Gwynn

I am a Dyn Hysbys which is the Welsh title commonly used for a wizard, white witch, or cunning man. I am speaking of the village wise man who uses beneficent magic for healing the sick, assisting farmers with crops and livestock, and negating the effects of malefic witchcraft. Cunning craft is a philosophy or a belief system, usually composed of elements of ceremonial magic, sympathetic magic, spiritual or herbal healing, and spirit mediumship or other forms of divination. But it is not a religion unto itself. Many cunning folk were Christians. I am a Welsh polytheist. Many cunning men and women were said to have had dealings with fairies, and the fairies are the echoes of the ancient Celtic Gods among the common folk (after the coming of Christianity) . I feel I am merely restoring the gods to their rightful place. My patron god is Lludd Llaw Eraint, a variant of Nudd whom the Romans equated with Mars. Gwynn ap Gruffudd is my occult pseudonym, from the Welsh god Gwynn ap Nudd combined with my actual surname (Griffin) in its original Welsh form. Gwynn is the King of Annwvyn, the Otherworld, and leader of the Wild Hunt, taking the souls of the dead to the Otherworld. My primary religious symbol is the Celtic triskele. There is no initiatory lineage in being a dyn hysbys. A dyn hysbys can be an educated man who learns his art from the study of esoteric and occult books (such as the grimoires of ceremonial magic), a member of the clergy, or someone who has inherited his powers through his bloodline. My practice as a dyn hysbys combines Welsh mythology and folklore along with ceremonial magic, cartomancy, crystallomancy, spirit mediumship, and Reiki. For example, I call upon the Old Gods of Wales for their blessings and observe holidays from Welsh folklore: the Three Spirit Nights: Nos Galan Gaeaf (Halloween), Nos Ganol Haf (Midsummer's Eve), and Nos Galan Mai (May Eve). I use material from The Lesser Key of Solomon or The Fourth Book of Occult Philosophy for invocations and charms. I use cards or a crystal ball for psychic readings and spirit communication. I am a Komyo Reiki shinpiden and do healing and other forms of energy work. I am an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church and have performed legal marriages here in Florida. I see my path as being midway between the medieval sorcerer and the ancient Celtic priest.