Annaliese Avery: A Brief Guide To The Most Magical Season
When I set off to write a story I often start with a short concept and a handful of vibes! The Wycherleys was no different – the concept was Regency Witches and the vibes were Bridgerton with magic. As I am not a big planner I often set off on the story and see where it takes me, but this time I did have a little bit of structure to the timing of the plot in the form of the Wiccan Wheel of the Year.
When I was pulling together the Regency Witches concept I was caught by two ideas, firstly the debutante season with all of its balls and decadence, and romance and formality and what that might look like with magic sprinkled in, and The Wheel of the Year and the Sabbats that form it.
It felt as if the two things clicked together perfectly. The Debutantes of Magic start their season on Mabon and end it on Ostara, taking in five Sabbats, and running from equinox to equinox.
I knew that in this world the season was important not for making a marriage match but for finding a magical match, another witch who you can tether your magic too. This is imperative because magic is unstable and without a tether a witch would lose their magic within four or five years of receiving it on the full moon after their seventeenth birthday.
Magical matches can be formed for many reasons, love is one of them but more commonly friendship, power and political gain are important reasons to form a tether with a certain witch. Each witch has three seasons to find a witch and if they fail, they will become magicless. The stakes for the seasons are high.
Mabon is the second harvest festival and marks the balance of day and night before the darkness of winter takes hold. It is a time of giving thanks, of feasting and rituals, and for the witches of the Ton I thought it was the perfect time for the debutantes to be presented, for their magic to be acknowledged and for them to start their journey through the magical season.
Samhain is the time of the witches new year, it is also the time where the veil between the world is thinnest and magic flows more freely. For the witches it is a time of honouring the past, all witches are allowed to wear black on this day and to fly their broomsticks freely. This is where the debutantes take part in the Samhain Right, where they can discover what magical matches may be available to them because although a witch ultimately gets to choose who they tether with, their magic might have a preference too.
Yule marks the rebirth of the sun, the lengthening of days to come. It is celebrated by exchanging gifts and for the debutantes by a masked ball where they can use a glamour to disguise themselves and seek out magical connections without any restraints. It is said that the Yule Ball can make or break a possible tether.
Imbolc is a fire festival that signals new beginnings, inspiration, and purification. For the witches of the Ton it is a time of deep reflection as they enter into a trial by fire. They must walk through a flaming door and face parts of themselves that are hidden, once overcome they gain a tethering thread, a small piece of magic that will allow them to tether with a witch.
Ostara returns the balance of light and dark to the world as it brings in rebirth, renewal and growth. This is the pledge day where any witches who wish to tether their magic to one another take the threads won at Imbolc and tie the first knot of tethering with one another, starting the process of bonding their magic to one another forever.
Of course, each of these Sabbats contains a feast or a ball or both and the opportunity for the witches to get dressed up and to dance, an activity that is very closely related to spellcasting. As the story moves through the season the characters grow and find themselves as well as one another, a wonderful reflection of the turning of the seasons and one that I thoroughly enjoyed exploring.
I hope that when you are reading The Wycherleys you too experience the most magical of seasons.
