Defence Against the Dark Arts Part XXVIII: Malcolm Bird's witch pictures

After deciding that it was time for another witch article, I looked for a suitable subject.  

I remembered three witch pictures from the distant past that I particularly liked; I did some online research and found that they were the work of cartoonist and illustrator Malcolm Bird, who has designed greeting cards, books, calendars and comic strips and whose pictures have been published in many magazines and newspapers.

This article features s a few typical examples of his witch pictures.

Greeting cards 
The 'witchy pics' I remembered were on Gallery Five cards.

Their titles were Spido, Mon Repos and Walkies. I couldn't find any images of Walkies; the others have not reproduced too well, but the images are good enough to give an idea of what the originals were like.

I like the Halloween colours and motifs in Spido; I also like the details such as the mermaid in the goldfish bowl and the flying vultures on the wall. The witch looks very comfortable and contented in her cosy little cottage:

Green shirts and green kirtles: some good and bad associations

Oscar Wilde's proposition that favouring the colour green is a sign of creativity in individuals but of moral laxity and decadence in nations has made me think of a few green items that have both positive and negative aspects and associations. 

Green shirts and green kirtles for example are worn by both good and bad people.

A few of John Buchan's books are relevant here, and so is one of C. S. Lewis's Narnian books.

Good and bad real-life Greenshirts
John Buchan's fictional Evallonian Greenshirts, who appear in The House of the Four Winds, were described earlier. 

There are some interesting connections here involving an unusual character called John Gordon Hargrave (1894 – 1982), who was an artist, a pagan cult leader, a Utopian thinker, a believer in both science and magic, and many other things. His life story is fascinating, but only a few elements are relevant here.

Hargrave was getting assignments to illustrate books by the age of 12, including some of John Buchan's works!

Hargrave founded various organisations for social change, including one called The Green Shirts. They were dedicated to smashing fascism and campaigning for a universal basic income in the UK.

They may also have been the inspiration for John Buchan's Greenshirts.

Rather ironically, Hargrave's anti-Fascist Greenshirts were balanced by the Irish Greenshirts, a small off-shoot of the Blueshirts, Ireland's largest fascism-inspired movement. Green was chosen because it was the colour of Irish nationalism.

John Hargrave and his militaristic Greenshirts:

Hargrave's Greenshirts are mentioned on his gravestone:

A few quotations from Dion Fortune's occult novels

In addition to her non-fiction books, the occultist Dion Fortune wrote five novels. While the stories themselves don't inspire commentary, some of the expressions and observations in these novels really stand out and are worth highlighting. 

This article contains a few propositions that particularly resonated when I first came across them.

Beggars can't be choosers

“...it does not do to be angry with life unless one has private means...”

From The Winged Bull (1935)

These wise words may be painful to read and difficult to accept, but they are very true. This may be a bitter pill to swallow, but the difference between operating from a position of weakness and operating from a position of strength is often a matter of financial independence. 

Some people just can't afford to have any feelings or views; they would make things worse for themselves and lose what little they have by challenging someone or something. 

People who have private means, money that is not dependent on the employment market or the whims of other people, are very fortunate: they don't need to put up with the hardships, ill-treatment and injustices that wage slaves and penniless people are forced to endure. 

They can afford to take a stand and fight for their cause.

Independence of mind is another great advantage

“People who value public opinion are at a very great disadvantage in dealing with people who don't.”

From The Sea Priestess (1938)

This proposition complements the one above.  It can also apply to people who overvalue the opinions of the people around them.

People who value public opinion can indeed be greatly handicapped when both dealing and competing with people who don't. 

People pleasers and others who care very much what people in general think of them are operating from a position of weakness. They may feel that they can't afford to get angry, say what they really think or do what they really want to do. Fear of negative reactions and manipulations such as criticism, disapproval, reproaches and rejection may hold them back and keep them in their place while people who don't care what others think of them forge ahead. 

People who are indifferent to public opinion operate from a position of strength. They have independent means – on the inside. They can afford to be straight with other people. They have the courage of their convictions; they take their own path through life, going where the other lot can't follow. 

Anyone who has both financial and psychological independence is very fortunate indeed.