(Story continued from Witchtape #130)
It was late August and still the unprecedented drought (which started back in June) showed no signs of ending.  In the witch’s forest several wells had dried up and some trees were even shedding their brown leaves.  Many herbs, animals and insects had died because of a lack of water.  It was a very tough summer for the forest dwellers.  But on that day Hekske (the little witch), Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) and Lalita (the Asian tree nymph) decided it was time for action and started the preparations for a rain dance.  But just as they were about to shuck off their clothes and start dancing, Bob The Owl landed on Hekske’s hand.  He had an urgent message to convey, as a visitor had just entered the forest.  And he was not human, which is why the guard animals didn’t chase him away (like they always do with human intruders).  Hekske told Bob to show their guest the way.  And 15 minutes later, the girls welcomed their guest.  He was obviously a wizard, as he was wearing a long black cloak.  He looked very young, just a teenager.  His shiny skin was soft and pale, in contrast with his black hair and mesmerizing black eyes.  He was obviously very shy, as it was the first time he ever saw a witch or nymph.  Lalita immediately prepared oriental herbal tea to welcome their guest.  A little later, they all sat down in a circle on the soft moss and introduced themselves while sipping tea.  The boy appeared to be only 13 years of age and he came from the area of Mount Damavand on the southern side of the Caspian sea.  He introduced himself as Esfandiar (اسفنديار,) - a Persian name which means ‘pure creation’.  The little witch got very curious as she had never met a witch or wizard from that part of the globe.  Then she asked whether he knew a magic spell to make rain.
At first the young wizard was clueless, but then he suddenly remembered the small flacon which an old Persian leopard had given him back in the Caspian Hyrcanian forest.  He took the small bottle in his hand and sensed the energy.  Esfandiar felt that this mysterious liquid could bring a solution, but the leopard hadn’t explained how to use it.
Then the young wizard took his magic wand.  It was made from a special kind of wood from the Caspian Hyrcanian forest and looked very unusual.  It also felt very unusual.  Falke was surprised how soft the wood was, while in complete contrast Hekske found it unusually hard, despite touching exactly the same area of the stick.  So this fascinating wand was soft and hard at the same time.  The girls had never felt such a thing.  Then Esfandiar’s attention turned back to the little flacon.  He sensed that it was time to open it.  All she girls could smell the powerful fragrance … a delicate mix of zaaferon (saffron), golpar (persian hogweed) and zardchoobeh (turmeric).  Then the young wizard let one drop fall on the ground.  It immediately produced a small white cloud.  Then Esfandiar got an idea. He poured the remaining liquid on his magic wand, which he pointed towards the sky.  For a few seconds nothing happened but then all of a sudden the wand took off and flew straight into the sky with a loud hissing sound, like a rocket.  Finally it exploded into a large white cloud high in the sky.  Within seconds, there was the rumbling sound of thunder while the cloud grew bigger and darker…

Connect with the artists :
zhart : https://soundcloud.com/zhart
Rakäthe : https://soundcloud.com/thisisrakaethe

Photo credits : Ian Dyball

Witchtape #132 | Wizz & Witch : zharte Rakäthe

On a dark and windy day in January, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) touched down near the edge of a forest, high on the white chalk cliffs of the island Møn, where they met 6 boys. This was quite unusual as witches basically never mingle with humans. The boys appeared to be 6 brothers, with ages ranging from 10 (Falke’s age) to 19 (Hekske’s age). They entered the forest where a narrow path led them to a wooden cabin in a hidden glade, where an old man was living. He introduced himself as Thorbjørn and explained he was about to light his annual winter bonfire. They all sat down in a circle around the crackling fire and felt the pleasant heat. Thorbjørn sang a mysterious old Norse song. Then he revealed his big secret. This was the very first time he told anyone that he was actually a berserker, who had stayed in hibernation mode for over 1000 years. After the Battle of Brunanburh (where he fought for king Æthelstan) he threw his double-sided axe into the North Sea while returning home from Albion, and settled down on the island of Møn to live a peaceful life in the middle of this forest. He became a vegan and never even killed a mosquito. He never ever told anyone about his dark past as a berserker until tonight, the endless winter night. Then Thorbjørn slowly stood up and went to his wooden cabin. A few minutes later, he came out of his hut, only wearing a loincloth and a fur pelt of a large animal as a cape. Hekske’s heart skipped a beat when she realized it was a bear’s skin. It was a fearsome sight. Thorbjørn explained this was his uniform which he wore on the battlefield. Before each battle, the berserkers always danced all night around a bonfire until they reached the ecstatic ‘bersærkergang’, the berserker’s rage during which they lost the fear of death and were ready to take on a complete army. Thorbjørn told it was a very bad kind of energy.
At that moment Falke had a vision. She actually saw the beauty of this raw energy, or at least a somewhat less powerful version of this energy. The 6 boys were very eager to don the bear’s skin and perform the berserker’s dance. Falke pointed at Tore, the oldest of the 6 brothers. He disappeared for a while in the log cabin, and came back only wearing a loincloth and having very cold in the chilling wind. Thorbjørn took off his bear skin and gave it to Tore, who donned it over his head. All of a sudden, Tore didn’t feel the cold anymore. Now he was ready to dance his way to the ‘bersærkergang’. Guided by Falke, he started dancing, but the energy didn’t feel right. Suddenly Falke turned to Thorbjørn and asked him whether he was hiding a weapon inside his cabin. The face of the berserker immediately turned pale and he hesitantly admitted that he had indeed hidden a sword. He went into the cabin and returned with a long glimmering sword. It was a real Ulfberht sword, made from the hardest steel on the world, which could back then only be found in Persia. It was a truly impressive piece of blacksmithing, but it was just unacceptable to keep a weapon on the peaceful island of Møn. Falke took the sword, looked at it for a brief moment, and planted it into the ground. Then something amazing happened. It was as if the earth sucked up the weapon, until it completely disappeared under the ground. Falke knew it would sink deeper and deeper over the next 100 years, all the way to the centre of the earth where it would eventually melt and fuse with the core of mother earth. Suddenly the forest felt very serene and peaceful. Now the 6 boys were ready for the berserker’s ritual… 

Connect with the wizard :
https://soundcloud.com/dare-2-b-different

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #141 | Guest Wizz : Electronica Massiva

After a rainy morning in late March, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) went for their daily inspection round of the damp witch’s forest. Along the way, they met with a group of squirrels, a group of starlings and a group of snails, after which they had a chat with Barney the barn owl. He remembered that centuries ago, there used to be special names for all specific groups of animals, but now all these names have been forgotten. Then Falke asked whether he was really sure that all these names had been lost for good. Barney gave it a deep thought, and then he said that ‘mayybee … maybe there is a chance that the owls of Snowdonia have preserved these ancient names’. And Barney proposed to fly to that place, which left the witches elated. Hekske uttered a size reduction spell and both (now pocket-sized) girls jumped on the back of Barney, who flew away in Western direction. After a long flight over the North Sea on the wings of the owl, a pod of porpoises showed them the way to the island of Albion. And on top of the white cliffs on the coast, the visitors were immediately spotted by a watch of nightingales, who showed them the way to Snowdonia. On the edge of the forest, a murmuration of starlings took over and guided their guests to the hollow willow tree. Barney, Hekske and Falke entered the tree through a small hole, but after entering they found themselves in the middle of a vast chamber which was full with owls. This was obviously the parliament of owls and its eldest member (a venerable eagle-owl) welcomed their visitors, and enquired what was the purpose of their quest. Hekske explained that they were seeking the names of all specific groups of animals. Upon hearing this request, the eyes of the eagle-owl lit up and he started to smile. He showed his visitors the way to a secret library, where they found a very old and dusty book. The eagle-owl explained that this was the original book of St-Albans, written in the 15th century and one of the oldest printed books of Albion (and the oldest English book written by a woman). Hekske and Falke cautiously opened the age-old book and browsed to the chapter about ‘The Companies of Beasties and Fowlies’. And there they found the list of all groups of animals … a gaggle of geese, a bike of bees, an unkindness of ravens, a murder of crows, a conspiracy of rooks, a skulk of foxes, a business of ferrets …
This book was a real treasure which left the witches breathless. The rest of the day, Hekske, Falke and Barney memorized over 100 different group names, after which they said goodbye to the parliament of owls and flew back to their home forest in Flanders. And after a long flight they got a warm welcome by a group of coots … and now they could reveal that they were actually a ‘covert’ of coots …


Connect with artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/eve1-lyn

Mastered by Isaque Solaris
https://soundcloud.com/isaque-solaris

Photo credits : Chase D’animulls

And if you want to find out more about the book of St-Albans :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5rcbUqiZKI&t=616s

Witchtape #145 | Guest Witch : Eve Lyn

(Story continued from Witchtape #147)

Paul – the psychic octopus - had been expecting the witches for days. He stretched out his 8 arms and gave a welcome hug to Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice). For the girls this was a very special feeling, as the skin of an octopus feels like nothing else on this planet … soft and firm at the same time, even very firm as they felt his suckers all over their bodies. The arms of the octopus were completely wrapped around Hekske and Falke, who surrendered to the serene and gentle energy of this beautiful sea dweller. Paul took the witches for a graceful slow dance through the aquamarine water. The girls lost all sense of space and time, and felt deeply connected … not only with this octopus, but also with the whole Baltic Sea. After what felt like an eternity, the water got shallower and they saw the sea floor underneath them. The girls noticed that Paul was following a single thread which was lying on the sea floor, and which was glowing in a soft blueish green color. Finally the water got so shallow that Hekske and Falke were able to stand on their feet. Paul the Octopus loosened his tender embrace, which took almost one hour as he detached each of his 1600 suckers one by one. After getting completely untangled, the witches gave a tender kiss to the psychic octopus, after which they waded to the shore. After arriving on the beach, Hekske and Falke looked back and saw Paul waving goodbye with 3 of his 8 arms.
The witches didn’t know where to go, but then Falke spotted the same mysterious luminous thread which they had already seen on the sea floor. They decided to follow it, and they climbed the high mountain ridge which rose out of the fjord. The higher they climbed, the thicker the thread became and now they also saw a pulse going through the thread. After a while, Hekske realized that this looked the root of a tree. Could this be one of the roots of Yggdrasill, the tree of life? 
After an epic climb of several hours, their hearts skipped a beat from excitement. They had found Yggdrasill, the tree which is located at the centre of the universe. At the foot of tree, there were 3 women standing, with pale blue dresses and raven black hair which was very long. They started the chuckle when they saw all the little circles on the skin of Hekske and Falke. They knew immediately that the witches had been brought by Paul the Octopus. After a long welcome hug, the women explained they were the 3 norns : Urðr, Verðandi and Skuld. Hekske just couldn’t believe it … she had read about the 3 norns in the ‘Edda’, the epic old Norse chronicle written by Snorri Sturluson some 8 centuries ago, but she had always thought that the norns were mythical creatures which did not really exist. But exist they did, and they were even way friendlier and cooler than she could ever imagine. The norns even gave a long pale blue dress to Hekske and Falke, which were exactly the same as the ones they were wearing. Soon afterwards, the norns started to walk higher up the mountain. They explained they were walking to Hvergelmir, the holy well. Actually, they go every day to the well to bring back holy water and mud for Yggdrasill. This is a very important task as otherwise, the tree of life would start to rot, which could trigger the end of the world. After a really long walk through the mist, they finally reached Hvergelmir. And what they saw there left Hekske and Falke dumbfounded … they were looking straight into a pair of glowing eyes … the dragon Níðhöggr …

(to be continued)

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/eloiss

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #148 | Guest Witch : Eloïß

It was late May in the witch’s forest, and finally the first real summer day of the year had arrived.  Hekske (the little witch), Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) and Lalita (the tree nymph) were just getting dressed after their daily bath in the nymph’s pond, when Bob The Owl suddenly landed on Hekske’s hand.  He had an urgent message to convey, as a visitor had just entered the forest.  Hekske instructed Bob to show their guest the way. The witches were very excited, as they only receive 1 visitor per year on average.
One hour later, their guest finally arrived. He turned out to be a middle-aged man with a weathered brown face, who was wearing long earth-colored clothes with several mysterious ornaments. The girls had never seen a person like this. He introduced himself as a Lakota shaman named Mahkah. After offering him a welcome drink and some forest berries, the witches got very intrigued and asked him a lot of questions. He was a great storyteller and the girls hung on his lips while he told tale after tale of the great culture and history of the Lakota people, as well as the majestic landscapes of the great plains. He also told some fearsome tales about the Wakinkyan, the thunder beings from the west. He was telling stories until midnight, while the witches huddled together around a bonfire and listened.
The Shaman was a very charming and pleasant person, with great sense of humor, making the girls erupt in giggles many times. Yet, despite being irresistibly funny he was also incredibly wise and at times he even managed to unsettle the girls with his sharp questions.
Lalita told the tale of her epic 7000 miles walk from South-East Asia to this forest in Flanders to fulfil her lifelong mission to protect the little oak tree (which is destined to become the future mother tree of the forest and from which she never strays more than 150 yards away). She proudly showed the tiny tree to their visitor, explaining that – despite being only 3 feet tall – it will grow into a majestic winter oak and live for 1000 years. She also told him that the little tree was growing very slowly because it was standing in the shadow of the giant beech tree, which took all the sunlight away. The shaman casually asked whether they were really sure that this tree was so extraordinary, as all trees are alike and all contain the same divine energy.

The next morning, the girls noticed that the mysterious shaman had left without saying goodbye. They were somewhat disappointed by his sudden departure, but soon they had other things to worry about as a  menacing thundershower was approaching from the west. Normally the girls always take shelter under the giant beech tree during a thunder shower, but this time they were in a different mood. As soon as it started to rain, they shucked off their clothes and started to dance in the pouring rain. They whirled around the forest, and even Lalita left her self-imposed 150 yards perimeter and left the little oak tree unattended. Their dance became more and more energetic while the torrential rain intensified and the thunder came frighteningly close. There was one particular bolt of lightning which was incredibly fierce, and was followed by a deafening thunder which was so powerful that it made the earth tremble. 
After the thunderstorm, everything became quiet again and the girls took some time to hug some trees of the forest. And for the very first time they felt the divine energy of the little future mother tree in each and every tree they hugged. However, after returning to the tiny oak tree, they were shocked to see that the giant beech tree split into 2 after being hit by lightning, and each half had crashed to the ground. After the initial panic, the girls were relieved to see that the tiny oak tree was unharmed … and standing in the sun for the very first time. Finally, the little tree had some space to grow …

https://soundcloud.com/heyoka_berlin

Photo credits : Ironika

Witchtape #149 | Guest Wizz : Heyoka

Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) were swimming in the Northern Atlantic Ocean in the company of a pod of blue whales which had merged peacefully with a pod of their friends the orcas. The girls lost all sense of space and time while they rode effortlessly on the back of these friendly giants, who sang a long series of spellbinding songs, which were being answered by other whales from hundreds of miles in the distance. 
Finally they saw land ahead of them. As they came closer, Hekske recognized the distinct ‘wizard’s hat’ shape of the mystic Kirkjufell mountain. This meant that they were approaching Iceland. Hekske and Falke gave a gentle farewell hug to the blue whales and the orcas, and swam to the shore. On the beach they were being welcomed by 3 Eldnorns (Icelandic fire witches) with their distinct white dresses with orange flames. After a lengthy welcome hug, the fire witches handed over 2 Eldnorn dresses to the European witches in a short but powerful ceremony, while singing an age-old Icelandic song. Hekske already knew the magic powers of this white & orange dress, but for Falke it was the very first visit to Iceland. During the first 3 minutes, the other witches could see all kinds of emotions on Falke’s face, as she sensed all the typically Icelandic energies which have been embroidered in this dress … the fire of the volcanoes, the hot water of the geysers, the ice-cold water of the waterfalls, and the slow but powerful mountain-flattening movements of the endless glaciers. Falke was so amazed by all these strong powers that she couldn’t keep her mouth shut while her eyes were breathing fire … a peaceful but all-consuming fire.
The Eldnorn witches explained to their disoriented guests that this was the day of the summer solstice, which is the most special day of the year in Iceland, full with mystic ceremonies and ecstatic dances. But first, they needed to climb the mighty Kirkjufell mountain, which they all did barefoot. After an epic climb, they reached the summit, which gave a breathtaking view over the volcanic Icelandic landscape and the endless expanses of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The eldest Eldnorn witch pointed at the sun and explained that it was now at its lowest point on the northern sky. It was the very first time Hekske and Falke saw the midnight sun, and it was a really soul-shaking experience… the sun in the north, which should be impossible. 
Just at that moment an even more impossible event happened, as they saw some huge pink and dark red flames high in the sky. It was like a magic firework display. The eldest Eldnorn witch explained that this is the mysterious Northern light, and it’s extremely rare that this happens on the midsummer night itself. All the witches – Eldnorn and European alike – just couldn’t believe their eyes and kept on gazing at this mesmerizing light show in the sky. This was certainly the most unforgettable night they had ever experienced, and they knew they would talk about this spellbinding night on witch covens for generations to come … 

Connect with the artist
https://soundcloud.com/ykkka

Photo credits (track) : Mikhail Shcheglov
Photo credits (playlist) : https://soundcloud.com/kabolt88

Witchtape #150 | Guest Wizz : ykkka

It was mid-July in the witch’s forest, and after a few hot and dry summers, this year’s summer was absolutely perfect, with just enough rain to make the forest lush and green and just warm enough to keep things pleasant. Hekske (the little witch), Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) and Lalita (the tree nymph) were just getting dressed after their daily bath in the nymph’s pond, when Bob The Owl suddenly landed on Hekske’s hand.  He had an urgent message to convey, as a visitor had just entered the forest.  Hekske instructed Bob to show their guest the way. The witches were very excited, as they only receive 1 visitor per year on average (and this was already the second visitor of the year).
One hour later, their guest finally arrived. He turned out to be an old wizard with round spectacles and long white hair. The wizard courteously lifted his high hat to greet the 3 women, incidentally showing his shiny bald head as well.
He introduced himself as Helge, the magic mathematician from the North. Hekske’s heart skipped a beat when she heard that name, because Ishola the wizard had already told many tales about this legendary professor from the venerable School of Magic.
Helge took a deep breath and smiled … he had rarely felt such a strong magic energy in a forest. The witches showed him around the woods, and he was especially interested in the badger’s sett, which they all visited (with the help of a size reduction spell). This elaborate tunnel complex consists of 8 concentric circles. After visiting the last chamber, Helge got very excited and said ‘do you realize that this sett has exactly 61 underground chambers?’. The badgers were as amazed as the witches. The professor explained that 61 is a very powerful number, and denotes a strong connection with the divine. This was particularly true, as the badger’s sett forms 8 concentric circles around the tiny oak tree which is destined to become the future mother tree of the forest ecosystem. It basically is the beating heart of the forest.
And after completing the tour of the forest, Helge was brim-full of joy when he realized that there were exactly 151 alder trees and 555 oak trees.
He explained that 151 is a  palindromic prime, a centered decagonal number, and a lucky number. 151 appears in the Padovan sequence, preceded by the terms 65, 86, 114; it is the sum of the first two of these. 151 is a unique prime in base 2, since it is the only prime with period 15 in base 2. 
And 555 is the most magic number of them all. Helge also notes that 3 women are living in this forest, which is magic. But 3 times the number 5 is infinitely more powerful. 
Hekske, Falke and Lalita were a bit overwhelmed and didn’t understand exactly what this all meant, but they made sure not to forget any of these magic numbers. And their home forest had never looked more mesmerizing than that pleasant summer day …

Connect with the wizard : 
https://soundcloud.com/christianseance

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #151 | Guest Wizz : Christian Séance

There once was a little witch who was standing under a very tall tree. With her sweet voice she was singing a song for her friend the sloth, who was hanging on a branch near the top of the tree. They had become friends a few years earlier, when she saved his life (witches are the protectors of all animals of the forest, and this starts from a tender age). The little girl had a burning desire to talk to her friend, but that was never possible because the tree was too tall to climb. So this ritual went on for years, day after day.
Meanwhile the young witch was growing taller and stronger and one day she found the courage to start climbing the tree. To her great surprise that went very well and a few minutes later she was already halfway. Then she looked down. Immediately a fear gripped her and her body froze. Her heartbeat was racing and she was too afraid to go up or down. She was completely stuck. Then she looked at her friend the sloth. He smiled and whispered calmly ‘You can do it, girl’.
Instantly, the witch felt the tension disappear from her body. She climbed with the agility of a squirrel all the way to her friend, who gave her a big hug when they were finally reunited. For the rest of the day they stayed together on a branch high up in the canopy of the tree, talking to each other and at other moments just enjoying each other’s company in silence. She had boundless admiration for his endless patience, and he had a deep appreciation for her youthful energy and unconditional love for the forest.
All of a sudden, the branch broke off without warning. Both were plunging down to a certain death. All the little witch could do was scream and clutch the branch with both hands while it fell down. And then something miraculous happened. 
The branch started to float in the air, the sloth still hanging on it and the witch still sitting on it while clutching it firmly with both her hands. The little girl still couldn’t figure out what was happening. Witches actually never learn to fly on a broom. They just know it by instinct, once if they have come of age. The sloth whispered ‘This branch is now your broom. It has chosen you. And from now on, you’re a real witch’…
The witch brought the sloth back to his perch high up in the tree and from that day she would simply fly on her broom to visit her friend every day…

Connect with the wizards : 
https://soundcloud.com/friendsofhannes

Story written by Hekske in August 2017 - the very first fairy tale she has ever written (for Witchtape #6).

Photo credits : Fabiano's_Photo 
https://www.shutterstock.com/nl/g/aleph82

Witchtape #152 | Guest Wizards : Friends of Hannes

Witchtape #153 | Guest Witch : Vyone

It was a pleasant sunny day in mid-August. Hekske (the little witch) was participating in a witch coven in the Eifel mountains and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) had stayed behind in the forest to look after the animals, together with Lalita the tree nymph. After taking her daily bath in the nymph’s pond, Falke suddenly had a strange feeling. It was as if someone summoned her to the nearby Brakelbos forest for some kind of emergency. Although Falke was not supposed to leave the witch’s forest during Hekske’s absence, she finally decided to fly away in the company of her best friend, Bob The Owl. After a short flight, Falke landed in a clearing in the middle of the giant beech trees. Within seconds, she had found out what was the emergency. She saw an ailing young deer lying down, who was too weak to stand upright. It quickly dawned to her that this poor deer had been hit by a car, and his condition looked very serious … even completely hopeless as Falke sensed that all life was slowly leaving the body of this poor deer. The only thing she could do was hug the beautiful animal and sing a sweet witch’s lullaby. At a certain moment Falke laid her hands on the soft fur of the animal. Then something strange happened. Falke felt her hands glow … it was a pulsating glow at the pace of her own heartbeat. She even saw her hands emit a pinkish glow. After a few minutes, also the deer started to emit a very faint glow. He opened his eyes again and raised his head. The open wound had miraculously healed, and also his cracked ribs had started to mend. Falke now felt her whole body glow, and all the healing energy flowed into the body of the deer. Only 15 minutes later, he was already able to stand on his hoofs. That was the sign that he had received enough healing energy. He thanked Falke with a long furry hug, before striding away with a slight limp … and disappear into the thickets. Meanwhile, Falke felt completely drained and looked at her hands. She still couldn’t grasp what had happened. But it slowly dawned on her that – despite her tender age – she was no ordinary witch …

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/vyone111

Photo credits : Inga Locmele

Witchtape #153 | Guest Witch : Vyone

Witchtape #154 | Guest Wizz : Lello Fusco

(Continued from Witchtape #153)

After healing the wounded deer, Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice), accompanied by her trusted friend Bob The Owl, flew back to the Brakelbos forest every day to check the recovery of the young deer. On the first day, the deer could only walk with great difficulties but the next days his condition improved day after day. And every day, Falke gave him a long warm hug which had a miraculous effect on the injured deer. Ten days later, his condition had improved to such extent that he felt strong enough to return to the Livierenbos, his home forest. 
Falke found it too risky to try this alone, so she stayed until dusk, after which the deer and the girl emerged from the edge of the forest. They moved swiftly without making any sound, crossing a meadow with beautiful (and curious) brown cows until they arrived at the edge of the road. It was this road where the deer got hit by a car 2 weeks earlier, so he was very anxious to cross it again. Falke reassured him and waited until she didn’t hear a single car in the distance. Then they swiftly crossed the road and slipped into a corn field, which led to the edge of the Livierenbos. This forest was like a hidden treasure, full of majestic beech trees on a low hill, which made it look like an amphitheatre. It had gotten really dark by now, but they sensed the presence of another deer nearby. The young deer recognized the other deer immediately… this was mom, who was overjoyed when she saw that her lost son had returned. And she also gave a warm hug to thank Falke, who was invited to spend the night in the middle of the herd. The next  morning, Falke gave a goodbye hug to all the deer, and flew back to the witch’s forest where she told the whole story to Hekske (the little witch), Lalita (the tree nymph) and all the animals of the forest …

Connect with the wizard : 
https://soundcloud.com/lellofuscodj

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #154 | Guest Wizz : Lello Fusco

After witnessing yet another breathtaking sunset from the edge of the forest, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) returned to the heart of the forest where they gave a goodnight hug to Lalita, the tree nymph before passing by the mysterious dragon’s egg which they had found 6 months earlier. It was a very pleasant evening and this year’s Indian Summer was easily the finest they had ever experienced. The witches found the dragon’s egg near their sleeping den, at the safest place of the forest. Like every evening, they caressed and kissed the egg a few times, which always thanked them by emitting a faint pinkish glow in return. As always, the dragon’s egg reacted the strongest to Falke’s gentle touch. After the last goodnight kiss, the girls snuggled under their new moss blanket (a special new winter blanket made by a family of dunnocks) before falling asleep in each other’s arms. It was a glorious night just a few days after the autumn equinox, and the near-full moon was shining brightly. The witches were so fast asleep that they didn’t hear the egg shell cracking several times before finally breaking open. The baby dragon followed her instinct and soon found the way to the witch’s den, where she slipped under the moss blanket, and soon felt Falke’s soft skin. The baby dragon felt completely reassured and cuddled up next to the young witch. Falke didn’t notice any of this, but she started to have the most wonderful and vivid dreams she ever had … dreaming of a dragon flying under a rainbow and over a crystal-clear waterfall, in the middle of the pristine beauty of the Scandinavian mountains. And the dream seemed to last for hours and hours, bringing a smile on Falke’s face who subconsciously put her arms around the baby dragon in a tender yet protective way.
She woke up slowly a few minutes before sunrise, and at first Falke didn’t realize she was holding the baby dragon in her arms. Never before had she woken up in such a blissful and joyful mood. But then, just when the first ray of sunlight kissed her pale skin, it dawned to her. That was the start of the most wonderful day of her young life …

Connect with the wizard : 
https://soundcloud.com/medi-zijn

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #155 | Guest Wizz : zijn

Witchtape #156 | Guest Wizz : Adeil Airaki

Connect with the wizard : https://soundcloud.com/adeil_airaki

Tracklist : 

1_ Adeil Airaki - Dark Sun [UNRELEASED]
2_Gorje_Hewek,_Amonita,_Makebo_-_Never_Been_(Original_Mix)
3_Baget_-_Neyney_(Original_Mix)
4_Soble & Bijana Pais - Day Dreamer [Amselcom]
5_Trippin_Jaguar,_Raffaello_Visconti_-_Duat_(Original_Mix)
6_Dear_Humans_-_Harvest_Moon_(HAFT_Remix)
7_MI.LA_-_Sun_(Original_Mix)
8_Jai_Cuzco_-_Camino_(Original_Mix)
9_Laaar_-_No_Place_to_Hide_(Original_Mix)
10_Sahalé_-_Djiin_(Original_Mix)
11_Adeil Airaki - Broken [UNRELEASED]
12_Leveldva - Antaares - Ay Amor
13_Beyhude_-_Uroboros_(Original_Mix)
14_Adeil Airaki - Wait What? [UNRELEASED]
15_Booka_Shade_-_Love_Inc_(Original)
16_Mente_Organica_-_El_Invierno_(Original_Mix)
17_OneRec_-_Parallel_World_(Original_Mix)
18_Evren_Furtuna_-_All_Shades_of_Blue_(Original_Mix)
19_Eternal_Moment_-_Monada_(Original_Mix)
20_Skydrips,_Tiefe_Wasser_Berlin_-_Du_Bist_Hier_(Original_Mix)
21_Nas - Nobody

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #156 | Guest Wizz : Adeil Airaki

Finally the autumn fog had cleared and Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10 year-old witch apprentice) could have a look at their stunning surroundings. Ahead of them loomed a monster of a mountain. And Hekske’s heart skipped a beat when she saw a pack of wolves approach them. Witches and wolves are natural friends and soon the girls got a fluffy welcome hug from the whole pack. The fur of a wolf is of an incredible softness, and so is the hair of witches, so they all quietly enjoyed this long hug. Then the alpha male solemnly said ‘Welcome to Mount Hood’, before showing the girls around on this majestic mountain. The witches found out that this huge volcano has 2 distinctly different sides : a temperate rain forest on the western slope with countless Douglas fir trees covered with hanging moss, and a dry forest with stately Ponderosa pine trees on the eastern slope. Finally the wolves went higher and higher, above the tree line where they followed a wild river with crystal clear (and icecold) water upstream. The wolves explained that this mountain has 12 glaciers. Soon they reached one of them, and the girls enjoyed the feeling of cold snow under their bare feet. They didn’t mind their frozen feet, as the view over Cascadia was absolutely breathtaking. The landscape got more volcanic, with fumaroles and hot springs everywhere. One particular hot spring was so appealing that the witches couldn’t resist. They slipped out of their long white dresses and slowly waded into the warm water. They closed their eyes and enjoyed the pleasant heat of the water, and their frozen feet quickly came to life again. Soon they felt how their whole bodies got engulfed by an intensely warm glow. This place was so special and powerful. Hekske and Falke sensed that the giant magma chamber underneath this volcano was connected with faraway power spots like Grindavik in Iceland, Mount Fuji in Japan and even the pyramids of Giza. After all, this mountain is basically a giant pyramid. From their vantage point in the hot spring, the girls witnessed a glorious sunset over the Cascade mountains and soon bright stars were shining brightly in the night sky, while especially the planet Jupiter was unusually bright that night. For a brief moment the girls felt connected with the whole universe and they lost all sense of space and time, reaching a state of true bliss on top of the 12 glaciers of Mount Hood, in the loving company of their friends the wolves …

Connect with the wizard : 
https://soundcloud.com/moromusik

Photo credits : Stasia04

Witchtape #159 | Guest Wizz : MORO

On that cold and grey December day, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) got into a flying mood for no apparent reason. Generally they only fly out on full moon days to participate in a witch coven, but this day seemed to be completely random. Anyway, they decided to surrender to their deeper instincts and took off from a clearing in the forest. They knew they would reach the destination by simply following their inner compass. To their great surprise, they headed in Southwestern direction. After flying for a day and a night, they crossed the Mediterranean Sea and flew over a plain where the temperatures were way more pleasant than in their dark and damp forest in Flanders. After a while, they reached the beautiful Atlas mountain range and they flew higher and higher, until they saw a young girl in colorful clothes wave at them from the slope of a mountain. The witches touched down next to the girl, who gave them a warm welcome hug. The black-haired girl introduced herself as Aziza, the curator of the cave of Ibn Battuta, the greatest traveller of all time. She showed Hekske and Falke the way to the secret cave. Aziza told them with great pride that Ibn Battuta was her great-great-great-(…)-grandfather.
After entering the cave, the girls were in complete awe and felt as if they had entered the cave of Ali Baba. The place was full with artifacts from all over Africa and Asia, and in the middle of the room there was a very old book. Aziza explained that this was the original version of ‘The Rihla’, the book which recounts the epic travels of Ibn Battuta, which took 30 years and covered a mindblowing distance of 117,000 kilometres on foot, by camel caravan or by sailboat. 
Aziza solemnly opened the book and started to read aloud. The epic journey started in the year 1325, when Ibn Battuta left his town in Morocco for a pilgrimage to Mecca, and walked all the way to Alexandria along the North-African coastline. The book says ‘In Alexandria I met a sage named Sheikh Burhanuddin who had a vision and told me to visit his brother Fariduddin in India, Rukonuddin in Sind, and Burhanuddin in China. I promised to do so and to convey my greetings to them.’. 
After his pilgrimage to Mecca, Ibn Battuta boarded a ship which sailed down the Red Sea and further along the coast of East-Africa, visiting faraway ports like Mogadishu, Mombasa and even Zanzibar, before returning to West-Asia where he visited the impressive Umayyad Mosque in Damascus and the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. Despite being only 15 years old, Aziza was able to remember all details of the epic journey along the silk road, passing through the mesmerizing cities of Bukhara and Samarkand, before crossing the Hindu Kush mountains and following the Indus river downstream until he arrived in the Sind, where he did meet the sage’s brother Rukonuddin. Amazingly, Ibn Battuta continued his journey by sailboat, passing by the Maldives, Malacca and even Quanzhou in China, where he found Burhanuddin, the cousin of the sage he had met in Alexandria.
In between all these stories, Aziza enthusiastically showed all the artifacts which Ibn Battuta had brought back from all his travels, with porcelain and silk from China, cardamom from Sri Lanka, wood carvings from Mombasa and a golden tiara from Timbuktu. Aziza kept on telling stories for hours and hours and the girls hadn’t even noticed that it was getting dark. Then Aziza smiled and explained that the journey was only halfway and that she would continue the day after …

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/discoharam

Photo credits : Zolotarevs

Witchtape #160 | Guest Wizz : Discoharam

Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) finally arrived in Iceland, after a long, windy and icy flight over the North Atlantic Ocean. After touching down near the coast, the witches got a warm welcome by 3 Eldnorns (Icelandic fire witches) who had been waiting for them in the desolate landscape of solidified lava. Hekske and Falke were soaked to the bone and shivering from the cold, so they were absolutely overjoyed when the Eldnorns showed them the way to a hot spring. They all slipped out of their frozen dresses and waded into the hot water. Hekske immediately felt her frozen feet warm up, followed by her undercooled lower legs, then her thighs before dipping her whole body into the hot water. The heat came from all directions and gradually penetrated into the deepest parts of her body and soul. She opened her eyes, and saw that Falke had closed her eyes and had a blissful smile on her face. They stayed in the water for a really long time, until they heard a rumbling sound in the distance while the earth started to shake. The girls got a bit worried and looked over the edge of the natural pool. They just couldn’t believe their eyes. In the valley below, the earth had split open and magma spewed into the air. This was the first time they had ever witnessed a real volcanic eruption. To their bewilderment, a fissure of several kilometers long opened up in a matter of minutes and lava was flowing in all directions. Despite being over half a mile away from the fissure, they could feel the heat on their cheeks. The whole horizon seemed to be on fire, lighting up the 20-hour long Icelandic night of the winter solstice. The witches watched this spectacle for hours, until the Eldnorn witches summoned them out of the hot water. They had brought 2 traditional Eldnorn dresses for Hekske and Falke, immaculately white with orange flames at the bottom. The eldest with gave them a small vial while singing an age-old mystic song. She explained that these vials contain fairy drops. Each witch took one vial, and then the eldest Eldnorn gave a sign and soared into the air. All witches followed her and gently floated towards the volcano. Despite flying over 300 meters high, Hekske felt the heat scorch her skin and long hair while flying over the lava flow, and she was awestruck by the surreal raw beauty of the volcano, which stretched along a massive fissure of over 2 miles long. There was a menacing rumble coming from all directions. It seemed to come from the deepest depths of mother earth. The Eldnorn witches opened their vial and let a few droplets fall into the fissure, which immediately reacted by spewing lava almost 100 yards into the air. Then also Hekske and Falke opened their vial and let a few drops fall into the livid lava, which exploded violently after the first contact with the fairy pearls. The witches continued spraying fairy drops into the volcano for over an hour, causing countless fountains of lava. And after spraying the last drop into the lava cauldron, the volcano suddenly calmed down. The explosions had stopped and now the lava flowed gently out of the fissure, making the night sky bathe in a pleasant orange glow while emitting just a soft crackling sound. The witches looked at each other and smiled. They had succeeded to satisfy and calm down the monster volcano.
At daybreak (which is at 11 am during the winter solstice) the Eldnorn witches gave a goodbye hug to Hekske and Falke. The eldest witch had a vision and told them they would be flying towards Ometepe, a lush green island with twin volcanoes in the middle of Lake Cocibolca, with its colorful flowers, hummingbirds and butterflies. Hekske and Falke couldn’t wait to visit this stunning jungle island, and eagerly took off in Southwestern direction, heading straight towards Ometepe Island …

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/siru_music

Photo credits : Jutaphoto

Witchtape #161 | Guest Wizz : SIRU

On the day of the winter solstice, Hekske (the little witch) had a vivid dream about her friends the wolves of the Gugu Peak, the enigmatic mountain in the Godeanu ridge which mysteriously disappears every now and then. She looked at Falke (the 10 year old witch apprentice) who was still sleeping underneath their cozy moss blanket … and smiling while sleeping. A few minutes later Falke woke up and enthusiastically told Hekske that she had a vivid dream about their friends the wolves of the Gugu Peak. Now that was strange. And the next nights it became even stranger as the witches kept on dreaming about the Carpathian wolves, every night in a different location and every night a bit closer to the witch’s forest, leaving Transylvania and passing by lake Balaton before crossing the snowy peaks of the Styrian Alps. Night after night, their collective dream became more and more vivid while Hekske and Falke snuggled close to each other under the warm moss blanket in the rainy and soggy winter forest. After passing through the Black Forest and crossing the River Rhine, the wolves ran day and night until they finally reached the Dender river, which they followed downstream while enduring the lashing rains and gale force winds. The normally gentle flow of the Dender river had transformed into a wild torrent which had flooded the entire valley.
That morning Hekske and Falke woke up very early as they sensed that their friends were now really close by. And just before sunrise, the girls heard the all-pervading howl of a wolf in the distance. The elated witches ran through the mud of the soggy woods, and encountered the wolves at the edge of the beech forest. They gave a long fluffy hug to all the ebullient wolves. When the initial euphoria had abated, the girls noticed how thin and emaciated the wolves were. They hadn’t eaten for a whole week. 
Hekske and Falke took the wolves straight to the nymph’s pond, where they all took a bath in the frigid water. Despite the cold, the water was really pleasant and they stayed for a really long time in the pool, playing with each other all the time. They hadn’t even noticed that meanwhile the rain had stopped. Finally, they decided to get out of the water. The winter sun had broken through the clouds and the witches and wolves dried their bodies in the soft sunlight. Miraculously, the wolves suddenly looked strong and well-fed again, and their fur was glistening and fluffy.
The Carpathians wolves stayed in the witch’s forest for over a week, while the temperatures plunged below zero and an immaculately white snow carpet covered the witch’s forest, creating an enchanted atmosphere. During the freezing cold nights, the wolves and the witches huddled together and kept each other warm. And every day, they took a collective bath in the nymph’s pond and every time the wolves came out of the water stronger and fiercer than the day before.
Finally, the wolves were strong enough and time had come to return to the Carpathians. Hekske and Falke gave one last hug to all their fluffy friends, promising to visit them back in Dacia next summer, on the slopes of the enigmatic Gugu Peak which mysteriously disappears every now and then …

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/azzume

Photo credits : Ermolaev Alexander

New Year Special Witchtape | AZ EM

It was mid-January in the witch’s forest, and after the floods came the sudden cold. It was freezing day and night, and the nymph’s pond was covered with ice. And after the first snowstorm since 3 years, the whole forest was covered with an immaculately white carpet of snow. Everything had gone silent.
But the next day, the sun was finally shining and despite the subzero temperatures, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) decided to take a dive in the nymph’s pond. While making as little noise as possible, they broke the ice and waded into the crystal clear water. Despite the cold, the water felt as pleasant and revitalizing as ever.
Meanwhile, Lalita (the Asian nymph) was already preparing a delicate massage oil in her little cauldron using spices from her home country of Sri Lanka.  She had prepared the oil according to an old ayurvedic recipe which had been passed on from nymph to nymph for over 2500 years.
By the time the massage oil was ready and had cooled down to the ideal temperature, the witches had finished their bath and Hekske lied down on her belly on a comfortable soft bed of moss, waiting for what was about to come.
Given the freezing temperatures, Lalita didn’t waste much time and poured the first few drops of the warm ayurvedic oil on the little witch’s legs, after which she gently rubbed the oil into her soft skin, while the sophisticated scent of cinnamon and cardamom spread through the forest.  The massage oil quickly warmed up her feet and legs, until her whole body was glowing while her mind slowly drifted away in a state of deep relaxation. 
Strangely, the air on her skin gradually changed from ice-cold to tropically hot. And the quiet winter forest was suddenly lush and green and bustling with life. The little witch listened to a spellbinding concert of unknown song birds, like the yigüirro and the quetzal. And in the distance she heard the calming sound of the Nauyaca Waterfall. This place felt like a true garden of Eden.
Meanwhile the massage was still going on, deeper and more soothing than ever. While still keeping her eyes closed, Hekske was trying to figure out who was massaging her now. She tuned in to the energy field of the man who was giving her the massage. Never before had she felt so many different layers of energy, each layer deeper and more sophisticated than the previous one. Finally she connected with the purest energy she had ever felt, while her whole body and soul drifted towards complete ecstasy. This massage touched her to the deepest part of her soul …

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/josy5

Photo credits : Ondrej Prosicky

Witchtape #163 | Guest Wizz : Josy5

On a sunny day in February, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) were flying over the green mountains of Sri Lanka. The witches had been sent by Lalita, the tree nymph and It was the first time the girls saw this stunning island. And the rolling hills were as beautiful as Lalita had described them. As the girls climbed higher and higher through the valley, the landscape gradually changed as the hills were now covered by bright green bushes. When they saw a girl in a long white dress waving at them, the witches decided to go and greet her. They gently touched down in the middle of the greenery, where they received a warm welcome hug by a teenage girl with a golden skin and sparkling black eyes. She introduced herself as Yohani, and showed the way to her little cottage in the middle of the tea plantation, where she prepared some delicious tea with fresh leaves from the estate. It was the first time Hekske and Falke drank tea, and it was the most exquisite beverage they had ever tasted. 
This place was a true garden of Eden, full with colorful flowers like hibiscus and bougainvillea, while the air was filled with the strong scent of spices like cinnamon and cardamom. And there were bird sounds everywhere, with babblers, bulbuls and drongos singing their most beautiful songs on this beautiful day.
In the late afternoon, Hekske and Falke noticed a flutter of crimson rose butterflies which were all flying in one particular direction. Yohani explained that these butterflies were doing their annual migration to Sri Pada, the sacred mountain. The girls decided to follow the butterflies and hours later they arrived at the foot of the towering mountain, which is also named ‘Samanala Kanda’ (or ‘mountain of the butterflies’). Yohani showed them the way to a pristine waterfall. According to the tradition, a ritual bath must be taken before ascending the mountain. This was easily the purest water they had ever felt on their skin and they took a long time before completing their natural bath. Then they were ready for the climb. In the moon-lit night sky they could see the towering silhouette 1800 meters above them. The path was very narrow, with steps being carved out in the rock. Yohani explained that there are 5500 steps to climb. Luckily there were many fire flies illuminating the steep path. The girls climbed for hours and hours, until they had reached the clouds where the air became very cold and damp. Meanwhile, the path had become narrower and steeper, while they climbed above the clouds. It was almost dawn, and the girls reached the summit when the very first ray of sunlight kissed the top of the mountain. There was a small temple with a mysterious footprint on the ground. It was clear that this was no ordinary footprint. It felt as if a man had come from the heavens and this was the place where he had set foot on planet earth for the first time. Yohani explained that this mountain is also named Adam’s Peak, as some people believe that Adam touched down from heaven on this mountain top. But other people think the footprint is from the Buddha or from Shiva.
Just at that moment Falke looked towards the west where a magical spectacle unfolded… the pyramid-shaped shadow of the mountain became visible on the clouds. It was a moment of pure awe, which was only interrupted when Yohani rang the big ceremonial bell. She explained that this bell needs to be rung by everybody who completes the pilgrimage to this sacred mountain, but there’s a catch : the pilgrimage can only be considered complete after returning home safely, so one is only allowed to ring this bell from the second ascent onwards. At that moment, Hekske and Falke promised to Yohani that they would come back for a new pilgrimage next year … and ring the bell of Sri Pada …

Connect with the artist :
https://soundcloud.com/madeesha-pathirage

Photo credits : Dmytro Buianskyi

Witchtape #164 | Guest Wizz : Madeesha Pathirage

'Fusion of the elements of earth' by Hekske

May fire inspire and transform you
May air purify you and set you free
May earth uphold and sustain you
And may the blessing of water make you wise

https://soundcloud.com/thethirdeyefusion

Artwork by Sue Wookey

Original release date : February 27th, 2018

Hekske @ The Third Eye Fusion

It was February and nature was slowly awakening for the spring. Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) were making their daily inspection round of the forest, when a beech tree drew their attention. It was one of these trees which was being embraced by an ivy creeper. Hekske and Falke tuned in to the trees, which – as always - was a long process and it took over 2,5 hours. Then they got the message. So far, both the beech tree and the ivy enjoyed their close cohabitation, but now the tree was complaining that he was getting kinda suffocated by the creeper. After taking the request, Hekske asked permission from the ivy tree to do some emergency pruning. The creeper was very sorry for the discomfort and agreed to get pruned in order to help her friend. Falke ran to the central clearing and returned with a cheeky grin and with the pruning shears which a ranger had left behind a couple of years ago (actually, the very last ranger who had tried to enter the witch’s forest). The girls chuckled when they remembered how much fun it had been to chase the hapless ranger out of their forest. 
Hekske took the pruning scissors and cautiously started to cut into the beautiful ivy tree. She smiled when she found an empty nest with a perfect shape. This was clearly the nest of the dunnocks who managed to raise 3 chicks last summer. Then the little witch pruned the creeper close to the ground … where she saw something unusual, which she had never noticed before. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it was a stone statue. At first it wasn’t clear how this statue looked like, but gradually – after chipping away some more leaves - it became clear that it was a statue of an angel … and strangely it appeared to be glowing softly. The witches had never seen such a thing and got very curious. Falke lovingly caressed the stone statue, and to her surprise it didn’t feel cold at all. On the contrary, it was very pleasant to touch. It felt like a living thing and after a few more caresses the statue started to emit a pulsating light, just like a heartbeat. Hekske and Falke watched this bewildering spectacle with great eyes, and were curious to find out what would happen next …


Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/h_eder_a
https://www.instagram.com/h_eder_a/

Photo credits : Mojahata

Witchtape #165 | Guest Witch : Hedera

Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) finally arrived in Iceland, after a long, windy and icy flight over the North Atlantic Ocean. After touching down near the coast, the witches got a warm welcome by 3 Eldnorns (Icelandic fire witches) who had been waiting for them in the desolate landscape of solidified lava. Hekske and Falke were soaked to the bone and shivering from the cold, so they were absolutely overjoyed when the Eldnorns showed them the way to a hot spring. They all slipped out of their frozen dresses and waded into the hot water. Hekske immediately felt her frozen feet warm up, followed by her undercooled lower legs, then her thighs before dipping her whole body into the hot water. The heat came from all directions and gradually penetrated into the deepest parts of her body and soul. She opened her eyes, and saw that Falke had closed her eyes and had a blissful smile on her face. They stayed in the water for a really long time, until the eldest Eldnorn called them out of the water.
After drying their bodies and long hair, the Icelandic witch gave Hekske & Falke two Eldnorn dresses, which were white and long and with the typically fiery orange patterns at the bottom. Putting on an Eldnorn dress is always a very special ritual and the Flemish witches suddenly felt an unknown yet very pleasant force penetrate her body after donning this dress. 
After this ceremony, the girls took off and followed the Eldnorns in Northeastern direction, where they saw a column of thick black smoke in the distance. After coming closer, they realized there was a large fissure in the earth and lava was spewing out of the deepest depths over the full length of the crack. The girls looked in awe at this fiery spectacle, before the Icelandic witches flew away towards a little lake, where they gently touched down.
In a matter of seconds, the witches were surrounded by a thunder of dragons. Hekske and Falke looked in awe at these beautiful yet fearsome creatures. The Eldnorn witches explained that this used to be the group of Sigríður, the dragon tamer who sadly passed away a couple of years ago, after being a dragon master since the days of Snorri Sturluson, some 800 years ago. Since that day, the dragons had become a bit listless as they missed their mistress. But today, the dragons were in an ebullient mood, especially when Falke started to talk to them in a language which was completely unknown. The dragons looked at the little witch with sparkling eyes, and soon they sat in a circle around Falke, who calmly patted and caressed each and every dragon while whispering sweet words into their ears.
The Eldnorns were dumbfounded when looking at this spectacle. Since the passing of Sigríður, the dragons had never been in such a frisky mood. Apparently, they had found a new mistress. One of the Eldnorns flew away and came back a few minutes later with a black leather dress. She handed it over to Falke while explaining that this was Sigríður’s attire. Falke put on the dress, and to everybody’s amazement, it was a perfect fit (which is quite amazing giving the fact that Sigríður was really tall, while Falke is still pretty tiny). After she put on this dress, the dragons became even more lively and they all hugged and kissed Falke, trying their best not to scorch her by accident. The dragons were so enthusiastic that one of them took Falke on her back before taking off for a fun flight over the nearby volcanoes and glaciers. 
Finally the new dragon tamer had come …

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/weareeternalmusic

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #166 | Guest Wizz : We Are Eternal

After staying for over a week in the ancestral village of Ishola (Hekske’s lover) on the misty slopes of the Ruwenzori Mountains, the witches kissed goodbye to their friendly hosts and continued their flight southwards, following their inner compass. Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) flew over a wide variety of breathtaking landscapes, like the Okavango delta and the thundering Victoria Falls (Mosi-oa-Tunya). 
While following the Limpopo River, they saw a breathtaking sunset unfold in the west… it was high time to land and find a safe place to spend the night. The witches saw no humans which meant the place was safe. They landed at the foot of a majestic tree, but didn’t have much time to savor the glorious sunset, as a few hungry lions were stealthily approaching them, observing the witches in their long white dresses from close quarter, preparing for a decisive lethal strike. But while looking at the witches, a feeling of tenderness took hold of the lionesses. Instead of attacking, they walked slowly into the direction of the girls, who started to talk with a soft voice to the queens of the jungle. This drew the attention of even more lions and soon they were all lying at the feet of the witches, and Falke played and frolicked with a bunch of lion cubs - who especially loved to play with the girl’s long blond hair (the hair of a young witch is of an indescribable softness). The leader of the pride welcomed the young witches and ordered the other animals to prepare a soft bed of grass for the exhausted girls. And soon the Flemish witches drifted into a blissful sleep in the middle of a circle of lions, whom had never ever experienced a similarly peaceful presence in the plains. 
After a deep, blissful sleep, the witches woke up just before sunrise. Falke quickly realized that the little fluffy thing she was holding tenderly in her arms, was actually a lion cub and when looking around, she saw a lioness watching the two of them with endearment … clearly the cub’s mom. Slowly it dawned to the girl that she had been sleeping in the middle of a circle of lions … easily the best possible protection in the African plains. Despite being far away from her home forest in North-Western Europe, the little witches felt absolutely at ease. They looked around and saw all these wonderful animals roaming on the plains : zebras, antelopes, giraffes and even a herd of elephants in the distance.
A bateleur eagle had spotted the witches and touched down in front of their feet. The girls understood that the bird wanted to take them somewhere and they kissed goodbye to their friends of the lion pride. The eagle flew straight to a nearby forest, and touched down in a clearing where a group of women were waiting for them. These were local witches, but they looked very different from European witches. They were all wearing colorful long clothes. The witches themselves had all kinds of skin colors, ranging from black, brown to white. When Falke said something in Flemish to Hekske, the local witches smiled and started to talk to them in the local Afrikaans language. Hekske and Falke couldn’t believe their ears … this language sounded just like Flemish, but with a more expressive intonation and some funny expressions. They never expected that witches from this part of the world would speak the same language as them. After the welcome hug, the African witches gave an energetic welcome dance, which they would soon teach to their European guests. This place had such a beautiful energy …

https://soundcloud.com/leepdias

Photo credits : Theodore Mattas

Witchtape #167 | Guest Wizz : LEEP

For the fourth time in two years time, Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) flew eastwards, all the way to the mighty Dnipro river. It was early April and the temperatures were very mild and pleasant. Then they saw their friend Mriya (Мрія) waving at them in the middle of a flowery meadow. Mriya was 14 years old now, and she had grown a lot since their last visit. To Hekske and Falke’s surprise, Mriya greeted them with 3 kisses on the cheek, and wished them a happy Easter. She proudly showed them her easter basket, which was made from willow branches and covered with a white towel, which was beautifully embroidered in yellow and blue patterns. Mriya explained that this towel was made by her great-grandmother over 100 years ago. She explained that she was expecting visitors from all over Ukraine. Soon afterwards, another witch arrived and they all welcomed her with 3 kisses on her cheek. Her name was Vesna and she came from the woods around Mount Hoverla in the west. She had brought some small bottles with colorful dyes : violet from the bark of an elderberry bush, yellow from the flowers of the woadwaxen, gold from onion skins, etc..
Soon afterwards, another witch arrived from the east. She had flown all the way from the scenic valley of the Oskil river.  A little later, another witch flew in from the north but after that it was a long wait for the witch of the South. Finally, a young witch flew by and gently landed on the fairy meadow. She had come all the way from the Valley of Ghosts. And she was not alone as she was accompanied by a sweet-looking animal. The witches were elated when they realized this was the raccoon which was stolen from this area some 1,5 years ago. The lively animal was very happy to be back home again, and soon the raccoon was frolicking with all the witches, and rolling over from joy.
Now that all witches had arrived, Mriya put some eggs on the table while Vesna opened the bottles with the colorful dyes. The local witches knew exactly what to do, applying hot wax on the eggs before scrathing and dying them in elaborate colorful patterns. Many of these patterns had been passed on from witch to witch for centuries. These decorated eggs were called ‘pysanky’.
Vidma, the witch from the northern plains had another method to decorate the eggs, which she did by coating eggs with bee wax and covering them with beads in vivid colorful patterns. This kind of easter eggs were called ‘biserky’.
Hekske and Falke truly enjoyed the typically Slavic cosy atmosphere of the Easter celebrations. And after nightfall, they lit a bonfire, sang spellbinding age-old witch’s songs and they performed folk dances around the fire until well past midnight. 
This was easily the cosiest Easter Hekske and Falke had ever experienced…

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/enmaniguada

Photo credits : Dobra Kobra

Witchtape #168 | Guest Witch : Enmaniguada

That morning yet another rainstorm lashed over the witch’s forest. Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10-year old witch apprentice) were huddling under their warm moss blanket, and in no hurry to get out of bed. Life of a witch can be very pleasant and rewarding … but just not on rainy and windy mornings like these. It was already early May, but still it was too cold and wet to get into a real spring mood. Falke got impatient and lamented ‘Grrrrr… wish I was on the other side of the world’. Hekske immediately warned her friend that she should be careful with what she says, as she had noticed that Falke’s words can be extremely powerful at times.
Then - from under their moss blanket - the girls noticed that the storm had abruptly calmed down. And strangely, they were suddenly surrounded by the peaceful sound of singing birds … but they didn’t know these bird songs. The 2 witches took a peek at their surroundings and were dumbfounded when they realized that they were on a beach with cliffs in the distance. And when they saw penguins swimming in the sea, the witches realized they must be really far away from home.
Hekske and Falke got up and went for a walk through this mesmerizing landscape, where they soon met 2 local witches, who gave them a warm welcome hug. The eldest witch was white and introduced herself (in Flemish) as Maria Van Aelst and was 382 years of age. The girls were very surprised to meet a Flemish witch on the other side of the globe. Her dark-skinned friend was a very energetic teenager, named Lenah. The local witches guided Hekske and Falke around the island, which consisted of 2 half-islands connected by a sandy land bridge of only a hundred meter wide. The isthmus was a real power spot named ‘umbilical cord’. The witches laid the palm of their hands on the ground and they all could feel the strong pulse of this island.
Hekske and Falke were awestruck by the exotic flora and fauna, which included giant fern trees as well as emus, but also very cute wombats who willingly let themselves be cuddled and kissed by all the witches.
After a long walk, they arrived at the northern shore of the island, where they first saw the sandstone cliffs with spectacular colorful lines and patterns running through them. The Flemish witches had never seen such beautiful stones. In the middle of a circle of stones, the women slipped out of their clothes and Lenah started to apply traditional body paint on their guests, while singing age-old Palawa songs. The body paint was made of natural minerals : ochre clays for red and yellow, and kaolin clay for white. After a couple of hours, all 4 witches were covered in beautiful patterns and colors. All the time, Maria was telling many old stories which she had learned from aboriginal witches. Meanwhile, it was almost sunset time which meant that the next part of the ceremonies would begin. This would be the start of an unforgettable and intense night full of powerful rituals …

Connect with the wizard :
https://soundcloud.com/somedayisle

Photo credits : Marcus Haywood photography

Witchtape #169 | Guest Wizz : Someday Isle

Finally spring had arrived in the witch’s forest. The winter season had been very wet and windy since mid-October and lasted through the end of April. But then suddenly in early May, the sun broke through the clouds, the temperatures got very mild and in a matter of days, the whole forest saw an explosion of flowers. Especially the central clearing turned into a fairy meadow, full of blue bells, wild garlic and forest anemones.
Hekske (the little witch) and Falke (the 10 year-old witch apprentice) danced through the blooming forest and sang their most beautiful songs. This was easily the most energetic spring awakening they had ever experienced in the forest.
The next morning, Falke witnessed a little miracle happening in the central clearing. She saw a little creature crawling out of the soil, kissing the sunlight for the very first time of its life : a cockchafer. The young girl took the fragile maybeetle into her hand and gave it a tender kiss. She noticed that this golden brown scarab beetle had antennae with 6 leaves, meaning it was a female. 
Falke ran towards Hekske to announce the great news of the awakening cockchafer. And by coincidence, Hekske was also observing a cockchafer near the northern edge of the forest, which was buzzing around a blossoming tree. As always happens with these bugs, a few moments later the buzzing stopped and the maybeetle fell from the sky, giving the witches some time to observe the beautiful beetle. They counted 7 leaves on the antennae, meaning that this beautiful bug was a male. 
Then Hekske got an idea. She uttered a size reduction spell so that both witches shrunk to the size of a cockchafer. This way, they could accompany the beetle on his way the clearing. This journey happened in a few dozens buzzing sprints which always ended with the beetle crashing down to earth. That’s just the way cockchafers travel around. Sometimes, the girls had to help the maybug back on his feet but he was very determined and always found new energy and courage to fly the next leg of his journey. Finally, at dusk time they arrived at the clearing where they were just in time to witness a glorious sunset. They kissed their friend the cockchafer goodbye. After that, the witches closed their eyes and sensed the strong, wild energy of the spring forest. 
They stayed around until it had become fully dark, and enjoyed the beauty of the crescent of the moon before retreating to their bed of moss, where they quicky drifted away into a deep, blissful sleep.

Connect with the wizard :
https://soundcloud.com/eckert-philipp

Photo credits : Serhii Yurkiv

Witchtape #170 | Guest Wizz : ECKRT

Hi,
The seed of this witchtape was planted a few months ago, when I wrote this little fairy tale on a cold winter evening.  After I completed writing it, I had the strong feeling that this story needed a soundtrack and that it should be made by a true witch – so I sent the fairy tale to Hilary and she was really enthusiastic about this whole concept.  And this witchtape is the result.  Actually my story was only the starting point as Hilary worked it out as a truly epic witchy fairy tale... an instant spellbinder.
Peace & Hugs
Hekske

(Story continued from Witchtape #14)
Deep in the forest, the witch felt powerless and heartbroken as she witnessed one of her beloved trees crashing down.  She looked in anger at the logger and his big brown dog.  She needed to stop him from doing more harm, but the question was how.  Witches follow a strict code of non-violence and – contrary to popular belief – they don’t know any dark spells.  Then she had an idea.  The human was obviously a hopeless case, but she felt his Belgian shepherd might have some common sense.  So she sent her friend the owl to talk to the dog.  The bird swiftly flew to the big canine creature and explained him that his owner really should stop destroying mother earth.  The dog became very upset and disappointed and started barking at his boss.  The man tried to control his long-time companion but the dog became more and more ferocious.  Meanwhile the witch – who was still very young and insecure – gathered all her courage and approached the man from behind, with her owl sitting on her shoulder.  The dog saw this happening and stopped barking.  So the man went back to business, or at least that’s what he thought.  When he turned around, he had the biggest shock of his life and his face turned pale.  Standing just two meters in front of him was this girl with bright green eyes, staring straight into his eyes with a stone-cold face, while an owl was sitting on her shoulder doing the same with his big eyes.  The young  witch (who had never done a thing like this before) became all of a sudden very confident as she felt that every living being in the forest was supporting her, and she felt how her eyes really started to glow with a power she never knew she possessed.  The dog started barking again and this time he really attacked the logger.  The man looked away from the witch and made a quick getaway, in such a state of panic that he left his chainsaw behind.
Meanwhile the witch started comforting the agonizing dying tree with a new faithful friend on her side :  a big brown dog…
(story continues in Witchtape #22)

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/3hilary-3
https://www.facebook.com/HilaryMertaughDJ/
https://www.instagram.com/hilarymertaugh/

Photo credits :  Tanja Brandt
Visit Tanja’s website www.ingoundelse.de if you want to find out more about the amazing friendship between the dog Ingo and the owl Poldi.

This podcast is the result of pure love of music and is for promotional use only.  No commercial intentions.

Witchtape #16 | Guest Witch : Hilary Mertaugh

Under the snow
Under the rotten leaves
Waits patiently 
The snow drop.
The birds don't make a sound...

Edit by @vincentgericke
Original by @bongbeck

Mastering by Robert Trifunovic @robydeep

Poem written on 04-02-2020 by Hekske, inspired by a haiku from Dakotsu Iida

Bongbeck - Winter Sleep (Vincent Gericke Edit)

This is the third episode of a true story of a school trip to a lost world… East Germany just before the wall came down… (episodes 1 and 2 in Witchtapes 46 and 47)

We were happy to leave the town Erfurt behind us, where my classmates and I had spent our very first night on the other side of the iron curtain.  For all of us Erfurt was an eerie ghost town with empty streets, covered in thick fog and the air was so polluted that some of my classmates even had trouble to breathe.  On top of that, the hotel was a shabby place with brown tap water and horrible food, including a murky substance which was supposed to be yoghurt (which I ate but most of my classmates went on a voluntary hunger strike, probably hoping things would get better the next few days).  Actually, we felt so uncomfortable in Erfurt that we all wanted to go back to Belgium.
It was a long and shaky bus ride from Erfurt to Dresden in the outermost south-eastern corner of the German Democratic Republic.  Actually, we rode on a very bumpy concrete highway which had been built by the Nazi regime in the 1930s and hadn’t seen much repairs in the next 50 years.  The mood of the schoolgirls was getting better while the sun started to shine.  And we were slowly getting used to the sight of all these primitive Trabant cars on the road.  But when entering the City of Dresden, something broke down in the front suspension of the bus (it turned out that it couldn’t be repaired in East Germany, which meant that a few days later the bus would crawl at a slow pace from Dresden to Berlin before finally getting the much-needed repairs in West-Berlin).  When entering Dresden, I was shocked to see that there were still some buildings in ruin and visibly blackened by the allied fire-bombing of 1945, which was already 42 years earlier.  
Luckily, after getting out of the bus it became immediately clear that this city was a surprisingly vibrant and pleasant place.  Up to that moment, we didn’t interact much with the locals.  We thought that was pretty normal in communist countries, where people from the West (even 17 year old schoolgirls) were regarded suspiciously and we thought it was more or less forbidden for the locals to talk with tourists from the West.  And we also believed that the population of all communist countries had been brainwashed with propaganda, so I couldn’t imagine that it was possible to have a pleasant conversation with the locals.
Luckily, in Dresden we quickly found out this was not the case.  To our great surprise, the local people were really nice and friendly towards us… and visibly warmer and more laid-back than the West-Germans.  Their mentality was even pretty similar to the Belgian style, so it was very easy to connect and we chatted (in our broken German) with lots of lovely and sweet teenage girls and boys, who were apparently very eager to get in touch with foreigners.  This made our stay in Dresden very pleasant and all the Belgian schoolgirls started to feel very much at ease.  The hotel was way better than the one back in Erfurt and although they also served the same peculiar substance named ‘yoghurt’, all my class mates finally got hungry again and spontaneously gave up their hunger strike.
The town of Dresden was really beautiful, at least the part of the historical center which had already been rebuilt… some old building were still being reconstructed while the most famous church (the Frauenkirche) was still a pile of rubble back then.  Actually, reconstruction of this church would only start after the reunification of Germany and fortunately this beautiful monument has now been fully restored in all its glory, symbolically completing the rise from the ashes of the beautiful and vibrant city of Dresden…

Mix self-produced by https://soundcloud.com/feinheitsbrei

Photo : Kunsthofpassage, Neustadt, Dresden
Photo credits : frantic00

Witchtape #63 | Guest Wizz : Feinheitsbrei

Witchtape #66 | Guest Wizz : Stelzenläufer

After a short but hectic flight, the little witch touched down in an unfamiliar forest.  A few minutes earlier, an owl – in a state of near-panic – flew to the witch’s forest and had begged her for help.  It turned out many animals of this nearby forest were very sick from a mystery illness and some animals had even died during the last few days.  To make things worse, every day this illness was infecting more and more animals at an increasing rate, making all forest dwellers desperate.  Luckily, an old owl knew there was a young witch in a nearby forest and that’s how she arrived here.  The girl immediately realized it was crucial to separate the healthy from the sick animals and isolate them in a remote corner of the woods.  And she understood this forest was located too close to the human world, which meant it was suffering from all kinds of pollution, including noise pollution, which caused stress to the animals and weakened their immune system.  So the little witch started to sing a sweet song, which cancelled out the noise pollution and brought all animals into a state of blissful hypnosis.  The soothing voice of the witch had an instant effect on the sick animals, and they all started to recover.  And the sweet presence of the girl also had a calming effect on the healthy animals and boosted their immune system, so that they didn’t fall ill.  The little witch also prepared a magic potion of spices and berries, and the vitamin-rich brew boosted their immune system even further.  And on top of that, she ordered all animals to get some sunlight every day and get enough sleep every night.  This made the animals quite a bit stronger.  Yet, this seemed to be a really vicious virus which meant complete rest was needed for full recovery.  The animals even had to continue resting for 5 days after the symptoms had gone, as this was a virus which took a long time to get completely out of their system.  During this time, the little witch continued singing with her sweet voice, accompanied by all the birds and eventually these sounds completely cancelled out all noise pollution and the whole forest seemed to calm down, finally – after over a century of turmoil - becoming once again an oasis of peace and quiet… And after all animals had been cured from the virus a few weeks later, they threw a big party which would last until well past midnight under a beautiful rising moon… 

Connect with the artist : 
https://soundcloud.com/stelzenlaeufermusic
https://soundcloud.com/faultierdisko

Photo credits : Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Witchtape #66 | Guest Wizz : Stelzenläufer

"Die Wahrheit der heutigen Welt finden wir nicht im Aussen, sondern in unserem Innern."

'We do not find the truth of today's world outside, but deep inside'

Christina von Dreien

Original track by  https://soundcloud.com/stavroz
Edit by https://soundcloud.com/isaque-solaris
Artwork by https://soundcloud.com/brownsword

This edit is a free gift to the world.
You can find the original track (and buy link) here : https://soundcloud.com/stavroz/stavroz-kasambila-1

Stavroz - Kasambila (Isaque Solaris Edit)

That misty winter morning, the little witch woke up in a silent, frozen forest.  She really loves cold and quiet winter mornings like these.  With her eyes still half-open from a good night’s sleep, her heart suddenly skipped a beat from excitement when she realized the next night there would be a full moon, which meant she’ll participate in the monthly witch coven (which always happens in a different location and in the ever-changing company of two other witches).  
After finishing her daily inspection round of the ice-covered woods, the girl said goodbye to the forest dwellers, and flew into the unknown.  She knew she would – as always - reach her destination by simply following her inner compass.  
This time she was flying into South-Eastern direction for quite a long time, until she saw the Swiss Alps in the distance.  Last summer she already visited a pleasant meadow near a crystal-clear lake at the foot of these mountains, but this time her inner compass told her to keep on flying higher and higher.  The mountain peaks were hidden by thick clouds and she flew straight towards these.  She took a deep breath and dived into these thick clouds.  Flying conditions became very difficult as she had to navigate through a blizzard with zero visibility.  Her body became covered with snow while her hair had turned into an icy mess.  Flying was really unpleasant while she continued to climb higher and the temperatures dropped even further.  Luckily, after a while it stopped snowing and soon she rose above the clouds where the view was simply epic.  After her eyes got used to the blinding sunlight, she enjoyed a spellbinding view on the sun-lit mountain tops towering above the immaculately white clouds.  Suddenly she sensed she had reached her destination and gently touched down on a mountain pass, high above the tree line.  Her white dress was soaking wet, which was very uncomfortable, especially after it got stiff from the frost.  In the middle of these majestic mountains, she felt really tiny and reduced to her essence.  She started to shiver from the cold, feeling all alone and miles away from everywhere.  Like this, it wouldn’t take long before she would freeze to death, but the girl wasn’t worried.  She knew her inner compass always brings her to the right place at the right time.  The young witch looked in the distance and to her surprise she saw a big white bird in the distance flying straight towards her.  After a few seconds she realized this was clearly not a bird, although she couldn’t tell exactly what kind of creature it was.  In any case, it was  completely different from all the flying animals she had ever seen before.  Eventually it turned out to be a flying horse, carrying two witches.  Despite its huge size, the animal touched down gracefully and the two witches quicky ran towards their shivering visitor, asked if she was OK and quickly helped her out of her frozen dress.  The two witches had brought warm clothes and boots with them.  After an extended group hug and a cup of hot herbal tea, the little witch felt comfortably warm again.  The two Swiss witches invited their visitor to join them on a flight on the back of their flying horse.  Soon they were airborne and really enjoying the majestic landscape, while the nimble horse started to perform some aerial acrobatics.  The witches got so carried away that all three of them were soon cheering and yelling from joy, while the horse flew over the glaciers and mountain ridges with graceful wing movements… this vast snowscape disoriented the little witch to the extent she lost all sense of space and time, experience the past, present and future at the same moment… the start of a truly unforgettable witch coven high up in the Swiss Alps …

Connect with the witches : 
https://soundcloud.com/najesh_and_artisoko
https://soundcloud.com/najesh
https://soundcloud.com/artisoko

Photo Credits : Irina Alexandrovna (Ironika)

Witchtape #87 | Guest Witches : Najesh & Artišoko

Witches are the guardians of the forests.  We're not evil or dark, just a bit shy.  And even surprisingly sweet and kind... as long as you respect the forest.

Art project of Hekske ('Little Witch' in my native Flemish language).
Founded on the 22nd of January 2017

Avatar and wallpaper by Ironika (Irina Alexandrovna)

Popular tracks by Hekske ❋ The Magic Witchtapes