Hey everyone, I have a solitary book of shadows and it mentions the 13 powers of a witch:

Thirteen powers do the witchess claim
their right of lineage by (say your god and goddess name)
Tie a knot and say the words
or hand on head - the blessing conferred.
A witch can give success in love
curse or bless through god/dess above.
Speak to beasts and spirits alike
command the weather; cast out a blight.
Read the heavens and stars of the night
divine the future and give good advice
Conjure treasure and bring fortune to bear
heal the sick and kill despair.

I just wanted to know your thoughts on it, and your understand about it. Because when i was a newbie to the craft, i kept experiencing some psychic advntages and didn't know how i got it. And when i read this i think its because of the craft.

MOST LIKELY SO BECAUSE IF YOU CHANT IT OVER AND OVER YOU WILL RELEASE YOUR OWN "POWERS" AND THEREFORE PREFORM BETTER.
IT'S A COOL POEM OR CHANT, THOUGH.
PEACE!!!!

Agree.

It sounds kind of like the "witches rune".
I hadn't seen this tough.

Thanks for sharing.

hmmmmmmm ok lets break this down and look at it as a hidden passing on of historical fact hidden in poem by the wit to hide it from the christian dogs that wanted blood


their right of lineage by (say your god and goddess name)
the covens or family lineages of the witches were often dedicated to the regions deity's who were believed to be represented by the high priest or priestess so your family linage would have a direct effect on you being a witch as the only place you could really learn was from family members


Tie a knot and say the words
ok this could represent 2 things
the first being simple cord magic

however i tend to believe this verse represents the witches hold over the community and how they were the holy leaders and were often the ones to preform marriage or hand fasting which in many traditions litterly involves tying a knot in a rope around the couples hand

or hand on head - the blessing conferred.
once again as the spiritual leaders of their community's they would be the ones to bless the newborns and the infirm

A witch can give success in love
lol ya with ginger root or jasmine or damiana many herbs were known by witches to either prolong love making , stimulate blood flow increase sensitivity ect.

curse or bless through god/dess above.
once again stressing the witches place in society and their connection to the universal energy and of course if you can bless you can curse this part also seeks to describe that ballance

Speak to beasts and spirits alike
as the wise they were observers of their surroundings it is probable they picked up on subtle movements of animals and seemingly were able to charm them and of course some might be plain superstition however their have always been those that can or claim to be able to speak with the deceased

command the weather; cast out a blight.
command? im not sure about however im sure they were experts at predicting the weather and to many that would seem like they had power over it
cast out blight? ya they would have been the ones that knew what potions to make to drive off bugs what herbs to mix to cure disease absolutely

Read the heavens and stars of the night
divine the future and give good advice
often looked to for portents and understanding of the unknown they were the elders and the wise they dedicated themselves to increasing knowledge and wisdom and they were able to divine patterns in the weather , in humanity , in animals , they were the shrinks of their time , the priests , the doctors ,ect. and it was believed that planets have an influence over us and so reading the movements of the stars would have been big

Conjure treasure and bring fortune to bear
keepers of history often the only ones that could read or write they had knowledge of past battles of past kingdoms and such where you might find wealth or other treasure as well as their advise was sought out in matters of employment that would affect a persons wealth even to the point of telling people when and where to plant how to raise healthy and happy hogs and cattle the knowledge of crop rotation all these things were sound advise given to the people that sought a witches advise

heal the sick and kill despair.
once again as the keepers of herbal lore they were the healers and midwives they could cure illness treat depression either with herbs or just being their to listen without judgement to the bereaved

ok ya i might be full of it
maby all it is is a nice poem or chant to raise power as suggested but maby it did have dual purposes

just something to think about

and since some of those are just repeating earlier ones i find it hard to see 13 powers there

WELL YEAH, IF YOU BRAKE IT DOWN LIKE THAT IT WOULDN'T BE 13 POWERS. IT'S STILL A NICE OLD POEM, THOUGH.

ALSO, I THINK THAT YOU ARE RIGHT ABOUT THE HIDDEN MEANINGS OF THE POEM. THE FOLKS THOSE DAYS HAD TO BE A LITTLE MORE CAREFUL. NOBODY WANTED TO BE ACCUSED OF WITCHCRAFT THEN.
THERE WERE A LOT OF HIDDEN MEANINGS IN SONGS AND IN RELIGION IN LONG YEARS PAST. JUST LOOK AT THE HIDDEN SYMBOLISM IN THE SLAVE SONGS; NOT TO FORGET IN VODOUN, SANTARIA, HOODOO ETC.

GOOD WORK IN UNCRAMBELING!