August 1, 2002
When I was a little girl, I used to play at being a Witch. I would gather flower petals from my yard and mix them into a cup of Jergen�s Lotion, while saying �witchy� things like �Abracadabra!� Another memory is pretending to sell bottles of �Witch�s Brew� which was just soap bubbles from a bubble bath! I also had a book, a handbook of sorts, that I had gotten from the Scholastic Book Club, that said if I rubbed the order form included in the book with bat�s tears and left the form in the hollow of a tree, I could order witchy supplies. I tried this, using my own tears, but alas, nothing I ordered was sent to me.
These days I see my children doing the same type of things. My son mixes mud, sticks, and leaves and calls them brews. Both he and my daughter dress up as wizards and witches and make �potions� out of plastic snakes, unicorn hair, and plastic dragon�s teeth by mixing them in a play cauldron. They wave their magic wands to make their boo boos go away. They use a broom and pretend to fly to other lands where they can visit with their pet dragons, George and Alice. Some days, it seems that their imaginations push all limits and soar higher than I can envision.
But for the child of a �real� witch, is this pretend play a good thing? I worried about this: Was I doing the right thing by encouraging this type of play? Was I reinforcing the Harry Potter style of magic instead of real life Witchcraft? Am I ruining the credibility of my religion by letting them play it as a game?
Then I started to think about my own childhood and how much I enjoyed playing at being a witch. Even in a strict Catholic household, I was encouraged to use my imagination, to develop my interests in fun, pretend things. I feel that because I was permitted to believe that my childish incantations would make the Jergen�s lotion have special properties, it opened up the door for bigger things as I grew up. It allowed me to believe that I can do things to change a state of reality into something different by using my mind.
When it comes to my own children, I would like to encourage them to do the same. I hope that by letting them imagine all sorts of things that defy logic, they will be more open to real magic as they get older. By having them work with their imagination now, they will have practiced the skills they will need for visualization and meditation that will be of use as they grow older. It will not seem odd or unusual to them to be able to �see� things that others cannot. I will continue to encourage them to push their imaginations as far as it will take them.
However, I want to be cautious too. I want them to be able to discern the difference between Hollywood/Halloween witches and the real deal. Eventually, I want them to take Witchcraft seriously even if just out of respectful for me. So as they play, I comment on how how much fun it is to pretend to be a wizard, but then ask, �Can that really happen?� I explain that some people can use plants to make a healing potion. I reassure them that their pet dragons are real, as long as they themselves can see them. I let them know that believing in their own minds is so important.
Will my children be witches when they are old enough to choose? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, they will have experienced a bit of magic that is within them right now.
