All white on the night
Around the room there are witch motifs on wind chimes and on her key ring. There’s also a witch’s hat from a Halloween costume hanging from one of the curtains. “It’s there for the craic,” she explains laughing. “But I wouldn’t dare wear it. The witch stereotype is a scary creature that would frighten the living daylights out of you. I want to make her more approachable. I want to be of help to people.” She believes that spiritual healing is the role of the modern witch.
“Witchcraft is an earth-based spirituality that works in conjunction with the phases of the moon,” she explains. “It’s all about natural healing and healing remedies.”
One recent convert is Nicola McCann, a social care worker. What’s the attraction? “I keep myself physically fit by running, cycling and doing yoga, she explains. “To keep myself mentally fit I attend wicca gatherings.” She looks on it as “me time”, time that she uses to centre herself, and to ask what she wants from life. “Patricia teaches you to focus on the positive rather than getting angry. The idea is to breathe that philosophy into your everyday life.”
Weston has a broomstick that she doesn’t use to fly down to the local shops to buy groceries, rather she leaves it by the door to protect her against unwanted energies.
“I’ve always been a witch,” she accepts. Throughout her childhood it was Halloween, not Christmas, that was her favourite time of year.
Every October 31st she opted to dress as a witch. Growing up in Lusk, she recalls feeling different but kept these feelings to herself. “Announcing that you were a witch would just attract ridicule,” she explains.
The magic in Weston is within us all, believes Carol, a Dublin-based white witch who has also attended some of Weston’s gatherings. “You just have to learn to harness it.”
See white witch Patricia Weston at the Mind, Body Spirit Festival in the RDS today, tomorrow and Monday. patriciawestonpsychicwitch.com
