Any Witches here? Part 20

[speakout]

Or Wiccans. or Pagans? Or anyone who is interested in a magical path or feels some magical stirrings.
A place for support, learning, swapping ideas and magical inspiration..
This is the 18th thread- anyone looking for a deep dive into juicy magical topics may like to browse previous threads.....
It is a long list!!
Part 1 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3241689-Any-witches-here?pg=1
Part 2
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3338025-Any-Witches-Here-Part-2?pg=1
Part 3
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3366411-Any-Witches-Here-Part-3?pg=1
Part 4
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3404406-Any-Witches-Here-Part-4-Edited-by-MNHQ?pg=1
Part5
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3437092-Any-Witches-Here-Part-5?pg=1
Part 6 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3482023-Any-Witches-Here-Part-6?pg=1
Part 7 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3520269-Any-Witches-Here-Part-7?pg=1
Part 8 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/a3568622-Any-Witches-Here-Part-8?pg=1
Part 9 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3637696-Any-Witches-Here-Part-9?pg=1
Part 10
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3726266-Any-Witches-Here-Part-10
Part 11
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3850635-Any-Witches-Here-Part-11
Part 12
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3997761-Any-Witches-Here-Part-12
Part 13 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4116107-Any-Witches-here-Part-13
Part 14www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4213962-Any-Witches-Here-Part-14
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4328830-Any-Witches-Here-Part-15?msgid=113505801
www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4435233-Any-Witches-Here-Part-16?page=40&reply=118807589

www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4598225-any-witches-here-part-17?page=40&reply=122990208

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4717929-any-witches-here-part-18?page=1

Sorry to hear that some of you are struggling at the moment. I've been very up and down too which is why I've been quiet recently. Mostly perimenopause related I think. I got through periods where I just don't like myself at all. I become negative and critical, I don't look forward to anything and everything feels like a chore. However the last couple of days have been better and im enjoying the sunshine in the garden this evening.

This summer seems to have passed by in a blur. I feel quite disconnected from nature and the changes in the seasons and the moon cycles lately, which may be why I'm feeling so discombobulated (I love that word!) I've been busy at work and have taken up a new sport, so I've had less time for yoga and just time to be. Im also missing my long walks in the woods as my dog is elderly now and not able to walk very far :( And like @hilariousnamehere I need to check in on this thread regularly and spend less time doom scrolling!

@speakout it sounds like your home life has been difficult recently. I know that you have had a lot of weight resting on your shoulders for some time now, it must be very tough. I admire how you cope by making time for your yoga and your craft. Sending you positive energy and hope that things get easier for you soon.

@Craftycorvid I hope your therapy and reflexology helped and you're feeling a little better. Glad to hear you've got some time off work, it sounds like it's much needed!

@ISaySteadyOn your post made me smile. Swimming for the first time is such a big milestone and makes you feel so proud! Well done to your DC ☺️

I've never heard of spaewives @speakout and I bloody love a new word - please tell us more?

What a coincidence, I’m reading a Ronald Hutton book at the minute and have 2 more to read but will add your recommendation to the list. Thank you 😊.

@kfellover Also have a look at his lectures for Gresham College on youtube. Very entertaining, accessible and informative.

Brilliant thank you, I have just queued up his witch hunting one to watch tonight.

Good morning!
Had to google spaewives, never heard it before but added to my vocabulary now, thank you.

@speakout I'm sorry live has been difficult again, hope the storms have passed for a very long time, it sounds like they're never gone long enough to let you fully recover...

Active day for me today - lots of chores overdue, and I'm planning a second batch of blackberry jam, hoping it will turn out as a jam rather than a syrup like the 1st batch did.

VioletCharlotte and SeaEssence thank you for your support- it really helps.

Life has been difficult for a number of years, but in order to exist I have turned to healing myself. I have a very gifted therapist and with her help I have been working with pain and fractures long buried by time, stuff from my past.
If events had not been so intolerable at home I would still be bumbling along, a servant to my anxiety, allowing fear and sadness too much control.
But living with ongoing drama and trauma using my existing coping mechanisms just wasn't working- my mental and physical health were in decline.

Extreme circumstances forced me to seek serious healing- and my internal landscape is changing. An awakening of sorts.
Although I am still dealing with difficult situations I am becoming much more resilient, I can manage my disregulation, rumination, and catastrophic thinking.

Therapy is hard- really hard, but I have confronted beasts from the past which were holding me like a rabbit in headlights.
My default is calm, I feel courageous, and even if I am knocked sideways I have far more resilience to come home to myself.
So although I would have preferred not to have difficult challenges without them I would not have embarked on this journey. And my new healthier mindset helps me in all areas of my life, which is a gift.
A never ending journey of course, but I am optimistic about my future, even if difficult circumstances prevail.

,

Greetings all. Am familiar with the term spaewife. I think its perhaps a Scottish term. Have slept most of the day due to fibro flare after late night last night at the Edinburgh Tattoo.

hilariousnamehere I think the term Spaewife/Speywife came from old Norse "spa" meaning to prophesise. Spaewifes are similar to shamans and wise women.
As a child it was a common idea- I assumed that every village must have spaewives- seemed very "normal" to me.
Growing up I knew of two spaewives, one of whom was my grandmother- these two women knew each and were friends. Viewed through a modern lens we may call these women witches- but my grandmother would baulk at the idea. She was a Catholic, and visited the chapel several times a week, had pictures of the Virgin Mary on her walls at home. (the goddess hiding in plain site).
She was born in 1892 only a few generations after the burning times, it would be dangerous to call herself a witch.The legacy of fear still persisted down the generations.
I know I have talked of my grandmother on this thread a while ago, so apologies if you are reading this for a second time.
She taught me many things- and again I thought this was what all grandmothers did!
She was a ley midwife- these were the days before the NHS, friends and neighbours couldn't afford a doctor to help nor any hospital fees.
She had no formal training in midwifery, but no doubt that her knowledge would have helped women and their babies.
My grandmothet would be called out to lay out the deceased- it was common practice for mourners to pay respects to a loved one- while in their coffin with the lid off. She would make sure they looked their best!

I remember great steaming vats as she prepared elixirs - she would make large quantities of rose hip syrup and bottle it to "see us through" the winter months ( no doubt packed full of vitamin C).
She read palms, used cards and tea leaves- for a few coins.
She taught me some magical knotwork, pyromancy, pendulum work, how to watch clouds for meanings, how to move with the seasons. This was the beginning of my magical journey.

She sounds amazing. I think you were lucky to have had her for a grandmother.

I am in my recognisable down spiral of the week before my period comes. It's when all the negativity about myself that I manage to quash during the rest of the month bubbles back up. Today it's about DS and his lack of friends. I think it's my general oddness that puts other parents off and thus, no playdates. I have just been very very lucky that DD2's friends' parents don't find me so.

I just wish I could help him more. He is lonely and sad because he is lonely. Do any of you have any wise words?

ISaySteadyOn I am sorry to hear of your concerns regarding your son.
Motherhood is hard, and every stage brings new challenges. Please don't blame yourself- your "oddness" is a special part of you,

How old is your DS? My son experienced lack of friends at school, and it was hard. We did find some solutions and did resolve to some extent. It is the time after leaving school that is proving the hardest of all for me.

Thanks for the kind words about my grandmother, she died when I was 8, and I would have loved more time with her.

I have woken to a loud thunderstorm, DD and I have been frantically texting - we both get super excited by thunder.
I have a quiet house today, DS is asleep and won't waken until 6pm or so, DM has gone a trip with her lunch club buddies, and OH won't be back until Friday.
I have laid out my yoga mat, lit a candle and see where my practice takes me today.

I also have a meeting with my carers support people who are insisting I apply for a grant for self care. The case worker suggested £400 as a good amount, she will be making the application on my behalf- it's just bananas! I can be funded for beauty treatments, yoga or exercise classes, women's circles, sound baths, complementary treatments, gardening equipment, art materials, beauty products a few nights in a hotel.

I have to roughly specify how I will spend the money, but have 12 months, and have to submit receipts at the end of the year. That suits me fine, as I know I would be tempted to use the money for cat food and toilet rolls, but the receipts hold me accountable to spend the money for the specified purpose.
I can't praise my local carers support agency highly enough- over the years they have helped me in so many ways, it has been a blessing for me.

Off to hit my yoga mat!

DS is 10. He is academically able but behind in social development.

I am with you about thunder. I grew up in the States and every summer, the days would be very hot and then around 4 in the afternoon, there would be a massive boom and the heavens would open. It would pour for a couple hours then stop leaving a very pleasant evening.

ISaySteadyOn my DS was similar at this age. He was /is a sensitive soul and didn't find many friends at primary school.
The school was small, so not much opportunity to find like minds.
A friends DS- a bit older than my DS suggested he joined the local rugby club. Despite not being sporty he really enjoyed throwing himself about in the mud during a game.
He became close to several of the boys in the club- who attended different primary schools, but all feeder schools for the local large comprehensive secondary school. So he started high school with some friends in place It really eased the transition and he remained friends with these boys.
There were far more opportunities at secondary to meet like minds- he loved science and gravitated towards the geek squad.

My DD had a similar experience when she moved to high school. She did have several friends at primary, but also danced, so she started high school knowing quite a few girls who had come from different primaries.

It is hard not to worry, but there is every room for positive change. The future may be brighter than you hope.

There is something magical about a thunderstorm isn't there- that raw pure energy that makes the skin tingle.
I have spent quite a bit of time in the tropics- including rainy seasons, those tropical storms are ferocious. My partner (at the time) would take himself off swimming in the sea during fierce lightning - I can't imagine that was a very safe thing to do!

@speakout I hope you don’t mind me saying but your grandmother sounds so much like my great grandmother. She also read tea leaves, and make many herbal remedies. When people in our family died she would dress them and get them ready for their burial, something that has been passed down to my great aunt. My great grandmother was a devout Catholic, but I wonder if times had been different whether she would’ve seen herself as a witch.

kfellover your grandmother sounds lovely. I think the catholic church was so successful in part due to the assimilation of gods and goddesses.
This is evident in Ireland- pagan or animistic deities were turned into saints= like Brigit.
My grandmother's Catholic faith was built around Mary- all the pictures and statues in her home were of her. She considered herself a devout catholic, but to all intents and purposes looked to me like goddess worship.

I'm not sure many women in the past few centuries considered or called themselves witches. It was a dangerous word.
I like to reclaim the term witch. I know not everyone likes to use the term, perhaps there is appropriation or maybe dishonour those who were murdered- many of whom were not Cunning Folk, just women, perhaps daring to use their voice.

I am up earlyish today, looks like being another sunny one today, I already have laundry in my washing machine. I will peg it out before my yoga class. I also have work to do today, I like to get that done before lunchtime if I can.

I made some berry honey yesterday, it is so delicious. I couldn't find a recipe so I concocted one. I had a few bags of frozen fruit, some from my garden, some from the store. Some of the fruits were quite tart, mixes containing black and red currants- too sour for me to eat. I eat a little honey most days anyway, so I tossed them into a pan with honey and a little water, a few drops of vanilla essence, simmered gently for 15 minutes or so, added a spoonful of cornflour to thicken a little at the end.
I have filtered and poured into a jar.
I had a taste and it is so yummy- an intense dark red and flavour, I look forward to drizzling over porridge, granola, pancakes, yoghurt.

It is tempting to lie in bed a little longer, but I don't want to lose the advantage of an early start.

Bright Blessings sisters.

@speakout it is so interesting isn’t it?, I remember reading somewhere that in New Orleans many enslaved people who practiced Voodoo would associate Catholic saints with the deities of their religion so that they were able to worship them in public.
I personally don’t identify as a witch, I suppose I follow the practices that witches do but have never used the word for myself. My family do call me a witch sometimes though and it doesn’t bother me, as you say it is nice to reclaim it, almost empowering. I feel very lucky to be able to practice as openly as I do, and to be called a witch and not live in fear.
Enjoy your honey, I make lavender honey quite frequently and I love the process.

It is still very warm today, I’m struggling a lot in this heat but trying to enjoy it as I know it will be cold before long.

@speakout what sort of ratio of fruit/honey have you used please? And did you strain it before pouring into the jar? I make an odd thyme honey in the winter for sore throats but a yummy porridge topping sounds much better - I have lots of blackberries in the garden right now, and froze 2 large bags of blackcurrants and gooseberries last month so great timing!

PS I love reading about your grandmother

Forgot to ask - though reading about the thunderstorms I think we have been very lucky - anyone stargazing last night? The Perseids were magical, even with glare from London spoiling the night sky. And an odd streak of Aurora just completed the night show.

SeaEssence I missed the sky show last night, it was cloudy here. I'm glad you saw them. i love to watch the sky, and learn about the universe, cosmology is a fast moving subject and we know so little about the universe- theories of deep field are so wild.
Considering the cosmos makes me feel so insignificant- including my problems- yet incredibly important - so far we know of no other intelligence able to consider these ideas.
The Fermi Paradox leads us to Dark Forest theory and other interesting ideas.

I had a career as a scientist when I was younger, I synthesised and analysed DNA, working in a research group at a University. DNA is comparatively easy for a chemist to synthesise, literally building genes, the building blocks of life. No god required. It is a small step from there to imagine life forming in a muddy puddle with energy from heat, lightening or the sun.
For me that in no way diminishes the complex web we weave nor the incredible network of communication we have within our species, with other living and non living things. My scientific and magical views sit happily side by side with no contradiction.
I had a busy day yesterday, yoga, counselling, working, then DD came over - we took a trip to Tesco as she wanted to cook, then had a Starbucks drink ( so expensive!)
kfellover lavender honey sounds lovely too- as does gooseberry.

I used 2 cups of fruit, 250mls water, simmered for 15 minutes or so till fruit was cooked and reduced a little. I then added around 250mls honey, and some vanilla essence. I added a teaspoon of cornflour to thicken a little, although next time I may use less water instead.I cooled then passed through a sieve, and stored in a jar. I am guessing it will probably last a week or so in the fridge because of the sugar content.
I may experiment with other fruits, or even cinnamon when I have finished this lot.

@ISaySteadyOn how are you feeling now? I know exactly what you mean about the downward spiral and negative feelings. I'm the same, it's horrible isn't it? During those few days, I feel so low about myself and totally believe I'm worthless, unloveable, a bad friend, mother, etc. As soon as my period starts, my mood lifts, I can almost feel it happening. I hope you're feeling ok.

My DS1 was similar to yours at that age. It was hard as DS2 was a typical sports boy and made friends easily, it made me so sad for DS1. But he found his people, we kept trying different activities and eventually he got really into drama where he made lots of good friends (mainly girls, but that's ok). He also really enjoyed scouts and made some friends there too. He's 25 now and still prefers the company of 1 or 2 friends rather than a big group (just like me!) I'm sure your DS will find his way. You sound like a lovely Mum

@speakout I will try your honey recipe, it sounds delicious, I love experimenting with honey.

I didn’t realise there was anything going on with the sky, quite upset that I missed it. We did see the northern lights a few months back when they were strong and that was stunning.

I’ve been soaking up this warm weather and sunshine and took a trip into the village today, but it is full of holidaymakers so I didn’t stay as long as I’d have liked to.

kfellover my local city is overrun with tourists particularly in August. When I was a city centre dweller we would book holidays abroad during the tourist swell.
It is a small city of 500,000 but in August has 4 million visitors, during Festival month as it hosts the largest performing arts festival in the world.
But the city is so crowded- bars and restaurants full, queues everywhere, gaggles and groups at every turn. My DH and I would like to visit one of our favourite Thai restaurants, but we won't even attempt that until after August.
There are amazing events happening, and even just braving the crowds to walk in the city's old town, the medieval centre. Great for people watching and the many street entertainers performing for a hatful of coins.

I had it in my mind yesterday that I had my woman's circle last night. But the full moon isn't until Monday. I pre-made dinner, made sure work was up to date and the house clean and tidy.
I only discovered at 4pm I had the dates mixed up.
But that meant I had the evening free, so I chose to relax. I did some journalling, chatted online with my darling niece who lives abroad, read a book, pulled some Tarot, I drank lots of tea and snuggled under a warm blanket. I am trying to build in more rest to my days, I am always so active, and usually if I have time to spare I go and look for things to do, cupboards to tidy, do some deep cleaning.
I think that is tied in with some Puritan Protestant guilt- we are not here to be idle!
Looks like a sunny day ahead, washing machine already on, then a trip to the next village by the sea with OH- he will do some shopping while I go to Body Balance. I do love some routines, in my day or week, they feel comforting, and tell my mind stories of familiarity and safety.
I hope everyone finds some calm and pleasure this weekend.

Morning all. Supposed to be at yoga but still in bed. Fibro is fairly relentless these days. Another unpleasant email from sister last night made me finally decide to go NC with her. I told her I wanted her out of my life and not to make contact again. This is all ongoing fall out after mother's death as the family fragments and drifts apart. I am so very tired of it all and finding no pleasure in even the small things these days. Ongoing loss of smell and taste from Covid is depressing and removes so much enjoyment from life. Sorry to be so miserable,I know I have much to be grateful for. Just struggling a bit.

I am sorry to hear you are feeling unwell Hedjwitch. Pain can be relentless and affect so many aspects of life.
I have lit a candle for you to send healing and soothing.
Life can be such a struggle. I am NC with my sister, easier as she lives abroad, but we haven't spoken for 8 years- it is very liberating.
Don't hesitate to post here Hedjwitch- we care and between us have a strong energy to share with any sisters who are struggling.

My Body Balance was cancelled at the last moment, so I came back early and just finished a yoga session at home. I also popped into M&S to buy some food- treats for the weekend. It is an expensive place, but early enough on a Saturday morning always seem to have good reductions.
I bought some garlic stuffed mushrooms for my dinner tonight and a couple of things to put in the freezer.

Bright Blessings sisters.