The Everyday Pagan

“I am Cerridwen, keeper of the Cauldron, Goddess of Renewal, Lady of Transformation, Mother of Inspiration. My Cauldron is the Womb of Life Itself. It is the Cauldron of Wisdom, Inspiration, Rebirth, and Transformation. Its brew is an undeniably powerful source of primal wisdom. Drink, embrace death in its many forms, and learn the secrets of immortality.” Pronounced ‘Ke-ri-dwen’, and also spelled Ceridwen or either way but with a ‘K’ instead of a ‘C’, she is known under many guises; She is a Triple Goddess, the Great Mother, the Old one, the Wise Crone, the White Lady of Inspiration and Death, the Goddess of dark, prophetic powers. In Welsh Celtic mythology, Cerridwen gave birth to one of the greatest Bards, Taliesin. It is said the Cerridwen had two children with her husband, Tegid Foel; there was her daughter, Crearwy, who was light and beautiful, and then her son Afagddu who was reputedly the ugliest man in the world, (it could be seen that these two children represent the

The Witches Rune, sometimes just known as the Witches Chant, is a well - known way of raising power among wiccans. What started out as a poem by Doreen Valiente in 1957, some covens prefer to call it before the quarters but that very much depends on your or your coven's preference. It can be done solitary, being in a coven is not a requisite to using it. I will admit, the Witches Rune is not my favourite way of raising power, but as with everything in paganism, you need to try it and discover whether it works for you. The members of the coven begin by standing in a circle, male-female-male as far as you can (every ritual I have ever been to we have an abundance of females compared to the males!) and hold hands. I have been in rituals where the High Priestess just chants the rune, I have been in rituals where a few people from the coven chant the rune, and I have been in rituals where the entire coven chant the rune. As it is quite a lengthy chant, if you are not familiar with it

So I have been a solitary practitioner for 12 of my 15 years of practicing mostly. I got into paganism at a young age - an age where I was still living with my parents who mocked those sorts of beliefs, still in school where doing, saying, or believing anything against the norm would get you bullied and beaten up, and still finding my feet in my religion. Then I went to University, where there was a lot more freedom, but still paganism was quite an 'underground' thing. I found a couple of friends who also practiced, but other than talking about it, visiting the local pagan shop and attending a Witchfest event, it didn't really transpire into anything. Several years later, I realised that I wanted a bit more - I had been practicing for several years, researched and tried a whole host of different belief systems and rituals styles, and was comfortable with who I was and what I wanted out of my religion. I wanted to find a coven. Finding a coven is a very personal thing, a