About
“The Otherworld is not a myth, but a reality. In all ages there have been souls who have been willing to risk all for the chance of bringing back with them some assurance of the future life.”
–Jesse Weston, From Ritual to Romance about the origins of the Grail Quest
What is Winterspells?
Winterspells is a Magical Library of sorts. Here I am drawing together many aspects of the Arts Magical. Most of my articles are based on my life experience to show what can happen on the spiritual path when one has been following it for a long time.
It is also a place where you can explore your own Magical Personality. I hope that my experience inspire you to express your true authentic self — the self has to hide away in the work-a-day world. As I have lived my entire life with my body in the mundane world and my heart and passion in the Otherworld, I hope I may be an example of how it is possible to bring the magic through and live the life of your dreams.
What you Will Encounter in This Blog
*** I will share my life experiences as a magical vessel, one who mediates Otherworldy realities into this one. By sharing the path that I have a walked for half a century, I hope to reveal to those called to Magic, what it is like to live as a Mediator between the Seen and Unseen worlds. I hope to show you how to be strong when you experience sensory overload, feel assaulted by the impact of the world, or when your spiritual growth includes things you do not want to deal with or face.
***Development of Your Magical Personality:
Magical Personality: Here is where you learn to uncover and express your true personality in the world.
Often we have to deny our true passions in order to cater for someone else’s agenda. This can be a parent, partner, boss. When we feel at the mercy of their opinion of us and shut ourselves down to play their game, we become drained, frustrated, and may even feel like we are dying inside.
The concept of the Magical Personality is from Occult Tradition. It is aligned to the True Will of the magician, for if desire is out of sync with the TRUE will, the magic not work. It is as if the wires are not connected properly. The Magical Personality is often and ideal version of the Self. And example would be Norma Jean Baker, whose Magical Personality was Marilyn Monroe. When she stepped into that role, the insecure, vulnerable girl became a powerful sexual woman.
As a creative artist and seer, I find the most flexible way to find and generate the Magical Personality is through the use of magical techniques. At Winterspells you will learn:
How to create a space for Magical Practice. Your inner Sanctuary where anything can happen.
Tools: Magic wands, chalices, wands, pentacles, cloaks, head dresses, guises, costumes, masks
Skills: Manifesting your heart’s desire, walking in a sacred manner, psychic development
Development of attributes to forge a Magical Will and perception that are in alignment with your inner truth — your Magical Personality!
Philosophy:
*** Witchcraft is the Green Religion: Essays about how the restoration of Magical Consciousness in relation to the Earth and all her creatures is needed to restore harmony between human beings and the Earth.
**** Witchcraft is a Mytho-Poeic Religion: Essays on the power of the Witch current in the arts.
***Reviews: books films, study groups, and tools, Suggested reading and filmography
***Interviews: Text interviews, reviews, and Podcasts with notable Occultists and Historians of Folklore and Magic.
Why is this Blog called Winterspells?
I was born in the winter under a witch’s moon. See my post, Legacy of the Witchblood for more details on that.
I started this blog in the longest, snowiest winter in the history of Seattle.
It is a play on my name, deWinter.
As an elder, I have lived long enough to know the winter spells and am in a position to guide the younger ones.
Winter is the dark time of year when all of nature turns inward. And it is when out ancestors sat around a warm fire and, in its glow, told stories.
Please subscribe to my Rss Feed or email updates. If you don’t know what RSS feeds are Go to this article:
What is That Big Orange Button? RSS Feeds. for an explanation of this convenient tool.
What is the Witchblood?
Witchblood can be inherited from the family, being born the seventh of the seventh, being born with a veil, or caul. If not inherited through family, the magical Witchblood can rise up from the land and enter the energy bodies for a moment, or forever, creating inner changes, changes that transform the very marrow of the bones. It can be developed through meditation, initiations and magical rituals, especially those involving the Earthlight, and the Faery. Often those born with the Witchblood are very drawn to the Realm of Faery, for it calls to them and, wondering, they must follow.
I was born and raised in colorful and dysfunctional French Canadian family in a small town in Massachusetts. Despite our poverty I had aspirations to be artist and travel the world. Somehow I have managed to do all of it while, at the same time, following the call of the Otherworld. Of course, it was a long time before I became aware that beings on the other side of the veil were guiding and directing my life. I just thought I was different, sensitive, creative, over imaginative, and very attuned to nature. When I heard about the Witchblood, I knew I had it. I wanted to cultivate it because I believe it is what gives me access to other realms of existence in dimensions I wanted to enter and explore.
If you want to know more about me and how magic has imbued my life, I am writing a Magical Timeline. Maybe some of my experiences will resonate with you!
My Magical Timeline: North and East, Living Outside My Body
Magical Timeline: Going Where the Veil is Thin
SERVICES
The Empress
The Empress, Trump III, from my Grail Keepers Tarot.
For 25 years, I have been a Tarot reader. My already strong clairvoyant abilities took off like lightning after a hynogogic kundalini awakening I had in 1989, after 18 months of intensive meditation and clearing of my energy bodies. I also became a healer at that point…that is a strange story in itself.
I continue to read Tarot, Runes and Astrological charts and practice several powerful healing modalities and transformational techniques. I have been blessed with a large following of clients and great respect both in Seattle and London where I lived for nine years.
www.Whiteswan-Tarot.com.
It promotes my Clairvoyant Readings, and showcases the complete deck of my own hand painted Tarot of the Holy Grail inspired by the Celtic Faery.
www.goldengrailhealing.com
for details on my healing practice: Golden Grail Alchemical Services.
www.themysteriousdomain.com.
This is for mysterious things. My short story The Strange Marriage of Lady Crawford and the first two chapters of my werewolf novel Rosewolf are published there.
Just added:
www.gothicfaerytales.com
for the dark side of fairy tales….
Lucifera, Queen of Elfhame
This is my alter-ego on:
MySpace
EHow.com
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook as Aline deWinter
Charon Ferrying Souls Across the River Styx
Thank you for reading my blog and Bright Blessings!
Aline deWinter
Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.
Popularity: 19% [?]
September 13th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Just dropped by and stayed a while. Thanks for having me!
September 13th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Thanks for coming by! I hope you come back soon.
Arlene
September 29th, 2009 at 1:45 am
loving your blog…i joined the school…when i went to the school section i see the need for a password…but no place to establish that
will be here often!
October 1st, 2009 at 11:32 am
I just signed up for your site and was welcomed. I don’t know how to add a password so that I can get into your school. What do I do?
Thank you,
Ave
November 6th, 2009 at 9:24 pm
Hi,
You should get an email with the password in it very soon.
Just in case you missed it, its enchantment
I’m glad you enjoy the site!
February 27th, 2010 at 8:58 am
Greetings Dear Lady
I lived for many years
in a sun lit place
where all who came my way
could stroll about
as if in some spacious
Oak Parkland….
i have a whimsy
of escaping ritual sacrifice
Celtic
joining Alexander and when India came
leaving
seeking Buddha
and Zen simplicity in Japan……
i was born beneath a hill fort
and woods of pigeons
missed the confidence of angels
…thankyou
flow
March 4th, 2010 at 8:57 pm
That’s a beautiful comment Larry. Thanks you!
May 11th, 2010 at 10:04 am
Hello!
I have a question. It might be a silly question but I just need to know. When you said that witch blood can actually affect the marrow in your bones can you actually feel it?? And how do you know?? I’ve just been experiencing odd things lately.
May 18th, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Its a n energetic thing. Your DNA is, I think, in the bone marrow which is blood. Your bloodline contains the DNA of you ancestors and their “memories”, Faery Tradition is an ancestral tradition having to do with the old ancestor worship of pagan times. You are a product of them. They tie you to the distant, pre-Christian past where the keys to magical practice may still be preserved. So if you “wake them up” you may also receive teachings. This happened to me on many levels. Energy shifts will be pretty rampant right now with all the planetary activity going on as well.
Hope that helps.
May 18th, 2010 at 4:43 pm
Yes it helps. Thanks! The planets really mess with me I have learned, as I am becoming this new person it feels like. I have been Wiccan for almost a year, but as I’m discovering my past everything feels like its in HD. I sense things now. And I am happy for discover these things when I’m just a teenager. So thanks again.
August 24th, 2010 at 10:01 am
I’ve just stumbled across this page and I am enchanted. I hope that some kind soul wouldn’t mind answering a question? You have confirmed my belief that those born with a caul are natural witches. However, have you also heard this of those born with animalistic features? You see….I was born covered in hair. Thankfully, it fell out, but I’ve been witchy all along…
September 2nd, 2010 at 7:48 pm
Hi,
How can I join the school? Btw, I send some questions to your e-mail, I wonder if you received them?
September 2nd, 2010 at 10:36 pm
Hi Gonzalo,
I just have the e-book which you can download. I was going to do more but life intervened and I am focusing on writing my novel. Sorry about that. The lessons in the e-book have lots of powerful works in them. It can get you off to a good start in Faery Seership.
Aline
September 23rd, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Hi Arlene,
This is such a cool website that you have. I’ve always had an interest in the occult, divination in particular. But in the end, I found that the I-Ching worked best for me. Still I love what you have on this site and will return often to learn from you. I love how your articles come from your life experiences because that is a good and personal way to grow.
September 26th, 2010 at 3:25 pm
Thanks Vizier. I’m glad you enjoy the site. I have use the i-ching a lot in the past. But you mostly do it for yourself and I do lots of readings for other people. Its interesting though.
Cheers,
Aline
September 26th, 2010 at 3:41 pm
Love your site. Respectfully, there is no such thing as warlocks, if you’re a witch, you’re a witch.
September 26th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Hi Arlene,
Sorry for this tooo late reply, actually I didn’t received any notification of your comment as in other cases. Anyway, I haven’t been able to download the e-book, maybe what I need is a password to access the school section.
Thanks in advance for your comments.
September 26th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
I did not only do it mostly for myself. I’m sure you realize that you gain the greatest satisfaction from using divination to help others. This is why I like your site so much. There are an assortment of skills here that can shape lives in positive ways.
September 28th, 2010 at 11:36 pm
You must be really good. iChing can get very deep.
September 29th, 2010 at 1:57 am
Well I’ve learned a lot over the years, but I know I have a long way to go still. You are right about the i-ching being deep though. I love how I can see the patterns unfolding or being aware of how certain seeds can lead to certain results. I look forward to a lifetime of learning ahead.
October 2nd, 2010 at 11:17 pm
Cool! Warlock always seemed like a cheesy word to me anyway.
October 8th, 2010 at 9:51 am
let me tell you something
Christians never killed off the old ways
they built their morbid churches over our places
but never could they suppress the natural unseen way
christians can be very loving
can be close to the light
but beyond their loving ethics they are asleep
curled up in their self made night
there they are
the sleeping ones
dive into the well
down down
till down becomes up
break the surface and be greeted by the blue wode friends
in the place of endless Summer
the place where joy is endless
because Conciousness is your eternal companion
when i was a child we made chains of buttercups in the fields beneath the Hillforts of our ancestors
a 1500 year old church was where we were told God lived
it was his house
he was invisible
the nave was flooded with sunlight
the windows let in bird song
the meadows were thick with grass
a river gurgled on greasy pebbles between banks of scented red earth
cattle bellowed in their social herd
in a haze of blue and fly swarms
oaks pushed and writhed from granite
on the hill tops
we stared into the wind and felt the march of time
felt the ghosts of Romans and Celts
of Welsh halls and bards
felt the eternal moment in an instant of childs laughter
and knew god was just another word for spirit and life and awe and joy
go clearly towards the light
October 8th, 2010 at 2:55 pm
hello, who are you?
October 8th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
That is absolutely beautiful Larry. I might want to put it on the front page if you don’t mind.
thank you
A
December 3rd, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Thank you for the absolutly glorious photos of the rowan trees. They are a favorite of mine and I wasn’t sure if I was correctly identifing them. Nim
December 31st, 2010 at 4:37 am
please use what i wrote as it is not really from me it is from the gift