Welcome to Tis the Quiet Season

Tis the season for people and parties galore, that by the end of it all it might feel like a chore. I'm not one for many major social events. I prefer to sit by the tree with a hot drink, wrapping presents.

I'll visit with friends on a few weekends. I love to see everyone and never want for fun. It's just sometimes it gets overwhelming and I need to find a quiet dwelling. Thankfully my family likes to spend our holiday together, curled up inside because of the cold weather.

On Christmas mourning we wake up slowly. Enjoy breakfast, then presents, and finally a nap - nice and cozy. The dogs are happy for a few good pets. Even the cat is as pleased as she gets.

Later, as the sun goes down, the whole family likes to gather round. We might watch a movie or read a few books while waiting for Christmas dinner to cook. It's perfect and quiet and just right for us (plus it's great no one is around to raise a huge fuss). Though we do fight the dogs for a space next to the roaring fire in the fireplace.

It's beautiful at night with all the holiday lights. They twinkle and glow, standing out against the ever growing snow. We might drive around to the many displays, to see the whole world look ablaze.

After dinner we clean up and get ready for bed - happy to think of the New Year ahead.

Christmas is a grand occasion. One that everyone has a different celebration. Going to parties is tons of fun and holiday events are second to none. But I'm happiest to be with those I love most, even when we aren't physically close.

And as I watch the snow gently fall, I feel as though there's peace on Earth and good will for all.

Merry Christmas to my may many readers. I hope you enjoyed this post's rhyming features. And let's all give a great big cheer for a Happy New Year!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a message. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

I'll probably post again before New Years, but next week I'm off. Safe travels everyone!

Welcome to the Fluidity of the English Language

For those of you who don't frequent the same sides of the Internet that I do, you might have missed this holiday treat from PETA. This year, PETA wants us to stop using phrases that are cruel to animals and instead use non-violent language in our idioms (I've included the list below).

I'm half tempted to write this off entirely, but it's possible that 30-40 years down the line someone might find my comments and turn it into a "you're for animal cruelty" argument. The thing is, a cultural shift in how we discuss violence towards animals could happen. My generation might become completely confused as to why the younguns don't like real meat and instead want premium meat substitute (it tastes just like real meat, but without the actual meat).

All joking aside, I highly doubt that PETA's above suggestions will take hold in main stream American culture anytime soon. For one thing, some of the new suggestions don't hold the same meaning as the original idioms (bagels aren't as highly prized as bacon). Yet, that doesn't mean that some people won't adopt these phrases.

I have purposefully created some of my own words and phrases to help me better communicate. For example, I use the term Sig Fig (or significant figure) to mean a person's significant other (i.e. boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, etc.). I've also started using the pronoun they/them for anyone whose gender I am unfamiliar with. This one sprang out of my annoyance at constantly being mis-gendered in emails, even when my gender is specified in earlier communications (though it can be amusing to watch someone profusely apologize for this).

I'm not opposed to changes in the English language. Far from it. English has changed a lot in the last three centuries, let alone the time of early English and the first written accounts of Beowulf. I even struggle to read Shakespeare and that's considered to be written in Early Modern English.

Oh English, you really are the garbage disposal of European languages.

I mean this with as much love in my heart as possible (given the season and all). You're a language with over 500,000 unique words, more irregular verbs than regular, and enough flexibility for a guy called Shakespeare to invent 1,700 new words without everyone freaking out. There are dozens of regional dialects and more accents than I can distinguish.

Why couldn't my native language be easier to learn - let alone read and write?

I lived with a linguist for about a year in college. She once explained to me that English is a living language, therefore its constantly changing. This is why we dropped our informal second person form (thy/thou) around the early 1800s and how the phases "may I" and "can I" have become interchangeable in modern English.

I think there was more to her explanation, but me and the English language only get alone so well. Ergo, I've only remember so much of the conversation.

That doesn't mean I haven't noticed shifts in how our language is used.

There have always been words that have been taboo or extremely hurtful (none that I will type out here). As a kid, it's easy to accept the reasoning from adults that some words just aren't nice enough to say...ever...and a lot of them have four letters.

The level of how horrible a word is tends to be in correlation to societal attitudes at any given point in time. An example might be the word "gay". "Gay" at the turn of the 20th century was synonymous with words like "happy" or "joyful", hence it's use in the Christmas carol "Deck the Halls" which was written in 1862. Eventually, the use of the word shifted to mean a man who is attracted to other men.

However, in the early 2000s, I didn't know what the meaning of the word "gay" actually was. Other than the few times I'd heard it in Christmas carols, the only other time I'd heard the word "gay" used was as an insult or to mean "that which I do not like".

Boy, did I get a lesson in why I was wrong from my cousin who heard me say it in a negative way.

Because even though we teach that "sticks and stones may break our bones, but words can never hurt us", it isn't true. Words can hurt, a lot.

Language in many ways shape our perception of reality. Associating a negative connotation to a word can shape how we describe objects, places, and people. By thinking that the word "gay" meant something negative, I was starting to shape my future understanding of when a person was described as "gay". It wouldn't have been good and could have lead me to have an internal bias against gay people.

I was recently reminded at one of my writer's groups that I am often the first to point out problematic or non-politically correct language in a person's writing. It's not that I want to police language or how a person thinks, it's more that I want them to realize how their use of language will effect their perspective and their reader's assumptions. They, as the writer, might use words and phrases that a reader hasn't come across. They might write about ideas or subject matter that a reader is completely unfamiliar with.

And even if the author doesn't intend to, they do help shape their readers' sense of reality.

Do I ever feel bad about challenging someone's word choice or phrasing? Sometimes.

Do I know everything there is to know about problematic language or cultural linguistic shifts? Nope, can't say that I do.

The whole idea of what is or isn't offensive is incredibly subjective (so much so that I'm not certain I can say "Happy Holidays" without someone getting mad and demand that I say "Merry Christmas" instead). However, that doesn't excuse the fact that the words we pick and the phrases we use can be hurtful with or without intention.

I'm not perfect. I'm not always right (though I'm really good at pretending to be).

Is PETA being ridiculous to ask the English speaking world to make changes to their idioms (and also deny certain cultural aspects of the language itself)? In 2018 I think they are. But if you ask me this question again in 25-35 years, I might have a different answer.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to Holiday Overload

Thanksgiving is over and it's December, I now give the people of the United States of America permission to start celebrating Christmas.

Not that the people of the United States of America really care when I want them to start celebrating the holiday season, it just makes me feel better to pretend that they do. For the next 20 some odd days, I'm going to be pulverized by Christmas movies, Christmas lights, Christmas commercials, Christmas shopping, Christmas etc. It's not the worst thing in the world, until it is.

And Christmas isn't even the only holiday this month. It just gets top billing.

I happen to also celebrate Yule (i.e. the Winter Solstice) and many of my friends celebrate Hanukkah/Chanukah, Kwanzaa, and other holidays. I can only imagine how tiresome it is for people who don't celebrate Christmas to hear I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus over and over again in every store they go into.

Personally, I get sick of hearing all the pop Christmas songs about a week into the holiday season. There are only so many times I want to hear Santa Baby or My Grown Up Christmas List before I want to rip my ears off my head. I'm even known to scream if the dreaded Christmas Shoes song starts playing on the radio.

This isn't meant to be a blog post complaining about Christmas or put a damper on people who are obsessed with the holiday. It's just that this season feels a bit...much at times.

I don't know if it's all the parties, my incessant need to please everyone, or my introvert nature that makes me feel on edge at this time of year. I just know that by the time New Years Eve rolls around, I'm so over stimulated I can't figure out how to relax at all. It's like this season is designed to exacerbate my anxiety.

That's why this year, I'm going to try incorporating more self care into my routine. These are things that I know are doable for me to incorporate into my schedule. Some things I plan on including:

Do at least one random act of kindness per day - Though this item doesn't feel like part of a self care routine, I personally like doing an act of kindness for someone once a day this season. It can be as simple as giving a stranger a complement or helping a confused tourist with directions. I do this because I like helping people and seeing their thanks. The mindset of acting kind to another person puts me in a better mood and I like to think that that that person will pay the act forward.

Connect with friends and family - One of the nicest things about the holidays is that everyone wants to get together. I love seeing friends and family, especially since this season can feel isolating. I might not be able to see everyone, but getting together with people (especially for tea or over lunch) is wonderful this time of year.

Scheduling quiet time - I naturally need a lot of down/quiet time already. However, the holiday season is full of parties and social events. I tend to overbook myself and forget to set aside time to recenter myself.

Remember that I can say "no" - Oh boy is this a tough one. I always feel the need to say "yes" to people's requests, but sometimes it's just too much. Like the first item in my list, it's important for me to not feel obliged to do everything this season. If I try to, I'm going to either get very sick or get really grumpy. That's why I need to remember to say "no" on occasion.

Have a quite place - When I know that I'm going to be surrounded by people for long periods of time - either because I'm going into the city or visiting family - I like to have a quiet place I know I can escape to if I feel overwhelmed. It can be hard to find one (especially when I'm visiting the city), but feeling that there is a place somewhere that I can retreat to makes me feel less stressed out.

This is my list of holiday self care. Yours might be different or you might not have created one. I think having a plan in place is better than getting grouchy because I haven't had time to recharge.

So say your "Happy Holidays", your "Merry Christmas", or any other seasonal greeting. Let the radio play Winter Wonderland twelve times a day. Plan a party or curl up with your sig fig. The holidays are supposed to be a time of magic and joy. If you start to feel like there's so much holiday cheer that you want to throw up candy canes, you're not alone.

Don't forget that you're mental and physical health is important. Take care of yourself this season.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Early Holiday Cheer

Thanks, I hate it.

Yesterday marked the first instance of me hearing a Christmas song on the radio. Couple that with the unexpected snow storm on Thursday (or not so unexpected if anyone in the east coast had been paying attention to the forecast) and I am already done with this whole holly jolly season. People were putting up their Christmas lights while taking down their Halloween decorations for pete’s sake!

Am I salty about this?

Maybe.

Am I thoroughly annoyed?

Most definitely.

It’s the same every year, Halloween ends and Christmas takes over. Thanksgiving has turned into the holiday to get ready to shop for Christmas. Black Friday isn’t any fun anymore when store open on 4:00pm Thanksgiving Day.

Granted it’s still a lot of fun to watch people fighting over the latest trending toy when their four year old is probably more interested in the box anyway.

I'm just kind of done with the early holiday celebrations. I may love Halloween, but I don't want my pumpkin spice latte in August...it's too hot for a latte in August anyway. It's like we're trying to make up for the lack of major holidays in the last three months of the year.

Sure there's Valentine's Day, Easter, May Day (if your city celebrates it), St. Patrick's Day is fun, and there's always a ton of stuff going on for Independence Day, but do we as Americans really celebrate those holidays the same way we do Christmas?

No...though I'd make an argument for Halloween.

What draws us to the Christmas holiday season?

It's not like everyone in our country even celebrates Christmas. There's Hanukkah or Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Yule, and Festivus (for the rest of us) that are also celebrated in December. Some families even celebrate more than one holiday.

But we're not inundated with Festivus songs and movies. It's Christmas. We don't get Yule ads. It's Christmas.

Not to mention it's all so dang happy!

I don't mean to be a Scrooge or a Grinch, but can't we enjoy Thanksgiving without hearing the dreaded ballad that is The Christmas Shoes. I beg of the Universe - not the song A Christmas Shoes!

I actually do like Christmas songs...though I prefer the religious ones to the more secular pleas to Santa. I like seeing the holiday lights, especially if there's snow on the ground. I like buying gifts for my family and giving to the people who might not have as much as me. I like the flavors. I like the feasts.

I have a lot of fond memories of Christmas.

Which might be what everyone is trying to invoke.

As a child Christmas and the holiday season was exciting and magical. Anything was possible because of a baby being born and a jolly man dressed in red leaving us gifts under an evergreen tree. A mean nasty man could have his icy heart melted to become the best of us.

Christmas and the holiday season now isn't as magical. In fact, I'm more apt to fall into a depression than I am to feel cheerful or happy at this time of year. Instead of feeling strongly connected to my loved ones, I feel disconnected and set adrift. My emotional needs are no longer simple, but more complex than ever.

And I'm not alone in these feelings. Lots of people experience holiday or winter blues.

I sometimes think it would help me if the world outside my personal bubble was a little less holiday crazy. No Christmas music before December 1st. Keep the decorations down until Black Friday. Less focus on shopping and more time spent volunteering.

So to everyone who has their holiday cheer ready the day after Halloween.

Thanks...I hate it.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to an Engaged Populace

Happy Veterans Day. I hope everyone had the time today to remember what our veterans fought and died for.

If you've been on any social media site in the past few weeks, you've probably been inundated with dozens upon dozens upon millions of tweets, posts, and shares about the US Midterm elections. I've honestly never seen this much interest in an election that didn't include casting a ballot for the president.

It was wonderful.

Politics and the government, whether we want them to or not, influences our lives in ways we don't even think about. Certainly everyone is aware of the laws meant to keep us safe and the stress that comes with paying taxes, but so much of what happens in our lives is determined by government policy. Health codes and regulations: implemented by the government. Equal protection under the law: overseen by the government. The reason you can't use firearms to fish in Wyoming? It's likely that someone in the government was trying to stop someone else from getting killed because of their unique brand of stupid.

Knowing and understanding how the government affects our lives is a lot more important than some people think. I've spoken with some people and they've told me how they're uninterested or feel they are too uninformed for politics.

It saddens me that people don't always take the time to utilize their freedom to vote. Not everyone in the world has this right. There are so many people who lack the power to help decide the direction of their country's future.

Voting is a unique type of power that I am grateful to have.

During the 2008 election year, I was still in high school. It was a presidential election year, so the media was in a frenzy and talked of little else. I couldn't vote, but I was incredibly well informed on what was going on.

One day, right before election day, my math teacher started class a little differently. Like quite a few of my other high school teachers, he had served in the military before going into teaching. He looked at all of us and I remember him telling us (though my friends might have different memories) that the most important thing we could do as citizens of the United States was to use our right to vote.

That year the United States elected their first African American president.

Despite my teacher's lesson, I didn't start using my right to vote until 2012. My university tried to increase engagement in the politics. October through early November always had plenty of pamphlets on the dining hall tables detailing what was going to be on the ballot in our area. Our newspaper would put out a special edition on the candidate. Even one of the professors ran (and won) for mayor of our city.

It wasn't that I was disinterested in politics (I'm from DC - we're surrounded by it from the day we're born). I just had a lot of other things to do that got in my way of going out to the polls. I also didn't realize how important local elections were.

Since 2012, I have made it my mission to vote in as many elections as I can (this includes primaries). I make sure I know where my polling place is, what times it's open, and how easy it is for me to get to. I send out texts to my family to remind them that it's election day.

Still a number of people I would talk to would tell me that they hadn't even realized it was election day. Some would shrug their shoulders and tell me that it didn't really matter all that much.

It wasn't until this year that things felt different.

Usually midterm elections are treated as an interesting blip on people's radar that fades into the background of other, more pressing matters. Presidential elections are the ones everyone really cares about.

Not this year.

This year, everyone was talking about them.

Turn out was huge. People of my generation, who are notorious for not voting in midterm elections, turned out in droves. Absentee and early voting was at it's highest. Lines were long and people arranged to carpool to polls.

I sent out texts to my family as per usual and so many of the responses I got back were: have you voted yet? Even more wonderful, two of those texts came from younger cousins who had to send in absentee ballots because they go out of state schools.

I'm proud of the people in my country. I'm proud that people my age are aware of how important their right to vote is. I'm proud that we're paying attention to what the people lead us are doing.

But with the good, there comes the bad.

Despite the success in getting people out to vote, there were plenty of reports of horror stories. As I stated earlier lines were long. I hadn't had to wait at my polling station for anything since 2012 (I waited over an hour to vote in that election), but I did this year. There were issues with the polling machines malfunctioning. I heard reports of people being told to go to the wrong polling stations.

And the less said about the situation in Georgia the better.

Our system isn't prefect, but we can work together to keep improving. Having a voice in politics and being able to vote is such a wonderful opportunity. It puts the power of our future into our own two hands. We get to have a voice in how our country is run.

I am incredibly grateful for that.

Thank you America for getting out and voting last Tuesday.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Haunting Horror

Happy belated Halloween! Did you guys have a spooky time? I was suffering from some extreme jet lag as I had spent the past week exploring the Pacific Northwestern region of the United States. Then I decided to take the red-eye home. The only thing scary about my day was the lack of sleep.

When was the last time you felt scared?

The feeling doesn't have to be because of something major. I feel scared for many reasons, some of them even silly. Fear, horror, and terror are all associated with feeling scared. I tend to find myself terrified of some social situations (none I will specify here) or when one of my cousins decides to take a mountain pass road on the side of a cliff...in the rain (“it’s only 8 miles” my foot).

Fear is subjective.

As a child I was always fearful of mysterious monsters in my closet or under my bed. I would build a wall of stuffed animals to keep vampires and ghosts away. Don’t even get me started on zombies. I can’t stand zombies even to today (if only they weren’t a real probability of occurring right?).

Did someone say monsters?

It took a long time for me to be able to watch or read horror stories. There are some stories I still won’t watch (mainly of the torture/slasher variety). I don’t like blood and gore at all. Even in college I wouldn’t watch the show Supernatural after a certain time.

Except things started to change.

It was a slow process. I was always aware of stranger danger, but it wasn’t as big of a reality until I moved away from my friends and family. The idea that I could fail didn’t seem as scary until I was responsible for providing for myself. The future always seemed bright and shiny until I realized there was very little I could do to control it.

My fears went from imaginary monsters to intangible realities. I can’t punch a fear that doesn’t have a physical form.

I also started embracing more of the horror genre as a way to deal with my own nightmares. Slowly at first with kids shows and cheesy movies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I became drawn to the beautiful side of horror. Gothic sets with ominous lighting and music scores that could draw out every emotion the characters felt. I really liked horror video games with their intricate stories and emerging the player as both the protagonist and omnipresent observer. Fatal Frame and The Haunting Grounds are two great titles that pull this off.

Now, it’s become a lot harder to horrify me with movies, books, and even video games. It’s not that I’ve seen it all or that I know the genre too well. It’s more that a lot of horror mediums these days rely on cheap scares to jolt their audience into an adrenaline rush.

The type of horror I’m drawn to is subtle. It isn’t a sudden jump scare or loud “boo” to the face. It’s seductive, able to draw their victim in to a beautiful trap that leaves them shaking for days after wondering when the next bout of terror will come. It’s a horror that stalks its prey long after the prey has escaped.

A great example of this horror done well is the new Netflix original The Haunting of Hill House. I was surprised by how off putting and truly terrifying the mini series was. The very few jump scares were on point and not cheap thrills.

The new Suspiria movie that just came out is an equally terrifying experience (though I wasn't so keen on the Epilogue portion of the movie). Much like 2018's The Haunting of Hill House, this remake of the 1977 classic takes things in a completely new direction while keeping the bar bones of the original. It's a slow burn horror movie that draws the viewer in and isn't shy about being upfront with the supernatural aspects of the movie.

However, these examples might not be seen as scary or engaging enough for everyone.

The thing about horror is that its incredibly subjective. A movie like the 2017 It doesn't scare me for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm not scared of clowns, 2) I know that there's a whole other part because I watched the original 1990s miniseries, and 3) the imagery that's supposed to shock me - doesn't. That doesn't mean there weren't a few good scares in the movie. I definitely jumped when I first saw the headless boy following Ben and the scene with Pennywise coming out of the projector was creepy as all get out. I still enjoyed the movie, I just wasn't scared by it.

I may find it creepy, but it's not scary.

As my taste in horror media changed, so too did the things that scared me. I'm no longer scared of ghosts or witches or vampires. Now I'm scared of things that are a lot more abstract and less straight forward to fight back against. I'm scared of the a future I can't predict. I'm scared of hypothetical situations that I can neither control nor account for. I'm afraid of isolation and being forgotten about.

People have different fears, anxieties, and feelings. What one person finds scary another finds invigorating. Some people like being scared, others hate it with every fiber of their body. Fears morph and change as your life does the same.

Just remember one thing: whatever your scared of, no matter how mundane - it's okay to feel that fear.

Just try not to let those fears take over your life.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Lessons of Cinderella

This week, while lurking around the Internet, I came across a news article about how Kristen Bell and Keira Knightly don't like certain fairy tales. More specifically, they don't like the message and, in Knightly's case, out right ban the Disney movies Snow White, Cinderella, and the Little Mermaid. They feel that these stories teach problematic lessons and can have a negative impact on their children. You can read one of the many news articles here.

I can understand some of their arguments.

There's no question in my mind that these stories have problematic tropes and themes. I'm not big on true love's first kiss breaking a spell, especially when it's to wake up a sleeping princess. That's just a little creepy. I'm also not big on how Ariel decides to give up everything for a guy and, in the Disney version, basically learns nothing from her misadventures. Giving up everything for some random guy that you've just met isn't a concept I understand.

Even some of Disney's more solid fairy tale classics, such as Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, aren't free from criticism. Beauty and the Beast has been accused of romanticizing Stockholm Syndrome (it doesn't) and highlights the problems of romance under duress (Belle is literally the captive of the Beast even though she runs off during the first night of her capture). It has been noted that The Lion King has a few issues with how the segregation between the hyenas and the lions is portrayed and then there's the whole "Divine Right of Kings" message that ends the movie.

Then there's Cinderella. This story in particular set Keira Knightly's teeth on edge. To quote Ms. Knightly during her interview with Ellen: "Cinderella, banned because she waits around for a rich guy to rescue her." She isn't alone in her feelings on Cinderella.

Cinderella has basically become the punching bag for everyone who wants to point out the flaws in Disney Princess movies. I often think of the line from the Cheetah Girl's song: "I don't want to be a Cinderella waiting in a dark cold dusty cellar, waiting for somebody to set me free." It basically sums up how a lot of critics perceive the story and character of Cinderella.

Despite the fact that I'm not this movie's biggest fan, I couldn't disagree with this assessment more.

At it's heart, Cinderella is the story about a young woman who is put in a terrible situation, where she is constantly emotionally and verbally abused, and despite all that is still a good person. The YouTube channel ScreenPrism put out an excellent video call "Cinderella: Stop Blaming the Victim" and it's a great explanation on why the criticism surrounding Cinderella is equally problematic. A lot of the points that I'll be covering in my blog post are coming from this video's analysis.

Cinderella is a hard working individual, she is kind to those who need it most (as shown by her relationship with many of the house's animal inhabitants), and very loyal to those she calls friends. In the Harry Potter universe she's a quintessential Hufflepuff.

Furthermore, her living situation is awful. She's basically been reduced to a servant in her own home and is abused by her only family. All Cinderella wants to do is go to a ball. She doesn't want to meet the prince. She certainly doesn't want to marry him. She wants a night off to party like any other teenage girl.

And what does her "family" do?

They mock her. They keep her so busy she can't work on her fixing dress, so the mice help Cinderella out because she's protected them from the nasty cat. Then, when Cinderella appears before her step mother and step sisters, ready for a fun night for the first time in her life, they rip her dress to shreds.

I take that back, they don't just rip her dress to shreds - they rip her dreams to shreds.

That's Cinderella's breaking point. It's the final crack that shatters Cinderella. Her family leaves her in a ruined dress and her fairy godmother arrives to save the day.

I'm not entirely sure why people expect Cinderella to be able to "save herself" in this type of situation. People who are in abusive situations often can't or won't leave for many reasons, the biggest one being that they don't know where to go if they leave.

Cinderella's fairy godmother could have been her kind next door neighbor who saw the whole incident and wanted to help the poor girl out, maybe let her know that there was someone there who would be there for her if she wanted to leave. Abusive people often isolate their victims, like what Cinderella's family does to her. The fairy godmother in the story is literally the person whom decided enough is enough, "I'm letting this poor girl know she has someone around who will get her to that ball".

We the audience don't know what really goes on between the prince and Cinderella during the ball. For the record, they probably were talking the whole time they were dancing. Back in that era that was how people go to know each other and it was perfectly appropriate to talk to your dance partner. You can see examples of this in most Jane Austin novels.

But let's skip the ball. Let's also skip the part where it's the archduke and not the prince who goes looking for Cinderella (I think Disney was just looking for more comic relief there). These aren't really all that important in the grand scheme of the story.

Instead I want to focus on the last part of the original Disney animated movie, the part where Cinderella is locked in her attic room. Cinderella doesn't take her imprisonment lying down. In fact, I would guess that since she's finally tasted freedom and realizes that someone out there cares about her, she's ready to fight tooth and nail to live that kind of life every day. Cinderella claws at the locked door. When that doesn't work, she asks her mice friends for help and again they gladly help her. Finally, when the evil cat has the mice cornered, Cinderella calls on the dog, whom she's told repeatedly not to chase the cat as he might be kicked out of the house, to chase that stupid evil cat.

Cinderella does save herself, but it's not in the way our society wants her to.

Our society and culture wants people who are strong and unafraid of calling other people out. There's a heavy focus on the hero solving their problems for themselves instead of asking for help or using team work. We want action, harsh words, and a strong demeanor, not kindness and friendliness.

Cinderella is resourceful in how she relies on her friends, isn't afraid to ask for help, and takes an opportunity when she sees it. She knows that the archduke, and by extension the prince, is going to get her out of an abusive household that she otherwise hasn't figured out how to escape. She knows that by helping other people out of the goodness of her heart that they are just as likely to help her back.

So stop telling little girls that the story of Cinderella is bad or anti-feminist. It isn't. She doesn't wait around for a prince to come rescue her.

If you really want a feminist retelling of Cinderella that also stays true to heart of the story watch Ever After starring Drew Barrymore, read Ella Enchanted (not the movie version, though its a good update too), or pick up a copy of Nikita Gill's latest book Fierce Fairy Tales: Poems & Stories to Stir Your Soul. Gill has a collection of poems within this book that focus on Cinderella, her evil step mother, her misguided step sisters, and her fairy godmother. They are fantastic and an excellent retelling of the Cinderella story.

By disregarding the story of Cinderella, we are teaching their children that people who suffer from abusive relationships are weak and don't need help to save themselves. That's BS! Everyone needs help sometimes, especially the people who don't know how to escape their situation.

Cinderella teaches us how to empathize and recognize someone who is going through this type of abuse.

I think that's a pretty good lesson to teach someone, don't you?

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week...which will actually be two weeks as I am taking next week off. So see y'all in two weeks.

Welcome to the Darker Side of Things

Halloween is fast approaching! Have you guys picked out a costume yet?

Halloween has always held a special place in my heart. The decorations, the costumes, and the TV specials were always fun this time of year. I loved dressing up for Halloween (still do when I can). I always had to be either something dead or scary. One year, when I was dressed as a vampire, I scared my next door neighbor so bad that he refused to go trick or treating. I think he was barely one or two years old at the time.

Though I love most things about the season, I’m not a huge fan of haunted houses. Don’t get me wrong, the decorations and costumes are fantastic, but I can’t deal with the sensory overload that sometimes happens to me with the flashing lights and loud noises. Plus I really hate jump scares - they’re not actually scary, just startling.

It’s the Halloween aesthetic that I truest find beautiful. The leaves are changing colors, then falling to the ground. The air smells crisp and a little smoky at times. There’s an ever lingering reminder that with life eventually comes death.

I love it.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while now, you’d have notice that I really like witches and the Gothic aesthetic. I’m a big sucker for movies like Sleepy Hallow and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (even with the silly accents and over sexual tones). I read the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe and H. P. Lovecraft over and over again.

Death is the overarching theme of the season with some villainy and chaos on the side. I think there’s a reason the Sanderson sisters are so fondly remembered even though they are planning on murdering children in the movie Hocus Pocus. They’re everything fun and evil about the season. They’re threatening, but not too threatening.

For a while now, I’ve been working on creating a collection of poems that I feel fit into the Gothic style. I’ve written about 30 poems so far and, though I’m n where near close yet, I would like to try to get them published next year. I might even include some ink drawings.

A lot of these poems focus on death and what comes after. I take great joy in playing with expectations such as using limericks, tropically a playful or funny poem style, and use that format as though it were on a gravestone.

I’ve been told by a few people that my work can be delightfully demented.

Or maybe I was using that term to describe my sense of writing style. I don’t always like it when something is scary to be scary or depressing to be depressing. That isn’t how I am always able to work through my emotions. I often twist and bend these expressions to where it might take a bit to realize exactly what I’m writing about.

Death can be absurdly funny, like in the movies Scream, Scary Movie, and Final Destination. There’s a part of me that’s satisfied when the villain is killed off for good to triumph, like in Hocus Pocus or pretty much every Disney Villain ever.

There’s nothing wrong with being fascinated with the darker side of things. True crime stories and ghost hunting shows are still popular. There’s a mortician who hosts a YouTube channel and explains different things about her job (it’s called “Ask a Mortician”. People still visit sites of mass destruction, murder, and battlefields whether as reminders of the past or to satisfy a morbid need.

I’m not sure where my fascination with the darkness in life comes from. It could be that I need to have some kind of exposure to the worst side of nature so that I can appreciate the best.

It’s hard to know what to do with extreme negativity when you’re not regularly exposed to it. How do you empathize with an experience you’ve never lived through, but know that other people have? How is it possible to understand another person’s pain when you can’t comprehend where that pain came from?

Seeking out darkness isn’t bad. I find that it’s just another way for me to make peace with the experiences I’ve witness and lived through.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 8: The Power of the Witch

"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

This quote comes from the movie The Witch: A New England Folk Tale when the devil, disguised as the goat Black Phillip, offers to make a pack with the eldest daughter, and only survivor to the end of the movie, Thomasin for her to become a witch.

Thomasin as the beginning of the movie (left) and when she becomes a witch at the end (right)

One would think selling her soul at the end of the movie would equal a bad ending for this movie, but I don't think it does. For most of the movie, Thomasin has been bullied, blamed for things beyond her control, and alienated from the rest of her family. Her brother begins to lust after her feminine form. Her father allows her to take the blame for a theft he committed. She is constantly facing her mother's wrath for things she couldn't control.

When Thomasin joins the witches, whom we've seen commit terrible crimes like murdering a baby, she's smiling and excited. It's the first time in the movie she looks truly happy instead of board, angry, or scared. It's as though Thomasin has found herself as a witch.

Thomasin gains freedom by becoming a witch. There are a few draw backs, like her soul is damned to hell and she has to murder babies in order to fly, but for the first time in her Puritan life she is allowed to make decisions for herself.

Maybe The Witch isn't the best example for this post, but it is a powerful scene. If you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It's a slow burn horror movie with minimum jump scares and a lot of psychological mind twists. It's on Netflix for the 2018 October season.

Witches are feared. They can curse you to fall ill, hex your farm so that you have a lousy crop, and maybe they'll even turn you into a newt (don't worry, you'll get better eventually). Witches have powers that aren't very well understood. You definitely don't want to anger a witch.

Witches have power.

They're often thought of as independent and self-sufficient, especially when they live far from the village. Witches can heal you with the right potion or poison your worst enemy - for a price. They're knowledgeable and wise.

People don't want to mess with a witch.

So is it any wonder that some people, especially those who don't feel powerful, might find the art of witchcraft appealing?

Modern witchcraft focuses a lot on finding harmony with the world and self-empowerment. It's not derived from the forces of evil or the devil. It's tapping into the natural energy that makes up the universe to do magick.

For women in particular, it's a type of empowerment that doesn't derive from a relationship to a man.

As progressive as the American culture appears to be, there are still a lot of carryovers from bygone eras. One particularly tough cultural paradigm that girls can't seem to shake is how much our society hates anything preteen and teenage girls love. Yeah, a lot of what they obsess over is stupid, but is it really worth the levels of hate the Internet has come up with. I've been a witness and occasional participant in the hate: "Twilight, the worst thing ever", "why does anyone like Justin Bieber", "Brittany Spears isn't even that good of a singer".

Society hates that preteen and teenage girls where clothes that aren't "appropriate", except that's all the stores offer. We hate that they wear makeup, even if grown women are pretty much expected to wear it all the time. We're constantly telling them they are a distraction to boys, despite the fact that boys should have self-control.

It's not like preteen and teenage boys don't have questionable taste in media or dress. Society just doesn't fixate on it quite as much.

Women and girls are still talked about being "someone's ______" when rape is discussed. They're blamed for being in a situation, instead of  supported. Most big budget movies (even if they aren't romance) still have a guy and a girl getting together at the end - the girl's personality and story line need not be included.

So is it any wonder that the idea of becoming a witch is appealing to girls in particular. That little boom in the 90s and (hopeful) resurgence now of powerful women as witches isn't coming from no-where. There's a hunger for powerful women roles that aren't connected to anyone else.

Shared by Chaos Witch on Facebook originally posted by penfairy.

"Wouldst thou like to live deliciously?"

Yeah, I kind of do. Having some illusion of power over my life would be nice. Feeling that I have everything together and knowing things will turn out alright would be great.

Because right now I'm angry, scared, anxious, depressed, confused, and hurt.

My interest in witchcraft originally stemmed from my interest in the unknown. It has since grown for many different reasons. I like a lot of the philosophy, learning about herbal remedies is interesting, and the connection with nature.

Feeling empowered is a nice bonus.

I'm not saying I'm a witch, that's still very much up for debate, and not everything in this series of posts applies to all witches (Wiccans and other witches might not agree with a lot of what I've written). I've been on a journey for spiritual enlightenment and tranquility for a while. This has been a stop on a very long journey that is still in progress.

And part of me still feels like a six year old child reading Harry Potter for the first time and hoping I get a letter to Hogwarts. Part of me still believes in fairy tales, magick, ghosts, and monsters that live under the bed. It's my way of dealing with the real world and everything it has to throw at me.

If you or anyone you know is interested in witchcraft, Wicca, or magick, I have a few books that I recommend checking out. I've already mentioned The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Sky Alexander, but other books you might want to check out include:

• The Green Witch - You're Complete Guide to The Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
• Wiccapedia - A Modern-Day White Witch's Guide by Shawn Robbins and Leanna Greenaway
• Magical Herbalism - The Secret Craft of the Wise by Scott Cunningham

And for anyone who's interested in the less religious and spiritual side of witchcraft please check out: 

• Basic Witches - How to Summon Success, Banish Drama, and Raise Hell with your Coven by Jaya Saxena and Jess Zimmerman

Thank you for joining me on this series. I do hope to one day write a novel or novella (series?) involving modern witches, but until then I'll keep reading and researching everything I can find.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 7: Season of the Witch

Tomorrow is October 1st.

Which in my books means that it's the start of Halloween. Yep, that's right. Halloween is basically an entire month. If Christmas can be a month and a half long (or longer if you go by the radio stations), then Halloween should have an entire month all on it's own!

Haunted houses, corn mazes, creepy decorations (or as I like to think...new house decor), and pumpkin spice flavored everything. Don't try to tell me you guys don't like reading about pumpkin spice and everything nice. My first post to reach over 100 hits was Welcome to Pumpkin Overload and it was all thanks to you awesome readers.

I feel honored that one of my most popular blog posts is about how much I love pumpkin flavored everything.

I love Halloween. I'm not a huge fan of scary things (even if I do write horror), but I love the dark atmosphere. It's a different kind of beautiful.

Plus it's the default season for all things witches!

If my mom ever dressed up for Halloween it was usually as a witch. She'd set up a cauldron with a fog machine inside on the front stoop of our house to pass out candy. It was a lot of fun watching little kids slowly approach our house, uncertain if a real witch lived there or not.

My mom isn't a witch, but for all of the real witches out there. Halloween is also the witch's New Year or start or their yearly cycle. Called Samhain (pronounced SOW-een), it's supposed to be a solemn and sacred day for witches. For some it's a day to remember those who have passed on, for others it's a day to try and contact the spirit world.

Though Samhain is one of the more well known holidays for witches and Wicca, there are actually quite a few spread out over the year. Last week, I wished everyone a happy Mabon, which is the celebration of the Autumn/Fall Equinox. It's also the last holiday in the Wicca or Witch's Year. There are a total of 8 holidays which correspond to the seasons.

Image originally from this site here.

They are:

• Samhain - which I already discussed above as the magickal new year. above
• Yule - or the celebration of the Winter Solstice or the festival of lights. Some people may have heard of a Yule Log or gone to a Yule celebration (my university held a Yule Log ceremony every year) which is when a log is passed around for everyone to touch, then it is light up and you can toss a sprig of holly on the fire to burn your troubles or bad luck away. Another way to celebrate Yule is to light candles after sunset.
• Imbolc - this holiday is typically celebrated at the beginning of February. It is a fertility holiday and represents the promise that spring is soon to arrive and with it the start of the growing season. 
• Ostara - the Spring Equinox. This is the official start of the growing season. From what I've read, decorating eggs (much like Christians do for Easter) is customary.
• Beltane - also known as May Day. It's the second fertility holiday. It is a celebration of spring time nature and is meant to honor the Earth. May Day is a none witch version of the same celebration. I've been to May Day celebrations in Pennsylvania and they are a ton of fun.
• Midsummer - or the celebration of the Summer Solstice. It's the longest day of the year and a period of plenty. Midsummer is associated with Earth spirits like elves and fairies. It is also considered a great time for love spells and magick.
• Lughnassadh or Lammas - is the start of the harvest season (specifically the harvest of grains) and is celebrated around the start of August.
• Mabon -  finally we come back to Mabon or the Autumn/Fall Equinox. From this point until the Winter Solstice, the days grow shorter and the harvest festival. It's a time for balance and giving thanks.

It just goes to show that October and Halloween aren't the only times to be a witch. Witches practice magick the whole year long. They also don't have to celebrate any of these holidays if they want to. The 8 holidays I mentioned above are very much based in the Wicca tradition and religion.

A witch doesn't have to celebrate a holiday or season if they don't want to.

These holidays are also very much based on the seasonal rotation of the northern hemisphere. I'm not as familiar with how witches in the southern hemisphere practice, but if I understand correctly, it's not too different from how witches in the northern hemisphere do. Information on these holidays can be found all over the Internet, but I used The Modern Guide to Witchcraft: Your Complete Guide to Witches, Covens & Spells by Skye Alexander as my reference.

So this October season, remember that for some people (especially witches) this season is very important and sacred. In fact Halloween or All Hallows Eve is just before two important Christian Holidays which also honors the day: All Saints Day and All Souls Day. It isn't just about dressing up in costumes and scaring each other silly. It's about remembering those we loved and lost over the years. It's about the ending of a cycle and the promise of rebirth.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 6: Today's Witches

Fall has finally arrived!

The equinox was yesterday in the northern hemisphere (Saturday September 22nd for those of you not reading this post on the day it was published), so now we get to fully celebrate all things fall. In my case, a month and a half long Halloween binge!

Yesterday also marked the Sabbat known as Mabon or The Second Harvest Celebration for many of today's Witch and Pagan communities. A Sabbat is essentially a modern Pagan and/or Witch's holy day or holiday. Depending on which tradition a Pagan or Witch follows, the practitioner might celebrate all of some of these holidays.

Picture from: this site

Today I'm not going to go over the Sabbats (I'm saving that for another post). Instead, I want to write about how Witches continue to practice into the modern age and the many different types of Witches out there.

Here's an important fact about the Witch community: anyone can be a witch.

There's no specific gender, identity, or religious requirements. Witches can be men, women or non-binary people. You can be religious, spiritual, secular, or even atheist to practice Witchcraft. There are solitary practitioners or a Witch can find a coven to join.

What binds Witches together?

Witches are bound by their practice of magick (the type of magick spelled with a "k"). From what I have come to understand, Witches draw power from the world around them as well as from within themselves. They have a preference for and connection with nature, but some don't mind using technology with their spell work. Some invoke gods, goddesses, angels, or spirits in their craft, but it isn't necessary.

One of the more well known practitioners of magick and witchcraft today are Wiccans. People who follow the Wicca faith also incorporate magick into their religious rituals. Most of my research on witchcraft, spell casting, and magickal rituals has been from Wicca sources. They have their own traditions and holidays such as the Sabbats I mentioned earlier in this post. There are also different sects or paths of Wicca a person can follow (click here for more on the different types of Wicca).

But you don't have to be a follower of Wicca to become a Witch.

Wicca happens to be one of the more well known religions that coincides with witchcraft. However, some Witches prefer a more spiritual or secular path to their practice. I hear it can ruffle feathers, especially if the person or group of people are misappropriating other cultures (please don't do this if you are curious about practicing witchcraft). However, there do seem to be some merits to striking it out on your own if organized religion isn't for the practitioner.

Personally, my curiosity has lead me to a lot of books about witchcraft, Wicca, and magick. I tend to prefer the solitary and connection with nature aspects of the practice. There's a lot of meditation and good philosophy involved with my spiritual empowerment.

One stand-out aspect of many modern Witch's paths involves the Rule of Three. The Rule of Three is basically the philosophy that whatever energy is put out into the world will be reflected back three times fold. It's meant as a reminder to use magick for good or positive things rather than curses or hexes. Putting something negative into the world such as a curse or a hex on another person could result in three times the amount of negative things happening to the caster.

I like this type kind of philosophy. It's a reminder to do good things in life.

Other than the Wicca, there are several other types of witches. I have a few listed below:

• The Eclectic Witch - combines different magickal traditions and witchcraft styles into their own practice. Their practice is the most likely to change over time.
• Hereditary Witch - much like Sally and Jillian Owens from the movie Practical Magic, these are practitioners who pass their knowledge down from generation to generation. They often practice as a family and have their own unique traditions. 
• Hedge Witch - these witches often work in the natural and spiritual world.
• Kitchen Witch - a witch that mainly practices in their kitchen. Their spell work is often incorporated into their cooking. They likely have an herb or vegetable garden which they cultivate their own ingredients from.
• Green Witch - these witches heavily relay on the natural world around them.They're often most in tune with the seasons and try to work their spells and rituals outside as much as possible.
• Cosmic Witches - these witches prefer working with astrology and astronomy into their spell work. Most of their rituals incorporate the moon and planets.

There are more types of witches that I haven't listed. Witchcraft and magick are as varied and unique as the many cultures that have influenced them. 

Credit for this picture goes to this site.

I do ask that if you are interested in looking into more research or spells, that you don't appropriate another culture. Just because someone on the Internet says it's okay to do something doesn't mean that it is. Some practices and traditions are sacred and should be treated as such. Further more, some plants are on the endangered or threatened species list and shouldn't be used.

If you are curious about learning more on witchcraft, check out published books and/or ask real witches about their practice. Though you can start on the Internet, take everything you read there with a grain of salt.

Blessed be!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Until next week.

Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 5: Teen Witch Craze

I recently started watching the Netflix show Worst Witch. It’s about preteen girls learning how to become witches at a magical boarding school. Within the first episode there are magical potions, flying on broom sticks, and a battle between a good witch and a bad witch. So far, I’ve really enjoyed the show.

This isn’t the first incarnation of Worst Witch. Originally a book series, Worst Witch has had a total of four TV iterations (one being a spin off) with the fist being the 1985 TV movie. It’s clear that the story of Mildred Hubble is popular and has resonated with a lot of people.

Worst Witch is just one example of the trope that a young child discovers they have magical powers and must now learn how to control them all while avoiding evil witches and wizards. Harry Potter is another well known example of this trope.

However, it isn’t the only story line out there featuring witches. Tales of sisterhood and coming of age are also popular tropes to show up in Witch related media. At least the witch related media aimed at young women and children tend to have these story lines. Harry Potter is the odd one out as it is generally considered for all people.

That’s not to say that men and boys can’t like women driven story lines, especially of the magical variety. These stories just aren’t targeted to them the same way they are targeted to women. The 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s saw a lot of witch media hit the big and small screen that was almost explicitly for young women.

In 1989, the movie Teen Witch hit theaters. It was trying to capitalize on the genre of teen flicks with a supernatural or paranormal undertone that became popular with the release of Teen Wolf in 1985. The same year that Teen Witch hit theaters, Studio Ghibli released the animated movie Kiki's Delivery Service in Japan. Kiki's Delivery Service also featured a young witch teenage witch (Kiki is 13 in the movie) trying to make her way in the world. The Craft and Sabrina the Teenage Witch both became cultural icons in 1996 and were quickly followed by the movie Practical Magic (1998) and the TV series Charmed (1998 - 2006).

The look so cool and powerful!

Disney Channel took notice of the rising popularity in witches, especially for young girls, to create several made for TV movies including: The Halloweentown series and the Twitches movies.

It would be silly of me to not include the rise in popularity of Harry Potter in the 1990s that has lasted all the way to today. We now have two popular movie franchises, an official play, multiple unofficial plays, and more books than my bookshelf at home can hold. More importantly, we have the characters of Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, Mrs. Weasley, and Tonks who were pivotal in shaping the confidence of many young girls looking for literary role models.

Of course we still had the movies and TV shows featuring evil witches. Hocus Pocus (1993) is still one of the most iconic Halloween movies for kids who grew up in the 90s. The Witches of Eastwick (1987) had an all star cast with plenty of nasty shenanigans and still ended with the ladies taking on the big bad guy in a show of sisterhood. Then there’s the 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book The Witches which gave young me many a nightmare. At least the movie ends a lot happier than the book where the children are stuck as mice instead being turned back into children by a nice witch.

My point is that there has been a lot more media in the past 4 decades featuring witches in a positive light than a negative one. Sure we had the Bewitched series from 1964 to 1972 which I think helped spring board the “good witch” stories we eventually got. However, the horror industry of that era continuously used the “bad witch” trope in their sploitation movies (most of which are hilariously bad).

Now “bad witch” movies aren’t the norm.

Occasionally we’ll see a Blair Witch (1999 and 2016) or The Witch: A New England Folktale (2015), but these types of scary movies are now few and far between. Most Witch media now is fun, happy, and how to be a good witch. Witches are seen as teachers of empowerment instead of a people to be feared.

Is it any wonder that some girls went through a witch phase in middle or high school? Having magical powers isn’t just about solving your problems or getting revenge against the mean girl at school. In fact, the petty, mean, or dangerous spells usually resulted in an important lesson on not misusing magic and the consequences of selfish acts. Magic in these shows is about finding a sense of self empowerment and feeling good about your own abilities. At least that’s what I got out of the books, movies, and TV shows I consumed.

It’s also why I love idea of being a witch.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Until next week!

Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 4: Women Witches

 "All witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which in women is insatiable." - Malleus Maleficarum

What is the first image that comes to mind when you picture a Witch? Or more specifically, who comes to mind?

For most the answer is a woman dressed all in black with a pointed hat. She might be old and oddly disfigured or young and beautiful with a voluptuous figure. Maybe she's pouring ingredients into a cauldron or flying on a broomstick. She might even have a black cat skulking around somewhere.

The stereotypical witch from western culture is nearly always a woman.

I swear this woman turned me into a newt.

That doesn't mean that men or non-binary people can't be witches. Some of you might have pictured Harry Potter or Merlin, except that they usually have the moniker of wizard attached to them.

To be fair, the words wizard and witch are often used to signify a magic practitioner's gender. However, they don't necessarily mean the same thing. Depending on the magical system, a wizard's magic might be very different than a witch's magic while at the same time keeping the gender barrier (such as in Sir Terry Pratchett's Disc World series). In other cases men and women can be either a wizard or a witch depending on how they use/acquire their magical ability. Other words that are known to be used interchangeably (with some regards to gender) are: sorceress, sorcerer, warlock (unpopular because it also means oath-breaker), enchanter, enchantress, and mage. You can find more information on magical title by clicking here.

Please note that a magician is typically someone who does magic tricks such as slight of hand, illusions, or misdirection. The title magician is rarely used to mean a practitioner or magic/magick.

For the purposes of this blog post, I'll be using the term witch to refer to people accused during the witch trials that plagued Europe and North America between the 1400 and 1700s.

Historically, witches could be either male or female, but let's be honest with ourselves. Most people accused and executed for witchcraft were women. According to the sources I could find, women made up between 75-85% of the people accused of witchcraft during the height of the North American and European witch hunts. A few accounts have even suggested that there wouldn't be a single woman left in a village once a witch hunt was concluded - having all been burned at the stake (sadly I can't find the source of this one).

In 1922, a Swedish-Danish man, Benjamin Christensen, created a silent dramatized documentary called Haxan. In his 7 part series of shorts, it shows the history of witchcraft as he researched it. Most of it is on how women were portrayed and accused of being witches. The seventh part fast-forwards to modern times (well 1920s modern times) about how institutionalizing women for mental problems (like hysteria) is similar to the witch trials of old. That last part feels incredibly insulting for many reasons, but the rest of it is pretty interesting to watch if only for the silly shenanigans that happen when you decide to join the devil (lots of debauchery and orgies apparently).

If you're interested the nearly 2 hour movie is in the public domain and you can watch it with English subtitles on YouTube. If you don't feel like sitting through a silent movie for 2 hours, there's a fabulously hillarious silent review that's only 15 minutes by Kyle from the YouTube show Brows Held High which you can watch here.

I think the guy in the center wants my soul guys!!!

Though the gender bias towards women witches wasn't the case in all countries where hunts occurred. Historians have noted that men were more often accused in Iceland, Finland, Estonia and Russia. (Here's where I found a lot of this information.)

However, this doesn't stop the fact that women were disproportionately affected by witch hunts (and by affected I mean tortured and then murdered). Women with property, but no husband, women who were healers and midwives, women who were poor or handicapped or just had a general displeasing disposition were prime targets to have accusations thrown at them.

Some might attribute this bias as part of the Madonna and Whore complex. It divides women into two categories. The first being the virtuous pure woman who can do no wrong like The Holy Mother Mary. The second being the vile sinful temptress who will bring down mankind a la Eve. Either a woman knows her place in society or she's evil and going to bring about the ruin of civilization. There is no in-between. 

One famous example is Bridget Bishop from the Salem Witch Trials. She was a widow and had inherited the ownership of a tavern and apple orchard (which stood in front of Salem prison) upon her husband's death. Now women in colonial America didn't really own anything. Any property she might possess was immediately transferred to her husband upon marriage. As Mrs. Bishop refused to find herself a new husband and liked to dress in a manor that was considered scandalous for the time, she was often met with disapproval from her Puritan neighbors (the anti-fun that they were).

It really didn't help that she had a lovely apple orchard worth a pretty penny that stood right in front of Salem prison (did I already mention that?).

Bridget Bishop wasn't the first person in Salem to be accused of witchcraft, but she was the first person executed. In fact, her trial and sentencing were all sped up just so the powers-that-be could confiscate and properly redistribute her land all the faster. There was some talk that they hurried her trial along so that they could expand the prison (it was overflowing with people accused of witchcraft), but that expansion never happened.

Taken one step further, many of the things witches could be accused of were often considered more famine in nature. Altering one's appearance - known as putting on a glamour - to appear more attractive and enchant someone with their "new" beauty into a relationship. Today women are still more likely than men to wear makeup and be accused of misleading a man when she's not as attractive without it. Potion making can resemble cooking (again more associated with women's work than men's) and are used for enchanting, healing, or poisoning. Interestingly enough, poisoning was considered a women's preferred method of murder for centuries (Agatha Christie novels are full of this stereotype).

Oh, and don't forget women's right to control their bodies, especially when it comes to reproduction. It's a "controversial" fight well into modern times. The Malleus Maleficarum makes several references to witches preventing conception and causing abortions. Who would be most interested in this knowledge? Women. Who would most likely know the folklore and practice around it? Women.

Women stood a lot to lose from an accusation of being a witch. How could they protect themselves from having the finger pointed at them?

They accused their neighbors first.

Something that tends to get glossed over in the history books is that women were just as likely as men to accuse someone of witchcraft. In fact women accused of witchcraft had to be looked over by other women for signs of the "devil's mark" (imperfections on the skin such as a birth mark or scar), it wasn't proper for a man to do it. Women could even be the most vocal against an accused person, especially if there was a known rivalry between the two.

She's a witch! And she's a witch! THEY'RE ALL WITCHES!

Remember how I keep bringing up Salem? Well the trials began because of two young girls. It isn't clear exactly why they started accusing people of witchcraft (likely to stay out of trouble from some misdeed), but eventually these two girls expanded to include more and more of their friends and neighbors. Certainly they were egged on by the power-that-be, but it was young women and girls who primarily targeted other women.

Things clearly haven't changed much over the centuries. Women seem to always be pitted against each other for one reason or another.

So how did we go from evil witch to beloved fixture of the fall season, popular book heroine, and nose twitching TV icon? Furthermore, where do modern practicing witches fit into all of this?

Yeah, that's right, witches still exist and they don't need anyone's approval but their own.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope y'all like hearing from me.

Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 3: A History of Terror

In 1487, Heinrich Kramer wrote one of the best selling books in Europe. Thank's in large part to Gutenberg's printing press, this book became the second bestseller (the Bible being number one) for nearly 200 years. That book was called Malleus Maleficarum or Hammer of Witches.

Famous for kicking off one of the most terrifying chapters of modern human history, Malleus Maleficarum was the spark of a moral a panic among the Christian people of Europe. It raised the crime of witchcraft and sorcery to the level of heresy, which allowed for the torture and eventual death sentence by burning at the stake for any who were accused.

It was also condemned by many Church officials shortly after it's publication for it's unethical and illegal procedures. 

That, of course, didn't stop it's popularity and soon "witch hysteria" was it's own type of plague on the people of Europe. Between the 16th and 18th centuries anywhere from 40,000 to 60,000 people were burned at the stake for witchcraft in Europe. The hysteria peaked during Europe's religious wars of 1580 to 1630, when many Protestant and Catholic communities were pitted against each other on their interpretation of Christianity. In 1735, Britain would pass the Witchcraft Act, finally putting an end to the hysteria in Europe (though there is at least one report of an execution as late as 1782).

Once accused of being a witch, there was little a person could do to refute the charges. Torture was an acceptable form of interrogation and anything a person said while being tortured was admissible in court. They'd be asked over and over again to name others who were also witches and to end the pain they would name anyone who came to mind. Finally, the accused would be burned at the stake.

Not only could the accused be tortured for information, they could be put through "tests" that were pretty much set up for people to fail. Several famous ones included looking for witch marks (moles, birthmarks, or scars) that would indicate a pact with the Devil had been made, being stuck with pins to see if a person would bleed (in theory witches wouldn't bleed if stuck with a pin in certain places), and the ever infamous "swimming test" where a person was bound, sometimes with a Bible tied around the victim's neck, to see if a body of water would reject the victim. If the person drowned during the "swimming test" then they weren't a witch. They were still dead, but at least they weren't a witch. Those who floated during the test were immediately found to be a witch and sentenced to death.

An example of the weight test where a witch was weighed against a Bible

It's fairly safe to assume that once a person was accused of being a witch during this hysteria, it was a death sentence.

Like any point in time when people are at their most vulnerable, there were those who took advantage of the hysteria to make a little profit. Witch hunters would go to a town and offer to rid the villagers of the evil witches who were causing all sorts of unfortunate things to happen, for a small fee of course. Their victims were usually people whom the other villagers weren't fond of. Beggars, the disabled, mid-wives, the elderly, and people who were generally seen as non-conformist were all prime targets to be accused of witchcraft. For each person "caught" by the Witch Hunter, the village would pay them a finder's fee.

Needless to say, the people who were accused of witchcraft were no more witches than I am from the planet Jupiter.

This is the history of witchcraft and witch hysteria that I am most familiar with. It's the narrative that pops up on most documentaries that come out around Halloween and has shaped a lot of my culture's understanding of what a witch is.

However, witchcraft, sorcery, shamanism, and magick (or magik - spelled with a "k" at the end) has existed in one form or another since humans started telling stories. Many pre-Christian religions incorporated types of shamanism and magick into their practices (including Europe). Examples can be found in Greek and Roman mythology, old Norse and Druid religious practices, and most folklore found throughout the world (again I am most familiar with western history and ideas on the subject).

Furthermore, some practices of "witchcraft", folk magic, and magick were incorporated into Christian practices, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch tradition of Powwowing (a word co-opted from the Native American tribes originally from the area, but has nothing to do with Native American Religious practice) or Voodoo, which was brought over by slaves from Africa and has been known to be incorporated into Catholic practices in the Caribbean islands and southern regions of the United States.

To put it bluntly, there's a lot for me to write about on the subject of witches, especially in the United States. 

For the most part, witches and witchcraft are placed firmly in the categories of evil, other, and dangerous. Witches, from the point of view of Christians, are to be feared. They are in league with the Devil and want to bring about ruin and destruction. Even today some people immediately associate witches with the worst parts of humanity. They are perversions of how a person should behave.

It is irksome to try correcting and educating people who spout these claims. It doesn't help that Hollywood loves to exaggerate and misrepresent the culture and practices surrounding modern witchcraft and magick (see pretty much any movie featuring Voodoo in the early 20th century as an example), though there have been changes since the 1990s.

There is one key item that I haven't gone into in this post.

When we think of witches, what is the image that comes to mind?

Usually I picture a woman, dressed in all black, with a pointed hat, and a broomstick. There might be a cat or a raven around too, but it's that image of a woman that really takes center stage. In fact, who are some of our most famous witches in pop culture? There's Sabrina the Teenage Witch, the Halliwell sisters, the Sanderson sisters, Sam from Bewitched, and Harry Potter. Only one of the aforementioned characters is a guy, the rest are women.

Women have historically been the disproportionate victims of witch hysteria.

Burning the witches.

But I think I want to save that historical dive for my next post in two weeks time (next weekend is a holiday for me so no updates). Get ready for it guys!

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.