I get asked a lot if I’m a witch, especially by people who’ve read The Kingston Chronicles. Today I want to talk a bit about real life witchcraft and the realism presented in The Kingston Chronicles.
The witches of The Kingston Chronicles can do some pretty awesome stuff. From conjuring orbs to astral projection, from scrying to telekinesis, these magically endowed humans can create some stunning physical displays of their powers.
I have never once been able to move something with my mind alone: or conjured a pretty orb of energy. Which is probably a good thing to be honest. If I had the power to move things with my mind there would be a number of motorists out there surprised to find themselves stuck at an intersection with four suddenly flat tires. Why four? Because you only carry one spare, and I can be over-dramatic.
Real life witchcraft may not be as showy as the things we read in books, or see on TV, but the practices and theory discussed in the book come from my own life experience and research. I infused as much real-life witchcraft into the story as I did fictional witchcraft.
So, what are some things real life witches might recognize in the story?
Dreams/nightmares as messages: I am a big believer in dreams (most of them) having meanings or being messages. Whether that’s just our subconscious working through our day or whether it comes from a higher power I don’t know. But my wacky dreams are just too crazy to be random. Just because I believe in dreams as messages doesn’t always mean I’m smart enough to figure out what the message is. But, I firmly believe that if you remember your dream it was probably a meaning. If it haunts you or you can’t get it out of your head: it was probably a message. Dreams as messages are highly symbolic, and the nature of those symbols varies depending on your own personal context. Witches listen to their dreams and have been known to prepare for future events based off their dreams.
Knowledge is everywhere: In The Kingston Chronicles Iris tells Anastasia to read widely, both fiction and non-fiction, and even books that may not be viewed as favourably as others. Why? Because not only is it good to understand other points of views, or arguments on a subject, but because hidden gems of knowledge can be found anywhere. Kind of like how you can watch the same Disney movie several times over your life and get different jokes as an adult as you did when you were a kid. Every book can teach you something: even if it’s teaching you that, that writer’s message, isn’t for you.
Daily Practice: A lot of witches have a daily practice the way Esther has her morning ritual of coffee and tarot. Not all witches do, every path is unique, but daily or weekly practices are part of many witch’s lives. Sometimes this is to grow their intuition or skills. Other times its to feel connected to something bigger than themselves. For some its divination. For others it might be daily motivational mantras or charging their coffee to bring them a good day.
Family Tradition: Not all witches come from witching families. But every family has its own traditions whether its cultural, historical, or just something special to the family. Dionne’s Summer Party is half subtle ritual celebration of the sabbat and part family tradition shared with friends. Similarly as stories are passed down through families, in a witching family so too are books of lore. In the series Anastasia receives several such books from her family. In some covens and families passing down the Books of Shadows (or Grimoire) is a sacred rite of passage.
Chanting: Chanting and spellwork features often in The Kingston Chronicles. I chose for the Kingston’s to use Greek as their chosen vehicle of speech. Language changes for every witch depending on family heritage and traditions, choices, and locale. Latin is often used in fictional witchcraft as well as actual witchcraft, but as the background of the Kingston family is Greek I thought using the Greek language fitting.
I hope you found this interesting. If you have further questions about the witchcraft of The Kingston Chronicles hit me up on the comment bar below. I’ll happily natter on about it and answer your questions.
B. Forrester 