The Story Behind …

Every book has a story behind the story of how it came to be written. It may be about a life-long passion, a personal journey, the need to share an experience or knowledge. It may have been fermenting in the brain for years or sprung fully formed from a blinding epiphany.  Whether it be fact or fiction, sometimes the story behind the story is almost as important as the published book itself …

Traditional Witchcraft for the Seashore

Originally called Sea Witch and published under a pseudonym by ignotus press, it was later amended and extended before being added to the Traditional Witchcraft series.  Newcomers to the Arcanum witchcraft foundation course over the years had shown a depressing lack of awareness about the natural tides that affect us magically, emotionally and mentally, and as far as most were concerned there were only the monthly moon phases to worry about – with no mention of the daily atmospheric, oceanic and earth tides. There had to be a way to illustrate the importance of these magical energies without getting bogged down with science.

Like most people I love the sea but it is not until we actively engage with it that we realise just how much its power affects our lives, even if we live miles inland.  The sea is from where all life-forms come and the oceans that give the planet that remarkable image from outer space.  My own fascination came from a library book taken out over sixty years ago that showed the remarkable creatures that exist in the darkness of the Deep – and this reaction is reflected in two of the magical exercises included in the text.

Those of us who live inland should also be aware that much of the earth beneath our feet was, once upon a time, a sea-bed, for water covered a lot of the lowlands – the central Midlands of the British Isles, for example were covered by salt water, as were vast areas of the Great Plains of North America.  The limestone deposits left by the retreating sea-water are sedimentary rocks, composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral and molluscs that once lived in these ‘inland’ seas. We also know this from the fossils found embedded in mountain peaks that were pushed skyward as a result of the earth’s tectonic plate movements.

Traditional Witchcraft for the Seashore was aimed at the casual beachcomber who is happy to mooch along the beach alone or with just the dog for company, and enjoy the simple pleasure of discovering what has been brought in on the morning tide.  There are suggestions of how to utilise these items magically and for the more ambitious – how to create your own inland ‘sea garden’ for meditation purposes.

The sea is a magical place and there are all manner of strange energies that can be harnessed from the seashore. This title was intended to take us on a journey that explores the mystery of the sea from the rock pools on the beach to the great life-forming ‘smokers’ – hot water vents that are home to bizarre community of life-forms that exist in complete darkness on the ocean floor.  And we should not lose sight of that final journey we must all make over the sea to the Isles of the Blessed …

Melusine Draco

Traditional Witchcraft for the Seashore is published by Moon Books and available in paperback and e-book format.  For more information go to www.moon-books.net or Amazon.