This was an event organised by the mayor of Glastonbury, in conjunction with the Pilgrim Reception Centre, to celebrate the number of different faith groups in the town. They sent a candle in a relay around various churches, temples etc throughout the day, and then invited everyone to congregate in Chalice Well gardens for a candle lighting ceremony: everyone who represented a particular group was asked to light their candle from the central relayed one and say a few words - in fact, no one, commendably, took it as an opportunity for grandstanding or speechmaking, possibly because we were all too cold. Thus, it was quite a brisk ceremony given that we had about 50 people directly participating and probably several times that in attendance. For the record, I was representing the occult: the perfect excuse for commenting, when the windblown candle failed to light, that there was a reason so many of us chose to work in the dark. It got a laugh, though.

Halfway through, I looked around at the collection of dog collars, robes, pentagrams and Sufi hats, and felt really proud of everyone. Most, if not all of the churches sent someone up, and the other faiths were pretty well represented although I think there were some demographic omissions: Glastonbury is too small to have its own mosque, for instance, but there are some individual Moslems in town. I managed to catch up with some of the Christians after the ceremony, and also have a chat with several people I've been wanting to talk to for some time. And then in time honoured fashion, we went to the pub.

I think this may become an annual event, and I hope it does. One of the most amusing things about all this has been the levels of frothing wrath that an account of the forthcoming event caused in some of the Guardian commentators: one would have thought that the population of Glastonbury been planning to don rucksacks and bomb central Damascus. Some people are obviously very threatened by the phenomenon of other people getting along and respecting one another's beliefs, but in the meantime, the rest of us can just get on with getting on with it.

I do realise this will open a platform for bleeding heart liberals to whine on and on, but
please read the WHOLE of this before you boil over.

PLEASE NOTE - people on JOBSEEKERS ALLOWANCE - i.e. STATE PAID BENEFITS (aka YOUR TAXES - and I mean YOURS, because, due to the present massive downturn in the economy, I no longer earn enough to pay any.....), are NOT, therefore, actually 'working for nothing', if asked to stack shelves at Tescos, or paint old lady's houses.....

I am not saying it is a perfect scheme, because it patently isn't, but there is, right now, a genuine shortage of work - particularly amongst the younger sector, while people like myself now have to contemplate working till we are 138, due to institutional Fu$"ups; but the idea is to give people on long-term benefits some hope, EXPERIENCE, and an all-important entry on their CV, where there is otherwise very little 'real' work for them.

We are considering taking on an 18yo as a volunteer, so he can get some work experience, which will otherwise be EXTREMELY hard for him to get. Given the dire state retail is in, we certainly cannot afford to pay him, and there is no job waiting for him with us at the end of his stint with us, but we will give him an opportunity to gain confidence in a working environment, and we will give him a reference for future employers.

Does that make us at Witchcraft Limited into pariahs? I would be sad if anyone on here thought so, especially as we are trying to give a young, desperately under-qualified, and totally inexperienced person SOME SORT of chance, yet larger employers are being castigated for doing their bit, even when they have made it CLEAR that there will be no work at the end of it, DUE TO THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY, which we can all see working, or rather NOT working right now.....

We owe it to those on these schemes to let them get on with it.

You are as always welcome to point out the error of my ways.....

Cliff Seruntine's THE OGHAM WOOD, published by Avalonia (http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/magical-fiction/an-ogham-wood), is a classic form of tale: a man beset by terrible circumstances who comes to a place where he is an outsider, and gradually learns lessons about the past and his place in the scheme of things. Sweyn deSauld is coping, barely, with PTSD stemming from the tragic death of his beautiful, mysterious wife. A sailor, he lights out into the Pacific, but soon find himself far off course and approaching the island home of his late wife. Forced to land by the intervention of an unhuman creature, he is obliged to engage with the island community, a group of mixed Irish, Scots and Welsh immigrants who live a life similar to the Amish.

Sweyn finds that he has inherited a 'cottage' - the family home of his late wife. But it's not at all what he expected, and neither are the inhabitants: an ancient retainer, Coppin, and a strange girl who drifts around the woods adjoining the property. And there are some very odd people, and creatures, on the island, too. Slowly, Sweyn begins to find some answers about his dead wife, but they are not answers that he can readily accept...

Stories about people who enter what might loosely be termed the lands of the Celtic Twilight are, by now, a staple of the fantasy genre and it's hard to come across tales which bring much that is new to the party. However, by placing this particular story on the Pacific seaboard, Seruntine gives an entirely different flavour to the trope, and I can only describe this as a novel that is more than the sum of its parts. Whilst I have read a lot of this sort of thing, I found THE OGHAM WOOD to be a genuinely gripping read: it's definitely in the line of 'romantic Celtic history' rather than historical reality, but in a way that works. I found the characters engaging: Sweyn is a flawed, but sympathetic hero, the islanders are interesting, and I genuinely cared what happened to the people in this book. It also has a villain who is not a stock 'baddie' and whose behaviour stems from entirely explicable motives. But one of the principal reasons why this was such a compelling read for me were the descriptions of the island itself: it's very evocatively described, and although (were I to see this in a creative writing class) I'd suggest cutting back on adjective use, the style works. It's also a pleasure to read about things one knows nothing about (sailing and making cheese, in this case) but in which the author is obviously expert.

The novel is not without flaws: there are some glitches in viewpoint, a couple of historical issues which need to be ironed out in a second edition (someone is described as having a 'Victorian' viewpoint when he dates from the 18th C: this needs clarifying) and we're told rather too often about Sweyn's anger. But these are minor niggles: the plotting is tight and there is excellent use of drip-feeding information to the reader, the characters come alive and so does the island itself. I'll be reading this one again.

Published by Avalonia (www.avaloniabooks.co.uk) and edited by David Rankine, this is an exceptionally interesting and well put-together book, taking a close look at 17th century cunning man Arthur Gauntlet and his repertoire of charms, herbal remedies, angelic conjurations and prayers. But Rankine’s work also brings out another side of this particular kind of practice: as well as focusing on the actual components of the grimoire itself, he explores the connections between individuals in Gauntlet’s London, and the subsequent history of the grimoire itself and the hands through which it passed.

Gauntlet had an eclectic approach to magic, including charms derived from the Psalms, material from other texts such as the Key of Solomon, conjurations not only of spirits but also of fairies (‘Oberion’ makes an appearance), and the little-known Olympic spirits. Many of his charms are related to the usual range of subjects desired by folk who consult magical practitioners – charms for love, health, and finding treasure, plus prophecy and skrying. There’s even a charm involving a turnip, which in my mind conjures the shade of Baldrick, but the overall effect of reading through Gauntlet’s preoccupations gives the impression of a lively and enquiring mind, with a spirit of proto-empirical investigation. Gauntlet moves towards science, based on observation, then shies away from it again: the charm to attract familiar spirits involves the blood of a lapwing turning to worms (presumably maggots, if this is observational and not metaphorical), then back to a lapwing again. Half observation and half wild speculation – we might see this as an analogy for the two-steps-forward, one-step-back progress of scientific enquiry in this particular age.

It is this eclecticism of Gauntlet’s work – veering from folk magic to angelic conjuration and with much in between – that also serves as analogy to the social context in which Gauntlet was writing and working, and into which his grimoire subsequently passed. The connections between astrologers, playwrights, churchmen, politicians and cunning men and women, are fascinating in themselves: Gauntlet’s book was owned by Elias Ashmole (founder of the Ashmolean), a Lord Chancellor (Baron Somers), cunning-woman Ann Savadge, and astrologer John Humphreys, among others. The role played by women in the history of this grimoire is itself an interesting one: Gauntlet’s principal skryer was a woman named Sarah Skelhorn, and I would suggest that a serious study of the part played by women in the range of magical practice at this time would merit further consideration. Rankine’s work raises a number of questions which it would be well worth pursuing.

A few problems, mainly caused by funding issues, have held me up getting on with the MA (MRes).

I am shy 2 assignments, and I have to corral some time with my tutor/sponsor to get the project defined and scoped - I am just praying that I will find enough time to write enough up once I get a clear aim at what I am doing.

I was heartened today by the visit of a delightful young lady midway through her own MA, and all the way from UConn, trying to formulate a dissertation out of the way people value land or locations. I wished her good luck with that. Her research may have some bearing on my own project, which is around what Glastonbury needs to provide greater public access to 'local heritage resources' - archaeological, historical and mystical (so a fairly narrow, focussed, succinct brief there, then.....).....

I really need to break the back of the research in the winter months, which is completely counter-intuitive for the University, who are used to switching off and writing their own books in the darker days, so I will have to fight for attention and assistance, or, as usual, get on with it for myself.

That said, I enjoyed my first term, with time on campus, and in the labs full of skeletons and skulls, but I am equally enjoying the break!

I have started to read fiction again - currently with my nose in a glorious 70's rock romp, and recognising not only the players, but also the 'altered geography' of Wiltshire. More on that later - I intend to read a lot more outside academia in 2012, and like Liz with the 2 reviews earlier, I will be posting comments on here.

I also hope to post more regularly here again (although you may have heard that before too).....

Happy New Year all!

T

The Ravener, by Donald Tyson, published by Avalonia, is based on such a good idea that one wonders why no-one's thought of it before - perhaps they have? I am open to being corrected. It's a series of short stories about John Dee and Edward Kelley, Elizabethan sleuths of the supernatural, and it reads - in the best way - like an earlier version of Dion Fortune's Dr Taverner stories, with a touch of Sax Rohmer. These are - on occasion with quite gruesome literacy - ripping yarns. Both Dee and Kelley are well portrayed, Dee as the wise elder statesman, close to his Queen but wary of her capriciousness and unpredictability. Tyson is very good at portraying a subtle menace in his characters, and Kelley is quite a disconcerting individual: not quite a brute, but heading in that direction. As a detecting double-team, they work very well together and the cases are great - including a family curse, some unpleasantness at a Saxon burial ground, a disturbing apparation at Nonsuch House on the old London Bridge, and the hair-raising title story, which takes place in one of the near-vanished forests around the capital.

Tyson has written a number of non-fiction books on magical practice and it came as no surprise to this reader that he is also the author of a bio of H P Lovecraft. If you want an entertainingly dark read which is based on some informative insight into Elizabethan magical practice, then this is the book for you. It can be found here:

http://avaloniabooks.co.uk/catalogue/magical-fiction/the-ravener-others

One of the things that we find ourselves increasingly involved with in Glastonbury is the task of bridge building, between a variety of different organisations. At the moment, it's about making connections between the academic communities and the various people and organisations within the town, and between different faith groups. By the end of this week, I (Liz) will have had two meetings with academics from Exeter and Manchester, and a meeting with a vicar from Bath who has taken over the role of regional interfaith co-ordinator.

I have noted this before, but it is worth saying again, that almost all the links we have with the Christian community have come about as a result of approaches from the Christian community. I know that there are serious issues with approaches taken by some members of the Christian faith, particularly in the US (we marvelled over a friend's 'excommunication' letter last week), but these difficulties are by no means representative of the community as a whole. (I also feel that there are members of the pagan community for whom I'd happily sign up for a return to, say, the ducking stool).

Part of my problem with some of the alternative sections of Glastonbury is that I find a lot of people very close minded and there seem to be a lot of people with chips on their shoulders. Anyone who is in business is written off as a 'bread head.' Academics are ridiculed as being out of touch. The locals are derided as middle class, chavs, or fuddy duddies. It's a shame, because people like the local Masonic groups and the Carnival clubs actually do far more for the town, with a lot less fuss, than many folk who pride themselves on being radical. Going out and talking to people, whether via the Chamber of Commerce or the local churches, has made me realise how much we have in common and how far people are willing to listen and take on new ideas. I've met remarkably little prejudice and a lot of support from - on the face of it - some very unlikely sources. I am by no means the only person who is doing this - the Pilgrim Reception Centre, Abbey House, the Glastonbury churches, and the business community, as well as the various trusts like Chalice Well and, byeond the town, the universities, are very engaged with talking to one another and building connections. Long may this last: it's the sign of a healthy and, dare I say it, genuinely communitarian approach.

If anyone is still attached to this list, we are going to resurrect it somewhat, for a variety of reasons, irritation with the limitations and machinations of Facebook for one.


Here we will try to gather the material for Diary of a Witchcraft Shop vol III, 'the study years'.

My own academic 'career' has restarted with a place on the Winchester University MRes programme, with a view to taking my project through to PhD level. Apparently, despite record intake levels, they actively sought me out as an 'interested/interesting' local, for a Glastonbury Community Archaeology Research Project. I am, apparently, not only a Student for the first time, with the campus thing, but also a 'stakeholder', whatever THAT is. Goldfish AND observer. MUCH more on that later, no doubt, as the semester unfolds.

Much more too, of the shenanigans in the High Street, and the psychic vampires that lurk in the darker corners of Tinseltown.

For now, welcome back anyone who picks this up, and expect sporadic outbursts from me, and sporadic wisdom from her.

Equionoctial blessings one and all, as we move to the darker part of the year.

Our list of workshops has now been finalised. Please email: enquiries (at) witchcraftshop.co.uk for further information. All workshops will take place on a Saturday, and will be in the region of £60-70 for the day. All of them will take place at the Grail Centre in Glastonbury.

APRIL 30TH – BASIC PRACTICAL MAGIC

MAY 28TH – “DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS”

JUNE 25TH – WORKING WITH THE DARK GODDESS

JULY 23RD - BASIC PRACTICAL MAGIC

AUGUST 13TH - WORKING WITH THE DARK GODDESS

SEPTEMBER 10TH - “DEFENCE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS”

OCTOBER 15TH - BASIC PRACTICAL MAGIC

NOVEMBER 19TH - WORKING WITH THE DARK GODDESS

Happy 2011 to everyone who has been following our LJ over the years. Witchcraft Ltd ended the year with a burst pipe and a flood - luckily, not too much damage was done and we have sorted out any remaining problems. We have begun the year on a more positive note, with new students enrolling on the courses, and quite a few peope finishing the Basic Practical Magic and enrolling onto the new Advanced course. We have a lot of plans for 2011, and hope to see many of you in Glastonbury over the course of the year.