Meet Lynn Woike
The first thing people tend to notice about me is my long purple hair. Friends say they notice my kindness, wisdom and generosity. Stick around long enough and you’ll find my sun is in Pisces, my moon in Scorpio and I have a perfect Grand Water Trine.
From the time I was little, have always been different, odd, not like everyone else – something I later came to appreciate.
I believe a witch is something I am, not something I do. I have a deep connection with and an appreciation for the multiverse and its abundance of gifts, and get positively giddy witnessing divine intervention.
For my working career, I was not the one in the spotlight. I was taking photos, writing stories, editing newspapers or managing organizations. While I have never been in the broom closet, I have not been a big user of social media, and I feel this website is my coming out party. Thank you for being here to witness and celebrate with me!
Do you have a magical name you’re willing to share?
I do not have a magical name. I don’t even have a nickname.
In what state do you reside?
New Hampshire. I moved here from Connecticut about three weeks ago.
How do you make your living?
I retired from journalism two months ago and am about to make what living I can as a witch wandering in a skoolie I have yet to drive.
Are you out of the closet? / Have you felt threatened.
I was never in the closet and never felt threatened.
When did you first know you were a witch? How long have you been practicing?
I first time I clapped the title “witch,” I was 50, but I had been doing witchy things all my life, from making fairy gardens and using color magic to reading tarot, and having a deep love and connection to our Mother.
How do you define your practice? Do you follow a specific tradition?
I am eclectic, borrowing from many traditions as I am guided.
What one object must be on your altar for it to be an altar?
A candle
Do you have a daily practice?
It’s changing a bit to adapt to a new living arrangement. Upon rising, I stand before my altar, skyclad, and offer up gratitude for a new day. With sage or incense burning, I face each of the seven directions and have a mostly one-sided conversation with the guardians and energies, typically honoring, giving thanks and requesting help. I then might light a candle with intention and pretty much always draw a tarot card (or two or three) for what gifts the day will bring.
How do you respond when someone asks, “Are you a good witch or a bad witch?”
I most often say, “I’m a very bad witch. I don’t always memorize my rituals, I can’t cackle very well and i don’t own enough black candles.”
Do you have a familiar?
No. I thought I did, and I named him Pyewacket after the cat in the ’50s movie Bell Book and Candle. He mostly just liked knocking items off altars.
What gifts, skills or powers do you share?
I read tarot cards. I am a reiki master. I write for the e-zine PaganPages, mentor those who ask and love giving people permission to do whatever it is that makes their soul sing.
What was your most magical experience?
Oh, I don’t know. Quickly, a few – the first time I met my higher self; writing my first public ritual and serving as high priestess; weekend retreats spent in sacred space with 20 sisters; oh, and the time I set up camp in the rain and walked to the festival fire. I had given up trying to stay dry and was barefoot. Standing on the wet dirt I felt a strong surge of energy coming from the earth. The wind blew the smoke in my direction and I was aware of the element of air. The chant, “The earth, the air, the fire, the water, return, return, return, return” started playing over and over in my head. I could feel the heat of the fire, and, of course, the rain. All the elements came together in that one spot at the same time without any intervention. I realized magic was all about how you look at something.
What is your favorite:
Sabbat: Mabon
Element: It recently changed from water to earth.
God: I work with the sun more than any specific god.
Goddess: the crones: Hecate, Kali, Grandmother Spiderwoman, Cerridwen
Animal or other totem: polar bear
Tool: an offering bowl
Book: “Witch Crafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic” by Phyllis Curott
Tarot deck or card: Daughters of the Moon, the black-and-white version
Gemstone: Amethyst, although I have a strong fondness for a large rainbow obsidian I’ve had for three winters.
Ritual garb: If not sky clad, then anything long and flowing.
Fictional witch: Endora
Music / performer: Jennifer Berezan and Kellianna
Spell or ritual: I am drawn to water, and one of my favorite rituals has been working with a dear witch friend and mentor. We both put out bowls to collect rains on full moons, dark moons and sabbats; snow falling on Yule and Imbolc; water from lakes where we’ve held rituals; water from thunderstorms and from other memorable occasions. Twice now we’ve put all our waters together to form a Mother Water. We then filled dozens and dozens of small jars and distributed them to people, asking them to pour it on the roots of a tree along with a blessing for the earth.
Piece of wisdom: Once when I was in a panic to collect up “all the right ingredients” for a spell, Rosemari Roast of Walk in the Woods in Winsted, Connecticut told me, “I have found magical blends to have more to do with one’s own personal relationship with the plants than with any recipe, formula or dogma. And what one has on hand at a time of need is there with reason, purpose and value.”