THE WITCHES' CORNER Saying Goodbye When Someone Is Already Gone

WRITTEN BY: LADY SHAY BYGUL

I kept reaching out, on holidays and in between, but I was always the one to initiate.

I will be honest: I had always believed there would come a time when his health would decline, and he would have a change of heart. I'd seen that happen with others who had been estranged, to varying degrees, with their parent(s). I thought we would have the opportunity to make amends and say our goodbyes. That did not happen.

Unresolved issues can plague you for a lifetime, and I have no intention of letting that happen to me.

Rituals, symbolism, and ceremonies are crucial for people, even if you are not spiritual, but they are even more significant if you are. So, I will be having a "saying goodbye" ritual for myself next week.

I will have my jar with slips of paper to write down what I want to say. Maybe things to apologize for, maybe things to rant about, maybe some memories. I will light my candle, fill my jar, and then tuck it away after I say my goodbyes and have a long talk with my Dad.

Then, I hope that both of us will be at peace.

P.S. If you are enjoying this magazine, would you consider buying a "coffee"? It's just $3, but it would help a lot and be very much appreciated. https://ko-fi.com/ladyshay

Rainbows, Leprechauns, and that Other Guy

by Faerie Godsmother

What I have to say, I’m sure will come off as somewhat. I know, it’s so unusual of me to have an opinion that is in direct opposition to most of today’s society. Oh, wait. That’s not unusual for me at all.

Most people in this part of the world have heard of St Patrick’s Day. It’s incredibly common to have parades, people wearing green, drinking green beer and partying hard, here in the USA. But do they really know what they’re celebrating?

I’m guessing they probably don’t. I’m guessing that most people, at least in this country, don’t have any idea of who St Patrick was and how or why leprechauns and rainbows are related to this holiday.

Truth is, it’s an Irish Catholic holiday. It celebrates a man who brought Catholicism to Ireland in the early 5th century. He was born in 386 AD and was thought to have arrived to spread the Catholic faith in 432 AD. He died in 457 AD. There is evidence to suggest that he may have actually arrived in Ireland a bit later than that, but no one knows for sure because the Irish Annals for St. Patrick were not written until the middle of the 6th century (almost 100 years after his death).

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