Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Zoë Howe, author of the new Witchful Thinking.
Whenever I'm in the woods—which is as often as possible—I like to leave something for the spirit of the place, such as a piece of crystal or something "of the earth" that won't damage the wildlife. A few years ago, something very strange and special happened when I did this. My husband and I were visiting a magnificent 800-year-old oak tree in a wood in Mistley, not far from where we lived at the time in Essex, England. This tree is something of a folk hero in witching circles. His name is Old Knobbley and he is a highly protective presence: during the Essex witch-hunts of the English Civil
