, but for something more specific, always add a rider to your request, such as 'if it is in my best interests' or 'if it be for the greater good of all'.

  Casting your spell across the water in a paper boat is based on an ancient custom, but this may be impractical for you. Instead, you could burn it in a candle flame, cast it to the wind on a feather or say it at a place that is special to you.

  Spells and magic are integral to both Druidry and Witchcraft, although modern-day Druids are very cautious about working with Spellcraft. Most Druid groups either omit training in it or they teach it at a much later stage than their counterparts in Wicca. That is why people who only learn a little about modern Druidry do not find any mention of spells.

  The ancient Druids were certainly involved in spellcraft - we know this from references to Druids' spells in the old texts. James Joyce says, 'The Gaeli
c word for Druidical is almost always applied where we should use the word magical - to spells, incantations, metamorphoses, etc.' and the Irish accounts, in particular, are full of references to Druidical charms, spells and magic.

  Water was seen as an ideal medium for conveying spells, prayers and wishes, hence the use of the holy well and its derivative, the modern wishing well. Rivers and the sea were also considered to be directly connected to the Gods and the Otherworld. Druidry is of Indo-European origin, with many linguistic and cultural parallels being found between the two poles of Indo-European influence – Ireland and India. In India, at certain times, prayers are conveyed on light-boats. In describing a similar rite, performed by her Druid group, the