So that I don't hijack another thread:


At the risk of bugging your bear further...
I've been reading a bit about Hedgewitching (Rae Beth mostly, and a couple of websites) and it's definitely a path that appeals to me, but why is it not w(W)iccan?
Is the difference in the details or is it a totally different belief?
I've not read much that is specifically Wiccan, since I didn't think I was interested in it as a path.
I don't particularly want to be part of a coven, I want to work alone unless I'm lucky enough to find a partner, and I prefer to work with nature.
Am I a closet wicca or an embryo Hedgewitch? I don't want to be too fluffy....
Apologies if this seems a bit basic but trying to get a handle on some of this is making my brains leak out my ears...
Badger's Moon
xx

Okay...

Wicca is an initiatory tradition started by Gerald Gardner in the 1950's. He devised a religion which initiated its followers through 3 levels of, I guess, competency, called "degrees". Between him and Doreen Valiente (and I'm sure our Wiccan friends here will keep me right) and some others, a religion was created which honoured the Old Gods, and which followed a seasonal year, celebrating Sabbats at appropriate points. These Sabbats were based on what GG believed to have been the old festivals celebrated by our ancestors: Yule, Imbolc, Beltane, Litha, Lughnasadh, Mabon and Samhain. Wicca was designed to be celebrated with others, as a group.

It was only when Wicca became popular in the US that the offshoots like feminist wicca and solitary (self-initiated) wicca started to appear.

Over time it became accepted to be a solitary wiccan, following the basis of the ideas of Gardner, following the same Sabbats, adapting for solitary use some of the core ideas, like the Great Rite, Drawing Down the Moon etc, but without the necessity for the coven background and training.

One of the terms adopted for this solitary practice was Hedgewitch.

That was in the US.

However, in the UK, Hedgewitch came to mean a witch who walks between the worlds - on the hedges, if you like. It also came to mean a solitary witch who uses herblore, plantlore, etc as part of his/her repertoire.

Completely different to the US interpretation of Hedgewitch.

Herne, you're reading this: your turn!

thanks

I believe I have posted the following before and it's now on my website (link in my sig) as well. but the following is my views on what a hedge witch is.

In my mind there are a couple of possibilities as to what a Hedgewitch is. There is the Rae Beth definition which is:

The work of the hedge witch is to take the insights of the wildwood mystic and apply them in the service of life, through spells that help and heal the land, other people or creatures, or our own selves,

She also states that the Hedgewitch is a solitary individual.

Then there is the view which says Hedgewitchcraft has some roots in shamanistic practices, (By Shamanistic I am not talking Native American shamanism that's different.) The term Hedgewitch possibly stems from the Saxon word haegtessa which means Hedge Rider. The hedge was the boundary of a village and it was considered to be dangerous to cross that boundary, into the wilds, To leave the relative safety of the village and risk the wild animals as such the hedge also symbolically became the boundary between this world and the next. The Hedgewitch with one foot firmly on either side of that boundary. I'm not so sure that it would have been as solitary as some suggest, thinking of the "journeying" angle, let me explain a little.
In order to travel between the worlds as it were and commune with the spirits directly the hedge witch would have used concoctions of psychotropic herbs, to induce trance states, this is actually I think where the idea of the witch riding the broomstick came from, they would be applied to the end of the broom and applied internally possibly. (Slightly side tracked there )
The fact that they would be using these psychotropic substances would I feel have meant that they would work with someone else kind of like having an anchor to pull you back if things get out of hand. A modern analogy of someone dropping magic mushrooms for the first time, if you are not experienced in the effect it is far better to have someone who is there with you to be able to help control the trip.

for me the Hedgewitch path is somewhere between these two, I don't use drugs these days to help me commune with the spirits, any trance work I do is usually initiated through meditation, I am a reasonable healer or so I have been told and am good with distance healing too.

The true Hedgewitch I feel is totally in tune with their surroundings, whatever and where ever they may be, the modern Hedgewitch doesn't necessarily need the knowledge of all the country herbs and plants, etc because they live in the city or built up town, but they are in tune with city life and aspects of it that maybe someone who lives in the country would not be. I know some country lore as I lived out in the sticks as a child and picked up on alot of the signs and have retained the knowledge, such as weather lore, tracking (animals), season changes etc... (I am out of practice with some though, I mean there isn't much call on being able to track a fox or badger in the city.) A Hedgewitch could be compared to the old 'Cunning Folk' who the villagers went to for life rights, (births deaths marriages) but also for the cures for illnesses and as somewhat of a councillor if they had a problem they would consult the cunning man or woman of the village. the modern day Hedgewitch isn't needed to have the knowledge of a midwife, as there are professionals who are there for that job now, but all the other aspects I listed are still part of the path, they are there to be turned to for advice and help, and the Hedgewitch can give it when needed. though it may not be the kind of advice that the questioner wanted to hear. A Hedgewitch doesn't necessarily have any deities they follow/worship/appeal to, some do not have any, where as others have many. there isn't the same need for a Goddess and a God really in the Hedgewitch path as there is in others, as it is a path of practical knowledge, it is one where the witch is reliant on their skills to know how to deal with the situations that arise. Hedgewitchcraft doesn't have a set of rules and guides to follow as Wicca does, it is a path dictated by the Witches own moral code, Hexes can and often are an integral part of the path, you could see that aspect as True Justice... by that I mean the following; Justice is not necessarily the same as Law. True justice seeks out the spirit of the law, not just its letter. If a law is bad then true Justice will set that law aside. I haven't exactly gone into much detail I guess just vague bits and pieces of the path which I follow.

I consider myself to be a witch.

I use the term hedgewitch because I think it most closely describes what/who I am without me having to go into a long and fandangled waffle about my beliefs. However I would be very pissed if someone thought I was a wiccan.

I dont believe in gods, I do not call quarters, I am not initiated, I dont use a chalice or do ANY ritual magick.

Personally. My view on wicca has been changing over the last year or so. I LOATHED it. I considered it to be about as valid a path as... well... lets just say I considered anyone who followed any religion that was not much older than me an idiot.

I started a journey on the wiccan path. I left it pretty sharpish. I couldnt handle the fluff and nonsense. I couldnt deal with the litany of idiots like KC that seemed to litter the road. All that said. There are some very smart, decent, thoughtful, wise people on this forum who are wiccans, who I resepct hugely and truthfully, the path cant all be crap if they are on it.

But back to the question... the two are not the same. I dont really see any similarities (I am sure there are some).

Re wicca: John Mac is the man to ask.



Beautifully beautifully put! It shames me that someone else can better describe my path than me!

**edited because as usual Herne put me to shame!**

Herne, that's fantastic

Particularly the bit re the moral code etc

It all becomes clear! Sort of... I was confused by the different meanings of Hedgewitch in American useage and English useage. I still think I'm veering towards English Hedgewitchery.
However... here she goes again:rolleyes:
I am interested in working with what's around me, and developing my powers of meditation, I am interested in becoming more attuned to nature and using spellwork to help and heal, BUT I also feel a strong affinity for A Goddess and A God, the divine feminine (particularly in triune form) and masculine. I believe life must have come from somewhere and what better way than for a feminine and a masculine to get together and create? Rae Beth talks about the three aspects of the Goddess as relating to the three worlds, the Underworld, Middle Earth and the Upper Realms. One travels within the worlds to meet with the different aspects as it becomes necessary for whatever it is one is trying to do.

Xalle, you said you don't believe in gods and don't call quarters etc. At the moment I'm using ritual as a way of preparing my mind, as a way in if you like. Maybe with practice it will become unnecessary or maybe that'll always be my way in. Dunno. Not managed a successful meditation yet. Too much chance of interference for me to relax into it. Unless I go to sleep... Even just going through my own little rituals makes me feel better though.
I realise this is path to be explored alone and could prove to be a lonely one, but I do like to hear other people's take on it. I find it reassuring that I'm not totally alone and that there are people prepared to tak the time to share their experiences.
Internet!
Badger's Moon
xx

I suppose it depends on what you call a ritual really. Isnt it funny how many of the debates we have on here come down to definition?

I have a ritual every Monday when my man is off at Tech studying, to have a cuppa when I come home and run me a bubble bath and soak for an hour... its not really a ritual, but it kinda is, you know?

When Im going to do a working I set out my stuff in a certain order.. helps me focus on what Im doing, to some its a ritual, to me.. its being organised!

Theres nothing wrong with ritual, what I dont do is ritual magick. I dont do all the "stuff" associated with it. But as a starting point, you could do a LOT worse!

**edited** put in a comma. Otherwise it read that my man was off studying to have a cuppa... **

I am a Hedgewytch.Didnt knwo what I was until I came on here and read and listened etc and realised that what Id been doing for ages had a name!
Anyway, i DO have a god and goddess etc, and I do practice ritual, but my main aim in life is healing. And at this pojtn in my life, it is being shown to me as being EXACTLY where I should be.
Your path si yoru own Badger, its about having confidence in that. ALos, your path may change, but that too is ok. For life is about thet learning, until we run out of time to learn any more......
Live your life, love what you love, and listen to nature, she has all the answers you wiil ever need.....even the painful ones.

tree xx

Spot on the money IMHO.

I think what is relevant to me, as a hedgewitch, is this idea of being the 'Hedge Rider'. Having a foot between the mundane world and the spiritual world. Its striding the boundaries between worlds.

I also think its encompasses an idea of getting back to the routes of things whilst accepting perhaps, that there is not going to be an unbroken historical record of how witchcraft used to be, we can make some good guesses but we won't know exactly who our ancestors did this that or the other. I think the hedewitch goes with his or her gut, lives in tune with the seasons, tries to walk gently on the earth, tries to learn about plants and their uses.

I feel that Wiccan's may do any or all of the above as well. However, I think they lean more towards ritual workings, have covens, initiations, degrees. It more formalised and as many a car bumper sticker would suggest 'Wiccan's do it in circles'.

Q

very interesting and enlightening thread, fizzy

One thing I will add is this,

I have said that a hedgewitch could be likened to the cunning man/woman of a town or village. while this is true it is worth pointing out that not all the cunning men/women were witches, or indeed pagan. Some were Christians or had no religion as such.

there is a very good book I would highly recommend on Cunning folk funnily enough its called 'Cunning-Folk, Popular Magic in English History' it is by Owen Davis. definitely one to get if you don't have it.

read more about that book Here

edited for typos and spelling errors

What an interesting website! Love the hemp seed ritual to find out who you'll marry- possibility of having your legs cut off seems a high price to pay though

thanks for this, i was also wanting the same kind of answers badgersmoon was wanting. i think ive come to a junction in my life, i have learnt some bits and bobs, like runes, angle cards a few spells ect but now need something abit more specific to follow. i think hedge witch would be a good one for me, considering ive always wanted to be a vet but just never got quite the right grades, since i was a little girlie i have been helping animals and people in times of need.
so thanks everyone for the help
Susie