THE WATCHTOWERS

by Katarina Elaine

“I see you.”

It feels good to be seen. It feels validating to be understood. To have your efforts noticed. To be witnessed in your rites. People change when they feel seen.

“We see you.” is the message of the Watchtowers of Wicca.

Are you familiar with the observer effect? In quantum mechanics, when observing individual quanta the outcome changes based on the observer’s methods. Certain measurements and observations cause quanta to behave as particles, but different methods may cause them to behave like waves. Whether and how the experiment is observed changes the outcome.

This phenomenon well demonstrates the purpose of one of the more vague and misunderstood aspects of Wiccan mythology.

The Watchtowers, The Guardians of the Watchtowers, The Watchers, or The Mighty Ones, are referenced in multiple traditions but rarely taught about.

If we were to create this section of Wiccan ritual today, we might have named them something like The Satellites or The Guardians of the Space Stations instead. A watchtower in ancient times would have been the highest point with the best perspective of the world. Ancient watchtowers such as The Tor in England are considered sacred and steeped in lore. This denotes their wisdom and their distant nature. In certain occult traditions The Watchers correspond to angels, in others they are considered manifestations of the elemental forces.

Though names and definitions may vary, the subtle purpose of these archetypes is tangible across traditions. They might be called on as protectors, but they also have an observer role in Wicca not unlike the Watchers in Marvel comics. They are called upon to witness the magick being worked. To validate. By their observation the outcome is changed.

It was years before I began to work with the Watchers myself. As a student, I just didn’t understand the point of them. Nobody seemed to have a clear answer for me back then, so I cut them out of rituals for years. It took a personal gnosis experience for me to understand their existence. Even after that, it took time for me to realize their observer effect and the immense value of being seen.

If you aren’t familiar with The Watchtowers, here are a few evocation examples…

“Ye Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, ye Lords of Air; I do summon, stir and call you up, to witness our rites and to guard the Circle.”

-Janet and Stuart Fararr

"I summon, stir, and Call thee up, thou Mighty Ones of the East, South, West, and North."

"I summon, Stir, and Call Thee up, Ye Mighty Ones of the (East, South, West, North) To witness the Rites and to guard the Circle."

-Gardiarian

“Hear ye, O Mighty Ones, Dread Lords of the (East, South, West, North). I (your name) Priestess and Witch do summon you, and I do command your presence at this meeting, that our circle be guarded and our rites be witnessed.”

-Book of Shadows by Lady Sheba

“In the names and Letters of the Great (Southern, Western, Eastern, Northern) Quadrangle, I invoke ye, ye Angels of the Watchtower of the South!”

-Golden Dawn

“And in the names of the four Mighty Ones, the rulers of the elements, may power and blessing descend, in this hour upon this place, and those gathered here.”

-Alexandrian

(picture of The Tor and the Four Enochian Tablets)