Why we think witches were ugly, how to recover the true meaning of Hallowe'en, and how scaring the wits out of yourself will connect you with Everything.
I know I'm coming in late to this party, but this was SO good, Allysha! I've recently learned that I have a 3-year-old granddaughter and I've been trying to think of ways to share some of my spiritual practices with her; things she can participate in and begin to get a sense of magic and relational living. But it's been 25 years since I had a toddler so I was struggling to come up with ideas. I think your Queen of Winter ritual would be the perfect sort of thing. It would teach animistic values and the idea of communicating with the plants to ask their permission; of participation with the cycles; and, of course, devotion to the Queen of Winter herself and the magic in all of that. Thank you so much for sharing this practice! 💖
Finding ways to share spirituality authentically with little ones can be tricky. I always want to invite Isabelle into the magical world without in any way forcing it upon her. One of the things we've really enjoyed doing together is making offerings. Since we live in the forest, this might be anything from a bit of leftover dinner to some special herbs or stones we've gathered. It always lights me up when I hear her say, "Mama, I wanna go make an offering."
I wish you every blessing with your Queen of Winter, Jenna. I have to admit that with all the hullabaloo around trick-or-treating and Samhain rituals, we haven't made ours yet. Thanks for this great reminder! Isabelle is a wonderful age for this, and I hope your granddaughter enjoys it as well!
Loved this Allysha. Glad you came out as a real witch! I did too, on my recent substack. Parts of my post were like a manifesto, declaring the power of women that has been relegated to "witch" So claiming back that name too. Related also to the Queen of Winter, I call her the Cailleach. She is strong right now. I feel her breath.
Finally got to read your post about this, Julie. Funny how the same themes come up at the same time in different ways. Love that you mention the Cailleach. I’ve just been writing this word a lot as it’s the Irish name for the bed by the fire that the old woman of the house sleeps in, and there’s a character of that description in the novel I’m working on. Love to hear that name used for the Queen of Winter. Beautiful! ❄️
The stereotypical witch bothers me, too. It’s what both of my boys think of when they hear the word witch and so they have a hard time fathoming that their very own mother could possibly be one herself. I like the insight you received into why they were turned into something abhorrent.
My own daughter is getting very mixed signals about the with archetype, and I think it’s interesting. I don’t usually identify as a witch… but of course, by ancient standards, I certainly am one.
✅ Lives by the seasons
✅ Connects with her own version of the Divine.
✅ Uses plant medicine and the gifts of Nature for spiritual and physical ailments.
No question. Burn her.
While I prefer the term priestess, I think there is incredible nuance to the images we’re given, and something powerful about overlaying real archetypes over pop culture ideas. Perhaps the more we own the words in themselves, the more we carve space for something beautiful to emerge.
I know I'm coming in late to this party, but this was SO good, Allysha! I've recently learned that I have a 3-year-old granddaughter and I've been trying to think of ways to share some of my spiritual practices with her; things she can participate in and begin to get a sense of magic and relational living. But it's been 25 years since I had a toddler so I was struggling to come up with ideas. I think your Queen of Winter ritual would be the perfect sort of thing. It would teach animistic values and the idea of communicating with the plants to ask their permission; of participation with the cycles; and, of course, devotion to the Queen of Winter herself and the magic in all of that. Thank you so much for sharing this practice! 💖
Finding ways to share spirituality authentically with little ones can be tricky. I always want to invite Isabelle into the magical world without in any way forcing it upon her. One of the things we've really enjoyed doing together is making offerings. Since we live in the forest, this might be anything from a bit of leftover dinner to some special herbs or stones we've gathered. It always lights me up when I hear her say, "Mama, I wanna go make an offering."
I wish you every blessing with your Queen of Winter, Jenna. I have to admit that with all the hullabaloo around trick-or-treating and Samhain rituals, we haven't made ours yet. Thanks for this great reminder! Isabelle is a wonderful age for this, and I hope your granddaughter enjoys it as well!
Loved this Allysha. Glad you came out as a real witch! I did too, on my recent substack. Parts of my post were like a manifesto, declaring the power of women that has been relegated to "witch" So claiming back that name too. Related also to the Queen of Winter, I call her the Cailleach. She is strong right now. I feel her breath.
Finally got to read your post about this, Julie. Funny how the same themes come up at the same time in different ways. Love that you mention the Cailleach. I’ve just been writing this word a lot as it’s the Irish name for the bed by the fire that the old woman of the house sleeps in, and there’s a character of that description in the novel I’m working on. Love to hear that name used for the Queen of Winter. Beautiful! ❄️
The stereotypical witch bothers me, too. It’s what both of my boys think of when they hear the word witch and so they have a hard time fathoming that their very own mother could possibly be one herself. I like the insight you received into why they were turned into something abhorrent.
My own daughter is getting very mixed signals about the with archetype, and I think it’s interesting. I don’t usually identify as a witch… but of course, by ancient standards, I certainly am one.
✅ Lives by the seasons
✅ Connects with her own version of the Divine.
✅ Uses plant medicine and the gifts of Nature for spiritual and physical ailments.
No question. Burn her.
While I prefer the term priestess, I think there is incredible nuance to the images we’re given, and something powerful about overlaying real archetypes over pop culture ideas. Perhaps the more we own the words in themselves, the more we carve space for something beautiful to emerge.