Unanswered Questions, Part 8...
With the distaff, we are back to something Cochrane discusses in other places.
On Cords:The so-called "sacred object" held in such reverence by some witches was in fact a weaver's distaff--and could easily be mistaken for a phallic symbol. The weaver's distaff, bound with reeds or straw, appears frequently in rural carvings and elsewhere. It again has reference to the Craft and supreme Deity. It would appear that the witches were not in the least influenced by Freudian concepts.
Fourth Letter:Flax is a common cultivated flower known an Linum. The variety known as Narbonense is very good - it is also a decorative in a garden. It is gathered and hung to semi-dry in darkness. When it is nearly dry beat it with a mallet made of wood until the fibres are separated from the stem. This produces a linen 'shoddy'. These are combed out with a teazle head until they are reasonably separate, then spun upon a distaff by a woman who 'sings' to the moon (sounds crazy?) This linen shoddy should be dyed before combing or spinning by Alder bark for red, blackberries (or equivalent) for blue, and bleached in lime or chalk for the white. Your whole length should be measured in this, then seven knots tied in the plait - and then you have the beginnings of a cord which is worn about the waist or neck and used as a meditational device, a la 1734. The remains should be kept in the separate colours and spun upon the distaff. This, used with Mother Broom, and symbolic herbs will assist the cure of most illnesses if a piece is tied and charmed around the afflicted part and three knots tied. I know it sounds crazy but-- from personal experience I know it works. I have seen the common cold cured, cancer of the womb, warts, and bleeding stopped by this yarn - but it is dependent upon the moon's phases, and Mother Broom for the inner workings. The slow process of creating the yarn is a form of alchemy. If your wife uses it, she must not use the Alder, but instead turn to blackthorn for a black thread, but be careful of that yarn for it carries the power to blast.
A distaff is a staff held under the arm, usually the left, while using a spindle, or, later in history, mounted on the spinning wheel. It's about three feet long. It was/is most commonly used with flax, but can be used with wool. The staff is dressed by laying the fibers down parallel to one another and the staff, and then carefully rolling the fibers onto the staff. Then a ribbon or string is used to hold them in place, loosely wrapped around them and tied to the top of the staff. In low German, dis meant a bunch of flax, hence a distaff. Traditionally, the distaff represented domestic life. The distaff side of the family was the mother's side, and the sword or spear side was the father's.
One obvious meaning of the distaff based on all of this is the feminine. As such, it represents the Goddess in all three aspects. The distaff was used by young girls, mothers, and old women alike. Also, it is a symbol of the home, which was considered woman's domain in many cultures. Considering the fact the women had more authority and power in Celtic societies than in most of the other cultural groups in Europe, she would have even more power in the house than elsewhere. The use of the distaff in the make of cords implies it to be a very basic tool in the Craft, and hence a strong symbol of it. The Cord can be equated to a ladder, as I will look at in the masculine symbols, so, in a way, that male symbol is created with this female symbol. The comparison with the Sword and Spear (Javelin) means that the distaff is as much a centrally female symbol as the Javelin and Sword are male. I'd go as far as saying that the Broom and Distaff are the two most important female symbols and the Sword and Javelin are the most important male symbols, but I could be wrong in this.
Another thing that jumps out at me is that Julius Caesar said that the primary deity that the Druids worshipped was named Dis, and represented all other gods. This is the same word as the word for a bunch of flax, once both are written in modern letters. Could they both have come from the same origin? If so, is flax holy to the god Dis or is Dis the personification of flax?
Third Letter:Flags are a form of rush, a plant that grows in European waters - so the answer is Flags, water, Flax, being the weavers plant and blue - thus representing the Goddess of Birth and Death (Fate) being the principle of Air, and Fodder - which means grass, the Earth. The ancients swore an inviolable oath by grass roots - the answer will come to you if you think on it.
Flax represents Life/Birth and Death/Resurrection, and Fate as a whole, and Air. Now, Air is one of the elements that both Male and Female use. It is also the Wind, and Cochrane says all knowledge is remembered in it. Fate, and all of time with it, and the beginning and end, are all tied together. If flax is put onto a distaff and spun onto a spindle, this is symbolic of taking Fate and spinning it into the form desired. So, the distaff is symbolically used to change Fate, to spin it in a new direction.
Another interesting thing is a statement I recently read in The White Goddess:
This recalls the stories of such sun-heroes as Achilles, Hercules and Dionysus who lived for a time disguised as girls in the women's quarters of a palace and plied the distaff.
The distaff once again represents the feminine, and is part of the disguise to allow them to pass as girls. Also, Graves comments about the Sun being under female tutelage, implying, just as the feminine Distaff making the Cord of the masculine, that the masculine comes out of the feminine.
The last symbol is the Shift. There is only one other reference to the Shift in Cochrane's writings:
A Witch's Esbat:Joan laughs as she ties the girdle around her waist and arranges her shift, placing the seven knots carefully. We are all dressed now in our black garb, adjusting our cloaks as we stand now in humility and poverty; the beginnings of all magical power.
In this, all the men were dressed in black rags, whereas the Maid was dressed in a Shift. A Shift would have been white, in general. For the richer people, it would have been bleached with lie, more than likely, whereas the peasants' would have been natural. Originally, it was called a smock and would probably have been made of wool or flax, I'm guessing. Later on, it was usually linen or cotton, at least amongst the upper classes. It was the inner-most piece of clothing for women. It would have had a draw-string at the top, arms, and would have huge down like a dress.
Considering the image of the White Goddess, the white Shift amongst black would have stood out as symbolic of the Goddess being present. There would have also been the practicalness of the fact that the Circle can be a dirty affair, and the Shift was designed to be washed easily, but more outward garments weren't as readily washed. It would have also shown the equality amongst the woman while in the Circle, for each wore a Shift, whereas the outer clothes would have more easily identified status, hence, it is a sign of humility, just as the men in their black rags.
~Muninn's Kiss
On Cords:The so-called "sacred object" held in such reverence by some witches was in fact a weaver's distaff--and could easily be mistaken for a phallic symbol. The weaver's distaff, bound with reeds or straw, appears frequently in rural carvings and elsewhere. It again has reference to the Craft and supreme Deity. It would appear that the witches were not in the least influenced by Freudian concepts.
Fourth Letter:Flax is a common cultivated flower known an Linum. The variety known as Narbonense is very good - it is also a decorative in a garden. It is gathered and hung to semi-dry in darkness. When it is nearly dry beat it with a mallet made of wood until the fibres are separated from the stem. This produces a linen 'shoddy'. These are combed out with a teazle head until they are reasonably separate, then spun upon a distaff by a woman who 'sings' to the moon (sounds crazy?) This linen shoddy should be dyed before combing or spinning by Alder bark for red, blackberries (or equivalent) for blue, and bleached in lime or chalk for the white. Your whole length should be measured in this, then seven knots tied in the plait - and then you have the beginnings of a cord which is worn about the waist or neck and used as a meditational device, a la 1734. The remains should be kept in the separate colours and spun upon the distaff. This, used with Mother Broom, and symbolic herbs will assist the cure of most illnesses if a piece is tied and charmed around the afflicted part and three knots tied. I know it sounds crazy but-- from personal experience I know it works. I have seen the common cold cured, cancer of the womb, warts, and bleeding stopped by this yarn - but it is dependent upon the moon's phases, and Mother Broom for the inner workings. The slow process of creating the yarn is a form of alchemy. If your wife uses it, she must not use the Alder, but instead turn to blackthorn for a black thread, but be careful of that yarn for it carries the power to blast.
A distaff is a staff held under the arm, usually the left, while using a spindle, or, later in history, mounted on the spinning wheel. It's about three feet long. It was/is most commonly used with flax, but can be used with wool. The staff is dressed by laying the fibers down parallel to one another and the staff, and then carefully rolling the fibers onto the staff. Then a ribbon or string is used to hold them in place, loosely wrapped around them and tied to the top of the staff. In low German, dis meant a bunch of flax, hence a distaff. Traditionally, the distaff represented domestic life. The distaff side of the family was the mother's side, and the sword or spear side was the father's.
One obvious meaning of the distaff based on all of this is the feminine. As such, it represents the Goddess in all three aspects. The distaff was used by young girls, mothers, and old women alike. Also, it is a symbol of the home, which was considered woman's domain in many cultures. Considering the fact the women had more authority and power in Celtic societies than in most of the other cultural groups in Europe, she would have even more power in the house than elsewhere. The use of the distaff in the make of cords implies it to be a very basic tool in the Craft, and hence a strong symbol of it. The Cord can be equated to a ladder, as I will look at in the masculine symbols, so, in a way, that male symbol is created with this female symbol. The comparison with the Sword and Spear (Javelin) means that the distaff is as much a centrally female symbol as the Javelin and Sword are male. I'd go as far as saying that the Broom and Distaff are the two most important female symbols and the Sword and Javelin are the most important male symbols, but I could be wrong in this.
Another thing that jumps out at me is that Julius Caesar said that the primary deity that the Druids worshipped was named Dis, and represented all other gods. This is the same word as the word for a bunch of flax, once both are written in modern letters. Could they both have come from the same origin? If so, is flax holy to the god Dis or is Dis the personification of flax?
Third Letter:Flags are a form of rush, a plant that grows in European waters - so the answer is Flags, water, Flax, being the weavers plant and blue - thus representing the Goddess of Birth and Death (Fate) being the principle of Air, and Fodder - which means grass, the Earth. The ancients swore an inviolable oath by grass roots - the answer will come to you if you think on it.
Flax represents Life/Birth and Death/Resurrection, and Fate as a whole, and Air. Now, Air is one of the elements that both Male and Female use. It is also the Wind, and Cochrane says all knowledge is remembered in it. Fate, and all of time with it, and the beginning and end, are all tied together. If flax is put onto a distaff and spun onto a spindle, this is symbolic of taking Fate and spinning it into the form desired. So, the distaff is symbolically used to change Fate, to spin it in a new direction.
Another interesting thing is a statement I recently read in The White Goddess:
This recalls the stories of such sun-heroes as Achilles, Hercules and Dionysus who lived for a time disguised as girls in the women's quarters of a palace and plied the distaff.
The distaff once again represents the feminine, and is part of the disguise to allow them to pass as girls. Also, Graves comments about the Sun being under female tutelage, implying, just as the feminine Distaff making the Cord of the masculine, that the masculine comes out of the feminine.
The last symbol is the Shift. There is only one other reference to the Shift in Cochrane's writings:
A Witch's Esbat:Joan laughs as she ties the girdle around her waist and arranges her shift, placing the seven knots carefully. We are all dressed now in our black garb, adjusting our cloaks as we stand now in humility and poverty; the beginnings of all magical power.
In this, all the men were dressed in black rags, whereas the Maid was dressed in a Shift. A Shift would have been white, in general. For the richer people, it would have been bleached with lie, more than likely, whereas the peasants' would have been natural. Originally, it was called a smock and would probably have been made of wool or flax, I'm guessing. Later on, it was usually linen or cotton, at least amongst the upper classes. It was the inner-most piece of clothing for women. It would have had a draw-string at the top, arms, and would have huge down like a dress.
Considering the image of the White Goddess, the white Shift amongst black would have stood out as symbolic of the Goddess being present. There would have also been the practicalness of the fact that the Circle can be a dirty affair, and the Shift was designed to be washed easily, but more outward garments weren't as readily washed. It would have also shown the equality amongst the woman while in the Circle, for each wore a Shift, whereas the outer clothes would have more easily identified status, hence, it is a sign of humility, just as the men in their black rags.
~Muninn's Kiss