A Virtual Field Trip to the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, MA
In October 2021 I went up to Salem to the Peabody Essex Museum to see their exhibit, “The Salem Witch Trials: Reckoning and Reclaiming.” Even on the first week of October, Salem is WILD. It’s a lot like being in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I love it, but if you’re crowd wary, take note.
Anyway, for your viewing pleasure, I have put together a “Virtual Fieldtrip” for those of you who didn’t make it up to Salem, Massachusetts to see the exhibit for yourself. It ran from October 2021 to March 2022.
Part One: The Reckoning and Reclaiming
The first slide show has artifacts of the accused, primary source documents from the time of the Witch Trials, and a timeline. It ends with a featured couture gown from the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2007 line. He dedicated that show to his ancestor, one of the accused, named Elizabeth Howe. The gown was made in her honor.
Part Two: Major Arcana, Portraits of Witches in America
The second slide show captures another part of the exhibit, titled “Major Arcana: Portraits of Witches in America.” This section featured photographic portraits of modern American witches such as Starhawk, Pam Grossman, and Juliet Diaz. It ends with a quote from M. Macha Nightmare, “A Witch is a mover and a shaper who draws power from the natural world and from within herself.”
Sat, Nov 19 at 1pm – Fall 2022 Boston Austen Book Club – “Lady Susan”
The Fall 2022 meeting of the Boston Austen Book Club will be Saturday, November 19 at 1pm via Webex. We will meet to discuss the novella, “Lady Susan” — no specific edition of the book.
Webex Info
The meeting will be held remotely via Webex. Make sure your RSVP information matches your Webex info.
If you cannot RSVP at the Facebook event page or have not RSVPed with Bridget already, send an email with the subject “Lady Susan RSVP” with your name in the email, and make sure that your name matches your Webex info.
Who Is Invited?
As always, the book club is open to new members. All you have to do is read the book and come to the meeting to discuss it.
Save the Date: Winter 2022 BABC, Fri, Dec 16
Also note that our Winter 2022 meeting will be held in the evening on Friday, December 16 in honor of Jane Austen’s birthday. We will meet to discuss the Stephanie Barron Jane Austen Mystery, “Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas.”
Hope to see you on Sat, 11/19 and Fri, 12/16!
Fall 2022 Boston Austen Book Club Details
Who: Boston Austen Book Club; always accepting new members!
What: Lady Susan
When: Saturday, November 19, 2022 at 1pm
Where: Via webex, see this page for webex info on the day of the event
How: any edition of the book is acceptable
Why: Because we love Jane Austen
Boston Austen Book Club Homepage
Learn more about the Boston Austen Book Club at our new homepage, here at Notebook Witch.
Smahain graphic for your social media – Facebook cover photo, Twitter post, good old Tumblr; feel free to use! Please credit @NotebookWitch (@TheNotebookWitch on Instagram)
Happy Samhain! It’s officially been a year since I woke up and decided to start that witchcraft blog I’d been mulling over for a while! And how is it going? Well, in truth, it’s okay…I’m actually writing this opening part of the post a month after Samhain because, as I’ll explain in a moment, this year has been RIDICULOUSLY busy.
Still, I’m glad I’m finally fitting in a time to make yet another Samhain graphic, which you are welcome to use for your social media. (Bonus, since I didn’t post it this year on my own social media, I can use it for next year!)
Why Samhain Is a Good Time of Year to Start a New Adventure
It’s the New Year! In a witch-y sense. Samhain is the final harvest holiday so it’s the end of one year of rest, sow, grow, then reap. The quietude of the resting period is a great time to make plans for the future.
I don’t save resolutions for the start of the calendar year. I do them at various times throughout the year. Like in September, since I work in higher education, I do a New Academic Year Resolution each year. It may or may not be directly related to work. Sometimes it’s a thing to help me be more productive at work, like KonMari-ing the office. Sometimes it’s a thing to make a better work-life balance for myself, like do Tori Amos’s post-show skin care regime each night (failing at that elaborate regimen, but at least I’m at least washing and moisturizing my face before bed, as opposed to falling asleep in my makeup and waking up look like a member of the rock band KISS).
My Samhain resolution this year is to get a 10-minute walk in each afternoon. But last year, it was to start this website…
A Year Since Notebook Witch Started: Samhain 2021-Samhain 2022
So, why have I been so busy? Well, I did take some time out around the actual Sabbat to make a Facebook post about what has kept me from being more prolific in official blog posts. And with that preamble, I’ll copy and paste below.
I started Notebook Witch right around Samhain last year. I’ve built the website, established the social media accounts, and posted a decent amount of blog posts.
Not bad for a year in which I also:
started working in-person again (hour commute each way)
moved (albeit up one story but no matter how far you go, it’s still a pain)
kept the fundraiser aspect of BPM going and raised almost $1000 each for the Eastern Massachusetts Abortion Fund and Rhode Island’s The Womxn Project
won a seat on my city’s Democratic Committee
was sick with the worst (non-covid) virus I’ve ever had
had a bad break up; was sad; started trying to date again
started “The Artist’s Way” and kept up with my Morning Pages almost every day
was tested for ADHD and diagnosed with inattention issues due to anxiety and ‘porr sleep hygiene’
started going to therapy for my anxiety
worked on better sleep hygiene and practices
started becoming a morning person
lived my plain old day-to-day life with chores, errands, grown up tasks, and the all-important rest
Hmmm. Before I listed out all those things, I hadn’t even realized how much I’d been up to and was kinda feeling bad I hadn’t had more posts up on the blog. Now I’m surprised I was able to do anything at all!
Well, thanks to everyone who is supporting the page! I appreciate your interest as I explore what’s going on in the witch and modern pagan community-at-large, what’s going on locally, and what I’m up to on my own as a solitary eclectic neopagan witch.
Here’s to whatever else I get up to in the next year of Notebook Witch!
Halloween Friday Flea & Witches’ Night Out Market at Farm Fresh RI
The Witches’ Night Out and Friday Night Providence Flea held events throughout the summer and fall of 2022, and I was fortunate enough to make it out to two of them.
The Halloween event was bustling and buzzing to the brim of vendors and attendees coming together in witch comraderie, as well as showing off some fantastic Halloween costumes. To get a sense of the magickal occasion, see my Instagram posts below.
Witches of Northern Rhode Island and All Over New England Celebrate the Premier of Locally Filmed Hocus Pocus 2
The long awaited sequel to Hocus Pocus, Hocus Pocus 2, premiers this weekend. It was filmed in my backyard, practically. Ha! Well, filmed in nearby Lincoln, East Providence, and a block from my old apartment in Federal Hill.
(Side note: it’s silly to have my main graphic be Hannah Waddingham and not the Sanderson Sisters, I know. But my love of Ted Lasso only grows, whereas And Just Like That has diminished my devotion to SJP and Sex and the City. Hahaha. Anyway, that’s why Hannah gets pride of place!)
Hocus Pocus Happenings in Rhode Island
To commemorate the occasion, Rhode Island is chock FULL of celebrations and tributes. And there’s a lot of great stories of people who worked on the film some way or another.
Blackstone Valley Events
Super sad that the BeWitched and BeDazzled Event at Chase Farm is sold out! It is going to be AMAZING! If you’re lucky enough to somehow get a ticket, I hope you have a great time.
However, 1 mile away from me, the delectable Wright’s Dairy Farm is having a special Hocus Pocus menu for the occasion, so I can pop by and check that out!
A while back I used to volunteer for Front-of-House duties for Boston-based burlesque shows sometimes. One of the best costumers and burlesque performers I know, Robyn “Femme Brulee” Girgosian, was the official Costume Sparkler for the Sanderson Sisters’ costumes. How freakin’ cool is that?! She posted about in on her Facebook account in a public post. Read all about the intricacies of the costuming at her post: https://www.facebook.com/thefemmebrulee/posts/pfbid035MjXvRDLjHosV45LKCdH9Cp8nPLFgpCtKuPpQLKC7ohUTZYMMrdDkQhwTDaa8eS1l
Enjoy the Hocus Pocus Focus This Halloween Season!
If you’re a fan of the original and excited about the premier of the sequel, I hope you enjoy the magic of the Hocus Pocus premier weekend!
Mabon 16×9 Graphic for Facebook Cover, Twitter Post, and Social Media in General
Here’s a cute little graphic I made for the Mabon sabbat. Feel free to use it on your social media to observe the holiday. If you do, please credit Bridget Eileen at Notebook Witch.
About the Sabbat Mabon
The Autumn Equinox has arrived to the Northern Hemisphere and by golly have I been going through from sweeping changing with this season that ushers in sweeping changes!
Mabon signifies the end of summer, the start of Fall, and the winding down of the growing season. The apples, squashes, pumpkins and Halloweeen decor is coming out. The swimsuits and beach chairs are getting stored away.
Sweeping Change
Though Spring cleaning is a well-known custom, the start of the Fall season is also a good time for sweeping up and battoning down for winter. Many witches often do ritualistic cleaning, including a deliberative sweeping ritual.
My sweeping change is in fact much bigger and more metaphorical. I have a new neighbor in the 2-family home that my mother and I own: my mom! She lived in New Orleans for a dozen years and has now returned to New England. She is retired and wants to be closer to family now. She’s really close to me–just a stairway apart.
In all the chaos of moving my own belongings to the second story apartment and moving my mom out of New Orleans and into the first story apartment, I have not had much time for Notebook Witch blog posts.
Remember to Follow Notebook Witch on Social Media
I have put up a few posts on my Instagram account, which is @TheNotebookWitch. I didn’t have time for much in New Orleans during this trip, save for packing up my mom and getting some delicious food.
I did, however, get one visit into the New Orleans Healing Center in St Claude, and bought some lovely things at the Island of Salvation Botanica there. I took some photos and plan to do a blog post about it sooner rather than later.
Blog Plans for the Rest of 2022
Notebook Witch will remain in “soft launch” mode for the rest of the year, given the moving circumstances. And given that things are very wild at my day job. It’s chaos everywhere, it seems.
My goal is to at least observe each Sabbat with a post here at the blog. Here’s hoping I can stick to that!
The dates for the Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 are still To Be Determined, but the titles are set. We will meet again on Jane’s birthday. This is a special celebration because the BABC turns FIVE this year!
Lughnasdh graphic for social media, credit: Notebook Witch
Lughnasadh, Half Way to Fall
Happy Pumpkin Spice Season! Hahaha. I am a fan of pumpkin spice flavored things. Since I’m a New Englander to my core, I like to go to Dunkin for my pumpkin spice drink of the season. My order is a little fancy though: medium iced coffee, with 4 pumpkin, 2 mocha, and oat milk. It feels like I’m drinking Pumpkin Milk…or something.
Lughnasadh graphic for social media PNG file
What is Lughnasadh?
Since we’re halfway between Summer Solstice and Fall Equinox, neopagans, witches, and others celebrate this midpoint between the seasons with a sabbat, aka holiday.
Lughnasadh is pronounced LOO-nah-sah. (There’s a series of videos on YouTube that help with pronouncing sabbats, including Lughnasadh. They’re very helpful!) It is the first of the harvesting festivals. The other two harvesting festivals are Fall Equinox, aka Mabon, and Samhain (sow-een), aka Halloweeen.
Lughnasadh is often symbolized with wheat, corn, or other grains, since those things are harvested around this time. That is why the graphic I made has wheat and corn in it.
Anyone can use these graphic for their Facebook banner, Twitter post, IG story or whatever they like in order to commemorate the Lughnasadh sabbat on social media. (If you can magick it into a video, go for it, since that’s all that Instagram is paying attention to as of August 2022, in order to compete with TikTok. Wah.)
Aug 28 at 1pm via Zoom, “Unmentionable” by Therese O’Neill
Even though some of my literary endeavors may not be directly related to witchcraft and witchery, my own spiritual practice is closely tied to what I’m reading, writing, and consuming in arts and entertainment, so I will also include certain posts about those things here at Notebook Witch.
While this book focuses on the Victorian Era, Regency Era customs are also discussed. If you’re a weirdo like me and have ever wondered how these beloved Austen characters did things like go to the bathroom or brush their teeth, this book has some answers for you!
The book club will remain online for Summer 2022. We will meet via Zoom on Sunday, August 28 at 1pm ET. Zoom information will be posted the day of the event for those who RSVP and the Facebook event page. If you’re not on Facebook, you can email Bridget Eileen at vintagebridge@gmail.com to RSVP.
As always, newcomers are welcome! You can join us from wherever you are. Just read the book and prepare for a lively discussion. This event is free!
Even though some of my literary endeavors may not be directly related to witchcraft and witchery, my own spiritual practice is closely tied to what I’m reading, writing, and consuming in arts and entertainment, so I will also include certain posts about those things here at Notebook Witch.
Calling All Ears With Feet: Join the Tori Amos Book Club!
Tori Amos’s Ocean to Ocean North American Tour has ended. What’s an EWF to do with their post-Tori Tour blues? Read books, like the nerds we are, of course!
On August 22, we’ll come together for a live discussion of the book and new insights the book has provided these many years after it was first published.
RSVP Info for Tori Amos Book Club
The book club meeting will be online via Zoom. The Zoom link will be provided on the day of the event. RSVP at the Facebook Event page.
Note: if someone you know is not on Facebook but wants to join us, email me to RSVP and check this webpage for the Zoom info, which I’ll post on the bottom of this post on the day of the event!
(Keep Up the) Resistance (for the 2022 Mid Terms): middle of October, exact date TBD
(Beat the Winter Blues with a) Comic Book Tattoo: early February, exact date TBD
Little Earthquakes Graphic Novel: late March, exact date TBD
This should tide us over until the European tour is scheduled to start!!! If all goes well, we will add other titles to our list, like Jason Elijah’s curation of Tori quotes, The Myth of Tori, books 1 and 2, and biographies we like.
Bridget Eileen’s Other Literary Events
Check out my Links Page for info on my other literary endeavors, like the Boston Austen Book Club and the Boston Poetry Marathon
