This thought came into my head as I was looking at the cover of Traditional Witchcraft for Field and Hedgerows and since it’s been a while since the cover picture was chosen, I’d forgotten what that image represented.   The scene is a long distance shot across a field with a lone tree silhouetted against an orange sunset.  There is a mist rising from a hidden stream and we are about to enter what we know as ‘owl light’ or twilight – perhaps the most magical time of the day.

And yet it is impractical to think in terms of magic at every turn.  We may be witches twenty-four hours a day but part of that time must be given over to reflection and introspection or we will burn out and our magical abilities turn to psychic ash.  We cannot rush frantically around the fields and along the hedgerows seeking ingredients for pot or pestle  and not take the time to ‘stand and stare’ at the beauties of Nature.

As I sit writing this piece the late afternoon sun is casting its rays on the high slopes of the mountains, throwing the deep mountain lakes into shadow, while down here in the valley a light summer rain is falling with a gentle whisper.  There is a silence broken only by the cries of the swallows and cattle lowing in the distance – and yet there is a feeling of magical energy here that is not of my doing.   Nearby is a fairy fault (with hawthorn growing nearby) that the neighbours avoid, and no one will cut the wood from the fallen oak that has always been known as the ‘fairy tree’.

This is a peaceful place that generates a magic of its own in the rippling trout river where the otter lives and the foxes hunt along the hedgerow at dusk.  We are a week passed the Summer Solstice and there is enough ‘owl light’ to see to walk out, even up to eleven o’ clock when the first stars appear.  I have no intention of conducting any magical spells or rituals to observe this turning of the year – there is magic enough here in the earth from which I can draw if necessary.  My efforts are puny by comparison.

This was just one of the lessons taught by Bob and Meriem Clay-Egerton in their Coven of the Scales. That is it was not necessary to rely on group dynamics, psycho-drama, ritual, Circle casting, chanting and dancing to generate magical energy because it is there, all around us on a permanent basis.  Or in more simplistic terms, our ‘witch-power’ is similar to the energy raised by Tai Chi - and thatis widely used within art and sport without any magical significance whatsoever.  It is a perfectly natural energy or force that can be harnessed or tapped into on a daily basis to a greater or lesser extent.  An Old Craft witch is taught to generate those magical powers by channelling this natural energy from the natural world – in its widest possible sense.

So when I’m just sitting here listening to the rain fall or watching the swallows in flight, I am still tapping into that mysterious, magical energy and recharging my batteries.  Sometimes it really is enough just to be ...

Traditional Witchcraft for Fields and Hedgerows by Melusine Draco us currently on special e-book offer from Moon Books – see www.moon-books.com – offer is applicable to both the UK and USA. The paperback version is available from Amazon price UK£9.99/US$16.95