Folk medicine - By Jane Dagger

 

Natural folk magic is the oldest form of all magical traditions, much older than the written word; natural folk magic is based on the essential principles of nature. Because of this it is infinitely creative. Natural folk magic can take many forms, all of which are valid because they embody true universal principles.

Every culture on Earth has a magical folk tradition. Knowledge was passed down from one generation to another, and so the lore was widely circulated and used. Most country folk knew at least one herb that was a powerful protection against evil, a certain flower that produced prophetic dreams, and perhaps a sure-fire love charm or two. Even today we have still the remnants of such magic embedded in our everyday lives, how many times have you touched wood to bring a added bit of luck, or thrown a coin in a well for a wish or even ask someone to sale you a dream, "penny for your thoughts."

Folk Magic is the art of working with the subtle powers of natural energies. They are the universal forces that reside inside of everything. These universal forces have many names and many forms in many different cultures and don’t care whether you call them forth in the name of Jesus or a pagan Goddess. Visualization, faith, knowledge, need, creativity, intent and trust to name but a few act as catalysts to fuel the outcome of folk magic work, the talisman, amulet or token acting as a focus for the Magic. Other things that can influence a spell's success is timing, energy, magical coordinates and intentions. Inside every spell there resides the bright seed of hope for success.

Folk magic is a combination of what is inside the person, and the natural energy, or sources of power that the person, or practitioner accesses. It is not these different energies that are "good" or "bad" but the practitioner's intentions and actions. Power of any type can be abused. Folk Magic is neutral; it is our intentions that make it positive or negative, depending on how it is used.

In my experience I have received many benefits for myself and others in many aspects of life through the use of folk magic and spell work. A spell is sort of like a prayer, you put your energy into it and petition other energies to fuel your spell and guide it along. It doesn't matter what religion or lack of religion you have. Everyone has the potential to use folk magic as a spiritual tool in their lives. Practitioners have their own intricate operations of herbal lore, they know when and where to gather all they need within their local area, they know the lay of the land, folk magic has much to do with the sense of place, and working with the genus loci, anything made, grown or gathered by your own hand from your local patch has much more potent power than anything bought from a shop from foreign lands

My learning in this field started when I was a young child passed down to me from my grandfather who was a traditional folk healer, we lived with many members of a large family in a large house on Windmill Hill in Bristol.

I have such fond memories of my grandfather taking me by the hand as we walked into the woods at night. On stepping over the threshold, we would head for what he called the Mother Tree. He would make a offering of bread or cake, sometimes beer and we would knock three times on the bole of the ancient friendly oak to ask the people of the land, as my grandfather called them, to cloak us from the eyes of the watchful gamekeepers. Then a night’s poaching would commence.

All my adventures with my grandfather took place in and around the city of Bristol, we were almost never more than 20 miles from its heart, there were the odd trips to the sea or the land of the giants, my grandfather’s name for Stonehenge. Hunting for conger eels near Hinckley Point power station was a favourite of mine; taking home these huge monsters from the deep in the back of his battered old van, he would then gut and cut them up in the bath at home and share with half the street, radioactive fish stew something we would not relish nowadays..!

He would hunt rabbits on farms in the Chew Valley where we had more family, all brought home for grandma to cook. On his trips away he would always bring home herbs, wood , metals or stones for doing the work. He would make a herb talisman for the lady over the road to put in her son’s suitcase who was off on a foreign trip, so he would come home safe and sound. He would make a blessing bundle for the mother of a new born babe so it would be healthy and strong, sometimes even placing a old key under the mattress of a cot to stop the babe from being stolen away by the Shinning Ones. As a small child, I asked him how he knew which babes they wanted. He said they had a certain smell about them; the Shining Ones will come stroke the hair of an infant they are drawn to night after night, leaving behind a wonderful aroma. He would attend to the dying and sometimes, mostly at night, the house would be thrown into chaos with someone at the door needing his help. Items would be collected, orders barked to other family members, then he would disappear into his work room while an aunt or uncle stood guard over the door, since I and my cousins always wanted so badly to creep in and see what was going on.

I have been taught many things by my grandfather and much more by my own spirit guides and helpers. I hope to share some of this with you over the course of these workshops.

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