Season of the Witch - #seasonofthewitch - and its eleven questions are attributed to The Woodland Hag on YouTube. I learned of it - them - through Benebell Wen and was pleased when I received guidance to play along. After all, we’re deep in the season of the witch at this point in the year. Plus, what’s sometimes referred to as the witch’s new year - Samhain, a.k.a. Halloween - is on the very near horizon.

1. In what way (Witch, Pagan, Wise Woman, etc.) do I choose to identify and why?

Hmm… Mostly witch, with a side of pagan. Witch, because it feels resonant and because I am acutely aware of my own cycles and seasons as well as those of Earth’s. Pagan, because, according to its definition - “A person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions.” - it fits.

I don’t subscribe to any one of the world’s main religions. Instead, I find myself drawn to bits and pieces of many of them, including Buddhism, Christianity and Wicca. (That said, I haven’t referred to myself as a pagan before, and don’t know that I would. It feels too boxed-in.)

2. What does my daily practice look like?

My daily practice is no-frills and super intentional: In the morning, it’s meditation followed by journaling. At night, it’s shielding and clearing. The meditation and journaling help me center and focus, and they help me expand, too. The shielding and clearing are a necessary daily practice I prefer to end my day with as I feel more secure before entering the dream state.

Depending on the day and what happens in it - or what needs to happen in it - I may add an additional practice or ritual in support of that. That could include pendulum work, intention-setting with candle-lighting, etc. I go with the flow (of the and my cycles and seasons).

3. What do I do for self care?

For self-care, I meditate, journal, shield and clear, every day. I also tune into what my body needs for nutrition, listening to its intuitive guidance. And I prefer to get eight hours of sleep a night, although I typically get closer to seven. I avoid news, for the most part, because it just upsets me these days. (I mean, what’s being done to Earth through the rollback of acts that protected water, wildlife/endangered species and national parks, among others, is just plain ignorant and unconscionable.) I drink a lot of water, and really notice it when I don’t drink enough. And I make sure to hug someone, every day.

4. What do I do to take care of nature, wildlife the environment or animals?

Oh, my heart… Nature, wildlife, the environment and non-wildlife animals are a huge part of my purpose and they’re also my achilles heel emotionally speaking.

• I donate whenever I can to causes that support the environment.

• I use eco-friendly Dropps products for laundry and dishwashing. (That’s my rewards link. I receive rewards points if someone makes purchases through it.)

• I use cruelty-free beauty products. My favorite brand is The Body Shop (they have vegan products, too), and my second-favorite is Cover Girl.

• I offer up energy healing to Earth and her non-human inhabitants daily.

• I offer targeted energy healing to various areas of Earth as guided.

• I support the sweet ecosystem that exists here on my property, making it as hospitable as possible for both its residents and its migrants.

• And I’m super conscious of water usage. The lawns are watered only by the rain that falls. And the vegetable and flower gardens are watered, when necessary, by the water that accumulates in the rain barrel.

5. How do I help, heal or support humans or humanity?

This aspect doesn’t impact me as deeply as the predicaments of the natural world, and yet I invest immeasurable compassion in my fellow humans.

• I donate whenever I can to causes that support those in need.

• I participate in a yearly food drive with my extended family.

• I offer up energy healing to the situations hurting and/or vexing humans/humanity as guided.

• And I work in service to the healing and support of humans, offering intuitive clarity sessions, energy healing sessions and card readings.

6. What is my understanding of a higher power?

My understanding of a higher power is, there is no “higher” power. Instead, there is a power active in and around every living thing; seen and unseen; earthly and otherworldly and everything in between. That power is a co-creative force rather than an overseer or “lord above.” It works both with us and for us, and it offers an infinite invitation for us to do the same. It is equally dark and light; equally feminine and masculine. I liken it to George Lucas’ Force from the Star Wars saga.

7. What is the most important life lesson I have learned so far?

The most important life lesson I’ve learned so far is, we are not just skin and bone; we are not just matter and ego. I’ve learned we are only 50% matter and ego. The other 50% of us is soul; the energy that narrates to us the abilities we might source in any situation that will support us from the level of the Force; through the lens of co-creation; with the support of the entire collective conscious. Not only have I learned it (that’s the “easy” part), I live it.

8. How does this learned lesson affect my values and attitudes?

It’s changed just about everything in my life, from what I do and who I be to how I relate. The phrase “we are not alone” is more true than I ever imagined when I first heard it coined decades ago. Then, it was cause for alarm. Now, it’s cause for comfort and relief and hope.

Living this learned lesson has created in me a strong sense - almost an urgency - of needing to see Earth engaged as an inclusive space. I celebrate diversity. Every time I see Jonathan Van Ness rocking a dress and heels with his well-kept beard, I experience delight and almost a sense of pride. Every time someone speaks up about their preferred pronouns, I get a thrill of “justice” (that’s the word served to me from my team, and it works).

And I’m less inclined, by degrees, to doubt the existence of that which is deemed mythical or fabled. I’ve seen and heard and felt and experienced too much at this point to brush aside the potential for pretty much anything, at this point.

9. What is my most spooky experience?

Okay… Let me tell you a story. It was mid-October 2012, evening, and I was alone in the house. Shortly before 9:00, I heard a slow, heavy footstep on the stairs connecting the basement to the kitchen. And then, I heard another… and another. There are twelve steps on those stairs, and I was counting them - four… five… - as I dialed 911 and whispered my dilemma to the woman who answered my call.

I admit to being frozen with fear. Given the slowness of those steps, there was most likely time for me to exit the house safely before the intruder breached the main level where I was. And yet I was glued to my chair at the table, my laptop open to either Facebook or the book I was currently writing.

Within a couple minutes, three police cars - lights pulsing and sirens silenced - pulled up out front. A few heartbeats later, two officers were entering the front door, signalling me to stay quiet while the others swarmed around the house and yard. I silently pointed the officers to the basement door in the kitchen. One of them approached the door while the other backed him up.

“Police” he called before yanking the door open… to an empty staircase. He flicked the lightswitch and illuminated the stairs and half of the basement, and descended the stairs, announcing himself as he went. He was joined by other officers who had entered the house after finding nothing outside.

They confirmed the rear door of the house that enters the basement was locked. All windows on that level were locked. They searched the main floor of the house and found no one other than me and nothing to indicate unlawful entry. All but the first two to enter the house left a short while later. They made sure I didn’t need medical attention (I was so frightened, my heart was racing non-stop.), and made several suggestions to boost security around the house.

As they were leaving, one of them paused and said, “It may have been a ghost. We have one at the station. Pretty sure it’s our old Chief.”

The chills that raced up and down my spine practically set my teeth chattering. Part of me recognized the truth of his observation, and yet most of me vehemently denied that likelihood.

After they left, I locked the front door and attempted to return to what I’d been doing before the ruckus. As I settled in, I heard a single heavy footstep on the basement stairs. There was no way I was calling the police again. They had left the light on for those stairs and instructed me to leave it on for security. So, I grabbed one of the dining room chairs and I hooked the top of the chair back under the knob of the door to the basement and wedged it in place. It stayed that way for an entire week.

It took that additional footstep for me to acknowledge that the activity was spirit-related. And oddly enough, once I acknowledged it, it didn’t happen again.

It was a year later before I was open enough for my spirit team to help me understand who was responsible for the footsteps, and then to help release that energy from the property. And now, seven years later, in spite of the plethora of daily spirit activity I experience both first-hand and second-hand every day, I still have occasional flashbacks to that night, and the fear is real all over again.

10. Would I ever curse or hex - or have I ever cursed or hexed - anyone?

Would I ever curse or hex anyone? No. At least, not at this time and not in the foreseeable future.

Have I ever cursed or hexed anyone? Almost, although not with any forethought. There’s an incident that stands out sharply from about seven and a half years ago. I was driving home from my part-time job as personal assistant to an author, and the car in front of me was all over the place.

The driver was endangering themselves, their passengers, me and everyone else sharing the road with them. And something very unusual happened to me: I became really, really angry. I felt the anger build, and then I felt it focus in a way I’d never experienced an emotion do.

It felt tangible to a point of nearly being matter of some sort, and it was all directed at that driver. Then, I felt it surge toward the drive, and that’s when I realized what was happening. I realized I had actually created an energy form - ill will, hex, curse, whatever - intended to do something I normally wouldn’t even think of doing to that driver to get them to stop their dangerous driving.

The moment I recognized what was happening, I released all power to that ball of energy and felt it dissolve. I checked myself in a big way to make sure there wouldn’t be a reenactment. And then, when I got home, I called a friend and had a very candid conversation with them about what happened, and how aware I was that through that energy ball I could have taken on the roll of one creating harm in some capacity.

That has stuck with me. I still cringe from the memory of it and I’m glad of it. It showed me that as much as I’m here as a force for “good” in this world, I hold the potential - and the power - to be a force for “bad” if I’m not aware and careful. We all do.

So, in the spirit of “An’ ye harm none, do what ye wilt,” no to cursing and hexing.

11. If I could live anywhere, where would it be?

Either here in the New Hampshire seacoast area where I currently live… or in New York City. Ha! How’s that for some contrast? I love New Hampshire and I love the ocean. I love being close to most of my family and I love New England in general. That’s why this area suits me to a tee.

However, I also love New York City. I would happily - delightedly! - live in a brownstone quite like that of Carrie Bradshaw before she and Mr. Big eventually moved on up to that glorious penthouse. I’d love to have a world of theaters, museums and bistros just around the corner - walking distance from my quiet neighborhood.

If I could do both - have an apartment in New Hampshire and in New York City - I would do so in a New York minute.

Thanks so much for reading.

If you feel called to participate in #seasonofthewitch, please leave me a comment with a link to your blog post. Otherwise, I invite you to answer question 10 in comments. I’m so very curious to know.

Season of the Witch: 11 Questions was first published on Ellen M. Gregg :: Intuitive, Healer on 23 October 2019.