THE SEA WITCHES BOOK OF SHADOWS

INTRODUCTION

Most people have an idea of what ocean witches and sea witchcraft are and it seems as if, like the village witch, the sea witch has been recognized as a solitary powerful path by the general community and wider world at large. But of course sea witchcraft is not limited to solitary practitioners, I live in a seaside town in the southwest and I know of two different sea witch and water covens in this area and a few more around the globe, but it seems that sea witches are inclined to carve their own path, similar to the way a river might carve its own path through stones. Water witches, like the Sea Witch, are drawn to the water. Water witches are drawn not only to the ocean, but they feel and answer the call of river water, lake water, canals, the spring and winter rains, even the morning dew. Like the sea, these bodies of water are seductresses, the passion of knowledge, and lust of life are all held within the deep particles of water. They pull at our heart strings and torture our spirits; pining and raging like an ocean caught storm. It’s the seduction of the mysterious water, the known and the unknown, the pull of the mermaids, the pirates, and the creatures of the deep.

A water witch is simply one that works witchcraft with water. Some are skeptical or the water craft, while others have a deep understanding of this world, out of the 5 elements of witchcraft, the water witch is less known. Which doesn’t make sense; water is everywhere. It is not just the ocean or large lakes, it is the rain, the swamps, large rivers and seasonal streams etc. Water is essential to our life; we cannot go without water for longer than a few days without death.

Like all the other elements, such as earth, air, fire we begin to understand how important water really is to our existence, according to a recent study from the U.S. Geological Survey. Some 72 percent of the Earth is covered in water, but 97 percent of that is salty ocean water and not suitable for drinking, however that salty water still holds life giving energy and when think on this, we end up with a very clear picture of how powerful water magic can be. We know that positive or negative intent, can influence the structure of the water molecules, and that magic is change according to will and intent are almost synonymous then we have a basic formula for Water magic. Intent + water = a visual change. In a way, we can even see the magic take place!

This is why water witchcraft is, and should continue to become a path for a witch.

Chapter 1

Ocean lore

The water witch

Ocean magic is one of the oldest forms of the magical lore, the idea of practicing your craft with the spirits down by the seashore or river is a powerful and Amazing experience, with the wind howling through the rocks and the ocean roaring along the shore, just the idea of it brings visions of a romantic notion, something that you only read about in books or see in the latest Hollywood film, but for some witches, this is a reality. The sea, the beaches and sky change, every-day, no two days for the ocean witch will ever be the same.

In Celtic lore the sea was associated with the other-world and the realm of the dead, the ocean to them was a place where their beloved dead, would go after life.

In Greek mythology the sea was a treacherous but holy place and was and still is ruled by the temperamental gods who was likely to destroy your wooden boats as they were to bless your village with a bountiful harvest. To some people who lived along the shores felt that the ocean was a sacred place, with its own world beneath the waves.

Myths and legends would tell us of tales of cities swallowed whole by the unforgiving ocean, magical realms where the mar-folks live. The ocean is home to the orc spirits and salmon boy. The ocean is a world we once belonged too, and someday the ocean will take us back into that unknown world.

The ocean is in every culture and time has had its own mystical function, a doorway to another world, where life as we know it, had evolved from the great depths of the sea, an unknown land covered by water.

¾ of the world is covered by this mystical water element and for the most part we still don’t know it’s depths, it’s desires, it changes from one day to the next, the saying that we know more about the moon than we do about our own oceans is a true statement, We even know that the land in which we stand on evolved from the great depths of the sea, we evolved from the sea, life as we know it evolved from the great depths of the oceans bowl, this is why we call the ocean grandmother ocean or the primordial soup pot, the earth bowl is the pot and the ocean is the soup.

For the green witch we understand that the land and the ocean complete one and other, they both house the gods, they both house the spirits that come and go from both worlds, they both hold land and water, the land is our keeper and the water is our life giver, without either we would be no more.

For the seafarers of old and new, life at sea could mean death at the hands of the sea, many men and woman have lost their lives to the terrible unpredictability of the ocean, one moment the ocean can be as calm as the day is long and then the next wild and unforgiving, but still with all the fear we hold for the ocean she still calls to us, for those who live in the cities dream of one day living by the ocean, or just visiting her, those who live by the ocean could never think about moving away from her, the call of the ocean runs deep in the veins of every man, woman and child, the mystic calling, the unknown stories, the grains of sand, the seashells that cover the beaches, the wanting and longing of a dream that only the ocean can answer, the roars of the crushing waves echoes throughout our spirit. Just like above our heads, the ocean is as vast, as the stars above and mostly unexplored, there is life everywhere in the ocean, even cupping a hand in sea water you are holding life, you may not see it but it is there within your hands, running through your fingers, life.

The ocean may seem empty and cold at first, it may seem like a desolated and lifeless place and to those of us that may be true, but dig deeper, look further, and understand more, we know little about what exists in those dark places of the sea, we can only imagine what monsters and sea folks resides in those places, we know that there is life in the north and south poles but we have never been there, few have, but man have walked those icy shores, and one day man will swim in those dark places of the ocean.

Experiencing the ocean as a place of power as a sacred space is entirely experimental at first, because just like any another lore, it takes time to learn and understand the ocean and its lore’s, very few master the ocean and for some, mastering an element which is so powerful and unforgiving is not something on their list of things to do, who would one walk into a lions cage and try to the master over it. The ocean like the lion is a wild animal, what may seem to be tame one day could turn around and rip you apart the next, mastering such a great and powerful element is not found within the pages of this book, working with her, honoring her, connecting and becoming one with her are. there is no right or wrong way to work with the ocean or water, and no you don’t need to live by the ocean to work ocean magic but it does help, one only needs their will to see their craft done, and the know-how to weave what they wish to happen, having tools from the ocean connects you to her deep dark depths, and the will-power to seek the unknown.

The witch by the sea may collect her tools from the sea itself, she may build a working friendship with the beautiful spirits of the ocean and share a common bond with the animals she meets on the beaches, she may work her knot magic that she has foraged from the beach using a piece of netting, she may work divination from the pebbles and shells she had found on the beaches that day, she may go to the rock pools and still her mind and look into the mirrors of the heart of the ocean, she may find herself singing old sailor songs, she may dance within the gentle waves as they brake on the shore line, she may watch as the brave surfers wave out past the white waters, leaping onto their boards and ride the waves like the gods once did, watching their skills and becoming one with them as they in-turn become one with the ocean. The water witch is thoughtful, never stilling the mind for longer than a few moments at a time, for her mind is the oceans waves, quiet and calm, then forceful and raging.

The sea witch may never bring her own altar or crafting tools with her to the beach, because the beach has everything she would ever need, the ocean and shore provides everything she will ever need for a ritual in which the spirits of the waters are honored and consulted, there at the seashore you may find everything you would need, she may only ever need a few items in a small witches tin, because you will find sea shells for holding water, or for burning incense, cattle fish for a Athame, or for cutting cords, large flat rock for an altar base or even to place your offerings onto, large driftwood or seaweed for a ritual fire, small thin driftwood for a wand, seaweed that has dried out in the sun is great for different ritual fires, sea water to anointing, or for cleanings, sand to hold your incense, sea shells, pebbles, stones, plants, everything can be used. You could even prepare an entire ritual feast from the beach, anyone committed to the land and sea can learn the skills to work with her and become one part with land and sea and live off her for years to come.

In every city, town or villages by the ocean you will find many stories of the village wise woman or the old sea hag. She who screamed at the ocean. Who cast spells into the sea, who watched over the fisherman as they sailed out to sea, the stories are endless. In Cornwall the stories of such hag woman are many, some are funny and some just hard to listen too, stories of love, hatred, and murder and just the evil that people can do to each other. But the age old hag who thrived on the power of the forces of the land, sky and sea, the three worlds, stories are stories but with each story you will always find the grains of truth. Still even today, you may see the witch screaming into the winds of the ocean, you may even see me, standing in my woolly hat and gloves, raring into stormy winds of the wild oceans waves.

I have lived by the ocean for all of my adult life, as a child I grew up in London dreaming of the day I lived by the ocean, but for me I never thought it would be something I would be doing in my late teens and so on, I dreamed of being an old lady walking along the sea shore. As I child I never understood about the call of the ocean and how far the salty water run though my veins. The call was strong and unforgiving and I never found peace until the day my feet touched the sands and hands washed in the waters of the deep.

Now in my 30s I long for the day I live in the woods, the trees around my house, the smell of moss, and the hoots of owls and I know one day I will make that dream come true, but I know that I cannot live too far away from the ocean and its call. I have to be able to hear the waves from my bedroom or I know I would never be able to fall sleep, I have to be able to see the ocean from at least one of my windows, when I step out of my front door I have to be able to smell the ocean, the ocean and its shores runs thickly though my veins, but my feet are firmly rooted to the ground, to the earth, most people will say that they are one element, that they are drawn to one element, and that is usually the element of their birth, however for me I and torn between the five elements, water and the earth, fire and the air, and the realms of the spirit. The ocean and the woods, I am deeply connected to water and the earth, and you may find this of yourself too. It is a myth that someone can only be connected to one of the elements, you can in fact be connected to more than one, even connected to all the elements at different times, it’s how you connect and work with those elements that truly matter, not how many you work with. Think of this, “you are all made up of the five elements, you are made up of water, without water, your bloody does not run to your heart, without earth, your do not walk on the earths base, without earth you do not eat, without air, your lungs do not expand, you do not breath, without fire, you will freeze, without fire you have no passion, and without spirit you are in the void, unconnected. So we need all elements to exist, I’m not saying that working with all five is easy, that’s further from the truth, but one cannot say either, that you must only master one, when all five call to you, but you must understand the five and work towards the friendship of all, to become one.

Living by the ocean is hard work and sometimes it’s too hard, the weather for one can sometimes make it so impossible to get down to the beaches that you love so much, the stormy weather and the biting cold, numbing fingers and red noses, but when the weather calms down and you are able to walk the shores again, become one again with the richness of the shores and the sounds of the weaves and gulls just makes everything else worthwhile.

Sea witches have a greater connection with the moon goddess who drives the ocean tides and the force behind the feminine energies and nature at her best. So sea shells are a primarily used for bringing things into your life, as-well as binding and fertility rites.

many cultures used sea shells as a form of currency, so to fill a small green or gold pouch with a sliver coin is said to be money drawing, or place a seashell in your purse or wallet will continual to keep money coming in.

In some cultures bathing with seashells is said to enhance ones beauty.

Aphrodite would bless those who bathed within her shells, wearing seashells as jewelry or hair ornaments would attract a mate and leaving seashells as an offering would bring the elements of the ocean into your crafts

You can use sea shells for binding or for calling love towards you.

Protection is the shells primary purpose in the ocean lore’s, the shell is hard and safe, so it would keep small defenseless sea creatures safe from harm, because of this shells have a strong protectiveness about them, the energies are strong and homely.

cuttlefish bones have a very different purpose entirely, from drawing signs within the air or upon the ground, even in the sand, they bring together the sun, moon and stars, a source of life and death, they are for binding into packs and the breaking of them, they are connected to the elements of the ocean but they are also the spirits of the earth, the two elements working side by side in perfect balance, but also working with the waves and winds, they help to keep promises and wishes, they bring long lost memoires and bring them back to the shoreline of one’s mind. They were used for cutting ropes and hempen cord, truly a gift from the ocean waves.

The sand dollars are said to help keep money coming in, or to brining money towards you, no spells are needed with the sand dollar, all you need to do is carry one on you.

The sea heart, or sea bean.

Sea hearts are a rare seed that grows in the Amazon jungle from a huge bean pod, the seeds from this pod becomes washed into the rivers that leads to the oceans, the sea hearts float 100.000 miles across the Atlantic until they come to rest on the shoreline.

They have become the talisman for love and beauty, to help find that one true love to come into your life.

But they are also the symbol for travel and safe passage across the ocean, they bring protection and hope. Finding a sea heart has many legends from the Romans to the Vikings to your modern day beachcomber. The rich history behind the beautiful romance of the sea hearts are many, they are said to bond the souls and warm the hearts.

Well if you are still with me and reading this, the first chapter was just to give you a little insight into the life of the modern day sea witch, so let’s start and really get into the life of a modern day ocean witch.

Water reflects, the Water Witch does the same. If you yell at her, she will yell back at you. If you are kind to her well, she will be kind and treat you well in return. She is very fair. She shares many qualities with her sister Earth Witch, as the Earth is 90 percent water. Among those qualities is the core belief of taking complete responsibility for her actions. The Water Witch accepts that every move she makes can cause ripples across the surface of the water and moves accordingly.