Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; 37332nd edition (September 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0738702870
• ISBN-13: 978-0738702872
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.9 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds

About the Author Ann Moura has been a practitioner of Green Witchcraft forover forty years. She holds both a B.A. and an M.A. in History. Moura lives inFlorida where she runs her own metaphysical store, presents public rituals,and teaches classes on the Craft. Visit her online at or at Read more Excerpt. ,© Reprinted by permission.All rights reserved. 1 Green Witchcraft Creed of the Green Witch The SacredTradition of Green Witchcraft The Goddess & the God Family Practice The LitanyThe Rules of Conduct The Three Styles of Green Witchcraft Sabbats: The Wheelof the Year Quarters & Cross-Quarters Calendar of Observances Ground & Center, Grounding Ritual Components , Ritual Robe Colors Craft Names , Names of theGod & Goddess Symbols & Signs , The Magical Container Basic Tools , BasicMaterials Altar Arrangement Magical Pointers Alphabets , Coven Terms , CraftTerms Creed of the Green Witch I Acknowledge the Unity of the Divine,symbolized by the Divine Androgyne, aspected as female and male, Goddess andGod, form and energy, lunar and solar powers, honored during the Wheel of theYear at Esbats, Sabbats, and sacred days. I Acknowledge the immanence of theDivine, whose Spirit resides in all things and worlds, creating a unity of Allin Oneness and kinship through the Goddess and the God. I Acknowledge that theElementals Earth, Air, Fire, and Water are extensions of the Goddess and theGod, both external and indwelling kith and kin, connecting all through Spirit.I Acknowledge the immortality of the individual spirit, comforted by the Godin Underworld, refreshed by the Goddess in Summerland, choosing incarnation byform, place, and soul purpose. I Acknowledge that the God lovinglydemonstrates the life cycle in His yearly passage through the Sabbats. He isborn as the Oak King of the Goddess as Mother at Yule; cleansed and carried bythe Crone into the arms of the Mother at Imbolc to be nourished by the milk ofHer love. At Ostara, the Goddess transforms as Maiden and joins the God thatThey may walk as the Lady and the Lord of the Wild Wood to awaken the Earthfrom the sleep of Herself as Crone of Winter. The God and Goddess unite atBeltane to bring renewal to the Earth, and at their Litha wedding, the Godshows His face of wisdom and age, turning from Oak King to Holly King as Hebegets Himself of the Goddess. At Lughnassadh, the God enters into the Goddessaspected as Mother Earth, filling Her abundance with the life essence of Hissolar energy. He enriches the vines and barleycorn with the essence of HisSpirit at Mabon. He enters into Underworld, leaving the Goddess alone asMother-to-be and Crone through Autumn and Winter, while He leads the Wild Huntas the Horned Hunter, gathering the dead to His realm. He rules Underworld asthe Lord of Shadows, where He offers rest, solace, and release of burdens tospirits at the end of each incarnation. At Samhain, the God passes His Spiritthrough the Goddess, making thin the veil between the worlds by their union ofshadow and light, turning the Tomb of the Crone into the Womb of the Mother.At Yule the God as Sage offers His blessing and farewell to the children ofthe world, then turns His face to join them as the Infant Oak King reborn.Through the Wheel of the Year is the path of perfect love and perfect trust inthe Divine demonstrated, that we may walk with the Goddess and the God in thebond of love. I Acknowledge the three great Mysteries: the Ancient God asFather and Son; the Maiden Goddess as Mother and Crone; and the Union of Tomband Womb for the eternal cycle of Life Immortal. The Sacred Tradition of GreenWitchcraft The Green Tradition of Witchcraft sees the aspects of the DivineAll as separate and united as Goddess, God, and Both. The One who is Allmatches all being from the One. The forms of The Lord and the Lady areinterlinked and interchangeable: Father Sky and Mother Earth/Sky Goddess andEarth God; Sun and Moon; Triple Goddess and Wed to the Triple Goddess;Threefold God and Wed to the Threefold God; Lord and Lady of the Greenwood;Lord of Abundance and Lady of Plenty; Queen of the Stars and King of theUniverse; Creator and Creatrix, Spirit and Matter; Life and Passage; andCosmic Dancers of Energy and Matter. The Creative Forces of Nature arerevered, with the Goddess and the God symbolizing the Universal Materials andEnergies from which comes all existence. The God and the Goddess are equal andomnipresent, for They are found throughout the Universe, the Earth, and allthat dwell therein. Because it is the Spiral Dance of Rebirth that brings usback to the Source of our existence in the Goddess and the God, reincarnationand communication with spirits are accepted parts of the religion. Knowledgeis the gift of the Goddess and the God, learning through many lives on Earthand keeping close to Them. Magic is a natural means of working with naturalenergies to accomplish a goal, and this magic becomes part of natural life forthe practicing Green Witch. Consciousness may be altered throughvisualization, meditation, ritual, music, and dance to better commune with theDivine and effect the magic. Through Dedication, the pathway to communicationis constantly open, so altered states cease to be necessary for contact withthe Divine in Nature, only inner stillness and balance. Freedom of theindividual and personal responsibility are key aspects of Green Witchcraft.The liturgy may be created as needed or desired, for the magic will naturallyflow with the acceptance of oneness with the All and with self-responsibilityin our living. Immanence, interconnection, and community are three coreprinciples of Witchcraft. Because the God and the Goddess are manifested inall life, all existence is connected to be one living cosmos. The focus is onthe growth of the whole through care for the Earth, the environment, and eachother. The mythology of the Lord and the Lady revolves around two themes inthe Wheel of the Year,that of Fertility and Passage of the Seasons; and thatof the Divine Life Cycle of the God, often related in allegory to the changingof the seasons. Thus, the sacrificed god motif can be found in the Corn(Wheat) Cycle, wherein the God willingly gives His life-force into the cropsat the time of marriage that humanity may be sustained, thus relating theDivine to life and Rites of Passage. The Triple Goddess is the Maiden, Mother,and Crone (Matron), whose consort is the Horned God, the Creator, Destroyer(Hunter), and Lord of the Beasts. All Nature has both positive and negativeaspects, and to be reborn, one must first die. The Goddess is seen as bothlife in Her form as Mother and as death in Her form as Crone, yet both are thesame. Death is a natural passage to new life and is not feared or labeled asevil. With Nature there are both pleasant aspects and harsh aspects, but thisis all part of the reality of the energy that flows in the Earth, theUniverse, and the beings of the Earth. The transition of the spirit throughincarnations is not feared, but understood and accepted as natural, for lifeis eternal, and all spirits are immortal. Attuning to the God and the Goddesschanges one forever,sparks new hope for the individual and for the planet.Personal destiny is in the hands of the practitioner. The Dark Aspects of theGod and the Goddess,Lord of Shadows and Crone,as well as the BrightAspects,Horned God and Maiden/Mother,are accepted. The Divine is both Creationand Destruction; Abundant Nature and Destructive Nature. Since all life isjoined in the Dual Deity, the Two Who Are One, and to each other, life cannotbe destroyed, only changed or moved into and out of the cauldron of life. Thereligion then is the worship or reverence of the Life Force represented in theDual Deity as a Conscious Unity. This reverence may be expressed throughceremonies or rituals dedicated to cycles of fertility, of planting andharvest, and of solar and lunar phases. The Esbats are Rituals of the FullMoon, New (Dark) Moons,times to receive learning from the Goddess. The Sabbatsare composed of four solar festivals, called the Lesser Sabbats or theQuarters, and four agricultural festivals, called the Greater Sabbats or theCross-Quarters. These are the main focus of ritual in the Green Tradition,along with Twelfth Night (Naming Day). The names by which the Lord and theLady are addressed are not important, for They are One by whatever Names Theyare known, and They dwell within. They give life to be lived fully and withenjoyment, and we are reborn to learn until we are reunited with Them. Becausepeople are of the Earth, She should be revered. The Green Witch knows of theconnection of all things, the immortality of life, and draws upon the Power ofthe Divine directly, or through the Elementals of Earth, Air, Fire, and Water,or such spirits, devas, and Other People as may be helpful. The Elementals arethe Kith and Kin of the Green Witch, for body and strength are of Earth,breath and thought are of Air, energy and drive are of Fire, and emotions andvital fluids are of Water. In olden days, The People learned in the ways ofthe Old Religion were called Wicce,voiced in the Middle English speech asWeetchžie,meaning Wise, and the use of that wisdom was called the Craft of theWise,WicceCraft, from whence comes the word Witchcraft. The Green Tradition ofWitchcraft sees the Practice of the Craft as spirituality, and holds the wordWitch as honorable and spiritual. The Goddess & the God Because the Divine isOne, the aspects of the Divine may interchange roles. Either the Lady or theLord may represent the Sun, Moon, Grain, Harvest, Waters of Life, Universe,Sky, Earth, Life, Death, Passage, Resurrection in Body and/or in Spirit. TheLady and the Lord symbolize female and male fertility. They are both Power andPassage, honored with rites of burning lamps, candles, and torches; with saltand water, bread and wine, and flowers and grain. They both represent thepassing of the seasons through solstices and equinoxes,the Lesser Sabbats ofthe Quarters,as well as through the cycles of harvest from preparation toplanting to tend,the Greater Sabbats of the Cross-Quarters. In the harvestSabbats, the Lord is the Sun, and the Lady is the Earth, culminating with theenergy of the Sun entering the life supporting grains of the Earth, and givingthe spirit of life into the fruits of the vines that refresh us. The Lady ismost related to the Lunar phases,the Esbats of the Full Moon and New Moon[last waning crescent], as well as the Esbats of the Dark Moon, Blue Moon, andSidhe Moon. The Lord is Oak King from Yule to Litha, and the Holly King fromLitha to Yule. He is Sun King and Lord of Shadows, Hunter and Greenman, Lordof the Wildwood, of Animals, and of the Fields, the one who collects thespirits who seek passage through the Goddess into new life. The Lady is theOne Who Transforms, the Changer. It is through her that the Lord dies, passesto Underworld, then is reborn. She changes, but is never-ending, and she isboth Crone and Mother at the same time, thus her Tomb is also the Womb. It isthrough her that the spirit travels from death into new life, through herCauldron of Rebirth. Family Practice Through each generation, the Green Craftadjusts and changes to meet the needs and inclinations of the Green Witch,just as Nature changes and alters to meet the needs of lifežs movement. Herelies the basic core of Green Witchcraft for future generations of my familyand anyone I, or they, might reach and for whom this Craft holds resonance andbrings joy. May this Craft grow with future generations as they enlarge uponit through their explorations of the vastness of the Power, guided always bythe loving Lady and Lord, and by the kindness of the Elementals, who are theCardinal Emanations of the Divine: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water joined with ourSpirit that is of Divine essence. We are One. The family tradition honors theGoddess at Lunar phases of the Esbats and she is seen as the Goddess of theMoon and the Earth. The God is honored at Solar phases of the Sabbats and isseen as the God of the Sun and the Earth. The Goddess of my family isBendidia, or Bendis, the Thracian Goddess of the Dark Moon. She holds a twigin her hand to show the way to Underworld, and hence to new life. She is theGoddess of Magic, Secrets, Occult Wisdom, and is the ancient Goddess ofWitches. But She is also the Goddess by any name, and is the Triple Goddess ofMaiden, Mother, and Crone. The God of my family is Shiva, but He is also theGod by any name, and is the Triple God of Youth, Father, and Sage identifiablewith Dionysus, Cernunnos, Frey, and Herne. He dances within a ring of fire,sits upon a dais, horned and surrounded by animals wild and domestic, and sitsupon a tiger skin in meditation, being the Lord of the Cosmic Dance, Lord ofBeasts, Lord of the Wildwood, and Lord of the Harvest. He is Horned Hunter,Greenman, Lord of Light, Lord of Shadows, and Wed to the Triple Goddess. TheLitany The Goddess and the God are One Life is a Gift to Enjoy I am part ofthe Earth and revere Her I am connected to all things and the Power therein Iam one with the All and the All is within me I am kith and kin to theElementals, aspects of the Divine I learn from the Goddess and the God,Nature, and Meditation I follow the Rules of Conduct as passed down to me TheRules of Conduct 1. Be careful what you do. 2. Be careful who you trust. 3. Donot use the Power to hurt another, for what is sent comes back. 4. Never usethe Power against someone who has the Power, for you draw from the same well.5. To use the Power you must feel it in your heart and know it in your mind.[Words repeated through my maternal line since 1890.] The Three Styles ofGreen Witchcraft GREEN PRACTICE AS FOLK ARTS This approach to the Green Craftcomes under the umbrella of a mainstream religion: practicing the Craft is towork magics using the new names of the deities of power, and celebrate thetraditional holidays with the understanding of their Pagan originals. Folk ArtWitches may invoke the Power as the energies of deities, angels, saints, andthe Holy Spirit, and may adapt other cultural images into their practice.GREEN PRACTICE AS PERSONALMAGICS This variety of Green Craft as a NaturalWitchcraft elevates the Mannuz (Mahn-NU or the Human; Runic Mannaz; the Self)to union with the Universe, enhancing the personal power of the Witch throughthe energies of herbs and natural objects and directing this to accomplish agoal. Ritual, magical tools, and conscious spellwork functions through theElementals, and a Grimoire is created to codify tables of magicalcorrespondences for a successful practice. Religion plays no part, save as theWitch and the Unnamed All work together through Nature with honesty, instinct,and intuition. GREEN PRACTICE AS RELIGION This type of Green Craft identifiesthe Goddess and the God in partnership with the Witch through a self-initiation for introduction and learning, and later by complete union in aselfdedication. As a religion, magic is often directed through personalcommunion with the God and the Goddess, identified as male and female inbalance. There are rituals of religious observance including Sabbats andEsbats, and special days honoring aspects and manifestations of the Divinethroughout the Wheel of the Year. Sabbats: the Wheel of The Year YULE , WINTERSOLSTICE [12/21] 1. God as Oak King is born of the Goddess. 2. God as HollyKing prepares to depart. 3. Goddess is Mother of the Sun God. 4. Goddess isCrone of Winter. IMBOLC , PURIFICATION AND FIRE [2/1] 1. Goddess is cleansedand purified. 2. Milk flows for lambs and for the baby God. 3. Quickening ofthe Earth. 4. Goddess is preparing to return to Maiden. OSTARA , SPRINGEQUINOX [3/21] 1. Goddess is Maiden/brings Spring. 2. God and Goddessencourage animal fertility. BELTANE , FERTILITY AND FIRE [5/1] 1. God Youthand Goddess Maiden unite in love. 2. May Day flowers, romps, and bonfires.LITHA , SUMMER SOLSTICE [6/21] 1. God turns from Youth to Sage. 2. Marriage ofGod to Goddess. LUGHNASSADH , BREAD HARVEST [8/1] 1. God enters the Earth inmarriage, giving his energy into the grain; now his body. 2. FirstHarvest/Bread Harvest,grains. MABON , AUTUMN EQUINOX [9/21] 1. God gives hisspirit into the vines, fruit, and barleycorn, wine, cider, whiskey, beer, andmead are now his blood,He rules Underworld. 2. Goddess alone and pregnant withthe God. SAMHAIN , DEATH AND REBIRTH [10/31] 1. God within the Goddess, yetalso Leader of the Wild Hunt. 2. Veil between the worlds at its thinnest,Crone and Hunter [Lord of Shadows] reign together. WHEEL OF THE YEAR quarters& cross-quarters QUARTERS , GREEN [LESSER] SABBATS Yule , Winter Solstice[12/21] 1. God is born of the Goddess. 2. Goddess is both Mother and Crone ofWinter. Ostara , Spring Equinox [3/21] 1. Goddess is Maiden/brings Spring toEarth. 2. God and Goddess encourage fertility of Earth. Litha , SummerSolstice [6/21] 1. God turns from Youth to Sage/Oak to Holly King. 2. Marriageof God to Goddess. 3. Holly King impregnates Goddess with Oak King. Mabon ,Autumn Equinox [9/21] 1. God gives his blood into the vines. 2. Goddess aloneand pregnant with the God. CROSS-QUARTERS , WHITE [GREATER] SABBATS Samhain ,Death and Rebirth [10/31] 1. God within the Goddess/tomb becomes the womb. 2.Veil between the worlds is thinnest. Imbolc , Purification and Fire [2/1] 1.Milk flows for the baby God as Oak King. 2. Quickening of the Earth. Beltane ,Fertility and Fire [5/1] 1. God and Goddess unite in love. 2. May Day rompsand bonfires/fertility encouraged. Lughnassadh , Bread Harvest [8/1] 1. Godenters the Earth in marriage, giving his body to be the grain. 2. FirstHarvest,grains. Read more