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Episode 115: Which Witch pt. 6- Forest and Fairy Magic
527 Plays4 months ago
Welcome back, Witches! Today, we're exploring the enchanting practices of Forest and Fairy Witchcraft, uncovering the secrets of nature-based magic and ethereal connections with the fairy realm. So get in losers, we're venturing into the mystical woods and uncovering the magic of the fairies!
We would be forever thankful if you left our podcast a 5-Star review. If you really loved the show and want more Get in Loser content, check out our Supercast & Buy Me a Coffee links below. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @GetinWitches, on TikTok @weredoingwitchcraft, or email us at [email protected]. You can support our show through our links below.
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Music by Karl Casey @ White Bat Audio- The Witch
References:
- Molnar, Deanna. There are Witches in These Woods: Untangling the Fairy-Tale of the Wild Feminine. (2019) https://deannamolnar.wordpress.com/2019/11/12/witches-and-trees-art-environment/
- Youtube:The Wild Forest Witchery
- Emma Wilby (2010). The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth Century Scotland. Liverpool University Press. https://www.amazon.com/Visions-Isobel-Gowdie-Witchcraft-Seventeenth-Century/dp/1845191803
- Morgan Daimler (2017). Fairies: A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folk. Moon Books. https://www.amazon.com/Fairies-Guide-Celtic-Fair-Folk/dp/1782796509?&linkCode=sl1&tag=wardm404-20&linkId=bf62e4e397f79122a8dada83216ce43e&language=en_US&ref_=as_li_ss_tl
- Ceridwen (n.d.). A Complete Guide to Fae Mythology and Fairies for Wiccans. Craft of Wicca. https://craftofwicca.com/a-complete-guide-to-wiccan-fae-and-fairies/
- Kitty Fields (2018). Fairy Witches: The Age Old-Connection Between Fae and Witchcraft. Otherworldly Oracle. https://otherworldlyoracle.com/fairy-witches/
- Caleb Strom (2017). Avalon: A Real Island Obscured by Legend, or Just a Legendary Island? Ancient Origins. https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/avalon-real-island-obscured-legend-or-just-legendary-island-007685
- Kitty Fields (2022). Morgan Le Fay: 9 Ways to Work with the Fairy Goddess of Avalon. Otherworldly Oracle. https://otherworldlyoracle.com/morgan-le-fay/
- What is Faery Magick? The Solstice Sisters (n.d.). https://www.solsticesisters.co/blogs/post/what-is-faery-magick
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Transcript
Podcast Introduction
00:00:00
Speaker
Do you feel drawn to learn more about witchcraft and the occult, but feel lost in where to start? Then welcome to Get In, Loser! We're Doing Witchcraft, a podcast all about what it means to be a witch and where to get started on your journey. Join us as we navigate through various witchy topics and share what we have learned about the craft.
Exploring Forest Witches and Fairy Magic
00:00:15
Speaker
So get in, witches, for another installment of our Witch Witch series, this time taking a look at forest witches and fairy magic.
The Manuka Honey Saga
00:00:39
Speaker
So I'm going to tell you the story real fast before I record. ya um There's this fancy store here. It's my favorite store. It's called Rogers Food Market. And they like have like imported stuff from all over. There's like European stuff there. So like things that like not everything. And you know if it's imported, it's more expensive than how much it would cost in Europe and stuff. But yeah it's it's a nice, like bougie little supermarket that I love to go to from time to time. We buy like our hand soaps from there because they're like all natural, lavender scent. You know what I mean? so It's like the Trader Joe's of Japan. Basically, yeah. Trader Joe's of Japan. The whole foods.
00:01:21
Speaker
And so we we're there right Mike and I and like he we just have like one little basket like the hand basket and we're walking through the store I got some bread a couple bottles of wine I got some chicken like you know some seasonings and shit like that and we go to pay and this bitch our total was like over $300. It was like almost $400. I'm not even joking. and i Mike and I looked at each other and we're both like, what the fuck did we buy in this basket? I'm just like, okay. We just paid for it or whatever and we were leaving and he um does Google Translate on our receipt and he's like, maybe it's like He was like, what did you buy? And I'm like, I literally bought like chicken and some seasoning. What did you buy? yeah And he was like, well, it could be like this bone broth I got was like kind of expensive. Maybe it was that. No. Oh my
Understanding Manuka Honey's Cost
00:02:14
Speaker
gosh. He bought this man bought an almost $200 bottle of honey.
00:02:21
Speaker
Was it like a Manuka, honey? It was, yeah. Okay. but I mean, that makes sense. It's wild that it's that expensive. Because in the States, normally it's like 100 bucks or whatever. Wild that it's that expensive. Here, it's not that bad. Yeah. They keep it like locked in little plastic containers that they have to unlock at the register. But I think when we were looking, I think it was like 40 euro. So like 45 bucks. Yeah. Well, he did. he He had no clue. And like, you know, yen is like, sometimes we get confused still. Well, yeah, being here. It's because it's like crazy. and Wild. yeah Yeah. And so but yeah, he was not paying attention. He bought a $200 bottle of honey. He was like,
00:03:01
Speaker
This is my Father's Day gift. Don't give me anything for Father's Day. What'd you get for Father's Day? I'm like, honey, $200 honey. And I was like, well, maybe we can like use it for special occasions. And he's like, no, no, no. I'm going to have all of this honey. This is my Father's Day gift. You're like, I get this butter. Yeah. And I got my little French butter and that was $8. But you know what? I wanted it.
00:03:32
Speaker
Oh, Michael Risky. He said was looking online, I guess like you know people were like, oh yeah, we'll have teaspoons of it like every morning to
Packaging and Sustainability
00:03:40
Speaker
aid in our digestion. It helps heal burns and shit. And I'm like, well, there you go, maybe. I mean, regular honey could do that too. Yeah. So I'm just like, there we go. Maybe like ah this will be a new burn salve. And he's like, no, it's not. I'm going to eat all of this honey. And yeah I feel like I wouldn't, I wouldn't feel so bad about it if it came in like a cute little glass jar, but it's like in a little plastic container. So it's like, oh, it's 200 bottle, ah dollar or bottle of honey. And doesn't even come in a cute little jar I can reuse. Yeah, rude. I buy it. Honey is so like affordable over here.
00:04:17
Speaker
I mean, it's affordable in the States, but it's expensive. like To get a jar of honey in the States is like $20, $30 sometimes. yeah Over here, I get these huge jars. I wish I had one. Oh, I do have one. It's just way out of reach. They have the metal clasps that seal it, you know what I mean? Yeah, so they're big glass jars with that ceiling clasp and the rubber ring to seal the jar or whatever that I can reuse and huge.
00:04:49
Speaker
$12.00. Yeah, that's nice. In the States, that jar would be like $30, $40.00. Oh, yeah. like it You'd be paying a charge for the jar, too. like It would be in a plastic little yeah container. Yeah. Yeah. and I was telling Anthony, too, I appreciate it so much because like the um even down to the label that they use on this honey is an easy like peel off sticker. like I'm not having to soak it and scrub all the sticky stuff off. It just it comes right off. Pop that bitch in the wash the dishwasher to like clean it. Now you got a jar. Napothecary jar. I mix yeah blends of tea for us. I'll come down here with those jars and I'll mix a whole jar of it and take it upstairs. like Love it. They're the best jars. I love that. $12 fucking dollars.
00:05:39
Speaker
Ours, yeah, and it's definitely not that cheap here for honey. But I mean, if you're getting like local Okinawan honey, which is what we try to buy, it's like it comes in a container. I mean, it's a pretty small container, and it's like $10, and it's plastic. so Plastic. I hate it. Yeah. Japanese people love plastic. When you come, lets say we'll go to Coughland so you can stock up on some honey to take back with you and have these amazing jars. I'm obsessed with the jars. Like, even if it didn't have honey, I would have bought the jar.
00:06:14
Speaker
right? I mean, $12 for a good jar. I mean, you can't beat it. Yeah. And I'm getting good honey from like, it's not from like this local radius, but it's from like our, um, what do they call it? Like the palatinate or whatever, like our area, the red one. Oh yeah. Yeah. It's still like local-ish. Yeah. I love that. I can't wait to have some German honey when I come visit. Yes, it's so good. So good.
Forest Witchcraft Resources and Practices
00:06:41
Speaker
But we ain't talking about honey, though. I was just about to say that. What are we talking about? I mean, we could have a whole episode on honey, but we're not. Honestly, there's plenty of magical properties to honey. Yeah. We were talking about forest witches and fairy witches and fairy magic. I love this episode. I will say, I wish I would have started this research earlier because
00:07:09
Speaker
Everything I looked up was like, here's a book on Forest witchcraft. Not that I could read it. It was just like, you could buy this book. And I'm like, I need the information that's inside of it right now. Immediately. I don't have time to order it. Yeah. So I did find like a few, um, I found one like person's blog that they practice forest witchcraft. And then I found a couple of YouTube videos that all kind of said the same thing. And then what was the other thing? Oh, somebody wrote this whole thing about, it was kind of cool.
00:07:44
Speaker
It's basically like like our society's obsession with witches and how like witches, we see the witch of the woods, the forest witch, all throughout like lore, mythology, fairy tales, movies. and it's like It was a really cool um thing, article, and it's linked in the show notes. So if you are interested in reading more about that and it's like tying in like feminism and like how women see themselves as part of like this wilder thing like the forest being that like wilder entity and like this is where like feminism is moving like we see ourselves as being part of that. Really, really interesting take on that. It wasn't necessarily about forest witchcraft, but it's in the show notes if you're interested in reading more about it. But yeah, it was really hard to find readily available information
00:08:38
Speaker
on this type of witchcraft or like this type of witch other than on YouTube. And then everyone on YouTube basically just said the same thing. So there's not a whole lot of information and outside of it. I feel like a lot of it kind of is common knowledge. So, but there are a lot of books that you can purchase if you have the time to order them and get them shipped to you because I didn't have that when I was doing my research because you know, I only had like a few days.
00:09:10
Speaker
You know, normally I'm pretty good about my research, but I feel like lately life's been insane. And so like, even with only working, you know, a day or two a week at this new job that I'm working at, we still just have so much going on that I'm like, Oh my God, I have to do my research today because we're recording like, two days from now and then we're doing this thing tomorrow so I won't have time and yeah it's been wild but I did find some stuff so just to kind of kick this off
00:09:41
Speaker
As witches, we've always had a connection to things like the forest, bodies of water, the sun, the moon, the stars, like planets, the plants, you know, we're just tied into all of these things around us. And what each of us connects with on a personal level kind of drives like what we practice in our craft. So forest witches are those that are drawn to the forest, obviously, and they have that deep connection with all that the forest gives them for their practice. Forest witches are also considered folk witches, and they are like wild crafters and seekers of energies for spellwork. So many forest witches lean heavily into herbalism in their practice, but it was noted that they'll often have like multiple collections, or even like multiple entire apothecaries, which I found really interesting.
00:10:32
Speaker
So the reason that they do that is that they have specific ingredients that they use for herbalism versus what they use for like crafting or versus what they use for spell work. So they'll have like literally three separate apothecaries or spaces or collections that they use depending on like what they're doing in their craft. And I found that kind of cool. That is really cool. Yeah. So like herbalism foura for a forest, which is just like it is for any others. So it's like kitchen, which are spices, blends, etc. But a lot of times it'll be like they'll go out into the forest.
00:11:08
Speaker
and find like local mushrooms or local herbs and plants that grow or flowers that grow within their forest. And that's what they use in their herbalism. Crafting for them is more like aesthetic. So they use things that they find in the forest to create designs for altars, magical tools, et cetera. And then spellwork, obviously the focus here is like correspondences for different types of spells. So forest witches believe in animism. or like the idea that everything has a living spirit. And this means like the trees, the plants, the dirt. And we haven't done like an episode on animism, but I know that we've talked about it multiple times. yeah I just don't know what episodes to point you to.
00:11:52
Speaker
But we have talked about it and maybe this is a topic that we, you know, do an entire episode on later. But basically the idea is just that everything around us has a living spirit. So like the trees, the plants, the animals, the body of water, the earth, whatever. And while a lot of their focus is on plants, they also use everything they can find from the forest. so that might be, you know, like a dead animal. They use the bones, owl pellets, feathers, pine cones, sticks, rocks. Just basically the spirit of the forest can be used in their craft. It's pretty, like it's a really cool, I feel like, not slower, but like slowed down version of witchcraft. So it's just like getting out into the forest and really like connecting with everything around them and like connecting with what they find, whether it is just a pine cone and or, you know, an owl pellet, which
00:12:44
Speaker
one of the videos on YouTube I watched she had went out and just collected a bunch of owl pellets and like pulled them apart and was like this jar is for the bones from them this jar is for like if there's any fur in them which was really interesting and she uses every piece of it in different aspects of her craft. Wow, that is interesting. And then like obviously, you know, we we tend to like, every time we do an episode like this, we tend to always just like pick randomly and then somehow they overlap. But with this one, you know, the reason I thought it would be cool to cover like forest witchcraft is because Sam's going to be like covering fairy witchcraft. And there's always like overlap between these two.
00:13:26
Speaker
So I'm not going to talk about the fae portion of it, but forests witches often work with fae in their practice as well. And then the lore kind of behind this. The Witch of the Woods is a prominent theme in fairy tales and horror films and lore. And like even just in like the general fantasy genre, if you read like fantasy books or watch fantasy movies. so And this is like things like Hansel and Gretel, the Blair Witch Project, the Lady and White, Rapunzel, anything to do with Baba Yaga. If you've read Cersei,
00:14:00
Speaker
fantastic book, but she is essentially the witch in the woods on an island, you know? And then another book would be like The Near Witch. It's another fantasy book by V.E. Schwab. All of these like have this common theme that they're, you know, if there's a forest, obviously there's a witch. And it's thought by Deanna Molnar of Nature Meets Mind that in lore, the woods are so closely linked to witches because the forest both represents and is what is beyond the confines of our civilization. And she goes on to say that, indeed, many of those who are accused of witchcraft are often women who defy societal expectations in one way or another.
00:14:39
Speaker
And again, this article wasn't like necessarily on forest witchcraft, but there were so many themes in it that I was like this like it ties into it essentially, but like it's such a great article on it. So traditional practice for forest witches, like to truly begin the practice of forest witchcraft, Heather Lynn of the Wild Witchery says that you need to adopt a collector's mindset because no matter where you go in nature, you're discovering and collecting. And she believes that doing so allows us to unite with magic.
00:15:10
Speaker
So while Forest Witchcraft encourages you to collect the most magical items that you find in nature like herbs, mushrooms, flowers, etc, it's believed that you should take a gleaning mindset, which I'd heard the word glean before and I knew what it meant but I guess I never really like knew where it came from. So, gleaning apparently is an old term that was used to describe the use of items that were like left over after commercial harvesting of a farmer's crops. So, the farmers essentially would set aside like a percentage or a small space of
00:15:47
Speaker
like a corner of their crop, basically. And they would leave that untouched while they were doing their harvesting for like, you know, like local markets or whatever. And that space was meant to be left for the community that needed it. Like the the members of the community that maybe couldn't afford the food at the market or whatever. And so members that needed some of the harvest would just glean the small amount for themselves that they needed and they never like overtook. It wasn't like, oh, let me go pick everything. And this is like the same practice that responsible herbalists use. like When we go foraging in the wild, the idea is that if you see 10 daisies, you only take one because ecologically, like that plant provides for something to that area. So like like where it's growing, it means that it's needed there. So if you're taking it all, then you're kind of like messing up the ecosystem.
00:16:42
Speaker
So the perfect example of this would be like dandelions because they're like everywhere, right? And most people will try and just like weed and feed and kill them off. But dandelions are the first food for pollinators in the spring. So they're vital to the early season for bees. So like the idea is that if you're going out and you're collecting, Like obviously a pine cone on the ground or sticks like take what you need But like if you're seeing like the plants the mushrooms and stuff use that gleaning practice where you only take like a small portion of it because it's needed in that system and then if you are wanting to Incorporate forest witchcraft in your practice obviously you need to have a forest nearby to be able to practice forest witchcraft and you could be like, I'm a forest witch, but if you can't ever get to a forest, how are you how are you practicing that way? So this isn't to say that you need to like live in a cabin in the woods. You don't have to be like the witch in the woods to be a forest witch, but you'll need to be close enough to spend quite a bit of time there, like foraging, learning to work with the energy and the spirit of the forest and simply just like get into a forest mindset and connecting with it. And something simple would be to just spend time out in that forest, like really getting to know the plants and animals of the area,
00:17:55
Speaker
whether you're just like meditating or foraging, just spend time learning about like what grows in your area of the forest and like research how to use those items in your craft. But as we always say with this, like do your research. like Be careful. Not everything is safe. So when working with wild plants and mushrooms, especially, I highly recommend that you get a book that's like the local flora and fauna of your area because it's going to vary depending on you know where you live and like make sure that you're watching out for anything dangerous or poisonous obviously and this is something that's like really really important because
00:18:33
Speaker
There are people that have been foraging for mushrooms their entire lives that still make mistakes that can be irreversible. So just make sure that you really know what you're doing and what you're touching and what you're taking. And obviously don't eat anything until you're absolutely sure that it's safe because there is a lot of stuff out there that could kill you. So just, you know, as we always say, do your research, be very careful and just make sure you know what you're doing. And then if you want to work forced magic in an easy and mostly safe way, because you know some stuff is poisonous to touch, so again, be careful, and make sure you know what you're doing.
00:19:15
Speaker
um yeah or they can cause like rashes or all kinds of stuff so just be careful. But you can always collect plants, rocks, moss, stone sticks, like whatever that you find and use it to create visual art, mandalas, shadow boxes, fairy jars or houses or huts. Like you can use it to create visual things and that's something that is pretty prominent practice in forest witchcraft apparently. which I thought was really cute. So like with this, just like let your creativity be spontaneous and create like in a stress-free way. And then um you can also just bring the forest into your everyday year round by picking edible wildflowers, lilacs, dandelions, honeysuckle, or like whatever you have in your area, and then freeze them into ice cubes that you can use all year round.
00:20:04
Speaker
Aww, I love that. Yeah, I thought that was really cute. One of the girls on YouTube that I watch did that. She went out, she had in her area, there was like all these lilac trees on the edge of her forest. And so she went and picked a bunch of them and put them in ice cubes. And she stores them like in a container in her freezer. And whenever she's working forest magic, she'll put those in her drink for just an extra connection to the forest. um that was really That is cute. I love that. Yeah. And then if you want more information, again, there's lots of books you can buy that were not on Kindle Unlimited and could not get her within a day. Boo. They should all be on Kindle Unlimited, but whatever. It's fine. Yeah. So um that's all the information I could find on Forest Witchcraft. But I feel like a lot of it is kind of just common knowledge when it comes to witchcraft
00:20:58
Speaker
whatever we're working, you have to connect with that thing. So a lot of it is just being in the forest and like connecting with the spirit of the forest and letting the forest give you what you need for your craft and your practice, whether it's a pine cone or a stick or a stone or whatever, like a bone or something. you know So it's it's not overly complicated. So I guess maybe that's why there's not like more information out there on it. But just, you know, don't over complicate it, spend some time in the forest and whatever feels right to you, you're a four switch then. but There you go. yeah there you go oh well Very interesting. Yeah. So moving on from that, we're going to talk a bit about fairy magic or fairy witchcraft. And so just
00:21:45
Speaker
some background and basics on this topic. So fairy magic and fairy witchcraft has been a thing. It's been dated back to ancient times.
Fairy Magic and its Cultural Significance
00:21:55
Speaker
There are many historical and folkloric connections between fairies and witches throughout time. And this is especially seen in European witchcraft practices. And just as a note here, I'm not saying that like any other spiritual practices throughout the world and different cultures don't have deities that or spirits that are like fairies or that they associate as fairies because they're
00:22:23
Speaker
seen all over. But there are many different spirits and entities similar to the fae all over the world, but for this episode I'm essentially going to be focusing on the fae that are associated with Celtic lore and European traditions. So the fae are spirits or otherworldly beings that permeate Celtic lore Sometimes they are seen to be attached to natural landmarks, homes, families, and even the individual. um And they're often seen attached to magical individuals like witches. So interesting. The fae and fairies in general were so ingrained in European folklore that for a while they were never associated with Christianity and the devil, good versus evil, etc. And they were said to appear in critical junctions of one's life and then live in liminal spaces.
00:23:10
Speaker
where two worlds connect much like a forest. And we have a whole episode on liminal spaces. So if you are interested in that and say you haven't listened to that episode, which shame on you if you haven't, go back and check. I think it was in season two that we talked about liminal spaces, i can but I don't remember, honestly. I believe it was season two. fae and fairies live in the other world also known as the land of the fae or the inner realm and in some traditions and beliefs they inhabit a place called elfheim so some general facts about the fae they're noted to be mischievous cunning and should only be interacted with if you know what you are doing and what you're up against you shouldn't make any promises or offerings to them that you cannot keep and you shouldn't make any deals with the fae unless you know exactly what you are getting and what they
00:23:59
Speaker
are getting in return. Any transactions with the fae are never one-sided. There are no gifts and they're linked with the dead or in some instances the souls of the dead were said to lodge near churchyards on fairy gnolls waiting to reunite with their bodies and in Celtic traditions The banshees are compared to ghosts, as um but they're are like a fae-like creature. Fae can lie. So some people believe that fae are evil and can try to cause harm. And there is a link with the Rule of Three. So if you practice fairy magic and the fae ends up causing harm, even if it's not on purpose, the negative energy will come back to you three times worse.
00:24:38
Speaker
And um it's also believed not to eat their food, give them your name, you should not enter a fairy ring, and you shouldn't be rude to fairies. And liminal spaces is episode 76. on episode 76. So if you want to know more about liminal spaces, check on episode 76. So many sources talk about how devious the fae can be. And I believe a lot of this was clouded by those who don't really understand or those who are quick to label something as good and evil. And I'm sure a lot of these beliefs tied to the fae have been influenced over time through the lens of Christianity. So I think some of this stuff when it comes to them being like super mischievous or wanting to trick you probably has its roots in that. But the biggest thing here is to make sure that you respect the fae and do not try to trick them. They are said to be very wary of humans just as we are wary of them. And so if you're trying to do something for your own personal gain and so you don't offer anything back in return or if you don't show them respect, that is when you will experience the negative side effects of working with them. so
00:25:48
Speaker
Again like Tiffany already mentioned, make sure you do your research and determine if this is a path that you want to go down. So say if you do want to work with the fae. There are many different ways that you can recognize them. So fae don't always have wings and in Celtic lore there are many fae without wings and they can even take on the shape of a human or a horse. And also in lore, it says that they can have four or five or six fingers on each hand. So, you know, if you're talking with somebody that you think, oh, this is this person's kind of off, there's something weird going on and they have six fingers.
00:26:23
Speaker
on each hand. Maybe they're a fae. I don't know. And then also the fae don't have blood, it's believed. So if you somehow cut one, they won't bleed. um But you might be in trouble because if you cut one, you might need to run. Good luck. Good luck. the odds be ever in your favor. ah Yeah, so there are also ways that you can protect yourself from fairies. This is only to be used if, say, you don't want to have anything to do with the fae or if you initially made contact and realized this is not for you. If you are wanting to make contact with the fae, don't use these herbs and these methods that I'm going to talk about.
00:27:05
Speaker
This is just if you want to have literally nothing to do with them. So for herbs that will repel fae, this will be verbena in St. John's wort. And also it said that if you carry dry bread in your pocket, that will deter fairies from bothering you. And also keeping churchyard mold on you, which I mean, that can make you sick too. So I don't know about that. yeah Sounds pretty gross. And then also iron. I guess I've never seen mold in a church yard. I've seen it in England because it's really wet and like mossy and stuff. So it's like just scraping off the you know mold when it grows on things, I guess. Or just iron. This is why people have the little horseshoes above their doors and whatnot. so Also, something that I did not know until I started researching this is that
00:28:00
Speaker
fairies were involved with witch trials and so we've covered witch trials on the podcast many times before but what I didn't know was that fairies played a big part in the witch trials. And so there's a few examples of this like for instance the fairy witch trial of the fisherwife of Palermo. The wife of a fisherman in Palermo Sicily claimed that she could leave her body behind and party with the elves whenever she wanted. And she also said that the king and queen of the elves promised her riches and other pleasures if she denounced all other gods and signed a contract that basically like said that. But because her faith was so strong
00:28:39
Speaker
in fairies and it didn't seem like it came from a very like demonic place or anything like that. Most people believe that she was actually associating with fairies and not the devil, so she was released and she wasn't even punished. I don't know. Other people thought she was just having some crazy ass dreams and that she was just nuts and of herself and so they just couldn't. And then also the story of Isabelle Gowdy and the Queen of Elphaim. There's a book that goes into detail on Isabel Gowdy's confession and it can also be read online like on a website too. but
00:29:12
Speaker
The book, if you're interested, is called The Visions of Isabel Goudy by Emma Wilby, and it's linked in the show notes. ah The Amazon link so you can order it. Isabel claimed that she was taught by the queen of the fairies to fly on bean stalks to meet other witches. And her confession is one of the most detailed from this time period. So I think it would be just interesting to read just because it's so detailed for this time period. And then also Bessie Dunlap, she was known as the Fairy Witch of Lynn. So she was accused of witchcraft in Scotland in the 16th century. And she confessed to having a familiar spirit named Tom Reed. And Tom Reed was said to be a ghost soldier who aided her in prophecy work and gave her healing remedies that she used to make a living from. But she also confessed to visiting Elfheim through an ancient cave. And the queen of the fairies actually is the one who blessed her with her ghost familiar. Tom Reed. So showed up a few times in the witchcraft trials. So some lore related to fairy magic and fairy witchcraft. Morgan Le Fay was known as the first quote-unquote fairy witch and she is from King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and there are many stories of a powerful and feared fairy witch named Morgan Le Fay. In some legends, she is even seen as King Arthur's sister, and others she is seen as the Lady of the Lake. The last two words of her name, Le Fay, literally translate to the fairy. So according to legend, Le Fay lived in Avalon and possessed psychic and supernatural abilities. She was accused of being both a fairy and a witch to buy people who didn't live on the Isle, and it was said that Avalon was inhabited by nine magical sisters, Morgan Le Fay being one of those nine.
00:30:58
Speaker
And so for a bit of context here, Avalon was a mythical paradise isle that was rumored to be possibly in the Atlantic, possibly in the Mediterranean, and is even rumored to include the Isle of Man and or Glastonbury. So no one really knows. so But in Arthurian legend, Morgan Le Fay can be seen as either his downfall, his healer, or his savior. And there are many different versions of Arthurian legends. So her depictions vary on the version you're reading, whether or not she is seen as good or evil or whatnot. So also the Celtic and Germanic people had what was known as like household fae and they were present in the homes of the magical or the royal and they would help them out. But
00:31:42
Speaker
It assumed to be in the home of an elderly woman. They were most likely to be also accused of witchcraft, which sucks for them. But if you were an elderly woman in Ireland, you couldn't keep your home too clean because then you would be accused of having a banh tea in your home. and the Bante was a female fairy similar to the Scottish Brownie who tended over the house and watched over children. And in Germany the Kobold was a household fairy or sometimes known as a dwarf that would take up residence in a home and help with household chores. So moving on to a couple of different types of fairy witchcraft, there's Fae Wicca and this is the worship of one or more patron deities from the ancient Celtic tradition. And it's a tradition that shapes and improves daily life with a combination of Wiccan principles. And there's rites and rituals held in the woods, forest groves, or near lakes or bodies of water. And this is often like a coven-like practice because, of course, it is Wicca and Wicca is very coven-based. There's also fairy witches.
00:32:44
Speaker
And these combine magical rituals with ancient pagan feasts honoring the seasonal, solar, and lunar cycles, the earth's rhythms, nature, and the divine as represented by various fey and fey aspects. And so for this method of
Chaos Magic and Fairy Witches
00:33:02
Speaker
magic. You would follow intuition doing what makes your spirit feel good based on the messages of the good folk or the fae. And you would embrace chaos magic, embracing the unknown, and this type of magic uses the fae to help connect with nature and help empower
00:33:18
Speaker
you, the witch, to take charge of situations and live in the moment. And there's also a type of magic called white magic and cunning folk, and this has historical ties back to fairy magic. So throughout history, these were witches who counteracted curses, helped find lost objects, and performed other magical tasks, and they were said to be connected to the fae because they received their gifts from the fae. So if you are interested in incorporating fairy magic into your practice, The first thing you're going to want to do is find the fae because how can you work with them if you don't even know where they're at? So it's easier to find fae and to visit them in the in between times in those liminal spaces. These are times when
00:34:00
Speaker
you have a transition from one state to another such as sunrise, dusk, and midnight. Also this could include the equinoxes, solstices, new moon phases, and also on saloon. And a place that you can normally find the fae are in fairy ring. Often this is the easiest way to find them if you're wanting to interact with the fae. Fairy rings are rings of natural objects that wouldn't normally form a ring. So an example of this would be a ring of mushrooms around a tree or even a circle of dead grass if like there was no other reason why this ring of dead grass appeared. And so there are some rules of the fairy ring though. So the biggest one is don't ever sit inside of the fairy ring. What you should do though is meditate near the fairy ring until a fairy appears to you. And so this can take some time. So what you would have to do is wait very patiently near the ring
00:34:54
Speaker
and watch for signs that a fairy is near and would want to interact with you. And so these signs can include things like laughter, flickering lights, a nut falling from a tree into your lap, et cetera. And say, if for instance, like a nut falls into your lap, this is part of an exchange. And if this were to happen, you should go home, find a gift and return. Making contact and communicating with the fae may take a long time and it is a very involved process. So it could be very, Like it it could be hours, it could be days, it could be weeks trying to communicate with the fae so it takes a lot of patience. um And that's why you should really do your research and decide if this is right for you and if you're actually contacting them and wanting to work with them for the right reason. So um there's also fairy summoning spells there to help you summon a fairy by name if you know the name of the fairy you wanna work with. And I have linked the name of a book that could be useful in our show notes. It's called Fairies, A Guide to the Celtic Fair Folk.
00:35:52
Speaker
by Morgan Daimler and she has written different ways to connect with fairies based on the type of fairy and she has listed their names and there's also a summoning spell there. so Check that out. It is also in our show notes. And if, say for instance, you can't find a fairy ring, you don't really know what you're doing, you can create a space to work with the fae. So it's best if this is done outside, but if you don't have access to an outdoor area where you can make like a little fairy house or hut or whatever, you can create one inside your home.
00:36:28
Speaker
So what you would want to do is find a space that speaks to you. This could be a space near a window or on a shelf. You would want to fill the space with crystals, plants, and gifts for the fairies. And you could place wind chimes and bells nearby as they love making noise or really anything you can put in that space as long as you feel called to put it there. And what you'll want to do is meditate in the area and let the fae get used to your energy and make sure you show them pure respect. Don't try to trick them. This, I didn't talk about this specifically because I had a feeling you were going to be covering it, but this is um all of the information on forest witchcraft that do like
00:37:06
Speaker
forest witches that work with the fae. This was a really prominent one. They would go out to the forest, collect um you know like cute little things that they found there, create little like fairy huts, and essentially like they would use that as part of their altar. So it would be a display on their altar for them working with the fae, but like dedicated to the fae. um which I thought was really cute. but that is yeah like I had a feeling you were going to cover it, so I was like, I'll leave it out. And then if you didn't, I was going to circle back at the end and say it. So ah yeah yeah um and then so if you want to work specifically with Morgan Le Fay,
00:37:44
Speaker
you'll want to pay attention to see if she's calling to you. So some things that would lead you to think that she would be calling to you would be if you're drawn to Arthurian legends, if her name keeps popping up in books, movies, or podcasts, if you're interested in very magic. um or you're drawn to Glastonbury tour, or say if like crows keep visiting you in the physical realm and during your manifestations and dreams, if she visits you during your dreams or like if you're in a trance-like zone like in meditation, or if your zodiac sign is linked to the water element. These are all signs that she is calling to you.
00:38:21
Speaker
some offerings that you can use whenever you're working with Morgan Le Fay. She obviously water because she's associated with the Lady of the Lake, honey and black feathers. Also apples, moss and flowers are all great offerings and so how would you work with her? Some of the easiest things you could do is to read the legends and lore associated with her watch movies where she is depicted, like the Mists of Avalon, um the show Excalibur, or the Sorcerer's Apprentice, and Merlin.
00:38:52
Speaker
And you can also set up an altar for her with depictions of her, whether you're buying them or you're drawing them yourself. You can put water there on your altar, seashells, coral, and really any of the offerings that I mentioned just you know a few seconds earlier when I was talking about offerings. And then also learn and practice healing magic and herbalism, and also study or research or practice sea witchcraft, which is all linked back to her. so That is a little bit about fairy magic. There's so much more. There's so much more. I just kept falling down rabbit holes and I'm just like, man, this is super interesting. I want to know more. I want to know more.
Forest Witchcraft and Fairy Magic Overlap
00:39:32
Speaker
So definitely check out our show notes if you're interested in either forest witchcraft or fairy magic, but
00:39:38
Speaker
There's so much on these topics. It's so intriguing and it sounds like such a peaceful, wonderful practice. I wanted to fall down rabbit holes, but and there was a lot of overlap too. So I was trying to like be very careful about what I covered so that I didn't steal your thunder on the fae. Oh no, it's good. Yeah, I was like like literally the when you were talking about like working with them creating like the little fairy hut or something that was like one of the few practices that are like just kind of fully listed out for forest magic like forest magic but also like working with the fae because there is that overlap. So I was like I'll leave it out because I'm almost positive Sam's gonna come across that and she's gonna talk about it
00:40:21
Speaker
But if you didn't, I was going to circle back at the end and be like, also an overlap. Yes. So I'm glad that you did cover it in full. but we
00:40:45
Speaker
That's it for this episode of Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft.
Podcast Conclusion
00:40:48
Speaker
You can find our source material for this episode linked in the show notes. If you love this episode, we'd be forever thankful if you leave us a five-star review on wherever you listen to your podcasts. If you really love the show and want more Get In Loser content, check out our Supercast link provided in the show notes or search the Supercast website for Get In Loser, We're Doing Witchcraft. There you can purchase a membership to our podcast and obtain exclusives, like getting episodes early, shoutouts in the show, access to our Ask Me Anything forum, our monthly newsletter, a promo code for merchandise, and more. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at GetInWitches, or email us at we'redoingwitchcraftatgmail.com. Join us next week as we journey back to Ancient Egypt for another Egyptian Day in the Episode. Until then, blessed be with you.