In honor of Halloween this Sunday (October 31, as usual!).
"Calling yourself a witch at this moment in history is a BIG deal. Our way of being as women has been persecuted for millennia. The word ‘witch’ has been vilified and slung around as an insult. So it’s no wonder that we, as women, hold back our power, hush our voices, and stay small because we’ve been told that being powerful is unsafe.
Our work, the work of the witch, is to make it safe to be powerful again.
Being powerful in the face of thousands of years of patriarchal expectations and conditioning means going against so many of the things you’ve been taught, right? And yet… the power to shape events, to change things up and make things happen flows naturally through you. Your biology is honed and optimized to wield that power and use it for good.
It’s your birthright as a woman.
This is witch work.
The thing is, so many of us have grown really good at playing the roles we’ve been offered up as women in the world...
The problem? I don’t know about you, but when I’ve played these roles (and I’ve played many of them in the past), I’ve always found myself feeling a combination of unfulfilled/hungry/displeased/restless.
And if you feel that restlessness too? That’s the unexpressed part of you.
Over time, that part of you starts to scream inside. The scream becomes deafening. All-consuming.
For some it shows up as pain and dis-ease in the body. For others it’ll be depression and/or anxiety.
You may use food/drink/shopping/drugs to numb it.
At first, you’ll probably push it down.
And in pushing down the scream, you’ll go one of two ways. You’ll either become despondent and submissive to life, or you’ll become aggressive and/or hardened – taking on predominantly masculine traits to survive....
I totally disconnected from my female body. I lived my life from the neck up, operating and making decisions decisions from my head.I lived life like a dude because that option seemed much easier than having to deal with being a woman who was never seen or heard...
Pushing down the scream is what we’re dealing with here... it’s a basic reality for so many women in the western world. Recognize it in your body.
Recognize it in your being, because it’s time to stop pushing it down. It’s time to start letting it all be seen and felt. FULLY.
This is witch work.
How do we dare to express our fullness?
We must bring it ALL.
Rage AND laughter.
Beauty AND strength.
Fierceness AND grace.
Vulnerability AND force.
Compassion AND passion."
~ Lisa Lister, Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic.
It is indeed Feel Good Friday and, as is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten/enlighten your day/weekend/week. Enjoy!
~ Six Kinds of Vegan Witches To Know: Witches are known for being anti-establishment, resourceful, independent and deeply connected to the natural world, so is it any surprise that vegans have a natural affinity for witchery?
~ A Scaredy-Cat’s Investigation Into Why People Enjoy Fear: Halloween is here again. That means your co-workers have planted surprise spiders around the office. You’ve been invited to a haunted hayride. Your neighbor’s yard has a full cemetery, rigged with motion detectors and pop-up zombies.
~ Monster Burgers Are Here This Weekend (Saturday, October 30 and Sunday, October 31): Parlour Vegan's Halloween menu! (make sure to click over to page 2 as well... 👻 )
~ When ‘Boo!’ Is Only the Beginning: What does it take to scare the candy corn out of someone? Performers at two of New York’s hallowed haunted attractions explain the secrets behind the shocks.
~ The Rumpus Advice Column #98: Monsters and Ghosts: Dear Sugar, my mother left my father the month I was born. She remarried and had my brother two years later. My stepfather (the only father I knew) committed suicide when I was five years old. My mother became a raging alcoholic following his death. (continued at link)
~ BONUS, although not Halloween-related: Dar Williams livestream: I'll Meet You Here, Live From the Road, tonight at 9:45 p.m. EDT! Join Dar Williams, cellist/guitarist/vocalist Ward Williams, and keyboardist/vocalist Bryn Roberts to experience the I’ll Meet You Here tour from the comfort of your home. If you are immunocompromised, or caring for someone who is, you might not be able to come out to a live venue for the shows. We’ve read your emails and social media comments requesting an option to join Dar virtually. This show is for YOU. The show is free, but tips are always welcome and appreciated to help cover the costs of bringing this livestream to your home. Dar very much appreciates your enthusiasm and support!
BOOK: Magic Lessons: Book #1 of the Practical Magic Series by Alice Hoffman
POEM: Macbeth, Act IV, Scene I [Round about the cauldron go] by William Shakespeare
The three witches, casting a spell
Round about the cauldron go;
In the poison’d entrails throw.
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights hast thirty one
Swelter’d venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first i’ the charmed pot.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork, and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg, and howlet’s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin’d salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg’d i’ the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Sliver’d in the moon’s eclipse,
Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver’d by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
QUOTE(S): “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ~ W.B. Yeats
Where your fear is, there is your task. ~ C.G. Jung
“I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life - and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” ~ Georgia O’Keeffe
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