Write, Witch! How I Listened When the Universe Called

Dear Witches,

I received a command last night.

I didn’t recognize it at first. I was in the middle of dealing with Sunday jitters — I usually respond with extra rest, which sometimes helps. Sometimes it doesn’t.

This evening, though, I wanted to do something. I could read, write, draw, or do chores. So really, I could read, write, or draw.

Reading is my default, and I was ready to create rather than consume. Writing is amazing, but I had just written two blog posts the day before.

Drawing from scratch makes me feel like a divine vessel, interpreting ideas from the airwaves into a visual that communicates to others. Other times, it feels like I don’t even understand lines or how to connect them.

So I got out my supplies — iPad, stylus, spiral sketchbook, felt tip pens, Ticonderoga pencil. (I’m willing to fight you over the fact that Ticonderogas are the best pencils.)

I found myself sketching different logos for this blog (The Writing Witch, in case you didn’t know where you were). I played around with the words a bit, the spacing of the letters, the icons I wanted to use…you get it.

Write, Witch! didn’t have an exclamation point at first. It was just…what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to do it.

Also, the logo I designed used a felt tip pen as the “I” in both Write and Witch. They were stacked on top of each other, and the C in witch was a crescent moon. It was real cute, maybe I’ll use it on something for you readers in the future 😉

But then, I heard a wiser, older, sassier voice in my head say it like, “Write, bitch!” And I thought, “…yes, ma’am!”

I was so close to changing the name of this blog. From The Writing Witch to Write, Witch!

It’s been floating around in my subconscious since it hit me yesterday. A little secret joy to get me through the tough spots in my day– of which there were plenty. Oh, an obstacle? Watch me handle it with poise and grace because I know I have something waiting at home for me. A calling.

I felt a connection to the phrase because it’s what I needed to hear. If someone was to tailor-make a blog for yours truly, it would be called Write, Witch! It would offer posts like, “How to Turn Off the TV and Write That Post You’ve Been Planning for Two Weeks,” “Journaling is Writing, Fight Me,” and “You’re Already Magic, Just F*cking Do It.”

Although I call myself The Writing Witch, I find it is very easy to become a Scrolling Witch, or a Reading Witch, or a TV Watching Witch. And while I don’t look down on those activities, they aren’t writing. In order to be aligned, I need to WRITE in the time in my schedule I carved out SPECIFICALLY for writing.

As it turns out, I no longer think it’s the name of the blog. I am writing, I am a witch, and this blog will be about me. Write, Witch! sounds like a blog that encourages witches to write. I’m not encouraging you, I’m encouraging me. Sorry, not sorry.

But that thought, “Write, witch!” was a drumbeat in my mind. A command. As I walked, I chanted it in time with my footsteps — left, “write,” right, “witch.” A call to action.

Because when I’m at a loss, I need something short, sweet, and to the point (unlike listing three synonyms, but I’ve watched too much of The West Wing to NOT do that). I need a North Star, something I can keep coming back to.

I have a mantra now, and the universe gave it to me.

I’m going to use it to write a blog, to write an amazing novel, and to serve others as much as I can along the way.

Blessed Be