When the month of October rolls around, some people think about flannel shirts, hoodies, pumpkin spice, and bonfires.
Other people like me, immediately think of Halloween, witches, goblins, ghouls, superheroes, princesses, and other costumes.
In 2018, we were vendors at the indoor Schenectady Farmers Market, which is held inside Proctor’s Theatre.
One of the vendors’ names was Carmen. Something about him seemed almost mystical to me.
He was a handsome young man with fair skin, long, wavy brown hair, and a beard.
His hair, skin, and voice were all soft, but there was something about him I couldn’t put my finger on.
Carmen was a jewelry designer who sold gorgeous earrings, bracelets, and necklaces.
I would go over each week and say hello to Carmen, chat for a minute or two, and look at his jewelry. Everything was beautiful I told him numerous times.
That Christmas, Marty gave me a necklace that Carmen designed. It was a crescent moon with a purple stone hanging from the moon.
The necklace came with a very dainty, thin silver chain, which I broke within a month.
I am many things, but dainty isn’t one of them. I am very hard on jewelry and other things, not on purpose.
I put the necklace in my jewelry box and forgot about it. I found it last week when I went through my jewelry to charge under the super full moon.
When I looked at the necklace, I was taken aback. A million things started running through my head.
Since I “stepped into my magic” in August, I’ve joined some Facebook witch groups for all kinds of witches.
Yes, there are all sorts of witches, although most people think about Wiccan witches who belong to different covens. Hollywood capitalizes on that kind of witch.
There are green witches, kitchen witches, sea witches, cottage and kitchen witches, Celtic and faery witches, eclectic witches, and many more.
I’m self-classified as an eclectic witch who works alone and doesn’t belong to any coven or religion.
Eclectic witches use different modalities, techniques, and beliefs, such as working with angels, reiki, shamanism, and healing.
This was me before I knew I was a witch. Did Carmen know I was a witch?
Marty told Carmen when he was picking out a piece of his jewelry for me to choose whatever he thought I’d like.
When I opened the gift, Marty told me he let Carmen choose the necklace, and frankly, I was a little bewildered.
Why did he pick this for me I wondered. It wasn’t like any of the other pieces I said I loved when I was looking at the necklaces myself.
Last week, when I took the necklace out of my jewelry, I gasped and said out loud, “It’s a witch’s moon crescent!” Holy shit!!
Did Carmen really know?
I replaced the broken chain and used a piece of leather cord so I could wear the pendant after I polished it up and charged it in the moonlight.
The next day, I found a silver necklace chain that appeared out of nowhere. I’m not lying, guys. It was in a small bowl where I keep my rings. Again, holy shit!
I was sad when I found out that Carmen and his best friend Ashley’s business AMC, Ashley met Carmen, closed in 2022.
Yesterday, I looked up Carmen on Instagram. I found him and his new business, Phases with a store in nearby Lake George, NY, along with others in Wildwood, NJ, and Florida.
His focus is now on his love of amethyst, mindful pieces of jewelry and decor, yoga, meditation, and finding peace.
Wow. I’m going to answer my own question. Carmen knew.