Last updated at 08:32, Monday, 07 December 2009

Pointy hats, black cats and broomsticks – Marcus Katz has heard it all before. The 43-year-old from Keswick is a witch... and he’s not ashamed to admit it.

From left, Marcus Katz, Tali Goodwin and Brina Katz

Why would he be? Marcus insists that witchcraft is not about curses and bubbling potions of bats’ wings.

Instead it is a celebration of nature, which is what drives him and his coven of 13 to perform rituals in the Lake District.

Marcus joined his first coven at the age of 18. He now runs Keswick’s Far Away Centre where he teaches witchcraft and tarot.

He is also High Priest of the Coven of the Seasons, which was formed four years ago. His wife, Brina, is sometimes the coven’s High Priestess, although other female members can also take on that role.

The Coven of the Seasons has members all over the country who come together in Cumbria several times a year.

There are four men, nine women, and no naked rituals. Says Marcus: “It’s too cold for that in Cumbria!”

Marcus Katz

“I’ve been interested in witchcraft since I was 13. Witchcraft is a pagan, nature-based religion. I believe it’s an authentic western spiritual practice.

“It is difficult to get past the old ‘pointy hats’ idea of witchcraft. A lot of witches don’t mind that because they prefer to be treated as outsiders. But our members are very much involved in their community.

“We look for people who are enthusiastic. We don’t want to convert people or anything. We tend to attract professional people. A lot of nurses, doctors and teachers. Our members come from as far as Wales, Leicester and London.

“We offer a very open, authentic and down-to-earth approach. We don’t consider it any stranger than people joining a pigeon-racing club, which is something I find bizarre!

“Generally 80 per cent of witches are female. I think there’s a stereotypical reason that women are seen as closer to the lunar cycles. And perhaps more psychic than men.

“Witchcraft has been revived since the 1950s and it has grown very rapidly in popularity. People are looking for more engagement in the natural world. A lot of the ecological crises have supported that. Witchcraft is the spiritual side of the political debate.

“We celebrate a number of the eight seasonal festivals, indoors and outside. We wear dark robes indoors and white outdoors.

“We do use Castlerigg stone circle but mainly when it’s quiet. We don’t particularly like the party atmosphere at the summer solstice. It’s a bit like performing high mass in a rave club.

“There are usually 13 in a coven. It’s a very good number to get into a nine-foot circle, which is the traditional space.

“Recently we performed a ritual which involved copper coins. We were at Grizedale Forest and we walked past a log which had hundreds of copper coins embedded in it. We stood there with our coins in our pockets and just looked at each other.

“People see that sort of strange coincidence as a manifestation of magic in everyday life. I believe everyone has had magical experiences.

“I enjoy it most when a ritual comes together, when people recognise a magical event is happening. It’s very difficult to explain that.

“A lot of people believe that witchcraft helps them engage with life in a more positive manner. Healing is a part of witchcraft. We have a number of therapists and doctors so we prefer to recommend all options.”

Janine Ashton

Janine, 30, is an administrator in Manchester. She has a deep interest in tarot and believes she is psychic.

“Witchcraft is derived from paganism. The church was always against it because it was challenging their religion. So they put a bad slant on it. We’re just celebrating the changing of the seasons. At Beltane [a festival marking the coming of summer] last year we all dressed up in white clothes and we had a May Queen and a Maypole. And we made special cakes.

“If you want something to happen, you can change things. Recently we went down to London to help promote the new TV series Eastwick. They asked us to do tarot and we also did a spell called a sigil.

“You write the thing that you want on a piece of paper, everybody chants, and you throw the piece of paper in the middle. Your wish is supposed to come true in the next few weeks.

“It sounds a bit like hocus-pocus but if people have enough will, things can happen. A few of them have come back and said their wish did come true.

“Mine definitely has. Mine was to do with work. I wanted to become a bit more focused.

“I try to incorporate as much as possible in my daily life but it’s very different from my nine-to-five life.

“The coven is like a family. Charlotte is like a sister to me. We went down to Stonehenge for the summer solstice. There were lots of druids dancing around the stones. It was just a really good atmosphere.

“My family are really open-minded. They’re not into the same kinds of things but they are interested. I explain that it’s positive, not dark magic. Whatever that is.

“It’s changed my life. Before I met these people I felt lost. When you feel different from other people it can make you miserable. You don’t fit in.

“Now I’ve found a place. Developing my spiritual side has made such a difference. Negative people have gone away. There’s no room for them in my life.”

Tali Goodwin

Tali, 40, lives in Keswick. Her partner, Lyn, is an astrologer and she became interested in tarot through him.

“I have been part of the coven for a year and it has changed my view of witchcraft. There are a lot of misconceptions but there’s nothing creepy about it.

“Witchcraft has made me recognise what actually matters in life. That you need to be more aware of the cycles of nature. Concerns about the environment have made it seem more relevant.”

Charlotte Venkratraman

Charlotte, 29, lives in Leicester and works in mental health. As a child she was taught tarot by her grandmother. She became interested in witchcraft two years ago after studying tarot at the Far Away Centre.

“Marcus is quite bookish. Everything’s based on references and old books.

“Rituals can be very simple. You start off by purifying the ground with salt water then you consecrate it with incense or with a candle.

“At Halloween the light is dying so we think of important people that have died and celebrate their achievements.

“You can use rituals in a physical way, perhaps by getting rid of hang-ups by writing them down and burning the paper.

“I don’t know if there are groups of people trying to do bad things with witchcraft. I suppose there might be.

“But the dark things are the things that are inside you. The horrible thoughts that people try to hide.

“My sister thinks I’m mad but my mum is okay. My grandma was a witch and people saw her as eccentric.

“Since joining Marcus’s group I’ve learned to be more myself. I’m more authentic, I’m not trying to be somebody else anymore. You learn about what you can do and what’s important to you. And you try to live that life rather than what other people think you should do.”

First published at 08:58, Saturday, 05 December 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk