Which Witch

"I’ve always been convinced that women have a supernatural ability to know what’s going on in a man’s soul. They’re all witches.”

― Paulo Coelho, The Witch of Portobello

I have friends who call themselves witches, but they are very adamant that they are white witches.  I had to read about it because, as I said, I have friends who call themselves white witches and I wanted to know more so I could understand their thinking.  Always be very careful about misconceptions because it is real to them, even if you differ in thoughts.  We are sisters to all and we do not want to insult or deny them their right to be comfortable with who/what they choose to be or feel called to be. I do know there are many who are trying to take back the term witch as healer/spiritual  rather than the negative.  For some, I believe, it helps them have some identity.   Some are, but do not wish to call themselves such because of the negativity.  There are, as I have heard, Self-proclaimed, hedge, green, white, kitchen, witches.  I am sure there are more that self-identify but label themselves differently than these.  Today they not only self-identify but they self-name what type they are. 

Sometimes I wonder if some of the young ones who proclaim a label so quickly are simply being rebellious or attention-seeking.  The witches I know are quiet, well-set in well-defined ways of being a witch, and are not, in any way, negative, nor are they brewing spells and creating charms to do ill to others. "Do No Harm!" is their basic belief about being knowledgeable about personal identification.   Many are taking a stand against Patriarchy, some are taking a stand against organized religions, and some are marching for empowerment of positives of/for feminism.  Most do not brag nor threaten nor inundate others with personal identifications of being Witch.  They choose what to identify with as far as knowing about and using stones, herbs, oracles, gazing balls, candles, oils, etc.  They seek to empower themselves and others.  I have many 'Good' witch friends who do not need to join in a group to feel empowered. 

In looking at definitions of what a Witch is, it could be someone who does magic in their kitchen with awesome meals and delicacies.  Some clean house like magic and are decorative and work their magic there.  Some meet in Prayer Circles.  Some meet in drum groups.  Some are creative witches and there is magic when they get engrossed in the peaceful creative place we go to to create.  There are a myriad of different magical ways and you could say, anyone who empowers others for the good, are witches.  Mothers, when they give birth are magical.  Sisters who make casseroles for the sick or bereaved could be called wonder witches.  The smell of homemade bread, pumpkin pie, turkey, streaming out an open window is magic.  Holding your first baby or grandchild or great grandchild is magical.  I am starting to understand that anything that is mysterious, magical, full of deep meaning, and creates good energy is how we all might be some kind of witch if we were to label ourselves. 

I think it is time for women to take back the name/label 'Witch'.  I believe any positive energy might be called a gathering of magic.  I believe those who pray are harnessing energy.  I believe those who have nasty or are hurt people hurting people are harnessing the energy of negative vibes.  We all have our moments of positive energy.  When we are energized by activities that are good for our body is harnessing energy, as in those who exercise faithfully, those who promote healthy lifestyles, are harnessing an energy.  We do not have to ever label what we do as good and good influence as anything other than tapping in to the energy of positive influence and worthy activities for self or others.  When others chose to call someone a witch, we know that they are typically being negative and full of negative energy and sending off negative vibes.    I had a great change of attitude about this all when I read Paulo Coelho's book, "The Witch of Portobello".  Why must we ever label anyone for any reason?  Why are we afraid, negative, against any who are driven to do good? 

Let Be and Let Go of our reasons to call any energy a negative label.  It is time to take back the label "Witch" and have it become, again, women who can harness good energy for good results.  What we do not understand, are not educated enough in, do not find the positive of, we must allow to be and let that/their good energy radiate out without us seeing it as mysterious and full of negative meanings.  We have all grown up with the negative Child-eating-witch stories of our childhood.  We were conditioned to think "Witch" and "evil" as one.  it is not.  I hope you will all be touching with a knowing through this blog entry.  You do not know who, even a best friend beside you, might be a witch of some sort.  I think I am many kinds of witch.  How about you?

Challenge:  In your art journal, create a page of symbolisms about how you might be full of positive energy (ies) and give off positive energy (ies).  I used a piece of deli paper-palette to cut out a template for my witch.  The moon is some silver threaded sticky backed piece I found in a craft area at Walmart.  

©Carol Desjarlais 10.9.19

Skeleton and Bone Cookies

“Your past is a skeleton walking one step behind you, and your future is a a skeleton walking one step in front of you. Maybe you don't wear a watch, but your skeletons do, and they always know what time it is.”
― Sherman Alexie, The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven

Samhain, of the Celts, used fires and disguises to confuse the unsettle souls who had passed.  When the Romans took over the Celts, 43A.D., they brought their own festivals, that celebrated the dead and ways to get rid of bad spirits.  Then the Catholic Church abolished those festivals and made up the festival of All Martyrs and centuries later, Pope Gregory (of the Gregorian calendar?) added in All Saints to it.  Later the Catholics changed all the names and dates so that Celtic Samhain and the practice of purifying the house, warding off the dead, and began making bone cookies.  In Italy, the baking of bone cookies is still done, using the almonds that are ready at this time of year. 

This is an old Sicilian recipe that is a family tradition. They need to sit overnight before baking.

Bones of the Dead Cookies - Allrecipes.com

Ingredients

• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

• 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions

1.    Sift together the sugar, flour, baking powder, and cloves. Make a well in the sugar mixture, and pour the eggs into the well. Work the eggs into the mixture, first with a fork, then with your hands, until you have a smooth dough.

2.    Line a baking sheet with foil. Roll dough into 1 inch balls and place on the prepared baking sheet, 2 inches apart. Flatten each cookie with the bottom of a glass. Cover with a clean dish towel and let rest overnight. Cookies will spread.

3.    Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

4.    Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 minutes. Remove cookies from pan immediately as they come out of the oven or they will stick. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Challenge:  Can you do a page of bones?  I used my little stamp again to make the body, and then used white paint and black pen to complete the wrapped creature and the hand bones.

©Carol Desjarlais 10.8.19

Witches and Brooms, Gross

“That woman's been riding the same broomstick for almost a hundred years.”
― Seth Adam Smith, Rip Van Winkle and the Pumpkin Lantern

The broom of Halloween stands for different uses of wood.  For one, those thought to be witches were burned at the stake.  In medieval times, there were many diseases, there was starvation, there was war and since everything was so precarious and dangerous, someone had to be blamed for such bad luck...thus, witches.  Of course, women!  And it moved from being evil to being morally questionable, men got rid of their wives, fathers got rid of daughters, elderly women were more at risk.  Herbs were looked at suspiciously.  Women gathered herbs.  Elderly women had more wisdom about herbs.  Any using of anything to help the sick, the starved, the hurt, were seen as sorcerers.  It was medicinal ways of healing that truly came into question.  Some herbs were, like today, used socially, and this is where things get weird. 

Herbs were not just used in drink, they were turned into ointments and salves. I do not know how it came to be, but men began to put psychoactive salves and ointments on their genitals...since men would not touch other men's privates, a broomstick was used to put the ointment on.  I know, gross!  Anyways, the men got high and voila, they experienced the sensation of flying and then they began to see things.  Since witches were on their minds.. there you go...witches flew and on the broomsticks, most likely.  The stories of their hallucinations became embellished and, besides, there was a movement of torture to get women to confess.  Of course, some did and the story magnified into a belief. 

It must have been that women, seeing the high of the men, they most likely used the ointments inside themselves.... (using the broomstick, as well) and some man must have seen or some woman must have told.   So, now we have the connection of women riding a broomstick. How idiotic, and gross, it seems to us, but, to those in medieval times, and how little they knew...it became the truth.  Do we keep using the witch and broomstick symbols of Halloween that furthers the negative and dangerous view of women who choose to be and identify as witches?  It is a kerfuffle in today's overly sensitive world. But, it is still gross and I will not think of witches and brooms the same again,

Challenge:  Nonetheless, let us, one more time, do a Halloween themed page where the broom shows up.  I gave the broom little influence on the two-sided page I did.  Let u give it a go and then leave it, never forgetting that the broom represents so much more than a riding thing.

©Carol Desjarlais 10.7.19

Jack-O-Lanterns

A jack-o'-lantern (or jack o'lantern) is a carved pumpkin, turnip, or other root vegetable lantern^[1] associated with Halloween. Its name comes from the phenomenon of a strange light flickering over peat bogs, called will-o'-the-wisp or jack-o'-lantern. The name is also tied to the Irish legend of Stingy Jack, a drunkard who bargains with Satan and is doomed to roam the Earth with only a hollowed turnip to light his way.

Jack-o'-lanterns are a yearly Halloween tradition that came to the United States from Irish immigrants.  - Wikipedia

What mother has not been elbow deep in the bowels of a pumpkin, sharpest knife in hand, the sticky threads of innards curling around the knife blade, or silver spoon ladling hard, or just hands scratching at the sinewy depths of another yearly pumpkin promise?  If you have not had the pleasure of the treasured tradition of carving a Halloween pumpkin, then run as quickly as you can, to the local supermarket and buy the biggest one you can find, gather up xacto-knives, silver spoon, hack saw, whatever you think you need to cut away eyes, nose mouth, jagged teeth, top hat stem, whatever, buy a few candles, and voila, off you go now.  It will be such fun!  NOT!

How many of us tried to cut nice curlique lines with a Xacto knife and how many blades did you break before you tossed the danged thing and hit the dollar store for a plastic one?  Seriously, why do we think we can be Da'Vinci who can carve the tough skin of a pumpkin as if it were the Sistine chapel?  Seriously?  And how does a scary pumpkin head belong to Halloween anyways?  Vegans unite against blasphemy of one of your precious veggie commodities for Fall.

Ok, well, at least let's make it a rule that only those from Ireland and England can carve them. Swedish people can still carve turnips again, or beets or cabbages.  But just because some Johnny, er, Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater found out that pumpkins grew great in America, doesn't mean we should steal cultural ideas, right?

Ok, I love pumpkin pie as much as the rest of you.  But, no, you cannot eat a pumpkin after it was carved, had an overflowing candle stuck down its throat, and sat out on the porch for a week.  I will so waste and want not though, if onloy to keep up with the neighbors that have fireplace burning sounds screeching through the neighborhood to match the fake candle wick within.  Why does everything have to be a contest, anyways?

Let's get this straight.  Jack O' Lantern was not a pumpkin in the first place.  Pumpkins did not grow in Ireland either.  And turnips shone just as brightly from the bit of glowing embers in their middle.  His name was really Stingy Jack.  Here's his story as I know it (Just sayin', I looked it up - any excuse will do as far as my goopy hands are considered):

Stingy Jack was a drunken fool who loved to play tricks on everyone, the Devil included.  He once talked the devil to climb up an apple tree (another plant climber, does Jack and the Giant come to mind?) and then, knowing about the Devil and crosses, he planted crosses all around the base of the tree.  Stingy Jack made a deal with the Devil that the Devil would not take his soul when he died.  Wellllll, of course the devil reneged on the deal.  When Stingy Jack died he was refused heaven because he was a danged mean drunk and he was promptly sent to Hell.  But, oh, a twist of fate, the devil would not have him in hell either and Stingy Jack was going to be forced to wander for eternity in the dark.  Jack begged the Devil for light and the Devil crammed ..no wait, the Devil gave him a turnip with an ember crammed in the center to use as a lantern.  You get the rest of the story, I am sure.

Anywaysssssss, Jack still traipses around, withered and angry and unhappy for the rest of his days.  So, the Irish, who knew about Jack and his turnip, memorialized Stingy Jack with the carving of turnips.  They really used any turnipy thing they could carve and put an ember/candle in and this carried on with the Irish until they came to the Americas in the 1800s.  The Irish saw the pumpkin and thought they were much bettr a symbol than the turnip.  Imagine trying to carve a turnip?

We plunk whatever mess we have made of our pumpkins, out on our porches to show what good parents (pretty much always mother) we are.  And as the days go by, the pumpkin gets sadder, freezes to the wooden slats of the porch and dies a slow frozen and then thawing mess come Spring.  It is a mighty gooey mess.

So, go ahead, carve yourself a pumpkin.  I will applaud you with non-gooey hands.

Challenge:  Do an art journal page all about your own pumpkin patch or pumpkin scene. 

©Carol Desjarlais 10.6.19