Must Be the Season of the Witch

October's Libra Season + Depictions of the Young Witch

OF COURSE my favorite month of the year is when the leaves start to die and the veil starts to thin… it’s time for the ghoul grrrls to play!

My love of October is fancied thru films fantasizing the very subjects in which Halloween thrives: monsters, mystery and, above all, magic! Witches, of course, take the cake for my most adored adjacent archetype and representation runs as wide and deep as the centuries of forlorn folklore before it. Many beloved silver screen "witches" were "nasty" depictions regardless of their retro rebrand by Hollywood into mystical housewives (Bewitched or Bell, Book and Candle) or as sexy temptress B-movie babes (hilariously parodied in The Love Witch). I do love a femme fatale, too! Campy or not, she’s another trope based in a sacred archetype. More on her for another time - though Elvira: Mistress of the Dark as jester meets femme fatale will always get me in the Halloween spirit!

My ‘90s adolescent hey-day was blessed with film and TV reviving witchy themes and little imaginative femme me was THRILLED! Some characters continued to boil over with stereotypes (Hocus Pocus especially) yet many beloved remakes of ‘60s witches are iconic to this day (especially ‘90s Addams Family, continuing on thanks to Tim Burton’s latest revival with newest muse Jenny Ortega in Wednesday. I also admittingly enjoyed Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, too). “Witchy” ‘90s media differed from the decades before as the trend of Tween, Teen and 20-something Witches were suddenly EVERYWHERE as integral characters to the plot AND they were meant to be relatable instead of traditional and/or goofy.

The more serious tales exemplified the epic responsibilities in a battle between Good and Evil. Whether it was a psychic war or a vampire hoard or ones own colleagues as a “bad apple” opposition, tasks of justice were in the hands of young feminine characters, often creating much rumination and difficult decision-making as an arc. The Aries-Libra Axis at its finest IMHO is told thru the tale of a young person who suddenly comes upon a great quest (Aries) YET ALSO has to question their own set of ethics as they maneuver newfound powers and the responsibilities that come with ESPECIALLY as it relates to others (Libra).

Aries-Libra Axis storytelling commonly fables a youth who takes position as a warrior in coming-of-age crux, faced with difficult decisions re: the collective and mulling over choices to create the most “good” though often with some sacrifice.

The seduction of or resistance to the “dark side” when discovering new powers (and consequently becoming empowered due to them) is a tenacious balancing act in most of these tales.

The core issue can become internal: too much power becomes intoxicating and one tries to maintain their moral compass yet at times finds they need to bend the rules to attain the best outcome for all. Teen cult classics like The Craft fabled limits in power, control and codependency amongst cigarettes and black nail polish, glares and love spells (and it also had a 2020 reboot with a “men’s rights” in allyship disguise). Buffy’s Willow helped the Sunnydale heroine butt-kick vampires and monsters AND evil businessmen and gross incels yet also fell prey to some level of obsessive revenge after the death of her witch lover Tara.

Though the candy-colored sitcom of Sabrina the Teenage Witch was incredibly cartoon-ish, it too became a further revived incarnation in its sinister Satan vs. Lilith re-imagining, mixing high school with the occult and constantly negotiating with the self about the best choices in conflict. The Aunties in both versions of Sabrina acted as caretakers, guides and yet had their own set of dilemmas despite their ability to propose seemingly endless solutions to the teen queen. Many of these baby witch shows and movies, if not most sci-fi and fantasy pursuits, contain a Jungian Elder with a breadth of past experience to help gently nudge the impressionable protagonists in their murky moral dilemmas.

Wicca references were packaged with grungy glamour and feminist-friendly themes were in focus, of course marketable and glossy, but much of this media made a huge impression on baby witch me. Supernatural “chick flicks” of the ‘90s inevitably included the horrors of humanity and the sickness of society, too, often intertwined with a misogynistic monster. The most beloved witchy ‘90s media had a mixture of magick, grief, mutual respect and threat: The single-mother coven turned polycule of Witches of Eastwick; sisterly love of Practical Magic shielding from not just a maternal curse but the townie’s prejudice; post-parental Charmed submerged in secrets of generational sorcery with work-life balance looming in the background of constant chaos busting thru the walls of their home.

Many earlier screen representations and even book series about witches revealed societal perspectives on not just witches themselves but shrouded sides or socially discouraged aspects of women… and not always in the most flattering or helpful of ways. A 1956 TIME article claimed "witch types or ‘loathsome women’ can be found just about anywhere in modern life", implying the term "witch" itself was interchangeable with a “difficult” woman (i.e. women who advocated for themselves without sweetening or frills). The piece cliched that witches hate men and hate having sex with them (so sapphic sarcastics were DEFINITELY witches lol). Any woman lacking socially-expected feminine appeal and proper niceties could be slapped with the “witch” label. Actual connection to magical healing mattered not. However, one statement from this article rang true: 

"In the eyes of Jungian psychologists, to many of whom the whole world of demons, myth and fable is every bit as vivid as it is to poets and children, believe that certain kinds of myths are repeated over and over again in all eras and societies, thus furnishing clues to the universal unconscious, just as an individual's dreams may give clues to his individual unconscious."

TIME, 1956

In its crystalline form, the witch was simply a mirror of either fears or curiosities to the dark feminine.

Aptly stated in The Archetypal Imagination, “The witch symbolizes the repressed, marginalized and misunderstood facets of the psyche, often associated with the darker aspects of femininity and the mysteries of the unconscious.” Historically, the massive misinterpretation surrounding the witch archetype cast judgement on those seen as different or unconventional. The haunting echoes of witch hunts and persecutions serve as vivid reminders of how communal fears manifested in direly destructive demonization of individuals who simply embodied qualities linked to the witch. This stigma was a tactic used to control women from seeking their own autonomy, pursuing wisdom and/or defying the status quo, stifling personal expression and perpetuating a cycle of social injustices. Women who worked in grassroots herbalism or led small-town healthcare during the rise of institutional medicine were often the first to be vilified in the name of new industry.

As we look clearly at the misuse of funds overseas by the Democrats especially in light of the horrific hell that Hurricane Helen unleashed on the Southeast in September, we are put in an awful position going into the U.S. Election to decide if we still want to vote for a candidate who is facilitating genocide just to protect resources like affordable healthcare, abortion-rights, access to HRT, lower insulin costs, disability rights and so on that will inevitably be disregarded by Trump. This internal and external conflict around “the lesser of two evils” is NOT something the American people should be put in the position of and I personally feel much resentment for its reality. Grateful to see that some people are strategizing on how to GET OUT of the sick 2-party system over the next 4 years and secure public funding for the Green Party.

October 2024 WILL be tense for political reasons and then some.

This month is punctuated by astrology aiding in transformation, perfectly in alignment with the seasonal Autumnal shifts. If your will is moving forward and you are ready to take on a little difficulty to achieve change, October is your friend! Lifted by Cardinal Air on the last bit of the Aries-Libra Nodal Cycle, the 10/2 Libra New Moon and Solar Eclipse has seemingly exhausted quite a few of us while anxiety is further exacerbated by local, national and world events (check our Concoctionary IG for different raffles and donation sites! We are very active on that page sharing information and resources in IG Stories). A mixture of rest and readiness is a good aim to balance out in this first week of October.

Regarding the next couple of weeks: a big “benefic” planet will soon station Retrograde while a powerful outlier will go Direct, both likely affecting politics (especially in the U.S. before the presidential election, EEK!). On a more personal note, we’ll experience an abundance of spicy aspects BEFORE shadowy but sensual Scorpio Season in direct relation to the current Scorpio Venus. There’s also spooky astronomical anomalies in October: the capture of an asteroid near Earth created a “mini moon”, an incredibly bright comet that can be seen in the daytime and a stellar explosion ala guest star is being awaited by gazers around the world. The skies are active with show-stopping spectacles!

We will be treating to a large supply of sage sorceress-kissed advice regarding some of the most important movements of this month, available to our beloved paid Substack subscribers below. BUT FIRST, SOME CINNAMON-BROOM SWOON HOUSEKEEPING! October is The Femme Moon’s busiest time… tis the season! It’s ATL Art week right now and ATL hosts Queer Pride in October (for some odd reason not in June), an extra reason to go all out (October is just Pride Month for Goths anyway lol). Would love to suggest the Sober Pride Guide from Sober S3x Series! As an alcohol-sober goblin, I’ll inevitably be speaking on Sober October to the sober-curious or those who just need a break from booze. Super shout-out to my colleagues at Curious Elixirs for creating adaptogenic NA options beyond just soda + juice who are product sponsoring SYMPOSIUM!

The Femme Moon will be hosting 2 FREE EVENTS for October 2024:

• Friday 10/18 Full Moon Market at Halfway Crooks (in the Biergarten)

• Thursday 10/24 SYMPOSIUM Poetry + Party at Argosy EAV (in the Brig)

October Libra Season Astrology:

• 10/4 Venus in Scorpio trined Saturn Rx in Pisces, a FABULOUS start to the first weekend of October, helping us tap into Scorpio’s savvy and allowing us to assess what kind of cozy companion(s) or chosen family crew we hope for “cuffing season”. This also may have sprung building-block brainstorms for the business babes. Whether social, romantic or career-wise, we’re in good company to dream big but are tamed by Libra Season to see realistic limitations, still able to positively work within a possible pleasant Autumn/Winter plan.