Rachel Patterson - Witchcraft...Into the Wilds

First published by Moon Books, 2018

Moon Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., Laurel House, Station Approach, Alresford, Hants, SO24 9JH, UK

www.johnhuntpublishing.com

www.moon-books.net

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Text copyright: Rachel Patterson 2017

ISBN: 978 1 78535 459 5

978 1 78535 460 1 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017936410

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Rachel Patterson as author have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY, UK

We operate a distinctive and ethical publishing philosophy in all areas of our business, from our global network of authors to production and worldwide distribution.

With huge thanks to my husband Peter Patterson for designing the book cover.

I am a witchhave been for a very long time, not the green-skinned warty kind obviouslythe real sort, but I am also a working wife and mother who has also been lucky enough to write and have published a book or three. I love to learn, I love to study and have done so from books, online resources, schools and wonderful mentors over the years and still continue to learn each and every day, but have learnt the most from actually getting outside and doing it.

I like to laughand eat cake

I am High Priestess of the Kitchen Witch Coven and an Elder at the online Wyld Witches/Kitchen Witch School.

I also have a regular Hedge Witch blog on Witches & Pagans and Beneath the Moon blog on Patheos Pagan.

My craft is a combination of old religion witchcraft, kitchen witchery, hedge witchery and folk magic. My heart is that of a kitchen witch. I am blessed with a wonderful husband, lovely children, a fabulous family and good friends.

Pagan Portals Kitchen Witchcraft

Grimoire of a Kitchen Witch

Pagan Portals Hoodoo Folk Magic

Pagan Portals Moon Magic

A Kitchen Witchs World of Magical Plants & Herbs

A Kitchen Witchs World of Magical Foods

Pagan Portals Meditation

The Art of Ritual

Arc of the Goddess (co-written with Tracey Roberts)

Pagan Portals The Cailleach

Moon Books Gods & Goddesses Colouring Book (Patterson family)

Pagan Portals Animal Magic

My website: www.rachelpatterson.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/rachelpattersonbooks

My personal blog: www.tansyfiredragon.blogspot.co.uk

Email:

www.kitchenwitchhearth.net

www.kitchenwitchuk.blogspot.co.uk

www.facebook.com/kitchenwitchuk

www.thekitchenwitchcauldron.blogspot.co.uk

Be careful what you wish for with your wording and the thoughts you put out there,

be mindful of what you say and how you phrase it.

Let go of what you dont want and dont need to allow room for what you do

Believe

I would love to take you on a journey, one that leads us through the wilds of nature and back to the roots and bones of witchcraft, a natural witchcraft that works with the seasons and all the beautiful items that Mother Nature provides, drawing on magical folklore and a little bit of hedge witchcraft and gypsy magic too. No fancy schmancy tools or ceremonial rituals, this is about working with the source.

Mother Earth provides us with the changing of the seasons and within that turning of the year she gives us everything we need to work magic from natural energy in the form of storms, rain and sunshine to tangible items packed full of magical energy such as seeds, leaves and stones.

Just a walk through the fields, a forest or along the hedgerows or seashore will provide you with a whole host of natural magical items and will help you connect with the energy of the moment. Whatever season, month or day of the week it might be, nature is our own magical barometer.

You can tap into the energy from any place and each area or location will have its own unique energy. Forests, ponds, parks, streets, seashores and even city centres will all have that magical energy it is just a case of plugging yourself into the source.

Select a tree or bush that is near you or your home. I have a silver birch tree at the end of my road and each day I look at it to see how it is and what stage it is at. In the winter it is dark and bare, then as spring approaches I see the tiny green buds starting to form, then they open and the green leaves start to show fully followed by catkins. Throughout the summer the leaves are bright green followed by a turning to yellow in the autumn before they float one by one down to the ground, ready once again for the winter slumber. It is my nature calendar, along with the plants in my own small garden. I can look out and tell exactly where we are in the cycle of the year.

Get to know your local area, take regular walks around your locality. Discover all the plants and trees that grow where you live. If you are close to a forest, a park or the sea you are very blessed. If you live in the city you may have to look a bit harder, but you will find Mother Nature there too. Have a look in local parks and recreation areas along with your local cemetery and churchyards. Take a notebook with you when you go out and write down what you see or take photos of the plants and trees so that you can identify them.

It doesnt matter whether you live in the city, in the country, on the side of a mountain or in a high-rise block of flats magic is all around you.

You can throw away the structure and the rules (but only if you want to) and be wild! This is your journey, take the bits you like, the parts that work for you and throw them all into your very own and unique mixing pot to create a pathway that belongs to you.

When I first started on my pagan journey I was presented with the Wheel of the Year, which it seemed most pagans worked with. I spent ages trying to remember the dates and learn the names and correspondences; even to this day I have to stop and think about it when trying to recall what is what! I also started dressing my altar for each sabbat and looking up all the correct colours, herbs and associations to know what to put on it. But I have to admit I started to lapse and I realised that I wasnt connecting with the celebrations and what I was doing was just a mechanical action because I thought I had to. As my journey has deepened and the years have passed I dont worry about any of it any more. I dont particularly work with the sabbats or at least not the set dates on the calendar. Especially as Mother Nature appears to be having a menopausal meltdown here in the UK at the moment and the seasons are all completely squiffy. I have summer bedding plants in the garden that have continued to flower all winter and daffodils and hawthorn flowering in January; it has all gone completely mad. In fact the winters in the past couple of years in the UK have not even been that cold. So it makes it quite difficult to celebrate the specific sabbats when nature isnt playing ball.