Hedge Witch Poppets

I recently read the lovely book Once And Future Witches (which I highly recommend). It made me think about all of the different types of women who have been called Witch. Women who were Healers and Herbalists and Midwives. Women who secretly honored the words and ways of their Grandmothers. Women who cured and cared for others when no-one else could or would. Women accused and tortured and murdered.

Reading Once and Future Witches piqued my curiosity about practical witchery. Earthy and homespun Magic that is passed from woman to woman, and practiced quietly. In my meanderings, I learned about the Hedge Witch. Historically, the term  was used to describe anyone who lived along the fringes of a village, behind the hedgerows. A Hedge Witch is a solitary practitioner who finds magical intent in her daily routines. She is deeply connected to nature and home and the study of herbs.

It dawned on me as I read that I'm married to a Hedge Witch! My spouse tends and nurtures many gardens, both food and flower. She prays to Mother Moon and leaves offerings to the Faeries. She is deeply connected to the cycle of the seasons and the land we currently inhabit. I myself tend toward the rituals of domesticity. Creating beauty and homages in our home. Finding connection and centeredness in its care.

I felt moved to create these wee Hedge Witch Poppets. Whether they are lavish or plain, their magic resides in the natural world and in every day tasks imbued with meaning. They will be made when I am moved to make them, and will appear here whenever they are finished. They come home to you with a wee small jar of seeds or herbs, as well as a little something extra, whether it be a broom, a basket, a key, or a tool.

These Poppets are my homage to all of the women long dead who called themselves Witch, Healer, Herbalist, Apiarist, Midwife. And to the Witches, Healers, Herbalists, Apiarists and Midwives that you are.