Ooh, I know how wrong that can sound, but this is all said with love, I promise.
Something I had been looking into lately had been witchcraft. The more I looked into it, the more I recognized a lot of my actions as witchy in nature. My mother didn’t understand, not really comprehending what witchcraft is/has become. But the MORE I looked into it, the more I recognized my mother’s witchy actions.
And the last couple of weeks has been trying to convince her that she’s an actual witch.
Of course, when I first told her, she was unbelieving. I don’t blame her. It’s something different from her established beliefs and thoughts. But, lately, she’s starting to come around and think that perhaps it’s true. So, since I know she reads this (hi, Mom), I gathered most of my reasons as to why my mother is a Finnish witch:
- Familiars – we have quite a few cats who connect real well with Mom, with Ash (our latest addition, a beautiful black cat) coming right up to her one day when she was getting in her car for work and asked to be adopted. She’s drawn to animals, and they tend to be drawn to her.
- Nature – she has quite a connection to nature, absolutely loving walks and hikes. Doesn’t matter the nature-forests, mountains, rivers, oceans-she loves to look at it and she loves to be in it. And with great respect.
- Symbols – there are two symbols she’s particularly drawn to: the tree of life and the hannunvarkuna (was originally a Finnish protective sign).
- Items – she likes candles, she prefers silver jewelry to gold (yes, that’s a magical trait), and she has bells either on the door or beside the door.
- Environment – something I learned recently is that a witchy trait is changing up your environment when you are unhappy or stressed. And something she ALWAYS does when she gets overwhelmed is rearrange furniture. Anyone who comes over to our house is often greeted with a new living room setup.
- Ancestors – she’s fascinated and in touch with her familial roots. Mom is really into her Finnish heritage.
- Sauna – unexpected you may say, those who’ve been in saunas BUT saunas are very important to Finns and Finnish magic. It’s a place of cleanliness, peace, healing, and refuge from the outside world. In the sauna, the four elements of the universe are brought together in one place to create a place of healing (being the most prominent magic in saunas). It is a sacred place, has a spirit, and should be respected. As for my mother, she is in constant need of a proper Finnish sauna, not the Westernized version, for a form of meditation.
So, I think I made a solid case.
If any of you are interested in what I’ve talked about, look into it. Do your research first, always. But if you’re interested in Finnish magic, since it’s what my mother (and I, in a way) has her witchy ways in, I recommend the book Finnish Magic: A Nation of Wizards, A World of Spirits by Robert Nelson.
Embrace yourself.
Hugs and blessings
Alexandra
Alexandra TG 