I just came across this, something I wrote a few years ago for a project I was doing with a friend. It would have been much more appropriate to have posted this before yesterday but I only found it just now and my timing has never been great
Welcome to the Coven
by J Sargent
before reading I would ask that you reread the title out loud in your best Axyl Rose voice because, yes, I went there and it’s only downhill from here
I met a witch at a Renaissance fair.
It’s one of those things right? See people dressed in armor, watch the falconry show, eat a giant turkey leg, meet a witch. Normal Saturday stuff.
Okay, I didn’t actually meet her but I did stand in front of her booth and listen while she played a hurdy-gurdy and sang as her friend who I can only presume was also a witch played a hand drum.
Thinking about it now, I can’t quite remember why I am so sure she was a witch. Was there something on her sign? Did she say she was? It's now a blank and I do not know. It seems like a bold statement to announce your witch-ness so openly. We’ve certainly put people to the proverbial stake for much less even in these “enlightened” times we live in.
Too bad there are only four other people who were there that I know personally who could corroborate this story at the touch of a button or less but am too lazy to ask. One of those people will literally edit this piece… and even if she tells me I doubt that I’ll take the time to go back through and fix this.
I can’t help but wonder if it was the haunting music that keeps the witch thing in my mind. I say that because music is very important to me so I tend to put more to it than might actually be offered. Music has always been a part of my life. Not just playing in the background but something I was actively participating in. Music is the only thing I’ve always believed in (sorry, bacon). So much so that it might be the closest thing I have to a religion.
But if you think about it, musicians and witches aren’t really that different. Using rudimentary elements and simple tools sorcerers cast spells to subtle or devastating effect and everything in between. The notes and rhythms the ingredients of their spells, the lyrics incantations. If you’ve never been hexed by music it may be that you’ve never really listened.
Ever been having one of those days and suddenly you hear a song that gives you the energy to finish the project that you’ve been drowning in? Maybe you heard one that helped you keep pace over that last mile while jogging. Maybe it gave you strength to simply face the day.
That’s magic.
A song might mend your broken heart or be the only friend you have. Music can enchant a mood for love or work or even play. It can be a transport through time and space to that room where you used to play with your legos alone in while listening to The Cure.
Not that I ever did that.
Music has a dark side, its black magic, if you will. Curses spawned from depths of hell inexplicably disarm and enrage and we are helpless against their power. I imagine we’ve all witnessed shockingly hateful reactions to one type of music or another or even a particular song. How can this happen?
Magic.
Musicians have powers and it’s up to them to use them for good or evil… although personal preference means there is one hell of a gray area between the two as well.
Ever had a song or even part of a song bury itself in your brain, set on a repeating loop? I believe the term is “stuck in your head.” That kind of thing can ruin a day. I myself have been taken to the brink of madness by such a hex and the worst part is it might even be a song you don’t hate (I’m looking at you, Europe).
I’ve even seen music used to summon zombie-like (and by this I mean the old school type zombies who are mind controlled not the flesh eating variety who are only following their instincts) hordes shambling ever onwards at the will of their masters.
There have been conflicts and battles through the ages. There have been those that have been cast aside and shunned. There have even been a few witch hunts. Judas Priest, Marilyn Manson and John Denver can tell you all about those.
Clearly, music is more than just sound. Looking back to its origins you can’t deny the primal nature at its core. Strings were made from intestines of animals, drums from their skin. Bone, rock, branch, breath… this is where the magic began. These same ingredients could be a potion or brew in the kettle of any witch in any forest or heath, just waiting to tempt a child or for Macbeth to happen by.
But instead of boil and bubble you have harmony, dissonance, chords and melodies, notes and sound weaving spells and sorcery. Like puppets on a string we load our iPods and playlists for our own personal bewitchment.
And when it’s done right, the magic transcends all. Like that perfect batch of brownies…
And I only mention food because food might be the closest thing I have to a religion.
* * *
Epilogue - if any of you run into this woman who plays the hurdy-gurdy, please don’t tell her I’m telling everyone she is a witch. The last thing I need is for her to track me down and put the thinner curse on me… actually I could stand to lose some weight, so never mind.
Epilogue pt 2 - My wife, who is my editor, reminded me that a song that gets stuck in your head is referred to as an “earworm” in the modern vernacular. Who besides Kahn Noonien Singh would be putting worms in your ear? WITCHES!
It’s scary when I’m this right.
