Cassandra Barney

The classic witch is portrayed as an, ugly, googly eyed, pointy chinned, old woman who is hideously scary. She is jealous and spiteful and deceitful. She demands obedience and she will stop at nothing for revenge. She is feared by all, even those closest to her.
The classic witch is one stereotypical image, but in the history of witches there are actually many types, and not all of them are evil. Some were rotten to the core but there were some who were interested in lightening the hardships of those around them. These are called the wise women and are considered to be at the opposite end of the spectrum from the classic witch. The wise woman starts along the same path as the classic witch, but her innate sweet nature and desire to heal mean that she uses her powers and abilities to help and cure and bless the local folk as much as possible. Sometimes of these witches historically were considered healers or even early doctors.
In an earlier entry about identity, I wrote that my heritage. My roots came from two sources; Latter-day Saint Pioneers and Witches. I’m very proud of all of that. I seriously think that being part witch should have given me some sort of scholarship. I was discussing this with my Aunt Lorelie the other evening when she told me again the stories that I always love to hear. Our witch stories.
My grandfather was a young boy in the early 1900’s. He remembers quietly watching as chairs floated in the air and musical instruments played by themselves, among other things. There are stories about a few spirits, their voices and personalities, who would visit my great aunts and great grandmother. There are even a few scary stories about those visiting spirits and one that scared me as a child about a black dog and…too scary to even talk about it.
Mostly though, as the stories go, these witches used their powers for good. People would come to them with problems and questions. For instance, asking the witches to find missing objects or for advice on relationships.
From every story that has been passed down in my family from not too long ago, my witches were wise women.
Every Halloween I dress up as a witch and I wonder if my aunts and great grandmother are watching over me from somewhere else, smiling and proud that I‘m thinking of them. I’m not, however, going to try to summon their spirits or anything. I’m pretty busy right now and I have enough hobbies. Instead I’ll just try to remember to try and lighten the hardships of those in need so that my great granddaughters can tell stories about me.
Happy Halloween.