Lesson Two
Lesson 2: Ancestral Magick and the Darkness of Birth
Spring magick is lineage mending witchery, and manifestation spell-work is not without its challenges. At the vernal equinox, we experience light and dark in balance, and we do well to remember there is as much shadow on the first day of spring as there is on the first day of autumn.
Creation is an eruption, and birth is not sweet. We look to the creation myths of our ancestors to find metaphors for our manifestation spell-work in spring; there we will find infinite and primordial darkness suddenly distilled into the green and the growing. We find chaos taking form, and we find infinite possibility becoming narrower and more specific.
An integral aspect of manifestation magick is the understanding that we are but one bridge-line in the great cosmic web of the world, held by our ancient forebears and our loving descendants, perfectly placed in this wild expanse called time. When we work our magick for ourselves, we are also doing so for the collective. When we cast a healing spell for our own broken heart, we are doing the weighted work of mending the aches of the grandmothers.
For Reflection:
1. What common themes have you discovered in the creation myths of your ancestors, and how do these themes live or play out within your life in spring?
2. How do you feel about looking at manifestation spell-work as a birth, a labor, and a natural eruption?
3. Which of the three spring stories in Seasons of Moon and Flame- The Chicken Witch of the Grove, Temple of the Flame-Tender, and Bawdy Betty and the Lady in Beige- speaks the loudest to you right now and why?
“Birth is violent, is it not? No wide-eyed babe enters the world with
ease, covered in sweet-smelling perfumes, laughing and gleeful at the
amusement of its mother’s labor. This world is met for the first time
with guttural screams, hot breath, and much, much blood. This world
is met with primal eruption, with helplessness, and with an enduring
trust that all is as it must be. We meet the spring with tender hearts
thawing, with fragile roots seeking that particular nourishment they
need from those who have come before.”