[Pagan Blog Project] M is for Mother

While my mother is an amazing person about whom I could write many long posts and sing her praises, this post is not about her.  It's really all about me.  :)

I have for many years now had a problem with the mother part of the maiden-mother-crone cycle.  Or more specifically with my own role in it.  You see, I'm well past maidenhood (VBEG), and I don't think I could be considered into cronehood yet.  (When does that happen, anyway?)  That puts me smack in the middle of the motherhood stage.  The problem is, I have chosen to be child-free, so I feel the title just doesn't apply.  And I don't think I can really count my fur babies.  :)

I am a stepmother, but since I didn't really play a large part in raising my stepdaughter, I rarely felt any kind of maternal stirrings there. And especially now that she's in her twenties, we're really more friends than we ever were mother/daughter.  For her part, she has a mother, she didn't need me in that role.  And that affected me, also.  I never wanted to usurp her mother, so I took a friendship path instead.  And it has worked well for our family, particularly during her teenage years--when she couldn't or wouldn't talk to her parents about anything, she could talk to her friend. 

But does that qualify me as "mother"?  I don't feel like it does.

I am also an aunt, many times over.  And that brings a very special joy.  But I'm sure it doesn't compare to actual motherhood.

I know, I know.  I'm supposed to think of it as being fruitful in other ways, creatively or artistically or professionally or whatever.  And I try to think of it that way.  I really do.  And sometimes I even believe it.  But deep down inside, I never really believe it.  It's too much a part of my culture that "mother" means having children.  It's too much around me to not feel that way at least part of the time.  Does this mean I'm letting others unduly influence my thinking?  My feelings?  Perhaps.  But it is what it is.

And I know I'm not the only one out there who feels this.  It might or might not have worked for our ancestors in following the Old Religion.  But with modern birth control methods, and the modern freedom to choose (mostly) to be child-free, it doesn't necessarily fit anymore.  The problem is not the stage in life, it's the word.  Yes, it has a nice alliteration.  Yes it describes a natural order.  But can't we find a different word?  I notice that in the corresponding male stages "father" is often replaced with "warrior."  I like that.  Why can't we make it maiden-mother/warrior-crone.  Or we could use Matured, Confident, Free, Knows Herself.  The list that describes this stage in a woman's life is endless.

For myself, I like this stage of my life being the 'Warrior" stage, for so many reasons.


  Pagan Blog Project   

[Pagan Blog Project] J is for Jill-of-All-Trades

Or maybe that should be Jill-of-All-Crafts.  I often feel scattered and distracted in my Craft work.  I have so many interests in so many paths and so many subjects, I can’t seem to focus on any single one.  This is not to say that I’m a master at any of them.  I can’t seem to settle down enough for that!  Part of the problem might be that I’m still somewhat new to the Craft.  Is three years enough to not be a newbie anymore?  Part of it is that I don’t spend as much time on it as I’d like.  Although that one might actually be because I’m too intimidated by all the subjects!

In what am I interested, Craftwise, you ask?  Name it.  Just off the top of my head:  Candle and knot and moon and water and elemental and gemstone magick.  Elixirs, herbs and powders.  Wicca and Gypsy and Aztec and Shamanistic paths.  Celtic and Gardnerian and what seems like a hundred other Wiccan paths.  Tarot and scrying (fire and water) and pendulum divination.  Aromatherapy and chakras and astral projection.  Meditation and ritual and spellcrafting.  Cottage and Kitchen and Green and  Dark Witchery. And of course each topic has a zillion small parts, most of which I find interesting!

I need to sit down and work out a priorities list, like I’ve done for my life overall.  Force myself to focus on one thing at a time.  These things are not always necessary for me in the Craft—often I can just feel what’s right FOR ME.  I get a tingly, uplifting, energetic feeling when I encounter such things—when I read a spell that I know will work for me, or when I find conflicting information on a witchy topic.  But it only seems to happen for small, specific things, not broad categories.

Anyone else out there have too many Craft interests?

Pagan Blog Project 

[Pagan Blog Project] I is for Information

Books, articles, gatherings, and of course the internet.  There is no shortage of places to find information on any aspect of paganism, any path, just about anything.  It’s great.  It’s wonderful.  I wouldn’t be a witch otherwise.

But should there be caution and concern, as well?  Certainly one should be cautious about any information given to them by others, especially on the anonymous internet.  Take everything with a proverbial grain of salt and try to find at least three opinions/sources for it before trying it for yourself.  But that’s not what I mean.

Should we be cautious about putting the information out there in the first place?  Should we be so publicly open about our beliefs?  So willing to let anyone know what our decidedly un-mainstream religion is?

Given this blog, it’s easy to see what my feelings are on the topic.  As I mentioned above, I would never have found my own path without this openness.  I believe firmly in freedom of religion.  And certainly my English Major/Librarian roots scream out for freedom of speech.

But there are those of us who feel that a more guarded attitude is necessary.  The main argument I’ve heard is that the tide WILL turn, the Burning Times might happen again, and tolerance is relative.  These people feel we should stay firmly in the broom closet, keeping our ways and identities secret and only allowing those initiated to access them.

How do you feel about this issue?  I realize that simply being here, reading this probably means you’re at least partly out.  But what are your thoughts on the other side of the argument?

How far have you stepped from the closet?

Pagan Blog Project

[Pagan Blog Project] H is for Home Cleansing

Since we just moved into a new house (I need to change the picture on this blog), I thought sharing the house cleansing I plan to do would be appropriate.  It’s a fairly simple process, and it should have been done before we moved in here, but after will work, too. 

Start by cleaning EVERYTHING (floors, walls, counters, windows, etc.) with some form of lavender in order to purify and to attract positive energies.  It can be simple lavender water, it can be powdered lavender, whatever you prefer will work.  Move widdershins as you do this, and perform this chant:

Negative energy be gone from here

Only positive and good come near.

Now that you have cleaned the house, the next step is to sweep negative energy away.  Weather permitting, open all your doors and windows.  After you do so, take your besom, thoroughly “sweep” out every room, even the closets, even the garage!  Again, move widdershins.  While you do so, continue to repeat the chant. 

Close the doors and windows.  Light a sage bundle (VERY lightly, you don’t want problems with smoke inhalation!).  Once again, moving widdershins and repeating the chant, walk through the house, stopping at every door, every window, and in every room to describe a pentagram with your sage.  Repeat the above chant if you feel it is necessary.  This last step will finish the cleansing and protect against the return of negative energy.

After you have finished, do whatever you can to keep negative energy away and encourage positive energy to fill the space.  Burn rosemary incense, laugh a lot, perform a House Blessing—anything you feel will keep the balance in the positive.

The house should now feel light and airy.

[Pagan Blog Project] G is for God

(I missed the first week of ‘G’ because I was right in the middle of moving last Friday.  Quite literally, all my material possessions were being carried from the house to the truck that day.  I decided I would not miss this week, late or not, no matter what kind of chaos the move was causing in the new house.  J  )

Oddly enough, I’m going to start this Pagan post with a discussion of the Christian God.  No, I haven’t entirely missed the point.  It’s just that growing up as a female in the Catholic Church, I developed an antagonistic view of male gods in general.  Once I discovered Wicca and was free of that, of Him, it kind of backlashed and allowed me to really, truly hate Him, and in turn have difficulty with all other male deities.

And yet, I felt the need for balance.  I just couldn’t see myself on a Dianistic path.  For one thing, I wanted to follow a path my DH and I could walk together.  For another, I couldn’t see dismissing my DH, and every other male in my life, because I had problems with a god that just happened to be the same sex.  Not that the Dianistic tradition does that, as far as I know.  But it’s what I felt I would need to do if I chose to go that or a similar way.

So I had to find a way to come to terms with a penis on some of my deities.  It was hard (pardon the pun).  And I’m still not all the way there.  But it’s gotten better.  It took a lot of reading and study and meditation, but I can now love and admire and respect the Goddess’ consort almost as much as I do Her.  I can appreciate His value and yes, even His maleness.  I can praise Him and speak to Him in ritual and seek His help and guidance.  In turn, I find I don’t resent male gods in other pantheons, either.

As to my relationship with the Christian God, I don’t know.  Christians and their attitudes keep getting in the way.  Intellectually, I recognize He is just another aspect of THE God, but I still find it hard to keep resentment and anger out of my emotions when I think of Him.

Luckily, I don’t have to think of Him very often at all, anymore.

F is for Forests

For the Pagan Blog Project:

Growing up in the semi-arid desert of South Texas, the only way I saw forests was in magazines or on television.  Sure, there were small copses of mesquite trees, but no one in their right mind would rightly call these thickets a forest!

The first time I ever saw a real forest, I was in my early twenties.  A friend and I took a road trip up into New Mexico in January.  It was the first time I had seen either forest or any real amount of snow.  Together, they were so beautiful I made him pull over, got out of the car, and stood there at the side of the road and just cried.  (I didn’t know until then that it was true you could shed tears purely from seeing something beautiful.)

The next time I saw a real forest, I was about thirty.  This time, my DH and I flew into Seattle to meet some friends.  Together with them, we drove up to Vancouver to see other friends.  On the way, both my DH and I gawked out the windows and kept repeating, “Look at the trees!” in voices filled with absolute awe.  I’m sure our friends wanted to murder us by the time we got to Vancouver, but we just couldn’t get over the sight of those thick, luscious, unbelievable TALL, trees.

DH and I eventually moved to Vancouver, and I experienced forest after forest after forest there.  Glades and hollows and hidden meadows and, of course, huge, enormous, TREES!  From there, we moved to California, where I wandered amongst redwoods.  Then we came here to Ontario, where the views of autumn are not to be believed.

So, as you might be able to tell, forests are very meaningful to me.  Even when I was nominally Catholic, I always felt I could feel God in the forests.

Then I found Wicca.  Or perhaps it found me.

My religion has grown to all of nature, but forests still hold a special place in me.  I once upon a time thought I could feel God there.  Now, I feel the God and especially the Goddess in those green and red and gold and crimson depths SO much more!  

Whenever I picture Her, She is surrounded by the dark, dark green of deep, old-growth forest.  There is often a stone seat near Her, or perhaps She is standing by a trickling brook, flowing over moss-covered rocks.  A very few shafts of sunlight filter through the thick branches to reach the soft floor.  She wears a flowing, gauzy gown in a shade of green fitting the season, or perhaps in a shade of bark-brown, and despite the darkness of the woods, She glows.  Whenever I walk along a quiet wooded path, I feel Her presence so strongly I feel She is walking beside me.

(I think of Him in the forest, too, but then I think of brighter woods and game trails, and dark nights on those trails.  I think of Him either surrounded by animals, or hunting them, depending on his mood.  Or maybe He can do both at once.)

So, you see, it is no surprise to me that forests are sacred.  Or that I am part of a religion in which they fit so well.  Or that I knew this deep down inside long before I ever heard of that religion.)

The Goddess calls to Her own, after all.

First

I've been looking for a way to get back into blogging regularly, not to mention getting more witchy on this blog, and I think I've found it!  The Pagan Blog Project is similar to a couple of things I've tried before, but I think it'll work better for me. 

ABC Wednesday's posts were mostly pictures, and since my posts are mostly text, it always made me feel inadequate and out of place. Being the only pagan blogger I ever found there didn't help, either.  Don't get me wrong--the people there were wonderfully friendly and supportive, and they have a GREAT project.  It simply didn't work for me.

Pagan Blog Prompts is also great, it gives me lots of inspiration.  But I rarely, if ever, actually seem to write it up.  Maybe my muse finds specific topics too limiting, I don't know.  Whatever the cause, I'm not writing.

In contrast, the Pagan Blog Project (PBP) is all about the Craft and it's at least as much about writing as it is about visual art.  It's also just limited by the first letter in a topic, so plenty of freedom for my muse.  I'm a little late jumping into it, as I just found it today, but I'm hoping I can actually stick with it to the end of the year!

I realize this first post isn't truly about anything spiritual or pagan, but my first post being on an 'F' Friday was too serendipitous to miss!  I promise next week will be much more on-topic.

I can't wait!

Retrograde Problems

Finally, we've actually been able to lease a house, so we won't be homeless come April.  After two separate lease offers not working (the first wanted twice as long a lease period as we were willing to give, the second just never got back to us), we were getting seriously worried.  Neither of us have rented in over ten years, and neither of us have rented in Ontario.  We didn't realize just how difficult it would be find a place that would accept our two huge dogs.

Still, that's behind us now.  As of two days ago, we have a signed and accepted lease agreement for a house not too far from DH workplace.

What was surprising to me was how much of an affect Mercury's Retrograde had on the process.  I generally avoid starting anything new on retrograde days, and I'd never really noticed any problems, other than maybe general psychological 'blahs.'  The same was true this time--we weren't starting anything, we were finishing it, or so I thought.

Then the trouble started.  We simply had to initial a couple of changes on the lease we'd already signed, and send it back to our realtor.  First, a small one--the pen wouldn't work.  No problem, just replace it.  Then, with three separate computers, we had problem after problem after problem with our printer/scanner.  One couldn't see it at all.  Another said it was offline even though we could see it wasn't.  Etc, etc., etc..  When we finally got the six or so pages digitally scanned, the pdf document was too large for Gmail's limits, and DH was not able to log into his work account to do it from there.  Okay, so we have to scan it again, and break it into two pieces.  More difficulty.  Aaaaargh!!!!  (And all the time, our realtor is waiting at her office for the document, so she can send it to the landlord's realtor.  This was going on between seven and eight pm, mind you.) 

We finally got the document where it was supposed to be, but all that trouble was AMAZING.  We're talking about two fairly tech savvy individuals, working with programs and equipment we've both used literally hundreds of times before, and with which we don't usually have any trouble.

The only thing I could figure is that the universe saw this as a beginning, not an ending.

A Paper

From an assignment of one of my classes at The Magical Circle School:

My Research Paper

(An Irreverent Look at Research Papers)

Wow.  Any topic.  But one of the resources has to be an actual, physical, book.  I decided that would be the limiting parameter.  After all, the web is wide open.  You can find at least a little information on almost anything on it. (For example, look up mule roping sometime.[1])  But I do not own an infinite supply of books.  (Nor would I want one, truth be told.  The ones I do have cost enough to move, thank you very much.  :)  )

I also thought I should brush up on what a research paper actually is.  I’d written countless numbers of them at university, but that was more than twenty years ago.  What if they’d changed?  What if I didn’t remember!  What if I’d gotten them wrong all along?!  My first stop was a Rice University page titled “How to Write a Research Paper.[2]”  It talked about general forms and styles, mistakes to avoid, descriptions of all the different sections, and so on.  After that, I found “A Research Guide for Students,” which explained “How to Write an A+ Research Paper.” [3]   Wow, I thought, I really need that!  It turned out to be a much more basic source, with a step-by-step guide.  Then, just to be thorough, I took a look at “Writing a Research Paper” from the University of Alberta Libraries.[4]  No surprises there—kind of a middle road between my first and second sources.

Alright.  I had now re-familiarized myself with research papers.  Now I needed to find a book, preferably without visiting the closest library.  I looked at my twenty or so linear feet of cookbooks, and decided that would be too easy.  The art books, computer books, and research books in the study sounded too boring. (Although I did find a book to use for my footnotes.[5]  Once upon a time I had those rules memorized, but alas, no longer.)   I then journeyed downstairs to our actual library.  I found books on dogs, on camping, on birding.  I found biographies and photography books and books on Wicca.  I found books I hadn’t looked at in years, books which I’d all but forgotten I owned.  And, of course, lots and lots of fiction and literature.  None of the non-fiction really caught my fancy, and the fiction certainly wouldn’t do!  But my eye fell on a narrative that is the basis for my favorite, favorite, favorite stage play, Wicked.[6]  I picked it up on a whim, more to glance through it than to actually consider it.  And there, though I hadn’t planned to write a paper on Wicca, was the most appropriate line, coming from this fictional witch:

“I can make no comment on the souls of others," said the Witch.[7]

---

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AswtO3dR4HE

[2] http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~bioslabs/tools/report/reportform.html

[3] http://www.aresearchguide.com/1steps.html

[4] http://www.library.ualberta.ca/guides/writingresearch/index.cfm

[5] Kate L. Turabian, A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations, 6^th ed., rev. John Grossman and Alice Bennet (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1996).

[6] Gregory Maguire, Wicked:  The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, A Novel.  Illus. Douglas Smith (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, ReganBooks, 2004).

[7] Ibid., 344.

Happy New Year

I'd long since given up new year's resolutions.  I never kept them for long, and all they seemed to do was make me feel guilty, inadequate, and miserable.  I do still kiss DH at midnight and make sure to have a bite of black-eyed peas on January 1st.  I also try to do things on that day that I want to continue to do all year long.

But while the kissing is fun (and it obviously works--we're affectionate all year, lol!), the other beliefs have never worked any better than the resolutions did.  And for the last year or two I've been playing with the idea of dropping them, also.  Until now.

DH and I celebrated our third Samhain this past weekend, and we had a long talk about when it makes sense, to us, to celebrate the new year.  We decided that November 1st suits us much better than January 1st.  It didn't quite sink in this year, so we didn't kiss at midnight or have black-eyed peas the next day, but we did spend yesterday doing things we wanted to keep doing all year long.

It's much too soon to tell whether this will work, of course.  But it feels better.  It feels right.  If I can keep these things up for a month or longer, which is about how long I ever kept those resolutions, I'll know that I'm on the right path.

And, either way, next October 31 I do plan to add that kiss at midnight!

A Tarot Blog

Introducing "A Witch's Journey Through the Tarot," a blog I just started with a more witchy bent.  Don't worry, though, I don't plan on giving up on this one, or on changing it.

"Through the Tarot's" purpose is to chronicle my quest for knowledge of tarot cards from the very beginning to Tarot Grandmaster.  It'll take time, and a lot of hard work, but I'm confident I can eventually get there.  Along the way, I'll start with books I already own and eventually progress to online courses and even real-life apprenticeships.  I'll talk about my lessons, occasionally write reviews of decks or accessories, and just have fun with it.

I'd been thinking about it for a while, but I just made the inaugural post yesterday.  (I'd gotten hung up for months on a title.)  How often I post there will depend on the lessons upon which I'm working, and whether I'm at a daily part of them, or a period or reflection or some such.  It will be fairly steady, though, without all the periods of nothing-worth-writing-about-going-on that this blog experiences. 

Come check it out, and please follow if you're interested!

Learning to Be a Witch

Another posting idea from Pagan Blog Prompts!

I heard a joke a while back (I can't remember where):  How many Wiccans does it take to change a light bulb?  Answer:  Just one, but she has to read 20 books about it first.

I don't know if that stereotype is true of EVERY Wiccan, but it was certainly true for me.  The first six months or so after discovering Wicca I must have bought thirty books or more on that subject alone.  And I continued doing so for quite a while.  And there's still plenty that I WANT, but don't want to buy at the moment.

It makes sense.  Since the vast majority of us come to Pagan paths from Christian upbringings, we have a LOT to learn as we seek those paths--not only one new religion, but often many new religions, not one god, but many, and that includes goddesses, too!  We also have new holidays, new philosophies, new moral compasses, new everything!  (I didn't realize just how much I actually knew about Catholicism, most gleaned from just growing up with it, until I started learning a new religion from scratch.)

And while it's relatively easy to find teachers on the 'net, it's generally very difficult to find real live people in real life to with which to interact and from whom to learn.  I'm lucky--the Wiccan Church of Canada has two locations fairly near me--in Hamilton and in Toronto.  If I wished, I could attend weekly classes at either of those locations.  (I don't, but that's a whole other story.) I am also unlucky in that they are so close--I haven't been able to find a small local coven which I do want to join because searches for such things in this area tend to bring back only the aforementioned Wiccan Church of Canada.  Which leaves me with books and the internet.

Not that I'm knocking the internet.  I've found many wonderful places to learn on it, met many great Pagans (and non-Pagans), and made some really good friends besides.  I'm currently enrolled in three classes at The Magical Circle School. (And I'd be learning a lot more there if I didn't have a personal problem with self-paced and semi-self-paced classes, but that, too is another story.)  And any halfway decent search will find at least dozens of other such locations, some free, some not.

But my first love is still books.  Actual paper books that I can hold in my hands, stick notes in (DH HATES highlighted books, so I don't do that anymore), and refer to just by walking over to a bookshelf.  So I will probably continue to do most of my learning on my own, through those books.

I think I'll go do some reading right now.  :)

C is for Craft

Whether you call yourself a Wiccan, a Witch, a Pagan, or something else entirely, chances are you practice some form of Craft, although you might not call it that.  I'm talking about The Craft, of course, what some call witchcraft.  (Although tons of Witches seem to practice arts & crafts, also, though not being crafty in that way I've never really understood the correlation.)

At any rate, The Craft can cover a huge scope of topics--divination, herbology, and spellcasting, to name but a few.  And even within those topics, the variety is endless--tarot cards or pendulums or scrying (fire, water, or mirror); healing with, growing, or becoming expert in the properties of herbs; candle or hedge or knot magick, the list goes on and on and on.  Or perhaps your Craft is a simple matter of ritual, or of praying to your Goddesses/Gods in whatever way you see fit.

A cast circle and a formal altar, or a tree stump and a rock--it matters not.  Meditation to look within or cooking with intent, it matters not.  A spell to heal the earth or one to heal your heart--it matters not. 

It is The Craft.

Meditation, My Way

I recently read a post on meditation, and I thought I'd add my 37 cents on the topic.  Why?  Because when I started out I got so frustrated and upset that it was totally defeating the purpose of doing it at all.  I felt the situation was hopeless, that I couldn't do it, that I'd never be able to do it, that there was something wrong with me!  Then I figured out what worked (for me), and it just all came together.  You could say like magick, lol! 

I started out trying a few years ago by reading books and internet articles.  All of them said "THIS is how you do it," where THIS was their own particular formula of counting breaths (or not), staring at a flame (or a color, or not) and so on.  Also, apparently, you had to sit in as close as you could get to full lotus position on the floor in a totally silent room set up for meditation practice.

Perhaps needless to say, I, with no form of yoga training whatsoever, could get nowhere near full lotus position, or even partial lotus position.  Sitting on the floor for even the suggested beginning 10 minutes was awful on my back.  Total silence just made me notice every small sound in the background, amplified about 100x.  And preparing a room specifically for meditation?  The very idea of taking the time (and money) to do it was enough to send me into full procrastination mode.

Fast forward about a decade, and now I'm joining groups and taking classes that strongly encourage, if not actually require, one to meditate, even to do guided meditations.  Meditate?!  Not me!  I can't do that!  And I certainly can't take the next step and do a guided meditation!  That's downright scary!

But I really wanted to do these things--be a part of these groups and take these classes.  And there was now SUCH a buzz about how healthy meditating is, in so many different ways.  And I'd recently been introduced to the concept (through Wicca) of "do what feels right."  All these factors contributed to my decision to try again.

I started by trying out the old way again, but this time sitting in a comfortable chair.  Still not really working.  I moved to the sofa, lit a scented candle, and let the dog (Merly)  in to the room.  Closer.  I tried a guided meditation.  It was actually MUCH easier for me than trying to "empty my mind," but I still wasn't there.  Then, right there on the sofa, I tried an extremely relaxed lotus position.  It wasn't much more than crossing my legs up on the sofa and holding my hands in the correct position. 

BOOM!  I fell right into it!  It's was like I'd been doing it all my life!  It was freeing and balancing and mind-opening and WONDERFUL!  I saw things and relieved stress and learned things about myself and my relationship to everything and everyone around me--everyday life, the Divine, my Craft, the world at large--everything!

I still don't have a daily practice, but I'm getting closer.  Two huge puppies instead of one medium-sized older dog can be a bit of a challenge, but I'm learning (and they grow calmer everyday).  I've found that my posture is much more about my hand position than whatever I'm doing with my legs, so that's gotten even easier.  I don't usually pay attention to my breathing, or to trying to clear my mind.  I've also found that normal household noises or background noises don't interfere. I can now fall into meditation pretty much anywhere that I'm physically AND psychologically comfortable. (I have to be in a place where I feel safe closing my eyes and not paying attention to my surroundings, for example.)

And all by doing what feels right!

B is for Bat Wool

ABC Wednesdays 

(I'm going to try and pick up ABC Wednesdays again, since I lost my way on it last year.  I've missed 'A', but coming in on the second letter of the alphabet isn't too bad considering how this year is going so far!)

Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog

From Shakespeare's Macbeth, of course, though the better-known lines are

Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.

 
I first saw this performed on stage during a field trip with my high school Senior English class, in which we were of course studying the text at the time.  Having always been attracted to the creepy, the dark, and the scary, I LOVED this scene.  (I loved it so much, I believe it had a great deal to do with my ongoing love of Shakespeare.)  The lighting was dark and  the stage obscured by floating mist.  The Witches were scary in their rags and warts, and the huge cauldron was properly glowing with an eerie green light.  Delightful!


I obviously still have fond memories of the scene, despite the stereotypes perpetuated by it, and how offensive I find them since becoming a Witch myself.  (And it begs the question, do we judge literature by our own standards or by the standards of the time in which it was written?)


Anybody up for bat wool or dog's tongues? (I happen to have two of the last item just lying around!  ;>   )