Season of the Witch | October Writing Prompt
““She is a bitter woman, and her words
Fall from her lips like apples from a bough
Stoned on the morning of a frost.””
We all know the stereotype – the hook-nosed, warty malevolent old woman riding on a broomstick, cackling into the night, dressed head-to-crotchety-toe in black, wearing a pointy hat, cursing her enemies, poisoning seasonal produce or ensnaring unwary children in her candy-coated house!
Yes, this month we’re delving into the most iconic Halloween figure – the Witch… And look at the words we use to describe this creature – crone, hag, beldam, harpy, biddy, harridan, termagant, scold, gorgon, virago…
The witch is not a recent invention – the idea of her has existed for thousands of years and is even mentioned in the Old Testament.
The abiding truth of the witch is that she is an elder woman, rich in experience, often deeply connected to, knowledgeable and protective of the land and environment. – in pre-Christian times, she was respected for her wisdom and authority.
In Irish mythology, we have the Cailleach, ‘the veiled one’ in Old Gaelic, a divine ancient or ancestor associated with the creation of the landscape.
Her most famous embodiment is in the Irish Goddess, the Hag of Beara, a wizened old woman of the west of Ireland, associated with the onset of Winter and immortalized in a medieval poem where she mourns her lost youth…
It was the medieval church and the early practitioners of medical science that singled out the village elder women as a potential troublemaker in the advance of their causes, not to mention an easy target.
And so the wise old woman, living a solitary life in the woods, able to read nature in a way others couldn’t, became the dangerous old hag, unnatural, uncanny and alone.
This month’s prompt invites you to explore your own ideas about the Witch, in any and all her guises. When did you first encounter the classic idea of the witch – in childhood stories, Disney movies, Halloween dress-up?
Did you believe in good witches like Glinda in the Wizard of Oz, or bad ones like the wicked queen in Snow White? Do you not believe in witches at all?
Do you know of any local witch stories, myths or legends? Was there an old woman in your childhood that you feared might be one?
Are you fearing or enjoying your own crone years in the Autumn of life? Or are you in tune with the modern craft of ritual and white magic? Do you see connections between the historical treatment of elder women and the struggles of women today?
Inspiration
Today's inspiration makes the link between an old woman and nature in George O’Neil’s 'Crone'.
And taking on the persona of a fairy tale baddie, Ava Leavell Haymon’s ‘The Witch Has Told You a Story’.
Or for a more upbeat take on the Autumn of life, here's Jenny Jones' 'Warning'!
Musical Interlude
The Poetry & Writing Submissions List
The October edition of the submissions list is now up on the blog with over 160 opportunities for writers and artists, open of with deadlines this month.
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What I’m Reading:
Signs, Music by Raymond Antrobus
The Ghost Lake by Wendy Pratt
A Horse at Night: On Writing by Amina Cain
