Step Inside AJ's Cottage: Your Journey to Modern Magic Begins Here
- thewitch
- Jul 19
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 8
Are you new here? So are we! You’re probably wondering who we are and what we’re all about. In this post, I will introduce myself, my cottage, my core team, and my patchwork brand of witchcraft.
An Introduction to A.J.
Hi, I’m A.J. If I had to describe myself, I would say I’m a middle-aged, woo-woo aunty with a big heart and a desire to help others. I’ve been a practicing witch for about 25 years, with the ebbs and flows of practice that come with life. I describe my practice as "patchwork," and I'll explain that further later in this post.
I am autistic, having been diagnosed a few weeks short of my 40th birthday. My diagnosis changed nothing on a physical level, as I’ve always been autistic. However, on a personal level, it has really helped me to heal. Little A.J. no longer feels that she is weird and unwanted; she feels empowered by her neurodiversity. It makes her unique, and that is wonderful!
With 20 years of Early Years education experience, a foundation degree, and my own child, I feel that I am uniquely positioned to bring magical education to the next generation. I do this through my YouTube offering, "Magic with Aunty A.J."
Education is really important to me—not just providing it to others but also seeking it out for myself. My love of trees, wild places, and the natural world has led me to the path of a trainee herbalist. In particular, I have enjoyed learning about plant botany and chemistry. I look forward to a time when I can help others to heal with my herbal knowledge.
Being a mother and a wife are integral parts of who I am. My witchling challenges me every day to be a better human, and I get to watch them grow into an amazing person. It’s a win-win situation. When I’m not working on the cottage or home educating the witchling, I enjoy swimming in wild places, reading cozy fiction, growing nourishing and medicinal plants, and exploring new destinations.
AJ’s Cottage
The cottage is not a physical building; it is more of a concept within which I can contain my offerings to the world. However, if it were a real place, I imagine it would look something like the picture above: a thatched cottage, a white picket fence, a gorgeous garden, and a secluded outdoor bathtub heated by a log burner out back.
How I envision my offerings is threefold:
Magic: Available through my website, this blog, and carefully curated offers in my shop, which include poppets, spell jars, charms, and sprays, as well as custom spell work.
Apothecary: My apothecary products currently consist of lip balms, salves, soaps, and essential oil products. I am looking to expand to provide oxymels, tinctures, and eventually, consultations.
Education: Largely offered through my YouTube channel, which is aimed at children aged 0-12 (or anyone else who wants to learn magic and crafting with their woo-woo aunty!). Episodes are published semi-monthly and are structured with an educational portion followed by a related craft-along.
There are individual pages dedicated to each segment here on the Cottage website. You'll find links to explore as well, both to my shop and to other suppliers of items we love but do not stock personally.
The Team
My team consists of those who live with me: my husband, the witchling, two guinea pigs, four snails, and the spirit of our dearly departed cat.
My husband and I have been married for 15 years and together for 25! He’s been in my life longer than he hasn’t. I feel blessed that I got to marry my best friend. In addition to his day jobs, he is also my trusted cameraman, video editor, and sounding board when I need to talk through ideas. He encourages me to be my authentic self and has supported many an endeavour along the way as I learned who I truly am!
The witchling is 12 already—a proper pre-teen! It’s crazy. They hold me accountable on a regular basis and challenge many of my preconceptions about good parenting. They can be fiery, stubborn, and strong-willed (all traits my husband would attribute to me!), but they are also fun, full of mischief, trustworthy, and generally a really great kid. I won’t post much about them here, as they have a right to privacy, but you can expect the occasional ‘witchling reference’ where appropriate.
Our two guinea pigs are named Scruffy and Po. Po is technically our third guinea pig, as we had a beautiful sow called Muffy, but she sadly passed away, and we had to get Scruffy a new cage mate. We adopted Po from the RSPCA and are big advocates of ‘Adopt, don’t shop!’
The snails are called Martly, Moses, Martin, and baby Maverick. Compared to the others, Maverick is tiny—he’s the size of a pinky fingernail at most! They live in a huge terrarium, and their favorite food is sweet potato.
Our dearly departed cat is called Dharma. She was a black, moggy, runt-of-the-litter, feral kitten when she was rescued from an allotment. I could hold her in one hand, with her string-thin tail hanging down between my fingers. For such a small creature, she took up a lot of space in my heart. She was nearly 20 years old when she gained her own broomstick and flew over the rainbow bridge earlier this year. Now her spirit resides in her home. I hear her meow in the quiet moments. I feel her presence whenever I light incense. We have a nook for her ashes, a space where we can talk to her, a physical representation of the life she led. It has her bed, photos of her, her paw prints, and her nose print. I also light incense in a dish for her there. I know not all pets are familiars, but this one—she definitely is, even in spirit form.
What is Patchwork Witchcraft?
I came across the term ‘Patchwork Witch’ a long time ago in an online forum and no longer remember whose idea it was. However, the term really fits me and my practice. My practice could be described as eclectic, meaning I take what I need from different practices and put them together. The concept of Patchwork Witchcraft is that your magical practice takes these elements and weaves them together into a cozy patchwork blanket that is unique to you.
I have elements of Wiccan traditions, blended with Cornish folk magic, spiked with Hygge and Corrie, awash with sea folklore and magic, with some green witchery and a good heaping of hearth and home magic swirled in there too! There is also worship of the divine feminine, a healthy love of the moon, and various other traditions/practices that I have picked up along the way.
Being an autistic witch also means that I have had to learn to adapt my practice to suit where I am mentally and physically. Sometimes, if I’ve had an overwhelming day, my moon affections will be expressed by me lying in bed with the curtains open to see the moon. Yet, on other days when my energy is in the right place, I can dance and sing and do yoga by the light of the moon. Either way, my magical practice wraps me in comfort and makes me feel safe and cozy.
Thank you for reading to the end!
You now know who we are, what we offer, and what my brand of magic is all about. If this is something you are interested in and want to be a part of our community, please share in the comments a bit about who you are and your kind of practice. Don’t forget to tell us about any pets or familiars you have.
And finally, remember to check out our offerings:
Brightest Blessings.
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