TONIGHT: Witchcraft Medicine
Language of the Birds Reading Group text inside...
Hey Everyone! I’m reposting this post because tonight we’re reading “The Legacy of Hecate” from the book Witchcraft Medicine at our reading group. I can’t wait to chat with y’all about it! (more info below). I just completed my first three-day retreat WITCHCRAFT 1 on Monday — which was SOOOO delightful. I can’t wait to share more about what happened there with you. I also just finished my first year of my doctoral program at UCLA soooo… for the first time in about a year, I took two days off. But starting next week we’ll be back to our usual programming. In any case, have a look at the missive on Hecate below, and I hope to see you tonight at the reading group!
… I welcome you Hecate, nocturnal, monstrous, dog-loving Queen, herder of bulls, mountain roaming nurturer of youth, stay with me until the end…
Here it is folks! I’m delivering you the text for our next reading group: Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants.
We’ll be reading the first 26 pages of chapter 6, “The Legacy of Hecate,” where author Christian Ratsch, PhD says…
“Witchcraft medicine is the healing art of the underground. It is the forbidden and despised medicine, the one oppressed by the Church and/or state, the kind of medicine sanctioned as “alternative,” for it makes decisions over life and death. And it does more than make people healthy — it brings joy and awareness, inebriation and mystical insight.
Witchcraft medicine is wild medicine. It is uncontrollable, it surpasses the ruling order, it is anarchy. It belongs to the wilderness. It scares people. It is one thing above all: heathen.
Witchcraft medicine stems from shamanism and has its roots in Paleolithic times. Witchcraft medicine is mythological, ritualistic, and strongly feminine. Witchcraft medicine is religion — a shamanic healing religion revolving around sacred, in other words, effective, plants.”
Juicy, right??
There are Orphic hymns to the Lady of the Crossroads. There are sections about Hecate, Persephone, Medea, aphrodisiacs and abortifacients, monkshood, henbane and the like.
In short, as promised, this text is witchy AF! Huzzah in all directions!
Can’t wait to discuss it with you!
Please note that we’re switching up the dates to give you a little more time to read the text.
We’re meeting tonight, Thursday 6/27/24 at 6pm PST. We usually meet for about an hour and a half. All subscribers are welcome, even if you can’t finish the full text! (Though you’ll want to because it’s so good!).
Links to join us at the reading group below…
Love,
Amanda