I thought I’d write a blog about my ‘witch name’, where it originated and why I chose it.
The name is Melusina (pronounced Mel-oo-sin-ah in English and Mel-you-seen-ah in French/Italian).
When I first joined an online community for witchcraft, I used my first name and a photo of me as my profile picture. Like a lot of other people, male, female and everyone in between, I got unwanted messages, mainly from guys.
This was easily taken care of by telling them it was inappropriate, reporting them to the Leaders of said community, or blocking them, dependant upon how persistent they were.
Then, one particular ‘gentleman’ somehow, from a mere first name and photo, found my Facebook profile and tried to add me as a friend, following this up with a message saying he wanted to get to know me more!! STALKER ALERT!!
Sufficed to say, the Leaders of that particular community (I’m talking to you Romeo!! 😊) were absolutely fantastic, very supportive and kicked him from the site!! It was then I decided to welcome the anonymity of a witch name for myself, along with a funky artists impression of Melusina herself.
Melusina originates from European (mainly France and Luxembourg) folklore/mythology and was a female spirit of fresh water in a sacred spring or river.
She is depicted as a woman, who is a serpent or fish from the waist down (like a mermaid). She is also shown with wings, two tails, or both.
Her story originates from the time of the Crusades. The King of Albany (an old name for Scotland), Elynas, went hunting one day and came across a beautiful lady in the forest. She was called Pressyne, and was Melusina’s mother. He persuaded her to marry him, but she made him promise that he must not enter her chamber when she birthed or bathed her children.
She gave birth to triplet girls, but the King broke his promise and spied on Pressyne bathing her children, so she left the kingdom, together with her three daughters, and traveled to the lost Isle of Avalon.
The three girls, Melusina, Melior and Palatyne, grew up in Avalon and on their fifteenth birthday, Melusina asked why they had been taken to Avalon. Upon hearing of their father’s broken promise, Melusina sought revenge and she and her sisters captured Elynas and locked him, along with all of his riches, in a mountain.
Pressyne became enraged when she learned what the girls had done, and punished them for their disrespect to their father. Melusina was condemned to take the form of a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. In some stories, she takes on the form of a mermaid.
A nobleman, Raymond of Poitou, came across Melusina in the forest of Coulombiers, in Poitou, France, and proposed marriage to her. Just as her mother had done, she made a condition that he must never enter her chamber on a Saturday. He eventually broke the promise and saw her in the form of a part-woman, part-serpent, but she forgave him.
Later, during a disagreement between Melusina and Raymond, he called her a “serpent” in front of his court. She then assumed the form of a dragon, provided him with two magic rings, and flew off, never to return.
Melusina The Green Witch 