Witch Craft: vodka and beads!

Parma violet vodka at the beginning (left) and the finished product

There is much debate over what witchcraft is, whether it is a religion, or a mystery tradition, its ancient credentials, its modern creation. What nobody can deny is that it is called witch-craft, it is the craft of those who are witches. The etymology of the word actually comes from the root which means bend. There is no evidence that it comes from the similar root meaning to be wise (this is why the makers of Witch Doctor products, made from wych hazel, have got it so wrong, since wych sounds like, but is unrelated to, witch). If the craft of the witch means bending, then it must involve doing things, presumably including the Hollywood image of the witch sticking pins into a wax image to do harm. Of course the real reason witches do things as part of our craft is that by making changes in one plane, we can make changes in another one. This is often called the law of association.
Granny Weatherwax says in one of the Discworld books, words to the effect of, 'You can't help people with magic, but you can help them with skin,' meaning that witchcraft involves rolling your sleeves up and getting your hands dirty. The witches of the Discworld draw on the theory of a connection between midwives and witchcraft (historically the evidence is actually the other way: midwives were involved in trying whether women accused of witchcraft were such, by means of intimate examination to find the 'devil's teats'). Nonetheless the principle of witches living in all worlds necessitates a rootedness in this world! The simplest way to turn a light on is to walk across the room and flick the switch: it would be ridiculous to try to do it by magic!
I have undertaken two crafty, although not necessarily witch-crafty, projects recently. Since I stopped smoking I have had a problem with drinking. I have never been a great drinker, but when I was smoking my metabolism was so high that I could drink beer on a night out and not put any weight on. I'm frightened to drink beer now, because every time I open my mouth I put on another stone! So I tried going onto red wine, but I get really pissed on that really quickly, invariably do something I regret, and don't even forget it so can't convincingly deny it. So I've tried spirits, but all the mixers I can find are a bit sweet, like coke, or lemonade. And I don't want to be the old queen in the corner with a gin and tonic! So I've tried flavoured vodkas mixed with soda water, but they don't really taste of anything by the time they're mixed. Then a friend told me that you can dissolve parma violet sweets in vodka to flavour the vodka. I did my first batch and have solved my drink problem, at least at home!
It's easier than the recipes on the internet make it sound! You need: vodka and parma violets. You will read that you get a better result with better vodka, but I don't think this is true. I use giant parma violets in the proportion of 3 packets to half a bottle of vodka. This makes the taste of the violets really strong, but that's how I want it, because I make it into a tall drink with lots of soda water and still want to taste the violets. This may also be why I think the quality of the vodka isn't that important. What you do: put the parma violets into the vodka. It's as simple as that. Of course you will need some sort of sealed container (you can't just start off with a full bottle because there's not enough room for the parma violets). Put the container somewhere you will come across it fairly often and give it a good shake a couple of times a day. The fat from the parma violets will separate from and sit on top of the vodka, which will turn a gorgeous red colour. It will look revolting at this stage but that's OK. This process will be speeded up if you break or crush the parma violets before you put them in. You know it is ready when the parma violets have mostly disappeared from the bottom, or have just left bits. I have read on the web that this can take up to a fortnight, but I would say more like a week maximum, if you keep shaking it. You then have to strain it through a coffee paper into a clean bottle. It may need straining a couple of times until it is clear. Enjoy!

The other crafty thing I have been doing is making my own 'rosaries' to say the chaplet of Hecate I mentioned in a previous post. These two are made from skull bracelets that I already had and some extra beads. The one on the left is made with beading wire, which was unexpectedly forgiving to work with. It has eleven skulls so that three times up and down it is the 33 names I've fixed on. The other is made with a beading twine, which is slightly too thick for a double thickness to go through the skulls, so I may remake it with wire. I wanted a double thickness because I found instructions for tying a knot after each bead so it doesn't completely run away if it gets broken. The three skulls at the end or beginning are not for prayers specifically, it just felt right to have something hanging off the end, and it felt right that there should be three skulls since it is for Hecate!