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The Women of Multitudes
They were magic before the word was on our lips.
Have you ever looked into a forest in the morning? The way the sun peeks through the branches lends itself to the idea that even in the darkest part of the forest we’ll still have the saving grace of light.
Sometimes you can even imagine the trees were once living and breathing creatures, perhaps nymphs that had been chased across the barren land until someone took pity on them and transformed them into structures that would stand the tests of time. Wind and rain and fire could all rain down, but still those trees would manage to bear the weight of it all.
But witches also thrive in the deep spaces of a forest gone awry. The fairy tales warn of them — and their vicious delights — but rarely do we heed the warnings. If a strange woman offers us food and shelter after a long wandering through the trials of the woods, then who are we to doubt her intentions?
Even before nymphs and witches, there were women who were the spiritual leaders of their people. Our history books don’t speak of them, but they existed in the blank spaces where men failed to write their stories.
Women — they don’t get enough credit. They may be our mothers, sisters, and daughters, but the sacred doesn’t last in a modern world. We’re still told to look…