A Modern Witch's Morning
By Shania O'Brien
My day starts with a jolt. It’s All Hallows’ Eve soon, and I can feel the siren song of my ancestors begging me to fortify the protection charms on my small Darlington apartment. But I do not have enough tide pods for the incantation, so I make a note to stop at Broadway after my Ancient History tutorial in the afternoon.
I make breakfast and add drops of honey and vanilla for merriment. I set an extra plate at the table for my deceased relatives to let them know they aren’t forgotten. I place a scented candle by the windowsill to guide their spirits back to the veil and send up a silent prayer to keep them safe. It is a confusing time of year for them. I pour out bubble Thai tea as libations to deities to assist them in crossing over.
My family’s grimoire used to be ancient but carrying it around got too hard and caused very complicated airport security checks, so my mother, sister, and I used the Power of Three to enchant it into a more modern device, the result of which is a rogue Kindle oasis that powers down whenever it is disrespected. I find it hiding behind my bottles of perfumes (made organically with essential oils) and do a quick word search for a protection charm and bookmark it for later. The grimoire seems to be in a good mood today, the battery was fully charged and the screen was on dark mode. I tuck the Kindle safely into my bag and put it on the chair.
I draw sigils with my concealer brush before blending it in just to ensure I am my best self today. It is very easy to get dark magic and evil spirits get the best of you during late October, but there are always ways around it. There are always ways around bad situations that don’t involve diving head-first into the problem. I am not afraid to admit that sometimes I add large portions of honey and vanilla into my food and just hope for the best.
Seeing all my potions lined up in little plastic bottles and boxes I bought from K-mart should be a cause of concern, alas, unfortunately, I am but a poor university student who cannot keep up with the aesthetics of my ancestors. There will be a time when I buy my bottles from David Jones, and when all my spells aren’t restricted to the notes section of my phone but a fancy antique Tom Riddle-esque diary but that is not today.
The houseplants have been calling out to me, but their flowers weren’t mature enough for the chains of protection I wanted to stitch for my friends. I’m not the only one who has to deal with malicious spirits, and I don’t see why they should be less prepared just because they think I’ve been taking cosplaying too far. Soon, I will convince them all to get matching tattoos that are actually an occult symbol I designed to help their mental health regenerate thrice as quickly. They will be okay.
Before I start my day and go out into the world I close my eyes and sing my species’ All Saints’ Eve song:
When witches go riding
And black cats are seen
The moon laughs and whispers
‘Tis near Halloween
When spooky things prowl
And pumpkins gleam
May luck be yours
On Halloween
And now I’m ready to begin my day.