Ashling Wicca, Book One

By Aislin

Now you can study the wisdom and beauty of Ashling Wicca in the first book to ever publish its teachings. The Ashling Wiccan series reveals the mysteries and origins of this unique tradition and presents information useful for both the beginner and the seasoned practitioner. Lessons presented here include history, philosophy, and living the essence of Ashling Wicca.

Because initiation into this tradition can only be acquired under the direction of an initiated High Priestess of Ashling Wicca, this guide is presented by an expert on Ashling Wicca, a woman who has been traditionally initiated into Ashling Wicca. Here you will find the basic information necessary to begin following the Ashling path. Within this book you will find spells and the beginnings of ceremonies and the details of magick in Ashling Wicca. Everything in this book is designed to enhance your experience of Ashling Wicca.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tear Drop Books
• Release date: Dec 11, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465790194

Aislin

Aislin is of Irish, Danish, English, and Romany (Gypsy) descent. Raised on the Canadian prairies, she spent most of her formative years with her maternal grandfather, following him into his garden and through the woods. He introduced her to the magick of nature. It is the magick of her childhood that has the greatest influence on her today.Aislin is considered a local expert on paganism, the occult, and astrology. She also teaches some local classes on these topics, though The Winnipeg Pagan Teaching Circle. She has been a Wiccan High Priestess since 2000, and has always made an effort to educate seekers when they ask. She founded The Order of the Sacred Star, a group that specializes in educating Pagans of all kinds as well as any other interested parties. Her own children, both boys, are quickly learning the ways of Wicca and seem to embrace nature’s magick with vigor. She is also a professional astrologer and Tarot reader, serving her local community in this capacity as frequently as required.As a writer, Aislin is the author of Tarot Deciphered: Understanding and Using the Tarot, which has become a handbook for those new to the Tarot and its uses. She is also the author of the entire Ashling Wicca Series, which is the first series of books to publish anything about Ashling Wicca and its teachings.If you’re interested in discovering more about Aislin and her work, connect with her through her blog: http://theorderofthesacredstar.blogspot.com/

Book preview

Ashling Wicca, Book One: The Basics

By Aislin

Copyright 2011 Aislin

All images copyright 2011 by Aislin

Published by Tear Drop Books

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

About the Series

Introduction to Ashling Wicca

The History of Witchcraft

Magick and Magickal Ethics

Ashling Wiccan Cosmology

The Goddesses and the Gods

The Wheel of the Year

Tools and Clothing

Living Ashling Wicca

Conclusion

Appendix A: Magickal Cabinet

Appendix B: Book of Shadows

Appendix C: Spellbook

Sources

About the Author

About the Series

Ashling Wicca, for those unfamiliar with the term, is a modern Wiccan tradition that takes much of its mythology from the ancient beliefs of Ireland. This tradition is full of spiritualism and magick and focuses very much on developing a connection to the earth and to our own spirituality. Ashling Wicca is rich with the gods of ancient Ireland and is very much centered on acknowledging and using the power within the earth and the power within ourselves. This tradition, when studied in depth, offers us the teachings of the OtherWorld, earth magick, healing, spellcraft, ceremony and ritual, and many other topics.

Each book in the Ashling Wiccan series is intended to cover one year of study. Dozens of topics will be covered, including but certainly not limited to:

History

Magick and Magickal Ethics

Cosmology

Gods and Goddesses

The Wheel of the Year

Tools and Clothing

Meditation

The OtherWorld

Ritual and Ceremony

Spellcraft

The Elements

Earth Magick

Psychic Skills

Healing

Divination

However, like any other tradition, before the intricacies of Ashling Wicca can be understood there is a need for the student to deepen their spiritual self with the study of the very basics of Ashling Wicca. It is for this reason that this first book shall deal with very specific topics, all of which are designed to familiarize the student with only the basic concepts of Ashling Wicca.

This first book forms the basis of what most Ashling Wiccan covens consider the knowledge necessary to a Novice of the tradition. Most groups will have additional requirements and demand that candidates pass a series of tests before being initiated as a Novice. However, for the purposes of understanding the nature of Ashling Wicca, this book and the other books in the series are sufficient.

Introduction to Ashling Wicca

Ashling Wicca is very much based upon ancient Irish beliefs and practices. However, it is not limited to Irish principles. Though it is the Irish gods are goddesses who are introduced to those studying Ashling Wicca, there is no reason why the diligent student cannot take the information presented here and mix it with a different pantheon. In fact, those studying Ashling Wicca beyond the first two or three degrees often create their own hybrid tradition by including the deities from other traditions.

As a tradition, Ashling Wicca is very like other types of Wicca in that there is a Goddess and God. Everything is seen as existing in balance, and there is a great reverence for the Earth. Ashling Wicca, like many other types of Paganism, is non-dogmatic, having no central leader or core literature that is considered infallible. Ashling Wiccans believe in freedom, and absolutely do not believe that their way is the one true way. Those who follow the Ashling tradition freely accept that everyone follows their own path, and some of us choose to follow more than one tradition. Ashling Wicca allows this since it is an inclusive tradition rather than an exclusive one.

Ashling Wiccans believe that nothing is really lost, and eventually everything can — but not necessarily will — work out for the best. We are not the pawns of the Goddess and the God, but Their children. We take guidance from Them, but They will never force anyone to a path that is not to their liking. We are not subservient to the gods. We are less in our wisdom and ability, and we respect the gods for their wisdom, but we are not controlled by them.

Ashling Wicca is, in actuality, fairly eclectic, though there is heavy emphasis on Ireland and its mythology and lore. It takes the best of all worlds and melds it together to create a unique and wonderful tradition. Unlike most modern Wiccan traditions, Ashling Wicca has a five-degree system instead of three. These degrees are:

Earth Degree — to qualify for this degree, students must understand the basics of ecology and healing and they must have at least begun to develop their own psychic and divinatory skills, in addition to completing Earth Degree studies (Ashling Wicca, Part Two).

Water Degree — to qualify for this degree, students should have enhanced their empathic skills and explored two systems of divination; they must also be able to completely assemble the temple and altars appropriately without supervision, in addition to completing Water Degree studies (Ashling Wicca, Part Three).

Fire Degree — to qualify for this degree, students should be familiar with the use of chakras and should be learning to organize Pagan events; they should also be able to work with the aura with great success, in addition to completing Fire Degree studies (Ashling Wicca, Part Four).

Air Degree — to qualify for this degree, students are expected to have a background in presenting or teaching a Craft-related subject and are expected to have further enhanced their connected to the Goddess and the God; they must also complete Air Degree studies (Ashling Wicca, Part Five).

Spirit Degree — qualification for this degree focuses on leadership and a god/dess connection; these people are generally those who will teach or lead a coven and are considered to be elders of the tradition.

Each book in the Ashling Wicca series is intended to serve as studies in a single degree. Each degree should take approximately one year to complete. The traditional time of study is a year-and-a-day, but this can, and should, vary according to the needs of the student. Sometimes, it can take much longer than a year to complete a course of studies, especially if your particular coven has additional requirements that must be completed prior to initiation.

Most Ashling Wiccan covens employ the use of stoles to mark each degree. As you advance, you gain the next color stole. These stoles are usually kept and displayed, though only one is worn at a time. These stoles can be easily made by anyone, as they are simply strips of colored cloth worn about the neck. The stoles can be fancy or very simple, and it is often recommended that the student attach something that indicates which group or coven they belong to. Stoles and their uses are covered later in the text, but the basic colors of stoles are as follows.

Novice — White

Earth Degree — Green

Water Degree — Blue

Fire Degree — Red

Air Degree — Yellow

Spirit Degree — Purple

Robes are generally worn when practicing Ashling Wicca, though the style and color are usually a decision made by individual participants. Many Ashling Wiccans use either white or black, and some use both. In fact, black in winter and spring and white in summer and fall is fairly common in Ashling circles.

The goal of Ashling Wicca is to aid in the enlightenment of all who choose to pursue it. Remember to take what you learn here and apply it to your own practices as is appropriate for you. Ashling Wicca is a fluid tradition and anticipates that most practitioners will have their own ideas about how Wicca should be for them. Since this is the case, those who choose to follow Ashling Wicca are encouraged to adapt and alter the tradition until it best suits them.

Principles of Belief

In 1974, the Council of American Witches came together in an attempt to define Wiccan beliefs. This was a monumental task. Wicca is, by its very nature, a vibrant and flexible religion. It doesn’t fit well inside a box. That being the case, the Principles are deliberately vague. It was hoped that they could encompass all traditions of Wicca while giving the public a basic understanding of Wicca in general. Though the Council disbanded the same year it was formed, the Principles of Wiccan Belief have lived on and are still referenced today and have been adapted by most modern Wiccan traditions, including Ashling Wicca.

Introduction

In seeking to be inclusive, we do not wish to open ourselves to the destruction of our group by those on self-serving power trips, or to philosophies and practices contradictory to those principles. In seeking to exclude those whose ways are contradictory to ours, we do not want to deny participation with us to any who are sincerely interested in our knowledge and beliefs, regardless of race, color, sex, age, national or cultural origins, or sexual preference.

Principles of the Wiccan Belief

1. We practice rites to attune ourselves with the natural rhythm of life forces marked by the phases of the Moon and the seasonal Quarters and Cross Quarters.

2. We recognize that our intelligence gives us a unique responsibility towards our environment. We seek to live in harmony with Nature, in ecological balance offering fulfillment to life and consciousness within an evolutionary concept.

3. We acknowledge a depth of power far greater than that is apparent to the average person. Because it is far greater than ordinary it is sometimes called "supernatural", but we see it as lying within that which is naturally potential to all.

4. We conceive of the Creative Power in the universe as manifesting through polarity — as masculine and feminine — and that this same Creative Power lies in all people, and functions through the interaction of the masculine and feminine. We value neither above the other, knowing each to be supportive of the other. We value sex as pleasure, as the symbol and embodiment of life, and as one of the sources of energies used in magickal practice and religious worship.

5. We recognize both outer and inner, or psychological, worlds — sometimes known as the Spiritual World, the Collective Unconscious, Inner Planes, etc. — and we see in the interaction of these two dimensions the basis for paranormal phenomena and magickal exercises. We neglect neither dimension for the other, seeing both as necessary for our fulfillment.

6. We do not recognize any authoritarian hierarchy, but do honor those who teach, respect those who share their greater knowledge and wisdom, and acknowledge those who have courageously given of themselves in leadership.

7. We see religion, magick and wisdom-in-living as being united in the way one views the world and lives within it — a worldview and philosophy of life which we identify as Witchcraft, the Wiccan Way.

8. Calling oneself Witch does not make a Witch — but neither does heredity itself, nor the collecting of titles, degrees and initiations. A Witch seeks to control the forces within her/himself that make life possible in order to live wisely and well without harm to others and in harmony with Nature.

9. We believe in the affirmation and fulfillment of life in a continuation of evolution and development of consciousness, that gives meaning to the Universe we know, and our personal role within it.

10. Our only animosity towards Christianity, or toward any other religion or philosophy of life, is to the extent that its institutions have claimed to be "the only way," and have sought to deny freedom to others and to suppress other ways of religious practice and belief.

11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various terms, the origins of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present and our future.

12. We do not accept the concept of absolute evil, nor do we worship any entity known as Satan or the Devil, as defined by Christian tradition. We do not seek power through the suffering of others, nor do we accept that personal benefit can be derived only by denial to another.

13. We believe that we should seek within Nature that which is contributory to our health and well-being.

The Philosophy of Ashling Wicca

Ashling Wicca is a beautiful religion full of love and joy. In its purest form, Ashling Wicca lacks the idea of original sin, and the very notion of happiness and salvation being possible only in the afterlife is anathema. The music of Ashling Wicca is joyous, expressing love and companionship. This love and joy comes primarily from Ashling Wicca’s close link with nature, a link which is reminiscent of what the people of ancient times experienced.

Ancient people lived in harmony with the land. Out of necessity, they were a part of nature, not separate from it. They took only what they needed, and gave what they could. They respected both plants and animals. The natural order of things included ancient man, and they knew this.

This is not to say that the ancients were vegetarians, for they did indeed kill to eat. However, they had an innate respect for what they killed, they used as much of the animal as possible, and they didn’t kill more than they needed. The animal was honored for its sacrifice, not simply killed and consumed. Ancient man had a powerful and unique link with nature.

Most modern men and women have lost this link with nature, mostly because they are no longer directly dependent upon nature for their survival. Food is purchased at supermarkets, shelter is obtained though the purchasing of a house or the renting of an apartment, and clothing can be found at the nearest department store. Modern man doesn’t always realize how necessary nature is to everyday survival.

Ashling Wiccans see nature in a different light. Even in a world full of technology and mechanics, Ashling Wiccans find a connection to nature. An Ashling Wiccan understands that everything is alive and connected. A Wiccan might take a walk through the woods and stop to touch a delicate flower or hug a tree, knowing that in some way, this love and joy is transmitted and understood, and that it will be reciprocated.

If you wish to experience this link for yourself, take a walk through a wooded area. Find a large tree, preferably oak or pine, and sit with your back pressed firmly against the trunk. Close your eyes, relax your body, and open your mind. Gradually, you will feel exhaustion, anger, and tension disappear as it is absorbed into the tree and dispersed into the earth. Allow yourself to absorb a sense of comfort and stability from the tree. When you feel ready, thank the tree and continue on your way.

A simpler approach is to take the time to appreciate nature as it exists all around you. Acknowledge the trees, the plants, and the animals that share your environment. If you can, go barefoot through the grass, making contact with the earth below your feet. Respect nature and all it represents. This also means caring for nature, as nature cares for you.

People are a part of nature, whether they acknowledge this consciously or not. Connect with people, be among people, and offer assistance when you can. But do not seek to rule another’s life; let them live their own life. And you

Reviews for Ashling Wicca, Book One

[siennah-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was looking for something that wasn't quite Traditional Wicca but wasn't not Wicca either. This one did it for me. It's simple enough even for a beginner like me to understand, so I wasn't lost at any point. I also liked that it's more reasonably priced than some of the Wicca books on the market. I'll be buying the next one as soon as I'm done with this one.

[moonravenn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Well written and a very good starting place for the beginner Wiccan.