Tag: Hocus Pocus

Wicked, Installment 5

Hilda: Well, Zelda, you’re looking a little pale, almost like you just saw a ghost. Say what’s with the guy sitting next to you?

Zelda: I don’t know, Hildy. He seems a little handsy . . . and also a little clumsy. I’ve never seen a guy wearing so many bandages.

Hilda: Well, Zelda, he appears to be reaching a little high. You know what they say about getting older . . .

Zelda: Why, Hilda, you dirty old hag, you. (cackle, cackle)

Hilda: I was referring to the fact that you have shrunk with old age, Z.

Zelda: Well, I’ll tell you what I’m not short on, Hilda . . . corny jokes!! Ready, ready?? Why don’t witches wear baseball caps?

Hilda: (sigh)

Zelda: Because there’s no point in it! Get it, get it? Baseball caps don’t have points. Next one, next one . . . . What do you call a witch with chicken pox?

Zelda: An itchy witchy!!!! (cackle, cackle)

****Dear readers, I am sad to report (although you may not feel too sad about this) that this is likely the last installment of the Wicked Chronicles. Hilda’s and Zelda’s facial features are made of metal that you poke into the hard rind of pumpkins. Over the years, the posts on the features have gotten rusty and weak. Several of the back posts have broken off. We’ve had Hilda and Zelda for at least fifteen years and I’ve always appreciated that they kept our pumpkins better intact than had we carved them early, here in hot, humid Florida. I’ve always also appreciated their inspiration for a little Halloween fun on the blog.

RIP – Hilda and Zelda

“Go to hell!” —Billy Butcherson
“Oh, I’ve been there, thank you. I found it quite lovely.” —Winifred Sanderson (quotes from the movie Hocus Pocus)

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.

Year of the Aunts

When I was shopping with my future daughter-in-law last week, she pointed out a poster of Hocus Pocus with a smile on her face. She told me that she loves that movie. I smiled to myself for a different reason. I immediately thought of my three aunts.

Now, I mean no disrespect to my aunts. My aunts are way more attractive, alluring, kind and interesting than the stereotypical, storybook witch. But to me, in my own inner version of what a witch is, my aunts fit the bill: magical, crafty, resilient, mysterious, wise, attuned to nature, assured in themselves, faithful to Life. My aunts have always been a fun, spoiling, soft spot in my life since I was a little girl, but as I have grown older they have also become my inspirations.

My (only) three aunts are all in their 70s, yet they stay fit and active and “with it.” They are adventuresome and confident. I call this year, “The Year of the Aunts”. This is the first year in a long while which I have experienced one-on-one visits with each of my aunts. This is a rarity. We all lead busy lives and we are all spread out in different states. One of my aunts even lives in a different country.

We women need each other (even as awful as we can be to each other), and we need each other in all forms. We need our female friends, sisters, mothers, daughters, cousins, grandmothers, mentors, and aunts. Sometimes one of our female cohorts is more than just one of those things to us. We women are that powerful. We can be shapeshifters if need be. There is something unrepeatable in the strength at the core of a woman. We know this fact deeply and intimately, and we inevitably share the wells of this female strength and wisdom when we convene with each other.

I have always loved my aunts, but I didn’t realize until this past decade, how much I need them. I didn’t realize how much they teach me, just by being themselves. I didn’t realize the depth of the nourishment I get from each of them, and the familial care and concern they have always held for me, even when we are not with each other. I hope and pray, that I can be the same source of solidity and comfort for my nieces and nephews, in different stages of our lives. My own aunts have treated me, as if this was their sacred duty. Perhaps it is . . . .

Aunts, I love you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Are you passing on love or are you passing on pain? Heal your pain and pass on love.