The Headless Maiden: A Little Witch Tale for the Harvest Moon
“With the Harvest Moon as their dance floor, Ariadne and Dionysus danced...””
Once upon a Harvest Moon, the miller made a wish…
“Make me a rich man,” he begged, eyes to the stars, “with more jewels in my home than wheat in my fields.”
The man was tired of working the family millstone, his soul ached even more than his bones. On that night, desperate, the miller petitioned the old gods. When Dionysus responded, pleasure seeker that he was, the man sighed in relief. The god agreed to shower him in gold and silver, so long as the miller agreed to one thing:
“Give me what lay behind the millstone,” he said. “If you do that, all the riches will be yours.”
Without hesitation, the miller nodded. The moon was high in the sky, and the man envisioned that only a few moldy bushels had been left near the stone. The two men exchanged trinkets, binding themselves to their agreement. Dionysus gave the man a handful of pumpkin seeds and the miller offered the god a knife chiseled from the family millstone.
“It's much sharper than it looks,” the miller promised.
With the terms set, Dionysus danced off into the darkness. The miller walked home, where his wife called out from the threshold.
“We're rich, we're rich!” she screamed in delight. “Gold coins frame our windows and diamonds rain down from the rafters! Quick, go get Ariadne! She's at the millhouse, sweeping up the leftover wheat from today's harvest.”
“This is too predictable,” Little Witch interrupted from the sunny spot near the window. She decided Mother's new story would have to wait, she had questions!
Persephone purred and wrapped her tail around the girl's feet. “I was about to ask the same thing!” She rubbed her familiar's head.
Mother raised an eyebrow at Little Witch, who rushed on, “It's the job of the beta audience to give feedback.” She gestured to the coven of creatures and fairies filling the room. “And I already know what happens next.”
“Pish posh you do!” Madam Spider slid down from a silken strand and into Little Witch's waiting palm. “This is a brand-new story! Your mother wrote the last line this morning!”
“That is true,” said Mother. “But this is a story inspired by my love of fairy tales and old myths. I mashed them together in my cauldron,” she tapped her head, “and came up with a new potion.”
At the mention of 'potion,' something sparked in Little Witch's eyes and she turned to her grimoire. She made a note under the section titled, “Words are Spells.”
“Well, why didn't you say so earlier?” Little Witch said, switching out her purple pen for one the color of fire. “As your editor, I need to know these things.”
From the corner of Little Witch's eye, Madam Spider tapped her specter impatiently. "Are you finished with the interrogation? She asked. “Because this next chapter is important!”
To be continued…
Happy Harvest Moon, Witches!
How are you spending our 10th full moon (and final supermoon) of the year? If you're part of our literary coven, maybe you'd like to spend it like the pros - with a good story!
As luck would have it, spooky friends, we have a new Little Witch Tale live on the blog! Click here to read The Headless Maiden, an illustrated tale about harvesttime wishes, haunted hearts, and Ariadne, the heroine who lost her head.
There's no catch, nothing to buy, we just thought hey, there's no such thing as too many ghost stories, right?
The old gods always seem to sneak into Pointy Hat Press's tales, and truth be told, we're honored! This time, Dionysus and Ariadne dance across the miller's golden fields, and last year, we caught the goddess Persephone creeping around our pumpkin patches.
Thinking about a pumpkin as the Persephone of the garden feels pretty spot on – a bold, bright goddess who rules the plant Underworld come Midharvest. Before winter sets in, we'll bring her inside and offer her free rein within our cellars, soups, and holiday pies.
From a magickal perspective, pumpkins initiate abundance, luck, resilience, and communication from the spirit world. Because of a pumpkin's spherical shape, it's associated with the moon, the element of water, and the witch's cauldron.
The same can be said for gourds, squashes, and even turnips – all vessel-like fruits and roots that according to folklore, can be hollowed out to store light, wisdom, and a bit of magick.
As a guide and guardian, spotting Persephone creeping through our tired gardens feels like a timely reminder that harvest season is nigh, but things are still blooming, fruiting, and offering us the sustenance we crave.
Also inspired by our love of spectral gardens and the season of reaping, how about we harvest some creativity from the moon? Introducing:
Harvested from the Moon: 28 Creative Prompts for the Season
To join in on our 28 days (one lunar cycle!) of creative prompts, all you need to do is share a piece of your art inspired by each day. Are you a writer? Great! Painter? That's amazing! Songwriter? Sculptor? The more the merrier!
Use the hashtag #harvestedfromthemoon and tag @pointyhatpress and @littlewitchbooks on Instagram to be featured! See below for the first week of prompts, built from the bones of our latest Little Witch Tale.
