Three fictional modern-day witches

I have always liked reading stories about witches, especially modern-day witches.

I no longer read such fiction just for enjoyment and escape: I am looking for examples of and information about the various types of unseen influences.

I remembered some books I read long ago that feature modern-day witches and have been re-reading them in the hope of finding relevant material. I already have enough for several articles: there are many connections to be made between some fictional modern-day witches and people I have encountered, and there are scenes in these books that remind me of incidents I have experienced myself. 

It is interesting that some of these witches were created by men, although on the basis of their first names one or two of them are often assumed to be women.

I will start with three very different modern-day witches of interest created by three very different authors. 

John Masefield’s witch: Sylvia Daisy Pouncer
The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights, two children’s classic fantasy novels written by John Masefield, contain a character called Sylvia Daisy Pouncer, who is publicly a governess and secretly a witch.

She is said to have been modelled on Masefield's aunt, who raised him and his siblings after their parents died. She disapproved of his love of reading: she sent him as a teenager to live on a naval training ship to cure him of the filthy habit! She is also said to have been inspired by a hated governess who taught Masefield and his siblings.

Obedience and the truth: some illuminating observations

One characteristic often found in energy vampires and manipulators is that they habitually ignore essential points, central issues and fundamental truths. They are out of touch with reality.

Even if someone is able to confront them by telling them some home truths, hell will freeze over before they admit that they have done anything wrong, never mind apologising. 

They are like vampires: they cannot or will not see themselves in mirrors; the truth is like garlic to them; they avoid daylight and operate in the darkness. It is best to leave them behind in the remedial school and move ourselves on by learning some lessons that our victimisers will never learn. 

Anyone who has been controlled or preyed upon by such people may need to spend some time aligning their ideas with reality, which involves learning some new words and concepts along the way and investing some time in mastering the rudiments of critical thinking. 

One of the best ways to start is by getting back to basics. 

There are some people who tell it like it is: their insights are weapons that disperse smokescreens and expose the underlying dynamics of sick relationships. 

The following statements about obedience from Anna Valerious’s blog Narcissists Suck are good examples of what I mean:

A forced obedience is no obedience at all, but rather it is slavery.

A manipulated obedience is no obedience at all, but deception.

A purchased obedience is no obedience at all, but bribery.

An obedience rendered in fear of adverse consequences is no obedience at all, but self-preservation.

I found the above observations very true and very inspiring, so much so that I came up with some similar ones about the truth:

Believing something to be true does not make it true.

Wanting to believe that something is true does not make it true.

Desperately needing to believe that something is true does not make it true.

Loudly and/or repeatedly insisting that something is true does not make it true.

Avoiding, ridiculing, attacking, persecuting or destroying anyone who questions the truth of something does not make it true.

When these sets of observations make sense and we accept that they are correct, the victimiser’s evil spell will start to dissolve.

White magic and black magic and the books of Stella Gibbons

My first encounter with the books of Stella Gibbons
It was my stepmother who introduced me to many of the works of Stella Gibbons. I have never much liked romance novels or books that are primarily about personal relationships, but my stepmother was so enthusiastic about the books that I decided to give them a try.  

I felt an attraction that I could not have put into words at the time. I found them civilised, elegant, witty and interesting; I liked the glimpses they gave me into other people’s lives: this expanded my horizons. I liked the descriptions of London and the natural world. I was only ten years old at the time, so I was too young to understand the undercurrents and subtle references to dark topics. This was the stage when a foundation was laid and seeds were sown for the future. 

My second encounter with the books of Stella Gibbons
A time came much later in my life when I decided to return to the past and salvage some good things I remembered. This operation included renewing my acquaintance with books I had enjoyed reading many years earlier.  I re-read many of Stella Gibbons’s novels and short stories. I also found some of her books that I had never read before in second-hand bookshops.

I got much more out of reading them as an adult with some experience of life than I had in the past as a child – the reverse was true for some of the other authors I revisited. 

Curse or coincidence? Two more cases from real life

A few years ago, I picked up a discarded copy of a free newspaper called Metro just to have something to read while making a short train journey. There was not much of interest to me in it, so I just skimmed the pages until I suddenly came to an article about something that was very much on my mind: putting curses on people.

It was a copy of an interview with a crime writer called James Ellroy. I had never heard of him, perhaps because I am not a fan of most crime novels. This extract speaks for itself:

“James Ellroy, 62, is an American author whose crime novels include The Black Dahlia and LA Confidential, both made into films. His mother was murdered when he was 10 years old, three months after he put a curse on her. It remains an unsolved case.”

Defence Against the Dark Arts Part II: Terry Pratchett’s books

I have found that Terry Pratchett’s Discworld books brighten the atmosphere: they are ideal for driving away black moods and dispersing the dark clouds of depression. 

I particularly like the books that feature his three main witch characters, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick. The three witches in Macbeth were the inspiration for these ladies. He said that three is a natural number for witches. It is just a coincidence that when I was at school, someone likened me and my two sisters to the three witches in Macbeth!

Not only do these books entertain, amuse and raise one’s spirits, they also contain material that seems to me to be relevant to some topics on this blog. I have already made a connection between the effects that Terry Pratchett’s illusion-creating elves have on humans and the effects that some glamorous energy vampires have on their victims.

Some of what Pratchett says about magic and how it attracts undesirable entities could apply to unconscious or psychological black magic and how it attracts – or is even caused by - forces that sabotage the lives of the practitioners. 

Kathleen Raine and Gavin Maxwell: curse or coincidence?

The poet Kathleen Raine was involved in an unsatisfactory and tempestuous relationship with Gavin Maxwell, the naturalist who later became famous for his books about otters. She cursed him after he pushed her to the limits of endurance; he suffered a series of misfortunes then he died.

I would like to believe that the misfortunes would have happened anyway, but after learning about the effect that some creative people had on those close to them I think that her ill-wishing actually worked. Poets are closer to the subconscious – or unconscious – and she was pushed right to the edge at the time. 

One difference between this example and others I have written about from personal experience is that both of the people involved were aware that a curse had been launched, and one at least believed that it had been effective.

Exrtacts from articles I found online give details of the 'curse' and the two people involved.

From an obituary for Kathleen Raine:

“Their relationship burnt itself out, however. Banished from the house during a raging storm in 1956, a weeping Kathleen Raine cursed Maxwell under a rowan tree: 

‘Let Gavin suffer in this place as I am suffering now.’

Within the next few years his pet otter was killed by a workman, his house was destroyed by fire, and he himself was diagnosed with terminal cancer.”

Defence Against the Dark Arts Part I: Vernon Howard’s booklets

Reading the right words in the right way at the right time can have an effect that is almost magical. Something changes permanently for the better on the inside, and this causes a change for the better on the outside. The illumination caused by reading and understanding the words changes our vibrational rate; lumps in our subconscious minds disappear; we move on to a better psychological area; we become different people and thus we attract different types of people and experiences.

This process is not under our conscious control. What works for other people does not always work for us, and vice versa.

I heard very good reports of A Course in Miracles so I got a copy, but I found that I could not get through it. It did not speak my language nor resonate with my thoughts and experiences. I wanted to get something positive from this book but my subconscious mind refused to co-operate. Not only did it not like the book, it disliked it very much! Other people may have transformed their lives thanks to this book, but it did nothing at all for me.

It was very different when I picked up a little booklet in a New Age bookshop. It was 50 Ways To See Thru People by Vernon Howard. Something about it attracted me, so I bought it and three companion booklets. I got a lot out of reading these little publications, which came into my life at just the right time.  They provide a good introduction to the subject of spiritual development.