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Another look at the watchtowers page 1 of 3
INTRODUCTION
It all started 20 years ago. I was 16 years old then, and a recent initiate to the religion of Wicca. Like most neophytes, I was eager to begin work on my Book of Shadows, the traditional manuscript liturgical book kept by most practicing Witches. I copied down rituals, spells, recipes, poems, and tables of correspondences from every source I could lay hands on. Those generally fell into two broad categories: published works, such as the many books available on Witchcraft and magic; and unpublished works, mainly other Witches' Books of Shadows.
Twenty years ago, most of us were 'traditional' enough to copy everything by hand. (Today, photocopying and even computer modem transfers are becoming de riguer.) Always, we were admonished to copy 'every dot and comma', making an exact transcription of the original, since any variation in the ceremony might cause major problems for the magician. Seldom, if ever, did anyone pause to consider where these rituals came from in the first place, or who composed them. Most of us, alas, did not know and did not care. It was enough just to follow the rubrics and do the rituals as prescribed.
But something brought me to an abrupt halt in my copying frenzy. I had dutifully copied rituals from different sources, and suddenly realized they contained conflicting elements. I found myself comparing the two versions, wondering which one was 'right', 'correct', 'authentic', 'original', 'older', etc. This gave rise to the more general questions about where a ritual came from in the first place. Who created it? Was it created by one person or many? Was it ever altered in transmission? If so, was it by accident or intent? Do we know? Is there ever any way to find out? How did a particular ritual get into a Coven's Book of Shadows? From another, older, Book of Shadows? Or from a published source? If so, where did the author of the published work get it?
I had barely scratched the surface, and yet I could already see that the questions being raised were very complex. (Now, all these years later, I am more convinced than ever of the daunting complexity of Neo-Pagan liturgical history. And I am equally convinced of the great importance of this topic for a thorough understanding of modern Witchcraft. It may well be a mare's nest, but imagine the value it will have to future Craft historians. And you are unconditionally guaranteed to see me fly into a passionate tirade whenever I'm confronted with such banal over-simplifications as 'Crowley is the REAL author of the Third Degree initiation,' or 'Everyone KNOWS Gardner INVENTED modern Witchcraft.')
CONFLICTING TRADITIONS
The first time I noticed conflicting ritual elements was when I was invited as a guest to attend another Coven's esbat celebration. When the time came to 'invoke the Watchtowers' (a ritual salutation to the four directions), I was amazed to learn that this group associated the element of Earth with the North. My own Coven equated North with Air. How odd, I thought. Where'd they get that? The High Priestess told me it had been copied out of a number of published sources. Further, she said she had never seen it listed any other way. I raced home and began tearing books from my own library shelves. And sure enough! Practically every book I consulted gave the following associations as standard: North = Earth, East = Air, South = Fire, West = Water.
Then where the heck did I get the idea that Air belonged in the North? After much thought, I remembered having copied my own elemental/directional associations from another Witch's Book of Shadows, her Book representing (so she claimed) an old Welsh tradition. Perhaps I'd copied it down wrong? A quick long-distance phone call put my mind at ease on that score. (When I asked her where she'd gotten it, she said she THOUGHT it was from an even older Book of Shadows, but she wasn't certain.)
By now, I felt miffed that my own tradition seemed to be at variance with most published sources. Still, my own rituals didn't seem to be adversely affected. Nor were those of my fellow Coven members, all of whom put Air in the North. Further, over the years I had amassed lots of associations and correspondences that seemed to REQUIRE Air to be in the North. The very thought of Air in the East offended both my sense of reason and my gut-level mythic sensibilities. There are good REASONS to place Air in the North. And the whole mythological superstructure would collapse if Air were in the East, instead. If this is so, then why do most published sources place Earth in the North and Air in the East?
