Hi! I’m Ellie Warren, and thanks for being here. Who am I? I’m a 56 year old woman; a wife; a mom; a cat-mom; a sister; a daughter. I’ve also been a photographer, a graphic artist, freelance designer; animator; writer, and crafter.
I’m also a witch. You read that right. Completely, unapologetically witchy to my core, for better or worse.
Maybe you're one, too. Or maybe there’s something wild about it that calls to you. I wouldn’t be surprised. There’s just something intrinsic about being a woman that includes that innate bit of witchiness. It's just that some of us never realize it, or never look. Or maybe we just call it something else.
If you’re here because you want to learn more, welcome. What I know, I’m happy to share, in the same spirit that others who came before me shared with me. And I can’t wait to learn from you, also! If you’re just curious, still welcome. Pull up a chair, and a cup of whatever motivates you in the morning, and let's get to know each other. Even you find this isn’t for you, there’s always something to be gained in a shared dialogue, especially if it’s greater understanding.
My first thought for my blog has to do with it’s name. It’s name is "Home, Hearth & Magic.” There are times being a witch that you “pull out the big guns”, and you do some major spell that’s complex, and the timing matters, and every detail is vitally important. And that’s cool. And awesome, particularly if you see what you cast for come to fruition. It makes you feel...witchy. It makes you feel fulfilled and validated. It makes you feel powerful. But you know what? There are SO, so many ways to define witch, and funny enough, trying to define it can spark arguments. It's almost a given. Is it a religion? A path you follow? A way spirituality makes sense to you? Is it just something you do or are, innately? Is it all of that, some of that, or something else entirely?
Know that when you say “witch” it means different things to different people.
One person’s 'witchy' is alternately another person’s fluffy bunny, wishy-washy, new-agey, or dark and scary. It’s all a matter of perspective, truly. I find that most of being a witch, however you define it, is just everyday existence, and how you deal with the details of life.
How do you react to what happens to you throughout your day? It’s how you deal with grumpy partners, unruly kids, kitty barf, bosses, deadlines, traffic and....well, you get it. Life, and the messiness of it. Most of your time isn’t spent doing big spells. It’s little whispered ones, created on the fly, using what you have around you....or maybe all you have is just what’s IN you. It’s intent. It’s using who you are and the power you innately have to apply to the myriad of things you encounter every single day.
So, how do YOU react? Does your day wash around you, like the water around a big rock in a stream? Or are you the leaf being carried downstream? I wish I could say that every single day, I’m that unmoveable rock.
Some days life gets the better of me, same as you.
Some days, on the way to the coffee pot, you know you’re headed for one of those days when you step barefoot into the barfed-up hairball your furry child has conveniently left in the middle of the kitchen floor....and it all goes downhill from there. For me, the trick to being a witch is being and feeling witchy on one of THOSE mornings. It’s a challenge.
So any morning, but particularly on one of THOSE mornings, try this:
Take a couple of deep, grounding breaths. Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee, mindfully. Add anything you want to it, and stir it clockwise, and say (or think, depending on where you are, or who you’re with and how open you are) “Earth....Air......Fire.....Water” as you stir. I usually stir my drink four times, once for each element. The coffee and tea came from the earth, the water is the base, the tea or coffee once upon a time used the air to grow, and if you used an electric coffee/teapot instead of an actual fire, the electric is the fire. What you are about to drink now relates to, and represents the elements that you just called into play. Simple? Sure it is. But something as simple as that can punctuate your day into “before” and “after.” It gives you a minute or two to remember who you are, invite your innate witchyness into your day, and let it have a little room to take root. Will it make your boss go away? Make your kids behave? Money appear in your bank account? Nope. But it’ll help you feel just a little bit more powerful....and some days, that’s enough.
Until next time
Ellie.
P.S. Be sure to check back, soon. I'm working on a book that is soon to be released called "The Magic Within Us."
Can't wait to read the book :D