Spelling Witch by Jean-Baptiste Monge
Click on image for his websit
In Scotland, the Cailleach is known as the storm hag - when winter
begins to wain the storms that occur at this time of year as said to be the old
hag fighting to keep her reign.
Storm hags emerging from the wool
As hurricane Florence approaches the outer banks of North Carolina
(I’m 250 miles inland in the mountains) I’m creating the storm hags,
they are emerging from the wool - as they did in the sky emerging
from white fluffy clouds.
Habitrot
One of the hags spins - an ancient motif of the wool as the cosmic potential and
as it’s twisted and woven the yarn becomes the fate of our lives. The hag who is
extending the invitation is Habitrot - a Scottish figure who has oversized lips -
all the better to wet her wool as she transforms the raw wool, through her drop
spindle into yarn.
She has two sisters - one with an oversized thumb, all the better to draft out the
wool, while the other sister has a club foot all the better to use the pedal of the
spinning wheel with. This trio are related to the Nordic Norns, the Fates.
Collage as divination -I made this image last week before Florence had even started to call in her winds!
As Florence approaches, I’ll take Habetrot’s invitation to spin, like the storm
hags circling above and the great eye of the Cailleach watching from the center
of the storm…
