October 22, 2022

It’s strange, sure is strange.
Must be the season of the witch.
Donovan

Oh, they hold great magic. Magic so potent and powerful they dare not live together or with anyone else. Save the occasional cat. It would be disastrous. They are the witches of the Chalk and they live in the Tiffany Aching series of books by Terry Pratchett. 

Now, while they live individually and at a safe distance from each other, they are close enough to know when one among them begins to cackle. And that’s a problem. For cackling signifies going over the edge a bit. Losing it, if you will. And, since for witches that edge is pretty far out there, this can be quite dangerous. So when they hear the cackling, they drop whatever they are brewing and immediately all fly in to bring the sister back to her senses, in itself a tricky business. 

In my elder sister circles, it’s a rare gathering when one among us doesn’t reflect on how there are no others in her life with whom she can share her mystical experiences. Others would think she had gone completely over the edge. And while there’s generally no cackling involved, we sisters are there for her. We affirm that she is not crazy. We honor the great magic she holds and we affirm her mystical sense of self. And we laugh, just to the point of cackling. 

Crones. It’s what we do for each other. Yes. It is strange. Must be the season of the witch!

Blessings of Crone Wisdom,
Judith