Dear Reader,
I hope this note finds you well. I know we all say that (it’s part of folklore and I will explain why some day down the road) but I also do hope you are well. These are actually unprecedented times and I hope wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, you are doing ok.
So, what are we doing here? Well if you’re here, it’s likely that, like me, you have an interest in folklore. I am not a broad folklorist (don’t work on legend tripping or UFOs, for example, but if that’s your thing, I do know where to point you). My areas are unconventional spiritualities, domestic arts lore, cræft, and other bits that go with those like ritual. I don’t just look at the light stuff either, one of my areas of interest is white supremacy in the digital world, especially when it comes to the tradfem movement. I won’t be hash tagging that because I’d like to avoid them showing up here for as long as possible. Anyway, I have spent 6 (six!) years immersed in those topics and will be unpacking all of them as we go on.
Although my dissertation is done and dusted (to be conferred this fall!), I actually love my topic so my research continues. I have been presenting at conferences, am teaching these things etc etc. But apparently that’s not enough because here I am, blabbing about it recreationally too. The truth is, I found my really unconventional niche but more than that, I can see where it is yes, unconventional but also important to the conventions we all live with, and how we function in this world. You might have seen on here that I am also a medical social worker – I am doing less and less of that work but really, it’s what brought me to folklore. I started seeing all of these things people were doing, or listening to their stories and realising we were missing something really big. That, plus some personal health stuff, pushed me to start applying for doctorates and finally (much to my surprise), I settled on a DMin. I wanted to study applied spirituality and that was the only place I could do so. But I didn’t want to study it from Christian theology so much as the not spiritual things people were doing that actually serve a spiritual purpose. My programme supported me to focus on folklore which was the perfect fit. And so, here we are.
Anyway, I think that serves as enough of an intro, don’t you?
I will just close by adding that I am going to resist the urge to create an image heavy site. There are so many good images out there but it turns out, there is a big ecological cost to them. So, I will throw in a few but largely folx, it’s going to be text. I have already had suggestions of a podcast and that may be in the near future as well.
I hope this serves as enough of an intro to whet your appetite. If you have questions, I welcome them!
Yours, in great nerdery,
Colleen aka the Folklorista
the Witchery Society 