Storm Faerywolf - The Witchs Name: Crafting Identities of Magical Power

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Contents

List of

: My Journey of Self-Naming

: Whats in a Name?

: The Essence and the Name

: The Power of Naming

: The Magical Identity

: Inspiration, Seeds, and Sources

: History, Myth, and Literature

: The Natural Earth

: The Stars Above

: Divination, Dreaming, and Magic

x : The Choosing and the Weaving

: From Seeds into Fruit

: Rites of Appellation

: The Name of Passion

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Exercises, Rites, and Rituals

Exercise:

Exercise:

Exercise:

Journal Prompt:

Exercise:

Journal Prompt:

Exercise:

Exercise:

Divination:

Exercise:

Exercise:

Exercise:

Exercise:

xii Exercise:

Art Project:

Spell:

Journal Prompt:

Journal Prompt:

Journal Prompt:

Journal Prompt:

Ritual:

Exercise:

Exercise:

Ritual:

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Acknowledgments

I want to thank many people and spirits for helping make this book possible.

First, to my partners, Chas Bogan, Devin Hunter, and Mat Auryn: Thank you for putting up with me rambling on and on about different naming conventions both in and outside of Witchcraft. Thank you for stepping up and taking care of some of the more mundane activities so that I could go into my cave and write. This book exists because you took care of dishes, and yardwork, and paying bills, while I obsessively pored over books and myths and movie tropes. I appreciate you more than you know.

Second, to my friends who contributed their thoughts on magical names: Anaar, Durgadas Allon Duriel, Phoenix LeFae, Gwion Raven, Soulfire, and Laura Tempest Zakroff. You are all part of my extended spiritual family and I love and appreciate you for all that you do. Thank you for your continued support and for the work that you do to better the Craft.

Third, I want to thank the many spirits with whom I have worked over the years that have contributed to my magical work in the public xiv sphere. Being a public warlock is not always easy, but through my spirit contacts I am doing the work I was called to do.

I also want to thank my friends, initiates, and students, as well as those who have attended my classes or workshops over the years. You have each in your own way contributed not only to this book, but to my overall worldview and perspective on the Craft.

And finally, thank you, reader, for picking up this book. Thank you for supporting me in my creative and occult endeavors. It was always a dream to be able to do this work for a living and because of you that is made possible. I live in constant gratitude.

Introduction

My Journey of
Self-Naming

To name oneself is the first act of both the poet and the revolutionary.

Erica Jong
How to Save Your Own Life

T he names that we use to describe ourselves carry layers of potency and meaning. The Witchs name is really just the outer form of an indescribable inner power; that presence of divinity within that guides us on our evolutionary journey. With meditation, rituals, journaling, and magic we will explore our own strengths and weaknesses and work to create our own magical persona, that part of our deep self from which our magical power stems and flourishes. And we will work to give a name to that persona, effectively casting a spell upon ourselves to make the presence of that name and persona manifest in our lives.

How we get our names varies from culture to culture. Some names are passed down within families and carry with them the expectations of ancestral fulfillment. Some names are given through religious practice and hold identification with particular saints, martyrs, historical figures, and spirits that have a deep and personal meaning to the individual or religious group. Or a name might simply be chosen because it sounds nice or is inspired by a great figure or celebrity. Whatever the origins of our names, they provide us a focal point when it comes to establishing and communicating identity, and allow us each to better connect, providing a window through which we may get an intimate glimpse of each others lives.