Chapter 15
"Dean dont look at me like that please!" said
Abbie
"Sorry sweetheart. It just shocked me thats all! Hey we
could be living with the 4th Charmed sister here bro!" he
laughed.
Even Abbie laughed.
"Im gonna research the word,
see if im right"
The more Abbie thought, and what Dean joked
about Charmed, she started to think this could really be quite
cool...
"Who was your favourite Charmed sister then?"
asked Abbie smiling.
"Piper" said Sam "Really
nice..." he grinned.
"Paige!" Dean leched... "Man
Rose McGowan is HOT!"
"She was my favourite too"
Abbie smiled. "But obviously Leo was the best thing about the
show of course... so, you really think there could be something
witch related going on with me?"
"Who knows sis, but
well find out"
By now it was 4.30am. Dean had gone back to sleep, Abbie not far behind. Sam got busy on the laptop...
A grimoire (IPA gr?'mw?r) is a book of magical knowledge written between the late-medieval period and the 18th century. Such books contain astrological correspondences, lists of angels and demons, directions on casting charms and spells, on mixing medicines, summoning unearthly entities, and making talismans.
The word grimoire is from the Old French gramaire, and is from the same root as the words grammar and glamour. This is partly because, in the mid-late Middle Ages, Latin "grammars" (books on Latin syntax and diction) were foundational to school and university education, as controlled by the Church — while to the illiterate majority, non-ecclesiastical books were suspect as magic. But "grammar" also denoted, to literate and illiterate alike, a book of basic instruction.
Mmmmmmmm... thought Sam, sorta spot on. It was a name probably the original owner wrote on the collection of spells and such
Next he typed in Witch...
Witchcraft, in various historical, religious and mythical contexts, is the use of certain kinds of alleged supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a person who engages in witchcraft. In historical, mythological and demonological contexts a male "witch" is more frequently termed a warlock, wizard, sorceror, or simply magician; however, a modern male practitioner of witchcraft, especially in Wicca, may be called a "witch". It is often considered offensive to call someone a "warlock", one reason for this deprication being the theorised etymology of the word, which derives Modern English warlock from a theoretical Old English wærloga (wær meaning "truth" and logere meaning "misrepresenter" are individually attested, though the compound is not), which is, therefore, to say "faith breaker" and which consequently implies negative connotations.
The terms witchcraft and witch, too, are controversial, with a complicated histories. Witchcraft is viewed differently in different cultures around the globe. Used with entirely different contexts, and within entirely different cultural references, it can take on distinct and often contradictory meanings.
Ok...what else...
Each culture has its own particular body of concepts dealing with magic, religion, benevolent and harmful spirits, and ritual; and these ideas do not find obvious equivalents in other cultures.
Sometimes witchcraft is used to refer, broadly, to the practice of magic, and has a connotation similar to sorcery. Depending on the values of the community, witchcraft in this sense may be regarded with varying degrees of suspicion and hostility, or with ambivalence, being neither intrinsically good nor evil. Members of some religions have applied the term witchcraft in a pejorative sense to refer to all magical or ritual practices other than those sanctioned by their own doctrines, though this has become less common, at least in the Western world. According to some religious doctrines, all forms of magic are labeled witchcraft, and are either proscribed or treated as superstitious. Such religions consider their own ritual practices to be not at all magical, but rather simply variations of prayer.
Witchcraft is also used to refer, narrowly, to the practice of magic in an exclusively inimical sense. If the community accepts magical practice in general, then there is typically a clear separation between witches (in this sense) and the terms used to describe legitimate practitioners. This use of the term is most often found in accusations against individuals who are suspected of causing harm in the community by way of supernatural means. Belief in witches of this sort has been common among most of the indigenous populations of the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. On occasion such accusations have led to witch hunts.
Under the monotheistic religions of the Levant (primarily Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), witchcraft came to be associated with heresy, rising to a fever pitch among the Catholics, Protestants, and secular leadership of the European Late Medieval/Early Modern period. Throughout this time, the concept of witchcraft came increasingly to be interpreted as a form of Devil worship. Accusations of witchcraft were frequently combined with other charges of heresy against such groups as the Cathars and Waldensians.
In the modern Western world, witchcraft accusations have often accompanied the Satanic Ritual Abuse hysteria. Such accusations are a counterpart to blood libel of various kinds, which may be found throughout history across the globe.
Recently, witchcraft has begun to take on a distinctly positive connotation among Wiccans and other Neopagans as the ritual element of their religious beliefs.
A great deal of confusion and conflict has arisen from attempts by one group or another to canonize their particular definition of the term.
This really was getting interesting, Sam thought to himself. They hadnt ever really talked about "witches" before, nothing in Dads journal referred to them. Though Sam, Dean and their Dad new that didnt mean they didnt exixt among us in the here and now...
Probably the most obvious characteristic of a witch is their ability to cast spells. Spells can be cast by many methods, including meditation, burning of candles, chanting or reciting incantations, performing physical rituals and making herbal preparations. Sometimes quite simple and mundane actions can constitute the physical casting of a spell, and it is a common belief amongst modern witches that the intention behind the actions is at least as important as the actions themselves. Methods are many and differ from witch to witch.
The more Sam read, the more fascinated he became...
Wicca is a religion, and although its adherents often identify as witches, Wicca and witchcraft are not necessarily the same thing.
Wiccans may worship a Goddess and a God, or just a Goddess; they observe the festivals of the eight Sabbats of the year and the full-moon Esbats; and they have a code of ethics that most live by. Wicca is thus generally considered to be distinct from witchcraft, which does not of itself imply any specific religious, ethical or ritual elements, and is practiced in various forms by people of many religions, as well as by some atheists.
Wicca does, however, incorporate a specific form of witchcraft, with particular ritual forms, involving the casting of spells, herbalism, divination and other forms of magic. Wiccan ethics require that magical activities are limited to good purposes only.
According to Gerald Gardner, the religion derives from a secret but widespread witch-cult of early modern Europe, which incorporated all of the key religious beliefs and ideals and the distinctive ritual structures found in modern Wicca. While this historical interpretation is now much criticised, it makes it difficult to conclusively say whether Wicca is a religious form of witchcraft or a religion incorporating witchcraft.
While most Wiccans practice magic, a few do not, and do not identify as witches. Similarly, many Wiccans, though not all, call themselves Pagans, though the umbrella term Paganism encompasses many faiths that have nothing to do with Wicca or witchcraft.
Wiccan views on
divinity
It is commonly understood that most Wiccans worship two
deities: the Goddess, often associated with Gaea or Mother Earth, and
her consort the God (sometimes known as the Horned God). These two
deities are usually thought of as equal complements to each other,
and together represent all aspects of the universe. Depending on the
tradition followed, the names of the God and Goddess vary widely,
usually based on mythological figures. A few examples might be
Cernunnos and Brigit from Celtic mythology or Hecate, Lugh, Diana and
many others.
The exact names of the Gods of traditional Wicca remain an initiatory secret according to current Gardnerians and they are not given in Gerald Gardner's books about witchcraft.2 However, from the collection of Toronto Papers of Gardner's writings investigated by American scholars such as Aiden Kelly, many have come to suppose that their names are Cernunnos and Aradia, as these names are used in the protoype Book of Shadows known as "Ye Bok sic of Ye Arte Magical". 3
Some Wiccans, particularly those following a solitary path, simply refer to their Gods as "The God and The Goddess". There are also Wiccan groups that acknowledge a unified supreme godhead. Usually referred to just as The One (such as in Scott Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide to the Solitary Practitioner), it has also been called Dryghten in Patricia Crowther's 1974 book "Witch Blood!".
The partnership of the Wiccan Goddess and God is generally viewed as dynamic and complementary, with neither dominating, however in some traditions, such as Dianic Wicca, the Goddess alone is worshipped. In those traditions, the God plays either no role, or a diminished role.
A significant number of Wiccans from various traditions do not claim to be dualist, but practice some form of polytheism, often with particular reference to the European pantheons, the paganisms of which Wicca partly draws inspiration from. It has been noted by some authors that Wicca is becoming more polytheistic as it is maturing; embracing a more traditional pagan worldview.4 However, Wiccans may also be animists, pantheists, or indeed anywhere within the broad spectrum of Neopagan forms of worship.
The elements
There
are different thoughts in Wicca regarding each of the Elements. Some
hold to the ancient Greek conception of the classical elements (air,
fire, water, earth) corresponding to matter (earth) and energy (fire)
with the mediating elements (water, air) relating to the phases of
matter (fire/earth mixtures). Others add a fifth or quintessential
element, spirit (aether, akasha). The five points of the frequently
worn pentagram symbolise, among other things, the four elements with
spirit presiding at the top.5 The pentagram is the symbol most
commonly associated with Wicca in modern times. It is often
circumscribed — depicted within a circle, and is usually (though
not exclusively) shown with a single point upward. The inverse
pentagram, with two points up, is a symbol of the second degree
initiation rite of traditional Wicca.6 In geometry, the pentagram
is an elegant expression of the golden ratio phi which is popularly
connected with ideal beauty and was considered by the Pythagoreans to
express truths about the hidden nature of existence.
Each of the four cardinal elements (air, fire, water and earth) are typically assigned a direction, a color, and an elemental spirit. The following list shows common categorisation, but different traditions of Wicca may use different "correspondences":
Air: East,
Yellow, Sylphs
Fire: South, Red, Salamanders
Water: West,
Blue, Undines
Earth: North, Green, Gnomes
Some variations in
correspondences can be explained by geography or climate. It is
common in the southern hemisphere, for example, to associate the
element fire with north (the direction of the equator) and earth with
south (the direction of the nearest polar area). Some Wiccan groups
also modify the religious calendar to reflect local seasonal changes;
for instance, most Southern Hemisphere covens will celebrate Samhain
on April 30th and Beltane on October 31st, reflecting the southern
hemisphere's autumn and spring seasons.7
Morality
Despite
the popular negative connotations associated with witchcraft, Wiccans
see their use of witchcraft as positive and good, and black or evil
magic is viewed as antithetical to Wiccan beliefs and activities. In
fact in all areas of behaviour, magical or otherwise, Wiccan morality
can be summarised in the form of a text that is commonly titled The
Wiccan Rede. The core maxim of that text states "An it harm
none, do what thou wilt." ("An" is an archaic word
meaning "if".) The origin of the Wiccan Rede is ambiguous,
its earliest mention being at a meeting held by the witchcraft
magazine "Pentagram" spoken by Doreen Valiente.8 Gerald
Gardner suggested9 that it was taken by witches from the legendary
ethic of the fabled King Pausol10 which was "Do what you like
so long as you harm no one". Nevertheless, the similarity of the
phrasing of the Rede (and explicit and verbatim phrasing of other
texts) suggests that this statement is partly based on the Law of
Thelema as stated by occultist Aleister Crowley.11
Many Wiccans promote the Law of Threefold Return, a belief that anything that one does will be returned to them threefold. In other words, good deeds are magnified in like form back to the doer, and so are ill deeds.
Sam yawned, and logged off the laptop. God he had to try and catch an hour or so. Laying back on the sofa, he stretched his lanky frame out and closed his eyes.
Everyone
was awake by 8.30 the next morning. "Hey there Sabrina"
laughed Dean.
Abbie rolled her eyes and laughed. "There is
probably nothing in this guys, all just coincidence. Telekenisis that
I didnt know I had?"
"Oh I dont know sis. Well either
way, Witch or TK, I found interesting material last night" Sam
said.
"Ill look at it after my shower" she replied.
"Im first by the way haha!"
"Dont use all the
water sis!" Dean shouted.
Ten mins later, she was out, with
a towel wrapped round her head, and wearing low slung khaki pants and
a matching hoodie. As she painfully bent down to get her converse,
Sam caught sight of something on her lower back.
"Whats that
Sis? is that a tattoo on your back?"
Abbie straightened up.
"Yeah.
Got it 3 years ago. Loved it on sight" it was a five pointed
star in a circle, with the 2 points facing downwards.
Dean had
been reading Sams research whilst Abbie showered. Sam looked at him,
Dean raised his eyebrows questioningly.
"Think youll find
Sams reading material worthwhile Sis"
"Ill read it in
a minute" she said, pulling her wet hair to the side and
braiding it into a long thick plait.
"Me next for the shower"
said Dean, slowly walking to the bathroom.
"Right, lemme see
this Sammy" Abbie said.
Sam booted the laptop back up and
turned it towards her. She read, never saying a thing whilst Sam made
3 cups of coffee.
After a while, she shut the laptop down and
turned to Sam.
"Jesus Sam. What the hell am I?"
"Dont
worry! I think its way cool!" laughed Sam.
"Grandma has
some freakin talking to do that I do know"
"Well,
sooner Dean gets out of the bathroom and I can use whats left of the
water, we can go sweety"
"HURRY UP DEAN!" yelled
Abbie laughing
Out
he walked, clad only in a towel round his waist. The bruising and
cuts were still pretty colourful, but he didnt seem to be in half as
much pain as yesterday.
"Ok ill be 5 mins" Sam
said.
Abbie took the Impala to the gas station to fill her up
while Dean dressed. her mind was in such a turmoil. She knew all
about the supernatural, had been brought up with it, and wasnt
scared. Things that go bump in the night, and the Bogeyman really did
exist is some form. But to think that you might actually have powers,
be a "Witch" ... that was something alltogether
different.
Get talking Grandma, cos the Winchesters are coming to
visit...
