Hereditary witch Elayne Lockhart writes about one of her fondest past life memories in today's guest post, "Sea Witchery." Although there are dissimilarities between sea witches and the Lady of the Lake and water mages in my Two Realms novella,
The Amber Elixir, Lockhart perfectly captures the essence of female water magicians when she says, "The sea witch works with the chaotic forces of nature and often walks the path alone." Viviane, the young Lady of the Lake, would heartily agree.
Sea Witchery
When I think of the Sea
Witch, I see her standing upon the cliffs, arms upraised, as she harnesses the
power form the waves crashing against the rocks below. Sometimes I see her
walking barefoot along the beach, whispering words of magic while the light of
a full moon casts a soft glow around her.
She makes use of the
things cast up by the sea; shells, hag stones, glass fishing floats, hooks,
rope sea glass, fishing net, driftwood, seaweed, bird feathers, as well as
using sand and sea water. Her magic is tied tot he tides, the moon, fog, storms
and the bright sun. She controls the winds.
Her most powerful spells would be performed during the high tides, while
banishing spells would be worked when the tides were ebbing or low.
Weather magic is the
domain of the Sea Witch. She could tie up the wind in a rope or handkerchief.
Sometimes she would give or sell these to sailors. Sometimes, sailors would
bring her a length of rope and ask for favorable winds and a safe journey. She
would take the rope and depending on the ships destination, would tie 3 knots
into the rope, harnessing the appropriate winds for the journey. When the sea
was calm and no wind furled the ship's sails, the sailor could untie one of the
knots to release the wind that the Sea Witch had captured there.
She could raise the fog
for concealment or to cause ships to wreck upon the rocks. The power of a storm
could be channeled into a glass fishing float and later smashed to release the
porwer for use in her magic.
If you were to visit her
home, you might find wind chimes made from seashells, or strung to make door
curtains. Seashells are protective as they once protected the creatures that
lived with in them. A hag stone (a stone with a natural hole) may hang from the
rafters or from around her neck, another protective amulet.
On her altar, she might
have a starfish or sand dollar (pentacle), a piece of driftwood for a wand,
shells to hold sand, salt and sea. She may have a glass fishing float to use
for scrying and another hag stone for seeing spirits.
A fisherman's net may be
draped in one corner or she may wear a shawl in a fishnet pattern. Nets were
used to 'tangle' up the energy of another or used to 'capture' a goal.
The Sea Witch works with
the chaotic forces of nature and often walks the path alone. Not many choose
the path of the Sea Witch today, but you can use some of the ideas in this post
to bring a little Sea Witchery into you life.
Copywrite 2015 by Elayne
Lockhart
About Elayne Lockhart
Elayne Lockhart was raised in a family of healers, herbalist, psychics, card readers and magic workers. She brings these gifs and talents into everything she does. Elayne’s family has walked the path of the Witch for 140 years.
Connect with Elayne Lockhart
In the Amber Elixir, an Arthurian tale of
magic, fairies, shape-shifters, and the quest to win back a forbidden love,
readers will meet the Lady of the Lake and Merlin as they have never seen them
before, young, impulsive, competitive, and jealous.;
