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You make love what you want it to be, Hannah had told her. You decide. You walk toward it, or you walk away.
When you look into your own future, you may see only what you want to see, and even the wisest woman can make a mistake, especially in matters of love.
Tell a witch to go, and she’ll plant her feet on the ground and stay exactly where she is.
Own your own life, Hannah had told her. Never depend on others. Protect those closest to you.
A Simple Witch’s Garden Sage, for headache. Summer savory, for colic. Green wormwood for wounds, mix with vinegar or rum, then apply. Hyssop, for the lungs. Colt’s foot and flaxseed, for coughing. Motherwort, to quiet the nerves. Sweet balm tea, for fever. Horseradish, mixed with warm vinegar for aches in the feet. Mallows, steeped in milk for dysentery. Savory, to give good fortune. Parsley, to see the future and make wise choices.
Ask the right questions and you’ll get the right answers. Even those who have been afraid to speak aloud will tell the truth when they must.
But what was done could not be undone, and vengeance always returned to its maker.
Frustration Tea for granting good cheer, good for those who grieve. Caution Tea for wild children, such as boys who carry shotguns or dream of running off to sea. Fever Tea, to nip high temperatures in the bud, made of cinnamon, bayberry, ginger, thyme, and marjoram.
Courage Tea as an antidote for fear, grief, and facing the world’s trials, one cup reminds you to always be who you are.
Fate is what you make it, or you will be what it makes of you.
Beware of love. Know that for our family, love is a curse. He should have been my enemy, instead I thought I fell in love with him and I made the mistake of declaring my love. I was wrong to think that was love. I was too young to know any different.
Do not speak or argue. Do not proclaim your innocence. They want you to be guilty, they want to mock your sins, they want to keep you in irons, and they would most certainly like to see you burn.
She heard her mother tell her that when you were loved by someone, you never lost them, no matter what might happen next. Despite the curse, despite the losses you might endure, she knew now that love was the only thing that lasted. It was inside you and with you for all eternity.
and that when Samuel Dias came to the door she would unlock it, for he had agreed to take Faith and raise her as his own if need be, and show her that there were other worlds, far across the sea.
Do what you must until we are together again. But never believe a word she tells you. Believe only in yourself. You are my daughter and mine alone, whether we are together or apart.
Clairvoyant Tea, concocted from mugwort and rosemary and anise, which helped the drinker see beyond the curtain of the here and now;
Courage Tea, which provided bravery and grit and was made of vanilla and currants and thyme.
Fever Tea, to nip high temperatures in the bud, made of cinnamon, bayberry, ginger, thyme, and marjoram.
I am with the All and the All is within me.
She grew feverfew for health, rose hips and skullcap for healing, lavender for luck.
When you go inside darkness, the darkness goes inside you.
What belonged to you once, will always belong to you. Be grateful if you have walked through the world with another’s heart in your hand.
Never hide who you are. Do what you think you cannot.
This is who she was: the girl who had climbed through the window to save her own life.
You walk into the dark and the darkness abides within you.
Love’s fire heats water, water cools not love.
Know what you want, and be sure of it, for regret gives birth to more regret and nothing more.
What I have sacrificed, what I have given, what I have hidden from the world, what is needed to do the same. A wand of hazel will be needed. Rose water should be beside you at all times. The pentacle of Solomon should be drawn on the floor to summon the spirit of Oberon, the king of magic. Stand in a circle that unites the four sections of the world and the four elements, then burn myrtle wood and
sandalwood. Burn white nettle, the herb of the archangel. After this process one would be able to see into the future, control the elements, enchant mortals, subdue enemies, and invoke a malediction for enemies. I conjure you by fire, by blood, and by memory so that you may perceive your eternal sentence. Let it be so. This thing of darkness I acknowledge to be mine.
blackberries, long used against serpent’s bites and for setting curses.
transference magic, shifting the sorrow or disease or the ill fate that a person carried into another object or being.
She knew that to undo an attraction one needed black paint, blood, a bird’s broken wing, pins, and a thin strand of lead, handled carefully, and with gloves.
the sort of practical magic that cured and healed and helped both with love desired and love gone wrong.
Cures for Common Illnesses Linden root and yarrow for racing hearts. Oatmeal and almond meal for cleaning one’s face. Rosemary oil for the hair, or a tonic of lemon and rosemary. Lavender for sleeplessness. Ginger root for diarrhea. Cabbage leaf poultices for wheezing. Darker ingredients were in demand as well: squid ink, thought to make tangible whatever was written in script, the hollow bones of birds for divination, mushrooms for erotic adventures or for revenge, seeds and oils to end a pregnancy, a knotted rope to burn and the ashes then eaten to bring forth a child. And there was love,
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How to Bring a Lover Home Cook honey with nightshade, add a curl of his hair and let it rest on the windowsill. If your beloved is nearby he will appear, but if he has disappeared into the wilderness a bird will take his place. Tie a scrap of paper with your name written upon it to the bird’s leg and let it fly out your window. If your beloved is alive, the bird will find him
and he will return, though it may take months or years. Nail a wishbone over your front door. Stick two silver pins into a red candle. When the flames burn down to the pins, your lover will arrive.
Do what you must or do what you will. Adhere to the rules or break them in two.
Fate is what you make of it, Hannah had told her. You can make the best of it, or you can let it make the best of you.
It was true, when you saved someone, they belonged to you in some small way, but it was also true that you belonged to them.
“Love is many things to many people,”
raspberry tea, called liberty tea,
is easy to become what your actions have made of you.
A ship there is and she sails the sea, She’s loaded deep as deep can be, But not so deep as the love I’m in I know not if I sink or swim. The water is wide, I cannot get o’er it And neither have I wings to fly Give me a boat that will carry two And both shall row, my Love and I. Samuel had to strain to hear
Some lessons you have to learn for yourself, others are best to know from the start.
Do as you will, but harm no one. What you give will be returned to you threefold. Fall in love whenever you can.
These are the lessons to be learned. Drink chamomile tea to calm the spirit. Feed a cold and starve a fever. Read as many books as you can. Always choose courage. Never watch another woman burn. Know that love is the only answer.
