The Contemporary New England Witch

The Contemporary New England Witch
Author Ms.Faith

Monday, September 26, 2016

The Witch and Magick and Why We Do Not Seek Revenge





Good Afternoon My Witchy Readers,

 Oh my Goddess! Tis the season, indeed! The season I refer to, is the Witching season, the fall, Autumn, Halloween season that is coming upon us. This season more than any other, in my opinion, when it comes around, attracts those who wish to play witch or Pagan.

You can tell these people from real witches. If you are a witch, one that studies, practices, learns and walks the path of divine magick and love, then there are some principles you carry close to your heart.  
We do not do vengeful magick because someone pissed us off. Oh trust me, I can see how people desire to do things like this, but with over 30 years of practice, experience and observing magickal manifestation, it DOES NOT work that way.
What a witch does, is allow the karmic energies to return to those who sent them. Not fast enough for you? Too bad. The witch is patient and in the meantime learns from the experience. Perhaps we learn not to trust some people, but we to trust those closest to us. 

We develop a thicker skin because we know not everyone will love us or even like us. Hell, some want us banished to the depths of hell, never to return. We simply deal and go on.
We do not spend time seeking revenge and trying to send karma back to someone who has wronged us. That is simply not understanding the true energies of the magick we work with. Yes, we can protect, yes we can banish unwanted energies from our lives, but to deliberately seek to send someone's yuck back to them. We just do not do this!
Wow! If you feel like you are entitled to  do  vengeful magick, because your feelings are hurt, get off your high broomstick, You are better than that. If you feel that you can do such a thing and remain unscathed, you will soon learn a very serious lesson. Karma does not care any more than a rubber band, stretched to it's limit, cares when it is released. It will travel until it finds it's target.
No matter how 'right' you think you are, no matter how righteous is your desire, how mean and wrong and awful the other person is. You can call yourself a vengeful, pissed off person seeking revenge, but do not call yourself  'witch'. That title is reserved for those 'wise' enough to know better.

It never fails, this time of year, the pretenders come out. There is nothing wrong with getting into the spirit of the holiday, but when you call yourself a witch, or Wiccan and then start posts on Social Media of how you will burn a candle and do harmful magick against another, you simply look unschooled, and foolish. You will not impress those who know of what magick truly is.

If you desire to be a real witch in your heart, in your life then start studying. Read real published books, rather than Internet sites, which have little to no credibility. Learn from those who have walked the path of the witch and can teach you the ways. Will it be easy? Not at all. Will it come fast and without challenge, no. If you are willing to pick up the broomstick and really do the work, the rewards are endless,  the love of the Goddess and the divine energy that will fill your life, become greater than any silly revenge spell. 



That is a mystery that a real witch knows to be true. Anyone that tells you differently, be very, very cautious.  Magick is Love.  Magick is only Love.  Magick only knows Love. 


Peace and Happiness - Ms. Faith 








© 2010-2016 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.

A Poem for Those Who Seek To Steal From a Witch!




Good Morning my Witchy Reader,

A few years ago, we had some trolls come into Enchantments and they stole some items.  I know, right!!??  How rude! Not to mention, how to build up some serious bad karma for them!  Well, at the time I wrote a poem and it hangs on the front door of Enchantments to this day. It is considered an Incantation as well as a spell that is only effective on those who mean us harm.

In addition to the incantation, we have a bowl of salt with large rusty nails laying on the salt and it is placed on the floor next to the front door. This salt/ nail set-up, is for  protection and for keeping harmful people away. Sigh, I know. It can be a bit sad, that we attract such people, but the witch has always attracted all sorts of people, but we focus on those who have good intentions and wish for us to help them enhance their lives with magick, love and light.

This is the poem wrote, that I would like to share with you.

"For those who seek to steal from a witch
know this rule of three
your life will soon develop a hitch
with true karmic certainty
For what you've wrongfully taken,
trivial though it may be
something greater will be forsaken
a thing more precious will be taken from thee
I send this promise, upon the air
that hide where you may
That a karmic slap will find you there
all by the end of this day!"  
Careful kittens. . . its not nice to steal from a witch!"  written by Ms. Faith McCann  2012


Do not underestimate the power of the written word.  For centuries spells have been written down or inscribed on various materials, and have been given great power by the belief of the spell caster.  Again, we do not cast a spell on any specific person without their express permission, but we have every right to protect ourselves from energies that may be sent to harm us. So the above spell/incantation is designed to be activated only by the ill will and harmful intentions of those who come near it. And someone planning on stealing is someone seeking to harm you. 

Peace and Happiness,   Ms. Faith 







© 2010-2016 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.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Ancient Myths, Legends and Sexy Lore That Still Follow Witches To This Day!



Good Evening My Witchy Reader,

I was preparing a discussion about our next Sabbat, Mabon, but my broom took a sharp left as  I have been questioned, and have seen a number of articles recently, in my research, on the ancient mythos that follow witches to this day.  I will get back to Mabon, soon, but this is such a juicy and delicious topic I simply couldn't resist!

Oh My Goddess! The things people 'think' they know about a witch, and what we are and what we do! Much, has come from distorted historical accounting from, in many cases Witch Hunters that were or worked for very prejudiced Christians that feared and loathed the witch.

Firstly, the Witch has been, since the times of the ancient Greeks and the pre-Christian Romans, been known as a seductress,  a temptress with only the seduction of men as her focus. And before the early Christians, at times, she was! The woman was revered as a personification of the Great Goddess, a deity of love, lust, sexual desire, fertility, abundance and sustenance. The Great Mother provided two of life's greatest desires, food stuffs and sexual release. They were honored and considered the height of society until the first Christian Priests started to overtake the land, and with them came the witch hunters.  

 Many a woman, labeled  witch, were arrested, fined, even put to death simply because a man had a 'wet' dream about her and upon awaking felt that it was all her fault, especially those men of very devout beliefs. Soon, the woman was denigrated to the lowest levels of society, labeled slut, whore, Jezebel and even blamed for all of men's sexual desires, deviant or no as well as causing original sin!

There is a lot of sex associated with the ancient witch and many people secretly think much of the same today, when they become comfortable enough to ask or discuss. While, yes, the ancient pagan held sex in high regard, just as revering Nature, honoring Gaia the Mother Earth Goddess, planting, nurturing and harvesting food stuffs,  gifts of the God,  from the Earth, harvesting from the Orchards, making and drinking wine that is the essence of the Goddess found on the vine. All of these were and are of primary importance to the ancient and modern Pagan, but the sex is what the early Christians used to smear the woman and the witch with an obscene brush.

We respect and honor all things of nature, and sex, procreation, living life, and caring for the elderly and the dying are all as significant to us.  There are those that feel a witches coven Sabbat gathering is simply a ritualistic orgy. While this may have been true in ancient times, with very specific ritual reasons, we do not bring this aspect into our gatherings in modern days.

It was at one time  true, that if a  High Priestess had sex with a man, that should she wish to, she could elevate that man, just by her desire to the rank of High Priest. You will find many High Priestess/Priest couples in the modern Pagan world. For the ancients it was not necessary to go through a complex  ceremony to proclaim the High Priest. "Making Merry' with the High Priestess did the trick!  But even after the fun and frolicking, it was still up to her to decide if her sexual partner was worthy to be her high priest.

In ancient covens, it was traditional to have 13  people.  6 couples, made up of a man and a woman, along with a coven leader. Depending on the time in history, the leader could have been a High Priest or High Priestess. When coven members would come to attend the circle, they would pair up with their coven wife or husband and anything that happened in the coven, stayed in the coven. The spouse at home none the wiser. Having a happy, satisfying relationship with your coven mate was very important to the harmony, happiness and magickal workings of the group. Distension, anger, and often the attitude of the home spouse would ruin an effective magickal working, as primarily the energy desired then and now is love.

Nowadays, covens can be smaller than 13 or much, much larger. There may be some couples but many are single in the circle and come together for fellowship and like mindedness.  Today, almost exclusively, any sexual activity amongst magickal  couples is done in private in their own homes, or out in nature, if they choose. We are after all Pagans!  And it is taught to new witches and Pagans on the path if you come across a group that wants you to do anything you are not comfortable with, e.g. drinking, drugs, being naked in ritual, having sex, etc. Find another group. Most serious groups do not focus on these things as we are too busy working in a ritual trance creating magick.

Some other myths attributed to ancient witches: Having the ability to shrink, or all together remove a man's  penis! Or to cause him to suffer erectile dysfunction, even a man being over sexed and constantly aroused would be blamed on the poor witch or the nearest woman.  In ancient times men were simply not capable of accepting responsibility for their own bodily responses! Many books of the time, all the books on detecting witches, the use of witchcraft and the torments caused by witches all mention this area of supposed "expertise"!

On the flip side, people today still put a  lot of belief in a witch simply touching something and all of a sudden it is blessed. I, personally, refrain from doing this, unless it is a special gift for someone close to me. It is far more effective to teach the person how to imbue their own personal, spiritual energy into an object, a stone or crystal, a candle or piece of magickal jewelry.




There is also the belief that only a witch can name another a witch. In ancient times this was true. Simply because there was a  code of silence and secrecy adopted to prevent people worshiping the old ways from being arrested, tortured and killed. So when one witch knew another person well enough to trust them, they could be called a witch, and so on and so forth. The creation of a magickal family one could trust, or hope to.  Today, even though I do conduct a ceremony at the end of a students year and a day at Enchantments, which is a graduation ceremony, and we name them witch and introduce them to the watchtowers, anyone that wishes to call themselves a witch can do  so. Being a witch comes from inside and how you feel about things and perceive the world.  It can simply be between you and the Goddess, nothing more is needed.

Some  legend and lore is true though. Many of us have the gift of prophetic dreams,  waking and knowing something is going to happen.  Also many of us have the ability to simply "know" something has happened, or is going to happen.  We can pick up on other's emotions, energies and feelings. That is the empathetic part of who we are. Everyone has the ability to be empathic but many push it away as they are so into their critical  minds during their day to day work.  But for many witches the empathetic ability has never left us.

Many of us are very in-tune with the natural  world round us and can often sense storms, rain, snow or other elemental events before they happen. Some witches have a natural ability to use sticks or other natural materials to dowse for water, or even spiritual energies in an area or a building.

Some of us have natural ability to perform psychometry. Many witches use psychometry,  which is to to hold a piece of jewelry from  a person they do not know and be able to tell all about them. I do this myself, but I am better at 'reading' old buildings. I have always been able to put my hands on a wall of  building, even a foundation ruin and be able to hear, smell and 'see' things that had happened in the past.

The witch today, has many abilities and sensitivities, but the 'naughty' outrageous tabloid type of rumors and legend are simply that. We are much more magickal, insightful and in touch with nature than we are wild, crazy, orgiastic, drunken heathens!!!  Now I'm not saying some Pagans do not have a wild, fun, sexy side but that is not what our deep essence is,  it is simply a fun part of some of us.


The witch is many, many things but never make the mistake of thinking you know her or him completely, as there is always that shadow side, they seldom  show anyone.



Peace and Happiness, Ms. Faith




© 2010-2016 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, September 15, 2016

Times When it is the Hardest to Do Magick and What To Do Instead



Good Evening My Witchy Readers,

Many times I harvest tidbits for my discussions with you from my own life and experiences. Sometimes I use questions posed by students and customers, and today is no different. We have discussed spell casting in the past and it can be quite academic, following the Anatomy of a Spell, and following Spell Manifestation as I have discussed in previous discussions as well as in my book.

Yet, many, many times we find ourselves in a difficult place and we wish to cast a spell. When I say difficult, I mean emotions may overtake us. We may be angry at an injustice, or sad at a loss. We may be confused and unsure as to the exact right thing to do to help with a situation.  We may be heartbroken, suffering grief, or even so incredibly happy and excited about something, or someone new in our lives we have lost focus a bit.

All of these conditions do not make for the proper mind set for creating magick and casting spells. So, after 30 years of spell casting and practicing witchcraft I will tell you a secret and a truth. During times when your emotions are not completely in your control, you do not do magick. You cast no spell. yes, just as I said, do not do that type of magick.  Especially if another is involved, because even the best intentions, the most honorable and highest purpose (in your mind) crosses a boundary, when involving another without their express permission.

So, what to do? Well, I do not advocate doing nothing, that is not what I'm saying. Yet, rather than trying to  compose yourself and focus and raise the ritual trance energy required for effective spell casting, instead give it to the Goddess.



Light a candle, and speak to your Goddess. If you do not work with a specific Goddess, and that is not necessary, speak aloud to the Great Mother Goddess of all. Tell her of your pain, your grief, your sadness. Explain the problem, and the solution you desire, even if you are not sure how to get there.

Hold the candle, speak your heart and desires, light it, and allow it to burn for several hours.  Then give it up to HER. Allow Her to do what is best and what is meant to be encountered on your magickal path. If it is meant to be, it will be. If it is not, it will not.

You cannot finagle, cast shadows, trick, fool or  cajole the Goddess. What you are meant to experience you will. Understanding that will, eventually, save you a lot of wasted time and effort. And your world will continue on as it is meant to, with the experiences, people, places, and lessons you are meant to encounter.  If you are aware and prepared for this, you will get there quicker.

Yes,  sometimes it is not the right time to cast a spell, and I don't mean the moon cycle or the day of the week,  or time of the year. Sometimes we are in an emotional place where spell casting can bring us into darkness, by our very actions and magickal energy.  If you are fearful, you might be in such a place, talk to the Goddess and she will return the light to your world.


Peace and Happiness, Ms. Faith




© 2010-2016 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, September 8, 2016

A Brief History of the Witch Part 2

Greetings Witchy Readers,

Now  to continue with our brief history of the witch .  .  .

The witch burnings, which consisted of tying a woman, often along with her children, naked onto a stake in the center of the village square, with huge piles of dried kindling, and setting it afire was common and considered entertainment for villagers oppressed by the dark ages. It was an extremely painful and horrific way to die as it could take an hour or more for the victims to perish. The death penalty was enacted after severe, horrendous torture was inflicted. The 3rd degree of torture was a level, that if the person was capable of surviving it, anyone would confess to anything. Most did not survive the 3rd degree, and it is in reference to this that we have the 3rd degree level of burns today, which are the most severe of burns.

 In colonial America there were no witch burnings, as the early Puritans preferred to hang those accused, those who survived the torture. The first person put to death for the charge of witchcraft on Colonial soil, was Alse Young from Windsor, who was accused of sickening her neighbors cow. She was hung at the green in Hartford (The site of the Old State House today), on May 26, 1647. There were 46 individuals accused, and 11 put to death in Connecticut for the charge of witchcraft. The witch craze gripped Europe and Colonial America and spread fear throughout the populace. Perhaps initially there was a fear, due to superstition and ignorance, of the so called witch, but by researching history it becomes apparent that the fear would have soon become one of self preservation in keeping oneself from being accused. For anyone could be, and often everyone was accused.

There were villages in Germany, that when the witch hunters left, everyone - men, women, children and domesticated animals had been put to death. Most of the organized witch hunts had been abolished by the end of the 17th century, although the last woman put to death under the color of authority was in Eastern Europe in 1958, and women and men are stoned to death every week in small African villages today where fear, superstition and ignorance still prevail.

 We live in a country and in a time in history where our religious beliefs are protected by laws. Where, if we strive to remember the history of the witch, we can hope to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again to the people of our world. Today many people are stepping onto the path of the witch, or picking up the broomstick as we say. Anyone can be a witch if they choose. You do not have to be "born" a witch, or to be part of a witch family. Both men and women are called witch. Warlock is not a name used in reference to magickal people. It is an ancient Scottish word that stands for betrayer, someone who brings harm and death to their family and community.

 Today witches follow a belief system that is very individual, with no religious dogma. We work with herbs, crystals, minerals, and potions, all to bring needed change into our lives. Newsweek magazine declared Wicca the fastest growing religion in the United States today. The word witch comes from an old English word wik meaning "to shape or bend". We work with natural energies and many believe in the Great Mother as creator. Some covens (magickal groups) like the Enchanted Circle Coven of Enchantments work with both the Goddess and God energies, female and male for balance. We celebrate the new and full moons. The moon is significant to us as it is a symbol of the Goddess and the sun a symbol of the God.

 The spells we cast, are cast on ourselves, never on another. Our spells are cast to bring loving energies, financial energies, or healing energies into our lives. We DO NOT have a devil or Satan in our belief system. The concept of a devil was introduced along with the patriarchal religions that took over the world approximately 5000 years ago. We also never proselytize, that is, try to convert others to our ways. Actually most would say we don't want everyone to follow our path, for we understand that one path is not meant for everyone. The high Priest & Priestess of the Enchanted Circle Coven are ordained ministers who perform Spiritual counseling in the community, as well as conduct Handfastings (Weddings), Wiccannings (Baptisms) and perform last rites for the dying and conduct funeral services for those who have passed on. Our religious beliefs are legal in all 50 states and recognized by the government of the United States of America.

We also seek to dispel fear, superstitions and erroneous beliefs that some in our community still believe to be true about the witch.

 *(Before the Common Era, what archaeologists now refer to the period formally called B.C. The era formerly called A.D. is now referred to as C.E. the common era).




Peace and Happiness







© 2010-2016 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.