Re: Is Kate a witch?

[Caoineag <hargieka@clutx.clarkson.edu>]

I don't know if she is a witch but she does cite several Pagan 
rituals in her songs.  A good example is in _Oh England_ the line
"Give me one wish and I'd be wassailing/ In the Orchid my English
Rose" I believe refers to the Old Winter Solstice/Yuletide custom
practiced in England known as "Wassailing the Orchard Trees."  The
ritual, for those interested involves placing cakes in the boughs of
the oldest apple trees in the orchard and pouring cider as a libation.
It was said that the cider was a substitute for the human or animal 
blood offered in primitive times as part of a Winter Solstice fertility
rite.  After offering a toast to the health of the apple trees and
giving thanks to them for producing fruit, the farmers would then 
enjoin the trees to continue producing abundantly.
Whether or not she is a witch, she certainly is aware of some Pagan
ritual as evidenced by above - which came from a fairly obscure source.

kIrI
hargieka@clutx.clarkson.edu
hargieka@clutx.bitnet