16/03/2022
By binternet
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Amulets and magic objects… Meeting with a witch 2.0 in Sicily<

RencontreMartine lives in the fiery nature of Sicily. She knows the magic of plants and makes beneficial charms to soften the spirits. Interview with a fairy-serenity.

By Sylvia Jorif

She lives in the heart of Sicily, in her charming little house surrounded by olive, fig and lemon trees. She cultivates her garden as Voltaire would say. A real garden of fragrant plants. But also its interior garden. Martine Kurz was a lifestyle journalist for ELLE magazine for many years. One day she leaves everything to settle in Sicily without even knowing the island, by feeling, on a crush for a pretty cabin in the Baroque valley, which she develops over the years to make it a cocoon of good -be. Since then, she has been creating dreamlike sweets, gently esoteric plant compositions, adorable amulets and her Instagram account, Bella Ciao is enchanting. Meeting with a beloved witch...

Interview with Bella Ciao, soul healer

How do you analyze the phenomenon of neo-witches and do you consider yourself as such? I would rather say that I participate modestly in a "healing" movement, with my plants but especially with my clay amulets that I create on demand with magic words and formulas that bring comfort to the soul. The phenomenon of neo-witches, in the chaotic era we live in, is a great cauldron in which ingredients, rites and beliefs that are just, rich and sensible but also totally extravagant are cheerfully stirred. I recall the definition of this adjective: "Which goes beyond the limits of reason; bizarre and unreasonable". In this great tide losing its bearings, everyone is looking for the branch to cling to, the magic potion that will allow them to feel better, to be less afraid, to find a door to enlightenment, that is to say, inspiration. It is an essential movement that allows you to reconnect with nature in the philosophical sense of the term and this is its great wealth: to find or discover an openness to the elements, to plants, to stones, to animals, to the moon, to the good sense of mother earth and to intuition. It also means restoring power and bonding to a female community that learns and shares together and supports each other. Let's not forget that, at all times, witches have been hunted down, tortured and decimated. At the same time, it's also the big fair for anything and everything... Because we must not forget the mercantile value of this phenomenon at a time when we are all a little lost and when we bite easily at the 'fish hook. You have to know how to sort. But as long as you experience chaos, it may as well be magical.

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Amulettes et objets magiques… Rencontre avec une sorcière 2.0 en Sicile

How did you become interested in all these plants around you? I spent my childhood with a grandmother who was a picker, very close to nature. She taught me mushrooms, wild berries, plants but also a deep respect for wild picking. I realize today that barely 5-6 years old, I was able to fill a basket without any poisonous plants or mushrooms, it's incredible. When I moved to the countryside a few years ago, I opened my eyes again and I started walking again in the footsteps of this somewhat witchy grandmother who also frequented bonesetters and magnetizers.

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What are the offering necklaces you make for? In all civilizations, the offering necklace - like amulets or ex-voto - has been used to thank and honor nature, the gods, the deceased, healings and the graces granted. For me, it is a bond of trust, recognition and gratitude between the human soul and the invisible powers.

Sage is a special plant, can you explain its virtues? White sage in particular is a sacred plant that is rarely eaten, unlike sage officinalis, but which is burned to purify and clear the energies of a place or of the person themselves. By burning it, we clear the way but its vibratory rate also allows to open the space to intuition, meditation, magic...

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And the fumigation sticks? They are used like white sage, with the difference that they can be composed of several plants: lavender, thyme, eucalyptus, wormwood, rosemary, mint etc. Fumigation is an ancestral rite used since the dawn of time by shamans, druids, witches... or cholera.

What type of clientele do you have? They are mostly women, of all ages and backgrounds, even if their common point is a great sensitivity to the earth, to the invisible and to the innate magic of the universe. They also believe in the powerful power of offering, gratitude and humility in the face of something invisible that is beyond us. To the fact that one is able to create one's own reality and to attract certain graces. For them, I engrave amulets with secret formulas linked to their history, words of welcome for unborn babies, dates to celebrate unions or initiations, messages of protection for their home... It is extremely moving.