coach trips to disneyland paris

The Wiccan year circle is a concept that refers to the annual cycle of festivals and holidays followed by those who practice the religion of Wicca. This cycle is centered around the changing seasons and the cycles of the moon, and it is deeply interconnected with the natural world. The Wiccan year circle is commonly divided into eight festivals, known as the Wheel of the Year, which mark significant points in the solar and lunar cycles. These festivals are often referred to as Sabbats and are celebrated with rituals and ceremonies that honor the forces of nature and the divine. The first festival of the Wiccan year circle is called Samhain, which falls on October 31st or November 1st. This festival marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter.

This book suits our time of towering duplicity and uncomfortable truth. The accusations flung at Katharina resemble the wide range of theories that have sprouted up stateside to provide shaky explanations for everything: our government, our demonstrations, our pandemic. Galchen’s Leonberg, the city where Katharina spent most of her life, is a cosmopolitan place; we see different economic strata here, high to low, and the personalities inhabiting this place speak in a modern way, without too much antiquation. Galchen shows us that life hasn’t changed, and neither has human suspicion of the unknown, and neither has male fear of women. There are comic moments — such as the exchanges between Katharina and two Keystone-esque guards in her prison cell — but other scenes are wrenching, such as when Katharina is hauled naked out of her house to meet judgment in court. One of Galchen’s great accomplishments is making us see, through Katharina’s boldness, how illusory and unstable our concept of “society” is, and how ultimately, looking upwards, at the stars, away from the earth, as her son famously did, is a pursuit more likely to have truth at its end.

One of Galchen s great accomplishments is making us see, through Katharina s boldness, how illusory and unstable our concept of society is, and how ultimately, looking upwards, at the stars, away from the earth, as her son famously did, is a pursuit more likely to have truth at its end. That may sound odd, given these grim details, but Galchen holds a degree in psychiatry, and her previous novel, Atmospheric Disturbances, is about a man convinced his wife has been replaced by a replica.

This festival marks the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It is a time when the veil between the physical world and the spiritual realm is believed to be thinnest, and it is a time to remember and honor ancestors. Following Samhain is Yule, which is celebrated around the winter solstice, usually on December 21st.

The story of Europe’s infamous witch trials gets the Monty Python treatment

Say what you will about Donald Trump’s fickle loyalties, he never abandoned the witches. Like Macbeth, he kept them on his mind throughout his calamitous reign. He never tired of whining that he was the victim of “the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!”

Get the full experience. Choose your plan ArrowRight

But like so many of the former president’s historical memories — his marital fidelity, his election landslides — his position in the annals of witch hunts is somewhat exaggerated.

Most people who didn’t pay someone to take the SATs for them know that Salem, Mass., was the scene of a far greater and more destructive witch hunt. During that infamous terror, which started in 1692, more than 200 people were accused of satanic activity, and 20 were executed.

Even at their most puritanical, though, American colonists were amateurs compared with witch hunters in Europe. In the 16th and 17th centuries, tens of thousands of people — possibly hundreds of thousands — were killed for practicing witchcraft. The craze was particularly virulent in Germany, and the victims were usually older women, not reality-TV stars. In fact, most of those who were tortured, hanged and burned on the testimony of some superstitious neighbor or sadistic cleric are lost in the shadows of history.

But in the early 1600s, in a German town called Leonberg, an illiterate widow named Katharina was arrested for sickening a fellow villager with a demonic potion. She was imprisoned for more than a year and threatened with torture before her son finally won her release.

We know these details because Katharina’s son was Johannes Kepler. While defending his mom against a collection of witchy rumors, on the side he was revolutionizing the science of astronomy.

That’s a good boy.

Katharina’s terrifying ordeal is now the subject of a new novel by Rivka Galchen called “Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch.” In her acknowledgments, Galchen writes, “I have never enjoyed working on a book as much as I enjoyed working on this one.” That may sound odd, given these grim details, but Galchen holds a degree in psychiatry, and her previous novel, “Atmospheric Disturbances,” is about a man convinced his wife has been replaced by a replica. Which is to say, Galchen is curious about how minds work — or don’t. And the witchcraft case of Katharina Kepler presents an irresistible opportunity to reflect on social paranoia, family dynamics and female agency.

Alas, not much has changed in 400 years. Women — particularly smart, demanding women — are still branded as nasty, dangerous and unnatural. In Galchen’s highly creative treatment, Katharina checks all the most alarming boxes.

“Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch” conjures up Katharina’s years-long ordeal as the defendant in a laborious investigation of her alleged satanic activity. And it’s no wonder certain figures in town have risen up against her. If it were just a matter of her wickedness, they might forgive her. But she has a wicked sense of humor.

Start collecting dry sticks.

Katharina notes that the woman who has accused her “looks like a comely werewolf.” She refers to the duke overseeing her case as “the False Unicorn,” who “looks like an unwell river otter in a doublet.” She summarizes the ludicrous powers attributed to her — “to pass through locked doors, to be the death of sheep, goats, cows, infants, and grapevines” — and then scoffs, “I can’t even win at backgammon.”

You can practically hear Katharina’s eyes rolling. Her wry dismissal of accusers is both what keeps her standing and what inflames her enemies. Her family begs her to be quiet — it’s no accident that troublesome women were humiliated with a “witch’s bridle” — but she persists with her caustic comments and withering rebuttals. As a sympathetic neighbor notes, “She was a frighteningly intelligent woman — also a fool.”

The comedy that runs through “Everyone Knows” is a magical brew of absurdity and brutality. Galchen has a Kafkaesque sense of the way the exercise of authority inflates egos and twists logic. Again and again, villagers are asked, “Do you understand that any false testimony you knowingly give will provoke God’s great anger in your earthly life and will deliver your soul unto Satan upon your death?” And again and again, these witnesses deliver the most outlandish claims in their own petty voices.

There’s real sorcery here, but it arises only from the way Galchen fuses ancient and modern consciousness. Her characters, mostly simple folks driven by greed and fear, speak in a casual contemporary patter flecked with the patina of a different era, a time closer to nature, to physical work. A disgraced man notes, “It was with great vigilance that I and my siblings pruned back any weed of the rumor that followed us.” Under oath, the baker’s wife demands: “Who rides a goat backward? I’m a humble woman. But even I know that only witches and sometimes devils do that.”

Their problem, as now, is epistemological. “We all know she’s a witch,” an investigator says. “We’ve always known. The matter of how we came to know is simple — we already knew.”

We’re told that Katharina acted like a man, caused a man’s leg to ache and passed through a locked door. One transcript, in which a witness claims he saw Frau Kepler in the form of a blackbird, sounds like Monty Python’s “Dead Parrot” sketch:

How was he witnessed?

By Frau Kepler, in the form of a blackbird. At first I thought it was only a blackbird.

What kind of a blackbird was it?

A black one, sir.

An ordinary blackbird?

I trust you know a blackbird.

Is the female blackbird not more brown than she is black?

I’m not an expert on birds, sir.

But you know the bird was Frau Kepler?

It was very obvious.

These testimonies present a jaw-dropping catalogue of anxieties, irritations and non sequiturs — all the various ways human beings can make themselves believe whatever they must to avoid acknowledging that they’re afraid, that they’re jealous, that they can’t control their lives. Late in the novel, all the most bizarre accusations are enumerated in a list that could pass for Renaissance Twitter — a reminder that our era didn’t invent misinformation; we just made it travel faster.

But “Everyone Knows” is no witchcraft-craze parody. Katharina’s life is completely disrupted, and her accusers start stripping away parts of her estate long before the trial is finished. Galchen never lets us forget that the likely outcome of such a flock of troubles is death by torture.

Running beneath the great battle for Katharina’s life, though, there’s a quieter tragedy. It involves the way her story comes to us: Katharina’s account is recorded by her literate neighbor, Simon Satler. He’s not at all comfortable in that role — so close to counselor or advocate for the accused. He’s not an outspoken man; he’s survived for decades by keeping his head down. “If there were a guild of non-sayers,” he notes, “that would be my guild.” But somehow he finds the courage to act as Katharina’s scribe — at least until the claims against his old friend start piling up. Then, who can blame him for feeling nervous? “I was and remained a too-quiet witness,” he confesses. It’s a poignant, painful record of an ordinary man’s decency tested by fire.

The fate of Kepler’s mother is a matter of historical record, but Galchen arrives at something the facts can’t catch — the exhaustion, the bone-weariness of fighting such misogyny year after year. It’s enough to break a weaker person.

“That’s what life is,” Katharina says. “A bunch of thorns, and a berry.”

Ron Charles writes about books for The Washington Post and hosts TotallyHipVideoBookReview.com.

By Rivka Galchen

Farrar Straus Giroux. 288 pp. $27

This festival is a celebration of the rebirth of the Sun and the return of light. It is a time of great joy and festivity, as the days begin to lengthen and the promise of spring is just around the corner. Imbolc is the next festival of the Wiccan year circle and usually takes place on February 2nd. It is a celebration of the first signs of spring, and it is dedicated to the Celtic goddess Brigid, who represents light, inspiration, and creativity. It is a time to awaken the earth and prepare for the coming season of growth. Ostara, which is also known as the spring equinox, falls around March 20th. This festival celebrates the return of balance between day and night, as well as the emergence of new life in nature. It is a time of fertility and rejuvenation, and it is often symbolized by the Easter bunny and decorated eggs. Beltane is the next festival, occurring on May 1st, and it marks the beginning of summer. It is a time to celebrate the fertility of the earth and the union of the divine masculine and feminine energies. This festival is often associated with bonfires, dancing, and rituals for prosperity and abundance. Litha, or the summer solstice, is celebrated around June 21st. It is the longest day of the year and marks the peak of the Sun's power. This festival is a time to honor the light and warmth of the Sun and to celebrate the abundance of nature. It is often celebrated with outdoor rituals, feasting, and bonfires. Lughnasadh, also known as Lammas, falls on August 1st and marks the beginning of the harvest season. It is a time to give thanks for the abundance of the earth and to celebrate the fruits of our labor. This festival is often symbolized by the first grains and fruits being harvested and shared with the community. The final festival of the Wiccan year circle is Mabon, which occurs on the autumn equinox around September 21st. This festival celebrates the second harvest and the balance between day and night. It is a time to give thanks for the blessings of the year and to prepare for the coming winter. The Wiccan year circle is a continuous cycle that reflects the rhythms of nature and the ever-changing cycles of life and death. Each festival represents a different aspect of the natural world and offers an opportunity to connect with the divine and to celebrate the beauty and magic of the earth..

Reviews for "coach trips to disneyland paris"

coach trips to disneyland paris