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Village Witch by Cassandra Latham-Jones
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Village Witch describes life as a Village Wisewoman in the wilds of West Cornwall.  The first part of the book documents the tortuous and sometimes harrowing journey to achieve this unusual occupation.  It is a tale that ultimately moves through surviving and into thriving.  Cassandra’s past experiences directly inform her present practice and are intrinsic to being a wisewoman – she acquires wisdom from actively experiencing and observing the vagaries of life.  As part of her work she travels around the country giving talks about her profession, and without exception is asked each time what brought her to become a village wisewoman.

Many people want to hear about that journey and this is one of the reasons for deciding to write the book.  Following on from this, Cassandra tells of the practice of her craft, which includes many stories and observations regarding the day-to-day experiences of a traditional wisewoman including her personal approach to magic. 

At present the market is flooded with ‘how-to-do’ books on witchcraft and associated themes.  Almost without exception they inform in an authoritative way often including a cookbook of spells.  There is far more to the Craft of the Wise than simply following someone else’s recipes for performing magic.  It entails old-fashioned qualities such as hard work, discipline, dedication and commitment.  This book differs in that it describes the ‘why’ as well as the ‘how’ and in that sense challenges the reader to question and explore their own experiences of the worlds magical.

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Beautiful Female Yoruba Ere Ibeji Twin Fetish

This unique item from the collection of Cassandra Latham-Jones, having been used for many years as a Tarot Guardian in her home and working place, is available for sale. Contact to enquire

The Yoruba are a major African ethnic group; in their culture twins are traditionally very important beings. In the Yoruba language "ibeji" literally means "twins". In Yoruba tradition, each person is one soul in the long line of ancestral souls, whilst twins are complex, sharing the same soul - but one of the two is thought to have the spiritual half of the soul while the other has the mortal half. Since there is no way to determine which has the mortal soul and which the spiritual soul, if one twin should die, a carving is commissioned to represent the deceased child. Only the sex and the lineal facial scarifications (if the child had any) are specified and are faithfully recreated in the carved figure.

The Ifá priest chooses a well-established carver to create a small figure that symbolizes the dead child. The carver is free to create a figure of the twin in his own image of what he felt about the twin. If both twins die, then two figures are made. The soul is then spiritually transported into the figures. These figures are called ere ibeji. Ibi means born, eji means two, and ere means sacred image. The figure remains as respected and as powerful as the person it represents. The children’s parents must treat the statue as if it were real, so it is bathed, fed, and clothed just as it would be in life. The figure is particularly special to the mother, who keeps the figure close to her bed. She rubs the figure with red wood powder to maintain the look of slickness, and she caresses the figure in a loving manner. Rituals and prayers are performed for the child’s birthday and other celebrations or festivals.

The Yoruba people believe that this care and tending helps ensure the survival of the other twin.

The head of the ere ibeji figure is associated with the child’s destiny, which measures the success or failure of the child. The size of the head is one-third the size of the body because the head is where the spirit resides. The head must be big in proportion to the rest of the body. The figure is very detailed, but it is only a symbol of the child and is not intended to be a realistic likeness but rather a resemblance of a human. The child is shown as an adult, which is common in African sculpture. The features of the child are more mature, including scarifications on the face, and full-sized breasts on female figures. The surface of the figure is very smooth. The figure is motionless to represent discipline, serenity, and confidence.

In the Yoruba traditional religion, there is a deity that represents twins called Orisha Ibeji or Orisa Ibeji.

Traditionally, when twins were born, the parents would visit a Babalawo, meaning, "father of mysteries", to find out their wishes. The first of the twins to be born is traditionally named Taiyewo or Tayewo, (which means 'the first to taste the world'); this is often shortened to Taiwo, Taiye, or Taye. Kehinde, "the last to come", is the name of the last-born twin. These are what could be called "celestial" Yoruba names; names due to birth circumstances. The child after the twins is called "Idowu" regardless of the sex, a boy or a girl. "Alaba" is the one after Idowu, either a boy or a girl, which is usually followed by Oni and Ola or "Idogbe", etc.
It is said that Kehinde sends Taiyewo to check out what life is like on earth and to tell him (or her) whether it is good. Therefore, Taiyewo goes as sent by Kehinde, and becomes the first child to be born. He then communicates to Kehinde spiritually (believed to be from the way he cries) whether life is going to be good or not. The reply determines if Kehinde will be born alive or stillborn. Both return to where they came from if the reply from Taiyewo is not good enough for both of them.
The Yoruba traditionally say that Kehinde is the true elder of the twins despite being the last to be born, because he sent Taiyewo on an errand, a prerogative of one's elders in Yorubaland. Kehinde is therefore referred to as Omokehindegbegbon (which means, 'the child that came last becomes the elder'). However, the first-born twin is also sometimes referred to as Taiyelolu or Tayelolu, which is short for Omotaiyelolu and means, 'the child that came to taste life excels'.
Taiyewo is believed to be mostly the quiet, calmer, and introverted of the twins, while Kehinde is mostly believed to be the extroverted one.

Text adapted from Wikipedia