The Briar Book of the Dead

by A.G. Slatter

The Briar Witch makes the decisions, is our figurehead, our protector. The steward is her support, her right hand, her facilitator – and the physicker (attending to public health) and marshal (security and our environment, wild and built) report to her. Briar Witch and steward are intertwined and the prosperity of Silverton

Functions of the briar witches

grandmother will go safely into the beyond, the other places, that one day she might return and tread the earth again, elsewhere and in new form, part of the cycle as the trees and plants and animals are, born, living, dying, resting, returning, repeating it over again.

Nery is stitching the wedding quilt that will lie on Iris and Aaron’s marital bed. It’s white and soft as a cloud; she’s sewn silver charms (love knots and bows, tiny horseshoes) for luck and fertility into its layers, as well as stitched stylised sprigs of apple blossom and rose and lavender and balm of Gilead into the design. Swan feathers will go into the pillows in hopes of ensuring fidelity

Love this because it’s an old folk magick tradition to do this!

Witchcraft is about a balance, a give and take; it requires ritual and preparation.

now, practise in the open, don’t think twice about it. It’s a privilege to do so, to not consider whether it will get you killed. You’ve been trained and guided and given a chance to grow. Many witches were not so lucky.’

Truth - even in today’s day and age!

‘Tourmaline,’ says Edgar. ‘Black tourmaline.’ ‘Good for grounding and grieving, devouring dark energies, reputed to help circulation,’ I recite, a memory from some book or other. ‘And to ward off ghosts.’

Love the little touches of real witch aspects in the book!

just that some women didn’t want masters.

But they knew, each of them, that power corrupts, and when you feel like a god – or

a need to be one – that’s the time to step back from whatever you’re doing.

You can absolutely read and enjoy Briar Book on its own, you don’t need to read Of Sorrow and Such. But honestly, why wouldn’t you want

There is a book before this one