Grimoire

For centuries, the phrase “Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live” from Exodus 22:18 has been used to justify persecution, torture, and murder. But what if the Bible never actually condemned witches at all? What if the wise women, the herbalists, the midwives, and the village healers were never the target of this ancient text?

The truth is far more complex, and far more tragic, than most people realize.

The Word That Changed Everything: Kashap
In the original Hebrew text of Exodus 22:18, the word translated as “witch” is kashap (כָּשַׁף). This is critical, because kashap doesn’t mean what we think of as a witch at all.

Kashap refers specifically to someone who uses poison or harmful potions with malicious intent – a poisoner, a sorcerer who causes harm through toxic substances. The root of the word is associated with muttering or whispering incantations while preparing harmful concoctions. This wasn’t about the wise woman brewing healing tea or the midwife easing labor pains with herbal remedies.

In ancient Near Eastern context, a kashap was closer to what we might call a malicious poisoner or one who used substances to harm, manipulate, or kill others, often for payment. These were individuals who worked in secret to cause genuine harm, not community healers working openly to help their neighbors.

The verse, more accurately translated, might read: “You shall not allow a poisoner to live” or “Do not tolerate one who harms through toxic sorcery.”

Today marks another trip around the sun for me, and as an October Scorpio, I’ve been reflecting on what makes our energy so distinctly different from our November Scorpio siblings. While we share the same intense, magnetic sign, the cosmic timing of our births creates two very different expressions of Scorpio power.

The Dual Rulership: Mars and Pluto
Scorpio is unique in that it’s ruled by two powerful planets: Mars, the ancient ruler, and Pluto, the modern ruler. But here’s where October and November Scorpios diverge. Those of us born in October carry more of Mars’ fierce, warrior-like energy. We’re the first-decan Scorpios, and that Martian influence makes us quick to react, ready to strike, and always prepared to take immediate action.

Mars gives us that signature fire in our veins. We don’t just feel intensely, we move intensely. When something triggers our passion or our protective instincts, we respond with lightning speed. There’s no hesitation, no second-guessing. We see what needs to be done, and we do it.

November Scorpios, on the other hand, lean more heavily into Pluto’s transformative, mysterious energy. They’re the strategists, the ones who play the long game. While we’re charging forward, they’re planning ten moves ahead, working in the shadows to orchestrate deep, lasting change.

We live in an age of optimization. Our homes are curated for function, flow, and aesthetic cohesion. Marie Kondo taught us to keep only what sparks joy. Minimalism tells us less is more. Every lifestyle influencer has a system, a method, a five-step process for making your space “work better.”

And yet, I’m here to argue for the opposite: You need at least one object in your home that makes absolutely no logical sense.

Not something quirky-but-practical. Not a conversation starter that you can explain away. I mean something truly, wonderfully, stubbornly illogical. Something that violates every principle of good design and sensible living. Something that exists simply because it exists, and for no other reason.

Why You Need the Illogical
It Keeps You Human
When everything in your life has a purpose, you start to feel like a machine. The coffee maker makes coffee. The meditation cushion facilitates mindfulness. The art on the wall “ties the room together.” But humans aren’t efficient. We’re gloriously, messily irrational creatures who fall in love with things for reasons we can’t articulate.

Your body is a map of your soul’s journey. Every scar tells a story, every freckle holds meaning, and those seemingly random beauty marks and birthmarks? They’re anything but random. Across cultures and throughout history, the marks we’re born with have been seen as signs, symbols, and messages. From past lives, from the divine, from our own spirit choosing where to place reminders of who we are and what we came here to do.

In the witch trials of Europe and colonial America, officials searched accused witches for unusual marks, believing these were signs of demonic pacts or places where familiars suckled. While that dark history speaks to fear and persecution, it also acknowledges something our ancestors understood – the body bears witness to the spiritual.

Modern witches and spiritual practitioners have reclaimed this knowledge, reading birthmarks and beauty marks not as signs of evil, but as sacred texts written on skin, soul signatures, karmic markers, and spiritual fingerprints left by our higher selves.

Let’s explore what your marks might be telling you.

Face: The Window to Your Soul’s Purpose
Forehead