Abby McMonagle's Blog

 Witch Thanksgiving: Mabon When deciding what to write about this week, I decided I would write about the season we are currently in- Thanksgiving. I had no idea if there was any sort of correlation between Witchcraft/Witches and Thanksgiving. After I typed in "Witchcraft and Thanksgiving" on Google, I discovered something called Mabon. Mabon is essentially Thanksgiving in Witchcraft, but it is around the Fall Equinox in September.  Mabon is practiced by Earth-based spiritual practioners and originates from the Pagan culture. Celebration of the autumn solstice is something that dates back to the early Greeks. The Greeks celebrated Persephone, a greek goddess, returning to Hell. The Romans also had celebrations for autumn returning. Mabon, the name given to this celebration in the 1970s, celebrates the second harvest of the year and the perfect balance between day and night. It's also a way of showing gratitude towards the Earth's abundance, which makes sense because i...

 Self Care and Witchcraft     Last week when I was researching Oomancy (watching TikTok videos and reading other blog posts on the internet), I noticed being calm was frequently mentioned. In the article, the woman said to be calm and practice mindfulness before starting Oomancy. In some of the TikToks, it was said you needed to be calm to let the power fully talk to you. Witchcraft in the movies we have discussed has the frequent theme of practicing to get what you want. In this world, people often search for calmness with a huge emphasis on self care. I started to wonder if witchcraft can be used as a self care mechanism.      Upon my first Google search, I found an article titled "Creating a Witchy Self-Care Routine." I had no idea what a witchy self care routine contains. According to this article a witchy self care routine contains "elements of divination, energy work, moon watching, spiritual watching, spiritual connection and healing." The article go...

 The Egg Test     Unfortunately, I do not have any eggs, and my roommates do not either. The Egg Test that we discussed briefly in class has an actual name, Oomancy. Oomancy is divination with eggs. Basically, you read and interpret the shape egg whites form after you drop egg whites into hot water. Oomancy was used in Ancient Greek and Roman societies as a way to read futures. The most common usage was to determine if someone was pregnant, and if so what the gender was. The color of the egg, texture, and shape also can determine outcomes of pregnancy, or someone's future in general.      Since I unfortunately can not do the egg test, I have decided to find out exactly how to do the egg test. The first step is to clear your mind and set your intentions. This  is not a surprising step in egg diviniation because in order to interpret you must have a clear mind. Then, it is advised to simply crack the egg into glass of water and watch. You are supposed to...

Why are witches associated with the fall?     When deciding what the write about this week, I decided to write about witches association to weather and seasons. I feel like witches are thought about more, and almost associated with the fall. This could be because of Halloween, but regardless of Halloween, there are mentions of witchcraft in fall decor. Throughout my blogs, I've posed a question of why witches are associated with ___, and the reason is normally due to some idea from thousands of years ago. So I thought for this week I will look into the association of witches and weather.      The first and probably most obvious answer is because of Halloween. Witches are always associated with Halloween because of the history of Halloween. Halloween is seen in some cultures as the ending of fall and beginning of winter, and the time where the wall between the living and the dead is the thinnest, allowing for super natural activitiy. That gives one reason why wit...

 The Reason and History Behind Elements of a Witch Costume      We talk a lot about the depiction of witches in class. When I first think of a witch, I think of warts, a pointy hat, a broom stick, a weird nose, and maybe a green face. I think it is safe to say nobody in the witch trials we have discussed in class have had any of these defining features. Last week I discussed the connection between witches and cats, but this week my brain was jogged by the witch costume I saw in Target today. The costume contained a pointy hat with stars and a long shiny cape also with stars. I also think it is safe to say nobody in the trials was wearing a shiny long cape with stars.      The first element of a witch costume and probably the most defining in my opinion is the hat. There are a few opinions as to where the hat comes from. The first and the one that makes the most sense to me is the theory relating it back to Quakers. At the time of the witch trials, tall...

 Why are Cats Associated with Witches?     When I was thinking about what to write about this week, I realized I am sitting on the couch with my answer- my cat! Cats can be a controversial animal. Sure they can be standoff-ish and are maybe not as loving (at first) as dogs, but why is there a negative light over cats in the first place? Growing up I always heard about never letting a black cat cross your path, or if you have a black cat to hide it on Halloween, but I have never heard an actual reason.     The first thing I searched was "why are cats associated with witches" and I immidiately found an article titled "The Power of Black Cats." The article went into a few reasons why black cats intially got linked with witches. To start, the color black is mysterious, therefore, black cats are mysterious. The belief that surrounded cats was that they were spies and aids in witchcraft. Black cats apparently possessed magic powers. The basic reason that black ca...