About me - I am a Heathen and witch living near Bromley in Kent. My interests include traditional witchcraft, Anglo-Saxon runes and seidr magic. Beyond this, I also take active interests in permaculture, Japanese martial arts and West African drumming.
My Craft integrates many of my interests and is based on the concept of Honouring the Earth. This is done through practical activity, working in tune with the land and its seasons and trying to take an ethical stance in consumption and production. The Craft also involves ceremony and deep reverence to the Lord and Lady, who are known as Yngvi Frey and Freya. The Lord and Lady are of the race of Wanes or Vanir. My Craft is fundamentally pragmatic. magical workings are aimed to deliver tangible results. In addition to the shamistic, seidr side, there is also the Galdor, or more formal, ceremonial magic and the study of the runes.
Details of my coven can be found on The Witches Voice site in the links. Also in the links section you will find details of Phil Hine's website, where I have an article on seidr, as well as some others hosted.
The God who pulls much of this together as spiritual warrior, wizard and teacher is Woden, or Odin.
I am available to give lectures and workshops by arrangement on witchcraft, Anglo-Saxon runes, seidr, sweat lodges, permaculture and chaos magic.
Reviews
Runa Megin by Kate Waterfield
This CD does more than it sets out to do. The music provides a powerful accompaniment to rune work involving posture and/or sound but also works as a convincing, stand alone piece of music for meditation, healing work of just plain listening. Kate's voice at once delights and evokes the power of the runes. The instrumental compositions are very varied and fit well with each rune creating rich magical soundscapes. Kate's take on the runes themselves shows a sensible mix of her own interpretation and commonly accepted meaning. As such, the CD, which showcases the practical application of Runa Megin works. This comes highly recommended
Jack Barrow � The Hidden Masters and the Unspeakable Evil
(Winged Feet Productions � ISBN 095153291X � available from Amazon and select shops)
If you are the lucky owner of a copy of this book, you have in your hands a fantastic fictional first offering from an up and coming author. Jack Barrow has delivered a book that is a story and a book of magic at the same time. It�s also very funny. Set in Blackpool and featuring frankly believable characters an unspeakable evil is revealed and left to an unlikely set of heroes to save the day by wit, daring, humour and ritual magic. Imagine Douglas Adams writing a Hitchhikers Guide to the Occult and you�ll get the idea of the book of magic bit. Imagine Robert Rankine�s Brentford Trilogy and you�ll get an idea about the sort of story to expect. I laughed out loud a few times on the train as I read this, so I can only say it comes highly recommended.
Julian Cope � Citizen Cainnd
(Head Heritage � HH18 � available from Head Heritage website)
January 2005 saw the long awaited release of Julian Cope�s Citizen Cainnd. This album is much heavier than his more commercial releases but less so than Brain Donor. The style of the instrumental varies, mixing elements of the Stooges with the Seeds as well as the Drude�s own kind of sound. The album is also somehow darker than recent releases, comparing in a way with Jehovah Kill. At the same time is stands as perhaps one of his most explicitly Pagan albums to date but avoids becoming a Pagan version of Rock gospel.
The album comes as a double CD set and the first disk opens with �Hell is Wicked�, a modern heavy rock anthem to the Goddess. �Gimme Head� rejects over relying on rational interpretation and in favour of our more basic, sensual needs. �World War Pigs� explores the destructive nature of monotheistic extremism and at the same time giving due reference to Black Sabbath. Other gems for me include �Feels Like a Crying Shame� and �Stomping Dionysus�. Julian Cope shows his interest in Heathenry, making interesting parallels between Ygg and Iggy finding a type of shamanism within the rock performance. There are recurrent themes exploring death and personal transformation, making much of this double album fairly serious listening. As if to underline this, the packaging is simple and very black and the production often has a kind of rawness about it. However, there is humour in here too, with songs like �The Living Dead� commenting on the state of people who prefer reality TV to normal conversation.
Overall, this album stands as one Copey�s better ones and comes recommended.
Runic Primer � A Down-to-Earth Guide for Beginners
Sweyn (Rune-Net)
In Runic Primer, Sweyn sets out to deliver a book aimed at newcomers to the runes that simultaneously has an academic background, but is not too dry. The problem with genuine academic books on runes is that, personal agendas aside, they can be heavy, and potentially dull reading. Other so-called �academic� source material from some of the more esoteric writers can be hideously unreliable, basing itself of the pseudo-academia of pro-Third Reich Germanic romantics. Anyway, that�s my rant out of the way. Mercifully, this book has nothing in common with either. Sweyn has successfully delivered exactly what he set out to and has produced a no-nonsense guide that is grounded in reliable sources.
The book introduces key concepts, including the main different rune rows and terminology that is commonly used. Whilst Sweyn is honest about the problems with authenticity with rune magic, he provides useful pointers for source material and includes a sensible bibliography. Sweyn includes useful practical information too, suggesting techniques and common esoteric interpretations of runes. At the same time, he warns of the dangers inherent in using the runes without understanding their qualities. Most usefully, he includes the Norse, Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon rune poems, which are invaluable sources to anyone interested in developing any genuine magical understanding of the runes.
Sweyn�s writing style is as down-to-earth as the book promises and is quite lucid. The information he has chosen to include is both relevant and informative. If I was starting out with the runes, this is the book I would want to find. As such, it comes highly recommended.
True Helm A Practical Guide to Northern Warriorship by Sweyn Plowright
Phil Hine asked me to review this book a little while back for his website, as my background includes over 10 years� Japanese martial arts experience and nearly 20 years� interest in the runes. Whilst it has taken me some time to complete my review, I can only say that I read the book in a couple of days. Sweyn has an easy going, no-nonsense writing style, free from the pretentious pomp and overly mystical dogma that sadly dominate most occult books.
In this book, Sweyn demonstrates a detailed knowledge of both the Northern Tradition and of martial arts. He also shows how the two approaches compliment each other as valid quests and ways of living. I would say that Sweyn has done this successfully and he has clearly avoided the obvious pitfalls of being too literal. There was a place for berserkers during the Dark Ages, but nowadays they would spend their life in jail or on a psychiatric programme of some sort (perhaps doing the odd murder whilst under �care in the community�).
The book is divided into two major parts. Part one looks at concepts and practical techniques. Perhaps the most useful of these is that of cultivating an attitude in which one is not a victim. This from a practical self-defence point of view cannot be overly stressed. The victim mind-set usually makes a person a bigger target and invites trouble.
The other most essential concept is that of being aware. We Japanese martial artists refer to it as Zanshin. It starts with being aware of oneself (as Clint Eastwood said �A man�s gotta know his limits�) and includes being aware of people around one and of both places and situations. Starting from learning to observe obvious physical signs the experienced martial artist goes on to read subtle cues aiming to develop an almost telepathic awareness of potential danger.
Sweyn describes practical uses of runes to increase the chance of victory during a fight. He also describes magical workings to ward away trouble.
Sweyn demonstrates that martial arts success, like the practice of magic, relies on the combination of attitude, awareness, technique, focus and relaxation.
In the second part of the book, Sweyn tells the story of Weland. For those unfamiliar with it, it is an Old English story about a skilled smith and warrior, who after being terribly wronged, exacts a heroic revenge. Sweyn tells this story very well and it illustrates many of his key points, giving the reader much to think about.
There is much in this book that makes a lot of sense to both martial artists and students of rune magic. I do have a difference of opinion over a practical technique to deal with energy and pain when being bashed. I would not inhale when being hit. I have been taught to exhale. The use of the out-breath actually helps to dissipate the oponent�s energy and helps the abdominal and chest muscles tighten to resist pain and damage. Personal experience has shown that breathing in at this point hurts a lot more. However, this to me is a minor issue. Over all, this book is very credible and to be recommended.
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