Building Community: Kindness & Compassion

Following on from a thoughtful post by Meg Rosenbriar (@megrosenbriar ), I’m adding my thoughts on the unkind sentiment that’s being passed around the witch community. It is being said that those who’ve fallen for scammers do not deserve to call themselves “witches”, as they lack discernment and the ability to think critically.

Please can we put a stop to this hurtful narrative? We’re better than that!

Those who are seeking answers may be at a crossroads; they may be feeling vulnerable and looking for answers. Aside from being financially duped, the last thing they need is our judgement, and to be passed off as being “too stupid” to be a witch.

My page has been copied by scammers in the past, so I do understand the sheer frustration of the witches trying to protect their pages, businesses and reputations, but can we also spare some sympathy for the people who have been duped by the scammers - after all, they thought they were supporting us with their purchases.

Please can we shift our anger towards the scammers who think nothing of ripping off vulnerable folk and page creators, not least during a pandemic.

We can tackle the problem together. If you see a page being scammed please report the scammer to Instagram, and let the page creator know; keeping an eye out for other/fresh accounts being made in their name, and letting them know each time (the page creator is often blocked by the scammer).

Another way you can help is by keeping an eye on @scammeralertpage which helps the Tarot and Healing community report scammers.

Thank you, and thank you Meg for bringing our attention to this. 

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Gather the Witches and the Pendle Pardon Campaign

Hey everyone, today're talking the Pendle Witch Trials and the Pendle Pardon Campaign. I’m taking part in the @witch.with.me annual #gatherthewitches hashtag challenge over on Instagram. Today’s prompt is Pumpkin, and here’s my “The Cemetery Witch” pumpkin. I didn’t have enough room for the “The”, but I managed to get in a gravestone and a bat at least!

I’d love to take this opportunity to remind you all that I am supporting Blackpool Tower Dungeon (@btowerdungeon) and Semra Haksever’s (@mamamooncandles) campaign to pardon the Pendle witches.

This Halloween they’re recounting the terrible tale, and launching a campaign to call on the UK government to grant an official pardon for the ten innocent people who were convicted and hanged for Witchcraft in 1612. Of course, the Pendle witches were not the only ones who suffered in this way. Many innocent people were victimised, and suffered the same fate.

Please add your signature to the petition (link in my Instagram bio and more information on all three of our pages).

Be sure also to check out Gather the Witches - the second, annual online witchy event happening this Samhain - head over to the @witch.with.me page for more information. Have a go at this challenge, you could win some free tickets!

Campaign to Pardon the Pendle Witches

I am supporting Blackpool Tower Dungeon (@btowerdungeon) and Semra Haksever’s (@mamamooncandles) campaign to pardon the Pendle witches. They have called upon the expertise of Robert Poole, Professor of History at the University of Central Lancashire (@uclanuni).

This Halloween they’re recounting the terrible tale of the Pendle Witches, and launching a campaign to call on the UK government to grant an official pardon for the ten innocent people who were convicted and hanged for Witchcraft in 1612.

“The Lancashire Witches were the victims of a gross miscarriage of justice. They were convicted of an impossible crime, by methods that amounted to persecution, on the basis of patently false evidence which they were not able to contest. It’s high time they were given a pardon.” ~ Robert Poole

The names of the Pendle witches are:

Anne Whittle 

Ann Redfearn

Elizabeth Device 

Alice Nutter

Alison Device 

James Device 

Katherine Hewitt 

Jane Bulcock 

John Bulcock 

Isobel Robey

Sadly, the Pendle witches were not the only ones who suffered in this way. Many innocent people were victimised, and suffered the same fate.

This campaign is a stance against prejudice. As well as adding your signature to the petition (below), we want to hear tales of solidarity and commitment to stamping out stereotypes. You can add your voice by tagging your posts #imawitch on social media.

Thank you.

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/598232