Gemma Gary | Folk-Magical Author, Artist, Practitioner

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More reminiscing. The “Joan Wytte” skeleton (probably an old educational composite, made with bones from multiple individuals) was displayed by Cecil Williamson for many years in his museum. In 1998 - following growing sentiment that the the display was inappropriate, and grandiose claims by some to have been contacted by the ghost of “Joan” - the skeleton was removed from display. Graham King and his then partner Liz Crow set about carefully removing the bits of wire holding the bones together and prepared the skeleton for burial. A number of simple grave goods were included, one of which was a small protective charm bag of dark green square felt which I had made and can be seen among the goods in the first image. Witch and artist Rory Te Tigo created three beautiful grave markers from slate - one to be buried with the remains, one to be erected nearby in Minster Woods just outside the churchyard (the actual gravesite is kept secret) and one to be displayed in the museum.
It became a tradition among attendees of the museum’s annual get-together to walk the Valency Valley, through Minster Woods and back to the village again, stopping off at the stone marker before entering the churchyard on the way. I like to think of those remains as a kind of ‘spirit house’ associated with the spirit of the museum and the magic of Boscastle.
You can read the stories woven about those old bones in a book available from @museum_of_witchcraft_and_magic ‘The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin’.
.
#museumofwitchcraftandmagic #joanwytte #boscastle #minsterwoods #valencyvalley #gemmagary #witchcraft #bodminjail

More reminiscing. The “Joan Wytte” skeleton (probably an old educational composite, made with bones from multiple individuals) was displayed by Cecil Williamson for many years in his museum. In 1998 - following growing sentiment that the the display was inappropriate, and grandiose claims by some to have been contacted by the ghost of “Joan” - the skeleton was removed from display. Graham King and his then partner Liz Crow set about carefully removing the bits of wire holding the bones together and prepared the skeleton for burial. A number of simple grave goods were included, one of which was a small protective charm bag of dark green square felt which I had made and can be seen among the goods in the first image. Witch and artist Rory Te Tigo created three beautiful grave markers from slate - one to be buried with the remains, one to be erected nearby in Minster Woods just outside the churchyard (the actual gravesite is kept secret) and one to be displayed in the museum.
It became a tradition among attendees of the museum’s annual get-together to walk the Valency Valley, through Minster Woods and back to the village again, stopping off at the stone marker before entering the churchyard on the way. I like to think of those remains as a kind of ‘spirit house’ associated with the spirit of the museum and the magic of Boscastle.
You can read the stories woven about those old bones in a book available from @museum_of_witchcraft_and_magic ‘The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin’.
.
#museumofwitchcraftandmagic #joanwytte #boscastle #minsterwoods #valencyvalley #gemmagary #witchcraft #bodminjail

More reminiscing. The “Joan Wytte” skeleton (probably an old educational composite, made with bones from multiple individuals) was displayed by Cecil Williamson for many years in his museum. In 1998 - following growing sentiment that the the display was inappropriate, and grandiose claims by some to have been contacted by the ghost of “Joan” - the skeleton was removed from display. Graham King and his then partner Liz Crow set about carefully removing the bits of wire holding the bones together and prepared the skeleton for burial. A number of simple grave goods were included, one of which was a small protective charm bag of dark green square felt which I had made and can be seen among the goods in the first image. Witch and artist Rory Te Tigo created three beautiful grave markers from slate - one to be buried with the remains, one to be erected nearby in Minster Woods just outside the churchyard (the actual gravesite is kept secret) and one to be displayed in the museum.
It became a tradition among attendees of the museum’s annual get-together to walk the Valency Valley, through Minster Woods and back to the village again, stopping off at the stone marker before entering the churchyard on the way. I like to think of those remains as a kind of ‘spirit house’ associated with the spirit of the museum and the magic of Boscastle.
You can read the stories woven about those old bones in a book available from @museum_of_witchcraft_and_magic ‘The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin’.
.
#museumofwitchcraftandmagic #joanwytte #boscastle #minsterwoods #valencyvalley #gemmagary #witchcraft #bodminjail

@gemma.gary

•

More reminiscing. The “Joan Wytte” skeleton (probably an old educational composite, made with bones from multiple individuals) was displayed by Cecil Williamson for many years in his museum. In 1998 - following growing sentiment that the the display was inappropriate, and grandiose claims by some to have been contacted by the ghost of “Joan” - the skeleton was removed from display. Graham King and his then partner Liz Crow set about carefully removing the bits of wire holding the bones together and prepared the skeleton for burial. A number of simple grave goods were included, one of which was a small protective charm bag of dark green square felt which I had made and can be seen among the goods in the first image. Witch and artist Rory Te Tigo created three beautiful grave markers from slate - one to be buried with the remains, one to be erected nearby in Minster Woods just outside the churchyard (the actual gravesite is kept secret) and one to be displayed in the museum. It became a tradition among attendees of the museum’s annual get-together to walk the Valency Valley, through Minster Woods and back to the village again, stopping off at the stone marker before entering the churchyard on the way. I like to think of those remains as a kind of ‘spirit house’ associated with the spirit of the museum and the magic of Boscastle. You can read the stories woven about those old bones in a book available from @museum_of_witchcraft_and_magic ‘The Fighting Fairy Woman of Bodmin’. . #museumofwitchcraftandmagic #joanwytte #boscastle #minsterwoods #valencyvalley #gemmagary #witchcraft #bodminjail

1 year ago

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Like many Crafters I’ve had numerous working knives/athames over the years, but one has remained my favourite and constant companion throughout most of my work - solitary and in coven - it was a gift from my mother and is pictured here from a couple of rituals in Treslothan Woods in the 1990s. Unable to leave things alone, twenty something years ago I took it upon myself to change the black wooden hilt, swapping it with a deer foot handle from one of those Victorian bells popular with witches which, unforgivably, I dismantled. I felt terribly guilty and missed the bell and so was happy to come by another some years later.
.
#athame #ritualtools #magicaltools #gardnerianwitchcraft #alexandrianwitchcraft #traditionalwitchcraft #gemmagary #kordbucca #treslothan

Like many Crafters I’ve had numerous working knives/athames over the years, but one has remained my favourite and constant companion throughout most of my work - solitary and in coven - it was a gift from my mother and is pictured here from a couple of rituals in Treslothan Woods in the 1990s. Unable to leave things alone, twenty something years ago I took it upon myself to change the black wooden hilt, swapping it with a deer foot handle from one of those Victorian bells popular with witches which, unforgivably, I dismantled. I felt terribly guilty and missed the bell and so was happy to come by another some years later.
.
#athame #ritualtools #magicaltools #gardnerianwitchcraft #alexandrianwitchcraft #traditionalwitchcraft #gemmagary #kordbucca #treslothan

Like many Crafters I’ve had numerous working knives/athames over the years, but one has remained my favourite and constant companion throughout most of my work - solitary and in coven - it was a gift from my mother and is pictured here from a couple of rituals in Treslothan Woods in the 1990s. Unable to leave things alone, twenty something years ago I took it upon myself to change the black wooden hilt, swapping it with a deer foot handle from one of those Victorian bells popular with witches which, unforgivably, I dismantled. I felt terribly guilty and missed the bell and so was happy to come by another some years later.
.
#athame #ritualtools #magicaltools #gardnerianwitchcraft #alexandrianwitchcraft #traditionalwitchcraft #gemmagary #kordbucca #treslothan

@gemma.gary

•

Like many Crafters I’ve had numerous working knives/athames over the years, but one has remained my favourite and constant companion throughout most of my work - solitary and in coven - it was a gift from my mother and is pictured here from a couple of rituals in Treslothan Woods in the 1990s. Unable to leave things alone, twenty something years ago I took it upon myself to change the black wooden hilt, swapping it with a deer foot handle from one of those Victorian bells popular with witches which, unforgivably, I dismantled. I felt terribly guilty and missed the bell and so was happy to come by another some years later. . #athame #ritualtools #magicaltools #gardnerianwitchcraft #alexandrianwitchcraft #traditionalwitchcraft #gemmagary #kordbucca #treslothan

1 year ago

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2/4

My first pentacle, from the mid 1990s. Made from an old chopping board stolen from the kitchen. Part of the @museum_of_witchcraft_and_magic collection for many years.
.
#pentacle #pentacles #magicaltools #ritualtools #gemmagary #museumofwitchcraftandmagic #gardnerianwitchcraft #alexandrianwitchcraft

@gemma.gary

•

My first pentacle, from the mid 1990s. Made from an old chopping board stolen from the kitchen. Part of the @museum_of_witchcraft_and_magic collection for many years. . #pentacle #pentacles #magicaltools #ritualtools #gemmagary #museumofwitchcraftandmagic #gardnerianwitchcraft #alexandrianwitchcraft

1 year ago

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3/4

I’m so pleased that ‘Wisht Waters’ will be making a new outing.
“The numinous hangs heavy around bodies of water – places of liminality and otherworldly congress, haunted by eldritch presences and rituals of magic and custom.
Wisht Waters explores the spirits, deities, magical traditions and ceremonies of holy wells, sacred springs, pools, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, the sea and dew, alongside matters of hydromancy and the use and significance of water within the witch-cult.
(Wisht – a dialect word from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset meaning ‘weird’, ‘uncanny’ or relating to supernatural influence)
First published by Three Hands Press in 2014 as part of the Occult Monograph Series as ‘Wisht Waters – Aqueous Magica and the Cult of Holy Wells,’ Troy Books is pleased to reissue the title with the addition of extensive complimentary photography.”
.
#wishtwaters #gemmagary #troybooks #threehandspress #holywells #sacredsprings #ritual #folkmagic #saints #seamagic #magicalbooks

I’m so pleased that ‘Wisht Waters’ will be making a new outing.
“The numinous hangs heavy around bodies of water – places of liminality and otherworldly congress, haunted by eldritch presences and rituals of magic and custom.
Wisht Waters explores the spirits, deities, magical traditions and ceremonies of holy wells, sacred springs, pools, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, the sea and dew, alongside matters of hydromancy and the use and significance of water within the witch-cult.
(Wisht – a dialect word from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset meaning ‘weird’, ‘uncanny’ or relating to supernatural influence)
First published by Three Hands Press in 2014 as part of the Occult Monograph Series as ‘Wisht Waters – Aqueous Magica and the Cult of Holy Wells,’ Troy Books is pleased to reissue the title with the addition of extensive complimentary photography.”
.
#wishtwaters #gemmagary #troybooks #threehandspress #holywells #sacredsprings #ritual #folkmagic #saints #seamagic #magicalbooks

I’m so pleased that ‘Wisht Waters’ will be making a new outing.
“The numinous hangs heavy around bodies of water – places of liminality and otherworldly congress, haunted by eldritch presences and rituals of magic and custom.
Wisht Waters explores the spirits, deities, magical traditions and ceremonies of holy wells, sacred springs, pools, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, the sea and dew, alongside matters of hydromancy and the use and significance of water within the witch-cult.
(Wisht – a dialect word from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset meaning ‘weird’, ‘uncanny’ or relating to supernatural influence)
First published by Three Hands Press in 2014 as part of the Occult Monograph Series as ‘Wisht Waters – Aqueous Magica and the Cult of Holy Wells,’ Troy Books is pleased to reissue the title with the addition of extensive complimentary photography.”
.
#wishtwaters #gemmagary #troybooks #threehandspress #holywells #sacredsprings #ritual #folkmagic #saints #seamagic #magicalbooks

@gemma.gary

•

I’m so pleased that ‘Wisht Waters’ will be making a new outing. “The numinous hangs heavy around bodies of water – places of liminality and otherworldly congress, haunted by eldritch presences and rituals of magic and custom. Wisht Waters explores the spirits, deities, magical traditions and ceremonies of holy wells, sacred springs, pools, ponds, lakes, rivers, streams, the sea and dew, alongside matters of hydromancy and the use and significance of water within the witch-cult. (Wisht – a dialect word from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset meaning ‘weird’, ‘uncanny’ or relating to supernatural influence) First published by Three Hands Press in 2014 as part of the Occult Monograph Series as ‘Wisht Waters – Aqueous Magica and the Cult of Holy Wells,’ Troy Books is pleased to reissue the title with the addition of extensive complimentary photography.” . #wishtwaters #gemmagary #troybooks #threehandspress #holywells #sacredsprings #ritual #folkmagic #saints #seamagic #magicalbooks

1 year ago

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