Hello Sacred Souls, today I am excited and honored to share space with the Helen Roberts. Author of Spider Eats Fright and Australian Bush Witch. Today she shares her journey through her path, and gives us some insight into the inspiration and guidance for her fictional work.
What
is an Australian Bush Witch?
As I began reading about the many types of magic practices, I became very
interested in hedge witchery, however the concept of the hedge witch was a very
British one. Various sources characterised them as some kind of wise woman/man
of the olden days, knowledgeable in herb lore, folk medicines and shamanism,
who journeyed beyond the hedges that marked the boundary between their safe
little village and the wilds of the forest. The thing is, we don’t have
hedgerows where I live. I wanted to identify with something more culturally
relevant to me as an Australian so instead of “Hedge Witch” I decided on the
term “Bush Witch” since that's where I live. I'm out on the fringes of a rural
town; in the bushland that then gives way to tuart forest.
What
areas of interest in terms of Witchcraft pull you in the most? Chaos magic and herbal
magic are the two big ones, but I'm always interested in exploring new areas. I
like to keep my spell working fresh and creative and I'm not one for rules, so
my practice is pretty eclectic. I like to mix things up. If something feels
like it will work I go with it. Lately, I've been working with tarot magic.
How
did you come to find the craft?
My mother was part of a mail order book club where she had to purchase so many
books from the catalogue a month. It had a new age section and I made a passing
comment that some of the books in that section looked interesting. That
Christmas I got my very first tarot deck and a book called “Notions and
Potions” by Susan Bowes, both of which started me off on the path I'm on now.
What has it offered you and what have you
given back? A
spiritual practice involving magic and witchcraft has given me so much joy over
the years. It has brought me peace during difficult times and given me control
over myself and my circumstances. It has helped me to find purpose in my life
and has taught me humility and gratitude. Without all that I don't think I
would be in the field that I am today because as well as being a writer, I'm
also a carer for the elderly and disabled. I do my best to put that sense of
calm, humility and gratitude, as well as empathy, into the services that I
provide. That's my way of giving back.
Being
an Australian Witch, do you pull from the land and how drawn are you to its
native lore and magic?
I frequently use native
plants and animals in my magic practice. I love connecting with this land so
European herbs don't feature as heavily in my spells as natives unless I happen
to have them growing in my garden, like a bit of rosemary. I have spent most of
my life working on my own local myths, rituals, seasonal observances and
correspondences; creating and maintaining traditions that have personal
relevance to me. I have always enjoyed learning and reading about Aboriginal
myths and traditions, especially for my area but I am also aware of the concept
of cultural appropriation. For me personally, Aboriginal culture is not my
culture. I have my own and so have no need, nor desire to take on theirs and
include it in my magic practice. As always it's up to an individual to work
with whatever resonates and is most meaningful to them.
How
important is your practice?
Very! I've been working on integrating my practice into my life on a daily
basis through daily ritual and mindfulness. I want to recognize what is sacred
every day. I'm a very private person so I don't talk about my spirituality
often or in great detail, except online, and you wouldn't know I'm a witch to
look at me. It does, however, make up a large part of my identity. Putting that
detail in the author bio of my book “Spider Eats Fright” was a huge step for me
but I feel it was a necessary one. I like to think it shows just how important
being a witch is to me.
:)
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