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istari

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The Wild Wood of Owls and Starlight

Among the Moonlit Trees...

Created on 2005-02-05 15:25:25 (#6026479), last updated 2009-07-04

1,372 comments received, 2,382 comments posted

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Basic Info

Name:	istari
Birthdate:	1965-10-03
Location:	Somewhere in a hollow tree..., Michigan, United States

Bio

Bit about me~

I'm just a down to earth Old Craft Witch who isn't afraid of practicing
out in the wind, rain, and snow, be it 5 below zero F or 95 above, come Hel or high water.
I have no need of fancy things and clunky junk, just me and my "Old Stick", the Land and Powers That Be...

Been on this path of the Old Ways for most of my years.
Was warped at an early age by Monty Python and Fawlty Towers,
as well as "Mastering Witchcraft" by Paul Huson at the tender age of nine.
That book, along with the Old Ones, helped make me into the sort of Witch I am today.
Thank you Paul Huson! ;)
I have a plethora of fuzzy children~four cats~Ziggy, Tramp, Gandalf and Gypsy aka Tweeny,
and a teacup poodle~ Pebbles.

Have loved the Old Ways and Elder Faiths of Pagan Europe since childhood.
Basically, for my path, I follow a reconstruction of the way of the Witch and Heathen, going back to "years ago in days of old", as well as syncretizing newer elements,
and trying to always live with an Awareness of the Otherworld. It is the only place my spirit has found rest and happiness!
But with all that I know, it is still very little of what there is to learn...
Forever a student!

A few likes:

The Old Ones! My Stang...
Myths, legends and faery tales, stargazing, cloudwatching, moonlight, firelight, flowers, gardening, nature, dreams, happy fun people, all things Witch related, tarot, runes, laughter, reading, writing, drawing, painting, singing, dancing and bellydancing, mythical and fantasy art, poetry, and music, music, MUSIC!

Dislikes:

Mean, narrow-minded people, negative "downer" types, stress, being rushed, smog, urban sprawl, liars, users, egotistical snobs, cold toes, anchovies... *~*

Music~

Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Godsmack, Ozzy, Silvertide, Zakk Wylde/BLS,
NIN, Metallica, Pantera, Type O, Rob Zombie, U2, Stones,
Sabbath, Whitesnake, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Alice Cooper, The Cult,
Puddle of Mud, Alice in Chains, Oleander, Collide,
Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry, Bad Company/Paul Rodgers, Queen,
Korn, M. Manson, Nickelback, Guns & Roses, Depeche Mode, Theory of a Deadman,
Simple Minds, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Loreena McKennitt,
Maddy Prior, Faun, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Xtina Aguilera,
Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith as well as lots of other country artists,
Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Connick Jr., Michael Buble, songbirds, crickets, owls,
panpipes, flutes, djembe/doumbek drums, etc...
Pretty much anything hard and wild or hauntingly beautiful.....

...

A *few* favorite Books, Authors and Witchly Reads~

"The Real Middle Earth" by Brian Bates
"The Way of Wyrd" by Brian Bates
"Qutub" by Andrew Chumbley
"The Roebuck in the Thicket" by Robert Cochrane, Evan John Jones and Michael Howard
"The Robert Cochrane Letters" by R. Cochrane, E. J. Jones and Michael Howard
"Hedgerider: Witches and the Underworld" by Eric De Vries
"The Faery Teachings" by Orion Foxwood
Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways by Gemma Gary
"A Witch Alone" by Marian Green
"Wild Witchcraft" by Marian Green
"The Complete Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales" by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm
"Elves, Wights and Trolls" by Kveldulf Gundarsson
"Light from the Shadows" by Gwyn (aka Michael Howard!)
"Germanic Heathenry" by James Hjuka Coulter
"Mastering Witchcraft" by Paul Huson
"Mystical Origins of the Tarot" by Paul Huson
"Mastering Herbalism" by Paul Huson
"Call of the Horned Piper" and "Masks of Misrule" by Nigel Jackson
"The Compleat Vampyre: The Vampyre Shaman, Werewolves, Witchery and the Dark Mythology of the Undead" by Nigel Jackson
"The Pillars of Tubal-Cain" by Michael Howard and Nigel Jackson
"Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed" by Evan John Jones and Doreen Valiente
"A History of Pagan Europe" by Prudence Jones and Nigel Pennick
"Aradia: Gospel of the Witches" by Charles Godfrey Leland
"Witches, Werewolves and Fairies" by Claude Lecouteux (A study in the Northern European Pagan concept of the soul and Otherworld)
"Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants" by Claudia Müller-Ebeling, Ph.D., Christian Rätsch, Ph.D., and Wolf-Dieter Storl, Ph.D.
"Treading the Mill" by Nigel Pearson
"Practical Magic in the Northern Tradition" by Nigel Pennick
"Secrets of East Anglian Magic" by Nigel Pennick
"The Eldritch World" by Nigel Pennick
"Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men" by Phyllis Seifker
"Viridarium Umbris" by Daniel Schulke
"Witchdom of the True" by Edred Thorsson
"An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present" by Doreen Valiente
"The Crones Book of Magical Words" and "The Crones Book of Charms and Spells" by Valerie Worth

And all of these!~ T'ween Dusted Pages of Auld...

"The Christ Conspiracy" by Acharya (not flawless, but *quite* informative!)
"The Jesus Mysteries: Was the "Original Jesus" a Pagan God?" by Freke and Gandy ("Freke" is the name of one of Woden's wolves! *grin*)
"The Laughing Jesus" by Freke and Gandy
"The Pagan Christ" by Tom Harpur
"Christianity: The Origins of a Pagan Religion" by Philippe Walter
Shakespeare
J.R.R. Tolkien
J.K. Rowling

More favorite links (not enough room on main page)~

A Northern Tradition Herbal
Anglo-Saxon Witchcraft
The Celtic Zodiac (Beautiful artwork!)
Conjurefolk
Courting The Lady
Dark Mother Wood
Fiona Macleod/William Sharp
Goseck Circle
Heathen Holidays
Heathen Timekeeping
Hoof and Horn
Labyrinthos
Learning the Tarot
(An online tutorial)
Legends~Fairy Tales~
(All 13 volumes of Andrew Lang's Fairy Books)
Libra-Aries Books
Living Blade Tradition
Loki
Magic in the Sagas
MagickalBookReview
Masks of the Piper by Nigel Jackson
Megalithic.co.uk
Museum of Witchcraft
Mythical Ireland
Nigel Jackson
Northern European Shamanism
Northvegr Northern Studies~
(has Grimm's Teutonic Mythology online)
Oakmagic Publications
The Occult Art Company Blogspot
Ole Viking Shop~
(Reproductions of rare Norse mythology books and things like "Anglo-Saxon Magic" by Godfrid Storms)
Paul Huson
Pentacle Magazine
PF Wight~The Pagan Federation
Raven Drum Foundation
R. J. Stewart
Runa Raven Press
Runes
The Staff and the Song
Tam Lin Balladry
Tarot
Uppsala
Waelburga and the Rites of May
White Dragon Magazine
Wistman's Wands
Woden World
Woodharrow Germanic Studies
Woods~N~Ways
Wyrd Staves~Mystery of the Futhorc
Xoanon

May the Fire of the Old Ones burn in the heart of the Seeker...

Artists~
Renee Biertempfel
Amy Brown
Jacqueline Collen-Tarrolly
Kinuko Y. Craft
Ian Daniels
David Delamare
Helene Deroubaix~The Fairy Attic
Meredith Dillman
Duirwaigh Gallery
Faerieworlds.com
FaerieCon International
Selina Fenich
Trudi Finch
Brian Froud
Maxine Gadd
Jessica Galbreth
Beth Hansen
Desiree Isphording~Sphinxmuse
Virginia Lee
Shannon Lyn~Ephemeral Arts
Helena Nelson-Reed
Marc Potts
Stephanie Pui-Mun Law
Linda Ravenscroft
Abranda Sisson
Paulina Stuckey-Cassidy
Nene Thomas
Josephine Wall
(And lots of others!)

Favorite words of wisdom/inspiration~

"All that is gold does not glitter,
not all those who wander are lost;
the old that is strong does not wither,
deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring."
~J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings...

"And it's whispered that soon, if we all call the tune,
then the Piper will lead us to reason...
And a new day will dawn, for those who stand long,
and the forests will echo with laughter..."
~Led Zeppelin~Stairway to Heaven...

"If you want to know what a man's like,
take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals."
~Sirius Black

"Me thaet wyrd gewaef "
~"Fate wove me that destiny"

~Anglo-Saxon saying

Hoof and Horn
by Ian Corrigan

As I rode out one morning all on All Hallows' Eve
I chanced to meet with the Horned One and I asked of him his leave
His hooves were of the kettle iron, his horns sprang like the bow
And I was caught up in his pack with the Wild Hunt for to go

We rode and raged through the autumn glade where the earth grew cold and chill
And everywhere his Wild Hunt rode he worked his icy will
We rode through village, field and town and shutters drew in fear
For before us rode the Horned Man, our winter King so dear.

And then at last by starlight we came to that wild glade
Where we trod the ancient circle and the winter spell was laid
And there I saw my father, ten years and seven dead
And he did bear the icy spear and wore horns upon his head

But all things come unto an end, so from that place I passed
And when to Annfwyn I do go I'll ride with him at last
The Horned Man will bless us all as sure as you were born
So raise your cup and sup it up, all hail to Hoof and Horn!

The Pipes of Pan

~Vivianne Crowley, 1969

In caverns deep the Old Gods sleep
But the trees still know their Lord
And it's the Pipes of Pan that call the tune
In the twilight in the wood

The leaves they dance the Goat God's tune
And they whisper his name to the winds
And the oak tree dreams of a God with horns
And knows no other king