One of the things I’ve learned on my path is how important studying the past can be for our craft. It’s one thing to study the methods of how to work with it, it’s another to understand the origination of those methods, why our ancestors would have done them in the past, and their significance in our practice today.
For instance, many of the spells we work with nowadays will call you to use cauldrons. If you understand that cauldrons are actually a vessel that were used to cook in throughout history, it can help you to understand how to use it. I happen to love them and have several in my home now. The one that gets used most frequently is the one over my fireplace in the winter which simmers cinnamon or other amazing scents almost daily.
Another example is bread. Think about how huge of a staple bread was in history. If you study archaeology at all you will find that they have found many statues of the Goddess next to ancient bread ovens. How do you think bread was used in ritual celebrations? Perhaps to help honor the Gods and Goddesses of the Harvest. Perhaps one of the statues was of Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth.
When you study ancient cultures and the Deities that correspond to them you will start getting an understanding of our roots. Wicca is indeed a fairly new religion but with very ancient roots. When looking to study history ancient paganism is a very good place to start. Study the history of the Pagans and you will find yourself marveling over how many things you recognize.
One of my favorite teachers on my path that I’ve had the pleasure to train with is Raven Grimassi. He’s just an incredible author and witch and I will forever be grateful for everything he has taught me. Once of the things I love about him is his teaching methods as whatever he teaches you he will almost always teach you the origin of that practice. It helps you to understand why you are doing what you are doing and why you are doing it. By doing so you forge a bridge of energy between yourself and every person who has ever performed the action you are doing. That’s a more complex concept that quite simply put, by knowing the links to the past you will link to the past and increase the energy on your work.
I do have a couple of books by Raven that he’s done that have a lot of information on the history of the craft, if you’re interested.
The Witches’ Craft: The Roots of Witchcraft and Magickal Transformation
Hereditary Witchcraft: Secrets of the Old Religion.
Enjoy!
Much Love and Many Blessings,
Jasmeine Moonsong