Witch and holistic therapist Kelsey Teeley, 54, from Billingham, Co Durham, initiated her daughter Martha, 24, an animator.
Kelsey is married to Ian, 56, manager of an engineering company.
I remember my father, who is Hungarian, telling me stories about the witches in our family. My mum was intuitive and could connect with spirits, while my aunt Mary read the tarot.
It was my aunt who taught me to read the cards at 18. I also devoured books on magic, and the earliest rituals I did were basic protection spells like putting myself in a white bubble.
At 39, I trained as a holistic therapist and 10 years ago I formed a coven when my daughter Martha was 14.
Since she was little, Martha has been interested in the craft. Just like I did with dad, Martha helped me to plant vegetables in line with the moon phases.
The moon plays a huge role in witchcraft and the phases dictate the best times for different magical work. For example, a new moon is ideal for rituals supporting new beginnings, while a full moon is the best time for spells to release negativity.
Martha and I also did candle magic for her exams. These little spells involved writing her name on a blue candle to promote good luck.
At 18, Martha asked to be initiated and I held a ceremony with 14 witches. During the ritual, Martha promised to honour Mother Earth and the coven.
Importantly, Martha chose to honour the women who have walked this path before us. Magical knowledge is often passed down from mother to daughter, and for hundreds of years women have kept this spiritual knowledge alive through oral tradition.
Today, we can be open as witches and will be doing a ritual together on Halloween. But for my ancestors, they had to hide their magical gifts and beliefs.
Martha says: I realised my mum was different at eight when I went to a friend’s house and there were no shelves full of herbs, animal skulls or crystals. My idea of playing was crushing up flowers with a pestle and mortar.
For me, my parents were normal and I loved listening to mum talk about the moon. I threw myself into magic at a young age and loved doing the rituals.
As a teenager, I was careful about sharing my beliefs – not because I was embarrassed but because magic is a sacred thing. Being initiated by my mum was so special. Magic has definitely created a deeper bond between us and I’m grateful for my upbringing.
Danny Boy Bridges, 31, from Walsall, West Mids, began his magical training at six and comes from a long line of hereditary witches.
One of my earliest memories is going into the woods with my grandmother to collect herbs for spells and healing. My mother and grandmother, both called Ashella, are well known in our community for their magical powers, and I began my training with them at six years old.
I learned how to read the tarot and palms, cast spells, and work with the moon from my mother, who’s 59. But it was my grandmother who initiated me as a gypsy witch aged eight.
The ceremony took place in the woods, with my family, as we stood around a fire. I promised to follow the gypsy path and not reveal our coven’s secrets.
My grandmother, who’s 84, once told me: “Spirit is all around you in the trees, the earth and the wind. Listen and spirit will guide you.”
Everything I do in my daily life is related to magic. Being a witch is not something that you switch on and off.
When I get out of bed in the morning, I place my feet on the earth and ground myself. When I bathe I use salt to cleanse my body of negative energy, and when I cook I stir my food clockwise for luck.
I use my gifts to help people, with tarot readings, healing, spells, house clearances – anything that’s needed. My most popular spells are for business, luck and love.
Today I’ll be doing a ritual with my mother and grandmother outside.Halloween is a special night when the veils between the two worlds are at their thinnest. Together, we will call forward our gypsy ancestors, the coven beyond the grave, and honour them. I feel blessed to have such a unique heritage.
Danny’s mum Ashella says: I can trace my family’s magical heritage back to my great-grandmother’s grandmother, Granny Fye. She was the village wise woman and lived to 110.
Usually, the gift passes down through the female line. The family was stunned when Danny Boy showed signs of being magical. But I knew my son was special from around four.
We embraced my son’s gift, and it’s an honour to be his mother because he helps so many people. I’m proud because he always has time to pass on his magical knowledge to the youngsters in our community.
Witch Emma Griffin, 46, from Falmouth, Cornwall, is married to Steve, 49, a graphic designer. She learned about the craft from her parents and has passed on her knowledge to her daughter Holly, 23, a nursery teacher ( Instagram @sacred_space_cornwall)
My mother was a witch and a tarot reader and my father was a medium. I was brought up to believe in the spiritual world and magic. In fact, every Sunday after a roast, mum held a seance around the dining table. She’d communicate with dead relatives who would pass on messages.
My father gave me magical books and tips on connecting with spirit guides.
At 21, I initiated myself as a witch using a book. Steve, now my husband, encouraged my magical path and when Holly was growing up I was open with her, just like my parents had been with me.
From a young age she was interested in the craft and watched me make healing potions for people at the kitchen table. Five years ago, Holly asked to join me in my magical rituals and I set up the Sacred Sisterhood Circle in 2021. There are six in my coven, myself and Holly plus four other witches.
I’m the high priestess and Holly is my right-hand witch – I initiated her this summer. Like all covens, we meet to celebrate the eight sabbats such as Halloween in October and Yule in December.
It’s lovely to be able to pass my knowledge on to my daughter, but I’ve never forced Holly to follow a magical path. She’s very much her own witch.
Holly says: When I was seven my mum gave me a witch box containing crystals and essential oil. Later, I bought a wand at a fair and my nanny gave me a pendulum.
I loved that box and spent hours making magical potions with essential oils for my bath. Magic and how my family lived never seemed odd – even the Sunday ritual of talking to spirits, which Mum carried on from her own childhood. I was initiated by my mum in local woods and I cried all the way through, it was such a lovely ceremony.
Witchcraft is a huge part of my life, I feel privileged to have grown up in such a spiritual family.
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