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CELEBRATE THE CIRCLE OF LIFE ISSUE 111 2021 SHAMANISM • ANIMISM • WISDOM WAYS • COMMUNITY • RENEWAL TRICKSTERS AND TREES Travelling into the Void • Covid-19 - A Rite of Passage • The Power of the Trickster Trees of Power • Druid and Norse Tree Lore in Ireland • Southern Italian Women’s Witchcraft Tibetan Death Rituals Healing and Illness Shamanism in the West Planting the seeds of Lineage
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  • CELEBRATE THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

    ISSUE 111 2021

    S H A M A N I S M • A N I M I S M • W I S D O M WAY S • C O M M U N I T Y • R E N E WA L

    TRICKSTERS AND TREES

    Travellinginto the Void• Covid-19 - A Rite of Passage• The Power of the Trickster

    Trees of Power• Druid and Norse Tree Lore in Ireland• Southern Italian Women’s Witchcraft

    Tibetan Death Rituals Healing and Illness

    Shamanism in the WestPlanting the seeds of Lineage

  • EDITOR, DESIGN AND PRODUCTION:Nicholas Breeze Wood

    FOUNDING EDITOR:Faith Nolton

    PROOF READING:Linda Booth, Martin Wilford

    CONTACT DETAILS:Sacred Hoop MagazineAnghorfa, Abercych, Boncath,Pembrokeshire, SA37 0EZ, WalesEmail: [email protected]: (01239) 682 029www.sacredhoop.org

    PUBLISHING POLICY: SACRED HOOP seeks to network those wanting to learn the spiritualteachings of indigenous peoples as a living path of knowledge. Ourcontents cover the integration of both old and new ways, and insightsthat contribute to a balanced and sustainable lifestyle in today's world. We honour all paths and peoples and do not include material from, orgive support to, any individual or group which seeks to oppress ordiscriminate on grounds of race, lineage, age, gender, class or belief.Nor do we knowingly publish any material that is inaccurate.Views expressed are not necessarily those of the editor.

    ISSN 2514-2909

    DISCLAIMER:Whilst making every effort to be accurate, theeditors will not be deemed responsible for anyerrors, omissions or inaccuracies appearingin Sacred Hoop Magazine.© Sacred Hoop Magazineand-or individual contributors.No part of this magazine,either written text or visual art, may be reproducedin any way whatsoeverwithout the writtenpermission ofthe Editor.

    The Ancient Witch Traditions of Italy : pages 40-43

    ContentsRETURN FROM THE NOWHERE STAGE . . . . . 6-11When everything familiar falls away, we are left in a voidwhich can be an initiation in to a more mature way of being.Eddy Elsey looks at how Covid-19 is a potential for us all.

    WANDERER IN THE LIMINAL SPACE . . . . . .21-21The trickster is an important character in all the world’sancient traditions. Heather O’Brien looks at their role in DarkAge and Medieval Europe and beyond to our modern age.

    HEALING THE INVISIBLE WOUND . . . . . . . 22-26How do we establish a real and grounded shamanic lineagein the West? Kenn Day looks at the problem and at how suchlineages happen in traditional cultures and makes some pointers.

    THE JOURNEY IN TO DEATH . . . . . . . . . . . 27-33We all will die, and every culture has different rituals and ritesfor this process. In the 1920s Marion H. Duncan was inpre-Chinese-invaded Tibet, and writes about what he saw there.

    HOOP ISSUE 111 2021www.sacredhoop.org4

    Website: www.sacredhoop.org X Facebook: www.bit.ly/Hoop-FaceBook

    The Rituals Around Death in Tibet : pages 27-33

    The Norse and Irish Sacred Trees : pages 34-39

  • So, here we are, another year, and thepandemic still evolves, a very goodwakeup call to the fact that we cannot dothings as normal and that there have to besome major changes. I hope you aredoing OK and life has not been too difficult.

    Life is a tricky thing, the only certainty - so they say - are‘death and taxes’, but I would add another to that list - ‘change’as nothing is permanent, except change of course..

    But change is a chance for growth - ‘what does not kill youmakes you stronger’ another saying goes. Certainly changeenables us to step into being bigger people, with more awarenessand maturity, and those change points - where everything seemsto fall apart and dissolve - are natural ‘rites of passage’ whichmany cultures formalise.

    So our first article is about the cultural ‘rite of passage’ we arecurrently in now, thanks to a tiny virus - which, if we collectedevery single virus pathogen in the world together, would notactually fill a coffee cup - yes folks, something that small in thescale of things has done all this.

    It won’t be the only ‘rite of passage’ our culture has to face,and humanity has faced many in the past (and some would nodoubt say has not matured very well through them either).

    It’s tricky; and that is why there are tricksters in every singlecultural cosmology in the world, as the trickster stands outside ofthe culture and reflects back upon it, so we can see it - hopefully- in a clearer way. That is just what our little virus friend is doingfor us, holding up a mirror to us.

    So, we need shamans; we need witches; we need trickstersand clowns; we need all those who can help our culture gain adeeper understanding of the great cosmic dance it - and all of usas individuals within it - are being asked to move to at this time.We all need help to be reminded and know that all will change,that death and taxes and change will come to us all and all that isaround us, and it will happen all in the most perfect way.

    Blessings to all BeingsNicholas Breeze Wood

    CLIMBING THE TREE . . . . . . . . . 34-39When the Vikings invaded Ireland, they brought the runes andthe sacred tree Yggdrasil; but the Irish had their own sacred treeand ogham script, and cultures met, as Elisa M. Gray explains.

    JANARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-43In Southern Italy there is an ancient pre-Roman form of femalemagic and witchcraft which still survives. Known as the Janare,Massimiliano Palmesano introduces us to the tradition.

    A GIFT FOR THE SPIRITS . . . . . . . . . . . 44-50The magical material silk was first used for precious objectsaround 9,000 years ago. Nicholas Breeze Wood looks atsome of the sacred uses it is put to in Shamanism and Buddhism.

    BOOK AND MUSIC REVIEWS . . . . . . . . . . 51-53PEOPLE ON THE PATH EVENTS DIARY . . . . 54-56

    Twitter: @TheSacredHoop X Subscription Details: Page 58

    HOOP ISSUE 111 2021www.sacredhoop.org 5

    From the Editor

    Being a Shaman in Western Society : pages 22-26

    Covid-19 A Culturally Maturing Initiation? : pages 6-11

    The Role of the Trickster in European Folklore : pages 12-21

    THE FOUNDING INSPIRATION FOR SACRED HOOP MAGAZINE IN 1993“Then I was standing on the highest mountain of them all,

    and around and about me was the whole hoop of the world... I was seeing in a sacred manner the shapes of all things in thespirit and the shapes of all shapes as they must live togetherlike one being. And I saw that the Sacred Hoop of my peoplewas one of many hoops that made one circle, wide as daylight

    and as starlight and in the centre grew one almightyflowering tree to shelter all the children of one Mother

    and one Father, and I saw that it was holy.”(From the vision of Nicholas Black Elk Lakota Holy Man: 1863 - 1950)

  • The Corona-19 Virus Pandemicas a Cultural Rite of Passage

    Eddy Elsey

    Covid-19 arrived on our shoreslittle more than a year ago, and italready seems as though life prior

    to the mania, that sprouted from itsappearance, is a fading memory.

    A good lesson in how fast thingscan change, and the fragility of life

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    Photos: a youngman during a

    brutal initiationceremony inSouth West

    Ethiopia. Duringthe initiation

    process theyoung men,

    wearing simpleforms of head

    and bodyprotection,

    inflict bloodywounds upon

    each other in aviolent fight

    with sticks

    There are many ways to look at thesituation that is now unfolding, butone thing that has kept coming backto me - a lens through which I havechosen look at the upheaval caused- is through the process of initiation.

    There seems to be an almostromantic idea that initiation onlyexists in traditional cultures, and Iwon’t deny the truth to this. Ancientrituals of initiation do feature muchmore prominently in these culturesthan in ours - at least in terms ofshamanistic and animistic beliefs.But what we have to untangle fromthat projection, is that initiation isnot just a ritual; Initiation is, at itscore, a natural force.

    An initiatory ritual exists when acontainer is built around this naturalforce, which allows it to bemagnified and wielded in a waythat will - hopefully - allow theinitiate to be reborn safely on theother side.

    Traditionally, these rituals areincredibly challenging rites, andthey have to be; it takes anincredible amount of pressure tobend, mould and reshape thehuman psyche. In communities thatstill place a high importance on -and often have a non-negotiableparticipation rule in these rituals -the pain and hardship experiencedis worth the risk that the rite entails.

    In cultures highly concerned withliteral survival, dropping childhoodfantasies and becoming - as theysay - a ‘useful’ member of yourcommunity is essential. The initiatoryritual provides each initiate with thetools and knowledge that they needto become part of something largerthan themselves, and to put theculture’s needs before their own.They become absorbed into thecollective organism of theircommunity and therefore invested inits ability to thrive.

    In Western culture, thesecompulsory rites of passage are adistant memory; especially within apagan and spiritual context. Butthe human need for initiation is stillvery present within us as people. Iwould go as far to say that it is inour bones.

    So, although we may lack thetraditional containers and symbolsthat allow a community to build asomewhat dependable ritual space,the natural forces of initiation will findus - one way or another. And that isexactly what I feel is happening withCovid-19. We have been sprung intoa shared cultural initiation.

    At the beginning of any initiationcomes severance.

    This is a split from ‘ordinary’consciousness, which tears usaway from the world as we know it.The familiarity of our surroundingsseems to vanish into thin air - and

    There seems to be a romanticidea about initiation in traditional

    cultures. These rituals are incrediblychallenging. In communities thatstill place high importance on -

    and often have a non-negotiableparticipation rule in these rituals -

    the pain and hardship experiencedis worth the risk that the rite entails

    7

  • HOOP ISSUE 111 2021www.sacredhoop.org

    Above: theGod Loki,the tricksterfrom NorseMythology froma 1966 Marvelcomic book

    olklore is rife with allegorical talesof tricksters who roam the wilds

    and the spaces in between,influencing people and gods alikewith cunning skill.

    Tricksters shape their attributesat will, ranging from a pre-eminentcreator being, to a jester,scapegoat, inventor of tension andsometimes a bringer of helpfulresolve. Tales involving them areengaging and anticipatoryadventures, with abundant lessonsthat predominantly focus onmorality, carefulness of action, thevalue of adhering to establishedsocial structures and the takingpart in community mindedness.

    Throughout folklore, cautionarytales often incorporate a tricksterwho serves as antagonist to the

    overall lesson of the story, even attheir own expense. Whetherfeaturing as the focus of thesecautionary tales, animus, anti-hero,or even deity, the trickster appearsas a central element andcounterpart in much of Europeanfolklore and myth.

    The role of the trickster is one ofcongeniality at times, and they are asource of humourous prudenceregardless of codified normativebehaviour. Tales featuring themhave been handed down both orallyand in literature from one generationto another, passing down lessonsand wisdom that reflect a certainworldview and landscape.

    Tricksters can safely ventureinto the realms of the taboo, whilestill dwelling in the worldview of the

    culture which embraces theirpresence. The tricksters’influences can be found in storieswhich have endeared nostalgicallyover the years; whether it is a wilyfox, a sly wolf, a folk hero, or a god- or a variety of characters inbetween - certain themes runinherently among trickster personaand the tales that they inhabit.

    Esoteric in nature - whetheranthropomorphised or not - thetrickster commonly cultivates aspecific, and perhaps otherwiseundiscovered wisdom and insight.The trickster is often able to crossboundaries, being a teacher oflessons in mindfulness who bridgesgaps between discord and order.

    Yet, the trickster challengesthese areas as well, steppingoutside of constraints, andrepresenting itself as a creature ofmethod who is sly and cunning,skilled and resourceful.

    The trickster, flexible in theirability to change form, can befemale or male, animal or landspirit, or anything else they willthem self to be in order to exerttheir influence.

    LUST AND THE TRICKSTERIn the post-modern age, folklore isincreasingly becoming more awareof the feminine influence and thecultural reflections that are found inancient stories, both from literateand pre-literate societies. Thisgreater awareness allows us awider lens with which to examinethe role of the female trickster andtheir personality, and how similarcharacteristics are applied to bothmale and female tricksters.

    While female beings are notalways prominently featured indiscussions relating to the trickster,undoubtedly their elements ofcleverness and skill are representedin fascinating tales, such as thebawdy old woman Baubo in ancientGreek mythology, who jests withthe goddess Demeter.

    Upon the loss of her daughterPersephone, Demeter isunderstandably distraught; and it isBaubo’s ability to invoke laughterthat distracts Demeter, thusproviding a moment of healing andperspective, provided by intentionalcomic relief.

    The role of women as healers isprofound throughout ancient texts,and certainly humour and

    12

    F

    Wandererin theLiminal Space

    The Trickster in European Folklore and Mythology

    Heather O’Brien

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    Above:‘Dance of SiberianShamans,’ anengraving fromthe book ‘DasAsiatische’Russland’by HermannRoskoschnyPublished 1884

    The generally recognised definitionof shamanism begins with thestatement that ‘the shaman ischosen by the spirits.’

    So what happens when theperson who is chosen by the spiritsas a shaman is born and raised in aculture that not only has nounderstanding or awareness ofshamanism, but which doesn'teven recognise the underlyinganimistic foundations from whichshamanism emerges? This is thequandary some of us find ourselvesin today.

    The root of the problem is thatwhile the traditional shaman issupported by the culture into whichthey emerge, our current Westernculture doesn’t even recognise theterm, much less the role. There ismuch more confusion than there isunderstanding around the mostbasic practices of the shaman,confusion propagated both by thenew age movement and by wellintentioned, but misguided attemptsto reconnect with our spiritualheritage by appropriating the spiritualtraditions of aboriginal peoples.

    To answer this call from spirit toshamanise is to face an uphillbattle against the misconceptionsand ignorance of those around us.

    Many of those in the West whoare familiar with the idea of theshaman don’t seem to be able torecognise the difference betweenelements of shamanism and thecultural trappings of the traditionalcommunities in which the shamanpractices. This leads to a number ofhard and fast beliefs, ranging from‘a shaman shouldn’t callthemselves a shaman’ to ‘a shamannever charges for their services.’

    In addition, there are those whobelieve that shamans can only becalled within the context of atraditional society, and never in thepost-tribal cultures of the West.

    This clearly flies in the face ofthe animistic foundations ofshamanism, assuming that thespirits who choose the shamanseither don’t actually exist, or thatthey are somehow limited toworking only within the culturalboundaries of certain peoples.

    The ideas that shamans don’tcall themselves shamans, or thatthey don’t charge for their services,reflect the nature of some of thecommunities in which they arefound, though only some shamaniccultures have such strictures.

    These are generally closedsettings, in which everyone prettymuch knows everyone else. Whensomeone is good at something,everyone will know this soonenough. Because of this, there isno need to go around claiming tobe able to heal others; either youcan, and word will get around, oryou can’t - and likewise, word willget around. Also, in such settings,most exchanges of goods andservices are done without money,because it is unnecessary.

    When Michael Harner attemptedto create a Western ‘core’shamanism, he lifted culturalelements like these, along withshamanic practices, because hedidn’t seem to be able todifferentiate between the two.

    This is understandable,considering that he was attemptingto understand the role andexperience of shamanism from theoutside in, without having beenchosen to do so. In spite of this, he

    22

    Plantingthe Seed of

    Shamanism in the West

    Kenn Day

    Healing theInvisible Wound

  • HOOP ISSUE 111 2021www.sacredhoop.org

    The ‘Wheel ofLife.’ Yama the

    god of deathholds the wheel

    of rebirth,showing the sixworlds we can

    be reborn inafter death;

    a god, a pride-filled demi god,

    a hungry ghostalways hungry,

    a bestial animal,a human, orsuffering in

    a hell world.

    Life in eachworld lasts

    different lengthsof time, but

    eventually wedie again, and

    get reborn in oneof the worlds.

    The wheel isturned by theemotions welive our life

    by - called the‘three poisons’-represented by

    the three animalsin the centre;

    the pig -ignorance; the

    cockeral - pride;and the snake -

    hatred.

    These are thepossible rebirths

    a soul travelsthrough in theunenlightenedcycle of lives -samsara - and

    also the worldswe are in every

    day of each life;sometimes we

    live like a god,sometimes as anproud demi-god,sometimes as an

    dumb animal,sometimes as a

    needy hungryghost, stuck

    sometimes in ahell world, andsometimes as a

    human beingseeking our

    liberation

    The Tibetan, after the age of forty-five, knows that his life will not lastmuch longer and begins to think ofhis next existence. He places arosary upon his wrist, walks withsolemn and thoughtful tread. Fromnow on, he is seen circling prayer

    stone piles in his spare momentsand goes more and more intoretirement. Slowly. inexorably hebecomes a hermit in the midst ofceaseless activity. If the family is ofsufficient means the parents canspend their final years in prayer and

    medi tation in a room of the home.The average length of life is verylow and few live beyond sixty; withsuch shortness of life it is evidentwhy those around forty-five thinkthey are old and begin to preparefor the grave.

    0 27

    the Journey in to DeathA Historical Account of Death Rites in 1920s Tibet

    Marion H. Duncan

  • Above: villagelama readingreligious textduring aceremony

    Above: waterburial site witha rustic shrinehung withprayer flags

    To the Tibetan, death is vieweddispassionately, a necessaryprocess that bridges thetransference of the soul from aworn-out vehicle, to a new oneDeath is a break in the continuedexistence of the soul, which mustwander in the bardo, before beingreborn in the body of a new beingwhich may be human, animal,insect, god, or demon. The formwhich it will assume depends uponthe balance of deeds and misdeedswhich prevail at the time of death.

    The lama is the most importantfunctionary in sickness and death.In sickness he performs theceremony to cure the patient, and ifhope of recovery is gone, or thepatient dies suddenly, the lamaimmediately switches over into theritual for the dead. In this rite, themonk sets into motion the elaboratecere monies to entice the soul of thedeceased from the body, pluckingout a hair to let out the soul.

    Immediately after death thelamas are asked to pray for the

    deceased without charge, butfollowing this prayer thecontinuance of ritual depends uponthe gifts of the family.

    The object of the after-deathceremonies is to erase the sins ofthe deceased and to direct the soulout of the body and through thedark regions of the bardo intobeing reborn as a man, or as agod, rather than in the lower form.To insure this, the name of thedeceased is written upon a gyang,an umbrella-figured shield withcharm words, topped by aceremonial scarf.

    The first rites are to entice thesoul to leave the body and enterthe gyang. During the chanting theson of the deceased holds thegyang in his hand, and while gazingat it prostrates himself before it.

    This ceremony lasts about halfan hour. Food of the kind which thedeceased was accustomed to eatis presented to the gyang, and atthe end of the ritual the food istaken out and burned.

    Among the poor, the gyangceremony is held on the third day,and the gyang is burnt in theevening. People of more moderatemeans will have perhaps two gyangrites, the last being on the fourteenthday. The rich have the gyang rite onthe seventh day, and on everyseventh day this is re peated, sixmore times which requires forty-ninedays for comple tion. The chanted

    HOOP ISSUE 111 2021www.sacredhoop.org28

    If the body is to be hacked up,pieces are cut off with a swordand thrown into the river.If the body is to go whole, thehair is unbraided, and the corpsepushed in to the rushing waters.Braided hair might obstruct therelease of the soul from the body

  • HOOP ISSUE 111 2021www.sacredhoop.org

    Above: theDark Hedges, anavenue of beechtrees in NorthernIreland, madefamous by theGame of ThronesTV series

    Right: the TuathaDe Dannan inthe painting‘The Riders ofthe Sidhe’ by theScottish painterJohn Duncan(1866–1945)This influencedPeter Jackson'sElves in his film‘The Fellowshipof the Ring’

    The American writer on paganismand druidry D.J. Conway wrote thataccording to Irish legend, theTuatha Dé Danann [The People ofthe Goddess Danu] were a racewho lived in Ireland long before theMilesians 1 arrived. The legendsays, that the Tuatha Dé Danannlearned their great wisdom andmagic during their travels in theEast and Greece, before theydescended upon Ireland, and thatthey were highly skilled in magic.

    The earliest reference to them isin the ‘Lebor Gabála Érenn’ [TheBook of Invasions], a collection ofpoems and prose compiled in theC11th. The book states that afterthey were banished from heaven,because of their knowledge, theydescended on Ireland in a cloud ofmist. The legend continues to tellthat they disappeared into the hillswhen overcome by the arrival ofthe Milesians.’

    The Lebor Gabála Érenn,although fictional, treats theTuatha Dé Danann as actualpeople, and they were regarded asso by native historians up until the

    34

    Climbing the TreeSeeking the Connection between Norse and Celtic Tree Lore

    Elisa M. Gray

  • Below: Romanmosaic of thegoddess Dianadeer huntingC2nd Tunisia

    In the small mountain villages andcountryside of Southern Italy, therestill lives a magical female traditionshrouded in mystery. These womenare called Janare (singular Janara),and in popular folklore they areconsidered witches, devoted to thedarkest and most evil of practices.

    This dark reputation is mainlybecause of the Catholic Inquisition,and the works of a C17th Jewishdoctor, who described them asdevil worshippers. But in actuality,these women were, and still areabove all, peasant healers andseers, capable of entering the

    world of invisible things. But asfree women, the Janare have beenseen historically as dangerous forthe patriarchal peasant society ofsouthern Italy.

    Some scholars have identifiedthem as the remnants of an ancientcaste of priestesses whohistorically were associated withthe goddess Diana, but rather thanpriestesses, their heritage seems

    to allude more directly to ananimistic paradigm. The Janarethrough their lineages havepreserved and passed on anancient, natural knowledge.

    The form of the Janare tradition,and its underlying spirituality, aremuch more primordial and archaicthan the official pagan religions ofancient Rome, and I would argue thatthe roots of their tradition probablydate back to the times when theSamnite and Oscan peoples lived inthat region of Southern Italy, beforeRome and it’s Empire arose, andthese Southern Italians wereconquered by the Romans, to bebrought into their Empire.

    When Rome took them over,like many ancient traditions, theJanare coexisted with the religionsof the ancient Romans, and alsothe new religion that followed, theadvent of Christianity.

    BENEATH THE SACRED TREESLegends and traditions say that theJanare would meet in thecountryside near the city ofBenevento, in the region calledCampania, under their sacredwalnut tree, to practice their ‘darkrituals,’ which according toChristian tales included kidnappingand tormenting children, torturinganimals, casting the evil eye,ruining crops and casting deadlyspells called fatture.

    But if you look beyond thesenegative and superficialstereotypes - which have beenpresent throughout Europe againstall such ‘witches’ since the earlymedieval period - you will discovera very different reality.

    The Janare are above alldominae herbarum - ladies of theherbs - skilled in healing, andknowledgeable about the magicaland ritual properties of plants.

    Also, their tradition has alwaysbeen associated with a tree.Starting from the famous ‘Walnutof Benevento,’ a legendary walnuttree which stood on the banks ofthe Sabato River in Benevento. Thetree is said to be the place wherewitches from across Europe cameto gather, and where the Romanspractised rituals devoted to theEgyptian goddess Isis, who had aRoman temple there.

    Every popular tradition thatacknowledges the presence of the

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    JanareItalian Witches of the Sacred Trees

    Massimiliano Palmesano

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    Above: Chinesecourt Dragonrobe, silk withsilk embroidery.C19th

    Right: Chineseillustration ofnoble ladiesmaking silkfabric. C12th

    Silk is a natural fibre which hasbeen used in textile production forthousands of years. It has longbeen prized for its uniqueshimmering appearance, which iscaused by the prism-like structureof the fibre.

    The best-known silk is obtainedfrom the cocoons of the larvae of themulberry silkworm, but silk is actuallyproduced by other insects andarthropods including some bees,wasps, ants, silverfish, mayflies,beetles, lacewings, fleas, flies; andof course from spiders.

    These beings are rarely used tomake commercial silk, with theexception of spiders; as some zen -the ritual shawls used by Tibetantantric ngakpa practitioners - areoften traditionally made from, orcontain spider silk. Spider’s webswere used also as a wound dressingin ancient Greece and Rome, andsome early European artists usedthem as a base for painting upon; ifyou search on Youtube even today,you will find videos instructing youhow to use webs as a base forminiature paintings.

    Silk was first developed inancient China, and silk fibres havebeen found in soil samples takenfrom two neolithic tombs, whichdate back around 8,500 years. Theearliest surviving actual silk fabricdiscovered is around 5,700 yearsold, and was used to wrap the bodyof a child in a tomb in Xingyang, inwhat is now Western China -although at the time Xingyang wasnot actually part of China.

    An ancient Chinese legend saysthat an Empress called Hsi-Ling-

    Shih, Lei-Tzu, now more oftenknown simply as Lei Zu discoveredthe secret and was the first toproduce silk.

    Lei Zu was said to realise thespecial property of silkworms whileshe was having a drink of teabeneath a mulberry tree oneafternoon. As she sat there, amulberry silkworm cocoon fell fromthe tree into her hot tea, where itslowly unraveled, releasing thethread. The silk thread was said tostretch right across her entiregarden, and in the centre of theball of thread she saw the moth’ssmall cocoon, and realised that thisinsect was the source of the silk.

    She was astounded by thediscovery, and persuaded herhusband to give her a grove ofmulberry trees, where shedomesticated the worms that madethese cocoons. She is attributedwith inventing the method of joiningthe very fine filaments from eachcocoon into a thicker thread,strong enough for weaving; and ofinventing the first silk loom too.

    Lie Zu is a popular figure of folkworship in China, even to this day,and she is known as Can Nainai -Silkworm Mother

    Silk was considered a sacred,and very special material by theChinese. For many centuries its usewas reserved for Emperors, whoused it in their robes and for othertextiles. They also gave it as gifts ofpower and prestige to others.Gradually however, the use of itspread throughout all of Chineseculture, and the fabric was traded tomany regions of Asia and beyond.The famous ‘Silk Road’ wasestablished in order to trade silk tofaraway places, including Rome andEurope, and also in order to carrygoods from Europe and otherplaces - such as Mediterranean redcoral - back to China.

    Because of its texture andlustre, silk rapidly became apopular - albeit expensive - fabricin the many areas that Chinesemerchants were able to reach; forinstance, chinese silk thread hasbeen found in the hair of a 3,000year old Egyptian mummy.

    Because of silk’s astonishinglyimportant potential for generatingwealth and power, the Chinesekept the knowledge of itsproduction a secret, and tight to

    44

    A Gift for the SpiritsAn introduction to the sacred nature and use of silk

    Nicholas Breeze Wood

  • HOOP ISSUE 111 2021www.sacredhoop.org

    their chests, however theknowledge spread out slowly, firstto Korea, around 2,200 years ago;and then to the ancient CentralAsian Kingdom of Khotan, around1,950 years ago; and to India,around 1,800 years ago.

    Silk was astronomically valuablein medieval Europe, which droveEuropean explorers and traders toseek its secret, which eventually

    reached Europe around the year1100, although silk remained avaluable commodity even after itssecret had been discovered. Onesingle yard of silk fabric cost thesame as a horse, or a cow, duringmedieval times in Western Europe.

    SILK FOR THE SPIRITSIn Islam it is haram - forbidden - formen to wear, or even sit upon silk;although for women it is permissable.Men get away with this by using silkto decorate clothing with trims of it,or wear it as accessories, as this isnot considered to be ‘wearing silk;therefore a silk shirt would be haram,but a silk neck tie - because it is notregarded as a garment - is deemedpermissible. People can be verystrange sometimes.

    However, because of the valueand rarity of silk, it has been usedfor sacred items in many othertraditions for a long time. In Europethe medieval church used it for finevestments and for the wrappings ofprecious relics, and in Judaism thetraditional prayer shawl - the tallit -has often been made from silk, andit has traditionally had other usesas well. However, the sacredtraditions who have used silk mostare those closest to China, namelyTaoism, Buddhism and Shamanism

    A RICHNESS OF COLOURS.The colours of silk becameimportant in these traditions, asdifferent colours often represented

    Above: silkworms and the gathering of theraw silk thread from boiling their cocoons

    Left: silk textile, with hero and lion design. Syria C7th

    Below: the finished silk threadready for use in textile making

    Mongoliansilk deelrobe. C14th

    45

  • The ‘Tara’ Brooch

    County Meath, IrelandDiameter 87mm

    Pin length 320mmC710 - C750

    The brooch was found in Ireland in 1850,but, despite its name, it is not from the

    ancient sacred site of Tara. The name wasgiven to it by a jeweller who thought it

    would help him sell some copies ofthe brooch, which he’d had made.

    It is made of cast silver, which hasbeen gilded on both the front and rear.

    The gold filigree panels depict both animaland abstract motifs, separated by studs of

    glass, enamel and amber. Attached to itis a silver chain made from plaited wire.

    The brooch was said to have been found onthe beach at Bettystown, in County Meath.

    The woman who found it claimed it was in abox, buried in the sand, although it was more

    likely that it was found inland, and sheclaimed it was found at the beach toavoid a legal claim by the landowner.

    Eventually it was sold to a Dublin jeweller,who gave it the name it is known by now.

    It is a priceless example of early Christianperiod Irish art, from just before the Vikingsinvaded Ireland, and is now on display in the

    National Museum of Ireland in Dublin


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