Lectio Divina for Chapter 2

[pobble_reads]

I've chosen the sentence The witch had gone and Grimalkin too, the cauldron, the book of spells, the toads, the foxes, the magic herbs, the brews, the broomstick, everything that had once made magic

Lectio Divinia is a 4 stage practise:
Lectio - the literal reading and narrative
Mediatio - the allegory, symbols and metaphors
Oratio - reflection - how is this text connected with my own life?
Contemplatio - the invitation - what action is this text prompting me to take?

I'll put my thoughts in the comments - please do join in and make my reading richer

Comments

Lectio

[pobble_reads]

This sentence is the second last in the chapter. In spite of trying at over 50 witches' caverns no one has wanted to take on Gobbolino as an apprentice. So the Witch and Grimalkin have thrown him back in the horrible corner with the toads. He's been left there for days and then one morning he wakes up to find the whole cavern empty.
I do like a list and this one shows that Gobbolino has been deliberately abandoned - it's not just that the Witch and Grimalkin have gone out without telling him and might be back later. Everything is gone. The magical creatures have gone and so have all of the Witch's magical tools and supplies. There's nothing left of Gobbolino's home and family (but on the plus side he is now free of the toads which frightened him so much in the last chapter) and it is no longer a magical space

Mediatio

[pobble_reads]

Pretty much each item on the list could be read as a symbol. It's obvious why the first absences that Gobbolino notices are of the Witch and his Mother - they are his remaining family now that Sootica has gone to be apprenticed (even though they have treated him badly and are ongoingly neglecting him they are the only family that he knows). But I want to think more deeply about the other items on the list - why are they significant things to mention/for Gobbolino to particularly notice that they've gone?
The cauldron and the book of spells are mentioned before the other living creatures so they must be (or at least seem) particularly important. They are practical objects that presumably the Witch uses all the time but they are also ritual objects. I imagine that the cauldron (and it's fire) must occupy a central position in the cavern and the book of spells is probably a big impressive volume - maybe on a lectern like a Bible in a church (or is it hidden away in a special secure place so that no one else can read the Witch's secrets?). The are pretty much what defines the work of a witch and what makes this a witch's cavern rather than just a place where a witch just happens to live. The make me think about the Macbeth Witches' cauldron (i did Macbeth for GCSE!) and of the magic books in Discworld that become sentient and are potentially dangerous to the reader. Has removing them somehow de-magiced and de-ritualised this place? (Is there even some kind of de-consecration process/ritual that must be followed and was done while Gobbolino was sleeping?).
Next come the other living creatures - even though they weren't friendly to Gobbolino them leaving means he is truly alone now.
Then it's the magic herbs and brews that Gobbolino notices are missing - the materials for and finished product of the Witch's work. It's another sign that she and Grimalkin are definitely setting up somewhere new (without Gobbolino). It seems that in this magical world cats work with their witches so it's taking away any vague last chance for Gobbolino to become a witch's cat. And it's meaning that the cavern is no longer a work-place or a home - if any would be clients turn up it's just going to be an empty space to them. It makes me think about how difficult and time consuming it is to pack up a kitchen and all your supplies (and I have many jars of jam that I've made waiting to be used or given to people)
And finally the broomstick - which is presumably how they left. It's another object/possession that defines a (storybook) witch. And it's the only what that Gobbolino had ever travelled apart from Sootica and his jaunt just outside the mouth of the cave in Chapter 1 - it's the only way he's ever been any distance (even though he found the ride terrifying). It's now going to be much harder for him to leave the cave (and impossible for him to follow his flying (fleeing) family). There are broomsticks in pretty much every story about witches and wizards so I've got loads of associations for them - right now I'm thinking of Mickey Mouse in the Sorcerer's Apprentice and classes in both Harry Potter and The Worst Witch. There must be a broom in every home too - it's absence is another symbol that the cavern has gone back to be a part of nature rather than a dwelling or a workplace...

Oratio

[pobble_reads]

I'm thinking of the things in my space that define it as mine. Because I live on my own (and because I'm Polyamorous and my life is complicated!) I don't think of my household and my family as particularly overlapping. But, before Covid-19 I did used to live part time with my Parents and at a Partner's being an Aunty. The things that i always take with me are my Bunny, a tablet for the internet, podcats and to read books on (because my community lives on the internet), some chewies and fidgets, pens and paper so i can write and draw, a bag with all my various meds and inhalers in, a glasses cloth, lip balm, hand-cream and basic toiletries to keep my body functioning and so that I have familiar smells around me, spare clothes and my knitting (I'm very often also taking a jar or two of jam to people). Mostly things that I need for everyday life but the Bunny, my chewies/fidgets and my smells are things that are particularly mine and the internet is what makes my current life possible and enriches it. My Bunny is particularly significant to me - not having her with me just feels Wrong. I think those are the things that I would try to grab if I ever had to run away from a fire or flood.
It's hard to think about losing the things (and the people and animals) that define "home". (I'm thinking about the Grenfell Tower survivors and Syrian refugees, as two examples out of very many) I'm very glad in this time of self-isolation and social distancing that I get to be in my own space rather than elsewhere (even though being so alone is difficult). Thinking about Gobbolino suddenly finding his whole world gone is painful. Although things are always less important than people, they do matter, they do have meaning and significance.
I want to think more about what objects have ritual and spiritual significance for me.

I am also thinking about what it must be like for Gobbolino to have lost his family. They treated him badly but they were still his family. He may well be better off without them in the long term but losing them must still be complicated and painful. There have been complicated people and difficult relationships in my past (I think there are in everyone's) and some ongoingly (fortunately less extreme difficulties and complications now than there have been). Physically not being around other people is giving me time to think about those relationships and how i want to move forward with (or away from) them but I don't feel like I can make any definite choices or big changes until life is more settled again ...

Contemplatio

[pobble_reads]

Because I am in the very slow process of trying to get my home a bit tidier and more sensibly organised, I feel called to think more about the significance of objects. It has to be about their significance to me rather than what I should think and feel about them - or what other people think and feel. But because I am someone how can easily get lost in thinking about stuff rather than doing I mustn't let that become a barrier to actually doing the work! Maybe if I choose a few special things that are particularly significant to me it'll be easier to de-clutter other stuff?

Also as I said in the previous step I want to use this distanced time to think about my relating to others. (But obvious relating to others depends on them as well as me!)

[booklectica]

I’m enjoying reading all this - I haven’t read the book but it’s still very interesting.

[pobble_reads]

Thanks - is very helpful to get some interaction/feedback