Christine Grace is a witch, teacher, author of The Witch at the Forest’s Edge, and host of the podcast Betwixt & Between.

My witchery has its roots in the enchanted land where I live and in my relationships with ancestors. My craft is local, green, hedge, folk, ancestral, traditional, gray, animist, liminal and undoubtedly other words, too. Over the years these words take on various shades of meaning in the broader community, but never lost is my wonder at the enchantment of the world and the specificity and power within each witch.

I’ve lived in many places, but currently I live in the woods of Tennessee, in a place my neighbors call the holler. I homeschool and homestead with my husband and kids and piles of animals. We’re creative, odd and prone to running wild. You can’t see my house from the road, which used to be a wagon trail. But I’m usually up here, if you wind your way up the little dirt path. It gets steep and rocky. You’ll pass ferns, creeks, a pond and probably a disinterested barn cat. It’s pretty much heaven. You never know quite who you’ll find up here, either: a mama reading fairytales over honeyed tea or a wild haired hedgewitch emerging from the forest deep.

I believe that each witch comes from a lineage of ancestors with magical lore and protective love as well as with trauma and heartache. Each witch lives in a place of power and is a local witch. I find joy in connecting with such diverse folks, all of us grasping for those deep roots. Relationship is the lifebood of witchery. The relationships we form with spirits, including each other, is the network through which our power flows.

It is this belief that draws me out. I am an introvert, content to practice solitary, family-style or with a small group, enjoying one new apprentice every year or two, and that’s all. Except it’s not. I am excited to share and connect through the forthcoming book, the long-running podcast and Instagram. My best friend, co-host, co-founder and magical partner, Marijean Rue, and I started podcasting seven years ago to draw folks into the magical chats we had with each other. I would never have guessed at, and am ever grateful for, the level of support and engagement we’ve received.

She and I, and several other wonderful witches have worked together as tradition leaders for well over a decade, eventually forming a new tradition to better suit our evolving practices. That “new” tradition is about 8 years old these days. Again, I never would have guessed that what we were doing would ring so true to many more than we can teach or connect with as initiates. Those connections are precious though, and powerful, and so came the book. I look forward to seeing what comes next.