Emma Kathryn Wild Witchcraft

It’s dark. The January night is cold and misty, the kind of night you might want to just curl up on the sofa, cosy and warm. But not tonight. A wassailing we will go!

On Saturday, my husband and I, wrapped up warmly, and headed out to a local farm orchard for a wassailing event that is fast becoming a community favourite. After grabbing a glass of mulled cider, we made our way to the bonfire where the crowd was beginning to gather. After a little socialising, the wassail began.

We lit our torches with flame and made a procession through the orchard, making as much noise as possible to scare away bad spirits and to wake up the spirit of the apple trees. We wove our way through (and I avoided tripping over, a triumph indeed) until we made it to the king apple tree, where we all sang and chanted. It was magical indeed, all flaming torches pushing against the misty darkness, with voices rising into the air! Then toast was handed out, and we dipped it in the wassail bowl of cider, before moving through the orchard and hanging the soaked toast on the branches of the trees, an offering to the land and the spirits and creatures that reside there. The left over cider was then poured over the roots of the king tree. Then it was time for merrymaking, music, an extremely funny plough play and a bit of morris dancing, a glorious night indeed!

Wassailing is the act of honouring the spirits of the land in the hope that they will be kind come the harvest, with gifts of bumper crops. As an animist, there is something so glorious about the wassail. Not only does it recognise that there is a reciprocal relationship between the land and ourselves, but it also honours the spirits of the land and the relationship we have with them.

This type of folk practice, for that is what it is, reminds us of our place within the world. It reminds us that the world is more than the everyday, the humdrum of work and finances, the worrying of if there is enough. It reconnects us with the land and the spirits that reside there. And it reminds us of our connection with one another too. Folk brings community together, and reminds us that we are not individuals alone, but a part of something bigger.