{"id":384,"date":"2023-02-06T03:09:29","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T03:09:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/?p=384"},"modified":"2023-02-06T13:59:39","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T13:59:39","slug":"creating-a-sacred-landscape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/creating-a-sacred-landscape\/","title":{"rendered":"Creating a Sacred Landscape"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"384\" class=\"elementor elementor-384\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-ff05cce elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"ff05cce\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-7573708\" data-id=\"7573708\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d727d62 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d727d62\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.18.0 - 08-12-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7613ae5 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7613ae5\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-523a52f\" data-id=\"523a52f\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-40cf81a elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"40cf81a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>One of the things we study extensively here at COFF is Sacred Landscapes. There seems to be some confusion about this particular concept. Even the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn claimed to have assigned the Elements to the four cardinal directions based on the prevailing winds of Britain. However, many times (perhaps even most of the time), when we&#8217;re talking about a Sacred Landscape, we\u2019re not actually referring to a physical place like the Delphi Oracle, Machu Picchu, or Stonehenge (which are Sacred Places or Sacred Sites), or even the area within a Magick Circle (which encompasses a temporary Sacred Space). Rather, we\u2019re talking about a landscape on another plane of existence, an Otherworldly plane.<\/p><p>The primary purpose of a Witch\u2019s Compass or Wind Rose is, in fact, to enable us to access just such landscapes (along with the Otherworlds). These landscapes differ from person to person and from Tradition to Tradition. Here\u2019s an excerpt from a lengthier article I wrote a couple of years or so ago:<\/p><blockquote><p>It was [Robert] Cochrane who popularized, among many other things, such concepts as the Stang, the Compass Rose, Rings of Arte, and the Sacred Landscape (including the Cosmic Mill, the Spiral Castle, the Rose Garden, etc.), Cochrane who recognized the importance of the Blacksmith God(s) and the Roebuck, Cochrane who developed what is now known as Cochrane\u2019s Craft, Cochrane who founded the Clan of Tubal Cain (the People of Goda), and whose beliefs and works also contributed to the founding of the 1734, Roebuck, Ancient Celtic Church, <a href=\"http:\/\/afwcraft.blogspot.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American Folkloric Witchcraft<\/a>, and Crossroads Coven Traditions, and influenced many other Traditions, as well \u2014 and all this, despite the fact that Cochrane was neither \u201cWitch-Born\u201d nor likely to have actually been formally initiated into Witchcraft or any coven by anyone other than himself, and thus was not a \u201cMade-Witch,\u201d either.<\/p><\/blockquote><p>As you can see, Cochrane drew freely from Celtic myth for his own Sacred Landscape and other concepts. American Folkloric Witchcraft also has a Sacred Landscape that draws from Celtic myth. If you want to work with a Sacred Landscape, you can develop one however you wish. My own draws from Celtic myth, as well, but also from Arthurian literature. Because I\u2019m personally very big on wheels, I started mine with a simple Wheel of the Seasons:<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2daeba6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2daeba6\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-c547abf\" data-id=\"c547abf\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f1dcb8a elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f1dcb8a\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.18.0 - 08-12-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"510\" height=\"510\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/wheeloftheseasons.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-387\" alt=\"Wheel of the Seasons.\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/wheeloftheseasons.png 510w, https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/wheeloftheseasons-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/wheeloftheseasons-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 510px) 100vw, 510px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-eedbc74 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"eedbc74\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f601a5b\" data-id=\"f601a5b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6499cbd elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6499cbd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Over time, it\u2019s grown, expanded, and altered as I&#8217;ve become increasingly certain about who\u2019s who, what\u2019s what, and where\u2019s where. My wheel turns, depending what I want to accomplish with the Airts and the Quarters (which shift over the millennia). Earth, of course, goes through the astrological signs backward: Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn, Sagittarius, Scorpio, Libra, Virgo, Leo, Cancer, Gemini, Taurus, and Aries.<\/p><p>Here at COFF, we employ astrological timing, so this year, we celebrated Imbolg and the first day of spring on February 3, when the Sun had reached 15 degrees Aquarius. Continuing on around the Wheel of the Seasons, for us here at COFF, Beltaine and the first day of summer will arrive on May 5, when the sun has reached 15 degrees Taurus. Lugnasad and the first day of autumn will occur on August 7, when the sun has reached 15 degrees Leo; and Samain and the first day of winter will take place on November 7, when the sun has reached 15 degrees Scorpio. All this means that the equinoxes and the solstices fall at the proper midpoints (hence, Midsummer and Midwinter). So you see this particular timing reflected in my Wheel of the Seasons.<\/p><p>You might not be familiar with the Cosmic Mill in connection with Celtic myth. Yet it was an important structure, and the Cailleach an Mhuilinn (Hag or Old Woman of the Mill) was an equally important figure. We know this because unlike many other concepts in Celtic myth, this one has been immortalized in an intricate folk dance known as the \u201cCailleach an D\u00f9dain\u201d (Hag or Old Woman of the Mill-Dust), and one of the two most important dances in Witchcraft is \u201cTreading the Mill,\u201d which is a vigorous dance of a sort employed either to reach a trance state or else to raise energy, depending on the purpose of the Circle. The other, of course, is the Spiral Dance, which goes hand-in-hand with the Spiral Castle.<\/p><p>So give some thought to a Sacred Landscape of your own. What concepts are important to you? What do you think your own landscape will consist of &#8212; and, equally important &#8212; who will people it?<\/p><p>Blessings!<br \/>APs Rhianwen Bendigaid<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c7c6e75 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"c7c6e75\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One of the things we study extensively here at COFF is Sacred Landscapes. There seems to be some confusion about this particular concept. Even the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn claimed to have assigned the Elements to the four cardinal directions based on the prevailing winds of Britain. However, many times (perhaps even most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,8],"tags":[23,25,14,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":416,"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384\/revisions\/416"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fethfiada.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}