Jess

“Like Jean, I always like to put my hand to stone, except that I am more of a collector than a maker. Wherever I go, pebbles seem to find their way into my pockets and bags. When autumn comes, I discover the long-forgotten relics of last year's walks in my coats, each one of them a memento of a place, a time, a thought process. They scatter every surface in my house, too, sometimes requiring a grand clear out, when I gather them all up and tip them into the garden. Still, they find their way back in. I could almost believe that they reproduce.

I can think of no greater pleasure than a stone in the hand, the right one of just the right size. Stones have a pure kind of weight to them, like small concentrations of gravity. They seem to always crave contact with the earth, pulling down towards the soil that matches their serene chill. I reach for one now as I write this, and measure it against my palm. There is a definite coupling between the two of us, a communication of density, a heat exchange. For a moment, I am anchored again.”
― Katherine May, Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age

“Well, ours have old souls,” her eyes glint again in the candlelight. “The cats here really do have nine lives, but not in the way you might think. Our cats come back to live again in different bodies, nine full lifetimes for our little ones. Our familiars. It means they can stay with a witch throughout her entire life, living side by side. Because a witch and her familiar is a bond for eternity. A witch’s cat won’t die until she does.”
― Kassandra Cross, Black Magic

“A familiar is such a creature, an animal or bird that sees inside to the very soul of its human companion, and knows what others might not.
What fears there might be, and what joys, for it shares the emotions of its human partner.”
― Alice Hoffman, Magic Lessons

“When I feel the steadiness of ground beneath my feet, the wind in my hair, the warmth of a fire, snowflakes melting on my nose, I recognize that I’m more than just a brain, more than my thoughts or self-definition. Instead of defining myself narrowly, I begin to expand.”
― Amanda W. Jenkins, Go From Hustle to Flow: Yoga + Mindset Practice to Release Overwhelm, Cultivate Peace + Redefine Success