Welcome to the Witching Hour Part 1: A Spark of Interest

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to take a long weekend up to Salem, Massachusetts: Witch Capitol of the United States. For my readers who are unfamiliar with Salem Massachusetts, following a series of "unexplainable incidents" in February 1692  a witch panic erupted in the God fearing Puritan colonies in Massachusetts. More than 150 people were accused of witchcraft and consorting with the devil. 19 of those accused were hanged, while one person was pressed to death (heavy stones were placed on them until they died). The panic didn't end until someone accused the Governor's wife in May 1693, which finally prompted the Governor to end the madness and pardon everyone who was still in jail.

Nearly 400 years of history and most people only talk about the witch trails when it comes to Salem, MA. For a very long time, the city and surrounding county tried to forget the panic ever occurred. Only one of the teenage girls ever apologized for her actions during the hysteria (sources aren't super clear what happened to all of them) and nearly everyone who was accused of being a witch lost everything.

Memorial park for the victims of the Salem Witch Trials

It wasn't until the tourism industry started making a little money, and then a lot of money, that the city began to acknowledge the 15 month panic. Now you can't walk through the main tourist districts without running into half a dozen shops dedicated to witchcraft and silly tourist traps dedicated to the trails. There's even a play reenactment of the trail of one of the accused witches twice a day for $25 per person.

I do think the city is worth a visit and the history is fascinating (though I hear October is insane), but I don't want to spend this entire post talking about my last weekend getaway.

No, what I want to focus on are the topics of witches and witchcraft.

Okay, I know it's not quite fall...let alone October, but I want to start writing about this topic now so that I don't accidentally keep up these posts until November (there's a lot to write about). Witches and witchcraft in history and popular culture are pretty interesting, plus there are several religions which incorporate witchcraft into their rituals.

Witches within European history and folklore are often wicked individuals who consorted with the devil. They hex people and try to entice others to sign their soul away. They were the cause of illness, injury, and all sorts of unfortunate, yet unexplainable, catastrophes. They are to be feared.

To be clear, no everyone who practiced magic was considered an evil witch (at least before Christianity became the dominate practice in Europe). There were quite a few religions that had wise men and women preform spells to ensure a good harvest or success in battle. The Greeks even had a goddess named Hekate who was dedicated to those who practiced magic, witchcraft, and sorcery.

More recently, we've had a kind of revival for witches in popular culture. The Sanderson Sisters from the movie Hocus Pocus and Ursula, the sea witch from The Little Mermaid, seem to embody the wicked witch stereotype, but then we have the good witches like Hermione Grander from Harry Potter and Halliwell Sisters from the 2000s show Charmed.

There are people today who practice witchcraft and have proudly adopted the moniker of Witch. The Wicca religion is notable for having many rituals that involve witchcraft. Others simply find spiritual meaning and focus practicing their craft.

There's a lot to explore when it comes to the topic of witches, witchcraft, and magick (the type spelled with a "k" at the end). There's a lot of information in the New Age section of the bookstore and online (though there's also a lot of misinformation there) on the modern practice of witchcraft. It's also a good idea to speak to people who actually practice witchcraft.

So sit back, relax, put on some creepy music, and let's learn about witches.

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 a Fairy Tale Adventure

When first I saw that Disney was making a live action Beauty and the Beast movie (one of my favorites from when I was a kid), I thought - well that's completely unnecessary. Then I saw the trailers and listened to the music. I just knew I had to see this movie, even if I did have to sit in a theater with an army of little girls decked out in their best princess outfits.

It was so worth it.

There's just something amazing about seeing the magic of a fairy tale come to life on the big screen. Though, personally I would have been even more thrilled if they had re-released the animated movie in theaters, but the live action movie was a lot better than I originally thought it would be. I still like the original more, but that's my opinion. It was also really cool to see how much technology has changed (especially if you compare the new movie to the 1946 French movie).

The inner child in me was so happy to see this movie that I, of course, went home and put the animated version on right away. While singing along and cleaning my apartment, I was struck by a line Belle sings after she rejects Gaston's marriage proposal.

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell."

I've seen that line dozens of times on social media. I think there's even a meme floating around with Belle's arms flung open in the field where she's singing.

It's a good line and I think it sums up half of the reason I love of fairy tales (and fantasy and science fiction). It's that longing for an unexpected adventure. Where my mind is so completely blown away with everything that happens, that it's hard to express my awe. It's being able to leave the boring world behind and go somewhere completely unexpected.

I can't be the only person who feels this way.

Many of the stories I enjoyed as a child had heroes that somehow found themselves embroiled in an unusual situation.

For example, the Hobbit starts with Bilbo enjoying his morning, he meets Gandalf, then later that evening a party of dwarves unexpectedly, and suddenly Bilbo is being hired as a burgle to steal something from a dragon. The ordinary quickly becomes the extraordinary in the span of a day.

Or how about how Aladdin comes across the magic genie*? He starts out his day casually stealing breakfast, accidentally comes across a runaway princess, gets arrested, and is then tricked by Jafar into going into the Cave of Wonders. I don't think Aladdin got up that morning and thought, yes today is the day that I go on an adventure.

 The other half of my love for fairy tale stories is likely because of magic.

Yeah, I know magic doesn't actually exist (or does it?), but it can signify how the improbable becomes the possible. I might not have gotten my letter to Hogwarts (or Ilvermorny), but neither did Jacob Kowalski and he got to help Newt with his escaped Fantastic Beasts. I don't expect to stumble upon a seemingly abandoned castle with sentient furniture while hiking (actually that would be really impressive since I live in North America), but neither was Maurice while he was looking for shelter.

Okay yeah, all those examples were stories and movies. They were created to teach entertaining lessons. Some even used to provide an explanation for the unknown world. But nearly all of them continue to inspire our imaginations today.

Adventures happen, even without magic and singing demigods. Some are planned vacations to new counties, others are unexpected (like having a random snow storm in mid March). Without the ordinary days, it's hard to appreciate the extraordinary ones.

Then again, I could have met a witch or wizard, but don't remember because my memory was oblivated. It could have happened.

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.

*I actually know a couple different versions of this story, but I'm using the Disney version as an example since more people are familiar with it.

Welcome to Preparing for the Holidays

The entire last quarter of the year should be called the Mad Holiday Rush. It all starts in October (or August depending on stores near you) when Halloween decorations are everywhere. Suddenly all of the food is pumpkin flavor and Hocus Pocus is on TV every weekend.

Thanksgiving is neatly smushed between Halloween and New Years. For the most part this holiday is dedicated to stuffing yourself silly and having three weeks worth of leftovers in your freezer. The most stressful parts of Thanksgiving are buying all the food, cooking all the food, and hoping no one brings up politics at the dinner table (hard to do after a couple of glasses of wine).

There are a lot of holidays in December, but I think everyone can agree that the one Americans are obsessed with the most is Christmas. Heck we get to start listening to Christmas music even before Thanksgiving on the radio and there are so many other holidays at this time of year too (my favorite being the winter solstice).

Granted Christmas is a lot of fun if you celebrate it. You might get to see loved ones you haven't in a while. There are beautiful light displays to go look at. There's a nostalgic feeling like anything can happen during this holiday. Magic seems to be real.

Of course here's a lot that goes into preparing for Christmas (so much so that it makes the holiday last through the whole month). There are presents to buy, decorations to put out, a montage video of the entire process to put on Facebook. You need to get that prefect tree (real or fake) that will fit just right in your living room. Mine is up, I just haven't bothered to put the ornaments on yet.

Having a check list is nice to have. That way I don't forget anything (or anyone). It's probably best to start a check list early (like a few months early), that way when December rolls around getting everything done will be a breeze. I try to get all my Christmas shopping done well before Black Friday and Cyber Monday, but it's okay to snag some last minute deals (so long as everything arrives on time).  I sometimes pick up a few things right after Christmas to save for next year.

Holiday card writing and present wrapping can take a while too. I like to start soon after Thanksgiving to give myself plenty of time to find all of the presents (I'm pretty good at misplacing hiding things).

There's also the mental and emotional prep that comes with the season. For some people this is the first time in a whole year or longer that you'll be seeing your family. It might be heartwarming and joyous. It could also be a total disaster (especially if politics and drinking are mixed).

Some people get really sad during this time of year. Holiday depression is a real thing with tons of articles on the internet about it. It can be difficult be around all the festivities when feeling down.

The holidays can be very overwhelming too. There's a lot going on and being around a lot of people can be draining (especially for introverts and people who like the quiet). I like to have a space set up where I can retreat to if I'm feeling like things are getting too much. There's nothing wrong with excusing yourself from a party or celebration if down time is needed.

I hope everyone has a peaceful holiday season because December has only just started and already things are busy.

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 Christmas Lights

In about a week it will officially be winter, in less than two weeks it'll be Christmas and it feels like it's the middle of spring. I was able to walk around outside in a short sleeved shirt today. I wouldn't have known it was almost the holidays if there weren't so many decorations out.

Everywhere I look there are evergreens, Christmas lights, train displays, and bright red ribbons. Much like Halloween, people seem to go all out for Christmas and Hanukkah. The towns are all lit up and have trees decorated. There's a long line to visit Santa at the malls.

The Christmas Lights were up in New York in November. When I was there the tree in Rockefeller Center wasn't lit yet, but the tree at Radio City Music Hall was. I saw people lined up around the block to get into the Rocket's Holiday Show. I remember going when I was 7 and it was really cool.

My roommate and I put up two trees. We both had one. It was fun to put on Christmas music and set up the trees. Unfortunately they aren't real trees, but I guess that means we have less clean up. Still glitter got everywhere and we had to vacuum a few times to get it all up.

The Big Tree

My tiny tree and yes that is a spider web as the tree topper.

I remember when I was a little kid, putting up the Christmas lights was exciting (except when I had to put the lights on the holly bush, then it hurt). We had two trees, one in the front of the house and one in the back. I would get to decorate one and my sister would decorate the other one (with our mom and dad's help of course). It was usually cold and we'd hope for a light snow fall.

It was magical then and it still is now.

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