Volume 3, Issue 6, page 7
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Dak
t `val
ANENT THIS SELF—PHOTRAIT
1'That serpent on my head
y is not a friend. He is
4rt
~~ part of me. 1 I am never
~~ without a bone to pick,
and whenever I open my
r mouth it is obvious what
r.I t happens. t My height is
variable, depending upon
which stand I am taking.
~y`VIYLGJ•/ This, of course, is a
matter of convenience.'
(Signed) REVEILEB
'I TWENTIETH Century could be called the
A Dark Abe of Witchcraft. Instead of approachxng Those Who Know, people are
flocking to ignoramuses who set themselves up as instructors.
Most of these "instructors" are either rank
interlopers or degenerate and untutored cowans
and eavesdroppers who capitalize on what few
hints they mave managed to scrape together.
Most of these charlatans can hardly speak, let
alone SPEIL, and they have contributed strongly to the bad odor in which Witchcraft finds
itself enveloped in the modern world.
The word "(Hitch" stems from the Anglo-Saxon
"wits", and means simply "to know". Witches
are Those Who Know. If you KNOW anything at
all, you are, to that extent, a witch. You may
not be accepted or registered with a local coven, but you could be quite easily. All that
is required is that you apply at a proper time
and place and go through a few formalities,
none of which is actually immoral, degrading,
or irreligious.
Fhrther, the word Witch is applied to both
males and females of the human species. Its
popular restriction to women alone and particularly to elderly hags is no more than an underhanded attempt to discredit the Craft and
all those associated with it. Actually, there
is nothing like the Practice of the Arts to
keep up youthful vigor and appearance for centuries on end.
Witchcraft itself is basically a simple
science. There are three, and only three, fundamental principles, and every one of them is
applied daily by nearly everyone in your civilization. These principles are -- 1: To cause
things to appear and disappear; 2: To change
one thing into another; and 3: To influence
things at a distance. Any True Instructor in
the Arts worth his pease-porridge will impart
this information with the very first lesson,
and all future instruction will be derived
therefrom. Be warned!
Usually a bare word-knowledge of these
principles constitutes the false instructor's
entire stock in trade. The thing a fake witch
causes to appear and disappear most readily
is, of course, money. Money appears from the
most unlikely places, and almost immediately
disappears again in his pocket. His ability to
from one form to another is not
us~ually things
great in the world of objects,
but is very prominently revealed in the world
of ideas. These he manipulates freely, often
with an amazing facility of imagination.
The third factor, that of influencing
things at a distance, has been enhanced by the
modern inventions of printing and commercial
advertising, which are resorted to at every
opportunity.
We ought not to be dismayed by this flurry
of ignorant misuse. Bad as it is, witchcraft
BY REVEILEB, AS DICTATED TO
ietting.9.ntaL tAelfct MILLEN BELKNAP
15e fr WAtctu>tatt
is again coming into its own. In the face of
all opposition from the Law and those Bureaus
which would collect taxes upon the products of
alchemy, there is one bright ray of hope that
shines and shines and shines.
Never in the history of the Old Religion
has it been so easy for a witch to travel.
In these modern times it is unnecessary
(and probably foolhardy) to risk exposure by
making the trip to coven on an old-fashioned,
open besom. Only the more daring youngsters
are doing this any more.
For the more conventional elders there are
far better means of transportation available.
Many womenfolk find vacuum cleaners fast and
reliable and very much in the spirit of the
Jet Age. For the really sedate the American
bathtub is both appropriate and practical.
This is also a good, safe way to carry young
children, as there is small danger of their
falling out and children WILL stare over the
side.
The larger familiar animals are still very
much in evidence, particularly with coveners
from the less mechanized areas and from the
American West. The goat is as dependable as
ever, although slow.
And speaking of flights, many of you probably are preparing for the annual Great. Coven.
There is no good reason why you shouldn't plan
to attend the coven for the full nine days instead of making a flash appearance only on the
Eve of Allhallows. Association with fellow
students and practitioners from all over the
globe, as well as from the Moon and elsewhere,
is indescribably inspiring.
Did you know, by the way, that the Old Religion celebrates the Nativity at the time of
the probable occurrence (according to students
of The Book?) The most authoritative research
has concluded that the event took place about
the 23rd of October. This date coincides with
the beginning of the Great Coven.
Many people do not realize that the Great
Coven runs for nine full days, and that our
modern celebration of Halloween is a mere vestige, actually only the culminating day.
The date of Christmas was not established
as December 25 until the Church found it necessary to compete successfully with theSaturnalia. This it did, of course, by adopting the
celebration -- lock, stock, and barrel -- and declaring Christmas. Thus the Old Religion preserves the original feast, but it had to be
outlawed. Hence all the heaps of discredit
and opprobrium, the misinformation and the
calumny directed toward those who stubbornly
clung to the old, original feast.
That the Old Religionists took advantage of
all this in order to conceal their covens and
operations from zealots during the later Middle Ages is pretty obvious. It is also pretty
clear that a lot of "nuts" of that period took
the blasphemous accusations seriously enough
to attempt to form their own covens, probably
when they could not gain admittance to a proper one.
And from those nuts comes the modern opinion of witches.
What a lot of ignorance we have to counter,
and what a big educational job we have before
us! However, we know we will win, finally, by
the Lord Harry!