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straightupstrangetimes · 5 years ago

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13 Not-So-Scary Movies to Get You in the Halloween Spirit!

Contributed by Kris Rustic, host of Obscure Anomalies podcast

Halloween is around the corner. Everywhere you look a horror movie is playing. For me, I love it. There is just something about being scared while knowing full well you are safe. But not everyone is into that sort of thing. My wife is one, so I tried to find lists of not-so-scary movies but was having trouble coming up with one, so I decided to write my own.

Please keep in mind, I did try to keep the list more kid and family friendly.

13. HOCUS POCUS

300 years have passed since the Sanderson sisters were executed for practicing dark witchcraft. Returning to life, thanks to a combination of a spell spoken before their demise and the accidental actions of Max, the new-kid-in-town, the sisters have but one night to secure their continuing existence. With the help of his younger sister Dani, his high school crush Allison, and a magical cat, it is up to Max to save the children of Salem.

A must see on any Halloween movie list. Full of light-hearted humour, this film is loved by people of all ages.

Watch it: Amazon Rent or Buy

12. CASPER (1995)

Furious that her late father only willed her his gloomy-looking mansion rather than his millions, Carrigan Crittenden makes a plan to burn the place to the ground. That is, until she finds a map leading to a treasure hidden under the house. But when she enters the rickety mansion to seek her claim, she is frightened away by the mansions ghostly inhabitants. Determined to get her hands on this hidden fortune, Crittenden hires afterlife therapist Dr. James Harvey to exorcise the ghosts from the mansion. Harvey and his daughter Kat move in and soon Kat befriends Casper, the ghost of a young boy, who is “the friendly ghost.” But not so friendly are Casper’s uncles--Stretch, Fatso and Stinkie--who are determined to drive all “fleshies” away. It is up to Harvey and Kat to help the ghosts cross over to the other side.

I may get some flack putting Casper this high up on the list, but hey, to each their own. Casper is a fun little film filled with the right amount of supernatural scares placed inside a package that every age can enjoy.

Watch it: Starz; Amazon Rent or Buy

11. THE WITCHES

While staying at a hotel in England with his grandmother, Helga, young Luke inadvertently spies on a convention of witches. The Grand High Witch reveals a plan to turn all children into mice through a magical formula. When they find that Luke has overheard, the witches test the formula on him. Now, with the help of his grandmother and new friend Bruno Jenkins, Luke the mouse must fight back against the evil witches.

Based on the book of the same name, The Witches is a classic. This may be one of the more frightening films on the list but is still children-friendly. Besides, who doesn’t want to save the world as a mouse.

Watch it: Amazon Rent or Buy

10. THE MONSTER SQUAD

The Monster Squad is a club of friends who idolize the classic monster-movies, especially their non-human stars. One day, Dracula, the Mummy, Frankenstein’s Monster, and other classic horror icons, all of which the club idolize, arrive in town in search of a magic amulet to destroy all the good in the world. It is up to the five friends to save the amulet from destruction and use it to cast the monsters into limbo.

One part The Goonies, one part Ghostbusters, and one part Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, the Monster Squad is a true cult classic that was way ahead of its time.

Watch for yourself and find out if the “Wolfman has nards.”

Watch it: Amazon Rent or Buy

9. BEETLEJUICE

Adam and Barbara are like every other happily married couple -- who just happen to also be dead! Before they died, Adam and Barbara had spent their vacation to decorate and make the house their own, that is, until the fatal car crash. Unfortunately, a new family is moving in, and not quietly as they make plans to redecorate the house with the help of an interior designer. Adam and Barbara try to scare them out, but end up becoming the main attraction to the money making family. They call upon Beetlejuice to help, but Beetlejuice has more in mind than just helping.

While having a special place in my heart for taking place in Connecticut, Beetlejuice is an all around classic starting Michael Keaton and a young Winona Ryder.

Watch it:: Amazon Rent or Buy

8. PARANORMAN

Norman Babcock has the ability to speak with the dead -- and he often prefers their company to that of the living. Norman learns from his estranged uncle that a centuries-old witch’s curse on their town is real and about to come true -- and only Norman can stop it. When zombies rise from their graves, Norman and his ragtag team must summon all their courage and compassion to the limit to save his fellow townspeople. Taking place in the fictional town of Blithe Hollow, this stop-motion film is a beautiful take on the Salem Witch Trials.

I have to admit, I slept on this movie when it first came out. I had no interest in it at all, but then I watched it and became an instant favourite. The humour is a little more blue for a “children’s” movie, but the lesson learned in the end is valuable for all involved. Did I mention it is also well known for being the first mainstream animated film with an openly gay character?

Watch it: Sadly it is not available for streaming on Amazon, Netflix, or Hulu at this time, due to licensing agreements

7. FRANKENWEENIE

Young Victor Frankenstein is a science nerd and an outsider at school, but he does have one friend, his dog Sparky. Sadly, tragedy strikes, taking Sparky away from Victor. Heartbroken, Victor is given an idea of how to bring Sparky back to life. The experiment is a success and everything goes fine, that is, until his fellow students learn of his secret and use it to resurrect their beloved lost pets. Frankenweenie is a heartwarming tale of a boy and his dog, and the lengths we would go to keep our beloved friend.

I consider Frankenweenie to be the sister movie to ParaNorman. Both are stop motion and came out in the same year. The difference is Frankenweenie takes you back to the classic universal horror icons in a brand-new way. Did I mention it is in black and white and has that classic monster movie feel?

watch it: Rent on Youtube

6. NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

What happens to the Pumpkin King when he tires of being just that, the King of Halloween. Jack Skellington is bored of the same annual routine of scaring the people of the real world. One day, he stumbles upon Christmastown, full of bright colours and warm spirits, bringing a new lease to Jack’s life. He plots to bring Christmas under his control, only to find that the best-laid plans of mice and skeleton can go awry.

Originally I intended only one movie per director, but I don’t think you can begin to discuss family friendly Halloween without Tim Burton, especially because you cannot have a Halloween list without Nightmare Before Christmas. In all fairness, this is the perfect movie to finish out the year with.

Watch it: Amazon Rent or Buy

5. COCO

Miguel dream of becoming a musician, just like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz. The problem, his family has a generations-old ban on music. Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel steals Ernesto’s guitar and finds himself in the colourful Land of the Dead. With the help of a charming trickster named Héctor and Miguel’s dog Dante, Miguel must find his way back home, meanwhile learning the truth about his family’s past.

All bite. Coco is a Dia de los Muertos movie. I know some of you will complain that it is not a Halloween movie. Truth is, the spirit of Dia de los Muertos and Halloween are close enough for me to warrant inclusion into the list. The scenery and background is gorgeous, the story will tug at the heartstrings, and you will get to learn a little about the culture behind Dia de los Muertos, even if a bit Disneytized.

Watch it: Netflix

4. HALLOWEENTOWN

On Halloween, while Marnie is arguing with her mother Gwen, the kids’ grandmother Aggie comes to visit. Aggie wants to start Marnie’s witch training before her 13th birthday or Marnie will lose her powers forever. But there is another reason for Aggie’s visit. Something dark and evil is growing in Halloweentown, and Aggie wants help to defeat it. While Aggie and Gwen are arguing, Aggie uses magic, which Marnie observes. After Aggie leaves to return to Halloweentown, Marnie, Dylan and, unknown to Marnie and Dylan, Sophie follow her onto the return bus. Soon afterwards, Gwen follows the children to Halloweentown. While there, Aggie and Gwen are attacked by the dark force. Marnie, Dylan and Sophie have to race to get the ingredients to activate Merlin’s Wand to stop the evil and save Halloweentown.

A classic made for TV Disney movie, this film (and all sequels) are a perfect Halloween movie for all ages, and albeit a little cheesy at times. But who doesn’t love the occasional cheesy movie?

3. SCOOBY DOO AND THE WITCH’S GHOST

When the Master Gang Scooby meet a famous horror writer Ben Ravencroft (who may or may not be based off of Stephen King) during their last mystery, he invites them to his small hometown of Oakhaven, Massachusetts to join in the annual Autumn Fest. Ravencroft tells the Mystery Gang about the history of his ancestor, Sarah Ravencroft, who happened to be an evil witch and is supposedly haunting the town of Oakhaven. The gang decides to help the town and solve the mystery of the Witch’s Ghost.

This was tough to pick. We have Scooby Doo and the Ghoul School, Scooby Doo and Zombie Island, I mean honestly any Scooby Doo movie could fit. But I picked Witch’s Ghost for three simple reasons: takes place during the fall, witches, and the Hex Girls, a fictional all-female Goth Rock Band.

Watch it: Amazon Prime, Boomerang Channel on Amazon

2. MONSTER HOUSE

13-year-old DJ is obsessed with his creepy neighbour, Nebbercracker, and his eerie house. After all, rumours of his past have run rampant in the town. But one day, DJ and his friends witness the house come to life. Unable to find an adult that will believe him, and with Halloween vastly approaching, it is up to DJ and his friends to find a way to destroy the house before innocent trick-or-treaters meet their end.

At times, this film is a little on the frightening side, at least for the younger ones. The characters are well thought out and put together. While the animation is not ground breaking, it looks great and fits the movie perfectly. A perfect film for those looking for a fun, clean movie this Halloween.

Watch it: Amazon Rent or Buy

1. GOOSEBUMPS 2: HAUNTED HALLOWEEN

While collecting junk from an abandoned house, best friends Sonny and Sam come across an unpublished “Goosebumps” book. Opening it, they release Slappy, a mischievous talking dummy. Hoping to start a family, Slappy kidnaps Sonny’s mother and brings fourth all of his ghoulish friends (creatures and monsters from the Goosebumps novels) to life, just in time for Halloween. The sleepy town becomes overrun with monsters, witches, and other mysterious creatures. It is up to Sonny, his sister Sarah, and Sam to save their town, his mother, and foil Slappy’s plans.

Goosebumps (2015) is a pure nostalgia ride with a brand new feel and Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween is no different. Trading in some of the humor for a little more horror feel, the movie has a little bit to offer for everyone.

Watch it: Netflix

The truth of the matter is, this list is not perfect and may never be complete, but it is a great starting point to the ever growing list of the Not-So-Scary Halloween movies. I feel in writing this, I have left so many great films off, so I have a list of some runner up films that just barely missed being on my top 13.

RUNNER UPS

HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA

Dracula and the classic horror monsters are afraid of humans. In an attempt to take a vacation away from humanity, Dracula operates a hotel way off in the woods. One day, a brave human makes his way to the castle, where the human and Dracula’s daughter “Zing”.

ADDAMS FAMILY (1991)

A man claiming to be Uncle Fester, the missing brother of Gomez Addams shows up at the Addam’s household. The family is thrilled, however Morticia begins to suspect the man is a fraud as he cannot recall details of Fester’s life. With the help of a lawyer, Fester manages to get the Addams evicted from the home. Can the Addam’s family save Uncle Fester? Can they get their home back?

DOUBLE DOUBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE

The Farmer family is in debt and might lose their house. The Farmer Twins discover the somebody mean and shrewd is responsible for all the family problems. The determined twins try to trick at their evil aunt out of her magic moonstone to save their family home.

THE ADVENTURES OF ICHABOD AND MR. TOAD

Two animated adaptations of classic literature adapted by Disney make up this film, which is the only reason it made the runner up list as Mr. Toad, while good, has nothing to do with Halloween. However, in the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow” the gangly schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, falls for the beautiful Katrina Van Tassel. Caught in a love triangle with Katrina and Brom Bones, Ichabod fears the local legend of the Headless Horseman. Is the legend more truth than lore?

ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS MEET THE WOLFMAN

Alvin loves monsters and monster movies, though he is terrified of them. Stuck with Werewolves on the mind, he believes his next door neighbour is one. Reluctantly, Simon helps Alvin investigate the neighbour. Meanwhile Theodore is bitten by a strange dog, and finds his inner “inner monster” and starts behaving like a werewolf himself.

Did I miss your favourite Not-So-Scary Halloween movie? Let me know what it is in the comments below.

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heartxshaped-bruises · 5 years ago

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four hc's - for Luce and Abel ^^

✧･ﾟ Send a character’s name to receive four different headcanons

Lucifero Mosconi

Headcanon A) realistic:

Luce is working on a book. It contains most of his original spells and knowledge he gained by his studies of plants, wine and intoxicating substances related with magic. He’s undecided if he’d publish it or if he just keeps hit for his own advantage, though.

Headcanon B) while it may not be realistic it is hilarious:

Once when he had a really awful time of not being able to pick anyone up he got so frustrated that he summoned an incubus to help him out. But he was too quick to get the summoning done and forgot to read the fine print; now the incubus still pops up out of nothing in very inconvenient situations and follows him around. This has been going on for years and Luce has no fucking idea how to get rid of him.

Headcanon C) heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends:

He’s awfully ashamed of the scars his mom’s poison left in his mouth. It’s not like they’re visible to others, but he usually gets a friendly reminder of what she did to him because they re-open at times and bleed. This happens occasionally and without a warning and he can’t explain it to others who either find it strange, concerning or interesting. It just twists his insides and embarrassed him. He can’t have it but can’t do anything about it.

Headcanon D) unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own:

Luce was originally created for an AHS: COVEN group verse and used to attend a similar private school as the Robichaux’s Academy in New Orleans - to be more precise, a rival coven and he’s only allowed to still live there because he’s the factotum for the rookie witches. Not a voluntary position since it’s mostly due to him misbehaving on one infamous Halloween. It’s his punishment and he’s a very reluctant go-to-guy for them. So… fuck most o the AHS: COVEN verse, I mixed it up with Katie MacAlister’s Audéla-Lore from her Dragon-Series anyway xD

Abel St. John

Headcanon A) realistic:

Abel has a fear of flying. Getting over the atlantic ocean to attend his drama school and back count to the worst experiences of his life and Henry practically had to bribe his 23 year old son with a package of xanax to get him on the plane.

Headcanon B) while it may not be realistic it is hilarious:

As we all know Abel’s a big fan of cars and even uses them as a cover for his weapon import / export business. But guess what he also was a big fan of - Scooby Doo! So you bet the Mystery Machine’s somewhere to find in his garage xD

Headcanon C) heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends:

Abel always prides himself with being untouchable for the local authorities. He’s a big fish, does have many friends and associates in powerful positions among politicians and the police department - nationally and internationally since the St. John’s are mostly involved in weapon import / export.

And while nothing goes wrong on that side, Donia being back in the city and deciding to get back in touch with her family accidentally leads to a row of unfortunate events that result in Abel being arrested by someone incorruptible, leaving Donia distressed after realizing that she got tricked by them.

Of course he does have his followers in prison who would have his back, but there are many others of rival mobs as well. It’d be a shame if he were waiting for the day of his trial, his lawyer, father, Donia and associates in court and him having come up with a bullet-proof plan to bail him out… only to receive kind regards from Billy O’Donoghue who saw his chance to strike and sent someone to stab him fatally. Dunno if Billy would do it himself because he does have some anger to manage after Brady passed away, but it would definitely be the final trigger. That’s it. That’s how my boy goes in a few years.

Headcanon D) unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own:

#[ answered ]#★ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴ: ʟᴜᴄɪꜰᴇʀᴏ ᴍᴏꜱᴄᴏɴɪ #★ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴ: ᴀʙᴇʟ ꜱᴛ. ᴊᴏʜɴ #[ thanks for letting me brood over the two most serious muses on here xD ]

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tomeandflickcorner · 6 years ago

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The Halloweentown Tetralogy

To commemorate this Halloween, I’ve viewed all four of the Halloweentown movies, as requested by @knightrookjones. Special thanks to @xemmaloveskillianx @unabashedlyswimmingtimemachine and @midouriya for helping me locate sources where I could watch them.

Halloweentown- The first movie in the Halloweentown Tetralogy where we’re introduced to the series’ main character, Marnie, and her family. In the first installment of the franchise, Marnie is 13-years-old, and she lives in an unnamed town with her apparently widowed mother, Gwen, and her two younger siblings, 12-year-old Dylan and 7-year-old Sophie. For some reason, Gwen is clearly adamant about preventing her children from participating in any of the usual activities associated with Halloween, from going trick-or-treating to attending costume parties. But when the family receives a surprise visit from Maternal Grandmother Aggie, played by the dearly departed Debbie Reynolds, Marnie ends up eavesdropping on a conversation between her mother and grandmother, which leads her to discover that their family are actually descended from a long line of powerful witches. But, because Gwen’s late husband was an ordinary human from the Mortal World, Gwen had decided to keep her children from ever learning of their magical heritage, in the hopes that they would grow up to be normal. This doesn’t sit well with Marnie, however, and, with her younger siblings tagging along, she ends up following Grandma Aggie back to Halloweentown, a pocket dimension where witches, goblins, monsters and every manner of spooky creature have been living in peace for centuries in order to avoid persecution from the people of the Mortal World. Shortly after they arrive, the children learn from Aggie of a mysterious being known as Shadowman, who is behind the disappearances of many of Halloweentown’s inhabitants. It eventually comes out that the Shadowman’s ultimate plan is to lead Halloweentown’s population in a revolt against the people of the Mortal World, in order to take back their rightful place instead of continuing to live in hiding. The only hope of defeating the movie’s antagonist is by activating Merlin’s Talisman, which Aggie just happens to have in her possession. But when Aggie and Gwen (who ends up journeying to Halloweentown herself upon discovering her children were not in their beds) fall prey to the Shadowman’s evil spell, it’s up to Marnie, Dylan and Sophie to help save the day.

As far as made-for-TV Disney movies go, this one is fun. I particularly like how creative they got in regards to creating the world of Halloweentown and the number of creatures that live there. We got a skeleton who drives a taxi, a werewolf hairdresser, and a literal cat woman who works as an aerobics instructor. They even had the town dentist be the actual tooth fairy. And actress Debbie Reynolds was by far one of the highlights of the movie, as she just took this role so seriously. Not just when she had to play the part of a bonafide witch, but also when she was interacting with her on-screen family. You really got the impression that she was utilizing her experience of being a real-life mother and a grandmother when she was portraying the role of Aggie Cromwell.

Of course, the movie is not exactly a masterpiece. There are a few moments when they resort to obvious green screen technology, and that can be a bit distracting. But that wasn’t my only issue with the movie. For instance, Marnie’s brother, Dylan, comes across as a bit of a pod person. I get the idea is that he’s supposed to be the serious-minded sibling, but come on. What 12-year-old kid talks like that? I’m also a bit confused on exactly why Gwen was so adamant about keeping her children from having anything to do with Halloween. The movie claims it was because of her mortal husband, but that seems like a rather weak explanation to me. It would be one thing if the movie gave any indication that Gwen had experienced some kind of ostracization because of her magical heritage when she first decided to stay in the Mortal World with her non-magic husband, but they never alluded to anything like that. Though, to the movie’s credit, Gwen eventually acknowledges that she was wrong to try and prevent her kids from learning of their family history. As far as the main character goes, Marnie was a pretty believable 13-year-old, right down to the fact that she was clearly at that stage where she felt she was, and I quote, ‘practically an adult.’ Even though everyone over the age of 20 would know that’s not the case. And admittedly, there were many times when she was a bit useless. Not that I’m saying that to mock her or anything, because she was able to figure things out on her own when it mattered the most. But at the end of the day, it actually was the little sister, Sophie, who contributed the most. They wouldn’t have managed to even activate Merlin’s Talisman in the first place if it wasn’t for this kid. Honestly, Sophie was probably the best out of the three siblings.

I also do have to applaud the movie for the reveal of the Shadowman’s true identity. I suppose you could say it was a pretty big Scooby Doo moment when it’s revealed the main antagonist was the town mayor, Calabar. They even have him do this whole bit when he explains that his true motivation was his bitterness over how Gwen ended up marrying a man from the Mortal World instead of him. That’s right, the movie’s antagonist is angry over how he was ‘friend zoned’ by his crush, and that made him decide to turn evil. I can see how this could potentially rub some people the wrong way. Of course, on the other side of the coin is Luke, who is initially Shadowman Calabar’s smart mouthed flunky. At first, he admittedly comes across as this punk kid who thinks he’s all high-and-mighty because of his position of being the main antagonist lackey. But once he figures out that Shadowman Calabar is even willing to harm Aggie and the rest of the Cromwell family in his quest to overthrow the Mortal World, he quickly recognizes the error of his ways and even helps Marnie save the day. On a final note, I think it could be argued that the way they ultimately defeat Calabar seems a bit too convenient, in the sense that it really comes across as a whole ‘defeated by the power of love/friendship/etc.’ sort of deal. Especially when Dylan is suddenly revealed to have magic powers as well, despite there not being anything to suggest he had inherited the magical gene before that point. But hey, it’s clear this was never meant to be this big epic movie, so I suppose I can cut them some slack. After all, for what this movie was, it was pretty good. Though the people who wrote the movie’s script really need to come up with better insults. (Seriously, did Marnie actually call Shadowman Calabar ‘chocolate bar?’ What kind of insult is that?)

Halloweentown 2: Kalabar’s Revenge- The first sequel to the Disney Channel original movie, this one was certainly the darkest film of the four. But it also brought about a slight issue with how to spell the name of the first movie’s antagonist. The title card for this movie stated it was spelled with a K, but the closed captions and opening & closing credits for the first installment had his name begin with a C. But that’s probably just a small nitpick. Regardless, I’m going to continue spelling it with a C for these reviews. Anyway, the movie opens on Halloween night, exactly two years after the events of the first movie. Right away, we see that Aggie has moved in with her daughter and grandchildren, and Gwen has eased up on her anti-Halloween stance enough to allow her family to throw a Halloween party at the house. Of course, that doesn’t mean things are completely harmonious for the Cromwell family, especially since Marnie is scheduled to spend an entire year in Halloweentown with Aggie in order to focus on her training, as she is first in line to become the next head of the Cromwell line. And if Marnie chooses to follow that path, she’d have to completely give up her life in the Mortal World. Which is something that would deeply affect Gwen. Of course, Marnie is still a bit of an idiot, and when a young boy her age named Cal shows up at the party, Marnie instantly develops a crush on him, like you do. And, in order to impress her new crush, she proceeds to show him around the house, including a stop at Aggie’s room. This, of course, proves to be a mistake, as Cal is actually Calabar’s long-lost son. No word on who the baby mama was, but it appears Cal has decided it’s up to him to continue his father’s work in conquering the Mortal World. Taking advantage of Marnie’s naive trust in him, he steals Aggie’s spell book and uses it to cast a spell on all of Halloweentown, turning the whole place into a warped version of the Mortal World, in which everything is dull and gray and the people of Halloweentown are transformed into caricatures of boring old humans. This, of course, turns out to be only the first step in Cal’s evil plan, as he only casts this spell in order to trick Marnie and Aggie into entering Halloweentown, thereby getting them out of the way while he gets to work on his real plan- turning the humans into the very creatures they dress up as for Halloween, as punishment for always mocking the people of Halloweentown. When Aggie is once again put out of commission because of Cal’s spell, Marnie has to team up with, Luke, the goblin she befriended in the last movie, to try to find a way to fix things while Sophie and Dylan work to assist them from the Mortal World. They even manage to utilize a time traveling spell in their attempts to stop Cal’s plan. While there are moments in the movie where it seems like they’re simply following the formula from the last film, there’s still enough fresh elements to make things seem new and interesting. Including the introduction of the crotchety Gort, who collects and hoards every single item that’s ever lost in both Halloweentown and the Mortal World. Basically, every time something ends up lost, from that last puzzle piece to the left sock, it magically ends up at Gort’s place.

In a lot of ways, this movie often seems to be better than the last one. Especially since the stakes seem a lot higher, as Cal’s plans will effectively destroy both worlds if he succeeds. We also get a legitimately creepy scene where the mother, Gwen, is transformed into a hag and even tries to attack Sophie. And, towards the end, it really seems that Cal actually wins, as the portal between Halloweentown and the Mortal World closes before Marnie, Aggie and Luke can succeed in stopping Cal, which means they’ll be stranded in Halloweentown and won’t be able to save Dylan, Sophie and Gwen, not to mention everybody else, for an entire year. But because of another Deux ex Machina moment, which involves Marnie deciding that they can take advantage of the strength of the Cromwell family’s magic and pretty much rewrite the laws of magic, they manage to reopen the portal despite Halloween being over.

One thing I particularly liked in this movie were the scenes with Sophie and Dylan. And not just because these two really sold the whole brother and sister dynamic. Sophie is more or less the same as she was in the last movie, but she’s become a bit more assertive than the sweet little 7-year-old she was when we last saw her. Dylan, on the other hand, really has improved in terms of his believably. In the original movie, the character of Dylan came across as if it had been written by someone who wanted him to act like a nerdy stick-in-the-mud kid, but had never actually been around a 12-year-old and therefore had no idea how they actually acted and spoke. This time around, Dylan’s characterization was much more believable. He’s still reluctant to embrace his magical heritage, but he actually does act like an average 14-year-old. Especially when he’s trying to find a date to a costume party at the school later that night. (Though that does seem a bit odd, that the Cromwells throw a Halloween party at their house when there’s another party being held later on that night. Exactly how long is this Halloween night supposed to be?)

Now, there’s this one part in the movie that, depending on your sensitivity level, might be offensive. There’s a character in the film named Alex, who poses as Cal’s father before Cal’s true identity as Calabar’s son is revealed. Thanks to Sophie’s intuition, Alex is eventually revealed to be a golem that Cal created out of frogs. Considering the golem is a figure of Jewish folklore, the inclusion of Alex in this movie could potentially offend some people and be taken as cultural appropriation, especially when the golem was created and controlled by a warlock. It’s possible that this was just an unfortunate oversight on Disney’s part (and let’s face it, they do have a history of overt racism in some of their movies, particularly the older ones,) but you could argue that makes it even more offensive. That particular issue aside, however, this was a good sequel to Halloweentown, as it brought back the whole cast and actually connected to the events of the first movie. But the problem is, the sequels that came after the movie never referenced anything about Cal again. That admittedly bothered me a lot, because the movie even had them acknowledging that Cal would probably come back. But if he did, we never saw it happen. Talk about a major loose end.

Halloweentown High- Once again, two years have passed, and Marnie has been commended by the Halloweentown Council (because there’s a high council now) for the part she played in ensuring the portal between Halloweentown and the Mortal World would remain open all year round, and not just on Halloween. But now, Marnie has developed an idea to fully heal the rift between humans and the people of Halloweentown by creating an exchange program of sorts, in which some teenagers from Halloweentown would actually attend a school in the Mortal Realm. Unfortunately, Marnie ends up accidentally wagering her entire family’s magic on the outcome of this, meaning that if this attempt to prove that humans have changed since the creation of Halloweentown and would no longer persecute the creatures that live there doesn’t work, then her entire family would lose their magical powers forever. When Marnie realizes what she’s just done, she is reasonably uneasy, but is still confident that she can make this work, as long as she’s there to help guide the Halloweentown students, which consist of Cassie the witch, Pete the Werewolf, Natalie the troll, Nancy the fairy, Chester the gremlin, Bobby the ogre, and Ethan the warlock, with the non-humanoid students donning human disguises while attending the school. The whole human disguise thing alone was pretty laughable by itself, as they’re basically just wearing human skinsuits like it’s a Men in Black movie. (Wasn’t there a spell that could make them appear human?) Aggie also ends up stepping in to assist Marnie’s efforts by getting a teaching job at the school. But of course, this movie decides it wasn’t enough to just have this be a simple high school themed movie, because we also have to contend with an apparent threat from Knights of the Iron Dagger, a fabled order that sought to destroy all things magical.

Okay, I’m just going to come out and say it. This movie was terrible! I can’t think of a single scene in this movie that I even remotely liked. In fact, while watching it, I kept checking the time to see how much longer I had to endure this crap. I think the worst part was that they were clearly trying to give the movie this whole underlining message about prejudice and whatnot, but the execution of it was just so horrible. In the climax of the movie, it’s revealed that the father of the warlock student, Ethan, who is actually on the Halloweentown Council, wants the portal between Halloweentown and the Mortal World to be closed permanently. So he conspired with the human school’s principal to expose Marnie as a witch in the worst possible way, by making it look as if she was openly attacking the school with her magic at the school’s annual Halloween Bash. Thereby getting the other students to resort to a mob mentality and try to chase her and the Halloweentown exchange students out of town. But all it takes for everyone to calm down is a whole ‘shame on you’ speech from Cody, Marnie’s new love interest, and then it’s all hunky dory. Even the school principal, who was in league with the movie’s main antagonist, ends up changing his tune because of his apparent crush on Aggie. Okay, obviously, it should go without saying that prejudice is bad. But it’s a very complex issue. It’s not something that can be instantly solved with the substance of an after school special. So seeing the way this movie resolved everything was quite eye rolling. They even have Aggie completely forgive the principal, even though he had been openly persecuting her and her granddaughter moments before. While forgiving someone is obviously admirable, it’s a bit bothersome that the movie is acting as if Aggie should just forget all about what the principal had just tried to do and enter into a relationship with him. Just saying, forgiving someone does not mean you have to let them back into your life. Especially if there was a serious breech in trust between you and the person you’re forgiving.

And even the way this movie portrays characters we’ve grown to love in the first two movies was really bad. Sophie, who was a prominent character in previous installments of the Halloweentown series, is now little more than a background character. And she seemed to disappear from the movie altogether after the mall scene. That alone was annoying, as Sophie was arguably a better and smarter witch than Marnie, and the only reason why Marnie was first in line to be the head of the Cromwell line was because she was the oldest. As for Aggie, she suddenly seems to be more of a senile old woman than a powerful and wise old witch, with the movie playing her up for laughs. I’m just saying, considering she’s supposed to have spent four years living in the Mortal World, you’d think she’d be a bit more careful in regards to her magic and wouldn’t accidently magically create a parrot in front of a roomful of students. Oh, and Gwen, who had made it clear beforehand that she wanted to simply live her life as an ordinary mortal like her late husband and only used her magic in special circumstances, is now using her magic in everyday situations. The only character who seems to have maintained his characterization from the last two movies is Dylan, even though he spends most of the movie sharing a possible romance subplot with Natalie the Troll.

Finally, there’s the fact that they’ve seemingly forgotten all about Cal, the antagonist of the last movie. Even after the last movie implied that he would be back, we never see him do so. They don’t even acknowledge his existence, even though they had the perfect opportunity to do so. At one point, Marnie and Aggie are having a mild argument about Marnie’s latest crush, Cody, with Aggie being suspicious of him as Cody has apparently just moved into the area. So, when they start seeing evidence that the Knights of the Iron Dagger were lurking around the school, Aggie speculates that Cody might have something to do with it. Of course, Marnie isn’t interested in hearing any accusations against her crush, but this was such a perfect opportunity for Aggie to say something like ‘remember what happened the last time you met a boy who had just moved here.’ But they don’t. It’s such a missed opportunity. And by the way, why are the movies so determined to give Marnie a love interest? I know, she’s supposed to be a teenage girl and all. But doesn’t she have enough on her plate, considering she’s training to be a witch while trying to help bridge the gap between Halloweentown and the Mortal World so they won’t have to remain separate anymore? Not to mention the fact that her entire family’s magic is on the line. Does she really have the time to worry about finding romance? I’m not saying that finding love is necessarily bad, but it is bad to imply that someone NEEDS to have a boyfriend to be fulfilled. Besides, what happened to Luke? I know there was never anything to suggest that they were ever more than friends, but Luke clearly had a crush on Marnie ever since they first met at 13. And the last movie had him saying something along the lines of how he believed anything was possible as long as Marnie was there. So I was admittedly a bit of a Marnie/Luke shipper. Thus, I was really upset that we didn’t see him appear in this movie. They could have easily made him be one of the Halloweentown exchange students. Even if they didn’t have him and Marnie end up together, they had a pretty good friendship going on. I would have been satisfied with them simply continuing on as good friends.

Return to Halloweentown- Okay, apparently, Halloweentown High was supposed to be the final installment of the Halloweentown series. But in 2006, someone over at Disney decided to try and squeeze out a bit more milk from the franchise, creating this fourth film. I’m not sure why they thought it was a good idea, as Halloweentown High wasn’t even good. And apparently, Kimberly J. Brown seemed to agree that this was a bad idea, as she didn’t return to reprise her role as Marnie, forcing them to hire Sara Paxton to take her place.

So, in this movie, Marnie has been accepted at Witch University, a college located in Halloweentown, with a full scholarship. This is a bit distressing to Gwen, who had hoped that Marnie would go to college in the Mortal World, but Marnie insists on going to college at Witch University because she didn’t want to hide her powers while attending a human college. Which does present a bit of a continuity issue, as Halloweentown High suggested that everyone now knew all about Halloweentown. And it’s not as if they try to pretend that movie never happened, especially since the character of Ethan Dalloway comes back as one of Marnie’s classmates at Witch University. Regardless, Gwen eventually allows Marnie to go off to Witch University, on the condition that Dylan goes with her. (It’s stated at one point that Dylan ended up skipping a grade). Of course, once Marnie arrives at Witch University, it slowly becomes apparent that she was only given her scholarship because this evil group of witches called The Dominion stumbled across some moldy old prophecy involving an ancient box that had once belonged to one of Marnie’s ancestors, Splendora Cromwell. This box is said to contain the Gift, an extremely powerful magic, and that only a Cromwell can open it. So this evil group of witches, which includes Witch University’s headmistress and the history professor, plan to trick Marnie into opening the box so they can steal the Gift for themselves and become all powerful. Yeah, the plot of this movie is just as painful as the one of Halloweentown High. And to make it even worse, we have to endure the inclusion of the Sinister Sisters, the typical Mean Girl™ troop, the leader of whom Dylan ends up getting a crush on simply because she can speak Latin. Which just really makes Dylan seem extremely pathetic as he doesn’t even care when Scarlet and her sisters treats him poorly. Not even Debbie Reynold’s portrayal of Aggie Cromwell could save this movie, considering she was barely in it, since Aggie was away focusing on Sophie’s witch training and only appeared briefly through magical hologram. Yeah, that’s right. Sophie wasn’t even in this movie, and Aggie only briefly appears twice. Instead, we got a Aggie lookalike in the form of Miss Periwinkle, one of the professors at Witch University.

Of course, one of the most painful aspects of the movie is one I have to go into spoiler territory for. Marnie, at one point through some more time travel shenanigans, ends up finding out that Splendora Cromwell was actually just a younger version of Aggie. And that the Gift was a magical amulet that could be used to grant the wearer the power to control anyone. Unfortunately, after she finds that out, the members of the Dominion try to blackmail Marnie into helping them enslave all the non-magical inhabitants of Halloweentown. Okay, since when was it even hinted at the fact that some witches and warlocks viewed the non-magical inhabitants of Halloweentown as inferior? Wasn’t the last movie’s attempts to send an anti-prejudice message bad enough? Now we got a moral about segregation? Even though these are good points to get across, the Halloweentown films are not exactly the best place to try and convey those messages. Besides, how did we go from angry warlocks who wanted to punish humans for persecuting them to angry witches and warlocks viewing their non-magical neighbors as inferior beings?

It’s just really upsetting that the Halloweentown franchise went so downhill like this. The first two installments were really good. Not great, but really good. They were fun and imaginative and unique. But then they had to go and butcher it by turning the last two movies into generic, formulaic drivel, complete with one-note antagonists who are either lack a relatable motivation or are simply being mean for the sake of being mean. And of course, they’re also trying way too hard to give the movies a relevant moral to teach kids some life lesson or whatever, completely forgetting what made the first two Halloweentown films special in the first place. We watched the Halloweentown movies because we wanted to see something fun with interesting creatures. I don’t think anyone was interested in seeing the franchise turned into bland ‘high school movies.’ Because that’s what Halloweentown High and Return to Halloweentown were. They were just another set of ‘high school movies’ that just happened to feature the characters of Halloweentown.

I don’t know what else to say. By all means, check out the first two Halloweentown movies sometime. Especially if you want to see something fun and lighthearted. As for the other two, just skip them. Because you won’t be missing much.

#halloweentown #halloweentown franchise #halloweentown tetralogy

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modronlotus · 7 years ago

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I need to get something off my chest.

I've been thinking about how my family officially found out (well, somewhat) about my practice and it's clinging to me. All of the emotions are latched on to me.

I've been wanting to tell you guys about what happened. That way you can learn from my experience. Because I'm honestly no different than any of you who haven't officially said your spirituality out loud.

So let's get this going:

First I want to say I don't officially know what I am.

I know my beliefs; I love the idea as everything is energy and manipulating it creates magic. That belief is reinforced every time I do a tarot reading or practice with my pendulum. I believe in the power of chakras, meditation, and balancing your body. I believe in your right to choose what you want out of your practice and not dictate what others should and shouldn't do. I like the ideas of Buddhism and reaching a state of enlightenment. I'm an eceltic cottage witch who likes tarot, green tarot, everything that has to do with Taurus, and five-hour baths.

But I don't know what I am religiously.

I don't dabble with deities, although I have thought of working with Hecate, Chang-E, or Nox.

But I don't know what I am religiously.

This is completely the opposite of how I grew up. I was raised as a Jehovah's Witness, I was even an Unbaptized Publisher (which is pretty much a fancy title for nothing) when I was nine.

But I remember a few things being wrong with that belief system. And I remember having a hard time with the smallest things growing up this way:

I wasn't allowed to say the Pledge of Allegiance in school. It was considered worshiping an idol. I had a teacher who refused to believe this and gave me the hardest time about it.

I remember sitting in class reading a "Young People Ask" book. Its a publication that's supposed to help explain puberty and going to school among those who aren't Witnesses to teens. There was a picture of a girl and boy kissing in a car. My grandmother came to school and whooped me because the teacher (same one as I previously mentioned) told her I was sneak reading it and being disgusting with the pictures.

I wasn't allowed to watch Scooby Doo, Harry Potter, or anything to do with ghosts, witches, demons, or anything magic. That's So Raven was off limits, especially.

I remember having a hard time explaining after Christmas break that I didn't have a Christmas. My grandparents did celebrate their wedding anniversary around that time and everyone received gifts from that, but no Christmas.

I wasn't allowed to go to Halloween parties or participate in them in school. I went trick or treating once when I was four or five; I was Blossom from PowerPuff Girls.

Birthdays aren't celebrated at all, as the two birthdays mentioned in the New Testament of Jehovah's Witnesses had someone killed. I kind of know how old my mother is and I definitely don't know how old my grandmother is because of this. It's awkward telling that to people.

I remember hearing a talk at a convention once when I had a crush on a boy who wasn't in "The Truth". We were in fourth grade, he was the son of the Vice-Principal, and was incredibly smart and sweet. A good kid. But that doesn't matter to Witnesses; you're not allowed to marry or date anyone outside of "The Truth". I remember crying my heart out during the meeting, my grandmother holding my head to her side to keep me quiet. I never told her why I was upset.

You see, growing up a Witness wasn't that bad. I didn't go anywhere really and stayed home, but I just was used to it. We weren't supposed to have friends outside the Kingdom Hall anyway.

But the problem was I felt dirty being there. I felt like an outsider. I remember looking at the two other people there that were my age and thinking about how different we were. I didn't want to be a missionary. I didn't want to give talks. I didn't want to go out in Field Service and go door-to-door. I didn't want to sit in that meeting three times a week; I constantly got in trouble for falling asleep.

The biggest wakeup call I had was when my mother tried to kill herself. I was nine, my sister was a few months old, and my mother had just gotten back into the congregation.

I still went to meetings with my grandmother, did everything the same, but didn't say anything about my mother. You see, my family doesn't like to talk about anything negative. Depression is a bad topic. Leaving the Kingdom Hall was worse.

My mother wasn't ever the same after that, but that's an entirely different discussion. But she plays apart in this story:

My mother has always prided herself on being "a friend to the friendless". She wears everything she does with a badge, even if it's not good. Like going to jail, being in a mental institution, or leaving her kids. She tries to make it sound like an amazing experience for her to have.

She has friends upon friends who are some of the lowest individuals you can think of. Thieves, drunks, druggies, etc. She helps them anyway. She considers herself their friend.

I never saw it that way. I just laid in my room, quietly cried and blasted music with a million candles lit. I read books I personally bought, like Vampire Diaries or Wolf at the Door. I loved Twilight, I'm not ashamed of it. It was an escape, especially with vampires.

One day, I received a gift from an ex-boyfriend: a pentacle necklace. I thought it was beautiful. I didn't have an association with the symbol, I just thought it was gorgeous.

I wore it everyday. My grandmother saw it, called me a demon lover and possessed, and my mother had me throw away all the books I bought. Over sixty. Twilight was spared because I was letting someone borrow them at the time and I told my mother I'd give them to him. His dog tore them to pieces.

Now, even though my family doesn't talk about and tends to forget negative things, if it's something bad that they don't like they'll never forget. Like me getting that necklace.

In December of 2015 I got married. We didn't have the money for a big ceremony, but we did our best. Bought a cake, made reservations for 15 people at a local Chinese place, and had a handfastening ceremony in the park. I made my dress from red velvet and leftover white fur from a Christmas show I was working on in college. My husband wore his interview clothes and a new cardigan. It was perfect for us.

Now, my husband wanted us to get married in winter. He hates the heat and I love the cooler time of year anyway. He chose December 21st for the first day of winter. Coincidentally that's also the winter solstice.

I got call after call, even the morning of the wedding, from my grandmother and mother about how I was being sneakily Pagan behind their back. They tried to back out of coming a good dozen times, but showed up anyway. They were the only ones from my side that did, along with my sister and my cousins under the age of seven.

I won't go into details, but my mother pretty much ruined my wedding day for my husband. I knew something bad was going to happen; I even asked my tarot cards the night before how it would go. It didn't end well.

They didnt know it, but the week before my husband and I found out we were pregnant with our daughter. I sent a letter to my mom, tried clearing the air, but before the baby was even mentioned I was pretty much disowned.

However, now that my daughter's here, my family felt a sense of entitlement. They wanted to see her. Everyone does when there's a baby. But dealing with birth and postpartum issues, I didn't want that.

So I decided a few weeks ago to call my mother and explain that I wasn't comfortable with the demanding nature of everything around my daughter. I'm still not. But she's my daughter, my decision.

She understood that, in her talking-over-me way.

Then I decided now was the time to tell her about my tarot business.

This is why: we're moving back up to where she lives soon. With how nosy everyone is, they were going to find out anyway. It's better to give a warning to avoid bigger issues down the line.

Plus my mother has a track record with hiding things like this from my grandmother. You know, to help me out and cause less drama. She'd do the same thing here, right?

Wrong.

She called me a demon, again. Didn't understand why I wanted to tell her about my business, about my spirituality. The same woman who says she'll always be there for my daughter in one sentence and then demonizes me, literally, in the next. And then she brought up my wedding day, saying I lied about getting married on the first day of winter.

How am I supposed to take that? I'm expected to lay down, agree, say I'm sorry, and forget about it. I'm expected to let her berate me and then demand to be near my child. I'm expected to agree to being a liar when I'm not.

So I cut her off. Her and everyone else.

I've dealt with the abuse my entire life. I've dealt with the toxicity my entire life. But this conversation, this hypocrisy, is not happening to my child. I don't want her to feel support and love and then complete dismissal from a family that's been there her whole life.

Not ever.

I wanted to share this because it's a constant conversation in the magical community about whether to stay quiet about your practice or expose it.

I do agree with some teachings; that you need to be like the Earth; silent and speaking when it's necessary.

I agree with keeping your craft from those who would cause harm or problems.

But I also believe in putting your foot down and nipping problems in the bud.

Should I have said anything? I think so. It was going to happen sooner or later.

I was tired of the constant battle over child care and if my business really matters and when I was going to make something of myself.

I was tired of not feeling any support.

I was tired of being told I was loved by the people who said they only cared about my baby.

I was tired of my husband being excluded from everything, and in turn me.

I was tired of being seen as less than a person by the people who raised me.

And I was tired of constantly being told, "You can always go to the Kingdom Hall".

No. I can't. And I won't.

I took some to sit down and talk with Karyn from The Lost Lemurian about my experience with coming out of the broom closet.

We also talked about how difficult it is to have an ongoing practice while living at home with religious restriction.

Take a look at our conversation here; lots of tips and tricks are given for practicing in everyday subtle ways.

Bit of a personal post today, but I hope I was able to help you in some way. Talking about your spirituality is such a sensitive topic. I just wanted to be open and honest with you guys about my own.

I also want to say if you guys ever need someone to rant to about things like this, feel free to email me. I'll listen. I'll help in any way I can. No matter what you believe, I promise that.

#witchy #witchcraft #out of the broom closet #broom closet witch #sercret witchcraft #magic #personal #story time #religion

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pussymagicuniverse · 6 years ago

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A Change is as Good as a Rest: Learning Little Lessons From Mercury

As I write this, yet another Mercury retrograde is coming to an end. When this is published, our speedy little space friend should be stationing direct, leaving varying degrees of chaos – or, as we’ll see, solved problems – in his wake. But I like the opportunities Mercury brings, even when he’s backtracking, so I thought I’d share a poem about an experience my son had during a past Mercury retrograde, and my views about how the whole mess can be helpful.

My eldest son – let’s call him C – is a quadruple Gemini (one of two signs ruled by Mercury, the other is Virgo). His natal sun, Mercury, Venus, and ascendant are all in Gemini and his chart is Mercury dominant by many miles. My second son – E – is a triple Gemini (sun, Mercury, Venus) with Virgo rising and is also Mercury dominant, but Mercury retrograde always affects C much more obviously than it affects E.

One such incident was in Summer 2017: while visiting friends in Llandudno (North Wales), I co-hosted a poetry event, and we held the readings at the end of the pier. Mercury had just started moving backwards that day, or maybe the day before. C was 14 at the time, my other sons 12 and 13, my older daughter was just a year old, and I was four months pregnant with my younger daughter. My sons were all in the arcade right next to where we were reading when C decided to wander off while the other two were playing games. It’s worth mentioning C is autistic and so am I, and while C is a mega Gemini, my own chart is Virgo dominant despite my natal sun and Mercury being in Cancer (the short explanation is: I have three planets in Virgo – Mars, Jupiter, Saturn). A minor state of emergency ensued, with poets splitting off in different directions to look for C. It turned out he’d walked all the way back up the pier to the beach. On purpose, yes, but without telling anyone where he was going. There are always a few sides to a story, and this was no exception. Several months later, I wrote the following poem, which explains our two sides to the best of my ability.

•

Mercurial

The younger ones ask where the eldest has gone, say it’s been half an hour since they saw him— in this moment the pier is ten miles long instead of just over one.

He’s the child who refuses a phone, and in this moment all bad things are possible; it’s like he wants to disappear. In this moment you almost hate the sea you love, because you know if he jumped in, he’d never make it. That’s a fine fate you’d keep for yourself, but not your children.

Everyone separates, leaves you to the vacuum of your headspace— you wander through murk of candy- floss, choking on doo-wop pumped through loudspeakers, the buzz of 2p slot machines. The sea is serene and you think it is waiting, or sated…

then someone’s calling, someone’s found him, on dry land, solid pavement beneath his feet. Your son lopes back down the pier to you, you look up to his his face, tell him how it scares you when he goes missing—his eyes clear, curious: to him you speak a dead tongue—he insists he knew where he was all along.

*reprinted from my chapbook Land and Sea and Turning (CWP Collective Press, 2018)

•

It’s interesting how Mercury retrograde played out for both of us that day in equal but opposite ways. We are both autistic, we are both heavily influenced by this mischievous planet – so while C went his own way, following his natural Gemini butterfly curiosity, it felt like everything he’d detached from – the noise, the lights, the smells, the caring about his own personal safety… – overwhelmed me instead. But there’s no point to astrological insight if we don’t allow it to teach us something. I learned to trust more in my son because of this experience – the older my boys get, the more I learn that letting them go their own way is gradual, not something that happens when they turn a specific age or leave home – and he learned to be more careful about communicating with his family.

Thankfully this most recent Mercury retrograde has been tame (though there’s still some hours left, so we’ll see how it goes). C had some misunderstandings with friends, but nothing too troublesome. It’s been a little stressful for me where communication is concerned, and deliveries have been slow, muddled, or non-existent. But I’ve used the time for quietly working on poetry projects, domestic organising (a never-ending task for a family of seven, and this Mercury has been transiting my 4th house of home and family!), and as usual, setting some things right that went a bit wrong previously – including preparing an anthology for publication after a nine month delay. I also finished my allocated therapy sessions for cptsd, complete with practical spellcraft to help me stay on track.

I’ve learned over the years that when I’m being guided to slow my pace, I better do it – and ironically fast-moving Mercury is the number one teacher for me where that’s concerned, surprisingly more often than my chart’s own slow-but-steady dominant planet, Saturn. Even the poetry reading I did this month – a guest spot at an event I was supposed to do over two years ago but had to postpone (see what I mean about setting things right?) – was in a relaxed environment.

Because it’s tinged with chaos and drama – always fun for everyone – Mercury retrograde has become well known outside of astrological or witchy circles, but it is somewhat misunderstood. I’m only a witch with my head in the stars (plus one foot on the ground and the other in the water) not a professional astrologer, but in my experience it’s not worse than anything else the planets and the zodiac throw at us – it’s a party compared to what some planets can do (yes I’m looking at you again, Saturn). And even when it isn’t fun, it’s all energy to be harnessed and used in specific ways. I always feel like the most important thing Mercury can teach us is how to change and adapt when necessary – and it can be especially effective when he’s the reason we need to do it in the first place.

Born in Southern Ohio, but settled in the UK since 1999, Kate is a writer, witch, editor and mother of five. She is the author of several poetry pamphlets, and the founding editor of four web journals and a micropress.

Her witchcraft is a blend of her great-grandmother's Appalachian ways and the Anglo-Celtic craft of the country she now calls home – though she incorporates tarot, astrology, and her ancestors, plus music, film, books, and many other things into her practice. Her spiritual life is best described as queer Christopagan with emphasis on the feminine and the natural world. She believes magic is everywhere.

Find Kate on twitter and IG - @mskateybelle - and at her website.

#mercury in retrograde #mercury in rx #mercurial #mercury #kate garrett #mercury rx lessons #mercury retrograde lessons #poetry #personal essay #motherhood #gemini #astrology #gemini children

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