Curses, Spells, and Love
by Leigh Goff
The light of Protection, I carry it
strong.
No ill wishes or trouble, can come along.
You cannot harm me, or weaken my soul.
My light is my weapon, and peace is my goal.
–Author Unknown
What is a witch, but a powerful
woman? In my stories what makes her powerful is more than magic. It is the
willingness to sacrifice herself for the ones she loves. It is the ability to
face her fears with courage she didn’t know she had. It’s also having the heart
to tap into her talents when needed, and if that includes spell casting and
curse breaking at any cost, so be it.
Because of reader interest in the
witches’ spells in my books, I compiled a few from Disenchanted and Bewitching
Hannah to share. In
my latest novel, KOUSH HOLLOW, the magic comes from the women of the bayou–it
embodies the mysticism of the Deep South and is equally powerful.
DISENCHANTED
Sixteen-year-old Sophie Goodchild from the wickedly wonderful town of Wethersfield, Connecticut struggles with her magic as she finds forbidden love along with a centuries-old true love curse. Here are a few spells, some spoken in Latin, from Disenchanted.
“Ictus.” Sophie hopes for a windstorm when she encounters a boy who
should be her family enemy, but she’s love struck and only flower petals rain
down on her and Alexavier.
“Verum.” Sophie casts this spell on the boy she thinks she must
hate, but instead of him speaking the truth, a heart shape appears in the bark
of a mulberry tree trunk behind him. The tree is significant in this story as
it is in Pyramus and Thisbe. They are the ill-fated couple, like Romeo and
Juliet, and they planned to meet under a mulberry tree.
“Semper memoriam tui delebo Diamond”-
She commands Judge Mather to forget about the rare red diamond used as a blood
charm that has caused so much trouble.
BEWITCHING HANNAH
When an ancient prophecy reveals the rise of a young, powerful Chesapeake witch and the impending death of another, sixteen-year-old Hannah Fitzgerald realizes she can no longer repress the magic that has taken away so much. There’s also the Grey witch’s Arundell Curse plaguing Hannah and her mysterious love interest, W.
“By the power of fire, I do
summon and churn, and call thee forth to blaze and burn.” Hannah casts this
spell, needing heat from her hands to burn through a seatbelt when she’s
trapped in a fiery wreck.
Her frenemy, Arora, demonstrates
her dark magic when she captures an insect and kills it with this spell, “By my
command and desire, your pesky little death I require.”
The nefarious Emme using magic to
fight with Hannah says, “For the trouble you have inflicted on me, double shall
I inflict on you.” She snaps Hannah’s icy doppleganger statue in half and
Hannah doubles over in agony.
KOUSH HOLLOW
As Jenna Ashby, the sixteen-year-old
eco-warrior, is introduced to the Diamonds & Pearls, her mother’s exclusive
New Orleans social club, she comes to the troubling realization that secrets
are a way of life in Koush Hollow. She’s also cursed with her cold,
narcissistic mother, Rayna, who’s ambitions are limitless.
In the excerpt below, Jenna is
drawn to Voodoo priestess, Mama Ismay. She watches her create a mystical potion
using bayou magic, but then Jenna is left with more questions than answers when
she sees what’s in the mysterious aquarium.
EXCERPT
Mama Ismay reached for another
bottle. The blue-green liquid within shimmered. “From da horseshoe crab.” She
dripped blood into the malevolent liquid. From a bowl, she scooped
silver-colored flakes and tossed them into the flames followed by a fistful of
fine blue crystals.
I had to know. “Copper chloride?”
“Feu bleu. Blue fire.” Orange flames
flashed to a cerulean blue and burned hot enough to heat my face from a
distance. She sprinkled a fine pink powder onto a conch shell and held it over
the fire for a few seconds while chanting.
“What are you saying?”
She raised the shell over her
head. “I am summonin’ da magic of my ancestor spirits who came before me.” She
dropped the whole shell into the pot and turned to me.
I lifted my eyebrows with
surprise. Did she really believe she could summon magic from dead people?
“How did you find us?” A crease
appeared between her brows. “I doubt our location was given readily.”
I stared, mesmerized by the
mystical concoction, steam rising from its gurgling depths as it reduced over
the crackling, blue fire. “I, um, did my research.”
“Dat’s what scientists do, no?”
I wasn’t sure about her so-called
magic, but she was using quite a bit of science herself with that potion. Her
expression left me wondering. “I know we don’t know each other that well, but
you look like there’s something troubling you.”
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
She covered the pot with a grassy cloth and headed to another room. I followed.
“Why not? I had a lot of
questions and I felt you were the only one to answer them.”
Next to a chair covered in oyster
shells was an antique aquarium with beautiful, brass seahorse legs and brass
oyster-shaped lights that illuminated the water. Within the water delicate,
glass spheres the size of golf balls in varied pastel hues floated up and down
in a slow, rhythmic pattern, never reaching the surface. I stood over it for a
better look. An unexpected wave of heat rose up and warmed my cheeks. “What is
this?”
She snatched a dried, green strip
from the table next to her and snapped off a mouthful. “Sea grass jerky. Want a
piece?”
“No thanks.” My gaze returned to
the mysterious floating balls. “I mean, why are there balls in a fish tank and
what’s in them?”
“Da balls contain somethin’ more
precious dan air.” She stepped closer and hovered her hands over the water and
when she turned back to me, her cheeks were flushed with color.
Leigh Goff loves writing young adult fiction with elements of magic and romance because it's also what she liked to read. Born and raised on the East Coast, she now lives in Maryland where she enjoys the area's great history and culture.
Leigh is a graduate of the University of Maryland, University College and a member of the Maryland Writers' Association and Romance Writers of America. She is also an approved artist with the Maryland State Arts Council. Her debut novel, Disenchanted, was inspired by the Wethersfield witches of Connecticut and was released by Mirror World Publishing. Leigh is currently working on her next novel, The Witch's Ring which is set in Annapolis.
Learn more about Leigh Goff on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
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