Cecil William's Book of Witchcraft, by Steve Patterson

Cecil Williamson’s Book of Witchcraft A Grimoire of the Museum of Witchcraft

Cecil Williamson’s Book of Witchcraft A Grimoire of the Museum of Witchcraft by

Steve Patterson

Cecil Williamson’s Book of Witchcraft © 2014 by Steve Patterson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

First North American Edition, 2020 First Printing, 2020 ISBN 978-0-7387-6577-8 Originally published by Troy Books Inc. 2013 ISBN 978-1-909602-08-3 Llewellyn Publications is a registered trademark of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd. Cataloging-in-Publication Programme data is on file with the British National Bibliography.

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Acknowledgements

I would like to give my thanks to the following people, without whom this work would have never come in to being.

Graham King, Kerriann Godwin, Joyce Froome and Hannah Fox – the gate keepers of the inner sanctum. Mike Howard and Levanah Morgan for recollections and tales (both tall and otherwise!). Dr Helen Cornish and John of Monmouth for the countless conversations we had, whilst ‘standing on our heads’ in true Cecil Williamson tradition. Geraldine and Bali Beskine of Atlantis Bookshop, the custodians of the fulcrum point of the story of modern witchcraft, for their encouragement and for providing a safe haven for a country fellow in the big city. Jane Cox, Gemma Gary and Inky of Troy Books, for creating the ‘triangle of arte’ by which to conjure up this book, and Christine Gary for the long and arduous task of proofreading the manuscript. My beloved Binky for endless support and encouragement … and of course let us not forget the spirit of old Mr Williamson himself!

Contents Foreword by Graham King Introduction Introduction Notes Book One – The ‘WITCHCRAFT’ Notebook: Charms and Spells Notes for ‘Charms and Spells’ Divination Notes for ‘Divination’ Amulets Notes for ‘Amulets’ Magical Figures Notes for ‘Magical Figures’ Book Two – Cecil Williamson – A West Country Cunning Man: The Cecil Williamson Story Notes for ‘The Cecil Williamson Story’ Meeting with such Fascinating Persons Notes for ‘Meeting with such Fascinating Persons’ The Spider’s Web Notes for ‘The Spider’s Web’ Come Drink... From the Cup of Forbidden Knowledge!

Notes for ‘Come Drink... From the Cup of Forbidden Knowledge!’

Cecil Williamson 1909-1999 Appendices A Report from the Enquiring Eye of the Witchcraft Research Centre West Country Witches what they think and what they do Whatever Happened to the Old Time Witches The Folklore Centre, an introduction to visitors Application form for the Tanat Amulet To whom it may concern. I am...

Index

13 17 22 25 27 37 51 60 71 84 95 111 117 119 148 165 184 191 221 225 263 267 296 271 279 291 295 299 300 302

Illustrations ‘The Witches’ Warning’ – an old sign from the Museum of Witchcraft.

Cecil H. Williamson – portrait by Gemma Gary.

‘This Way’ – an original sign from the Museum of Witchcraft.

‘The World of Witchcraft’ – an old poster from the Museum of Witchcraft.

‘Sator Square’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Elf Shot’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Sacrifice of the Fiery Stick’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Metternich Stele’ – from ‘The Gods of the Egyptians’, 1904, E.A. Wallis Budge.

‘Amulet of the Heart’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Scarab’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Buckle’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of Tet’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Pillow’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Vulture’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Collar of Gold’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Papyrus Scepter’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Soul’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Ladder’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Two Fingers’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Eye of Horus’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Spell using the Utchat’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Symbol of the Eye’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of Life the Ank’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘The Witches Wand of the Egg’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of Nefer’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Serpent’s Head’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of Menat’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of Sam’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Sun’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Steps’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Amulet of the Frog’ – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

Other Amulets – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

Magical names from a papyrus – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

Magical papyri triangle & squares – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

Papyrus spell for overcoming enemies – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

Figure of Khnoumis – from Cecil Williamson’s ‘Witchcraft’ notebook.

‘Enquiring Eye’ illustration – used on a number of Cecil Williamson’s pamphlets.

12 16 24 26 32 58 59 70 72 73 75 75 76 76 76 77 77 77 78 78 79 79 79 80 80 80 81 81 81 82 82 83 106 106 107 107 118

‘Are You a Witch?’ – an old sign from the Museum of Witchcraft.

Illustration from a poster for ‘The Witches’ Kitchen’ on the Isle of Man. Image from the ‘Are You a Witch’ museum sign.

‘The Tanat Square of Protection and Good Fortune’.

‘Come.. Drink from the Cup of Forbidden Knowledge’ – old sign from the Museum.

‘And it Still Goes on Today’ – an old sign from the Museum of Witchcraft.

121 164 183 214 224 266

Photo Plates Photo Block 1 (between pages 96 & 97) 1. Ceil Williamson’s ‘WITCHCRAFT’ notebook in the Museum library.

2. Inside the notebook.

3. One of Cecil Williamson’s index trays of charms, spells and magical rituals.

4. The Village Green of North Bovey, Devon.

5. A photograph in Cecil Williamson’s collection possibly showing the witch-doctor Zandonda.

6. ‘The Witches’ Mill’, the location of the museum on the Isle of Man. 7. Inside the entrance of the museum on the Isle of Man. 8. Cecil Williamson working on the museum’s exterior.

9 & 10. Images showing Cecil Williamson creating and working magic with a ‘poppet’.

11. Cecil Williamson in 1951, with evidence of curse magic.

12. An old painted sign from the Museum of Witchcraft.

13 & 14. Original posters for ‘The Witches’ Kitchen’ at the museum on the Isle of Man. 15. Cecil Williamson in Gerald Gardner’s ‘Witches’ Cottage’ at Bricket Wood.

16. An interior shot of the museum on the Isle of Man under Gerald Gardner’s ownership.

17 & 18. Postcards from the museum on the Isle of Man. 19. Cecil Williamson in Boscastle with ‘Sticky’.

20. A dog’s heart stuck with pins.

21. An old display of Horned God images and an Enochian Altar in the museum in Boscastle.

Photo Block 2 (between pages 210 & 211) 1. A still from Cecil Williamson’s 1950 film ‘Soho Conspiracy’.

2. An address card for Gerald Gardner and Edith Woodford-Grimes.

3. An original flyer for The Witchcraft Research Centre in Windsor.

4. Original museum description card for the ‘Temple of the Horned God’ tableaux.

5-8. Old Postcards depicting tableaux from the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle.

9. Original museum description card for the ‘Temple of Tanat’ tableaux.

10. An image of the ‘Witch’s Cradle’.

11. Hand written description for the ‘Tanat Square of Protection and Good Fortune’.

12. Museum corridor of old display cabinets photographed by Paul Broadhurst.

13. The same corridor in Boscastle today, photographed by Jane Cox. 14. Enochian Tablets and altar created by Cecil Williamson.

15. Inscribed ‘Sigillum Dei Aemeth’ from Cecil Williamson’s personal collection.

17. Cecil Williamson’s own scrying mirror.

18. Cecil Williamson’s personal collection of magical herbs.

19. Cecil Williamson’s personal altar items.

20. Garden swing, owned and possibly used magically by Cecil Williamson.

21. Mysterious magical structure found in Cecil Williamson’s garden after his death.

22. Cecil Williamson preparing for ritual.

23. Boscastle’s Headland & tower, significant to Cecil’s ‘Putting the Sun to Bed’.

24. Cecil Williamson’s home in Witheridge, Devon.

25. Cecil Williamson visited by Graham King and Robert Lenkiewicz.

Publisher’s Note Within this book, mention may be found of Graham King as the current owner of the Boscastle Museum of Witchcraft, as he was at the time it was being written. On the 31st Oct 2013, Graham retired as Director of the Museum of Witchcraft and donated the entire contents of the museum and its library to the Museum of British Folklore, whereupon the directorship of the Museum of Witchcraft was passed onto Simon Costin. The location of the Museum of Witchcraft remains in Boscastle, North Cornwall.

FOREWORD

he Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall, is now T well known but few have heard of Cecil Williamson, the man who created the museum. I hope that this book goes some

way towards correcting that situation. As a child, Williamson kept stumbling across wise-women and village witches, in fact the occult found Cecil without him looking for it. Throughout his life he attracted tutors in the craft, and it seems that he was destined to have an interest in these matters. Williamson’s Museum of Witchcraft has gained a world-wide reputation and is still winning awards after 60 years – but who was he?

I met with Williamson on several occasions, both before I purchased his museum and after. I must have been one of the last people to visit him in the nursing home in which he died.

But it is not only through my meetings with him that I gained a deep respect for this gentleman, but also through reading his correspondence with occultists, the articles he wrote for various magazines, and the lengthy captions that he composed for museum artefacts. Cecil wrote copiously and beautifully, and a large number of his letters have survived – many are housed in the Museum of Witchcraft archives. It is by delving into his writings, his collections of press cuttings and his card indexes, that it is possible to understand Williamson’s passions and motivations.

Steve Patterson has spent a huge amount of time with his nose

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft in boxes of letters and old museum captions, getting to know the real Cecil Williamson.

That ‘real’ Williamson is not what you might expect. He was a very different person to Gerald Gardner, who he once employed as ‘resident witch’ in his original Isle of Man museum.

Gardner’s primary interest was creating Wicca, a group or coven based practice of modern witchcraft, but Williamson’s passions revolved around the individual practitioners. Williamson was not out to make friends in the occult world, and caption cards in his museum even mocked Gardner’s naked, sword waving, neo-wiccans. Cecil Williamson had a great deal of respect for serious scholars of the occult and folklore, and he corresponded with many of them, but his real interest was in the village wisewoman, the charmer, the curser and in the world of spirit. He refused to comply with the new conventions of many modern occultists and witches, and continued quietly to use his unique blend of traditional witchcraft.

In the Museum of Witchcraft archives, Steve Patterson noticed a document in Williamson’s handwriting. The document was not beautifully written like most his letters, it was personal, and it was clearly intended for his own use. It is this document that has inspired Steve to write this book.

I sincerely hope that this work will urge Patterson to write more about Williamson and his magic, and that others will follow in his footsteps.

Thank you Steve for recognising the importance of that document, and, more importantly, for recognising the amazing work of Cecil Williamson and his Museum of Witchcraft.

Graham King Museum owner 1996 - 2013

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Cecil Williamson’s “WITCHCRAFT” Notebook INTRODUCTION

t midnight on All Hallows’ Eve 1996, Cecil Williamson A handed over the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle, Cornwall to its new proprietor, Graham King, sending it on

the next leg of its journey from its tangled roots in the early part of the 20th century, into a new millennium. The museum included probably the most comprehensive collection of folk magic and witchcraft artefacts in the world. In this collection was found a curious hand written manuscript. It consisted of a small exercise book entitled ‘WITCHCRAFT’ clearly written in Cecil Williamson’s distinctive hand. There was no date, no sources cited and no evident context for the material. Sadly, Mr Williamson passed over into the otherworld before this mystery (and many others) of the museum could be elucidated.

The manuscript consists of an eclectic collection of folkloric and magical material, but what is so striking about it is its idiosyncratic nature… it really is unlike anything else I have ever come across, and at the same time is also so unutterably typical of old Cecil Williamson’s style. Stylistically the text sweeps from brief notation and dry observation, through gothic prose to a light hearted conversational style. Despite the eclectic nature of the content, the ink and hand writing remain consistent throughout.

One can only assume that the notebook is a compilation of disparate notes taken over a long period of time.1 1. A similar booklet about torture has also since been found in the Museum, maybe these booklets were intended to be a series.

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft The ‘Witchcraft’ Manuscript falls roughly into two halves; the first two sections being a collection of folklore, witchcraft, spells and charms. One can clearly see that from his attention to practical detail, that far from being just an impartial observer, he was indeed himself a practitioner in the said arts. The final two sections however are stylistically quite different. It is more of a didactic work, seeking to link the magic of ancient Egypt with the witch traditions, of the early modern period and the present day in northern Europe. In it he lovingly describes a host of ancient Egyptian charms in a way that may seem puzzling to us now in our internet age, but not so long ago descriptions such as these would have been our only access to such images.

His style however is conversational and observational, he makes no attempt to reference any texts or to write in an academic style. As for his sources… we can but take an educated guess! One could well imagine the first part of the manuscript as being his record of the traditions imparted to him by his informants over the museum counter, whilst the latter part of his writings were the result of his musings and observations whilst wandering around the British Museum… or of his conversations with the Egyptologists, Wallace Budge and Dr Margaret Murray.

From the moment I first saw this manuscript, I felt it was a hidden gem that needed to see the light of day. I have attempted as best I can to present the material clearly and in some kind of context. The grammar of the text is what one would expect from a hand written notebook, and the punctuation is conspicuous by its absence! Whilst seeking to keep the tone and rhythm of Cecil Williamson’s language I have conceded in making some minor alterations and additions in order to facilitate the flow and legibility of the text.

Cecil Williamson, though deeply versed in occult lore, was never an academic. His approach was that of the autodidact and ‘outsider’ researcher, very much in the mould of the old 19th century antiquarians. To him the museum was not just a source of income … but a ‘spider’s web’ to draw from the public

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Introduction fragments of what he saw as a hidden body of magical beliefs.

One can only surmise that this strange and outlandish booklet is a fragment of the fruits of his enquiries. In short… it’s so strange you couldn’t make it up! It is nothing less than a 20th century Grimoire of traditional witchcraft, but most importantly it shows us that traditional witchcraft isn’t quite the thing we thought it was!

In the spring of 2012, I was approached by Graham King and Jane Cox and Gemma Gary of Troy books, with the idea of producing a transcribed and annotated version of the text. I was delighted with the idea. I have been actively involved with ‘The Friends of the Museum of Witchcraft’ since Graham King took over the Museum in 1996 and have been regularly visiting the Museum since the early 1980s. I have only met Cecil Williamson three times during my life. Twice whilst he was in the museum and once in his final days in a nursing home in mid Devon, but for the last thirty years I feel I have been living my life in his presence.

The general attitude to Cecil Williamson and his work over the years I have found to be at best dismissive and at worst (as they say down here) downright ‘ignorant’… and these opinions are usually given without reason or qualification. He was however a maverick, an ‘Outsider’ researcher and a showman who stood up against the prevailing Pagan and magical ideologies of his time; he also spent the best part of the 20th century conducting front line field research in the area of the old cunning witch traditions.

For those with an interest in the folkloric, the magical and the arcane… I say you ignore him at your peril!

As soon as I started working on the text, I became very aware that it could only be understood in relation to Cecil Williamson’s own idiosyncratic view of magic and witchcraft. I also became painfully aware that even though I considered myself to be intimately acquainted with his world, I actually knew very little about the man and his specific magical beliefs… and more to the point, neither did anyone else!2 There was a definite need for a 2. I make no claims to being the only one who has any knowledge of Cecil Williamson (See Expanded Notes p. 23).

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft methodical study of Cecil Williamson and his magical philosophy in order to contextualise his work, without this we would be just stabbing in the dark. So this is what I have attempted to achieve in the second part of this book.

I have used independent corroborative sources when they have arisen, but this is not intended to be a purely historical work, it is about magical ideas; for the work of Cecil Williamson is, I believe, a reliquary of traditional witchcraft beliefs that has come to manifest in a unique form on this hidden spot on the North coast of Cornwall. I have quite self-consciously chosen to draw primarily from Cecil Williamson’s own work, using Cecil’s own words to tell Cecil’s story.

The short biography I have presented is for one reason alone, and that is to show the development of his ideas about magic. I am aware that for many this is not a fashionable stance to take, but the last words I heard from the man still ring clearly in my head. Whilst Graham King and I were visiting Cecil Williamson in his nursing home, his voice being badly slurred and as an effect of the stroke, it was hard to understand much of what he was saying. Then all of a sudden he looked up and as clear as a bell he said ‘Sometimes you have to stick your head above the parapet and take the flack!’

Throughout his life Cecil Williamson often spoke of writing an autobiography. In 1958 he wrote to fellow ‘witch hunter’ William Paynter who was working as a literary agent for publishing company Rider & Co, with a draft entitled ‘Why Witchcraft’,3 but by the 1990s it still had not appeared. He even spoke to Graham King about his project and to this end even purchased a word processor, but despite his claim that he knew the exact time of his passing, time and tide got the better of him and took him before his work was done.

Regarding his magical researches, he seemed strangely reticent to publish them. In 1974 he wrote ‘I’ve delved in to the subject and have gathered a mass of information over the last 25 years, who knows what I will do with it most likely I will destroy it, unless someone can convince me of a worthwhile reason for 3. Letter from William Paynter to Cecil Williamson 11/4/1958 (See expanded notes p. 22.).

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Introduction its preservation and publication.’4 Sadly no one did! In 1990 he wrote ‘So here I am in my dotage with a mountain of data, and to me this is the funny side of the situation. I have never written a book of my life’s work.’5 On the 9th of December 1999 Cecil Williamson passed over into his beloved spirit world. Neither his autobiography nor his researches were ever written, and the bulk of his ‘The Witchcraft Research Centre’, the fruit of his work, ended up on a bonfire in his garden. But let us not mourn over what is lost; let us celebrate what we still have. His life’s work still permeates the Museum of Witchcraft; in scraps of paper, in his copious correspondences, in shadows and charms and his enigmatic labels, in the handful of articles he wrote and the interviews he gave and in the memories of the people whose lives he touched… as all good occultists know, in the smallest fragments an image of the greater world is always present. I hope in this small work I have been able to resurrect a spark of magic from the dust and shadows of Cecil Williamson’s silent world of Witchcraft.

As Mr Williamson says in his own inimitable, tangled and evocative way – ‘So for me, in one way or another, the occult data of life and death continues to build up, thereby increasing one’s knowledge and understanding of the forces which exist in the spirit world, beyond earthly death, and so to gain satisfactory answer to the often asked question – “Where do we go from here?” I trust that the above information confirms that I do have a working knowledge of witchcraft and the occult arts. So should the occasion arise, you will know of this dormant and virgin source of information. Thank you.’6 Steve Patterson Cornwall All Hallows Day 2013 4. Michael Williams, Supernatural in Cornwall, Bossinney, 1974.

5. ‘From Early Days to Modern Days’, Quest No. 84, 1990 6. ‘A Report from the Enquiring Eye of the Witchcraft Research Centre’, pamphlet, 1980s

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft

Expanded Notes for INTRODUCTION

1. A similar booklet about torture has also since been found in the Museum, maybe these booklets were intended to be a series.

2. (P. 19) I make no claims to being the only one who has any knowledge of Cecil Williamson, There are many others who would be better qualified than I to produce this work. I only comment on the fact that they haven’t! There have recently however been some fine works emerging. Philip Heselton in ‘Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration’, (Capall Bann, 2003) presents, from a Gardinarian standpoint, many biographical details. Mike Howard, who corresponded with Cecil Williamson for some years wrote extensively about the man in ‘Children of Cain’ (Three Hands Press, 2011) as well as in numerous articles in ‘The Cauldron’ journal. Levannah Morgan, who spent much time with Cecil in his later years (much of which involved listening to his monologues over high-tea), has incorporated many of his magical practices into her book ‘A Witches Mirror’ (Capall Bann, 2013). Without the input of Mike, Levannah and of course Graham King, this work would not have been possible.

3. (P. 20) A Letter from William Paynter to Cecil Williamson, 11/4/1958. There is also an undated 35 page hand written

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Introduction Notes ‘Introduction’ article – presumably autobiography, in the Museum archive.

for

his

proposed

4. (P. 21)‘The Supernatural in Cornwall’ Michael Williams, Bossinney, 1974.

5. (P.21)‘From Early Days to Modern Days’ ‘Quest’ journal. No 84, 1990.

6. (P. 21) ‘A Report from the Enquiring Eye of the Witchcraft Research Centre’ pamphlet, 1980s.

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BOOK ONE

Cecil Williamson’s ‘WITCHCRAFT’ Manuscript

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I CHARMS & SPELLS

I.1 – To Win the Love or Marriage of a Man or Woman y the light of a full moon obtain the earth, teeth and bones from the grave of a man/woman, depending on the sex of the one seeking the charm. Keep in a little bag of cloth. The spirit of the dead person will work on the person’s behalf and cause a living person to love and live with the holder of the spirit’s remains. When this comes about the grave dust and bones MUST BE REPLACED or death and misfortune will befall the living.

B

I.2 – A Charm Against Witchcraft ight a candle in a stick and set it in the ground. Take a pole like a flagstaff seven feet long. Set this up between two trestles at a height of 3 foot 7 inches above the ground. Blindfold the ill wished person and set them on the pole astride and with their ankles bound together. Light the candle and set same at any point of the circumference of a fourteen foot circle drawn on a 7 foot centre from the spot directly beneath the seated person on the pole. Then give the blindfolded person a six foot rod of Hazelwood, cleft at one end and holding in the cleft a black paper cut-out of a witch on a broomstick. The position of the lighted candle must be quite unknown to the blindfolded person, who must now try to set alight the paper cut-out of the witch and

L

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft burn same completely before the candle burns out. This must be done at night when there is no moon and in complete darkness, the only light being that from the candle. The blindfold must be absolute. No word, sound, signal or help may be given by the attendant, for this is a battle with the powers of darkness.

The effort to ignite the paper cut-out can be continued so long as the candle burns. Should the candle be knocked over and go out, this can be done three times and the flame be rekindled by the assistant, but at each relighting the candle must be set up in its original place, relit and moved to a new position. When knocked over the attendant cries out “HOLD” and when reset “LUCIFER HAS BEEN” and the trial goes on. When the witch catches fire, the attendant cries out “ALL HAIL THE GOD OF LIGHT.” Should the person slip and fall from the pole, the attendant sets them to rights and restores them to position. Slow gentle movements bring the best results.

I.3 – Magic Sand t times when making a work, use the prepared sand. In colour as near to white as can be got. Treat your gathering to the wind, over water, to the fire till dry as dust, then scatter through the smoke of incense and use in the usual way.

A

I.4 – The Blue Scabious he blue scabious in Cornwall is never plucked. It is called “the devil’s bit”. Should one do so, it is held that one would have nightmares and ill fortune.

T

I.5 – Magic Charm Water ather nine spar stones (quartz) from a running stream, taking care not to disturb the free flow of the stream. Then dip a quart of water from the stream, which must be taken in the direction in which the stream runs – on no account must the vessel be dipped against the flow of the stream.

Then make the stones red hot and drop them into a quart of water. Bottle the prepared water and use for the purposes you wish for.

G

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Charms and Spells I.6 – Charm for Beauty of Skin & Firm Flesh & Breasts t midnight when the September moon is full, strip naked and go to an apple tree. Climb up into it. Take the topmost apple you can reach, then face the moon placing one’s feet wide apart, one on a limb to the left of the main trunk and one to the right of same. In this position, raise one’s face to the moon and with outstretched arms holding the apple, intone your wish and give praise to the moon. Then eat the apple, every bit of it. Climb down and run round the tree nine times from left to right. Go home and go to bed naked without washing hands or feet. They may only be wiped lightly.

A

I.7 – Magic Charm. Cough. Donkey’s Ear ip of a donkey’s ear carried in a little cloth bag around the neck. A charm against coughs, sore throats and hoarseness of voice.

T

I.8 – Toad String Charm et a live toad and fasten a string around its throat and hang it up till the body drops from the head, then tie the string around the neck of the person and NEVER take it off night and day until that which is needed has come to pass or the person’s 70th birthday has passed.

G

I.9 – Dogmeal Cake Charm ake a flat cake round in shape and size of 7 inches across from oatmeal, milk, butter and bitches’ urine. Bake and buy as the need dictates, with or without pins bent or straight.

M

I.10 – Hind Leg of a Toad Charm or fits and other things, kill and dry the hind leg of a toad.

Wear in a cloth bag round the neck and other parts as the need may be.

F

G

I.11 – Clubmoss Charm ood this stuff! For diseases of the eyes and many other uses you know, but must be cut on the third day of the

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft new moon when the crescent is thin and seen for the first time.

Show the moon the knife with which the moss is to be cut. Your hands must have been washed at sundown in cold water and the moss must be cut kneeling. It is carefully wrapped in a clean white cloth with a black spot in the centre of same. The moss is washed in water taken from the nearest spring or stream to the point of gathering, taking care to observe the rules of the taking of water. This fluid is then used as a wash or fermentation, or the moss may be mixed with fresh butter and made into an ointment of many uses, chief of which is its use for the delights of love making.

I.12 – Cat’s Tail Charm he tail from black, white or tortoiseshell (marmalade) cats are most useful things to have around; with them many cures can be made by passing same over and smoothing the spot of “Complaint” with them. For example; styes stroked three times will cure same; bumps, lumps, strains and bruises and much else besides. Study the law of the cat and know the world of night and its citizens, and one can see its manifold uses.

T

I.13 – Knuckle Bone Charm here are many knucklebones and many are their uses. Chief of bone sources is that of the sheep. One of the many uses is to stay the cramp. Sometimes they are used with the tip of tongue of cow, horse or dog.

T

I.14 – A Charm to Rid Oneself ouch with a new pin or pins, enclose them in a bottle with hair, nail clips or urine or choose garment (part of either).

Bury the sealed bottle (red or black wax) in a new grave of the opposite sex to the subject, or bury at the crossroads or cast into mudflats, where it will soon sink into the soft mud.

T

I.15 – Knotted Rope or String Charm ouch the trouble or symbol of same, or if warts touch them with the knot (there should be as many knots as there are

T

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Charms and Spells warts), then bury it. Best place is near sea at low water mark, then turn and walk away and never glance back at the spot or get sight of it for 24 hours. As the rope or string decays, so the warts or troubles will fade away.

I.16 – Pebbles (White or Black) Cloth sing the basic rules and laws of Art, gather from moist or wet places, pebbles to numbers 3.6.7.9.12.13, as per the requirements of the task in hand. Treat by water air and fire and place on a cloth bag, either to keep or to cast away as the work and its nature may call for. Use by touch, casting in sand, and other usual methods as laid down.

U

I.17 – Washing Hands in Moon’s Ray Charm ocus the moon’s rays in to an empty wash basin. Dry and wash hands, then fill basin with water and allow to come to stillness. Then immerse face in the reflection of the moon, kissing the bottom of the basin and intaking through the mouth some of the water. Then lift head up and look full at the full moon and say as you wash your hands again in the water in the dish: “I wash my hands in this thy dish, Oh man in the moon do grant my wish, For I have kissed thee in thy dish.”

Then take the basin of water and cast it to the moon.

F

I.18 – Apple, Potato or Pins Charm ou may break or impose a spell by sticking new pins into an apple or potato, hanging it up and leaving it to dry and shrivel when spell breaking. When spell making, bury same and do the small bonfire ritual over the spot, or in a circle around the spot. The ritual fire is at all times the best.

Y

I.19 – Slugs & Snails, Charm From he moisture of slime of these creatures, as well as the internal fluid of the slug, is used in a large number of spells, charms etc. For example the small white slug is pricked with a hawthorn spine, and the fluid allowed to drip onto the human eye

T

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft as a cure for cataract. The slug must be taken after midnight and before cockcrow.

Snail scum for many skin diseases - in fact one should always have to hand prepared snails: salted, dried, fried, ground dust of bodies and shells. All in separate bottles of their liquids after boiling and distilling. Same for the many types of slugs: white, yellow and black.

I.20 – Bramble Leaf Charm ou use nine leaves, either green, turning or turned. Use with your water divining bowl. Prick the letter, number or symbol on the leaves. Then immerse in one of the ways taught and suited to the problem in hand. Leave to the 27th hour and then make your reading. Make before, during and after the necessary incantations.

Y

I.21 – To Overlook & Curse llow the smoke of a dried and smouldering mixture of onions and puffballs to redden the eyes, then smear the lids with the pale red unguent and go forth to cast ones gaze upon that which deserves the just wrath of the seer.

A

I.22 – Protection Charm

I.23 – Protection Charm iece of parchment about 3 inches square, having written on one side of it “NALGAH” (in capital letters). Under this is a pen ink drawing something like a bird with two pairs of wings, a pair extended and another folded beneath them. The creature

P

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Charms and Spells appears to be hovering and at the same time brooding over a large egg suspended by its other leg, which is outstretched and long. Its head, round and small, is unlike that of a bird but more human.

Under the figure is the word “TETRAGRAMMANTON” in capitals. On the reverse side of the paper parchment in large letters: “JEHOVAH. JAH. ELOIM. SHADAY. ADONAY. HAVE. MERCY. UPON. A. POOR. WOMAN.” I.24 – The Peddler’s or Pellar’s Charm hey wore a magical ring with a blue stone in it said to have been formed by snakes breathing on hazel twigs. Country folk still hunt for these stones, but we know that they are Egypt blue and from whence they come. The bowls, boxes etc. of the Tibetans are copper covered and heavily embossed and encrusted with “Blue Stones”. They were in fact rings in the true and ancient traditions of magic with a fabled tale of origin. But the smoke does come into the act. We all know how and why and when and where.

T

I.25 – How to Become a Witch Cornish Style o after midnight to one of the nine named Logan stones in the county west of the Tamar. See separate list of nominated stones. Before departure the cleansing and washing rituals must be done. When at the stone at the light of the full moon, completely disrobe, walk round the stone nine times widdershins touching the stone on each face on each circuit.

Then climb onto the stone and make the gift and offering of your body, soul and strength whilst forming the sign of the five pointed star. With the knife or shears snip off the offering of hair, placing it under the body during the embrace and kiss while making the offering of strength to the stone. Then arise, retreat from the stone facing it for seventy paces. Bow 9 times to the moon, then away to the hay!

G

I.26 – A Protection Charm raw the planetary sign for the Sun, Jupiter and Venus, followed by a cross, pentagram and a figure formed by a

D

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft perpendicular line and a divergent one at each side of it united at the bottom. Under them write “Whosoever beareth these tokens will be fortunate and will fear no evil”.

The charm is folded in a paper on which is usually written. “By the help of the lord these will do good”, and enclosed in a little bag and worn on the breast.

I.27 – Charm for Cattle ranches of CARE – rowan (Mountain ash) to suburban dwellers, are hung over the cattle in their stalls to prevent their being ill wished. Also carried in the pocket, a slip of wood is very good against rheumatism.

B

I.28 – Blood Charm for Animals ake some blood from the sick animal by wounding it, let the blood fall on some straw carefully held to the place – not a drop must be lost. Burn the straw as laid down in the burning rituals, dispose of ash as laid down.

T

I.29 – To Break a Bad Spell, Also fix on a Curse ake a bottle of your ELIXIR, choose the one of extraction best suited to the nature of the work. Make an image of dough in the form of the subject. Pierce it from the nape of the neck downwards in the line of the spine with a very large pin.

Dough and pin are then burned on a fire of hazel and ash wood in equal parts.

T

I.30 – A Charm to Harm btain by stealth or ruse a shoe from the subject. Make as laid down, a fire of ash, oak and elm wood in equal parts.

When alight, pack and slow down burning by containing the fire in a cone by use of moist cowpat as taught. So form a cone fire with air vents and a volcano opening. Set shoe at the apex to smoulder and char from the toe upwards. Repeat day after day till the shoe or subject is destroyed. Give the proscribed incantations, movements, signs and sigils during the burning. Do not quench the fire, leave to burn after dressing with salt. Quench

O

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Charms and Spells the smouldering shoe with the power of your body as laid down in the ritual of the ashes.

I.31 – Charms from Moths n Cornwall and many parts of the world, it is believed that moths are departed souls. As a creature of the hours of darkness they may be used in a number of ways in all kinds of harmful spells and charms for help and protection during the hours of darkness. Use also in charms against ghosts, nightmares, evil spirits, death in the dark etc. Pay particular attention to the signs and marks on the wings for many secret symbols may be found, read and understood by the adepts of the arte who have been well versed in the fundamental teachings of the arte.

I

I.32 – Charms Based on the Sun eek and lay by a store of the green hay which infests the bramble bushes in the late autumn, known as the bramble hay. Its uses are many and magical.

S

I.33 – Grave Dew Charm o before sunrise on the first of May and take the dew from the grave of a woman and a man. Select the youngest and most recent burial. Taking the dew is done by drawing a white absorbent cloth over the grave grass etc, from head to foot of the grave. When fully charged wring out into an open basin and then pour into a glass bottle. Do likewise on the man’s grave, keeping separate bottles. When filled stopper tight, mark and clear away, doing the ritual of departure as is laid down. Be sure to address and give praise to the four aspects. Use as and when required for the baptism and naming of your figures and images as well as numerous other uses.

G

I.34 – Divination by Water rite the question to which an answer is sought on a separate piece of paper i.e. names, this that or the other, then role them tightly into a tiny ball and put them deep into a basin. The one to unroll and come to the surface is the judgment.

W

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft Perform with the usual rituals of beseeching and of enquiring, terminating with the ritual of thanks. Be sure to prepare and bless the bowl of water, paper, ink pens etc before use. Work by candle light only.

I.35 – Divination by Lead and Water y pouring melted lead through the handle of a door key into a bowl of water. There are many variations and factors in this work. Selection of keys can be many: house keys, room keys, graveyard keys etc etc etc. Then the lead can be of many sources, church roof or coffin. Then a number of factors for the height in feet and inches must be selected for the setting of the key over the water surface. This is a vital fact and must be determined by one of several methods you know and have been taught, for on this will depend the shape of the lead. Use at usual rituals in the work etc.

B

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Expanded Notes for ‘CHARMS & SPELLS’

he first part of Cecil Williamson’s “Witchcraft” manuscript T consists of a collection of what many people would consider to be traditional folk magic practices. As to whether it

is a record of the nuggets of folklore he heard over the museum counter, a syncretic formulation of his own construction or the instructions gleaned from the wayside witches who had taken him in to their confidence, and whether it was intended to be just a journal of curiosities, a cookbook of magical practices for his own use, or even an instruction manual for the use of others – we can but speculate. In the manuscript itself however, Cecil Williamson never states his sources. The material seems to be firmly embedded in the West Country folkloric tradition; this would tend to date the manuscript at being post mid 1950s with his move to the West Country. Some of the charms appear to be derived directly or indirectly from the work of the great Cornish folklorists: Hunt, Bottrell, Courtney, Couch and Paynter, but far from being just a reworking of old material, however, the manuscript is alive with fascinating and new gems of magical lore. His accounts on one hand seem fragmentary and random, which leads one to think that he was not just copying out of the old folk lore books. If this were the case, one would expect a much more methodical and complete account. But on the other hand, they seem to be full of tiny details that one would only be

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft aware of if one actually had some kind of first-hand experience of the said rituals. The accounts are also full of references to another less explicit system of magical practice, that seems to run in parallel with the folk magic that forms the main body of the work. There are references to the use of the ‘proscribed incantations, movements, signs and sigils’ with no explanation, and even references to whole rituals, such as ‘the ritual of the ashes’. As to whether this was just a literary device to give a sense of mystery to the work, or whether it was intended to be read in tandem with another either written or oral body of material, again we can but guess.

The manuscript seems to mainly consist of a fusion of traditional folk magic practices, and the more ceremonial magical techniques as developed in the 19th and 20th centuries. He obviously has no interest in creating a static record of old folk practices in this work; he intends to take the fragments of old folk magic and get them up and running as a working system. On the surface the rituals may seem strange, if not a little absurd to our modern eyes. There are two things however one needs to bear in mind.

Firstly, he had little regard for what he considered to be the essentially ineffectual and decadent popular systems of magic that seemed to be gaining currency in the latter part of the 20th century (i.e., Wicca, Thelema, the New-Age movement et cetera). These however have become the prevailing ideology and the yardstick by which we tend to view magical practice. Cecil Williamson however was a sheep of a very different fold, and consequently his work needs to be regarded accordingly in this light. Secondly, the rituals and practices he records are not intended just to be seen on paper. They are alive and intended to be experienced. It is the touch, the smell, the sounds, the endurance, the relief, the physicality, the emotion and the embrace of the night that gives them their power. All he gives is a brief instruction. It is the act of doing that brings them into focus. As I discuss later, In Cecil Williamson’s world, magical practice had one function, and one function alone, and that was the drawing forth of spirit force in order to bring about ‘positive beneficial results’. These accounts of magical practice only make sense in this context.

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Charms and Spells - Notes

Folkloric Sources Cecil Williamson Seems to Draw Upon

William Bottrell: 1. ‘Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall’, 1870.

2. ‘Traditions and Hearthside Stories of West Cornwall’, 1873.

3. ‘Stories and Folklore of West Cornwall’, 1880.

Robert Hunt: ‘Popular Romances of the West of England’ or ‘The Drolls, Traditions and Superstitions of Old Cornwall’, 1865.

Jonathan Couch: ‘History of Polperro’, 1871.

Miss M A Courtney: ‘Cornish Feasts and Folk-lore’, 1886.

William Henry Paynter was roughly a contemporary of Cecil Williamson. Throughout the mid part of the 20th century he published much material concerning West Country magical traditions in various journals and papers. These have been compiled and republished by Jason Semmens In ‘The Cornish Witch-finder’, The Federation of Old Cornwall Societies, 2008.

I.1 – To Win the Love or Marriage of a Man or Woman (p. 27).

A gruesome gothic rite! Despite the common occurrence of the use of human body parts in folk magic, ironically it has always been taboo, and since the reign of James I, it has been illegal – but maybe therein lay its power! Bottrell (1, p. 116) refers to the old Pellar of Helston Dispensing ‘Little Bags of earth, teeth or bones taken from a grave’ as charms. Paynter (p. 115) records the use of such things as a charm against toothache. In accordance with Cecil Williamson’s magical theory, the power of the rite lay not in the intrinsic virtue of the charm itself, but in the actual contact with the spirit in question. The ritual as a whole however seems quite original.

Cecil Williamson elucidates some of his thoughts regarding such things in a display label in the Museum archive: ‘This display consists of a cleverly worked human bone finger ring. Sixteen sections of human bone strung on a string and used for casting divinations. The hand of a dead man (a long story there), a

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft wooden bowl with human skull fragments used for grating as you do with nutmeg so as to produce a sprinkling of skull powder, and a corpse candle set in a small bowl of grave dust with an unchurched dead man’s tooth. “Horrible” you say? Fiddlesticks.

The witch of Gallows Hill would soon demonstrate to you how you can from such things learn to acquire moral strength – to develop a state of fearlessness and thereby gain peace of mind.

All of which can be won simply by accepting and learning to live with the living dead.’

I.2 – A Charm Against Witchcraft (p. 27). This is perhaps one of Cecil Williamson’s strangest offerings, for which I can find no precedent! It takes the form of an elaborate dramatic ritual with almost the feel of a parlour game. Courtney (p. 208) however records the following children’s game: ‘BURNING THE WITCH’ – A pole about five feet long is placed with its ends resting on low stools or bottles. On this a person sits lengthways with crossed ankles. He/she holds in their hands a long stick with a slit in one end, into which an effigy of a witch is stuck. This must be burnt at a candle placed on the floor at a short distance from the sitter; he/she must not support himself/herself in any way, nor leave his/her perch.’ This may have been Cecil Williamson’s source of inspiration or they may be drawing upon a common source, but whichever it is, this version has been augmented with several significant elements of occult lore. Interestingly he refers to a 14 foot magical circle again in a taped interview in the Museum archives. He states that it was both on display and in use in the Isle of Man Museum, and was based on that which was used by Aleister Crowley.

The balancing on the staff is somewhat reminiscent of the folk tradition of ‘Riding the Stang’, and the ritual also intriguingly incorporates a Luciferian element. The close attention to the details of the modus operandi of the rite suggests that this is something that he must have actually performed himself, or at least heard of someone performing first-hand. The question remains; was this the result of experimentation, was he in receipt of specific instruction or was he having a laugh at our

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Charms and Spells - Notes expense? My own feeling is that it is so strange you couldn’t make it up!

I.3 – Magic Sand (p. 28). An enigmatic fragment incorporating Cecil Williamson’s grammar at its most tangled. It appears to be part of, or a preparation for another spell. His feigned assumption of the reader’s prior knowledge of the specific magical operation is a device that often appears in his writings. Sand does however appear as an ingredient in several of his spells. For example in the construction of ‘poppets’ and spirit bottles, and for the storage of homeless bottled ‘familiars’ in the hollow of a wall. He also had on display two rib bones collected from the Bosavern area (Cornwall) which were used to smooth a tray of sand prior to the casting of sheep’s knucklebones as a form of divination.

I.4 – The Blue Scabious (p. 28) M. A. Courtney (p. 163) records this Cornish tradition; she also adds that to pick the said flower leads to dreams of the Devil.

I.5 – Magic Charm Water (p. 28). This tradition is recorded by: Hunt (p. 416), Courtney (p. 161), and Paynter (in 1929, p. 100) as being a cure for whooping cough, but its elements belie a deeper magical significance. Quartz has been used as a magical object since the Neolithic period in Cornwall. The use of ‘Holy Water’ was widespread for its curative and spiritual virtues in Catholic Britain, but since the reformation, its uses and methods of production seem to move into the realm of the cunning artes!

I.6 – Charm for Beauty of Skin & Firm Flesh & Breasts (p.

29). Another idiosyncratic rite with apparently no precedent.

Once again its attention to the logistical details of the magical operation suggest this is something that he actually did himself.

Paynter suggests that Cornish folklore dictates that the apple is particularly susceptible to the influence of the moon, if picked on a waning moon it will end up ‘shrumped up’. So theoretically the picking of the apple on the full moon will indeed at least keep the apple firm and fresh! The use of the moon, the apple and the

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft naked perambulations of the tree, are all classic ingredients to a West Country cunning charm.

I.7 – Magic Charm. Cough. Donkey’s Ear (p. 29). Courtney records this charm (p159) in the Godolphin area. Its efficacy could be either drawn from the biblical associations of the donkey as the bearer of Jesus into Jerusalem, or as an example of sympathetic magic inspired by the donkey’s convulsive coughlike bray.

I.8 – Toad String Charm (p. 29). The toad has been recorded as being a bread-and-butter magical ingredient in folk magic and the Grimoires since the classical period. This particular grizzly charm has been recorded by Paynter (p105) and Courtney (p155) as a cure for quinsy. In their version they both state however that it must be the 50th birthday. Williamson does not state a purpose for this charm, maybe he was leaving one’s options open, or maybe it was only a fragment of which he heard.

I.9 – Dogmeal Cake Charm (p. 29). From the St Austell area Courtney (p155) records the throwing of a cake made from dog’s urine into a fresh grave as a cure for jaundice. Cecil Williamson again is unclear as to the purpose of this charm. Bent pins usually suggest either a divinatory significance (as found in holy well offerings) or an atrophic significance, as in the ‘Witch bottle’ charm. One cannot help thinking however, how does one collect bitches’ urine?

I.10 – Hind Leg of a Toad Charm (p. 29). This charm was collected by Paynter (p. 105) as a cure for epilepsy.

I.11 – Clubmoss Charm (p. 29). This charm was recorded by Hunt (p. 145) and Courtney (p. 151) with the addition of the incantation ‘As Christ healed the issue of blood. Do thou cut, what thou cuttest, for good!’. They claimed it was for the curing of diseases of the eye, Williamson however recommends it for ‘the delights of lovemaking’! This suggests that either this was the

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Charms and Spells - Notes version he came across, or that charms are a neutral technology that can be directed by the will of the operator. Interestingly he is referring to a use for the magically charged water created in charm I.5, and the magical use of the knife in the spell has resonances of the magic of the grimoires. It also appears underlined in Cecil Williamson’s copy of ‘The Encyclopaedia of Superstition’, E. and M. A. Radford (1947). In this account they add: ‘The operative clause seems to be the phrase “… if properly gathered”, and it took the authors 2 months of enquiry to discover an old Cornishman who could tell the proper way to gather the Club Moss.’

I.12 – Cat’s Tail Charm (p. 30). Courtney (p. 151) refers to the use of the cat’s tail as a cure for sties. The witch’s affinity with the world of night is a theme that crops up again in Cecil Williamson’s writings.

I.13 – Knuckle Bone Charm (p. 30). Courtney (p. 149) refers to the magical use of knucklebones. On Bodmin Moor, near to the Boscastle museum, they can be found in great quantities, though strangely there are none in the museum itself. He did however have on display two rib bones collected from the Bosavern area (Cornwall) which were used to smooth a tray of sand prior to the casting of sheep’s knucklebones, in which the wayside witch would observe the marks left in the sand as a form of divination.

The folklorist Edward Lovett, from whom Williamson acquired some of his collection, wrote an article in the Folklore Journal in 1901 tracing their use back to Roman times. There is a widespread folkloric belief that if carried they are a charm against rheumatism and sciatica, and in some cultures they are thrown as both a game or as a form of divination.

I.14 – A Charm to Rid Oneself (p. 30). This is a classic ubiquitous folkloric ‘witch bottle’ formulae used to cast back the malefic magic of an ill-wisher. Most commonly the bottle is either buried or secreted in the fabric of the house. Williamson however adds the interesting ‘sea-witch’ element of casting the bottle into the mud flats.

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft I.15 – Knotted Rope or String Charm (p. 30). This is a classic folkloric charm found throughout Britain. Knotted cords have many other magical applications including averting the evil-eye, containing spells and ‘tying knots in the wind’.

I.16 – Pebbles (White or Black) Cloth (p. 31). A method of magically preparing a bag of stones for either a spell or for divination by casting lots. He incorporates a strange selection of numbers of pebbles with no apparent explanation. He also alludes to a method of elemental consecration. Interestingly he also alludes to the use of sand, which has resonances with charms I.3 and I.13. One is also reminded of the mediaeval divinatory art of geomancy, in which the patterns created by cast stones is systematically interpreted according to a set of predetermined charts. One could say it was akin to a western form of the “I-Ching”.

I.17 – Washing Hands in Moon’s Ray Charm (p. 31). An almost identical charm is mentioned by Courtney (p. 148) and Bottrell (3, p. 188) as a charm to remove warts. Bottrell interestingly suggests that this may have a Phoenician origin. One is also reminded of Williamson’s rituals of ‘Calling down the Moon’ and of the ‘Moon-rake’ ritual in which one urinates in a basin and uses it to catch the moon’s rays – though in the latter rite one only looks into it at a safe distance.

I.18 – Apple, Potato or Pins Charm (p. 31). This is a vegetarian version of the ubiquitous folkloric ritual of the sticking of pins into an animal’s (usually a bullock’s) heart as a means of turning back malefic magic. Courtney mentions a version of this (p.

147) in which the apple or potato is allowed to shrivel instead of being burned. Once again, Cecil Williamson is incorporating ceremonial magical techniques into a folk magic practice.

I.19 – Slugs & Snails, Charm From (p. 31). A gruesome recipe for making slug juice! The practice of impaling slugs on thorns as a means of charming warts is a well-known West Country folk

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Charms and Spells - Notes custom, though it is not so commonly used as a cure for eye disease.

In the museum Cecil Williamson had a string of snail shells on display, of which he makes a very different interpretation. ‘Snails by nature are highly sexual and so the folklore of the southwest abounds in tales of the powers conferred upon humans in one form or another by the snail. Certain it is that our local witches prepare clusters of snail shells such as this to be lodged around the house as love and fertility charms.’

I.20 – Bramble Leaf Charm (p. 32). In a folk magic ritual recorded by Courtney (p146), Bottrell (2, p. 243), Hunt (p. 413) and Paynter (p. 106) nine bramble leaves are placed in a bowl of holy/well water and a variant of the following invocation is spoken over them ‘Three ladies came from the east, one with fire and two with frost; out with thee fire, in with thee frost. In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost’. Then either the bramble leaf and/or a smouldering stick from the fire are used as a means of banishing malefic magic, an illness or a scald.

One can only assume that Cecil Williamson’s ritual is derived from this well known Cornish charm.

I.21 – To Overlook & Curse (p. 32). From ancient Babylon to Cornwall not so long ago, the theory of the ‘Evil-Eye’ formed the basis of most malefic folk magic. It was based on the idea that one could somehow channel a destructive magical current through one’s eye into your proposed victim. A good proportion of folk charms are concerned with the prevention of the evileye. Paynter (p. 129) tells that in Cornwall the puffball was known as the ‘Devil’s snuffbox’. Interestingly the onion is an irritant but the puffball is a soothing astringent. This particular ritual, with its mix of folk magic and theatrical make up, would be enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone!

I.22 – Protection Charm (p. 32). Bottrell records that the ‘SATOR’ square was commonly in use in the form of a written paper charm by the old West Country cunning folk (1, p116 and 3, p190) up in to the 19th century. It is a 25 letter double acrostic

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft square; such a configuration of numbers or letters on a grid was a common form of magical charm used from the classical period up until the early modern period. There are many variants but they were generally used as a means of attracting a particular Planetary or elemental force to come to the recipient’s aid.

The origins and meaning of this particular square however are obscure. It first seems to appear as a Roman charm in the 1st century AD. In the middle ages it appears again as a magical glyph in a Hebrew script as part of ‘the second pentacle of Saturn’ in the mediaeval Grimoire ‘The Greater Key of Soloman’. Its use as a cunning charm seems to continue in to the 20th century.

It has been speculated that the charm is either an invocation of the protective aspect of Saturn, especially in relation to malefic spirits, or a Christian cryptogram of ‘a-pater noster-o’ (See ‘The Archaeology of Ritual and Magic’ Ralph Merrifield, 1987).

I.23 – Protection Charm (p. 32). This charm seems to drawn straight from Bottrell’s (as charm I.22) description of an amulet he had seen dispensed by a Pellar in Helston (Cornwall) in the 19th century.

I.24 –The Peddler’s or Pellar’s Charm (p. 33). ‘Pellar’ is a word used to describe a Cornish professional worker of magic.

According to Courtney (p. 145), their powers were said to exceed that of the ‘white witch’! The word seemed to appear in the early 19th century and is of uncertain origin. The ‘Milpreve’ or ‘Adder stone’ is generally described as a kind of blue glass ring or bead and is said to somehow embody the power of the Pellar. Both the ‘Pellar’ and the ‘Milpreve’ are unique to the Cornish folk magic tradition and are referred to by all the Cornish folklorists.

Interestingly Cecil Williamson links the tradition of the Milpreve to the ancient Egyptians, who incidentally were not only the first to synthesize a form of blue glass, they were also the first to have a word for the colour blue.

I.25 – How to Become a Witch Cornish Style (p. 33). I find this charm possibly the most intriguing entry out of the whole manuscript. It appears to describe a traditional Cornish witch’s

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Charms and Spells - Notes initiation ceremony. Both Courtney (p. 145) and Hunt (p. 321, 329) refer to the touching of Logan stones in the Cornish witch’s initiation, but no associated ritual is described. Logan stones are massive granite boulders which have weathered in such a way as to allow their vast bulk to eerily rock to and fro with just a push of the hand. They are primarily situated on the granite uplands of Cornwall, principally west Penwith and Bodmin Moor. But once again, owing to the presence of so many otherwise anomalous details in the rite, one cannot help but think that this must be an actual account of an initiatory tradition still extant in Cecil’s time, high on the windswept Cornish moors.

I.26 – A Protection Charm (p. 33). This appears to come straight from Bottrell’s account (3, p. 191). Bottrell claimed to have seen this, along with the ‘ABRACADABRA’ charm, used by a Pellar of good repute.

I.27 – Charm for Cattle (p. 34). In folk magic throughout Britain, rowan is seen universally as a magically benevolent and protective wood, hence the old rhyme ‘Rowan tree and red thread, send the warlocks to their speed’. The Cornish dialect word for rowan however is ‘Care’ (From the Cornish ‘Kerdhynen’, the word ‘care’ appears in many glossaries and was once in common usage). This is referred to by Paynter (p. 130), and Jonathan Couch, who in his 1871 ‘History of Polperro’ states that Care is ‘dreaded by the evil spirits; renders null the spell of the witches and has many other wonderful properties’. Couch specifically refers to its use in the pocket for rheumatism and in the cattle stall against being ‘Overlooked’.

I.28 – Blood Charm for Animals (p. 34). The burning of blood soaked straw in order to remove a malefic influence is a traditional Cornish folk charm referred to by Bottrell (1, p. 180) and Hunt (p.

321). Once again Cecil Williamson cryptically refers to a deeper ceremonial dimension to the charm.

I.29 – To Break a Bad Spell, Also fix on a Curse (p. 34). The making of ‘poppets’ as a magically charged image of the recipient

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft of one’s magical intention seems to be a core part of Cecil Williamson’s magical practice. In the 1952 ‘illustrated Magazine’ and in the 1975 ‘Illustrated History of Witchcraft’ by Peter Haining, Cecil Williamson produced a step by step photographic account of the creation of a poppet and in the 1990’s he even made one of his few television appearances with one in hand. He considered it to be not only a key part of the wayside witches’ practice, but also as having its roots in the magical practices of ancient Egypt. This method he records however is much simpler and is more firmly rooted in the folk magic tradition, with of course the addition of a cryptic reference to a mysterious elixir necessary for the operation.

I.30 – A Charm to Harm (p. 34). Another bizarre idiosyncratic rite that you wouldn’t find in your average Wiccan handbook!

Once again he makes liberal references to another body of ritual practices to be used in parallel with the folkloric core of the charm, but sadly it seems, he has taken his ‘Ritual of the Ashes’ and his signs and sigils to the grave. Shoes, fire and the ritual use of different woods are all core elements of traditional folk magic. A shoe is said in many cultures to embody some of the essence of its wearer, thus facilitating a magical link between the witch and their victim. In an example of such a rite, Psalm LX would be intoned ‘Moab is my wash pot! Over Edom I will cast my shoe.’ Williamson had several examples of shoe-magic in his collection, and the Edwardian folklorist Edward Lovett (from whom Cecil Williamson acquired at least several pieces for his museum) also had an extensive collection of shoes collected in a folk magic context. But as to the complexities of the actual ritual, one must remember that it is not supposed to be read on paper, it is a multi-sensual experiential act and one can only understand it in this context. I suppose you really need to be there.

I.31 – Charms from Moths (p. 35). In a display label written

by Cecil Williamson accompanying the human tallow treasure seeking candle charm from the Wade/Snowshill Manor collection (which consists of a candle in a hazel fork with a

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Charms and Spells - Notes circular wire ‘web’ behind it), he erroneously describes it as a device for attracting spirits in the form of moths. This, far from being an irrelevant mistake to be corrected and ignored, shows us two valuable things; firstly it is a window into Cecil Williamson’s animistic world view and his belief in the imminence of the spirit world, and the way in which he perceived the preternatural to be manifest within the mundane world. Secondly, even though this particular candle was obviously not intended to be such a device (a record from the original collection gives us Wade’s interpretation), for Williamson to give this interpretation, we can assume that such a device probably did exist elsewhere. Much of the manuscript is written in a tangled and difficult grammatical style, but this piece I find quite moving and profound.

I.32 – Charms Based on the Sun (p. 35). This charm is probably the most enigmatic out of the whole collection. Cecil Williamson seemed to be fascinated by the use of natural objects in the working of magic, whether it be mud, stones, dung, wood, or the dried grass from under bramble bushes! This is exactly the kind of charm it is too easy to dismiss as an irrelevance, because it does not fit into the existing canon of folkloric or magical orthodoxies. It has all the hallmarks of a genuine or oral tradition he happened to come across. As for its magical efficacy, I suppose you have to try it!

I.33 – Grave Dew Charm (p. 35). A macabre ritual! In an article in the 1995 issue of ‘The Cauldron’ Journal (No 76), Cecil Williamson describes a similar ritual entitled ‘the ritual of the shroud’, which he claims to have learned from the Manx witches whilst he had the museum on the Isle of Man. He writes ‘Dew and magic making is a fascinating subject, for it covers such interesting areas as “Dew drenched cobwebs” – called “ghost bedrooms”. Oh yes, ghosts are squeaky clean, just think of all those “white ladies” darting around. Then do not forget the “Faery laundries” where dew plays the all-important part along with much, much more. Oh we live in a wonderful magical world.’

Interestingly he ties the rite in with the creation of a ‘poppet’.

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Cecil Williamsons Book of Witchcraft There seems to be a certain amount of cross referencing in the charms in the manuscript.

I.34 – Divination by Water (p. 35). Here we have another example of a traditional folk practice/parlour game, elevated to another level by the application of magical techniques. Courtney (p. 3) refers to this as a traditional Cornish Halloween divinatory practice, primarily practiced, one would imagine, by young ladies seeking the identity of future partners. It is the context and a state of mind that defines as to whether a magical act is a parlour game or a profound act of gnosis - herein lays the mystery!

I.35 – Divination by Lead and Water (p. 36). Another classic folkloric practice which occurs throughout Britain, usually in association with an evening of festivities or a liminal time, such as Halloween or New Year’s Eve, when one casts one’s mind to the uncertainties of the future. In the Museum of Witchcraft, Cecil Williamson had a display of a copper pan with molten lead in it as an example of this practice. With it was this accompanying label. ‘Witches in the south west make use of their cauldrons and copper preserving pans for divination of things and events to come by the age old practice of dripping molten lead into cold water from a height. The hot lead hits the water and instantly solidifies to all manner of shapes and forms from which the witch makes her readings and draws her deductions. The lead bits and bobs seen here at the bottom of the pan were made by pouring lead allowed to fall from a height into cold water. Sad to relate that the witches reading from these bits were to the effect that the person in question would be seriously injured in a car crash, he was, but pulled through after an anxious period.’

The infamous ‘Malleus Maleficarum’, the 15th century manual used during the inquisition for the persecution of witches, states that the pouring of lead into water was used by the witches, not for divination, but for the creation of magical images for use in their spells.

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Body, Mind & Spirit / Witchcraft

In 1996, whilst helping the then new owner Graham King in refurbishments to the Museum of Witchcraft, Steve happened upon a handwritten manuscript entitled simply ‘Witchcraft’ and containing an intriguing potpourri of esoterica from the hand of the Museum’s founder, Cecil Williamson. It is this manuscript which provides the basis for Steve Patterson’s book which includes a full annotated transcript of the “Witchcraft” manuscript, a history of Cecil Williamson and the Museum of Witchcraft, a treatise on Cecil Williamson’s vision of traditional Witchcraft— the practices and the philosophy of the wayside witches, an account of his meetings with Aleister Crowley and Gerald Gardner, and a controversial account of his witnessing of the birth of “Wicca”. The book is both a valuable reliquary of practices for the traditional witch, and a resource for folklorists and historians alike; telling the tale of a hitherto largely ignored, but hugely influential episode in modern occult history, and one of the great unsung heroes of the twilight world of folklore and witchcraft.

$19.99 US ISBN 978-0-7387-6577-8 51999

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