Our hair is more than just a reflection of our good health, virility and fertility. Great hair has a power and magic all of its own. For centuries, hair has held spiritual power in its strands and many religious rites have been associated with lustrous locks. In some cultures long hair brought you both closer to earth and closer to God. In magic, hair contains the essence of a person and is thus a supremely powerful ingredient in spells.

We have officially entered the balsamic phase or the deepest dark of the moon. How well you dance through your darkness is the scene setter (and greatest determinant, in this witch's opinion) of how effective your new moon will be. And this next new moon in a few days - a solar eclipse and the lunar new year - is a Very Big Deal and the mightiest this year.

Sometimes when you're deep in the countryside you'll meet three girls, walking along the hill tracks in the dusk, spinning. They each have a spindle, and on to these they are spinning their wool, milk-white, like the moonlight.