I am Owl, a newcomer to this particular site. I thought I would fly in and spread my wings out a bit here. I'm a member of many other pagan/wiccan sites across the Net, and I've decided to add this one to my list. ;)
I suppose you could consider me to be a "traditional" witch. I do not consider myself Wiccan, for I do follow a much older, oathbound, initiatory path, known as Traditional Pictish. I was initiated and trained in the priestess-hood on Imbolc (Oimelc) of 1985, after I decided to pursue a broader path of the one I was born into, which essentially was a hereditary path of traditional witchcraft and folk magic, passed down in my family for generations. Like many other Hereditary witch families, mine consisted of wise women, fortune tellers, diviners, and herbal craft, as well as folk magic. Only the women are passed down the oral family tradition, much like many others, as it was then, as it is now. My late sister and I were born with what my grandmother called "The Sight", my older sister, although quite proficient at manipulating things around her, as we were, became frightened of it, and has since renounced it.
My grandmother and great grandmother were quite instrumental in my first 'baby steps' into the world of magick as we now know it, although then, to me it was simply everyday life...herb-craft, spellworking, and manipulating the energy all around us that we define as "reality". As a little girl I thought everyone could do what I could do. At first it was quite akward, so I can tell you first hand, that being who and what I am comes at a price.
I would say growing up was very much like the movie, "Practical Magic" with Nicole Kidman, and Sandra Bullock. Looking back, my family was very much like theirs, and my sister and I, with our grandmothers, as well as aunts...
When an Elder I had pursued had decided I was "of age", she allowed me into her coven, and I was then initiated and taught was is now known as Traditional Pictish, with elements of Victor and Cora Anderson's Feri teachings.
Now, over 20+ years later, I have decided to stop, turn around, and take in what I have learned over these years, and share them, teach them, as well as learn from others. After all, if we stop learning, how then could we ever possibly teach anything?
Now, I am a Solitary, by choice, and as I'm sure there are many layers to all of you who are reading this, there are many layers to me. So with that, I bid you Merry Meet!
The Owl
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