#oh also i made them witchy herbalists because i can

[bumblee27]

RIGHT! Someone on Pinterest said that the fool in her wedding gown (Esther) and the woman from Coyote Stories (Margaret) are a couple, and the Beyond Beyond Beyond girl is their daughter, and then I blacked out and when I woke up this was in my Google docs. I honestly think it's the best thing I've ever written.

-

She kicked her heels against the legs of the chair she was sat on in a rhythmic pattern, and stared into her teacup (if it could be called that - it was a dishevelled thing, formed out of red clay from the river. She had made it when she was little, and her mother insisted it held too much nostalgic value to be thrown away.) with furrowed eyebrows, deep in concentration. She tried rotating the cup, looking for a shape in the leaves gathered at the bottom.

“Mama, can I have some help?”

The woman finished laying down the bundles of dried herbs she had just collected from their hook above the fire onto the sideboard for her lover to cut. “What do you need, my cub?”

“I'm trying to read my leaves. I think I can see an arrow, but I'm not sure.”

“Well, trust your instinct.” She leaned over her daughter's head to look into the cup. “The longer you overthink it, the more the message gets lost in translation. If the first thing you saw was an arrow, then it's probably an arrow.”

The girl nodded slowly.

The woman at the sink glanced over her shoulder from compiling the now finely chopped herbs into a large glass jar. “Esther, love, I need the next lot.”

“On it.”

The girl leaned back in her chair. “What does it mean?”

Esther looked to her partner. “Margaret? This is your speciality.”

“An arrow, was it? Uh,” she paused to think. “That means you'll find important information coming from the direction it points to.”

The girl looked at the arrow, and followed its point with her eyes to the front door. They had carved it themselves from red pine. It was ajar a fraction of an inch.

The cat that had been curled up at her feet nudged her leg with a cold nose. She smiled down at him and scratched behind his ears. Her chair scraped against the floor when she pushed it back to stand up. “I'm going out.”

“Alright, dear. Stay safe. Don't do anything your mama would.”

Esther clapped a hand to her chest as though she had just been deeply betrayed.

“Oh, but that rules out anything fun..”

Margaret turned to look at her daughter, whose sly grin stretched to the very corners of her face. Esther gave a triumphant cackle - “That's my girl!” - and ruffled her mousy hair.

“Go on, then. I'm sure there's some new discovery waiting for you ”

The girl looked down at the cat. “Come on!” and jogged over to the door.

“Be back for dinner!”

“I will!”

She paused to pull on her boots, pushing open the door and watching as a murder of crows that had been pecking at the ground in front of their house took off in various directions, expressing a number of caws of agitation at being disturbed.

She stepped out, and took a moment to breathe in the air. It was crisp, but not cold.

October was her favourite season.

She made a sort of window shape with her hands, and looked up at the sky through it. The clouds were gathered thick, and they were the colour of bone. She traced the silver lining with her finger.

An impatient meow pulled her from her thoughts. She laughed. “I'm coming, I'm coming!”

Autumn leaves crunched beneath foot and paw.

Her breath caught in her throat and she froze where she stood when somewhere, far, far away, a howl resounded through the forest. And another. And another. And then there was a whole chorus, and they were singing to the earth, and, God, it was just the most beautiful thing.

A laugh that made no noise escaped her throat, and she beamed. The wind started to pick up, so she turned her collar up against it.

And then she started to run.

Her pulse was clear, and rushing in her ears. She didn't quite know where she was going; she just ran.

Happy. And free.

[spellsofcraft-blog]

What is a Traditional Witch?

I found this great article written by owner of http://www.thevillagewitch.co.uk 

I have been explaining this to people for many years and I have made quite a few people very angry with this sort of information. So, on that note, here is the article. PLEASE read the whole thing before coming to any conclusion. If this upsets you, that’s a bummer. If you understand, that’s great. 

NOTE: the following was not written by me and I take no credit for it. I am merely passing on the information. 

Traditional witches do not follow any rules as such. They do not have a rede (Wiccan rede or otherwise),  they do not follow the threefold law or any dogma or religious writings.  Because of this traditional villages witches will do whatever they feel is needed for any particular situation.  Witchcraft is neither good or bad, neither white or black. It is the intent of the witch which sways each spell, blessing or rite’s outcome. It is deemed honourable for a  witch to do anything they need to, to protect their family, friends and possessions. A traditional witch is responsible for his or her own actions and that is the only moral code we live by.

As a village witch we are here to serve the local community, to offer help and advice, information and counsel, when needed on all things magical.

We do not believe in deities.  A witch following the old ways believes in the equality of all beings in the Universe, seeing them as different, separate, but never superior or inferior.  This difference is often a source of confusion as many modern day witches (those who follow the path of Wicca which was founded in the 1950′s) have many deities they worship.

Magic is around us all the time and a traditional witch makes magic a daily part of their lives. Even if it is as simple as making a cup of tea to wind down after a long day, this is an act of magic as you are making something with intent.  A village witch does not need all the trimmings a Wiccan would need to perform as spell. Wiccans tend to write chants, have color coordinated candles, ribbons and cloths, essential oils, crystals etc. Not to mention performing the spell on the right day and the right time and the right phase of the moon. Witches perform spells as needed and simply as a few words thought inside their head or a few simple words said out loud. Of course sometimes it is nice to have the spell ingredients to ‘get in the mood’ but they are not necessary.

The way you perceive the world around you has a lot to do with how your life-path will travel. A witch should always be skeptical in nature, possessing an open but critical mind.  Having an open mind is truly a wonderful thing, but not if it’s so open that you believe everything you hear.  Gather as much information as you can, listen to everything and then make decisions about how things are.

We do not show off our talents or run around all in black chanting by the frozen food aisle in our local supermarket.  Someone who strives for attention will get it, and eventually it will lead to undesirable attention.

Village witches are part of the community and offer their services to their local area, whether that be creating charms, spells or just a shoulder to cry on.  They are also there to help others learn the old ways and apprentices are often taken. We are the wise women (and men) of days gone by.  Centuries ago, the local village witch would have been held in high esteem and often called for various problems, events and also ceremonies.  The village witch would have been the local midwife, doctor, counsellor, magic maker, herbalist and much more.

When I tell people I am a Witch, about 95% of the replies I receive say “So you’re Wiccan?”….No.

I am a Witch, because I use magic, therefore I practise Witchcraft.  This means, I do whatever I need to, when I need to.

Witchcraft dates back thousands of years to it’s roots in folk magic/village wise women, where as Wicca was created in the 1950’s.   A witch does not follow a doctrine or rulebook, where as Wiccans have the Wiccan Rede  ‘an ye harm none, do what ye will��.  Witches believe that you do what is necessary and take responsibility for our actions.

Wiccans follow deities or a divine source, Traditional Witches do not.  Wicca is a faith or a belief system, Witchcraft is a way of life.  You can be both of course, you can believe in Wicca and practise Witchcraft so you are a Wiccan Witch, but Traditional Witches have no ‘faith’.  We just are.

Now all that being said, I have many friends that are Wiccan.  I totally respect their choice, it works for them and that is great, they know I’m not Wiccan and they wish me well too.  I have many (many, many lol) Wiccan books and I love to read about all cultures.  But my friends and I don’t sit there debating which way is the best because life is too short.  We are different but also share some common ground.  If we were all the same, the world would be a very boring place.

I don’t need to cast circles to work, where as most Wiccan’s do. I don’t plan spells or anything like it, if something needs doing I get it done and there is a little bit magic in everything I do. I don’t do any chanting/wailing/ throwing my arms up in the air and dancing naked around my garden (oh what a sight that would be!) because I don’t feel the need to, and it’s bloody cold most of the time in England.   Although to be fair, I don’t know many Wiccans that do that either but some do chant and if it works for them, then good, it just doesn’t work for me.

I don’t need to wear ‘witchy’ clothes or act ‘witchy’ to get something done.  I am a Witch, it’s there all the time.  I don’t have a magical name, I am just Astrid (or my friends call me Sal) because that is who I am.  Being a Witch is something that is in me, I know no different, it’s just me.

The great thing about Wicca which I think all Traditional Witches should be happy about (and if they are not, they are just being stubborn), it allowed us to be more open about practising Witchcraft and that can only be a good thing.

I hope this post helps you to understand the difference, if only in a small way.  I am not saying either way is better than the other, I just want to explain who I am and why.