Magical Healing: Folk Healing Techniques from the Old World - Hexe Claire 2018

Healing Beings
Healing and Healers

The following list of healing beings is multicultural. I thought about this for a while: should I include only beings native to Germany or should I think globally? At first glance it seemed more consistent to include only beings from here. But what does “here” even mean?

Does the Egyptian goddess Isis count as “from here” or “from Germany” because she had sanctuaries in Mainz and Cologne, Germany? We can assume quite safely that she was not the only goddess or god feeling wanderlust and traveling throughout the ancient world.

Our ancestors were much more open-minded than many dogmatics today, and this might be the result of not yet reading all those wise books and, instead, learning from their own immediate experiences with the spiritual world.

What worked and what showed results spread. It’s that simple. We tend to assume that our ancestors lived in a kind of ever-the-same “good old days.” But this is not true; change has always been omnipresent.⁸

But what is especially important to me is that witchcraft is a free spiritual path. This means either you are free or you are not free. A little bit free is “the same as a little bit pregnant,” as we say in Germany.

By the way, being free is not the same as being completely arbitrary. This is often confused or twisted on purpose to bad-mouth personal freedom and alienate free thinkers. Being free means that one is conscious about one’s own decisions and sticks to them. What others think is not of importance. Another saying in Germany is if everybody sweeps in front of their own door, it’s clean everywhere—meaning mind your own business.

It’s not uncommon to find similar entities in different cultures; these are often called archetypes, the prefigurations of human experiences.

Let’s illustrate this with a simple picture: look at an apple. In German it’s an Apfel, in Portuguese it’s a maçã, the French say pomme, the Turk elma, the Croats jabuka, and the Icelanders epli. But is the apple therefore in any way different or less apple-like across cultures?

Of course, there are still differences. Some cultures love apples and have many delicious recipes for this fruit; for others it’s not that important. But the apple itself is always an apple, no matter if it’s appreciated or not.

With spiritual energies, it’s a similar situation. Different names were found for these energies or archetypes, but the power behind them remains the same. It’s not so much about the name you call your “apple,” as the core essence will always be the same.

When working with gods, spirits, and entities, trust first and foremost in your feelings and don’t believe anything just because it was written down by someone, even this book! Remember: believing is not knowing. True knowledge is more than just understanding with the head. It comes from experience.

Never lose your sense of humor if you are uncertain or don’t know which way to go. No pressure, no stress, please. Those two certainly don’t help to get the healing energies flowing, so you’re far better off without them.

Apollo

Apollo is the eternally youthful, golden sun god of Greek mythology and rules over the arts of healing like music and poetry. Today these arts are often not well known for having healing benefits. But some traditions seem to return; some Turkish hospitals have started playing old traditional healing songs for their patients after operations.

The effect of music is immediate. It goes from the senses to the emotions and into the body. Music can strengthen, calm, energize, or work your last nerve. Singing bowls can directly influence the body in this way, and waves of music not only flood the ears but also the entire body. No one would go to concerts if this wasn’t the desired effect—to bathe in the music you love. And no one would feel well after a concert with music that is the opposite of their personal vibe and preferences.

Apollo is a good companion to work on anything that needs light and warmth. He’s an expert for eyesight, clarity, and emotional sunlight. If you are uncertain who to work with, he’s a good choice. The Hippocratic oath that doctors commit themselves to even now starts with him (“I swear by Apollo the Healer …”).

When working with Apollo (also with other beings in general) you can create a small altar for him. In Apollo’s case, cover it with a yellow cloth (you can also use paper napkins or a simple yellow bandana). Put a yellow candle on the altar and something that symbolizes your suffering, such as a bandage, a radiograph, a printed sheet with your laboratory values, a photo of the part of the body in question, or for emotional suffering, an abstract picture that you paint with colors and shapes that correspond with your feelings. Put some fresh yellow or white flowers, a piece of amber, and a snake symbol on the altar as well.

As soon as you have a quiet moment, light the candle and talk to Apollo, pray to him, or just meditate there. You don’t have to “do” something all the time; sometimes it’s enough to let the moment sink in, to experience a profound reinvigoration.

If this takes too much time and effort for your situation, just get a piece of amber. Using a needle or a multifunction rotary tool, if you have one, inscribe the name Apollo and the symbol of the sun, a circle with a point in the middle. Keep this stone with you. It’s best to wear it directly on the skin.

Asclepius/Hermes

Asclepius is the son of Apollo, but in contrast to his radiant, beautiful father he is seen more as a down-to-earth entity. His birth was aided by Hermes, and he learned the art of healing from Chiron and is known as an infallible healer, master surgeon, and wise herbalist.

In his ancient healing temples, temple sleep was practiced. This is an almost shamanic technique in which people came to sleep in Asclepius’s temples to get instructions for their healing from dreams.

Today most of us would think: How can this work? How could they have been sure a dream would come? And what if it didn’t?

Trust in our intuition is not very strong today. To understand, you would have to live in a culture where it’s normal to go to a temple to get advice in dreams.

But still we can ask Asclepius for advice in dreams, in a half-asleep state, in meditations or in meaningful moments.

As with Apollo, the snake and laurel are sacred to Asclepius. One could view him as a half-human avatar of Apollo. As his birth was aided by Hermes, they are linked closely. They both have staffs with snakes as a symbol. Of course, they were not alone with this symbol, as Iris and the goddess of luck Felicitas also held the caduceus.

In some mystery schools Hermes is honored as a healing god because of this proximity to Asclepius. So, if you already have a connection to Hermes (or Mercury) you can also work with Asclepius in matters of healing. He is much more than just the messenger of the gods.

Baba Yaga

The word Baba means “grandmother” or “old one” in Russian. This ancient goddess is also known as Baba Yezi, Baba Roga, or Jezi Baba, and is a goddess of the woods, life, death, and rebirth, and in many ways is similar to the German Frau Holle (more on her a bit later). As is the case with many ancient goddesses, Baba Yaga can manifest as triple goddess or triad. In many fairytales and stories, she has two sisters, to whom she sends people that are seeking advice to complete various tasks as a test.

Even today Baba Yaga is a feared goddess. Even people with backgrounds in nature spirituality or Paganism tend to perpetuate the old stereotypes; they just express it a little more politically correct and call her a “dark goddess.” But in doing so, they too continue to push the strong and self-determined female powers into the dark corner. Incorruptible female energy is still viewed as ambivalent, and simply calling her “dark” instead of “evil” is not a true shift in perspective.

Baba Yaga is known as an “old bone hag” because she accompanies people beyond death. She rules over the mythical water of life that resurrects people, an old analogy for the circle of rebirth.

We find in her an ancient shamanic goddess of waxing and waning. She has plenty of symbols, like rye grains, healing herbs of every kind, mortar and pestle, the broom, the poppy plant, the cauldron, the metal iron and of course Izbushka, her magical hut that stands on chicken legs and moves in a circle, as the sun circles around the earth.

Although many tales make her look like the stereotype of an evil witch, she can be very generous. For example, in Russian fairytales she sometimes gives inquirers a magical ball of wool that helps them find their way and make their fortune. There’s no need to demonize her just because she likes to test the sincerity of people first.

In contrast with so many entities that were forgotten as time went by, Baba Yaga is still dearly beloved—despite or maybe precisely because of her gnarly appearance. (In Russian fairytale films she is often played by a man to illustrate her rugged nature.) She is a sly fox, a female trickster who helps people to reach their goal by putting them to the test.

If you want to work with her, I would suggest you first read some of her tales to get a feeling for her energy that bubbles up between the lines throughout. For a healing spell to invoke her strength, fill a mortar with a third of your favorite healing herbs, a third of rye grains, and a third of poppy seeds. Put a picture of the person in need into the mortar among the herbs and seeds. Cover it with the mixture and lay the pestle on top of it.

Light a white, a red, and a black candle (the colors of her horsemen who represent dawn, day, and night) in front of it and tell the old Baba about your healing wishes as well as what you (or the person in need) are willing to do for it. Let the candles burn down, and leave the mortar as it is until the condition of the person has improved.

Baba Yaga is especially helpful for serious problems and all female issues.

Bastet

Bastet, the Egyptian goddess of cats, is responsible for all things that make life worth living: music, scents, love, magic, dance, sensuality, and healing. Some records state that at her celebrations, similar to the story of Baubo and Demeter, the vulva was exposed, and laughter and wild dances took place to shake off all sadness and every evil.

Today Bastet is a wonderful helper when it comes to nervous problems, like tension and insomnia, and problems resulting from overworking or workplace stress.

Overworking is in itself a sign of a lack of joy of living, because one has forgotten that we don’t live to work, but we work to make a living. This pattern often dates back to childhood experiences when accomplishments and “being good” (making the parents happy, proud, and so on) were more important than vitality and zest for life. It requires a lot of time and loving inner work to change this.

Bastet helps those who find it difficult to take care of themselves or who push others to take over the role of the care-taker and emotional nurturer. If you find yourself complaining “Because my partner (or child, parents, siblings, friend or whomever) behaves in a way I don’t like, I can’t be happy,” it’s high time for Bastet’s joie de vivre. She brings you back to your own responsibility and helps to retrieve your inner power. Nobody is obligated to make you happy—nobody but yourself.

In my psychic work I sometimes meet people who wait years and sometimes even decades for a special person to at last behave “right,” making them happy. This is very sad! They missed out on so many experiences all those years; so much joy passed them by. Not to mention the bitterness that arises if they realize one day that they waited in vain.

Wanting to be happy has nothing to do with selfishness. Rather, it makes you healthy and radiates out to others. Happiness “infects” others with confidence and courage to face life. People who claim that searching for more happiness is selfish are often envious or simply don’t know how to find it for themselves and therefore feel compelled to put others off this ambition.

In this case Bastet is an affectionate teacher who helps melt the frozen soul, soften emotional hardening, and exchange grief for love of life.

To work with her, choose a Bastet statue or any cat representation you like. Photos and postcards are also a nice idea, the main thing being that it speaks to your heart. Give her perfume and incense, and play joyful music when talking to her, she loves music. Of course, in modern times she also loves to see (cat food) donations to animal shelters that give refuge to cats. Magic does not always have to be “magical” in the sense of candles, incense, spells, and all the like. It can also be done on a very practical basis.

Baubo

Baubo is the goddess of the vulva, which was sacred to many ancient cultures and a favorite symbol to ward off evil. She’s the source, the origin, and the door to life. The divine vulva was often depicted in stylized form, like the diamond shape or the downward-pointing triangle. Cowrie shells also evoke this divine energy because of their form and were favored amulets in old Europe.

The motif of a goddess displaying her vulva is seen from the dawn of mankind. She even appears on medieval church walls as Sheela Na Gig.

In Greek mythology she is famous for cheering up Demeter when she was upset about the loss of her daughter. Of course, Baubo is also a wonderful companion during pregnancy and giving birth.

Baubo is an inimitable helper in times of crisis and despair, when things seem to lead nowhere and desperation abounds, for example during severe and/or long-term and chronic illnesses. She is a strong helper that brings back laughter. Her philosophy is don’t wait until the rain is over for happiness. You’d better learn to dance in the rain. Although there is not a solution for everything, we are always in control of one thing: how we respond to the challenges of life.

You can awaken her power with a stylized picture or by wearing cowrie shells as jewelry. If you want to create an altar for her, use red candles and all shades of red that are pleasant to your eyes.

Red is the color of life and has been used since ancient times to ward off evil and illnesses. This is also true for the male version of this custom. In Italy people like to wear the corno rosso (red horn) to ward off evil. It looks like a small red chili pepper, a male phallic shape.

Brighid/Brigid of Kildare

Brighid is venerated as a goddess of divine light in witchcraft and has her holy day on February 1, also called Imbolc. Her special position is easy to see: she is venerated as a Christian saint as well as a Pagan goddess. Hers are the primal elements water and fire, but she is also a goddess of smithcraft, which links her to transformation and initiations.

She is especially helpful if you feel that an illness wants to say something to you, to discover its deeper meaning. Also, if complaints tend to recur and you can’t figure out why you have this particular susceptibility, you can ask Brighid for the crucial spark of insight. She can be invoked for everything concerning healing, well-being, and self-awareness.

To work with Brighid in rituals, floating candles are a wonderful tool, for they combine her elements of water and fire. If you are not sure how to get in touch with her, go to a lake or river and meditate there, and this will give you the inspiration you need. If this is not possible due to your illness, have someone bring you a postcard with a lovely lake or river on it, visualize this place, and pray to Brighid to help you.

Cernunnos/Herne

Cernunnos is the Celtic god with deer antlers (his name, literally translated, is “the horned one”) and it is very likely that his roots trace back far in history to the shamanic cultures of the dawn of mankind.

In today’s spiritual work he helps us to calm down and ground ourselves. He is an elementary power and a wonderful helper if you don’t know yourself anymore or when things get overwhelming or confusing.

If someone gets ill, some people show their true face and try with all their “good advice” to make the weakened person behave in the way they want. Such people are like energy vampires and don’t really care for the need of the ill person; they just want to be seen as the glorious savior themselves rather than simply lending an ear. The vernacular puts it best, for “lending an ear” means to truly listen and not to talk about oneself all the time.

This is a very important point in general, so please keep it in mind when doing healing work or being there for someone who is ill. Sick people are often inundated with information, advice, and hints from others. But who listens to them?

Oftentimes all this handing out of advice is in fact a defensive behavior. I give you some hints, and while talking about all these helpful things I hope your pain won’t get close to me.

We often tend to act this way, so it’s really worthwhile to ponder that issue. Many people have so many obligations and duties during the day that they don’t have the time and strength to really listen to someone in need. But one can feel very alone among the broad range of medical possibilities and therapeutic recommendations.

When your head is buzzing and you are insecure or perplexed, start meditating with Cernunnos. For this, take a statue or picture of him or a piece of stag antlers or stag fur; a photo of a stag will also do just fine. Light a candle at a calm place that you like and hold a silent dialogue with him. Ask him for support and to show you the right way—and ask him for the ability to recognize the right way. I learned this important detail from a woman who told me about her age-old prayer healer who always slipped in the phrase “and let me recognize the right way” into his prayers.

You can also ask Cernunnos to help you meet the right people at the right time or to make your social circle aware of the fact that you need more solicitousness now.

Also, it’s good to think about compassion not as a one-way street. Ask yourself, “When did I last listen to someone in a quiet setting—just listening without giving advice?” Give it a try and you might be surprised how different and free the conversation will be if no one wants to be “helpful” and you are just there for the other person.

Cerridwen

Cerridwen is the goddess with the famous cauldron of growth and decay. Her holy animal is the sow (female swine), and this reminds us of Ceres and Demeter who also had this animal. Even Freya rode on a pig, indicating a similar cultural background: the goddess as nurturer, closely linked to the ground, where the ancestors are buried (and thus also linked to them).

There are many different aspects of Cerridwen and a book can only shine a light on some facets. Whenever you feel a god or goddess ring an inner bell in you, it’s a good time to start to find out more. Try to find many different sources so you get a broad overview with many impressions.

Cerridwen is a nurturing healer; her energy often comes from food and of course she can be invoked for any problems concerning eating habits. A conscious and positive relationship to the food that nurtures us is her special domain. Her healing energy comes from the cauldron, and today this cauldron can take the form of pots, pans, baking dishes, and mugs.

Most hospitals serve their patients food that is tasteless and “cooked to death,” which is difficult, because it’s especially in these situations that we need good food. As an old German saying goes, good food keeps the body and soul together.

Many seem to feel this intuitively and so friends and family bring fruit, homemade meals, and so on to the hospital, even though the patients have full board there.

Elementals

The belief in elementals is found worldwide in different ways, but the root idea is very similar. In Europe we have four elements and they are linked to the spirits of fire, water, air, and earth. These elementals were often appeased to ensure good luck and given sacrificial goods to bring blessings.

A typical version of this is the sacrifice to the fire that is still common in many regions of eastern and southeastern Europe. For this, one gives a small portion of every food to the fire in the hearth. This is said to ensure the well-being of all family members. You could say a happy fire makes happy people.

The element air was often fed flour. Such sacrifices to the air were well-known until the 1960s in many parts of rural Germany. This shows that these customs were still alive not too long ago.

And even nowadays there is a German superstition that you always must sacrifice something to the water, so it won’t take one itself (i.e., in drowning accidents).

Sacrifices to the earth were also very common, many things were buried in the earth to ensure a good harvest, and lucky tokens like horseshoes were put into walls of houses. Modern builders of their own homes will find many possibilities to do likewise.

Often the sacrifices for the elementals were food like cake, fruits, and grains, and the colors white, red, and black were included in the food offerings in some way. You will notice these colors often appear. They are symbolic of the beginning, climax, and decline of life.

Eshu

Exu, Legba, and Ellegua

During the time of slavery, Eshu travelled from West Africa to the Americas, and is now a global player—and player is just the right word here! Eshu is male as well as female and also everything in between, so I will be using “they” for a singular pronoun.

In traditional West African representations, they are depicted with breasts as well as a penis, one of their major symbols. In Brazil this evolved into Exu as the male part and Pomba Gira, his wife, as the female part. These spirits, with many different manifestations, live in the extensive realm which is often called Calunga.

Many cultures know beings of this sort, the divine tricksters in all their guises. They reign over the crossroads of life, making your life easy or arduous, and always appearing in some way unconventional and erratic. Many names have been lost, but their energy still shines through in the stories of Till Eulenspiegel, Robin Hood, and all the nameless jugglers and jesters of the past.

Entities of the crossroads are of course invoked most suitably at this place. If this is not possible (for example because you are bedridden or the crossroads within reach are too crowded and it would not be safe to go there in the quiet of the night) you can also use a photo of a crossroad, the crotch of a tree, or a cross.

In some traditions, crossroads in the shape of an X (where four paths converge) invoke the male energy while the Y shape (where three paths meet) invokes the female energy of this spirit.

Eshu can open or close doors in life. If you work with them for healing, they can open the doors for healing to enter. Their colors are black and red, they love strong coffee, liquor, spicy food, sweets, honey, and strong cigars or cigarettes (if you can find a packet in red and/or black, even better). Their numbers are three and seven.

Just as many other independent and free-minded spirits, Eshu was often cast in a devilish light, but there is no devil in traditional African religions. She’s the energy of chance. Everyone knows it well from life experience: sometimes you’re up, sometimes you’re down. We can lean against the wheel of life as much as we want to, but it will always be stronger than us.

Eshu can’t be bribed; one can only ask for something, and it’s always best to have a lot of humor, but then they are able to help in so many ways. They love to support the courageous, curious, and mischievous and will pester the self-pitying, furious, and egocentric. In other words: it’s best to work with them if one can also laugh at oneself.

Fata Morgana, Fée Morgane,

Morgan le Fay, Fairies

In German we say someone is gefeit if someone is immune to something. The old diction of this word is gefeyt and there she is: the good fey/fairy that protects you and was known in the older Middle High German by the name Feimorgan or Famuran. Fata is the Latin word for fairy and, linguistically, fate itself (fatum) is very close to it. This puts a very different light on fairies than we are used to today, with all those cutesy glittery fairies, or the esoteric traditions that consider them only to be some kind of helpers at our beck and call.

Yet even today there persists the notion of the fairy that assigns the destiny of each child (often also in the form of three fairies) and who will one day stand at their deathbed to guide them back to the other side.

Women and men who are in league with these fairies will be great healers. But they are not allowed to cross destiny’s plans. In many regions there are tales of healers who pitied the dying and turned their beds around when seeing the fairy approach (here we also find the motif of healers as clairvoyants, having second sight, and being able to see otherworldly beings). The ill person got well again, but the healer lost their ability to heal in that very moment because they flouted the laws of the fairies.

When I was a child those fairytales seemed to be very cruel to me. But there’s an old truth in them: humans should not try to play god. We are not almighty, and the last word is up to the powers of life that we will never entirely be able to understand. We only see small details of the big picture.

Frau Holle (Mother Holle)

Precht, Bercht, Berchta, Eisenberta (Iron Berta),

Frau Gode (good woman), Hulda (“the well-disposed one”)

Frau Holle is an ancient female goddess that is known by many names. As Eisenberta (Iron Berta) she has many characteristics in common with Baba Yaga, who also has a link to iron, being described in many tales with iron teeth or an iron nose, for example. Iron is a metal that is often attached to traditional shaman’s clothing to subdue evil spirits.

As Berta, Precht, or Berchta, she is the lady of light, the white goddess (in Old High German perath meant bright, luminous and shiny). As Frau Holle and Hulda she is hold (meaning benevolent, kind, gracious) toward a person. And as Frau Gode, literally translated as “woman good,” or more figuratively as “Mrs. Good,” she is the good and benevolent woman, queen of the fairies and source of all life.

Frau Holle is a heavy hitter. She has many regional names which prove the vitality of her cult. She was never subjected to an interpretatio romana. (This was a common practice even during the times of witch trials in Europe. Many goddesses and “good women” had regional names that the women reported under torture. The Christian persecutors often did not write them down but summarized them as “Venus” or “Diana” in their case files, so the original and regional names of many other goddesses were lost.)

Her sacred plants are Wacholder (juniper) and Holunder (elder) and today more and more people are once again becoming aware of these sacred connections to be found in the names of plants.

Behind the fairytale figure of Lady Holle a mighty goddess of heaven and earth arises, being able to create the weather, ruling the seasons, and also healing, because she rules over growth and decay, waxing and waning.

Similar to Baba Yaga she comes for the dying to take them safely to the other world. But she also gives out little souls to women who wish to receive them as babies. She has a swarm of little souls around her and if a baby or child dies, it comes to her and is sheltered and cared for tenderly. She’s a wonderful helper for all women and men who have sad and mournful experiences with unborn children in any capacity.

When working with her you can use her sacred plants elder and juniper, which both are invigorating and “reawaken the life forces” (revitalize), as we call it in German (die Lebenskräfte wecken). Rural folk as well as Travelers and Romany peoples especially loved the elder to cure many diseases.

You can take a white cloth and sweep it softly over the diseased area of the body, then tie it to an elder bush. Make a small sacrifice to the bush like a bit of honey, some milk, or three eggs (you can do as you please, these are just examples to give you a starting point), because one who expects help should give something for it, to maintain balance.

Freya

Freya is known to many as a love goddess, but as with so many “love goddesses,” this is just one facet of her and it would be like clipping her mythical swan wings if one were to reduce her to a simple love goddess.

Her link to swans (often to hawks as well, but in our region the swans are prevalent) indicates that Freya is a goddess that travels between the worlds, a shamanic goddess, which were often linked with waterfowl. If it’s difficult for you to travel to the land of Nod at night she will be a wonderful helper.

Besides the charming swan, she’s also linked to the golden boar, a stout being that is associated with the power of the sun. His golden bristles are sometimes also seen as a symbol for golden grain. The boar is an animal of strength and this makes Freya not only a charming swan goddess but also a goddess of dynamic impulses. You are well taken care of by her if you suffer from a loss of joy and passion, or if your heart is heavy and you don’t know how things could ever get better again.

Freya is also a great ally if you want to start a family, in all matters concerning pregnancy, birth, and taking care of little ones. She’s also a great healer for the inner child in each of us. To connect with Freya’s energies you might wear amber, her favorite gemstone.

Guardian Angel

Of course, the guardian angel can’t be omitted in this list of helpful beings. Most people believe in guardian angels one way or another, no matter what their spiritual path is or if they even have one to speak of.

In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia people already thought of angels as messengers between the divine and humans. Maybe this idea is as old as humanity; even the shamanic artworks of prehistory depict flying beings.

Angels are often seen as fundamentally genderless, but nonetheless some of them are seen as male or female, archangel Gabriel is often seen as a female being for example.

The guardian angel is a wonderful helper for healing work, especially for people with no special spiritual tradition. It does not feel like “some strange spiritual stuff” to them, because everyone is familiar with the expression, “You had a guardian angel watching over you!” when someone escapes a potentially dangerous situation.

In healing work it’s most important that we mobilize the person’s own inner healing powers, and this requires inner images and spiritual beings that appeal to the person emotionally and don’t feel alien to them. There has to be some kind of connection there.

There are no rules on how to work with your guardian angel, because it’s something that is very private and perceptions can differ a lot: some see angels as baroque putti, to others they are ethereal beings of light, and to some they are beings without any form as such, being pure energy that is sensed but not seen.

Stick to what is right for you. Not everyone is a visual person and people have many different perceptions—some feel, some see in their dreams, some see in their mind’s eye—and the means of perception can also change.

You can arrange an angel altar with candles, flowers, fragrances, and a small bowl of water—water is a wonderful medium for spiritual energies.

Hekate

Hekate is a goddess of witchcraft and destiny and therefore also a goddess of healing, especially if an illness might determine the destiny of a person.

Today she is often referred to as a dark goddess, but we should keep in mind that her color in the ancient world was bright saffron.

It was Hekate who helped the desperate Demeter to find her daughter Persephone again. This story also gives us hints on how to work with Hekate in healing matters. She helps us to find the missing link, the unseen, that hinders us from recovery. She brings back our luck.

As a goddess of crossroads, she also holds the keys for all possibilities in her hands. This aspect of her has much in common with Eshu, who was already mentioned, as both watch over crossroads, the life path, and important decisions.

If you want to work with Hekate, create an altar for her in saffron with bright yellow candles (her traditional symbol of torches won’t work well in a home, so candles are a good alternative). You can also go to a real crossroads to speak to the goddess directly.

Don’t get too impressed with all the talk about her “darkness,” and gain your own experiences. She’s one of the most beloved goddesses of modern witches, and that would never be the case if she really was that grim fairy of gloom.

Isis

Isis is a healer par excellence. In mythology her special area of expertise is healing fragmented things that fell apart and now can’t come together again easily. She has the power to give new life and is the goddess of life itself, always willing to provide a way no matter how bad things may look. Isis was called “smarter than the gods,” and she is linked to the sea, the sky, the sun, the moon, magic, and wisdom. To bolster their reputations, the old pharaohs insisted they were her sons.

Many women feel drawn to Isis very naturally. Her power is strong, broad, and balanced and she’s one of the goddesses who tend to respond quickly. Of course, this is a matter of personal experience, but in general some entities are more open, whereas others have to be pleaded with for a longer time or tend to be picky about whom they help (this doesn’t so much have to do with sympathy in the human sense, it’s more about the resonance of different energies).

Under Isis’ protective wings (reminiscent of the protective cloak of many later Mary statues) you are safe, you can regain strength and arrange your life in new ways. If you are uncertain which entity you want to start with in your healing work, Isis is a wonderful choice.

Kobolds and House Spirits

In the old days one did not only address gods and goddesses for well-being and luck but also the good spirits, the “little people,” or brownies that share our home with us. An undomesticated version of them is the garden gnome, and there is more to the good spirits than all the kitsch of little garden gnome statues. They are elementals of the earth.

In the home, these spirits had many names according to the region: little people, drak (dragon), or puck, coming from pogge, an old word for toad. This brings us to the ancient symbol of the toad as the source of life for the house, who was also linked to fertility and having children. It’s no coincidence the stork was often depicted with a toad or frog in his beak.

Even in the present day there is a legend in many regions of a child that feeds the toad of the house with milk. The mother sees this, and, thinking that it’s nonsense, she kills the toad. Soon after, the child dies.

These old stories are full of metaphors. If you kill the lucky spirit you also kill what makes you lucky.

This is similar to the stories of the white snake, also known as the snake with a golden crown. In legends she is the guardian of the thriving house and farm. If she was no longer appeased with a small bowl of milk because the young farmer thought this was nonsense, the luck of the house and farm would wane.

It’s easy to work with house spirits. They love milk, honey, tea, and coffee and occasionally a glass of beer, wine, or schnapps. In healing matters they help a person bounce back. They give the house its blessing, but they can also withdraw it. If you face a sudden streak of bad luck, it’s high time to remember them.

Mary

Mary, the “Christian goddess,” has taken many older goddesses under her cloak. This often looks like the European version of syncretism and in fact Mary has adopted many symbols of older goddesses: the snake (most often under her feet, but it’s still there), the crescent moon, fruits, lilies, roses, stars, dragons, trees, springs, and many more.

Mary had a tough time though; her role as mother of god was often debated in history, leading even to the assumption she could never have given birth to Jesus because a woman was such an inferior being. In medieval times many Mary-worshipping groups were prosecuted and punished as heretics.

The spearheads of the patriarchal church tried to diminish her wherever they could, but most people paid them no mind. They knew about and experienced Mary’s help in their everyday lives. To this day in many German Catholic churches there are small plaques of gratitude next to the Mary statue, stating for everyone to see: “Maria hat geholfen!” (Mary has helped!)

In folk belief Mary is the merciful, understanding, and caring one. She helps, she soothes, and is there for everyone, no matter how hard it is. All the processions, the old traditions, the love and adoration for the divine mother speak volumes.

If your healing work tends more to the Christian ways you will find many places (many toponyms in German-speaking countries include “Maria” in some way and often indicate even older places of goddess worship), customs, traditions, and rituals you can work with.

But even if you follow a pre-Christian, Pagan, or polytheist path, you should not overlook Mary with prejudice. Many folk traditions and customs have preserved ancient goddess knowledge and passed it on to this day; this is where the syncretism comes into play. Look deeper and you will see that Mary hid many of her sister goddesses under her star-spangled cloak through the dark times.

Oshun (also: Oxum, Ochun)

Oshun is a goddess of rivers, lakes, and freshwater in general. A traditional phrase about her is she heals with her cool water. Today she is often typecast as a love goddess, but this is just half of the truth, as we have already seen with Freya.

Let’s have a closer look at the symbolism of water, because another traditional saying about her is “no one is an enemy to water.” And how could one be, because this would mean being your own enemy. Water is life, from the smallest cell to the biggest organism: nothing would happen without water.

In healing, Oshun helps to cool down external afflictions. Inwardly she makes the juices of life flow again and helps us to dissolve what is stuck in the body, mind, and soul.

Oshun can be met at rivers, lakes, and streams, but especially at waterfalls and cascades and in warm summer rains.

She loves cinnamon, basil and honey, which has to be tasted before being served to her. Her number is five and her colors are white, yellow, gold and amber.

These are some of her traditional correspondences but always keep in mind your personal experiences, too. What is received in personal work with a being always takes priority.

Sara (la) Kali

Literally translated as “black Sara,” Sara-la-Kali or Sara Kali is the matron saint of Travelers and the Romany people. She’s one of the famous black Madonnas and her shrine is in the small southern French village Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer. The traditional pilgrimage to her takes place in May.

Sara Kali is often invoked for healing, but she can do a lot of things. Some people trace the origin of the Roma back to India, and it might be that this Romany saint has an ancient link to the Indian goddess Kali, as they are quite similar and Romany people are said to have their roots in India.

In everyday life Sara Kali is often invoked for healing because of her balancing power. She protects people who got into difficulties through no fault of their own, and she protects people during travels. This is also to be seen figuratively: if an illness is a journey (not a nice one, but with the positive destination of recovery) you can handle it in a very different way. It helps not to think “this has to go away fast, or better yet, very fast,” but instead to think of the illness as a path that has to be traveled; the symptoms are the key for healing.

Of course, this can’t be applied to all kinds of illnesses. If someone has a heart attack or a stroke, every second counts. But if you have time don’t rush too much. Many things are treated over-hastily or in the wrong way, because one is impatient and feels urged to do something. We get squirrely over things that our grandparents would have seen as: “Hold your horses! First let’s have a good look at it.”

If you feel this urge, if you feel helpless or don’t know how to go on, if you haven’t (yet) a clear diagnosis and everything seems to be vague, Sara Kali is a wonderful help. She helps to find the right and possible way to reach your goal and to feel better.

Triple Goddesses

Matrons, Fates, Urme, Norns, Goddesses, Moirae, Fati, Muhmen (Aunts),

the Beths, Schicksalsfrauen (women of fate), and others

Triple women (sometimes seen as goddesses, sometimes more like a kind of fairy) go by many names. In Celto-Roman areas they were carved on sacred stones and known as the Matrons.

Some people think that the triple goddess is a modern invention of Wicca and similar ways, but it’s much older and has just been reawakened today. For example, Hecate never really got lost and was often depicted as a triple goddess on copperplate engravings of early modern times. There are also the three spinstresses of the traditional German fairytale who help the young heroine of the story to succeed (helping her spin the thread of life). And, of course, not to be forgotten are the three witches of Macbeth.

Sometimes these triple women reflect the classical roles of the three fates: one brings luck, one is rather neutral, and one brings the misfortune a person is to experience during life. The Roma of Transylvania had the Urme, who could be either good or bad and often appeared in groups of three—some sources translate Urme as “fate fairies.” Such a trio were the Norns as well: Urd (spinning the thread of life), Verdandi (measuring it), and Skuld (cutting it). The names can vary a lot between different regions, but the roles are always the same. These three divine women reign over the destiny of humans, their lifespan, their luck and misfortune.

The grouping of three women appears in Christianity as well; the three Marys are especially well known. There are also the three Beths (a German group of virgin saints: Einbeth, Wilbeth, and Worbeth) as well as the three holy maidens, Barbara, Catherine, and Margaret.

They were often invoked in matters of health—both for humans and animals, to “turn” bad luck and to see happier days.

To this day, they are wonderful allies in healing matters. You can make an altar for them by putting three female symbols (such as shells, female dolls, bowls, cowrie shells, ribbons, stones, or whatever inspires you), a bowl of water, and a candle on it. Feel free to decorate and arrange it until you feel it to be harmonious.

Yemaya

Iemoja, Yemowo, Mami Wata, Janaína, La Sirène, Yemalla

Yemaya has many names and different lines of traditions, but one thing is for sure: no matter what name you call her, if you do it with love and respect, she will answer.

Yemaya is the mother of the sea, the source of life. She’s also the sea we are from, the amniotic fluid. Her sacred colors are blue, silver, and white, her number is seven and among her symbols are the sun, the moon, stars, and all maritime things, such as the wheel, anchor, boats, fish, pearls, and shells. In some syncretic traditions she is very close to Isis.

You can come to Yemaya with any concern, she’s “big momma” par excellence, soothing, healing, and encouraging. It’s not possible to ascribe one special area of healing to her, because could there be any suffering a real mom would not care about when her children come to her?

She likes to help with emotional issues and everything concerning children (including the desire for a child) and family in general (as well as dark family topics and things surrounded by a veil of silence). If you feel desolate, lonely, and forsaken, if you are sad or have problems with emotional closeness and trust (and if it’s difficult to find out whom you can trust), request her help.

She likes to show up in dreams and meditations, but also while half-asleep or daydreaming, which is a favorable time for communication between spiritual worlds in general.

So how to choose the right helper? Well, we have a saying in Germany that might be helpful for that: the first thought is the best. This saying proves to be true time and again. The first thought is pure; it´s free of pondering and over-analyzing. It´s the spontaneous spark of intuition answering the question at hand.

Follow this initial spark and stay open. It´s not uncommon to be handed over from one spiritual being to the next during the journey to healing. They are all experts in their own ways and when you´ve mastered one step it might be that another being “adopts” you for the next.

Sometimes this reminds me of a teacher-pupil relationship. One energy teaches you what you have to learn and afterward you are turned over to your next lesson with another teacher. So this is not so much about choosing a particular being, but more about spirited relationships.

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8. See Parrinder for examples.