![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
in the broom closet, my mother
May. 26th, 2003 04:35 pm(written the other day, posted today from a cyber cafe since i don't have my own net access. )
my mother is now officially a closeted witch.... closeted to herself, even.
This morning she made me listen to all 10 samples of cd's from this independent music label's website- they do yoga and meditation albums, and some native american flute and drum stuff, y'know, that kind of thing.
some random snippets of our conversation today included:
(Her to me, while we were listening to a particularly tight drummy peice):
"I really like this one. oh my gosh, you should have seen at the [wholistic healing conference] I went to, in our hotel that night, they did this thing where all these people brought their drums, and in this big room they were all playing, like in a circle! Like, there must have been, maybe 600 people? It was, like, so cool!"
(no kidding, mom?!?)
(me perusing her email inbox for a message she wanted me to find:) "what is this? your daily horoscope?"
(her, suddenly excited:)"oh my gosh, yes! this is the best thing I have found so far. It is so accurate it's creepy. you should check out the website. Even Linda (her devout southern baptist sister) gets it."
(My southern baptist, holier-than-thou aunt, who doesn't drink or dance, checks her horoscope?
she makes me check it out and sign up to recieve my daily horoscope. It is accurate for her, I suppose, but I decide it is not so accurate for me. At least, I hope not. yeesh.)
I muttered, "Okay, but if I go to hell...."
"What?" She gave me a 'look'.
"Uhm, at least everyone I know will be there."
She pouted,"What, do you really think it's bad that I check my horoscope?"
(her to me at the bookstore:)
"...and look at this cool book! it even tells you what time of day to harvest the herbs, so you can collect it when the most oils are in the leaves..."
(during dinner, discussing my brother and his girlfriend, who mom doesn't know is pagan:)
Mom: "so what do you think about David and Lynzi?"
Me (cautiously): "well, I think she would be more willing to listen to your knowledge about, y'know, like, aromatherapy and stuff, whereas her own parents are..."
Mom: "oh, I KNOW! they are so wrapped up in their own brand of christianity and they're so controlling.... it's like her stepdad has a Napoleon complex or something. But they're so ignorant. And arrogant. That's the worst combination there is, right? ignorance and arrogance..."
(later this evening, referring to a book she bought:)
"Mom, you are such a witch."
"Wha--? why do you say that?"
"c'mon, Miss 'The magick of aromatherapy'."
Yes, that's "magick" with a 'k', the required 'true' spelling that every neo-pagan puppy learns right off the bat so they can feel superior to plain old regular magic, which is done by guys in tuxedos and top hats with a deck of cards and a lovely assistant. Poor mom was clueless. But she bought the book anyway, either not noticing or not understanding enough to care that the herbal and nutrition section of the bookstore was right next to the new age/pagan section. Out of ALL the aromatherapy books they had to choose from, THIS was the one she came running up to show me how-cool-it-is. Biggest mental laugh: the reason she has decided this book is really cool is that in the appendix pages, there were book advertisements for other authors, one of whom happens to be her favorite local herb lady, Judy Griffin.
She's been to several of her lectures, has her books, etc.-- but on the facing page, the ad was for a random book called something like "Chants, Spells and Witchcraft"-- which she completely overlooked because a) she really is that blind OR b) she really is that witchy and she just won't consciously admit it.
*sigh*
This reminds me of the time I went to a formative 'compassion' meeting with her, and the new agey people there were trying to decide what the format of these new meetings would be. They ended up deciding that it 'just felt right' to begin and end the meetings by having everyone 'circle up' and focus their energy and intent for a few quiet moments....
gee.
A circle.
what a novel idea.
*giggles*
and she just walked in here with a crystal for dowsing that she bought a while back. "I'm just no good at dowsing, I guess, but I want you to have it..."
And the funniest thing is, she is still clueless.
One of those who tenses up a little bit at the terms "pagan" "goddess" or "witch".
I don't even know if I would consider myself "wiccan", although my path is definitely of an...alternate persuasion.
But y'know....
it must be a strong strain of something witchy in my maternal line, that it can survive to be passed down even through the blinded eyes of a conservative texan family...this is starting to explain a lot...
my mother is now officially a closeted witch.... closeted to herself, even.
This morning she made me listen to all 10 samples of cd's from this independent music label's website- they do yoga and meditation albums, and some native american flute and drum stuff, y'know, that kind of thing.
some random snippets of our conversation today included:
(Her to me, while we were listening to a particularly tight drummy peice):
"I really like this one. oh my gosh, you should have seen at the [wholistic healing conference] I went to, in our hotel that night, they did this thing where all these people brought their drums, and in this big room they were all playing, like in a circle! Like, there must have been, maybe 600 people? It was, like, so cool!"
(no kidding, mom?!?)
(me perusing her email inbox for a message she wanted me to find:) "what is this? your daily horoscope?"
(her, suddenly excited:)"oh my gosh, yes! this is the best thing I have found so far. It is so accurate it's creepy. you should check out the website. Even Linda (her devout southern baptist sister) gets it."
(My southern baptist, holier-than-thou aunt, who doesn't drink or dance, checks her horoscope?
she makes me check it out and sign up to recieve my daily horoscope. It is accurate for her, I suppose, but I decide it is not so accurate for me. At least, I hope not. yeesh.)
I muttered, "Okay, but if I go to hell...."
"What?" She gave me a 'look'.
"Uhm, at least everyone I know will be there."
She pouted,"What, do you really think it's bad that I check my horoscope?"
(her to me at the bookstore:)
"...and look at this cool book! it even tells you what time of day to harvest the herbs, so you can collect it when the most oils are in the leaves..."
(during dinner, discussing my brother and his girlfriend, who mom doesn't know is pagan:)
Mom: "so what do you think about David and Lynzi?"
Me (cautiously): "well, I think she would be more willing to listen to your knowledge about, y'know, like, aromatherapy and stuff, whereas her own parents are..."
Mom: "oh, I KNOW! they are so wrapped up in their own brand of christianity and they're so controlling.... it's like her stepdad has a Napoleon complex or something. But they're so ignorant. And arrogant. That's the worst combination there is, right? ignorance and arrogance..."
(later this evening, referring to a book she bought:)
"Mom, you are such a witch."
"Wha--? why do you say that?"
"c'mon, Miss 'The magick of aromatherapy'."
Yes, that's "magick" with a 'k', the required 'true' spelling that every neo-pagan puppy learns right off the bat so they can feel superior to plain old regular magic, which is done by guys in tuxedos and top hats with a deck of cards and a lovely assistant. Poor mom was clueless. But she bought the book anyway, either not noticing or not understanding enough to care that the herbal and nutrition section of the bookstore was right next to the new age/pagan section. Out of ALL the aromatherapy books they had to choose from, THIS was the one she came running up to show me how-cool-it-is. Biggest mental laugh: the reason she has decided this book is really cool is that in the appendix pages, there were book advertisements for other authors, one of whom happens to be her favorite local herb lady, Judy Griffin.
She's been to several of her lectures, has her books, etc.-- but on the facing page, the ad was for a random book called something like "Chants, Spells and Witchcraft"-- which she completely overlooked because a) she really is that blind OR b) she really is that witchy and she just won't consciously admit it.
*sigh*
This reminds me of the time I went to a formative 'compassion' meeting with her, and the new agey people there were trying to decide what the format of these new meetings would be. They ended up deciding that it 'just felt right' to begin and end the meetings by having everyone 'circle up' and focus their energy and intent for a few quiet moments....
gee.
A circle.
what a novel idea.
*giggles*
and she just walked in here with a crystal for dowsing that she bought a while back. "I'm just no good at dowsing, I guess, but I want you to have it..."
And the funniest thing is, she is still clueless.
One of those who tenses up a little bit at the terms "pagan" "goddess" or "witch".
I don't even know if I would consider myself "wiccan", although my path is definitely of an...alternate persuasion.
But y'know....
it must be a strong strain of something witchy in my maternal line, that it can survive to be passed down even through the blinded eyes of a conservative texan family...this is starting to explain a lot...
