Samhain Shuffle

Art by Liu Cheng Hua.

I put my Samhain ritual onto six days of slow burn this year as old skins were dropping like silk garments and a thousand spirits were guiding me with bright lanterns.

It was a pleasant change to the usual writhing and scratching off of one tight shed skin for the cycle while trying to connect with a single ancestral light hidden in a cupped-hand in a dark forest.

It was the anniversary of my best friend's suicide on the 3rd (18yrs) and I felt his presence as a calm sensation prompting me to slow down on the uptake of crap on the internet and to bring art, joy and creativity back into my life. Basically to stop feeding the drama goblins and find an outlet.

These sped-up growth periods can be bright and fizzy but can easily lead to exhaustion. Likewise, depressed episodes can make things feel heavy and stuck. Slow growth periods have so much value as long as the energy flows outwards and doesn't get grounded in frustration or impatience. Deep listening to the very subtlest of energies and really flexes your spiritual muscles and keeps you open to possibility in the dark.

Key learning: When things speed up, meet the energy with still awareness and when things slow down, meet the energy with poised curiosity. ⏳☯️

Shit Witch

I'm a Shit Witch.

Beautiful artwork by Malaysian Artist Liu Cheng Hua

I don't own a single pair of wicked-witch stripy socks, a robe or a pointy black hat.  I don't refer to the dog as 'My Familiar' and my house isn't decorated for Halloween all year 'round.

I'm not a card-carrying member of The Witch Club.  We being witches, does not automatically make us sisters.  I stopped assuming all witches are feminists, humanitarians or environmentalists long ago and I know some witches are homophobic, transphobic, racist or sexist because witches are not perfect.

In the wealthy, western world Herbalists and Midwives are respected.  Witches, diviners, psychics and mediums can now make a legal living.  Witches are 'cool' and 'in', they have hashtags and aesthetics..  Where I live being a witch does not make me a target.  I don't feel 'hunted' and I'm not a victim.  I don't fear accusations and burnings.  I can practice my craft without fear.
 
Elsewhere in the world, women are still accused of 'witchcraft'.  They are gaoled or killed (execution/vigilante justice)  Most are not even witches at all.  They are pretty or lucky or envied or inconvenient women that someone wants rid of or to blame for their own bad luck.

Even in the bible belt of the USA, a witch will attract far-less scorn than an LGBTQIA person.  Right now witches are having a moment and it's pretty fucking good so why lap up this  'We are the granddaughters of the witches you weren't able to burn' crap?  For the vast majority of us it's not even remotely true.

Any witch worth their salt should ask:
'Is there a part of me that is attracted to the witch-path because of some shadowy 'victim' vibes?'
 'Is there a part of me that wants to feel attacked, hated or feared?'
'Am I trying to bypass the coloniser history of my ancestors by aligning myself with accused witches?'

You might be surprised by the answers if you allow yourself to be honest.
Shadow work.  It's Shit Witch compost and leads to growth.