#witches flying

Following the white rabbit - a witch's perspective

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In my endless analysis of things that shaped me as a child and as a witch ever since I was very little, something so simple yet so hidden away from my mind was the symbolism of Alice in Wonderland.

Follow the white rabbit into a hole on the ground that transports you to another realm completely, only to wake up near the entrance once the journey is complete. Sounds an awful lot like witch flight. Obviously this was not Lewis Carroll's intent, but i can't help but notice the similarities between what we witches do in order to go to the Otherworld: the help of a familiar to aid and guide us, the use of an entrance from the bottom of a tree, the feeling of falling and flying and then finding yourself in the realm of spirits.

Though Wonderland is often seen as a metaphor for dreams and daydreaming--the fantasies of a child, I do see these connections which make so much sense when compared to the fact that, when i was little, I didnt want to believe in just one material, corporeal reality. And Alice's story is one I hold dearest to my heart, now with another added meaning which I will incorporate in my craft for I find it immensely beautiful.

Oh Alice dear where have you been?

So near, so far, so in between

Départ pour le Sabbat (Departure for the Sabbat) 1910

Oil on canvas

Albert Joseph Pénot (1862 - 1930)

Witches going to their Sabbat (1878)

Oil on canvas (145.5 × 118.2 cm)

Luis Ricardo Falero  (1851–1896 Spanish)

The Witches Sabbat (1880)

Oil on canvas (74.3 × 41.2cm)

Luis Ricardo Falero  (1851–1896 Spanish)