For the third time this year, Hekske (the little witch) flew eastwards, all the way to the Dnipro river. It was early December and the landscape looked very different from the lush green meadows she saw last spring or the flowery meadows she saw last summer. Now everything was cold and muddy, but the river looked as mighty as ever and Hekske flew all the way down to estuary, where the Dnipro first merged with another mighty river (the Southern Bug) after which it became so wide that it was impossible to see where the river ended and the sea started. At that moment, she saw a young witch waving on the left bank of the river. Hekske’s heart skipped a beat when she recognized Mriya, the 13-year old witch whom she had met twice earlier this year. After a long and tender welcome hug, the 2 witches walked in northwestern direction. Despite the winter cold, the landscape of steppes and marshlands was absolutely stunning, and the girls were in the pleasant company of white herons and pelicans. Mriya explained that this peninsula is called the Kinburn Spit (Кінбурнська коса), and that a lot of migrant birds spend the winter here. The two witches continued to walk along the shore, while the vegetation got sparser and the cold wind blew straight in their face. Then suddenly they saw a tipi in the distance. This was a big surprise as one would expect such conical tent in the great plains of North America and not on the shores of the Black Sea. The girls got curious and entered the tipi, which was completely empty apart from a beautiful white rug with red, blue and yellow patterns.  On the rug they found 2 mysterious ceremonial pipes and some eagle feathers. The girls sensed that the pipes and feathers were destined for them so they took these items and continued their journey in northwestern direction. Meanwhile the weather had changed for the worse, with dark clouds coming closer and the wind now blowing at gale force. The girls kept on walking on this sandy peninsula which eventually became so narrow they could see the water on their left and right sides. The witches had to battle against the head wind and could barely put one foot ahead of the other. The last 300 yards took nearly one hour. By then the sandspit was only a couple of meters wide and finally they reached the end of the peninsula, the very place where the mighty Dnipro and Bug rivers merged with the Black Sea. Then – without warning - it became wind still. Hekske and Mriya looked to the west when they saw something pop out of the water. It appeared to be the head of stern-looking young woman with long black hair, and she slowly waded out of the water. She was wearing body armor and carrying a sword. This was a warrior princess and judging from the chinks in her armor, she had seen some fierce fighting. After reaching the beach, the warrior princess looked at Hekske and Mriya, still with an emotionless face but with a tear rolling down her cheek. With slow movements she threw away her sword and removed the armor from her arms, legs and chest. After that she slowly walked towards Hekske and Mriya until they finally touched … engaging in a very long group hug during which the warrior princess started sobbing. After this, she got into a brighter mood and even started smiling when she noticed that Hekske and Mriya were carrying ceremonial pipes. The princess opened a small pouch and showed some dried leaves. The witches filled the ceremonial pipes with the leaves and Hekske lit it up with 2 floating sparks. When the warrior princess touched the pipe with her lips, a ray of sunlight pierced through the clouds and fell straight on the 3 women. None of the girls knew how to smoke a pipe, so they just savored the scent of the burning leaves while enjoying the peace and tranquility of this remote place at the very end of the world… 

https://soundcloud.com/cherryblossomgirlme
https://soundcloud.com/downtemporituals

Witchtape #138 | Guest Witch : Nina

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)

Witchtape #138 | Guest Witch : Nina

Hekske ❋ The Magic Witchtapes