Vaulted Hag Status
With all my heart and soul, I want to prance into your inbox this morning with a fresh, inspiring, and incredibly uplifting story to carry you through your day. Unfortunately, I’m in the frame of mind where I’m starting to see where the idea of the “hag” developed in centuries past.
Older women (even if they’re only a little gray like me…) generally have accumulated a vast and varied amount of experiences. We have earned a deeper understanding of the workings of the world and its many people. These spectrum experiences lead to both greater wisdom as well as a deeper skepticism.
These are the days
Yes, life can be spectacular sometimes, but most of our days are mired in what we like to call “adulting.” Cleaning and paying bills and fixing broken things in your house and doing laundry and calling customer service and cooking and deciding what is for dinner (every stinkin’ night!) and teaching your children how to survive without becoming lazy or dirty or stinky or stupid. The cycle repeats. And repeats. And repeats.
And repeats.
Plus we have to manage daily human interactions. Most people seem nice—though I wonder if it’s because we just don’t know them well enough. (Notice that skepticism worming in?) But oftentimes, even with those we love the most, we have to manage conflict. We negotiate. We work it out. Then we wake up the next morning and do it again.
Anyone else fantasize about hiding in a cozy nook all day accompanied ONLY by your knitting and a good audiobook?!
Now throw in a plight or a disagreeable person who requires your response, and all that knowledge of standard human nature plus the exhaustion from having to do All The Things and be All The Things builds up. We wise old women may not be the kindest and gentlest when such unpleasant situations arise. We might crack. We might even tell people exactly what we think. (Gasp!)
In centuries past, a woman’s knowledge in what we now call logic and medicine combined with such salty reactions seemed to inspire retaliation. The insulted parties (often men and young women) responded with anything from mean names like Witch or Hag, to burning these saucy women at the stake. Fortunately, those reactions have mellowed over the many years!
(Should I point out that Gen X is reaching the standard age for Hagness? And we all know that Gen X is conditioned not to give a flying flip…. Gen Zers, please put those lighters down.)
As we enter this final stretch toward Halloween, the prime season for celebrating Witches, Hags, and all the lovely Monsters in our world, let’s take a moment to appreciate and uplift the Hags in our lives—those amazing women who have “been there, done that” and can offer all kinds of advice with a side of salty sauce. Maybe it’s you and me, or maybe you’re thinking of someone else you know. We Hags have lived, learned, and left politeness at the door (but only when the situation warrants!).
Fun Fact: if you’re looking for a quick Halloweenish history lesson on Witches and Hags, I recently watched (and enjoyed!) a Crash Course World Mythology #39 episode on YouTube titled “Witches and Hags.”
Want to celebrate that amazing Hag in your life? How about knitting them a witch-inspired cowl or pair of socks? 😆🥰
Remember that my four witch-inspired knitting patterns are still on sale through November 1, 2024, 11:59pm EST.
No code needed on Etsy. Use code ALLSOULS25 on Ravelry.
Clockwise from top left: Whomping Willow Warmer, It Begins With Socks, Falliday Cowl, and Dumbledore’s Army Socks
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