Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales

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The name was given to a variety of English fairies, but the stories in Wales are found to be very similar and across vast areas of locality varying very little in detail. Each account will be interchangeable with another with the only difference being the alteration of local names for Pwca. It attracted widespread debate and serious concern, generating a substantial amount of writings and pamphlets debating the subject and its broader belief system.

Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Mag… Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Mag…

Saunders, Erasmus, A view of the state of religion in the diocese of St. David's about the beginning of the 18th century : with some account of the causes of its decay, (London, 1721). Special Collections: Salisbury, WG30(1721). Jones, Edmund, A relation of apparitions of spirits, in the county of Monmouth, and the principality of Wales: with other notable relations from England, together with observations about them, and instructions from them: designed to confute and to prevent the infidelity of denying the being and apparition of spirits, which tends to irreligion and atheism, [1780] (Newport, 1813). Special Collections: Salisbury, WG30(1813). The places that they were believed to inhabit or haunt were treated with fear and respect because it was known that interference with them could cause misfortune. Certain protocols had to be followed for humans to keep on good terms with the fairies, who at the best of times could be mischievous and were nearly always a little touchy. The common idea that witches made a pact with the devil wasn't overtly expressed in Welsh witchcraft, but animal guises did appear. Whitfield, George, Dichellion Satan: sef pregeth a bregethwyd yn Eglwys St. Helen Fawr yn Llundain, gan...George Whitefield...; a gyfieuthwyd gan wr eglwysig E.W., (Mwythig, 1742). Special Collections: Salisbury, WG30(1739).A law in 1563 made witchcraft a capital offence, so from that point onwards more and more people would be called out as being witches as they were universally feared. In Wales during the period of the Witch trials, we did not even have a native term to describe Witches—during the rare trials the courts referred to the accused as Wits or Witshes when conversing in the Welsh language, and obvious borrowing of the English Witch. In modern Welsh, the most common word used to describe a Witch is Gwrach, but this term is more aligned with the fairy tale archetype of the hag, or a folkloric ogre, and so was not utilised in formal court spaces. Her association with the Conways, added fuel to the fire. The suspect admitted receiving two copies of St John’s Gospel from Jane Conway and to having once spent the night at Gloddaith when Thomas Mostyn was away.

Witchcraft and related beliefs - Special Collections and Witchcraft and related beliefs - Special Collections and

He also said Llandyrnog-born Gwen was responsible for a friend’s broken arm and bewitching his wife. She had lost the use of her arms and legs. Guest, Lady Charlotte, translator. “Taliesin.” The Mabinogi. 1877. Accessed 19 February, 2019, http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/mab/mab32.htm.A depiction of a witch being burned in 16th century Amsterdam (Image: Creative Commons) Read More Related Articles Many 19th century Welsh ghosts have a distinct strangeness about the way they look or move about. Often, they were sighted whirling, throwing stones, walking on their hands or on all fours whistling and distorting their shapes terrifying those that witnessed them. Jones, John, Llên gwerin Sir Gaernarfon, (Caernarfon, 1908). Special Collections: Salisbury, Jarman WG39.3.0112. Finding information on the magical traditions and practises of Wales is no easy feat. Despite there being countless books, blogs, articles and even videos on the topic of Celtic spirituality and magic, rarely do you hear much beyond a passing mention of Wales. Frustrated at this very fact, I decided to embark on a journey incorporating the very essence of Welsh magic into my practise. Here in this article, I will share some of the key elements that make up my practise today, a practise rooted in the landscape I was born and informed by the traditions of folklore, magic, and myth native to it.