Pagan Culture - My Path

Meet Holly Golightly

ALL ABOUT YOU

Meet Holly Golightly

Welcome to ALL ABOUT YOU. Our featured reader this issue is HOLLY GOLIGHTLY who inked the great cartoons at the top of our columns and illustrated the fiction piece in this issue “When the Veils are Thin.” Holly is a Comicbook artist and writer and currently works on Sabrina the teenage witch; Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose; and 3Little Kittens: Purrrfect Weapons. We asked her to tell us about herself.

The Craft has been around me in some form all my life. I began reading the Tarot when I was eight, with my mother’s deck. She got it from a ring of white witches, but she didn’t like me playing with it, so I always snuck out the deck and did it when she wasn’t home. I didn’t always know exactly what everything meant, but I knew it stirred something inside. By age eleven, I knew I was a Witch; it was just an instinct that lead me there. I never grew up thinking this was ‘deviant’ or ‘wrong.’ I just knew I was different.

“My mentor was Catherine Riggs- Bersen who owned Other Worldy Waxes in New York City where I worked. Catherine specialized in candle therapy and taught me lots of things I wasn’t aware of yet. She showed me how to bring my natural talent into a more structured way of handling things as well as executing spells. I had worked with gemstones, herbs and scents before, but I didn’t always understand the why or the how of such things, and she was able to show me the principles and reasons behind the kind of work I was doing. She brought it full circle for me.

“Being a Witch helps me to feel connected to the earth, to my imagination, to my creativity. Even the word ‘witch’ keeps me connected. I don’t find it insulting or demeaning at all. My family is Jewish and I didn’t feel comfortable in that environment because the men were looked upon as a higher class, above the women. I believe that The Craft is the only belief system that honors women equally with men, and I feel comfortable with that. It allows me to reach my full potential, to continue to grow, to learn and to develop. I see the God and the Goddess as energy, flowing everywhere.

“Much like singing or painting, I was born with a talent, and the Craft helps me incorporate it in many areas of my life.

I may express myself or help someone through it, but tend to not gravitate toward the belief system as a way of worship, except that tolerance and understanding is a must. Although, as in many belief systems, I enjoy the imagery and ideas of the deities.

“Working as a professional artist, I get to explore my creativity and get to work on a popular children’s comic book (Sabrina) that has a magickal teenager. Working on Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose, my partner and I get responses from people who have said ‘thank you for creating a Wiccan Super Hero.’ But we are clear to remind folks that Tarot is strictly for entertainment and is not intended as a realistic depiction of what Witches do, or are like in real life, although it does embody the essence of the Craft within it.

“My advice is that the Craft is something you should believe in very personally and bring it to you. Find your strength in it, but do not become bogged down in structures that may make no sense to you. Do not be afraid to find your own path and to learn while you are on that path. Becoming too focused on doing something exactly right because of what someone told you isn’t necessarily in your best interest.

“I believe that being involved in the Craft has helped me quite a bit and can help others feel more confident and tap into their creativity. Conformity breeds boredom, which I think leads to drugs and drinking and even unwanted pregnancy. For some it may even help overcome their shyness or the fear of being accepted in this world. I don’t wish to proclaim that being a Witch is a ‘cure all,’ but it can provide a way for a people to become better connected with themselves, and that’s always a good thing.”

To see Holly's incredibly talented artwork visit Broad Sword Comics.


» Originally appeared in newWitch #01

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