'A' in Granny Bonnets' Alphabet of Witches

Aurelia Ainsworthy

Have you been lucky enough to see Auriel? She is very shy and gentle: a protective witch. She roams in the quiet of forest and field with her rare and enchanting Golden Oriels.

Both she and her exotic feathered friends favour secluded Poplar groves where hidden together in the dapple of leaves, they can make uplifting magic undisturbed.

Auriel Ainsworthy

Rarely you may glimpse Aurelia walking waist-deep in meadow buttercups and sometimes she hovers wherever children hold the shining golden cups beneath each others' chins.

'Do you like butter?' they will ask.

If there is a golden reflection, the answer of course, is 'yes!'

*Buttercup appears to have some medical uses but results are uncertain and we are advised not to treat our ailments with them in case of blistering of the skin.

**According to the Druids. Poplars symbolized old age because some varieties have white hairs on or beneath the leaves which appear silver in the light. Though these trees stand at the edge of the afterlife, they are also associated with hope and the promise of revival.

Aurelia is the first witch available in Granny Bonnet's Alphabet of Witches Poster series. You can get one here!

'B' in Granny Bonnet's Alphabet of Witches.

Bertha Bracegirdle

As you can see, Bertha is a jolly and friendly woman, a witch whose presence cannot possibly go unnoticed! This is intentional on her part. She cannot hide who she is, (neither does she want to), so she positively radiates colourful self-assurance and charm.

Witchcraft, as practiced by Bertha and her daemon Ozzy, turns sorrow to joy, rejection to acceptance. Her choice of spell would most probably be wrapped in a funny anecdote or the telling of a joke.

Laughter, Bertha knows instinctively, makes it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also relieves loneliness as you connect with other people. Her advice is, 'be yourself and dance often, as happiness rebounds!'

Ozzy is Bertha's Daemon helper.

Bertha understands of course that a good sense of humour can't cure all ailments, but data is mounting about the positive things laughter can do. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. On the other hand, positive thinking can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.

So go on! Enjoy a good old belly-laugh to stimulate your heart, lungs and muscles, and increase endorphins released by your brain. When you finish giggling, your heart rate and blood pressure will subside and you will be left with a good, relaxed feeling. Call it witch-craft or common-sense. It's your choice entirely...

Alexanders

I bet you've never heard of Alexanders even if you do live in Norfolk! So it came as a great shock to the County when in 2002 it's favoured emblem of the blood-red field poppy was cheekily swapped by Plantsman magazine, and declared henceforth to be Alexanders!

Well, apparently horses like it! (Another name for it is Horse Parsley), and it prefers the coast... Apart from that it's pretty nondescript and indeed where I live in South Norfolk, not seen very frequently hereabouts.

It is an invasive herb plant principally of cliff-tops and hedgerows. Originally from the Mediterranean regions it doesn't much like the cold, so salty coastal regions with milder winters seem to suit it well.

It is a pretty unremarkable plant unless you were a medieval cook when you might have used it for culinary purposes. The 'pot herb of Alexandria' was brought here by the Romans and can often be found around the ruins of old priories.

All parts of the plant are edible and it is said to taste like a cross between celery and flat-leaved parsley both of which which it resembles with its yellowy-green tri-foliate leaves and umbels of cream flowers. It's seeds are black and peppery.

You can forage for Alexanders, treating tender stems like asparagus as well as roast roots like parsnips.

Flower-heads can be treated like broccoli or tossed and fried in a light batter while the seeds can be dried and used as a spice, a bit like black pepper.

Tender leaves can be picked at any time of year and used sparingly in salads or as greens.

Remember though to check you are not confusing the plant with similar but toxic varieties.

Plant and foraging expert Richard Mabey warns in his book Food for Free,

‘Indigestion brought on by uncertainty about whether you have done yourself in, can be just as uncomfortable as real food poisoning!’

Other Facts:

​In the past, Alexanders was used medically in treatments for asthma, menstrual problems and for healing wounds, though it is rarely used in medicine today.

Smyrnuim indicates the plants distinct myrrh-like aromatics. While Olusatrum comes from Olus meaning garden herb and Atrum from the Latin ater, atrum, adjective atro, meaning black or dark (in this case a reference to the mature black seeds).

The Black Seed Capsules of Alexanders

I am so glad that public opinion seems to have reinstated the beautiful red common poppy (Papaver rhoeas) as Norfolk's flower of choice. After all, poppies and *Poppyland are indelibly linked with our county.

*https://www.kittywitchdiaries.com/post/poppyland