Towards A Devolutionary Witchcraft

Humble yourself in the arms of the Wild

You gotta lay down low and

Humble yourself in the arms of the Wild

Gotta ask Her what She knows...

- A Reclaiming Witchcamp Chant

In the Witchcraft circles I frequent online, in spite of the caliber of the company there, I keep hearing mention of the pernicious notion of "spiritual evolution." It's a remaining vestige of Newagism that needs to be stomped out to the last spark.

Let's get something straight about evolution, biological or otherwise: it has no arrow, no inherently positive direction. That is part of the myth of progress that permeates modernism and that is destroying the ecology of the planet. Part of that myth is that constant improvement is necessary, and that socially a corollary is that we need to improve ourselves, hence the burgeoning market in self-help books and lectures. 

So to counter this prevailing wind of opinion and zeitgeist, I propose something much more real and anti-Utopian: DEvolutionary Witchcraft.

In my philosophy of Devolutionary Witchcraft, human beings do not need improvement at all. In fact to be a Devolutionary Witch, it is necessary to drop the notion of spiritual progress, of any progress at all. 

A Devolutionary Witch gets back to basics of direct perception and observation of Nature. She doesn't need to get anywhere to achieve anything, stillness in the outdoors and opening up to the Wild fill her with everything she could ever need.

A Devolutionary Witch discards hierarchy in all its forms. She is embedded in the world, not on top of it, and has nowhere further to climb to. Right here right now is all he needs. The Sun, the Moon, the Plant People and Animal People, the Rock People and the Water and Wind People, they are all brothers and sisters. Partners, allies, and teachers. 

There are people on this planet, like the San or the Kouri, or various Indians in Amazonia, who totally belie the notion that any improvement at all is ever necessary. They come into the world naked and leave it naked, and have every need fulfilled by their social network and by the Earth and Sky. They are the most conservative people on the planet and it has served them well for untold thousands of years beyond the mere 10K years of agricultural civilization. 

In Devolutionary Witchcraft, the Witch abandons any idea of linear progress or achievement and returns to circular space, circular time, attuned to the birth, dying, and endless renewal of the Earth. 

There are no degrees or titles in Devolutionary Witchcraft. There is no recognition at all, other than an individual recognition of a directly experienced intimacy with all of Nature. Or the recognition of Kin in the eyes of another being, human and non-human.

A Devolutionary Witch Rewilds.... and restores himself to the primal state of mind that is the birthright of all human beings.

Self

Sex Passion

Power Pride

Our culture is dominated by the myths of the Hero: the one who journeys, fights, struggles, conquers, overcomes, achieves.

In Devolutionary Witchcraft, there is no journey, no struggle, no achievements, no advancements, no fights, nothing to conquer or overcome. All that is unnecessary and part of the civilizational perspective that is killing everything. 

Isn't there work to do? Well, there is the activity necessary for living life -- gathering or hunting food, creating shelter, sustaining personal relationships. That is all activity that feeds the circle, not the imaginary ascending line.

"This all sounds really boring."

Only if you aren't paying attention. And that -- paying attention -- is the first skill of Devolutionary Witchcraft.

"Dove Hunting", an old essay

Was just picking up and found this old writing exercise dated December 14, 1986, when I was 18 years old. Please forgive the excessive runon sentences at the beginning and some of the overly flowery language.. I may see about cleaning this up later on, oh and incidentally this was transcribed from a TYPEWRITTEN PAGE. OMG yes we used TYPEWRITERS still when I was 18.. anyhow.. enjoy!

Dove Hunting

There we stood in the midst of the field, pausing for a moment as we trudged slowly across the muddy ground. The cool, damp September air covered my body with its chilly caresses, tightening my skin and muscles ever so slightly with every soft breeze that passed in the darkness. Dawn was just beginning to shed its first coppery glow over the horizon, penetrating the layers of mist that hung over the field like filmy veils of damp gauze, and casting long deep shadows from the dead cornstalks that had thrust themselves up from the soft earth in vivid green life just months before, and were now merely dry brown skeletons rotting fiber. Everything was wet with rain and dew, causing smells of dampness and rot to fill the air, reminiscent of a pile of brown dead grass left to sit in the corner of the backyard for too long; the water caught the slowly increasing sunlight, which flashed forth in a thousand tiny beads of silver light.

In the still-prevalent darkness, the only sounds were the sucking and squeaking of booted feet in soft mud when we walked, and the irritating, buzzing hum of the ever-abundant and ever-eager mosquitoes, all hungry for our life's-blood the nourish their next vampiric generation, Deep Woods Off notwithstanding. My gun was heavy and awkward in my short, skinny arms, and the mud pulled at the soles of my boots, making my progress somewhat clumsy; it's hard enough to be graceful in a dead furrowed cornfield without having on heavy rubber boots that stick to the ground every time you take a step. I had shotgun shells in every pocket of my vest as well, weighing me down further, tugging at my shoulders, tugging at my pants, while we walked into this predawn field to wait for the doves to come.

As more light began to shine upon the bent stalks of corn, giving everything the dull orange cast of firelight and driving away the grey of early morning as the mist began to fade, the many droplets of water sparkled and flashed through all colors of the spectrum: tiny jewels of red, orange, green, and blue caught the eye from all directions, each blazing with its own rich cool fire. The buzzing hum of mosquitoes began to be accompanied by the welcome whirr of dragonflies, whole delicate cellophane wings shivered in the newborn sunlight that dripped from them in a rain of warm radiance and gleamed from their golden metallic bodies. 

The dragonflies danced all around us, up and down and across my vision, darting and arcing in all directions, singing their delicate humming song as they performed their elaborate aerial ballet among the damp and leafy brown masts of the cornstalks, a dance of death for the tiny mosquitoes whom they hunted with such incredible speed and precision. Soon the mosquitoes bothered us no longer, and as the sun climbed higher into the sky, dispelling the shadows and slowly drying the dew, the dragonflies began to disappear as well, their delicate song replaced by the soft whisper of the breeze in the grass and the sweet whistlings and gentle cooings of birds as they began to be aroused from slumber.

The Austin Rewilding Project Advances..

So I've just created a new list community on Yahoo! to bring together local rewilding folks:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/rewildatxinfo

Check it out.

So far there are 9 members and I got to ban my first spammer already. Whee.

Urban Scout’s Rewilding Survey

1. Have you or would you ever eat roadkill?

I haven't but if it was fresh and not too smooshed and I had tools and help I'd consider it.

2. Have you ever slept with another person-who-rewilds, or do you find it impossible to find anyone-else-who-rewilds?

The closest would have been when I dated my friend Dean many years ago, he is a wild plant lore expert along the lines of Penny Scout.

3. What do you like most about rewilding?

It frees the soul and enlivens the spirit.

4. What rewilding books, authors or movies do you like best?

Urban Scout's blog (of course), God Is Red by Vine Deloria, The Primal Mind by Jamake Hightower, The Healing Wisdom of Africa by Malidoma Some, I consider DUNE as a book to have strong rewilding affinities, it was the first exposure I had to the idea of "becoming indigenous" and having a sense of "place" at the tender age of 15; There is a current running through Starhawk's books that points towards a rewilding ethic in my opinion; any good field guide.

5. How long does it take for you to get a bow-drill coal?

Ack this is a project I haven't worked on yet.

6. Have you ever ended a relationship due to your parters love of civilization?

Gosh when was the last time I was in a relationship...

7. What wild foods do you favor most?

Whitewing dove breasts (cooked in red wine and lots and lots and lots (repeat many times) of garlic and some herbs.)
Wild turkey.
Catfish like my mom used to make (though she breaded them in cornmeal).
Dove eggs.
Dewberries.
Pecans.
Wild onions.
Turkscap flowers and fruits.
Psilocybin mushrooms! *duh*

8. Does the apocalypse invade your dreams? If so, do you consider them nightmares or nocturnal emissions?

Not often but I do have a poem that was partly inspired by such a dream.

9. What do your parents think about all this “rewilding” garbage?

Hmm. They don't really know yet but I grew up with hunters so it isn't such a departure I don't think.

10. Ever had a stranger over hear an anti-civ conversation and blissfully join in?

Hmm haven't had any local conversations really need to change that.

11. What will you miss most about civilization?

The Internet.

12. Which friends will escape with you to the wilds when the shit goes down?

My Faery Trad accomplices and various hippies and rockers and witches.

13. What specialty makes you an asset to a band of post-apocalyptic warriors?

Community ritual. Astronomy. Herbal medical knowledge. First aid training.

14. How long do you predict we have until the full on collapse?

Hmm good queston.

15. Do you feel ready?

No one is ever really ready for an abrupt change of circumstances, it is in such events that true character is revealed and established.

REVIEW: Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis

I rented the recent Neil Gaiman-scribed/Zemeckis-directed Beowulf movie, and I was very let down and disappointed in the story. I prefer to take my heroes straight up please (hey no giggling in the balcony!) and the idea of a renowned hero who didn't properly earn his reputation in deeds left a sour taste in my mouth. I felt ambivalent with Angelina Jolie's rather Lilith-y figure as well.

More even than that, the whole notion of Grendel going down to the mead all to bash heads because the noise kept him awake from miles away wasn't very satisfying or easy to buy into either. I mean everyone knows that monsters trash mead halls because Danish are tasty and good with mead!

I found the animated appearance of the characters kind of uncanny and a turn off as well. Beowulf himself excepted he was totally amazing-hot! But not hot enough to save the story..

Two stars.

For the much more satisfying original, go here.

When Austin Was Wild...

Way back before the Armadillo... there were the Tonkawa Indians.. thanks to finding the blog of Urban Scout I have renewed my interest in what is now being called "rewilding" which is an awesome word by the way. This page about Tonkawa who were the original inhabitants of Travis County underscores everything Scout talks about and the abundance that was here to support people in harmony with the landbase and without agriculture.. notice how as civilized people took over this area, the population is dependent on agriculture in a vicious cycle that has destroyed the capacity of the land to offer its abundance freely. Money quote:

They refused to farm because they said they were wolves and wolves hunted for food and did not farm. So they got their food by hunting and gathering. This makes them hunter gatherers. They lived in a region with lots of animals to hunt. This region is still one of the best deer hunting regions in Texas. The blackland prairies at the base of the Edwards Plateau had lots of buffalo. There are huge and beautiful springs in the region too. The springs at New Braunfels and San Marcos are so big they turn into rivers. In Austin Barton Creek springs and others are huge. San Antonio also has a number of good springs. The Colorado and Guadalupe rivers run right through the Tonkawa lands. These rivers and springs have fish, crawfish and clams and mussels in them. Pecan trees grow along the rivers and streams and all over this region. So with all the animals to hunt, fish to catch and pecans to pick up the Tonkawa did not need to farm. All the springs and rivers also means there are plenty of plant foods like blackberries roots. The the Tonkawa had a good supply of food from hunting and gathering. Here is a list of the food sources from the paragraph above; deer, buffalo, fish. crawfish. mussels, pecans. blackberries, roots.

Did you know the the San Marcos, Comal and Guadalupe rivers used to have a species of crawfish in them that was as big as a lobster? These crawfish, also called prawns, were so good to eat the Anglo settlers caught almost all of them. They are now extinct in the Guadalupe and Comal rivers. A few still live in the San Marcos river.

Now there are no more wolves and no more buffalo.. one of my best friend's great-grandfather shot the last one dead in the middle of Congress Avenue way back when.. there's no more bears or antelope, just the smaller animals hiding among the urban devastation and lots and lots of deer running amok with only death dealing cars to cull their numbers.. and you don't want to eat the fish or crawdads or clams and mussels or drink the water from the springs, pecans and acorns all go to waste to be crushed underfoot while was ignore all the sustenance around us and head to the grocery store. It's a cultural and ecology travesty.

We need to Rewild Austin..

Paintings for Sale

Two of my paintings for are for sale locally in Austin only. I am asking $300 for each one. The first one is untitled but let's call it Bull and Butterfly Spirit, it was inspired by reading The Language of the Goddess by Marija Gimbutas:

The second one is titled Man of Earth, it was originally inspired by Riane Eisler's book The Chalice and the Blade:

Both were painted in 1997 not very long after I had taken a walkabout in Santa Fe in October 1996 which was the original wellspring of that period of creativity.

Contact me if interested, they are unframed but have hangers.