“England has forgotten its gods.”
Featured image: photo by Polina Zimmerman from Pexels
Other Reconstructionist paths use historic research to re-create as much as they can to make the Gods un-lost. We do not. That they are half-remembered & fragmentary is the essential nature of our Powers: had we a time machine to view the genuine rites, we would decline. Our power rests in uncertainty, mutability, the way They change and can’t be pinned.
“We live among objects of mystery and fractured folklore. There is no totality of archaeological explanation, no decoding of legend to explain every barrow and stone.” – Dr. Michael Benn, 1976 Hookland
We began by Walking: an external-facing Solar practice which takes us outside into the landscape to experience the Lost Ones directly. Reading is its Lunar counterpart. The Powers are hidden within the rocks – but also in the music, writing and artwork of all who have heard the Land’s voice.
Do you remember when you first heard it?
For many of us, that desire to be a fairy or a witch came from fairy stories, fantasy novels, mythic cinema and so on. Reading reminds us to keep engaging in this imaginative play. Paganism should never be too grown up, serious – or worst of all, embarrassed.
Reading is consuming works of art which connect us with the Landweird.
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How to Read
Start making a list of books, films, albums, images, and so on, which speak to you. Then Read them.
Reading is not a short-cut to the infinite: so don’t put pressure on the experience. You’re more likely to find the divine when you’re immersed and caught off-guard. Just as putting expectations on your time in nature chases away the mysteries. Enjoy your Walk. Enjoy your Reading.
If you like, you can say a couple of words before you Read – asking for guidance and aid to find what you seek – or do basic breathing and mindfulness, to bring your attention to the Reading more fully. But don’t overcomplicate it. You’re just reading a book or watching a film, or listening to music.
In the next article, we discuss two of the Books of Fencraft you will write: your Reading List and Commonplace Book.
• The Reading List is texts you plan to Read, or which you have Read.
• Your Commonplace Book is a collection of quotes and images from your Reading which seemed significant to you.
How Not To Read
Reading does not have to be old; highbrow; folky; magical; or Pagan. Or even any good. It should speak to you, and evoke spiritual states. That can + should include low-brow tosh: include what you experience. I am very partial to cheap 1970s children’s television. I have found the Landweird there.
Be aware of any urges to read texts which are rare, exclusive, complicated, difficult and so on. Ambition is a very Lunar emotion, but there are many ways back – if you’re going to tackle a rare text, check the urge is an authentic rather than a competitive one. No one is judging your Reading – you can’t win at it.
Accessibility
Both Walking and Reading are practices designed for minimal executive function. Paganism can be very resource-intensive – daily rites, complex circle casts, and so forth. I struggle with this. The Three Practices make sacred actions with an extremely low barrier to entry: what if merely reading a poem, or walking in a forest, was an equal act of communion + reverence to hallowing a space + summoning the divine? I think it can be. In any case, it means I spend more time in contemplation, immersed in the land and literature which moves me, than when I was trying and failing to practice complex rites.
As you will have noticed, “Reading” has nothing to do with books. Films, songs, audio-books, plays, visual arts, sculpture and so on are all included: choose what you can access and enjoy best. Nor is it a call to read anything challenging, rare or impressive. Set your own schedule for what & when you are reading.
Other Ways of Reading
Creation
“Reading” also encompasses acts of artistic creation: making music, art, stories, poems + so forth. When one is a child, one is more inclined to play; on aging, one forgets. These works should be made for your pleasure in making them, and the journey of creation. Be mindful of how your desire to share work impacts work: intending to share work, especially online, will change the experience of creation.
The Craft is pop-culture-positive. We understand works of art as influenced by, + pathways to, the Landweird; so figures from stories can form the basis of deity work, which as often as not leads one to true divinity. But we can also express the Landweird in this way: make believe is a useful skill to practice, and writing myths and “inventing” fairies and heroes is another route out of ourselves and into the infinite. Do not be afraid to play. By creating a shape, you will find part of the Land to fill it; your expression of the Land is as good as anyone’s.
Tinkering with Magical Systems
If you are more of a right-brained person, then time spent tinkering, system-building + experimenting with magical techniques is also Lunar time. For example, creating a correspondence list, or designing a new sigilisation method. These practices keep the divine in mind – it’s a method of contemplation. Mapping the spirits of The Court of the Crimson King onto the four elements is dorky, true, but it’s the magical equivalent of stretching or doodling, time spent playing with the concepts – reflecting and considering them – and this often does lead you somewhere quite interesting.
Discussing and Teaching
It’s likely that discussing, presenting, writing, debating & teaching are also Lunar in nature – but don’t get too far away from the essential call to Read. That is – to sit alone, experiencing art, and losing yourself in it.
Let’s Get Started
Fencraft uses two unique magical books: the Commonplace Book, and the Reading List. The generic term “Book of Shadows” is used in Paganism for a spellbook/secret ritual text/diary/scrapbook. We prefer to split this out into their functions.
When you begin Reading, get a notepad or note system for each, and begin creating your own. Pick the system which works best for you – be it notepads, folders, blogs, note programs, bullet journals, index cards, or something else if you prefer to express yourself in another medium. I usually find several different notebooks is better than a single, cluttered “Book of Shadows”
The Reading List
Is a list of texts you find personally resonant – both things you have read, and intend to. We have no Bible, so must build our own. Your Reading practice is to seek out these texts – or to re-experience them. When discussing our Craft with others, your Reading List is the primary document you can share to help express the inexpressable.
The Reading List keeps you connected to the spiritual. It provokes moods, atmospheres, senses. Where others might tackle a verse of the Torah each week, we might read a chapter of a fiction book. If we practice in a group, in place of a sermon, we can screen a film. For what is a sermon or sacred text, but a record of the divine shared by others?
You can begin your List with texts recommended by me. However, don’t be afraid to start adding your own. Faith is profoundly personal – as is art – and so your List should be your expression of the sublime + strange. And don’t be afraid to include some right trash – the Landweird is everywhere.
If you enjoy writing, you can keep the Reading List as a kind of reading journal, with thoughts and reflections. If this is not your medium, a simple list of titles is equally good. Writing your list down will help you remember what you’ve Read in the past, and help motivate you when you see what you’ve achieved.
Each Crafter’s Reading List will be unique, and can be passed on to others when teaching them in the faith. Expect this book to be a constant work in progress as texts are added, removed and shuffled about.
The Commonplace Book
is written parallel to the Reading List. It is a collection of images, lyrics and quotes; it often includes a mix tape. Its cluttered collage of words echoes the Landweird’s fragmentary, unfinished, palimpsest memory. Include anything you find significant in the CB. It can be a battered notebook, a beautiful handwritten book, a typed quote collection, a deck of index cards, a photocopied zine: whatever you will enjoy looking at and handling.
This is different from the traditional Book of Shadows. It is not a book of rituals, instructions + correspondences; it is also not a journal or mirror book, for recording work and ideas. It is a devotional book – a kind of psalter or prayer pocketbook. The CB is an aid for creating ritual and reflection. You can look at it before bed. You can find quotes to meditate on. You can find devotional verse to speak in prayer. You can read through it as a very simple, no-energy spiritual practice. Do not be intimidated by the empty pages, for in time you will build up a dragon’s hoard of memory.
In contrast with the Reading List – which you are encouraged to freely share – the Commonplace Book is private. You may pull out and share quotes as needed, but the book itself is your own and should be shared with others only under special circumstances. The CB rarely includes anything secret; in contrast, we do not share it because it rarely includes anything anyone else will understand. It’s a record of our vision of the Landweird, and that is always profoundly odd.
Generally, it’s best to avoid expensive/beautiful notebooks – they can be intimidating. But an exception can be made for the Commonplace Book as it is a sacred object. Another option is to begin your Commonplace Book as a scrappy notepad, and gradually transfer the most important selections to a beautiful book over time; or have various CBs dedicated to particular deities or experiences. My CB contains a lot of interesting quotes, but perhaps less than half have remained significant or sacred. That’s OK, as the CB is exploratory. I’ve got another host of snippets and quotes in my daily book, some of which I transfer into the CB, others I do not.
Other Books
The sacred practice of Reading requires the previous books, but there’s another couple of notebooks which are helpful to keep. You’ll notice that I strongly prefer to maintain multiple notebooks split into their separate functions, rather than a single “Book of Shadows” containing bits of all of them.
A Calendar or Diary
Essential. Use to mark in moon positions, festival dates, commitments you have made, and additionally to record what Practices you have done. Planning ahead keeps you organised & reminds you to keep working. Fencraft has a complex ritual calendar, based on the motions of seasons, tides, weather and more, so you will ultimately rely on your calendar a lot.
A Grimoire / Book of Rites / Spellbook
I like to have a specific book for writing in potions, spells & rituals, so they’re easy to find. Go on. Call it a spellbook. Seek joy. The Spellbook is like a recipe book – and indeed, may include your favourite recipes, as well as symbols and diagrams and the odd image. A reference text, so make it neat; but hold off on making it gorgeous, because you will want to shuffle and adjust. I often find snippets of lore in my Reading which is a better fit for my Grimoire than my Commonplace Book: poems, rituals, bits of spells, things I’ll be putting to use rather than using as a devotional tool.
A Mirror Book
A reflective journal – your thoughts, dreams, ideas, and so forth. Capture ideas & experiences here. Reading back through the Mirror Book can often help you identify trends. You can also record what exactly happened in your rites, and keep track of the results. My Mirror Book is scruffy, and contains tarot readings, notes I’ve made while Reading, reflections which hit me while I’m doing the dishes, and so forth. I often come back to it when writing text like this, to expand concepts with new understandings.
The Work Books
As you may have gathered, a single Book of Shadows works very badly for me as a system. Separate notebooks, or file sections, helps me focus on the purpose of any given journal, and locate information faster. I love the Book of Shadows I’ve maintained since 2001, but it’s pretty hopeless as a research tool, sacred object, or any individual purpose. I like to start a new A5 school notepad for any new project – for example, sacred gardening, ritual recipes, a particular god, and of course one to write down the core ways and traditions of Fencraft. Future you will thank you for that Little Book Of Protective Magic you assembled last year!
While you’re learning on this course, you might want to keep notes on your progress in a Mirror Book – or put them in a separate Work Book, and keep the Mirror for reflective writing. You do you.
Why We Read?
In the next article, we’ll discuss the why of walking:
• What are the benefits and philosophy of walking for Pagans
• What role it plays in Fencraft
• How to enhance our walks by an understanding of “why” we do it
• When do I stop walking and get on to the “real” stuff
Fencraft: Seekers of the Landweird 