Category: Articles

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The Witch Compass by Ian Chambers

Review by Cat Gina Cole, Author of Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft.

I had the distinct pleasure to review this book before its release in August 2022 and the pleasure is all mine!

The Witch Compass is an amazing and comprehensive book on Traditional Witchcraft written by Ian Chambers. In the last paragraph of the forward Ian Chambers says he is an old witch that works by sight and is in constant contact with spirit allies and gods. This statement shows me he is a serious practioner and it piqued my interest even more.

As he writes he demonstrates that the witch compass is a tool for positioning the witch within this world and is a means to travel many worlds much like a portal. The book begins by exploring the historical and cultural usage of the witch compass and introduces you to the 8 winds then gives step-by-step methods to use them via Traditional Witchcraft.

The Witches Compass even touches on the great debate of modern paganism. “Is Wicca and neo-paganism connected to ancient magic?” Ian Chambers gives a focused and historic discourse on magic and how Christianity colored witchcraft that answers that debate eloquently. I really enjoyed his clear history of Gardner and others as he establishes the founding of modern witchcraft. In which he points out the similarities and differences of the Solomaiac, Free Masons, Traditional Witchcraft, and Wiccan practices. That discourse includes an impressive list of resources and grimoires that is valuable information for any seeker. I applaud and admire the courage of the author for stating clearly and boldly his thoughts as he encourages us to decolonize our craft and describes the concept of the devil as being an advocate of the oppressed.

I find the step-by-step instructions for seekers to follow complete in a true transgressive style of witchcraft. I have seen many books on witchcraft but Ian Chambers has found the language that takes the reader to the depths needed for a serious connection to the compass and Traditional Witchcraft, his words just grab you and take you to that place.

The Witches Compass even explores man’s discovery of the cardinal directions and names of the winds. In this exploration, you will find a history of the magnetized compass and illustrations from the grimoires of Agrippa and others. In this section, he connects the witch compass to evoking the directions and casting a circle as they were done in the ancient mysteries.

I loved the section that tells of the arrival of the cunning folk in society, and how they created a compass. Their compass has an alphabet that correlates to numbers, the zodiac, and the cardinal directions. Yay cunning folk! This allowed them to traverse the compass in the most remarkable ways as they applied the ancient mythos.

Ian Chambers then leaves nothing out as he writes about the five senses, the pentacle, and the crossroads. He demonstrates how they are connected to the witch compass and current magical traditions. The section on knot work and working with the winds is very intriguing and has a step-by-step exercise to teach the reader how to do this type of work, which I cannot wait to practice!

As you read Ian Chambers’s work, you begin to understand what the witch compass is and its importance to Traditional Witchcraft. and, that this book, The Witch Compass contains real and serious magic. A trend that continues throughout the book. This is an exciting and skilled book and every word captured my attention. I find The Witch Compass to not only be a step-by-step guide to the witch compass and Traditional Witchcraft but also a grimoire of spells and rituals and a true resource for any seeker, this book does not disappoint!

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My Llewellyn Journal Article, How Psychic Skills Enhance Magic and Witchcraft

POSTED UNDER PAGANISM & WITCHCRAFT

How Psychic Skills Enhance Magic and Witchcraft

FEBRUARY 08, 2022 BY CAT GINA COLE

I have been a psychic my whole life. When I was little, my mother and grandmother introduced me into our family tradition of Hedge Witchery and Psychism. Later when I began writing about Psychism, I found it very difficult to sit and draw it all out step by step because it was like breathing—something I just always did without much thought. But as I did so, I realized how beneficial it was to have it all laid out in front of me. Now it was identified and useable instead of mystified and indescribable. In written form, my psychism became a useable tool rather than something that just happened without explanation. Which is when I realized there are many psychics that might benefit from this, too, which is how my book, Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft, came to life.

I used to think my psychism was my witchcraft and magic, but since have learned they are very separate things. To me, witchcraft is how I live with the world and nature and use those relationships. Magic is the action I take to bring about a desired result by using learned correspondences. When I add psychism to the mix, I wholly become the working, not just a technician working the formula. It is one thing to feel energy, but you need psychic skills to manipulate it, amplify it and send it.

When I include my psychism into a magical act, I tap into energies well beyond myself. I then channel them through me and into the magic. This increases the effectiveness of whatever magical work I am doing.

To learn this type of energetic channeling using psychic skills, you can begin with a simple blade of grass. Take one blade of grass in hand. Look at the details of it. The color, the texture, the smell. Then push your senses inside of it until you can see in your mind, the vein inside the blade uses to acquire water and nutrients. Think about how it is a living being and all it does to continue to live. Focus on this to the exclusion of all else. You are succeeding when you no longer notice your body, your surroundings or anything but the blade of grass. Once you have accomplished that, sit down on the grass. Close your eyes and touch the grass around you. Then focus on becoming one with that grass. Feel it, let it talk to you. Feel its spirit: is it happy, or needing water?

Now as a witch, let’s do some magic for the grass and call some rain. Now that you have connected to the live spirit of the grass you can project the energy of its request for rain to the elements. You are now the conduit of that energy and spirit as you invoke the elements to be present. Once they are present, you charge your request with the power and energy you gathered as you ask them to respond. This gives the elements an extra connection and reason to respond to your desire, which adds the spirit and energy of the grass, making the magic more effective. This is just one example of how psychism can enhance magic and witchcraft.

The above exercise is an excellent way to begin a practice of bringing your psychism into your magical workings. If you do not have grass available, you can sit with a houseplant and create the same connection. You can connect to something from your dreams, a person, a city, the very atmosphere in the same way. There is no limit to what energies psychism can connect you. The goal is to be able to channel those energies into your workings.

The key to building your psychic skill is having a regular meditation practice. Meditation is needed for psychism because it conditions the mind and assists with divination.

Divining a thing is like having a conversation with it, much like the grass in the above exercise. We call a tarot session a “reading,” yet using the tarot is an act of divining because you “divine” or “acquire” information then “read” the information received. I simply call it reading, because I read what the spirit of the thing is putting off.

If you add the skill of reading other things, it will increase your ability to bring energetic connections into magical workings. Being able to divine and read things around you is of great benefit to everyday life as well. It gives you information others cannot tap into. The divining and reading skills tie into your intuition, but goes way beyond that. Intuition is a nudge; divining is receiving specific information.

In the spirit of reading a thing to divine information, let’s say you are about to go into an office for job interview. Before you walk in, you pause and touch the door handle. With eyes closed, focus on seeing or feeling the person behind the desk and open your senses to receive what the door handle is telling you. Having your eyes closed keeps your surroundings from being a distraction. I have picked up the mood and energy of the person in the room this way, which can tell you much about the person doing the interview. It can be great fun practicing this wherever you go, and then asking friends and family how accurate you are then journaling your results to use later.

Now let us apply this ability to magic. All things have a life and memories into which you can tap with divination and reading skills and then channel into the work. Imagine you are in ritual and pick up a wand; that wand has a spirit and energy. You may discover that the wand does not want to participate in the working at hand. Using divination and reading skills can lead you to a more appropriate tool to use for the job.

Divination and reading skills can also be used to read the mood and energy of those present. While divining and reading you are in an altered state of mind, similar to meditation. In this altered state you can pick up some of the needs of those present before beginning a ritual and then tailor the ritual towards those needs. After reading the room, you can then psychically reach out and tap the energy you feel is needed to calm the room and bring everyone into the same state of mind. You can then project that energy outward to those present and create a unified state of mind for everyone. Using these skills as you begin a ritual often gets called grounding and centering or creating a sacred space. But those labels fall short of what psychic skills provide, and are rather vague to the details of the skills involved in this kind of practice.

Psychic skills lend a whole new level to magic. Through remote viewing, astral travel and dreamwork, you can go to other locations and do magic and healing there. While in other locations you can use reading and divining skills to know what exactly is going on and what is needed, which will tell you if you need to cast a protection or if you need to get right to work. Reading and divining skills can be used in solitary work, too. They can tell you when it is time for a ritual or spell. It begins with an intuitive nudge or thought, which is the cue to pause and scan before divining the information.

These skills have led me to many personal workings for things that I need for which I would not otherwise be aware. I have had many such workings come to me in dreams. In Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft, I call it “crossing the hedge” where I wake with magic, a ritual, or a spell that I have been directed to do by a spirit, deity, or other wise person. I always follow through on these because they never fail to be accurate. For these I hold a psychic visualization of the experience as I complete them. This creates an energetic connection between the dream world experience and the magical act that is also be used in spell work.

I like to use psychic visualization in spell work. Mental visualization is something most of us do every day—that is not the type of visualization I’m speaking of here. For psychic visualization in a spell, you visualize an encounter you had through a dream, a trance, or astral travel, with a deity, spirit, or element that relates to the spell. You then use that visualization as you call on them to lend their power and hear your desire.

This gives you a greater connection and ability to invoke them. Next, you draw all of that energy and spirit into your core and expel it through the words you use in the spell, giving the spell greater impact. At the end of the words of your spell, shift your visualization to your desired goal until you feel that you are there with that goal. When you feel fully connected, you are now holding enough energy and power to send off the spell. You send off a spell through an action, like burning the correspondences, burying them, or sending them off with water or air in some way. Because when it is all said and done, magic is what we think, say, and do.

Establishing the practice of these skills is not just work and drudgery. It is fun, exciting, expansive, and gratifying as we test out how effective we are becoming in our magic. So, happy casting and enjoy the journey!

 

 

 

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Being of Service and Promotion

Being of Service

In my family tradition I was taught from a young age about being of service. Not just being of service to the spirits of the other side as a witch, but helping people in whatever way possible. Those closest to me know I live this daily.

I often wondered why I experienced some of the things I have in my life. I could not understand why these things were put on me. Often, they were heavy, confusing, and very hard and made no sense.

On a day when I was struggling and feeling like I was at the bottom of life, my mom said, “You experience these things so you can give your knowledge and strength of how you got through them to others.” In that perspective it suddenly all made sense and I was able to carry on.

This does not make me an expert in anything. Nor does it elevate me above anyone else. That is not who I am. I am a simple country witch, a real person that has led a colorful life and had some experiences that when shared, might help others through their journey. And that is the sole reason I wrote my book Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft.

I have had the opportunity to elevate myself in this world and walked away each time because being a real and approachable person available to others was more important. Which makes self-promotion against my character. But how does one be of service to others unless they know you are there?

Promotion

In today’s world of social media, I cannot reach folks that might have a need without some self-promotion. I, like many, despise the slick used car salesperson tactics or flooding of social media I have seen others use. So, I quietly sit in many Pagan groups on social media. I carefully select those I respond to and share my blog once in a while. To date that has been my form of self-promotion. On the flipside of promotion, one must enjoy and share their joys with their community to fully live that joy. That is my goal here today.

In writing psychic Skills For Magic And Witchcraft, the main goal was to write about psychism in a common-sense, and practical, step by step easy to understand way. To tear off the band-aid of the common mystical language that only serves to further confuse or cloud psychism for many.

My second goal was to de-mystify many of the preconceived ideas our society has taught us about psychics and let all psychics know they no longer have to feel odd or confused. There is a name for what they experience, there are tools to use, it is real, and they are not alone.

My book, Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft takes the seeker on the complete journey. In the later chapters, I use real-life experiences to demonstrate how psychic occurrences can appear in daily life. I couple those experiences with additional advanced tools and skills the seeker can use to deal with their own experiences in their own way.

My book is my way of being there for the many psychics that have no one to talk to or feel lost in their experiences. The book is not only what I live daily and what I teach, but it is the book I wish I had growing up as a psychic. It is my greatest desire that it brings all psychics, confidence, guidance, and peace of mind, no matter where they are in the journey.

Today I celebrate my work and let myself feel the joy I wish to share with you the seeker. Psychic Skills For Magic And Witchcraft, published by Llewellyn Worldwide will be coming out in February 2022.

I am excited to see this work come full circle. I can hardly believe it is available for pre-order at Llewellyn Worldwide, on Amazon, and Barnes and noble.

I am also honored to have written an article for the Llewellyn Journal, to be published in January. I even get to be a guest on Spirit Talk, a show in Australia! Never in my wildest dreams did I think this would be so. It is almost surreal like I am walking in a dream or in someone else’s life. the joy of it is almost overwhelming. So, witches, follow your dreams and fly!

Below you will see some of the endorsements for my book. I am so honored that these folks thought so highly of my work. I am humbled by their praise. I hope you enjoy the book as much as they have. Many Blessings to all!

Advance praise for Psychic Skills for Magic and Witchcraft: Developing Your Spirit, Intuition, and Clairvoyance, published by Llewellyn Worldwide in February 2022:

“If you want to develop your intuition and related mental acuities, this is a fabulous resource! Each chapter provides a variety of tools, both material and otherwise, that allow you to open your mind and increase your focus. Even if you’ve never done any sort of psychic practice, this book will offer you the framework you need to get started and get better, without being overly dogmatic or prescriptive.” —Lupa, creator of The Tarot of Bones deck and book 

“I’ve read a lot of books on psychism, but this one is unique; not merely theoretical, but actual tried-and-true practical exercises, definitions, explanations, and most enlightening—personal excerpts from Cat’s own journals from a lifetime of both learning and teaching the psychic arts. Cat’s descriptions of her childhood lessons and exercises remind me so much of my own lonely journey as a ‘magikid.’ Fortunately, while I had to invent my own experiments in telepathy, hypnosis, psychokinesis, etc., Cat had her witchy mother and grandmother to teach her. And in this book she organizes the solid lessons she learned and teaches into an easy-to-understand three-level course of study for beginning students to intermediate practitioners. This course presents a foundational curriculum of psychic skills for daily living and all forms of spiritual practices. I recommend it highly!” — Oberon Zell, Headmaster of the Grey School of Wizardry, author of Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard.

“Crone wisdom resonates throughout the pages of this vital book that is certain to become a modern classic. Bringing together a lifetime of clinical and priestess training, Cat Gina Cole has written the consummate book for developing and growing psychic awareness and sensitivity.” — Katrina Rasbold, Author of Uncrossing: Identify, Cleanse, and Heal from Hexes, Curses, and Psychic Attack and Crossroads of Conjure: The Roots and Practices of Granny Magic, Hoodoo, Brujería, and Curanderismo.

 

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MY FIRST PUBLISHED ARTICLE

MY FIRST PUBLISHED ARTICLE!

Funny what you find when running down rabbit holes. I recently came across my very first published contribution to a book. I had completely forgotten about it! About halfway down the list, you will see my name as a contributor.

Book, Pagan Planet: Being, Believing & Belonging in the 21 Century by Nimue Brown (Goodreads Author) (Editor)

Contributors

Arietta Bryant (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) Jo Ashbeth Coffey (Contributor), John Halstead (Contributor), Laura Perry (Contributor), Brendan Howlin (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Rachel Patterson (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Morgan Daimler (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Robin Herne (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Sheena Cundy (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Yvonne Ryves (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Pete Jennings (Contributor ), Romany Rivers (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Hilde Liesens (Contributor ), Adele Sutcliffe (Contributor ), Mark Rosher (Contributor ), Calantirniel (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Crystal Rainfeather (Contributor ), France’s Billinghurst (Contributor ), Cat Gina Cole (Contributor ), Irisanya (Contributor ), James Middleditch (Contributor ), Jay Cassels (Contributor ), Ian Chandler (Contributor), Jenny Uzzell (Contributor ), John Awen (Contributor ), Lady Laeynarrie Auvresti (Contributor ), Lyn Thurman (Contributor ), Mabh Savage (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Marie Strang (Contributor ), Rosie Weaver (Contributor ), Talis Kimberley-Fairbourn (Contributor ), Rufus Brock Maychild (Contributor ), Samantha Leaver (Contributor ), Mike Stygal (Foreword), Oakwood Leaf (Contributor ), Simon Wakefield (Contributor ), Sindy Leah Coumes Fitz (Contributor ), Breaca Aranwen of Albion (Contributor ), Thea Prothero (Contributor ), Robert L. Scott (Contributor ), Lorna Smithers (Contributor), Fiona Tinker (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Hearth Moon Rising (Goodreads Author) (Contributor ), Edwina Hodkinson (Contributor ), James Nichol (Contributor)

This blurb follows the contributor’s list in the original post.

“What does it mean to live as a Pagan in this uncertain world of climate change, economic hardship and worldwide social injustice? What does it mean to hold nature as sacred when ravaging the land is commonplace? How do we live our Paganism in our families and homes, our communities and countries? Pagans are stepping up in all kinds of ways. This is a Moon Books community project, sharing the energy and inspiration of people who are making a difference at whatever level makes sense to them. This is a book of grass-roots energy, of walking your talk and the tales of people who are, by a vast array of means, engaged with being the change they wish to see in the world.”

Later as I poked around I found this article to go with it at…

https://www.johnhuntpublishing.com/moon-books/our-books/pagan-planet

Pagan Planet (new from Moon Books this month) is a community project, which means there’s a lot of contributors. Over the coming weeks we’re profiling contributors here on the blog, partly as a way of thanking them for being involved, partly to share something of the breadth of experience that has gone into this book. Over to Cat…

“Hello, I am Cat Gina Cole, a lifetime student of the Psychic arts and the Craft. I was trained by my Mother and Grandmother and was solitary until 2010 when I found Rowan Tree now I am team leader of Rowan Tree Spiritual Community in Medford Oregon. We are a small community our (website is (no longer an active website. You can currently follow us at Rouge Valley Pagans group on Facebook). We also have a very active group. We are an open circle, meaning all are welcomed. We are rooted in Paganism with Universal and New Age overtones. Our Rituals follow the Wheel of the Year and the Moons. Our school is non-denominational Spirituality. We encourage each person to find the spiritual path that works best for them and then take that into their own communities while exposing them to many paths and many modalities. We have a class site at xx ( No longer an active website) that further explains our program. Our Team offers, readings, energy work, crystal healings, and spiritual counseling. We welcome you all, blessed be.

Cat contributed to Pagan Planet with an essay about her experience of Eclectic Paganism as a path.

Here is the link where you can get the book and see the original post.

https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/26716841

 

 

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My Green Egg Summer 2021 Article

A PEEK INTO GRECO-ROMAN MAGIC

Cat Gina Cole

(cover art by Pratima Sarkar)

In 2009 I joined a public magic school in our area. For one of my assignments, I had to pick a Pantheon I was familiar with, and write about its culture and magic. The following article is a revised copy of that paper, and I must say I found digging deeper into the old magic intriguing.

In my research, I discovered a document titled “ Papyri Graecae Magicae” It is the name given by scholars to a body of papyri, an ancient paper from Greco-Roman Egypt, which contains a number of magical spells, formula’s, hymns, and rituals. The materials in the papyri date from the 2nd century BC to the 5th century AD. The manuscripts came to light through the antiquities trade from the 18th century onwards. Many of these pieces are pages or fragmentary extracts from spell book repositories of arcane knowledge and mystical secrets.

As far as they have been reconstructed, these papers and fragments appear to fall into two broad categories; Some are compilations of spells and magical writings gathered by scholarly collectors either out of academic interest or a study into magic. Others may have been working manuals. The pages contain spells, recipes, and prayers, interspersed with magic words and often in shorthand or with abbreviations. These spells range from impressive and mystical summoning’s of dark gods and daemons, and include folk remedies, ominous fatal curses, love charms, cures for impotence and minor medical complaints.

What follows are excerpts pieced together from The PGM as well as other scholars’ opinions and theories as to the meaning to one of the most important pieces in the history of magic.

In magic, we have always tried to locate the secret forces in nature, their sympathies, and antipathies. In a sense, the magi of the time were scientists also known as alchemists. They were interested in manipulating the powers and dynamics of nature. At the same time, they explored the human soul, the conscious and unconscious states to see what they contain and how they work.

The first magical operation that was recorded in the Greek language is found in book 10 of the Odyssey in Odysseus’ meeting with Circe. Circe is a daughter of a Titan. Not only can Circe turn men into beasts but she can predict the future. Through her predictions and instruction, Homer links Circe with other magical motifs of the epic, specifically the necromantic scene in book 11 of the Odyssey. In which Odysseus following Circe’s instructions digs a trench, pours out as an offering to the dead a drink consisting of honey, milk wine and water. Then he slaughters two black sheep in such a way that their blood runs into the trench. This attracts the shade of the dead in flocks, and by drinking the blood they regain, for a short time, the ability to communicate with the living. One should note that Circe’s magic consists in the use of a wand and that Odysseus’ defense against her was an herb called Moly. An herb that was revealed to him by Hermes.

Several requisites of magic are combined in this story. A mysterious tool that looks like a stick but that is obviously endowed with special powers; an herb that was not easy to find; and a God who reveals to one of his favorites a secret that will save him. Thus, at the beginning of recorded Greek literature, we find three elements that will characterize magic as a system in the Hellenistic age; a magical tool; a magical herb; and a God who reveals a great secret. The magical acts and information gained by them was of great benefit to Odysseus in the end.

Then we have the miracles of Pythagoras. He is a philosopher accused of being a magician. He was accused of eight things. The first, being seen in two cities at the exact same time. Two; He had a golden thigh as if his leg were made of the metal. Three; he told Crotanite that on a previous existence he was King Midas, Four, a white eagle permitted him to stroke it. Five; a river greeted him, “ Hail Pythagoras!” Six; he predicted a dead man would be found on a ship entering the harbor. Seven; when asked for a sign he predicted the appearance of a white bear and declared it was dead before the messenger reached him bearing the news. Eight; he bit a poisonous snake to death. Pythagoras, through both his legend and his doctrine, had great influence on Platonism, as he does on the foundation of all magic.

Next comes Plato, who says little about magical practices. That he believed in astrology and other forms of divination is strongly suggested by Timaeus and is reasonable to assume he believed in daemons given what we know of the Platonic school of tradition. In Plato’s laws, he takes healers, profits, and sorcerers for granted. These practitioners existed in Athens and no doubt all other Greek cities. Plato felt they had to be reckoned with and controlled by laws. Plato does add that one should not be afraid of them, their powers are real, but they themselves represent a rather low order of humanity. This belief of Plato’s was also prevalent in many other cultures across time, and still continues to this day.

Later in the Hellenistic period, which is roughly the last centuries before Christ, there seems to be a new interest in magic. From this period, we have an abundance of texts in Greek and Latin, some are literary and some are for practical use. Of special interest here is, that the Magical Papyri that still exist were written in the first centuries after Christ. However, their concepts, formulas and rituals reflect a much earlier period when occult sciences were developed into one great system.

The syncrenistic urging of the Hellenistic mind produced a great body of occult lore. Syncrenistic means the amalgamation of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought. So, you see being eclectic and borrowing from other practices has been around a long time.

Following in the line of Greco Roman magic is Theocritus -310 – 250 BC. He is mainly known as a pastoral poet but he also wrote several pieces describing everyday life in the great modern capital of Alexandria. One of these has the title of Pharmakeutria, which is the feminine equivalent of Pharmakeutes and means witch or sorceress, it is derived from Pharmakon meaning drug, poison, potion, or spell. Any herb, chemical, or requisite used in medicine or magic could be called Pharmakon. This is the earliest recorded beginnings of herbalism as we know it today.

Another text involves a young Greek woman, Simaetha, who lived in Alexandria, and was in love with a young athlete, however he has not shown himself at her door for eleven days, and she decides to draw him back by magical means. She set up with a few fairly simple pre-requisites for a magical operation at her home. The ingredients she uses are, barley groats, and…

For the rest of this article and the full summer edition please go to  http://greeneggmagazine.com