The winter witch teaches us it is okay to take a step back, to step away from the crowd, to hear the slow winter song of the quieting Earth.

There is a solitary witch in every wishing well

filling bucket after bucket with life’s blood.

What I call “vinyl paganism” means consciously choosing technologies that allow us to slow down, pay attention, be present in place and in our bodies, and let the more-than-human world speak to us in its own way.

And of course, prayer need not always be verbal. It can be as simple as standing barefoot on the grass or listening to the birdsong at sunrise. But even from this must come action to protect those very things that give solace, that cannot protect themselves. In this way, this communion with this other becomes something that is reciprocal.

The fear and pain of transformation, of becoming feral, returning to the wild, are worth it. This is freedom. It cannot be bought with riches, can only be gained through relinquishing.

By putting these two words together, I proposed to dismantle historical fiction that made gossip a misogynistic pejorative term with the intention of dismantling links between people who flee from patriarchal structures.

“Forests need to be respected as crucial for the vibrant web of life they nurture. Each tree is an individual life connected to other lives.”

[An introduction to anti-capitalist paganism]

Not a lot is known about Obeah and as a mixed race woman with Caribbean ancestry living in the UK I understand the need and the struggle that comes with learning about different aspects of yourself. But what I love about witchcraft in general and more specifically Obeah is the rebel aspect, the fighting against the oppressors and the status quo. Here then I thought I’d share a little bit about the largely unknown and misaligned practice that is Obeah.

“there are several ways to practice magical activism, and one of the most important is to build, feed and protect the communities we are a part of.”

I do not belong to a specific Land, but to my mom, my family, my community, my Ancestors. I do not draw my powers from a specific Land, but from my body, my mind, my spirit and my relationships. However, I am accountable to all the Lands that sustain me and the people I share them with.

Grounding and centering are foundational practices of witchcraft.

May you take care of your essence like a lioness takes care of her young, and may your heart shine with the innocence of a child, seeing the world through the hopeful eyes of tomorrow full of sweets, toys and ice cream. We still have to fight, with hope and confidence in seeing what we are in each other's eyes, even if by videoconference.

There is a magic in nature, one that cannot be described by words alone. It is a soul deep feeling that nourishes and makes us strong. Losing that feeling, disconnecting from that nature is the root of many of today’s problems. It is what makes us use and abuse the planet, the environment, animals and other humans. We forget that all is connected, that there is one whole and whilst we all may be separate, individuals, we are also all connected. Destroy one part and we destroy ourselves.

Are we giving real support to indigenous peoples, offering their proper place in society and fighting against their still present eradication process? Or are we only concerned with gaining more knowledge for our spiritual evolution, thinking that these spirits are also here for us to use because they are similar to the Europeans ones we know, or even that these spirits could feel honored if we force them into our Witchcraft boxes with European, foreign and white roots?

Hail and Farewell, Goddess!

We surely are about to die.

The deep, dark wild woods, mysterious and magical, have an almost mythic status amongst Pagans. Indeed there is something so alluring about losing oneself beneath the canopy of the forest. However, for the beginner, the best place to start is somewhere close to you, somewhere you can visit daily or weekly. It can be a garden if you have one, or a local patch of trees, whatever. What is important is that you can get there as often as possible.

We are the serial products that lose sense and purpose if our numbers are switched, reduced to a lowly existence, even less than what we are already systematically forced to be. In the eyes of the Witch, today we lack poetry.

We see it time and time again. Hipster foods that make poor brown people starve because they can no longer afford a food that was once their staple; or crops that are grown for cattle to satisfy our demand for ever cheaper meat instead of to feed those people who grow them. It’s not those folks who benefit from this supposed growth. It is not you or I.

Like witches the world over, the Obeah practitioner is often viewed with both fear and awe, a part of the community, but separate from it as well. Despite the negativity in which we are often viewed, us witches are always there, ready to help when our help is needed. When there is no one else to turn to, the Obeah woman will be there waiting.

Yellows, purples and deep blues flit by, easily missed by most, or seen and unseen, scenery and nothing more. The beauty of the wildflowers, their existence forgotten if noticed at all and all before they’ve disappeared from view. All of this glimpsed as I stare out the window, seeking something other than the endless roads stretching ahead lined with traffic spewing fumes, the endless grey of industry and business.