Nestled deep within the Arden forest of middle Mercia lies the bluebell carpeted Elfenwald, an enchanted woodland home of many creatures by day, and as many under the luminous gaze of Luna. Be careful where you tread lest you stumble upon something strange or get elfshot for your trouble. Heed the ancient advice and accept no food or drink, however tempting, else forever a guest of Elfhame you remain.
We are fortunate enough to abide in this place, occasioning into the dense oak and ash woodland where our forebears have lived and worked in harmony with the landscape, leaving an indelible mark for us to discover as to the mysticism carried on the Air.
Surrounding us is a world once alive in the imaginings of a young Shakespeare, who found Eden as you like it. A world once held in the iron grip of a Kingmaker and his noble kin who feast within the stone walls of the finest castle in the land.
Here the hero Guy slew the Dun Cow and married an Earl's daughter. White horses carry golden ladies through walled cities adorned in nought but nature's finest apparel. In the rolling hills of the open countryside an ancient circle of stones protects its rites, while a witch turns a King to stone.
Welcome to this leafy shire where the Good Folk dwell...
Disclaimer: This is not a Clan of Tubal Cain website and the views expressed here do not necessarily represent those of any tradition emanating from Robert Cochrane & Evan John Jones.
This is a link to an interesting poem by Sylvia Plath, wife of Poet Laureate Ted Hughes, and inspirational word-smith herself. Sylvia Plath Forum features here The Bee Meeting, a poem that evocatively describes the gathering of a village at an apiary.
Who are these people at the bridge to meet me? They are the villagers
The imagery that Plath evokes is one of initiation, the celebrants adorned in disguises, their movements ritualised and with purpose, the results producing a golden elixir but the air is full of stings.
Plath's involvement in the occult with Ted Hughes to awaken the poetic subconscious is expressed here in the imagery used. The Bee Meeting does draw some interesting parallels with ritual.
Which is the rector now, is it the man in black?
Recently, there has been much debate over the virtue of the Maid of the Clan of Tubal Cain. Intrinsic to this is our understanding of how the lineage is passed, and the passing of virtue itself. Immediately, those unfamiliar with this terminology in the occult sense might be on a less than sure footing. Therefore, there has been an assumption that the truth might lie somewhere between the two opposing versions. Let us be clear: there is no grey area in this.
Robert Cochrane belonged to a path that is currently labelled Traditional Witchcraft (or simply Craft) to diferentiate it from those traditions eminating from Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders, or any other of the neo-pagan, eclectic Wicca branches in the mainstream and populating the shelves of Waterstones. To be even more frank, Robert Cochrane was vehemently anti-Gardnerian and it would be safe to conclude, from his writings, that present day Wicca would not be his thing.
Shani Oates, in an interview given in the latest edition of The Cauldron, makes clear that the passing of the virtue of the Clan is very different in concept and form to the Wiccan 3rd degree. Whilst Wicca perpetuates itself through a degree system of initiation, culminating in the elevation to third degree, a status equal to the initiator, thereby allowing the formation of a seperate and autonomous coven, Traditional Craft recognises no such equivelant. A group may be adopted into the Clan, but they do not assume the level of Maid in the same hierarchical capacity of Wicca or other systems.
Recently, friends of Ronald "Chalky" White, one of the founders of The Regency, have set up a website offering some of the words and work of the man himself. Once a member of Robert Cochrane's Royal Windsor Cuveen, "Chalky" White was a pioneer in the modern pagan movement and his unpublished handbook is a key feature of the website.
In the past, The Regency have suffered rumours of political ideology and extremist views and this site aims at setting the record straight: Moreover, it provides some truly insightful thinking behind ritualised mythology and its application.