This Halloween We Are Celebrating The She Witch From In Between
Halloween is complicated for me because of what happened X amount of years ago. I was lost and broken and abused, and I lost my shit one night when everyone I loved turned out to be super evil awful people.
HOWEVER, there are some beautiful and wonderful things about Halloween and Samhain that we absolutely need to discuss because the world needs to know that Witches and the Queen of Witches in particular, come in all shapes and colors.
There is a theory that the First Witch was a white woman, I am here to tell you that is bullshit. The first true Witch, the first High Priestess in more years than the universe can count was made of all colors. Yup that’s right. She was red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and purple all at once. She had long black hair that were specifically coiled into a net of ribbons and curls.
She had one blue eye, one brown eye, but her blue eye had brown and her brown eye had blue, she was very strange.
She wasn’t made of glass, but when she first came to earth she was delicate, and her delicacy people thought she could be taken advantage of. What they didn’t know is that she could turn into a flaming bird, or a big Black bear, she could also transform herself into an owl, a wolf, and a tiger, but never all at once, because that would be too much.
She could breath fire, which at first started out only as smoke, but quickly as the years went by, transformed into an unholy inferno, largely because well why wouldn’t she breath fire?
She was born from no particular tribe or God or Goddess, but made up of all things that could be, or would be, might be or should be. She was created not by hands, but by the fact that the things that live in any “living, breathing,” existence, needed her specifically to exist.
She was the bringer of change, the destroyer of chaos, and she was completely and totally brought down to her knees by a man who thought that “saying a prayer,” meant worshipping him, a merely human individual, who thought the deserved more simply because he existed.
She is the example of womanhood are supposed to look up to, and many resent her for that fact, because they think she is too perfect, but in reality she sees nothing in the mirror but flaws, which is precisely why so many people look up to her. It’s not because she’s perfect, it’s because she makes it look like she’s perfect, simply by choosing not to give a flying fuck, about what anyone thinks of her.
And that IS ONLY because of the battles she fought to get where she is now. Every time she came in contact with ordinary humans, every time she came in contact with those who believed they were average, or worse, below average, they hated her but not because of who she was, but who she made them believe she was.
They didn’t know the effort it took to put on that perception. To get up every day and put on the makeup, to dress in the clothes, to wear the shoes, to pretend to be less than who she wanted to be, just to make people comfortable around her, just to hate them anyways.
She fly’s with crows, and she swims with sharks, she finds her way around the woods even in the dark, and she prays to the Gods and Goddesses who ignore her largely because they think she doesn’t exist, even though she believes in all the things that she cannot see.
She is Witch, Goddess, Demon, Angel, she is Human, Faerie, and all the things that women are supposed to be, without trying to be simply because she exists.
I found her when I was dancing around my living room one day, and I realize internally that “She” is the thing that I’ve spent my whole life looking for. Some call her Mary, others call her Santa Maria or Aphrodite, some call her Hades or Mars or simply “God,” as if any one word can describe and convey all that she is or could be, but mostly she’s just a living creature who floats through the universe trying to be what those around her need her to be.
In the Avengers she is Captain Marvel, in the DC universe she is Supergirl, in our world she is anything that we could imagine her being, because “she” does exist, in every single one of us and each of us are asked at Halloween or Samhain to take the time to remember that in the first days of Halloween “she” did everything she could to protect her children that haunted the villages at night looking for the spirits of children to take.
Here are some ways to celebrate The She Witch at Halloween:
Candles
At Halloween we light candles, or in 2021, have electric candles that we use, to make sure that throughout the night two things are happening:
- The darkness is always held back by a light as we sleep and dream the evening away after trick-or-treating and collecting donations for our communities at home and abroad.
- The spirits of our ancestors know that they are welcome to visit, and that no matter where we are, the lights we hold for them at night, are a beacon so that they can always find us even after death.
Decorate
In the days of old, many cultures around the world would have traditions that kept the demons away. From pigs, lambs, or goat blood on the entry way of our doors, to festive Halloween décor to let the demons know that we were and are not afraid of them.
The decor that you use should be fun, we should not at all be afraid of death. It’s never death that is frightening it’s always the moment between living, and how we die, that terrifies us. And so we celebrate death in hopes that the Reapers in the world show up to make our transition from life to death as calm and peaceful as possible. We also decorate to ensure that our ancestors know that we haven’t forgotten them, and that our intention was to create a safe space to visit.
The Jack-O-Lantern is designed and was always designed to let the demons know that the house they were that if they were visiting they best be on their best behavior, because if they weren’t the She Witch of the In Between would be visiting them.
The well crafted lie she told was that if they did not have a Jack-O-Lantern then they were not interested in her protection, in reality this just narrowed down her search when she finally decided to go after the kinds of men who had hurt and destroyed whole planets, in the name of power.
If they didn’t have a Jack-O-Lantern, then clearly they weren’t the kinds of people who wanted added eyes on them, and of course with her curious nature, the She Witch of In Between wondered why…the houses without, were ones she searched often. They were also where she most often found the houses or places with the most darkness.
Offerings to the Deities of your choice:
Most witches add apples, cinnamon, and even lemon, to their alter. These scents in combination with each other, offer up a warmth to the atmosphere that you are trying to create.
On this alter, I had the ashes of my dog Whalley on one side (black) and Rosie on the left. These were my family and best friends, and they also represents the Hounds of Hecate, their ashes stand as a reminder that the Goddess of Witches is always with me, wherever I go.
I also had a candle for Santa Maria, a bottle with shells filled with water for Poseidon, Neptune, Ursula and several other Gods and Goddesses who represent and fight for the Sea.
The alter cloth is a symbol of Ganesha, and creativity, every single item that is on my alter is a representation of the universe and the living and dead that came before and after me. It’s a reminder that because I exist, I have to honor all those who came before, while remembering that I also have to stand for those who come after me. It’s a responsibility to add to the alter, and to change it, and it must always be changed at exactly the right time, even though others want you to hurry up.
Halloween / Samhain for children is all about the art of decorating up and going to scare the neighbors, but it’s also a fantastic way to connect with your community, it’s a great way to get dressed up, watch scary movies, and to remind yourself that in your home, you’re safe because you have the She Witch of the In-Between, watching over you.
The She Witch Prayer
This is something that I, Devon J Hall wrote, in my literal darkest moment on this planet, and I laugh now because I really wasn’t sure it was going to work, but I am pretty sure that this is what finally made the universe pay attention to me.
“Dear Gods, Goddesses, Ids and Odds above, I pretty much think you suck, and if you’re hearing me right now, I hope you die, but you can’t die because technically you’re already dead, at least your bodies are, but if you’re listening to this, then that means your souls and hearts are not.
If you could do yourselves a favor and go watch Dead Pool, and maybe BREAK THE FUCKING GOD DAMNED WALL, you could probably pull Vanessa back, if you wanted, but you might not want to, because she’s a vengeful lunatic after being almost kind of slightly probably nearly dead, for so long.
So if you’re anything like Vanessa, or Black Widow for that matter, you’re probably out there and if you haven’t noticed, you have unfinished business, because you might be done with the world, but the world isn’t done with you, so if you could do me a huge fucking favor and realize that my life is an entire FUCKING SHIT SHOW OF HATRED, AND PAIN AND SORROW, FEAR AND ANXIETY, maybe you could see your way to helping, thanks so much, and just remember if I die before I’m ready, I am going to only get more psychotic and more powerful, and then I’ll have the powers of the dead at my disposal, so if it’s not me that you are going to save, it’s me that’s going to FUCKING DESTROY YOU. Also, please don’t let me die tonight. Devon J Hall, age 8“
There are days I stare at those words and I can’t help but bring myself to think about all the fear that I had to live through, so that I could be the one to say those words in a time and place that I thought I was going to die, in a moment that I was certain that I was in between both. So many times I dreaded the moment that the rapists in my life, were people I trained myself to think about without thinking about, just so that one day they could get the Justice they deserve, whatever that looks like to the universe and the She Witch of the In-Between.
That night was not only horrible for me. It was horrible for all the people who thought that I didn’t hear all the wisdom that they brought to my life. I’d always wanted to be wise, and I am only wise, because of the people that I’ve met and the lessons that I’ve earned, but at the end of the day, I’m the one that had to live my life, in a way that might possibly, potentially, be even somewhat remotely what resembled the phrase “Live as if the world were what it should be, to show it what it can be.” I don’t know who wrote those words, but there’s a pretty ugly irony in the fact that Joss Whedon brought them to life.
With that being said, he’s still a fucking tool, he’s not the reflection of the message, he’s just the messenger. This in no way excuses his behavior at all, but when you watch Buffy, Angel, or Star..whatever, this Halloween Season, ignore the fact that his presence existed as part of these shows, and honor the cast and crew, the writers, and the janitors for making sure that they happened.
I am alive today, because of these television shows, Charmed, Nora Roberts, and so many other authors like Kim Harrison, and Steven King, producers like Rob Zombie and others, and that’s where that prayer comes from.
The She Witch of the In-Between is a mix of everything that ever was, ever could be, would be, might be, should be, has to be, for the entire world to work, because she is She. She is inside every single person who has ever been inspired to gasp when they hear the words that told them EXACTLY who they needed to be, so that they could be, the person they want to be.
Halloween is about creativity, it’s about the harvest of what was, and the preparation for what is to come next. It’s about saying goodbye and hello, it’s about learning and experiencing, and letting ourselves be free. It’s about wearing a ghost costume, taking down an evil Warlock, and then deciding that you’d rather live free looking like a powerful confident She Witch, then hide under a sheet.
When I think of the She Witch, I really do think of every woman who has played a Witch on television, I think of every witch I have ever known, I think of every person who wanted to see what could be, if only they could hold onto the child born belief that majick is real no matter how old you are, and that it doesn’t just stop being real, because you are grown up.
The She Witch experience, is a collection of all the versions you could be, if you could for a moment put aside your bullshit colors, and your stupid ass “oh he’s got that patch and she has that patch” crap. The Boy Scouts are literally an organization with millions of boys, and too many of them have been abused by the same people trying to teach them how to be “men.”
The Girl Scouts? Same deal, only gender reversed, and neither group supports Black, Indigenous , or LGBTQ2+ culture, so exactly what are they in existence for?
“Religion” is literally about destroying culture, and ripping a part the past in ways that make sure that everyone hates each other because no one is perfect. The She Witch of the In Between isn’t interested in your cultural bullshit. She loves everyone equally, she doesn’t care who you love, she just doesn’t hurt anyone unless they push her too far, until they try to steal her fire.
She is a living breathing Dragon, walking as a human as Ariel did, and because she exists, Fire and Water will always fight, but at the end of the day, they will also nourish if you give them the chance.
The She Witch is about bringing people together, not tearing them apart and if that’s what you’re after when you’re casting spells in her name, all you’ll find is that she’ll just go out of her way to ensure that every person you despise is someone you need, and every one you need, is someone you’re terrified of. She’s a crafty psycho, and she probably wouldn’t be if humans weren’t literal piles of insanity, but how do you think that Goddesses are Born?
Sending all my love,
Devon J Hall
Loud Mouth Brown Girl 