The witch's joy of knowing your "patch"

Why walking is part of your magickal practice.

I have been walking the same loop nearly every day for the past five years.

It takes me through farm fields and along a canal path, leading back through cottages and cobbles, then onto suburban streets. This morning meander sets me up for the day as my “WFH commute”, but it is also a major part of my daily witchcraft practice.

Lately, at my in-person events at Blackwell’s Oxford, I have spoken about the advice of the wonderful witch Hannah Sanders (a Treadwell’s resident witch - definitely go to her online classes if you can!). At a class of hers I went to last year on omens and portents, Hannah spoke about the vital importance of knowing the “mile and a half” around your home.

She says that it is a witch’s job to note what grows and what lives in your local area. To sense the changes in the air. And to notice where the flies gather.

What shares the forest shade with wild garlic and wood anemone?

Why is the hawthorn blossom so late this year?

And when did that shrieking jackdaw appear over that particular house?

Because we notice these things on both a physical and spiritual level, we have a duty to report our findings back to the people around us in our community - to inform them and to warn them of what the natural world is telling us.

It is a witch's most vital responsibility.

This idea goes back to when every community would have a wise woman or “cunning person” - the herb masher and midwife - who could help ease your ailments, and who could tell you to keep inside when they sensed a shift in the fabric of the air.

I love the idea of witches actually being the stewards of the land, and having a duty of care towards the local people and animals. Yes, many of us may be solitary practitioners or hedgewitches, honing our craft alone in our homes, but this idea connects us to the wider, wilder world; doing good for wider society. I think this is something so important to bear in mind in the age of disconnection.

And it all starts with knowing and understanding the land closest around you.

Finding your patch

I call my morning walking loop “my patch”.

The term comes from back in my RSPB days. When I worked and volunteered for the nature conservation charity from 2014-17 (wow, was it really that long ago? exasperated whine), birdwatchers would frequently report in to us about the birds in their local “patch” - usually a singular type of habitat close to where they lived. One birder I knew was the renowned authority on Lancaster’s goldeneye population, as he would walk the patch around Freeman’s Pools by the River Lune in search of them from late October through to early spring. (Read my own post on this incredible bird-filled area.)

He could set his watch by their return and people would go to him asking about their fluctuating populations and favourite spots. It would give them an insight into the recent weather patterns, the quality of the water, and any trouble that could soon be heading inland.

Photo by Marko Hankkila on Unsplash

My own patch takes me only about 25 minutes to walk (at my very brisk pace), although I wish I had longer in the mornings to take advantage of it! This feels like a manageable area to harvest my herbs from and to watch over with a witch's eye.

While I am there, I do my utmost to ensure I pay attention and really absorb the messages of the land around me. She is always trying to speak to us, after all.

I walk without earphones in (letting my audiobook count slide) to make sure I can hear any bird calls or rustling brambles. It has become so second nature to me to notice the changes in the leaves, the amount of berries and where the goldfinches land, that I actually don’t write these things down, but I absolutely should! And, if you want to start this practice, you could create a specific nature journal to note down the nuances and subtle changes to nature in your local area. I’ll be creating a nature journal this year, starting at Imbolc - taking note from the Grimoire Queen, Laura Derbyshire, so I will share how to create one on The Green Witch in the coming weeks.

My latest “noticings” throughout winter:

• redwings clustered amongst the hawberries - red on red

• deadnettle coming up in the exact same spot they’ve risen it for the past four years

• ice pooling in the potholes and forming tangles with the frost

• the beginnings of more local housebuilding, which is really angering the spirits of the land (as well as myself). I can feel the land rumbling

• the tinkle of long-tailed tits in the rowan trees

What I can’t wait to spot again come spring:

• blackthorn blossom making everything better again! This pleases the Fae greatly and I can often sense their presence in the shadier spots

• the progression of stinging nettle, speedwell, cleavers, jack of the hedge and then stitchwort along the path - it’s like a yearly procession that I love to celebrate

• roe deer sharing space with the horses in their paddocks

• fluffiness back in the clouds

• the groaning strength of the sycamore tree growing its leaves anew

While I - as of yet - don’t go knocking on my neighbours’ doors to tell them that I saw a blackbird lurking in the undergrowth today (I don’t think they’re ready for how witchy a person I actually am), I do like to share my noticings in my Substack posts - noting the shifting of the seasons and sharing the messages that certain trees are trying to convey. I need to take a leaf out of Hannah Sanders’ book and share my knowledge with the community when I think it will help them.

And you can too.

The first step is finding your patch.

6 ways to start gathering a witch's knowledge

You may already have a walking loop that you complete on a regular basis. This could be out in the fields along a public footpath, in your local park, or a plotted route amongst suburban streets that gives you views of garden trees.

Once you have selected a route, you can now start thinking of this as your “patch” and can make a promise to yourself to learn all you can about its spirit and fauna.

My advice for knowing and understanding the land:

1. Get a small pocket notebook to record your findings: plants, trees, berries, deer and birds. You can also write down the colour of the sky and the direction of the wind, or you may like to focus on energy changes and where feels safe or where feels dangerous to go. Who is warding you away - human or spirit? Your phone’s notes app is a good starting point, but you are more likely to get distracted from the purpose of your walk if you get out your phone, I find.

2. Walk your loop two or three times a week initially (a much easier feat in the summer!) to get to know the area more intimately. I have a fast walking speed, but it is important to do some of these walks at a slower pace if you’re going to notice anything meaningful at all.

3. Get content with walking without distractions. I always used to walk with an audiobook on or Spotify playing, but I recently deleted all my subscription services - partly to eliminate distractions from what is going on around me and to pay closer attention.

4. Don’t feel guilty if you don’t get outside for a few days. There’s enough in life to feel guilty about, and we are all so busy.

5. Learn your symbolism. This is one of the basics of a solid witchcraft practice: if you understand the spiritual symbolism of the plants and land, and you will understand the world through a witch’s eyes. It will also make note-taking a lot easier! Invest in some books on the subject – I have a list of helpful witchcraft books here to get you started.

6. As much as it pains me to say this, try walking your patch in all weathers! Walking boots, a sturdy umbrella and a cosy hat are all it takes (oh, and the willpower at 7.30am on a mizzly autumn morning). In different weathers, wildlife acts very unexpectedly and you may be surprised by just how many birds are braving the snows to finish off last season's rosehips.

Once you’ve become acquainted (and hopefully fallen in love) with your patch, that is when the joy of noticing and recording (either mentally or in a notebook) begins.

As we approach the Pagan festival of Imbolc, and the coming of spring - I hear the snowdrops are already out in some parts of the UK! - this is the ideal time to start making new habits and doing good in your local landscape. And if you are restarting your witchcraft practice in general right now after a prolonged break, you can read my advice here.

Once you start noticing the small spiritual messages of the natural world, start telling your friends about them! Spread the news – the world longs for her signs to be seen and heard ❤️

Enjoy your journey into a different form of knowing.

Do you do this already? Or will you be establishing your patch this year? Let me know in the comments!

Have a beautiful week and I’ll see you next Saturday.

Sending love,

Jennifer x