The Witchtower Magazine

Excerpt from George Pickingill by Andy Norfolk

 

One of the longest running threads on the Pagan Network forums has been about George Pickingill. It started with a few questions.

Did Pickingill start nine covens?
Was one of these the New Forest coven into which Gardner claimed he was initiated?
Was Pickingill a Satanist?
Are the 9 covens still in existence?

This has resulted in 36 pages of discussion at the time of writing and much of this has been quite detailed.

Later further questions were posed in an attempt to clarify the issues
Was Pickingill a Cunning Man?
Did he have links to any covens, orders or magical groups?
Did he pass on any teachings?

In the 1950s an author called Eric Maple researched witch traditions from the south-eastern quarter of Essex. Between 1960 and 1965 he published articles about this in the journal of the Folk-Lore Society. He mentioned George Pickingill, who was born in Hockley in Essex in 1816 and later lived in Canewdon and died in 1909. Pickingill was described as a farm labourer who charmed warts, cured other ailments and found lost property. He also ran a protection racket in which farmers paid him not to stop farm machinery and horses working. It was also said that he could fly through the air and could force local witches to come to their doors or dance for him in the churchyard. Maple, it seems, had spent some time talking to locals who could remember Pickingill, or who could at least remember stories about him. He was portrayed by Maple as a village magician, or what would now be called a cunning man.  It is also clear from Maple's articles that his clients were all fairly local.  However in 1962 Maple published a sensationalist book called "The Dark World of Witches". In this Maple exaggerated the reputation of his part of Essex as a centre of witchcraft and he reputation of George Pickingill.  This book was unashamedly targeted at a popular market and it was after its publication that people began to take any notice of Pickingill. Despite the influence of this book subsequent authors have played down Pickingill's importance. For example, Owen Davies says that Pickingill who died in 1909 "was certainly one of the last practising cunning-folk in the country, but he was never a major regional figure".1

That answers one question; George Pickingill was a cunning man.

The chances are that Maple's articles and book would not have had much effect and that most people would have never have heard of Pickingill, or paid much attention to him. However a series of articles written by "Lugh" that first appeared from 1974 in the Wiccan magazine, and from 1977 in The Cauldron were to change that. "Lugh" is an Englishman, Bill Liddell, who emigrated to New Zealand in the early 1960s and subsequently moved to Australia. He claimed in the articles that he was a child of a witch family; an initiate into a hereditary Pagan witchcraft tradition and also an initiate into a separate witchcraft tradition influenced by George Pickingill. According to Bill, the elders of these two separate traditions wanted him to be their mouthpiece and pass on information about their ways and beliefs.   

Over a period of many years Liddell wrote a series of quite extraordinary articles, which included a number of contradictions. At first his information was seized on eagerly by people such as Doreen Valiente as being a vindication of a wish to find proof of old roots for witchcraft, but as time went by more and more scepticism was expressed about his articles, even by those who were initially enthusiastic about them. These articles made a variety of claims about George Pickingill, which included that he was a hereditary witch and had passed teachings on to the Order of the Golden Dawn and that he knew Aleister Crowley and Allan Bennett. Liddell's articles said that the Pickingill family were hereditary priests of the Pagan Old Religion from the 11th century, but also that none of the traditions about which he wrote came from ancient sources but derived from a new religion which first emerged in 15th century France.  He wrote that authentic hereditary covens were lead by a Magister and that sexual initiation was mandatory, but later that this had died out by the 18th century.  Later still he wrote that in true hereditary traditions witches passed  down knowledge within their families and never joined covens. Articles about George Pickingill described him as "England's most notorious witch", from a famous family of witches and that occultists of every sort came to consult him from all over not only England, but Europe and America. Liddell wrote that in Pickingill covens all the rites were conducted exclusively by women and that Pickingill founded nine covens over a period of 60 years. Further claims included that Pickingill introduced a "book of shadows" for each coven member, and that the rites were derived from a group founded by the magician Francis Barrett in 1816 and included many aspects of Wicca including ritual nudity, a dominant Goddess, the fivefold kiss, three degrees, drawing down the moon and the charge of the Goddess. Pickingill is said to have learnt more from the many cunning lodges of which he was a member and that they practised Satanism. A collection of the articles written by Bill Liddell was published by him, with commentary by Mike Howard (the editor of The Cauldron), in 1994 as "The Pickingill Papers".

Excerpt from Animal Totems by Twilightgirl

 

Stepping onto the street, a British summer is blaring out of cheesy car radios, through wound-down windows, across mirrored reflections of elbows and sunglasses. In the park, people are basking, animal-natured, half-naked, watching the clouds and enjoying the sensation of grass against their skin. Like a great eye, that bright blazing ball is spilling forth into the dark bowels of the universe; burning hard in ceaseless explosions.

The sun might be seen as a primary source of fire. As one of the four classical elements, it is a life giving force; a parent of our being. A few words of a Philip Larkin poem come into my head: Unclosing like a hand / You give forever. As a deity, a force of nature, the sun is a spectacular benefactor of humanity and all living forms.

A quiet fire-less vigil held from sunset to sunrise is a powerful means of realising that solar connection. The patience required for the wait seems to be a useful reminder of our passivity and dependence. We cannot rush the sun, nor can we hold it back. Sun and moon forge on at their own pace. We can simply sit, breathing in the dawn air, with freezing fingers and toes as the colours begin to wash in. One by one, the street lights flicker off and the quiet landscape turns from black to blue to green. Something in nature lifts upward and outward. Each tiny leaf and flower perks up and claims their territory; no longer hiding their edges in the darkness.

Fire, in its brightness, exposes what we try to keep hidden, and as such it is an element associated with courage and expression. It might be seen as an inversion of wintry north, demanding the externalization of our introspective selves. In the darkness, one is just darkness, but light gives life to form and feature. We cannot hide. So the challenge of fire is of exhibition, while the leaping flames speak of a passion that overcomes self-consciousness.

In the popular imagination, fire quite commonly holds these kinds of associations: In a favourite book, Jack Kerouac exclaims: "The only people for me are the mad ones….. the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars". I think of my heroes and heroines… fighters, activists, writers… those who seem to hold a perpetual flame at the core of their being. They are reminders that fire speaks of action, energy and the manifestation of ideas thrown into motion.

The passion is also the kind that radiates forth from desire and love-making, like the heat of wild abandon and sexuality that we celebrate at Beltane. But whereas at Beltane we wear masks which allow us to lose our inhibitions, Midsummer challenges us to burn the masks in the flames and to consciously step into the bright lights. Not only does it require strength, but also enormous honesty.

Excerpt from Natural Healing Reiki for Pets by Arwen
Ostara/Beltane 2007 issue

The natural therapy of healing by using your hands as a channel for energy is the oldest form of healing, older than the use of plants and herbs. Reiki is a simple non-invasive therapy.

Reiki is a Japanese word meaning "Universal Life Energy". This life energy is in everything,  animal, vegetable and mineral. Reiki was re-discovered through the experiences of Dr Makao Usui in Japan in the second half of the 19th century when he was researching and understanding various Belief and Meditation systems. Since then it has been passed down from Reiki Master to student.

Anyone can be a Reiki Practitioner, but it cannot be learned from a book, you need to find a Reiki Master and be taught the way by them. People who have received the Reiki Attunements by a Master have their body’s energy channels opened to connect them to the universe's limitless source of energy for their own healing and to act as channels for this energy to pass into other people and animals. When the Reiki Practitioner channels this energy through his/her hands to another being, it activates the body’s own natural ability to heal. The energy goes to the source of the illness, opening the blocked energy points and creating balance and harmony within the body.  This healing energy can balance physical illness and emotional problems.

Treating animals is not very different from treating people; the difference obviously is that animals can't tell us where it hurts. Animals respond very positively to Reiki and relax into it very well. When channelling Reiki the practitioner may place their hands on the body of the animal or just have their hands a few centimetres away from the body, it's up to the healer. Also the healer may find the patient might not be comfortable with the "hands on" way or that it might be safer and easier for the "hands off" approach depending on the animal. When giving Reiki the healer and healee may experience some physical sensations. The healer may feel heat, cold or tingling in their hands, the healee may feel the same over their body and they may be a little light-headed as the energy flows through them. This does pass after a while.

While performing Reiki on animals, many show distinct signs of relaxation and acceptance of the Reiki healing. As a Reiki healer myself, I've learned what to look for. Cats love receiving Reiki, they'll lie down, maybe stretch out and be relaxed enough to fall asleep. Dogs are generally the same, they'll sit down, lie down and their ears may relax further. Yawning a lot is a common sign, and just like cats they may fall asleep. I specialize in healing for horses, when they start to relax and accept the Reiki they will lick their lips a lot, their ears will droop and their head will get lower, they'll yawn and sigh a lot as well. A sure sign of their total trust, relaxation and acceptance is when they relax a hind leg and lightly doze off, some may even lie down.

I was performing Reiki on a 4 year old 11h1 welsh mountain pony called Silver. She was a very timid and shy pony who was especially scared to be near men. She was afraid of contact such as a friendly pat on the neck and of having a headcollar placed on her. As I prefer the hands off way of healing I could feel that she was uncomfortable with the first session of Reiki. As I was giving her the Reiki I felt as if she was literally pushing me away, I could feel her energy pushing. Half way through the second session she began to lick her lips and her ears relaxed, she kept turning her head to touch me which is another positive sign. On the third session she really relaxed and accepted me, there was no resistance at all from her, she was friendly, relaxed and by the end she was resting a hind leg and happily dozing. I did a fourth and final session and she totally loved the attention. I felt warmth and contentment from her. A few days later I went to see Silver and her owner, Jane.  Jane's husband came up to me and said that Silver was a changed pony, she lets him stroke her now and doesn't mind a headcoller being placed on her. They were quite amazed how much Silver had changed and with the way the change occurred. Silver now happily engages in contact with people. I helped Silver over 2 years ago. She's a happy pony who enjoys pony camp activities with Jane's daughter and she loves attention and is quite friendly. It's quite an amazing feeling to feel the energies of an animal during Reiki, to feel such an intimate bond of trust with the animal.

I cannot lay claim to have ever been initiated into either a Wiccan or Witchcraft coven, but I have worked as a solitary Witch following the Wiccan path for three years, and now work as a solitary Witch leaning towards Traditional Witchcraft. In the time that I have been working as a Witch, I have come to notice, in my opinion, just how many differences there are between the two.

Witchcraft is a European term for a set of practices that crop up in various forms all over the world. It is not a religion, although there is often a spiritual aspect to it. Witchcraft involves the use of magic and the honouring of Gods, Spirits, and Ancestors. Wicca is an initiatory mystery tradition that involves the use of magic. It is also a religion created out of a combination of fact, fiction, history, philosophy, psychology and other world religions. A Witch is someone who practices.

Witchcraft, and if a Wiccan practices Witchcraft, then they are de facto Witches. The modern usage of the terms 'Wicca' and 'Witchcraft' are relatively new inventions coming from specific cultural backgrounds (although stemming from Old English). The first definition of a Witch is mentioned in Aelfric's Homilies, which was written between 955 and 1012, and the first definition of a Wiccan came from Gerald Gardner. The 1950's were the decade in which Gardner announced the existence of his Witch religion to the world and succeeded in establishing it as a lasting component of modern spirituality. In 1954, his book 'Witchcraft Today' gave that religion a generic name of 'Wica', adapted by the 1960s to its enduring form of 'Wicca'. Most people who come to learn the traditions of Witchcraft already have some basis in the practice. Nevertheless, it seems it has become popular to use the term 'Witchcraft' by many people who seek to remove themselves from the scope of Wicca. Although this may also be said for many people calling themselves Wiccan, so as to escape the stigma that can be associated with someone being called a Witch. Many such people flock to a term to define themselves without the understanding to which the term refers. This is not a do-whatever-you-want-to-do practice; there are set traditions and structure. Some people who follow these practices do not even call themselves Witches as the term 'Witch' is something that was placed upon their belief. In southern counties, the Midlands and Wales the terms 'Cunning man' and 'Cunning women' were used to describe practitioners who offered a range of skills linked to the operation of apparent supernatural power. Some confusion has been caused by the habit of folklore collectors in the late 19th and early 20th centuries of referring to all popular magical practices as 'Witchcraft' and to Cunning folkas 'White witches'. However, using the term 'Witchcraft is an easy way to collectively identify with these beliefs and those who follow them.

Beliefs
Some Witches do not believe in deities at all and believe in a singular all-powerful force known as nature. Nature encompasses all things and we generally see but a small part of it. Witchcraft is comprised of many individual traditions that may differ greatly from one another at times. However, most traditions follow some important elements. Wiccans believe that the divine is male and female, equal and in balance and that we should strive for that balance both in ourselves and in our lives. They believe that there is a Goddess as well as a God and that both are equally powerful, although some festivals and workings may be more appropriately directed to one or the other. Both the God and the Goddess may be referred to by different names at different times, but this does not mean that each Wiccan believes that there are many Gods and Goddesses. There are also polytheistic Wiccans.

The After-life
Some Wiccans have a strong belief in reincarnation, they believe we live many lives and between them we return to the Summerlands. There we review the lessons we have learned in the life that we have just completed and select the lessons to be learned in the life to come. We do not come back as the same person but rather our spirit is born again. When we die according to some Witches we travel to the plane of existence called the Spiritworld. This is where we also rest before continuing our journey, where we may be born into a new life. Another alternative is that we meld with nature becoming one with it, commonly becoming what is known as a land spirit. Yet there are some that believe that we are nothing but physical beings which decay as nature desires.