The Contemporary New England Witch

The Contemporary New England Witch
Author Ms.Faith

Friday, October 23, 2015

Happy Samhain or Halloween!!



Good Afternoon,

Yes, it is that witchy time of the year again! A time when witches celebrate Samhain pronounced (Sow-wen) also known far and wide as Halloween.

Do you know the history of Halloween? Well, it is a vast and expansive history that trails back over 5,000 years to Celtic Europe. Let me touch on a few points concerning the history of Halloween. If you would like to learn more, please make plans to attend my "History of Halloween" lecture and PowerPoint presentation this upcoming Friday, October 30, 2015 at Manchester Community College, Manchester, CT. USA The lecture starts at 6 pm and goes until 8 pm. We put on a very brief, silly skit emphasizing the stereotypical witch from legend and lore. Then the PowerPoint presentation, followed by a guided meditation where you will be able to contact a loved one who has passed and take home a magickal stone which will help you connect with them at other times. If you would like to attend, please call Manchester Community College at 860-512-3232 Monday-Friday between 8:30 am - 4:30 pm. You may pay by MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card. The cost is $20 a person. Please reference the course number CRN 31810. The lecture will take place in Great Path Academy on the MCC campus in room GPA GP139. I look forward to seeing you there!

Now those interesting facts about Halloween I promised you. Here they are:


  • The holy day or Sabbat of Samhain really falls on November 1st. But like all of the Celtic Sabbats the actual holy day starts the evening before, at sunset. 
  • The name Samhain is thought to be old Gaelic and means November, though if you look on the Internet you'll find 20 different interpretations. From my research, November, is the closest actual translation. 
  • The name Halloween is derived from the old title of All Hallow's Eve, with the day itself being "All Hallow's Day"  which is what the early Christians re-named this day in an attempt to absorb and Christianize the Pagan holy day. "All Hallow's was named such as it was a day to revere those who were Hallowed in the Christian faith, i.e. Some of the more special Saints and Angels. The very next day, November 1st, was re-named and Christianized as "All Saint's Day" which incorporated all those Saints not included on October  31st. Then November 2nd, became all souls day. This was a day to pray for all souls on Earth, everybody. This three day Christianized super-imposition over the Pagan holy day was an attempt to wipe out one of the most sacred holy days on the Pagan calendar. 
  • Samhain is a Celtic observed Day of the Dead. This is the holy day we remember the loved ones we have lost, especially in the past year, and others who have gone before. 
  • There are many ways to celebrate this holy day. One fashion is to hold a "Dumb Supper". A Dumb Supper is a feast where people are invited to sit down and eat wonderful foods and drink, only no one speaks. At all, throughout the entire dinner party. This is a way to honor the spirit guests who are present but cannot speak. 
  • A "Dumb Supper" can be a bit intense for some, so an easier way of honoring those who have passed, and are visiting in spirit form, is to have one plate of food, piled high, with all the goodies at the dinner. A glass of drink and the plate of food are placed on the table with an empty chair in that place. No one of the living sits there, or eats or drinks of the food and drink. They are placed there for the spirits. Pictures of loved ones who have passed can be placed at this table setting in honor and memoriam. 
  • The night before Samhain, October 31st, is an excellent night to commune with the spirits. It is believed that the "Veil between the Worlds" grows thin at this time of the year, also at Beltaine on May 1st.  These two days are the half way points on the Wheel of the Year. It is believed that spirits can talk to you more easily at these times. So holding a seance' , using an oracle or talking board (Ouija) , using your pendulum, using tarot cards or crystal balls are all very effective this time of the year. 
  • Trick or Treating actually evolved from Western Europe when on this night villagers would go from door to door looking for a hand out of free drink, liquor of some sort or food. These were adults, whereas today we expect children looking for candy. Many years ago, with the poor and hungry, many people would simply not survive without the generosity and hand outs of the other villagers. 
  • On a final note, a bit of American History concerning Halloween. The scare everyone gets at Halloween concerning poisoned candy or treats with harmful objects inside, is just that a scare. Checking with the FBI, who handles all crimes such as these, they report that in the past 100 years in the United States (Halloween wasn't celebrated much before this time in this country) there have been only 2 instances where a child was killed or injured with candy that was tampered with. Only 2 times. And both of these cases were found to be caused by sick and twisted family members who wanted to cash in on insurance policies held on the children in question.  Now I'm not at all suggesting parents do away with diligently checking their children's candy bags, because crazies are among us. But a sigh of relief can be had by knowing your children are safer than the media would have you believe every year around this time. 
I wish you the very happiest, healthiest and spookiest of Samhains or Halloweens! Whatever you celebrate, make it the very best!! 





Peace and Happiness Ms. Faith 









© 2010-2015 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Friday, October 16, 2015

Afraid To Cast a Spell Because You Might Do Something Wrong? Let's Discuss


Good Afternoon,

We are going to discuss spell casting today. But not the specifics of spell casting, more like the ethics of spell casting. It has come to my attention, from talking with magickal people that frequent the shop, that many people read a lot about the magickal world and about spell casting, but do not actually cast any spells!

To this witch, that is akin to reading cookbook after cookbook but never going into the kitchen!! And when asked why? The answers are invariably the same. They do not want to do anything wrong. They do not want to send something out that will return to them and cause problems in their lives. They do not want to piss off the Goddess and the God or any other divine entity. Hmmmmm, tapping finger nails on the desk. Interesting, indeed.

First I would ask "Are you trying or intending to do anything harmful or negative to another?" The answer is always "No! Of course not!" followed with, "I just don't know enough." Well, let me take a few moments to explain. Witches practice witchcraft. Practice. One is never perfect right out of the cauldron! Of course not. One needs to practice AND make mistakes, and practice some more and make more mistakes etc. etc. before one can master anything! That's right, you can only master a thing once you have worked it a good long while. And mistakes are guaranteed. But let's address some concerns:


    • Firstly, you will not, actually can not piss off the Gods. Well, I suppose if you really try to do so, and set off to accomplish this, it can be done, in some philosophies. But unless you are trying to disrespect them, you won't do so just by practicing and making a few mistakes. Do you really think the Gods care how you set up your altar? Or if you start your circle in the East or in the North? Do you think they care if you forget to light the candles or ring the bell? Seriously? How petty do you think you Goddess or God is? They are beyond human, and a mistake humans consistently make is that we assume the Gods are subject to the same petty stuff we are. Our Gods DO NOT sit in judgement of us. That's a Westernized Christian concept, for some Christians, not all. You can and will make mistakes and the Gods, like kindly, understanding grandparents, will smile and nod understandingly while you go back and re-do.
    • Next, the Karma connection. When someone is worried that 'what they do' will return to them threefold, they first have to be doing something specific. Just casting a circle incorrectly won't return any karmic feedback, because you've not done anything to anyone. For karma to come to you, you must send out specific good or bad, deliberate intentional stuff. Say you cast a spell for love. And you don't visualize, or don't use the correct candle color, or something that just makes the spell difficult to manifest. You know what will happen? Nothing, period. No manifestation. You're not going to create chaos in your life because you forgot to cast a spell properly. There is simply nothing to return back to you. People put so much 'energy' on stuff returning back to them, but realize it has to be concentrated, specific intentional energy that you are sending out. And if it's good and loving to begin with, why, in the name of the Goddess, would it return in a negative way, simply because you forgot a step or two?? 
By not practicing your spells, by not casting circles you are just simply not living the life of a witch. You are existing on the fringes of a very magickal circle that will welcome you into it, all you have to do is step inside and get to work. And enough of the excuses as to why you can't practice. If you wish to live the life of a witch you will practice, as simple as that. Or be content to sit on the sidelines watching. It's really up to you. 

Now that you know how the energies and the karmic thing works, you can feel freed from the restrictions you have imposed upon yourself and start practicing. I st practice casting a circle. You can find previous posts for casting a circle by putting those words in the search box at the top of this page. After you've practiced casting and opening a circle, then you can start practicing casting spells. Only do one spell at a time, focus on one a week to start. Or even one a month. And be sure to journal your work in a notebook, called a Book of Shadows. Put all of your magickal workings in this book. Over time you will accumulate several Books of Shadows, and this will become your magickal library.

Happy Circle and Spell Casting! Write in the comments on how you do, I'd love to hear from you!! 


Peace and Happiness









© 2010-2015 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Thursday, October 8, 2015

The Witches Pyramid

The Witches Pyramid

Good Evening,

The Witches Pyramid is an old concept that Witches of old were thought to follow. It has four levels, lessons or sides of the pyramid. To know, To will, To dare, To keep silent. These are the four aspects of the pyramid. The lessons of the pyramid are simple and each are associated with a direction and element:

To Know: A witch must have knowledge and not just book or (shudder) Internet knowledge. Anyone can read and read and read. That doesn't make you a witch. Practice, ritual, working magick are all part of becoming a witch and a witch has knowledge. To know. To know on a physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual level and that takes more than just reading a book or taking some classes. A witch practices at home, and come to a place where she/he lives the life. And then truly know. To Know is associated with the Eastern realms and the element of Air.

To Will: A witch is often challenged on her/his path. Sometimes the challenge is obvious and comes from a close minded person, perhaps a co-worker or relative. Many more times though the challenge comes from the world around you. You must have the Will, the drive, the desire the courage to practice and live your life as a witch. It's not always going to be easy, did you expect it to be? Living the life of a witch is easy when everything is going your way, but it becomes life changing and life enhancing when you live the life of a witch when everything is going against you, and you still do your 'witchy' thing. To Will is associated with the Southern realms and element of Fire.

To Dare: Yes, you must have the will, the desire to practice a witchy lifestyle, but you may also be called upon to be daring! To face up to opposition and do it anyways! Regardless of what others may think, say or do. Of course, you must be safe and if your safety is in jeopardy be sure to call the authorities, but other than that, practice as you choose to. I long ago got over the neighbors or others in my neighborhood knowing I practice witchcraft. I have rituals and do all sorts of things right in the front yard and people just continue on their way. Sometimes people drive by and beep and wave, others simply ignore us. It's all good, because I practice as I will and fewer people than you would think have a problem with it. Or if they do have a problem, they never say anything to me. To Dare is associated with the Western realms and the element of Water.

To Keep Silent: This level or lesson of the Witches Pyramid has been the most important one throughout the history of the witch. For when a witch (suspected witch) was arrested she/he was tortured for information on their illicit activities s well as for names of other 'witches'. Under the types of torture common during the Burning Times, people often gave up the names of anyone with the slightest suspicion on them if they thought it would stop the pain and suffering. Midwives, herbalists, anyone who practiced the old folk magicks would all be suspect. Those accused were seldom let go, once arrested the path quickly led to death by either burning or hanging. So to keep silent was crucial for your life and the life of your family. To Keep Silent is associated with the Northern realms and the element of Earth.

These lessons of the Witches Pyramid have been taught and practiced for decades if not centuries. There is little historical information as to the true origins of the Witches Pyramid, but it is important to note it is much older than Wicca, and is not Wiccan per say, but  rather a basis for practice of effective magick and living a magickal life. The Witches Pyramid has evolved over the past few decades and modern magickal practitioners have added yet a fifth aspect or lesson to the prior four. The fifth lesson is;

To Go: It refers to the physical action required by a witch to do her/his work. It is not simply a matter of thinking about something, or praying about something to make a thing manifest. Many belief systems do just that, thinking or praying about a thing. The witch acts! To go, is the lesson of action. Do something, get the energies moving, to make your magick manifest. Also invoke the Goddess/God to aide you in your work. For this level or lesson is associated with the Realm of Spirit which is held above all things physical.

The Witches Pyramid is considered very old by some magickal practitioners and I can't say whether it is or it isn't. But I do know the lessons to be learned when practicing the levels gives a witch a sound foundation with which to work and practice a magickal life.

Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2015 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.