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Illustration by Rachel Hudson

Learn | Hedge Witchery

Iona Bower April 29, 2023

In our May issue we met modern hedge witch, Willow, in our ‘Know A Thing or Two’ feature about hedgerows. Here, she tells us a bit more about her craft.


How would you define hedge witchery or hedgecraft?

Hedge witchery or hedgecraft is generally a solitary, shamanistic practice in which the witch engages in spirit work and hedge riding, usually with some herbalism thrown in. Hedge riding is the act of using an altered state of consciousness to cross from our realm into the Otherworld to seek guidance from spirit guides, receive messages, and even practise magic.

 

How do you use hedgerows in your practice?

In hedgecraft, hedgerows act as a barrier between our world and the Otherworld, just as the hedge acts as the dividing line between civilization and the wild. It isn’t so much that the hedge is necessarily used literally in hedgecraft, but more metaphorically to explain the process of crossing between realms. However, there’s many a hedge witch that use hedgerows literally. Like all in-between places, hedgerows are liminal spaces, offering a thin place to easily travel to the Otherworld. Crossing under a bramble arch or other gap in the hedge, if done at the right location, can result in the witch being transported to the Otherworld where they can engage with the beings found there, including the Fae, ancestors, and other spirits.

 

Tell us about your craft and how these rituals relate to the Wheel of the Year? (What do you do to mark the year's chief solar events)?

A lot of my practice follows the Wheel of the Year, working with the ebb and flow of the Earth’s natural cycles instead of against it. At Imbolc or the Winter Thermstice I perform rituals to call back the light, while at the Summer Solstice I celebrate the Sun’s full return and the blessings the Earth provides us with. I also like to hedge ride during these solar events, especially during Beltane and Samhain when the veil is thinnest between our worlds, and to honour local spirits and give thanks. A lot of what I do centres on being present, thankful, and mindful, allowing the hussle and bustle of everyday life and worries to go. Witchcraft doesn’t have to be constant spells and rituals and shouldn’t. Practising mindfulness and building relationships with the spirits around you is key to being successful, happy and fulfilled. 

 

What connects your practice with the hedge witches of the past?

There is absolutely no way to fully revive the practices of the past. There is just too much we don’t know, too much that is speculation, and too little well documented from reliable sources, ie people not being tortured for a confession. However, what we do have gives us some ideas of what the cunning folk of the past did, especially things like herbalism and medicine, charm bags, and even cursing. Much of this is found in folklore, which I rely upon heavily and incorporate into my practice through correspondences, spells and simple rituals. I also use flying ointments, some of which are based on historical recipes, have joined the Witch’s Sabbath while hedge riding, and even cast spells documented in the old Grimoires. However, what really connects me with the hedge witches of the past are my ancestors. We all have magic in our family line, and even if they didn’t practise “witchcraft” in the traditional sense, they have knowledge and connection that cannot be found in books.

 

How can we bring hedgecraft into our everyday lives?

The easiest way to incorporate hedgecraft into your daily life is being aware of the world and spirits around you and the impact you have upon them. Live sustainably, see the magic in all that you do and be mindful and present in the moment.

 Find out more at flyingthehedge.com and read more about hedgerows from page 77 of the May issue.

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In Interview Tags katot, witch, magic, magical, issue 131
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Illustration: Lara Paulussen

How To | Shear a Sheep

Iona Bower November 16, 2021

Because you never know when you may be called upon to perform a skilled piece of animal husbandry

Just in case you ever find yourself, clippers in hand, being asked to give a sheep a short back and sides, here’s how to do it step by step. The Simple Things takes no responsibility for any mis-sheared sheep or injuries that befall you while shearing a sheep while following our instructions. Sorry.


1. First, catch your sheep

Approach the animal slowly and calmly but with a determined look in your eye that lets the sheep know who’s boss. We’ll assume you have chosen a dry day (you can’t shear wet wool) and that the sheep has fasted for a day, too; those things aren’t your concern. Herd the sheep to your shearing site with your arms and legs, then gently tip the sheep onto her back, holding her right leg in your right hand and the woolly top of the brisket with your left hand. She should have all four feet in the air, belly exposed, head turned to one side and be leaning back into your body with your legs supporting her shoulders. We never said this was a dignified process. 

2. Start shearing

Begin with the belly piece as this is dirtiest and worth the least money. You’re aiming to get the whole fleece off in one piece with the belly piece wrapped in the middle but it’s a bit like peeling an orange in one go - it takes practice - so just do your best. If you’re right handed, hold the shears in your right hand and use your left to pull the skin taut to avoid nicks. Start each blow (that’s the technical term for each ‘go’ with the shears) at the brisket (neck) end, and shear down to the flank (back legs). Take a blow down the left side, then the right side, then do the middle - like you do with painting your nails. 


3. Do the delicate bits

Shear around the crotch and down the inside of each hind leg by leaning right over the sheep, with her head still resting on your leg. Be very careful of her teats - cover them with your hand as you shear as it is possible to cut them right off and that won’t be a relaxing experience for you or the sheep. 


4. Mind the hind

Turn the sheep onto its right side and shear the outside of the left hind leg. Four blows should take you from the foot up to near the back bone. 


5. Tails you win

If the sheep has a tail, do it at this stage, shearing from tip to top and finishing with a short blow up the back at the base of the tail. 


6. More familiar ground: chest, neck and chin

Turn her side on to you, your right foot in between her hind legs and the left behind her back supporting her bottom. We hope you wore some old shoes for this… Hold her head under the chin with her head facing up at you. Try not to let her sad look make you feel awkward. Take the clippers from the brisket to just below the chin, ‘unzipping’ the fleece, and then up the face in short strokes, ending at the bottom of the ear and eye. 


7. Show a bit of leg

Again, shift her slightly onto her right side and lean over her to shear up her left leg and onto the left shoulder. Do inside the left foreleg while you’re here. 

8. The big mow

You’re on the home strait now and are about to shear the back. Lie her on her right side across your shin with your right foot placed between her back legs and your left foot under her shoulder. Starting at the tail, take long, steady blows up the back down her left side, beginning at the outside edge and working across to just past the spine. 

9. Home and hosed

Shift the sheep onto her left side and shear the rest of the neck and shoulders, then the right foreleg, from the shoulder, downwards.  Finally, shear the wool down her left back and side, from the neck towards her rear end, finishing with the right hind leg. Ta da! You’re done!


10. You should now skirt (clean) and roll the fleece ready for sale, but we think you’ve done enough. Give your hands a thorough wash, sit down for a well-deserved cuppa and reflect upon the fact that a pro shearer can do all that in under two minutes. We’re more at home with a knit one, purl one sort of endeavour if we’re honest. 

We were inspired to find out more about sheep-shearing after we read the Know A Thing or Two feature on wool in our November issue.

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  Buy ,  download  or  subscribe   See the sample of our latest issue  here   Buy a copy of our latest anthology:  A Year of Celebrations   Buy a copy of  Flourish 2 , our wellbeing bookazine  Listen to  our podcast  - Small Ways to Live Well
Feb 27, 2025
Feb 27, 2025

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See the sample of our latest issue here

Buy a copy of our latest anthology: A Year of Celebrations

Buy a copy of Flourish 2, our wellbeing bookazine

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The Simple Things is published by Iceberg Press

The Simple Things

Taking time to live well

We celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have, making the most of where you live, enjoying the company of of friends and family, and feeding them well. We like to grow some of our own vegetables, visit local markets, rummage for vintage finds, and decorate our home with the plunder. We love being outdoors and enjoy the satisfaction that comes with a job well done.

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