{"id":23077,"date":"2020-09-01T01:10:12","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T05:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=23077"},"modified":"2020-08-31T18:43:58","modified_gmt":"2020-08-31T22:43:58","slug":"witch-hunt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2020\/09\/01\/witch-hunt\/","title":{"rendered":"Witch Hunt"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There are witches all around us. You can find them anywhere\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Witch on Wheels<\/a> has been documenting her findings.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Meet Monica Cox<\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

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As a Sagittarius born in the Year of the Dragon, Monica Cox is very much a fiery witch whom I met at a Beltane festival.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDragons are just fun. I like the big, fat, \u2018Puff the Magic Dragon,\u2019 cute, fluffy ones. I have to be very careful to have a lot of water around me because I have a very fiery personality. And earth. Earth grounds me so well,\u201d she said of her 170-acre farm, her 45 animals and the mountains surrounding them all.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe witches are everywhere even though not everyone wears it out loud like I do. I\u2018m very staunch about my religious freedom. I don\u2019t push it on anyone, but if people ask, I\u2019m glad to answer questions. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Witch on Wheels (WOW): Do you have a magical name you\u2019re willing to share?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Monica Cox (MC): I do not have a magickal name. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>In what state do you reside?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: New Hampshire.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>How do you make your living?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: As a registered nurse working at the only Level 1 trauma center in the state.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>Are you out of the closet? \/ Have you felt threatened?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: Absolutely out of the closet. No, I\u2019ve never felt threatened. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>When did you first know you were a witch? How long have you been practicing?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: Since 2009. A co-worker lent me the book, \u201cThe Complete Idiot’s Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft.\u201d It was the first book I ever read. It was so me. I realized I\u2019d been practicing the Craft without knowing it. I don\u2019t know why I didn\u2019t know it sooner.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>How do you define your practice? Do you follow a specific tradition?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: I do not follow a specific tradition. I\u2019m a \u201cWhatever Works for Me\u201d kind of witch. I consider myself a gray witch while I don\u2019t practice outright black magic, I\u2019ve been known to use very strong protective spells that result in bad things happening to people who hurt me and those I love.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>What one object must be on your altar for it to be an altar?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: One of my cats.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>Do you have a daily practice?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: I wake up and I\u2019m grateful. At a class at a festival I remember being told that if you live a magical life, you don\u2019t have to do magic and that\u2019s what I try to do. It\u2019s all about doing things with intention. I am grateful for all the gifts from the goddess and find they keep coming. I do more formal magic when I have great need.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>How do you respond when someone asks, \u201cAre you a good witch or a bad witch?\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: Nobody\u2019s ever asked me that. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>Do you have a familiar?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: He passed away in 2011.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>What gifts, skills or powers do you share?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: I\u2019m especially good at taking care of animals. I listen to what they\u2019re telling me with their body language. Sometimes I also have a knowing about the medical conditions of others and their outcomes.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>What was your most magical experience?<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

MC: Banishing the coyotes from my livestock area. I didn\u2019t want to banish them off my property and onto someone else\u2019s, so I gave them all the mountain, putting a fire line around the areas I didn\u2019t want them to enter, about 10 acres, and then I smudged. It\u2019s worked. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Another magical experience was when I held off a storm until I was finished what needed to be done. When I was done I barely made it in the house before sheets of rain came along with thunder and lightning, but my chores were done, I was inside and dry.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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WOW: <\/span><\/span><\/strong>What is your favorite: <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n