Cunning Folk and Wisewomen
The magical history of Britain and Ireland is an ancient and rich tapestry of influences and as old as the hills themselves. From the earliest times, our lands were marked with stone circles and sacred enclosures where the spirits were honoured and wisdom sought, to the secret holy wells and springs where once our native goddesses were revered and worshipped. Rivers and trees, hilltops and caves; each have always held their own spirits, and our relationship with these beings has endured through the centuries. Long before modern Wicca (which emerged in the 20th century), these lands already had a rich magical tradition; it varied from place to place but none the less had patterns and customs, that could be recognised from County Clare in Ireland to the wild fens of the far east of England and the rugged peaks of the Scottish Highlands and everywhere in between.

The practitioners of these traditions have gone by many names, but their practices have some of their roots in the mists of the pre-Christian past, surviving Christianity and colonialism and adding new ingredients with each new cultural wave. In Ireland they are often called a Fairy Doctor or a Bean Feasa (a wisewoman), in Wales a Swynwraig (a charmer), in Cornwall they are known as a Pellar, and here in the rural South West of England, their historical name is a Conjuror. They are also known more famously as Cunning men, or Cunning Folk. Those that have the "knowing" draw their magic from these old lands, and its ancient places, gathering power or life force (also known as "sprowl" here in the South West) by building relationship with the spirits of place and nature.

Cunning Folk and the Landscape
Central to any land-based magic is an understanding of your local landscape. Any wisewoman or cunning man will spend a lot of time getting to know what animals live in their area, what plants and trees grow around them, as well as learning the old lore, history and legends of a place (including past residents). Time is spent generally knowing the lay of the land: where the river winds its way, where a well or spring can be found, where the oldest or largest tree in an area is, as well as any old archaeological features. Beyond that, of course, is the spirit geography of an area; there will be plenty of spirit places where power builds, like eddies in a river, or where spirits gather or where one powerful spirit has sole occupation. All of these things will need to be learnt over time. These are all your neighbours as much as the animals, plants, and human beings are. This is because the land is a living thing made up of a multitude of other living things. Deep at the heart of this magic is an animistic sense that all things have their own souls and sentience according to their natures, so to dismiss or ignore them would be foolish and even dangerous. So much of our health and psychic wellbeing is dependent on our relationships with our land spirits that setting up a good relationship with them and noting any issues or unquiet entities is an essential starting point.

Here are a few tips:

1. Walk your area often, in all weather and seasons. Take some notes of what grows around you and anywhere that feels either powerful or neglected, as these may be first signs of spirit areas in your landscape.
2. Clear rubbish from an area and make offerings. I give offerings of butter that I churn at home, as well as bird seed or other animal food (so long as it is environmentally safe). This will depend on where you are.
3. See if over time you can sense the energy currents of the land (sometimes known as ley lines). You can draw on this power for your work and travel it as a spirit road.
4. Experiment with dowsing and feeling the earth energy through your feet.
5. Learn the traditions and folk tales of your area. There may well be hidden magical instruction in them.
6. Grow plants yourself that you need for your practice. This is a good way to get to know their spirits and inner virtues.

Gathering Sprowl
You can draw up life force, or sprowl (as it is known here in the rural South West of England) up from the land quite easily, especially if you are in an area where there is a lot of nature and natural power (cities and towns can still be powerful, but are often more in need of earth healing; however, there will still be power spots if you take the time to find them).

As you walk, see yourself in your inner vision drawing up the sprowl into your body and building in power, storing in your whole being but especially your belly. If you use a staff, you can use this as a walking spirit ally; be aware of the type of wood it is made from and its unique virtues and indwelling spirit. It is best if you prepare a staff for yourself rather than buy one. Then when you walk, you and the indwelling spirit work together and the staff can also draw up sprowl to use later in your magical workings.

The Crossroads
In cunning folk magic, we often use crossroads actually located physically in our landscape as a place of power and as an area where we can encounter the spirits. This works best in rural areas after dark where the roads have been used for centuries, but it can work anywhere where the natural flow of the crossroads creates as living interchange point between the human and the spirit world just as it is an interchange point for things coming from all four directions. Earth gathered at a crossroads has special potency for spirit work and can add power to charms and spells.

Pacts and Spirit Friends
European magical grimoires naturally made their way into the British Isles and Ireland and were particularly popular from the 15th century onwards, often with snippets copied and sometimes translated by hand from one practitioner to the next. Many of these will have Biblical elements along with aspects drawn from ceremonial magic (such as the Key of Solomon. While some cunning folk will use these and conjure spirits to work with and compel them to service in ways described in these works, others (such as myself) will instead build relationships with the local spirits of landscapes, plants and animals, and even ancestors and magical practitioners long dead to support them and advise them in their work. In this way, becoming aware of the spirits in your locality becomes increasingly important, and much of this work blends seamlessly into what was once known as the Fairy faith. Agreements and pacts are made via the use of offerings and building relationship and trust over time.

Wortcunning
Various herbs and trees are used in British and Irish folk magic. One key plant material is rowan, specifically the wood and berries. Rowan is known throughout these lands as highly protective and turns away ill-wishing. An old phrase often repeated in various forms in folk magic across these Isles is, "Rowan and red thread puts witches to their speed." This refers to an old charm where you take two equally sized pieces of rowan wood and tie them into a cross shape using red thread. Putting "witches to their speed" means to make them flee and abandon any ill they may try to cast against you. The virtue of the red thread is that it signifies the rowan berry in its rich red colour (which is thought to be highly protective) and this is multiplied by the virtues of the rowan tree itself and the binding nature of the cross. Hang your rowan cross by your bed or over doorways into your home.

Another key plant is St. John's Wort. These yellow flowers are deeply powerful and protect from malevolent fairies and also bring health and happiness. An old charm using St. John's wort is to place some of the flowers in your armpit to ensure safe travel, especially at night.

Rosemary is essential for every cunning folk's garden, as it is not only protective but is also used to lend someone strength and for spells for success and achievement.

Vervain is great for purifying and for blessing magical tools and mixed with soapwort can be excellent for making a blessing wash for use around the home.

Basil and bay are both useful for money magic; make a sachet or small herb bundle and place it in your wallet or burn as an incense during money spells.

Hag Stone Charms
A hag stone is a stone with a natural hole right the way through it. Sometimes they are found on beaches or in rivers. For centuries, they have been considered protective and also function as a portal to the spirit realm through which the practitioner can travel, and folklorically looking through the hole will gift the seeker with the ability to see fairies or catch a glimpse of the otherworld. Tied with red thread or ribbon and hung by your door, they will protect your boundaries from all ill wishes and unwelcome spirits.

Shewing Stones and Crystal Balls
A shewing stone is rather like a crystal ball, although it can be any stone and is sometimes a raw quartz crystal, although equally it can also be a glass fishing weight or a polished piece of obsidian. Sometimes these are called a "dark mirror." These are used for scrying and for spirit contact, where a spirit is invoked into the stone and consulted from there.

Horseshoes
Iron Horseshoes have a long-held position of importance in British Folk Magic. Gather water from a holy well or spring, or a fresh river, being sure to collect the water in the flow and not against the current to preserve its power. Place the horseshoe in the water overnight (and even better if at the dark of the moon), and when in need scatter the water at the boundaries of your home to protect it and banish anything you want removed from your space.

Hang a horseshoe at your door and evil and ill wishes cannot pass. Some traditions position the horseshoe with the horns upright to "hold the luck in" while others place it the other way around to send ill will to the ground…both positions work equally well in my view.

Iron Nails and Witch Bottles
Iron nails are a traditional ingredient in a protective Witch Bottle. Witch bottles are the oldest version of a jar spell. They were used to stop ill wishes directed at the house or to send any curses back to the sender. The old ceramic bottle or stoppered jug would be filed with iron nails, human hair, perhaps the teeth of a cat or a rat, and often human urine. It was used as a spirit trap—the wicked spirit sent to the house would enter the bottle and become trapped, rendering its curse impotent until it was either drained of all power or returned to its sender. There are old stories of detecting who has sent all ill wish by the cries of their pain as they suffered a bladder infection as a result of the witch bottle.

A modern version can be filled with protective or blessing herbs such as St John's wort rosemary and rowan leaves steeped in vinegar, but the iron nails or other iron objects are still a very useful addition.

The Witch's Ladder
A witch's ladder is a type of binding spell that can be used for all sort of things and is especially useful for healing. Often it utilizes the numbers nine or twelve and is made by focusing your intent and then tying nine knots, often with some useful herb or other object used to their specific virtues.

Try this witch's ladder spell for healing. (You can find this spell and many others in my book, The Cunning Folks' Guide to Cottage Witchcraft.) Take red cord and nine slips of willow. If you have nine white feathers to weave in as well, all the better. As you knot the cord nine times with the willow sticks, say:
By knot of one the spell has begun, healing and wholeness returns
By knot of two it is true, healing and wholeness returns
By knot of three so it shall be, healing and wholeness returns
By knot of four the open door, healing and wholeness returns
By knot of five this spell shall thrive, healing and wholeness returns
By knot of six this spell is fix, healing and wholeness returns,
By knot of seven the stars of heaven, healing and wholeness returns
By knot of eight this spell is fate, healing and wholeness returns
By knot of nine this spell is fine, healing and wholeness returns!

Store the cord somewhere safe where it will not be disturbed. After it has worked and the person has recovered, take it to the earth to slowly biodegrade.

Honour Tradition
Folk magic, no matter where it comes from, is a sacred legacy, which comes with a duty from the practitioners to the past to the practitioners of the future. You are one person in a chain of knowledge and practice spanning centuries, so please respect this. Honour the sources of your practice, and if they draw from a culture or landscape not your own, take steps to handle this respectfully and pass on the knowledge honouring its roots so that others may benefit as much as you have. The ancestors of these traditions are watching from just over the hedge, ready to help or hinder—so do not forget!