Hi I'm new to the forum - thanks for letting me join! I'm a Solitary Witch practicing a form of Craft inspired by the Hunter Gatherer Stone Age. My beliefs are very Animistic and my practices very Shamanic (in no way do I claim that my Craft dates from the prehistoric era though, I'm just deeply inspired by the spirit of those times lol!) I've just started following this path relatively recently but have been very interested in all things Spiritual for many years. The Witch figure is one who has haunted by dreams since I was a child (I'm now in my 50's) and now I'm ready to embrace this inner Sorceress and bring some magic into my life and hopefully the lives of those around me! Looking forward to learning and sharing with you all!
Welcome. You have an interesting outlook on The Craft. It's really back to basics. Do you follow Indo-European, Asian or Shamanism that has its roots in the early Americas? I will keep an eye out for your posts in the forums, the subject matter is of interest to me. Again, nice to have you with us.
Hi Engwald! I'm really not focusing on any specific culture, just pitching for a very primal sort of homo sapien experience of nature and the spirits I believe exist in it. I tend to employ what I guess are basically Core Shamanic techniques mixed with some later European Witchlore. I am interested in prehistoric cave art and suspected ritual finds in caves generally. I believe these things can touch something deep inside of us which is quintessential to sapiens as a species. As an example, I was particularly inspired by a circular structure in a cave which was thought to be a Neanderthal ritual location https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/neanderthals-caves-rings-building-france-archaeology
Anyway, I work in particular with Animal and Ancestral Spirits, as well as Elemental Spirits, and have more recently been moved to work with Tree Spirits also. I guess my spiritual system is based largely on what Anthropologists might call Animism with Totemistic features. My "Wheel of the Year" is not focused on a cycle of planting and harvesting, but on celebration of such as when Mackerel or Salmon are spawning, or when the Deer rut begins, in keeping with a hunter Gatherer theme. I forage for seasonal foods too and celebrate when the berries appear etc. I'm just in the development phases of my path really, but I'm determined to get a Shellfish festival slottled in there somewhere too because here in Britain, during the Mesolithic anyway, Hunter Gatherers were getting a large percentage of their nutrition from the ocean, judging by the shellfish middens they left behind!:-)
Anyway, hope this answers your questions, and I'd be happy to answer more if you were curious about anything else.
