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Witch’ s Tree

from Through a Sylvan Doorway by Spiral Dance

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    Step through the Sylvan Doorway into the realm of the Goddess and the Green Man, where the horned one walks the leaf-dappled pathways and bright Áine dances in the greenwood at Midsummer.
    Feel the spirit of the trees and hear the stones whisper in a land where the Fae will sing you into another time and space.
    Come closer to the fire as the shadows lengthen and the beauty of the night surrounds you; dance to the tunes of your ancestors, hear the legend of Odin’s Wild Hunt and dark tales of immortal desire. And then remember the wise ones who have gone before.
    Spiral Dance bids you welcome.

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about

A story learnt from the telling of our good friend Mike Adamson of a legend from North Yorkshire about a woman persecuted by the folk of the village as a witch. She sought sanctuary in the local church but was denied entry by the priest. To escape the mob she summoned supreme magick to turn herself into a tree, which to the mob’s frustration would not burn. In the 1980s, vandals burned the church but the tree still would not burn, and today stands in proud green finery by the main door of the gothic ruin.

lyrics

Witch’ s Tree

Five miles in from the cold North Sea
Just a stones throw from the River Tees
Stand the ruins of the church of the Trinity
Long long time passing
And by the ruins of the church of the Trinity
There’s stood for many centuries
The proud and dark Witch’s Tree from
A long long time ago
As folk lore tells it has been said
South of the village a woman lived
With healing in her hands and knowledge to give
Long long time passing
And she’d go to where the great oaks stood
Down into the timeless wood
To gather herbs when the moon was full
A long long time ago
And to the village on a summers day
Ring a rosy came the plague
‘Evil is upon us’ she heard them say
Long long time passing
The healer woman they sought to blame
And to her cottage in anger came
To burn the witch with a holy flame
A long long time ago
In their madness they will blame her
Violate and shame her
So to the church on sacred ground
In desperation she did flee
But the holy man would not hear her
And barred the great doors to her
And with the evil of the Roman church
Denied her sanctuary
To the iron gate with burning torches high
In fury they screamed, ‘The witch must die!’
Her life to take in vain they tried
Long long time passing
But supreme magick she did conjure
From Mother Earth to make her stronger
A tree she formed forever longer
A long long time ago
In the year of 1983
Vandals burned the Trinity
But not the proud Witch’s Tree
It still stands from long ago

credits

from Through a Sylvan Doorway, released July 15, 2012
Adrienne Piggott

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Spiral Dance Adelaide, Australia

With a combination of haunting vocals, intoxicating guitar riffs and groovy accordion lines, underpinned with potent bass and dynamic percussion, Spiral Dance presents an eclectic blend of traditional folk-rock with powerful self-penned songs and tunes. Rousing melodies intertwine with tales of Magick, myth and legend - music that will rock your ancestors! ... more

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