#witichcraft

Just two prompts away from the end of @studyonderly​‘s quarantine reading challenge! This challenge has been a bit of work to keep up with (especially after accidentally falling behind), but it has been so rewarding to revisit seek out new texts. But, I promised I wouldn’t do to much reflection until I finished the challenge, didn’t I? Let’s get into the prompt.

The prompt:

Week 4. Picture Perfect

Share a story that’s really graphic and detailed, just full of imagery. Have you read a story that seemed to play out like a movie in your head? As if the imagery came to life in your mind? What story do you think would actually be better as a movie?

For this prompt, I chose to look back at Black Cats and Evil Eyes by Chloe Rhodes. A book of superstitions and their histories, I thought this would be the perfect book for this prompt because of how important symbolism is in witchcraft, and superstitions are largely based in symbols and meaningful imagery.

Of course, I don’t have time to talk about every single superstition in this book, so I did some light bibliomancy and flipped to a random page which led me to “Putting Salt on the Doorstep of a New House to Ward Off Evil.” Rhodes references the Iliad and even superstitious practices used to keep witches away during the 1800s. These descriptions of cultural relationships with salt as a method for purifying for the self or even for the gods really highlight its importance. Even today, we use salt for cleansing and protection.