Today I'm welcoming Carole Ann Moleti to talk about witchcraft. Her short story, Mishmash Magick, appears in the anthology Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft.
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I'm always amazed at how all
religions celebrate similar feasts at about the same times. The Jews and
Christians celebrated Passover and Easter in late March, just as the Spring
Equinox occurred. The Orthodox Christians are in the middle of Holy Week, with
their Easter this coming Sunday. I shouldn't be surprised since we're all
descended from the ancients who adopted new customs and beliefs as the wheel of
time turned.
Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft was
assembled with great care by Rayne Hall to celebrate a varied interpretations
of witches and witchcraft by different authors, some of whom are witches, and
others like myself who know, love, respect, study, and write about them. I've
made many friends on this journey to understanding and appreciation of the
Craft.
It's also amazing how my real life's work informs my
fiction, and vice verse. I'm deeply involved in doctoral study right now, and
it has nothing to do with witches. It's scholarly research—related to my
clinical practice—but the furthest thing you can get from fantasy fiction and
creative writing in general. But I just found out what I've been doing all my
life is a scholarly form called ethnographic research! The investigator
immerses herself amongst people or a practice to study the lived experience to
gain greater appreciation. Who knew?
I've had lots of
practice—and learned a lot by watching and experiencing. Midwives have long
been associated with the use of herbs and potions, as well as with witchcraft.
Most of my colleagues are not witches, but before the advent of modern
medicine, women were called upon not only to assist with childbirth, but also
to use their knowledge to heal any number of ills, both physical and
psychological, in men, women, and children. When the outcome was not good, or
the one expected, the midwife was often accused of witchcraft or sorcery.
Modern midwifery
practice embraces all belief systems and incorporates the use of herbs and
alternative medical practices and, as such, Wiccans and those with less
mainstream religious and spiritual practices often seek our services.
Though divination and
connection with ghosts and spiritual beings lies outside the grasp of my mind
and abilities, watching those who have the gift do their work has convinced me
that all humans have the capacity to use parts of their brain in the same way,
but few have developed it.
The first step is
opening one's mind to the possibility, then embracing it with a peaceful,
accepting attitude. But in order to transfer that into credible fantasy and
paranormal fiction, writers must, at the very least suspend disbelief and, at
best, understand and accept it themselves.
In addition to mining
my experience and harvesting story ideas from dreams, I've applied my research
and journalistic skills to writing paranormal romance and urban fantasy. I
begin with the facts. Huh? We're talking paranormal, right?
Herbology, alchemy,
astrology, tarot, and divination are as old as history. Prayers and offerings
to deities in exchange for favors, intercessions, and miracles are part of most
religions, as well as the belief in an all-powerful being or beings that
manipulate events.
I value among my
friends and clients many witches, energy healers, and spiritualists who have
taught me much about their beliefs, and allowed me to experience how rituals
(including births conducted in settings where the space is conducive to
spiritual and metaphysical connections) generate energy, and how it is
channeled to produce the desired effect or outcome.
I've carefully followed the instructions of a santera on the
use of teas, banishing and cleansing, potions, offerings of fruit and burning
scented candles to heal both physical and emotional distress (much the same way
people use aromatherapy and many Catholics light votives and pray to saints).
Just last March I learned to perform divination with stones from Sew Magical at
Lunacon. I've studied astrology and Tarot with Mary O'Gara. Witchcraft and
magic with Rayne Hall and Deborah Blake. Eastern healing traditions and
meditation with Nan Gilbert. Yoga with Ronnie.
Natural phenomena,
like observing a woodland full of blinking fireflies, gave me pause to consider
the possibility that fairies really do exist. I've talked with ghost hunters
about their research and practice and learned how to monitor for
electromagnetic activity. I've felt them and been amazed (but never frightened)
by them.
I approach research for my paranormal fiction as a respectful traveler who
wants to enter the culture to best experience it. Showing up with a camera,
pad, and pencil will not allow you to obtain the information you need, nor the
context required to translate it into a compelling plot with believable
characters. If you're going to ask readers for leaps of faith, you'll need to
open your mind take a few yourself.
Bright Blessings!
Follow her on Twitter or Facebook and watch the book trailer for Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft below.
If you enjoy Beltane: Ten Tales of Witchcraft, check out other anthologies in the Ten Tales series, including Spells: Ten Tales of Magic featuring my own short story A Magical Melody.
