Hippie Witchy Bitches
I have always felt that the female friends I attract have very witchy qualities. Women interested in healing, nature, energetic forces, magic… I am sure if we had been born in the wrong time a few of us would have been burnt at the stake, which is pretty gruesome if you ask me. I think someone who is willing to BURN SOMEONE ALIVE is much more detrimental to society then some chick who made potions in her log cabin. I bet if we still did public executions like that today there would be a reality show about it on the E channel.
I have always been interested in natural and holistic healing, and this weekend The Munch and I ventured off to an all Women’s Herbal Conference to learn from our fellow witchy women about the healing properties of plants.
Usually at conferences like this I have a really hard time being part of the group. Most of my energy is spent feeling like an outsider and wondering if everyone can tell that I am silently resenting them for being so one with the group. I wonder if there is a group for people who don’t like groups that I can join.
But this particular conference I was too busy learning from these women that I didn’t have time to laugh at their flowing skirts, long gray braids, henna tattoos, pelvic gyrations, armpit hair, songs about the great mother sung in rounds, and open crying… just kidding… I totally did laugh at all of that.
Part of me felt inadequate at times because a lot of these women have been working with herbs and plants to heal others for 60 years and learnt everything from their Native American grandmother. I found myself wondering,” what if the only thing I have learnt from my family is the best ratio for the perfect martini?”
But when I wasn’t jealous for not having been taught the traditional mysteries of heart breathing, I was totally absorbed by the wonder of it all. Being around like-minded women who believe that nothing is a coincidence, the universe outside us is as expansive as the one inside us, all illness comes from emotional pain, we have the power to heal ourselves, and that the spirit speaks through us all totally re-energized me. I realized that even though I have a lot to learn about healing others, my instincts and actions when it came to healing myself were right in tune with what they were saying.
But spending time with these women was also reminiscent of being on acid. There were a lot of colors involved, thoughts about how all life is interconnected, deep reflection and looking into my soul, ideas about telekinesis, crying, laughing, and then staring at the grass. I was reminded that there was a time when we humans spoke to the animals, the plants, and the rocks… but we offended them so that they stopped communicating with us. To some, that may seem like crazy talk, but to me that makes so much sense. How else can you explain the pyramids?
Maybe what spoke to me about this gathering was it was less about the ego and who could be the most New Agey-er than thou, and more about community. Perhaps because we were all women there was a genuineness to the experience that was truly unique. The conversation was about women supporting women while learning about healing others and protecting the environment. I mean, that really is the tits.
“Here… let me take some notes for you….”
