When did women lose the braids, when did we stop singing prayers into each other’s hair, weaving with clever fingers? The grandmothers knew this to be ritual as they readied themselves for the day strand by strand, then unwinding their hair and releasing as the sun set. A tighter weave for protection, and action. A looser braid for peace, rest and receptivity. Scraps of ribbon inviting abundance or clarity. Women’s magic is the most simple of all, woven into daily life as the heart of our communities, as mothers and daughters and friends. What are you sweeping from your home, what are you stirring in the pot, praying on your beads, braiding in your hair? This morning I was gazing back like Lot’s wife and feeling myself about to become immobile as stone. My hair was not pliable and soft then, was hard and scratchy as if to say “don’t come too close”. It was bound and could not be unbound and I hung my amulets from it and felt its reassuring weight. Today I am holding my grief in my hair to keep me moving and as night falls I will unwind it and shed a tear and sing of mother mountains and a woman who was beloved by them.
Hair and Braid Magic
