Robin Hood Virtual Seax-Wica Coven
This is a group of solitary practitioners in the Seax-Wica tradition. Our text book is "The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft" by Raymond Buckland. We practise self-initiation as formulated in the Seax-Wica tradition and some of us are also initiated Knights of Scandinavia as well as initiates of Avalonian Druidcraft. We make available an extensive e-library of Anglo-Saxon and Northern Tradition books to members and meet regularly online (and sometimes in person) for rituals and journeying. The Seax-Wica tradition provides a ritual framework, though our general approach is more shamanic, drawing on the work of Brian Bates and Alaric Albertsson in particular. Find us on MeWe and on Facebook
Why Robin Hood?
"the figure variously known as the Green Man, Jack-in-the-Green, Robin Hood, the King of the May, and the Garland, who is the central figure in the May-Day celebrations throughout Northern and Central Europe".
(Lady Raglan, 1939)
"The cult of Robin Hood was widespread both geographically and in time, which suggests that he was more than a local hero in the places where his legend occurs. In Scotland as well as England Robin Hood was well known, and he belonged essentially to the people, not to the nobles. He was always accompanied by a band of twelve companions, very suggestive of a Grandmaster and his coven. One of those companions was Little John, a name which may be compared with the Basque Janicot. Robin Hood and his band were a constituent part of the May-day ceremonies, they had special dances and always wore the fairies' colour, green. He was so intimately connected with the May-day rites that even as early as 1580 Edmund Assheton wrote to William ffarington about suppressing 'Robyn Hoode and the May games as being Lewde sportes, tending to no other end but to stir up our frail natures to wantonness." (Margaret Murray)
(Lady Raglan, 1939)
"The cult of Robin Hood was widespread both geographically and in time, which suggests that he was more than a local hero in the places where his legend occurs. In Scotland as well as England Robin Hood was well known, and he belonged essentially to the people, not to the nobles. He was always accompanied by a band of twelve companions, very suggestive of a Grandmaster and his coven. One of those companions was Little John, a name which may be compared with the Basque Janicot. Robin Hood and his band were a constituent part of the May-day ceremonies, they had special dances and always wore the fairies' colour, green. He was so intimately connected with the May-day rites that even as early as 1580 Edmund Assheton wrote to William ffarington about suppressing 'Robyn Hoode and the May games as being Lewde sportes, tending to no other end but to stir up our frail natures to wantonness." (Margaret Murray)
Although Margaret Murray and to a lesser extent Lady Raglan are now considered historically unreliable their speculations concerning Robin Hood contain more than a grain of truth and certainly they have positively influenced the revival of Wicca in the 20th century. Whilst being aware of more realistic and empirically verifiable studies of the Robin Hood legends, we embrace the ideas of earlier folklorists, as part of our foundation myth.
Rainbow seen from the former Robin Hood Covenstead in Norway
Viking Grave with the former Covenstead in the background
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The Seax-Wica Symbol
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Link to our present Covenstead in Spain - Casa del Grial
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Seax-Wica ceremony at Casa del Grial
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Gesiths, Wayland & Bakari
"The Passing of Robin Hood" by N.C. Wyeth (1917)
