The Witches' Book of the Dead (2 page)

Becci, you were my cousin, my soul sister, my friend, and coven-sister. Your kindness, laughter, love, and ferocity will be with us always.

Patricia Ann Tadiello, 1963–2008

Cousin Patty, your warmth, humor, and your ability to see the good in others continues to inspire those whose lives you touched.

Catherine Larivee, 1950–1986

Auntie Cathy, you were an adventurer and one of the strongest people I've known. Thank you for helping my mother find strength to survive.

Roscoe F. Day, 1920–1993

Grampy, your entrepreneurial spirit lives on in me. Witches were the original pharmacists, so, in a way, I'm still keeping it in the family.

Dr. Leo Louis Martello, 1931–2000

Leo, we've never met, but your courage to say what must be said inspires me. I wield your ritual sword with great honor and reverence!

Contents

Foreword by Raven Grimassi

1 A Covenant with the Dead

The Witch in Myth and History

The Witch as Necromancer

Modern Wicca: Witchcraft Renewed

Spirits in the Modern Age: Today's Witches

2 Opening the Doorway

The Shroud and the Veil: Living Witchcraft

The Body, Mind, Spirit Connection

Letting Your Inner Witch Out

Keeping One Foot in the Real World

Tools, Places, and Times of Power

The Death Current

The Dangers of Spirit Work

The Visionary State

Exercise: Entering the Visionary State

Making Pacts with the Spirits

Ritual: Making the Pact

3 The Altar of the Dead

Finding an Altar

Where to Put the Altar

Ritual: Blessing the Altar

Personalizing Your Altar

The Skull

Ritual: Blessing Your Skull

Sacred Offerings and Daily Devotions

4 The Witches' Tools of Spirit Work

The Bronze Dagger

The Yew Wand

The Pentacle of Protection

The Chalice of Libation

The Spirit Rattle or Bell

The Cauldron

Spirit Incense and Burner

Spirit Powder

A Jar of Honey

Skeleton Keys

Anointing Candle

Candles

5 Banishing and Exorcism

Unwelcome Spirits

Eliminating Natural Causes

Spirit of Place Residue versus Hauntings

Spirit Attachments to Objects

Spirit Attachments to People

Simple Solutions for Ridding Yourself of Unwanted Spirits

Ritual: Cleansing

Ritual: The Roman Ritual of the Beans

Ritual: The Ritual of Exorcism

Get Help from Others

6 Methods of Spirit Contact

Automatic Writing and Automatisms

Exercise: Automatic Writing

The Pendulum

The Ouija Board

Spirit Scrying

Exercise: Spirit Scrying by Crystal Ball or Mirror

Exercise: Spirit Scrying by Bowl Divination

Exercise: Spirit Scrying by Candle Flame

7 Spirit Mediumship: Speaking with the Dead

Styles of Mediumship

Ancient Mediums

The Witch as Spirit Medium

Spiritualism and the Resurgence of Mediumship

Spirit Medium Helen Duncan Frees the Witches

Basic Mediumship

Exercise: Meditation for Mental or Trance Mediumship

8 Necromancy: The World's Most Forbidden Practice

Necromancy in Greece

Roman Necromancy

Emperors and Necromancy

Early Christians and Necromancy

9 Oracular Necromancy: Divination with the Dead

Defining Your Purpose

Choose the Appropriate Spirit

Don't Diss the Dead!

The Skull: Portal to the Spirit Realms

Ritual: A Rite of Necromantic Divination

Ritual: The Rite of the Mirror of the Dead

Ritual: The Cauldron of Fire

Going to the Graveyard

Ritual: Graveyard Necromancy

10 Necromantic Magic

Employing the Dead in Magic

Heart, Will, Intention, and Action

A Note on Magical Ethics

Using the Skull in Magic

Ritual: Necromantic Magic with the Skull

Ritual: The Graveyard Ritual

Ritual: The Ritual of the Crossroads

Ritual: A Ritual of Dreams

Creating Your Own Rituals

11 Dreaming the Dead

Ancient Legacies

The Dreams of the Necromancers

Witches and Dreams of the Dead

Tribal Dreams of the Dead

Spirit Visitation Dreams in Modern Times

Characteristics of Dream Visits by the Dead

Ritual: Summon the Dead in Dreams

12 Ghost Hunting: Seeking Out the Dead

Ghost Adventures

What Is Ghost Hunting?

What Is a Ghost?

How Hauntings Happen

What Ghosts Do and Where to Find Them

The Role of Spirit Mediums and Witches

Ghost-Hunting Gadgets

Electronic Voice Phenomena

13 A Festival of the Dead

Celebrating Death

Halloween: Modern Holiday, Ancient Roots

The Witches' New Year

The Dumb Supper: A Dinner with the Dead?

Ritual: The Dumb Supper

Ritual: The Mourning Tea

Ritual: Halloween Night

Afterword … and Beyond

Appendix A: Recipes

Necromancy Incense

Spirit Powder

Anointing Oil

Food for the Dead

Appendix B: Deities of the Dead

Appendix C: Resources

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Foreword

The earliest mentions of Witches in Christian times depict them as people who communicate, or claim to communicate, with the dead. This theme appears even in ancient writings of the pre-Christian era. It is noteworthy that the association of Witches with the dead predates the insertion of Satan or the Devil into Witchcraft. This association was primarily concocted by Catholic theologians and became the basis for so-called historical Witchcraft. However, the data used by scholars that now constitutes “historical Witchcraft” is not an ethnographic study of a people known as Witches. It is instead a record of beliefs held by non-Witches
about
supposed Witches, mixed together with theological agenda.

I have long held to the “Old Magic” of Witchcraft, the ways that are rooted in pre-Christian beliefs and practices. This type of magic is not watered down or repackaged to suit political correctness issues in the ways that modern practices have come to present Witchcraft. It is for this reason that I was particularly interested in writing the foreword to Christian Day's book on Witches and spirits of the dead. With this work, Christian adds significantly to this rarely explored subject.

I have known Christian Day for several years, and it is no secret that he is a controversial figure, particularly in Salem, Massachusetts. Therefore it
will come as no surprise that this book is controversial as well. But controversy can help break up complacency and dismantle worn-out concepts, and I believe this is part of the destiny of this book.

Among the most controversial elements in this book is the author's self-identification as a Warlock. The term has long been regarded in modern Wiccan and Witchcraft circles to define an “oath-breaker” or a renegade male Witch who violates the ethics of the Craft. In earlier periods it was used to denote a male practitioner of Witchcraft as distinguished from a female Witch.

In the 1960s the term “Witch” was regarded as a negative term in mainstream culture; it bore the stigma of devil worship and diabolical practices. During this decade, modern practitioners envisioned the Witch as a misunderstood and wrongfully maligned figure. These people openly claimed the word as an empowering term, and argued for the Witch as a practitioner of Old Magic (with a spiritual lineage to ancient fertility practices rooted in pre-Christian European beliefs).

I first entered the Craft community in the summer of 1969. It was not uncommon for male Witches of the period to refer to themselves as Warlocks. In time, modern Witches (while holding to the term “Witch” despite its negative connotations) rejected the name Warlock, dismissing it as a defamed term like the name “Witch” had previously been regarded.

During the 1960s and early 1970s, the women's movement included female Witches who felt empowered by the authoritative nature of the Witch figure. It gave them a dynamic identity and helped them better understand and define themselves. Christian Day has embraced the term “Warlock” in the same spirit, and feels that it is an empowering and distinctive identity for male Witches. But he has been met with anger and scorn from many within the Craft community. His battle to redeem the name “Warlock” is reminiscent of the battle of women in the '60s and '70s to claim the term “Witch” despite its previously negative associations.

The Witches' Book of the Dead
is presented in the serious and sobering manner that is its topic's due. It deals with powerful and timeless issues that possess a sacred nature. Over the decades of my practice of Witchcraft
I have met few modern Witches who appear to be formally trained in the skills of working with the dead, although some Witches do possess a natural talent for communication. Through the material in this book, the reader can reclaim the ability that has traditionally been an integral part of Witchcraft.

Ideas surrounding spirits of the dead have evolved into a confusing, and at times contradictory, conglomeration. The same is true of Witchcraft beliefs and practices in general. Do souls remain on Earth after the body dies? How does this fit with the concept of reincarnation? Do sentient ghosts haunt places and sites? Or are such phenomena merely residual energies of some type? Until now this topic has not been fully addressed by a practitioner of Witchcraft.