The Pagan Magic of the Walnut Tree

 There’s something about Italy that makes people want to believe in magic again. On witch-hunts, wish-granting, and what happens when modern women chase ancient magic

There is a walnut tree that grows over a gorge in the mountains between Salerno and Benevento. I know this because I danced around it with four other women on a Thursday afternoon, and the universe answered back.

Benevento has always been different. Even its name — “good wind” — feels like something trying too hard to be innocent. In the medieval period, it was infamous as a gathering place for witches, or streghe. The story goes that witches from across Italy would fly there on certain nights, meeting under a walnut tree to dance with the devil himself. The Church cut down the tree in the 7th century, then again in later centuries, but walnut trees kept growing back. Some things refuse to stay buried.

But let me start where all good Italian stories start:

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