Witchcraft for Wayward Girls

The book that Mrs. Parcae gave Fern is titled How to Be a Groovy Witch. It contains spells for various things, all of which seem useful to Fern. Because Mrs. Parcae was so adept at moving her fetus and ending her constant need to urinate, Fern has high hopes for this book. Rose initially doesn’t want to do anything that is described in a book, reasoning that it is written in the language of the establishment, and Zinnia doubts that witches are real. However, one of the spells promises to transfer an ailment to another person. Fern thinks that they might be able to give Zinnia’s constant vomiting to Dr. Vincent, so they perform the spell, which calls for an egg, a lemon, and various other items. As they recite the incantation, the egg turns black. They hope that this means that the spell is working. When they transfer the egg and the other items into a witch bag and hide it in Dr. Vincent’s office, he begins vomiting uncontrollably.

Fern is excited about the spell book and feels a newfound sense of power. The other girls are still doubtful, but Fern is sure that their spell caused Dr. Vincent to become ill. They look through the rest of the book but find its other chapters difficult to parse. They are not sure how useful it will be in the future.

It is laundry day. All of the girls dread laundry day because of the heat and the back-breaking nature of the labor. By the end of the day, Fern is exhausted. In bed, she reads How to Be a Groovy Witch, hoping to decode its secrets. By lights out, she understands the book no better than she did the day before, and she goes to sleep. She wakes in the middle of the night to see a large, black dog in the doorway. When Holly wakes up and walks toward it, the dog turns on its heels and heads downstairs. Fern and Zinnia go after Holly and the dog, and after some deliberation, they decide to follow it outside. There, they find Rose smoking. The dog walks away from the property, leading the girls to the river. The girls have been longing to swim in this river, but this is forbidden. Jubilant, Fern leaps into the water, and the other girls follow.

At the river, the girls trade stories. Zinnia’s boyfriend is the father of her child. They wanted to get married, but their parents wouldn’t let them do this until after high school. When Zinnia’s mother found out that she was pregnant, she gave Zinnia a douche with Lysol. Zinnia hopes that this act did not harm the baby. She also notes that she became pregnant even though she took a birth control pill each time she had sex. Rose laughs and explains that the pill must be taken every day, not only before sex. 

Rose wants to keep her baby even though its father is a guy who lied to her and then skipped town when he found out that she was pregnant. She wants to raise the child alone. As they are talking, the librarian appears on the riverbank and asks about the book. When Fern admits that they cannot understand much of it, she tells them that she can unlock its secrets if they pledge eternal devotion to her. Fern wants to agree, but Rose and Zinnia are suspicious. Holly shocks everyone by breaking her silence to inform them that she wants Miss Parcae’s help because she is having God’s baby.

None of the girls are sure what to make of Holly’s claim. She takes a deep breath and begins to explain. She knows that her baby isn’t God’s, but it was fathered by her pastor, Reverend Jerry, and where she comes from, the reverend is just about as important as God. He has been sexually abusing her since she was eight. He has done so with the approval of even his wife, and Holly’s parents did not believe her when she tried to tell them the truth. Reverend Jerry plans to adopt her child, a girl, and Holly is terrified that he will begin abusing her daughter when she turns eight. She desperately wants to avoid returning home; she hopes that both she and her baby die in childbirth because can see no other way to keep herself and her child safe. The girls are stunned into silence. They agree to pledge themselves to Miss Parcae and witchcraft, if only to make sure that Holly doesn’t have to go home again. Miss Parcae instructs them to disrobe and form a circle, with each girl positioned based on which element she represents. (Rose, Miss Parcae observes, is obviously fire.) She cuts their thumbs to bind them to one another, performs an incantation, and then releases them. Their first order of business will be to figure out a spell that prevents Holly from being sent home.

Fern wakes the following morning to the sound of the bell rung by Mrs. Deckle, one of the staff members. Miss Wellwood knows that someone snuck out last night, and she now threatens to punish everyone. However, the only one whom she ends up punishing is Rose, who remains unfazed and does not tell on the rest of the girls. Later, the girls discuss the book, Miss Parcae, and witchcraft. Fern notices that the book now contains a glossary that was not there before. They consider casting spells to make Reverend Jerry and the other fathers of their babies feel the pain of childbirth. At this point, Zinnia decides not to participate in any more witchcraft. She isn’t sure if she believes in it, and even if it is real, she worries that practicing witchcraft might be morally wrong. Part of the new information in the book is a note stating that the Christian heaven is a static, unchanging place. The book claims that this is at odds with the world, which is always in flux and always moving from season to season.

The fourth of July approaches. The girls find out that they will be allowed to go to St. Augustine to watch fireworks. Rose refuses to celebrate the holiday, labeling the event a collection of festivities for “war-mongers.” She and the other girls sit playing cards together in the afternoon, but they are interrupted, and Rose is told that she is to go into town. Her baby is due in a few days, and Dr. Vincent wants her to head to the hospital early. Rose refuses. Dr. Vincent comes to talk to her in person, and she still refuses. He explains that her baby is almost due and that he has decided to induce labor early. Calmly, she tells him that she will not deliver her child before her time simply because the doctors want to enjoy the holiday. Diane Keller then tries to convince her. Their argument escalates until Rose completely loses her cool, and her water breaks. She is given an injection and carried away. Fern believes that Diane behaved badly on purpose in the hopes of upsetting Rose and causing her to go into early labor.

No one can talk about anything other than Rose. When Rose returns, she is ushered quickly into the barn, and Miss Wellwood tells the girls that they are not allowed to see her. Even so, Fern sneaks out with the aid of Holly, who has stolen the barn key. Rose tells Fern that the doctors, the nurse, and Diane Keller manipulated her into giving her baby up for adoption even though Rose adamantly told them that she wanted to keep her daughter. When they threatened her with forced institutionalization, Rose gave in, signing her daughter away. She is now bereft and feels as though she has lost a piece of herself. Fern tells her that they will find a spell to get her daughter back. She remembers that Decima, Miss Parcae’s dog, was outside the barn when she approached it. Now, they go outside and tell Decima to take them to her leader. The dog leads them into the woods, where they find a clearing full of people and a van. Miss Wellwood has often warned the girls about dangerous, drug-addled, bloodthirsty hippies who live in the woods, and the girls suppose that this is what she meant.

The hippies are not pleased to have visitors. One of them points a rifle at the girls and instructs them to stop moving. A round of introductions follows, and Rose and Fern realize that everyone in the clearing is female. They soon learn that these women belong to Miss Parcae’s coven. They tell the girls that they travel the country in their van, staying one step ahead of the men who invariably pursue them. Throughout history, they note, women like them have been persecuted. Men do not like women to have too much power, and witches have more power than most. Miss Parcae is also there, and Rose asks for help to make the men in her life feel as powerless and grief-stricken as she does after losing her baby. While the two consult, Fern talks with the rest of the women, learning about them and their history. Although they initially seem like a cohesive bunch, Fern notes that one of the women, Periwinkle, does not seem as devoted to Miss Parcae as the others. In How to Be a Groovy Witch, Fern reads about the power of covens. Witches, the book notes, are never alone.

The girls follow the book’s instructions, marking a circle before performing a spell so that the power within their bodies cannot drain out into the atmosphere. The spell is meant to cause harm to everyone who harmed Rose; because Rose is about to be sent home, they have precious little time. They follow Miss Parcae’s instructions and begin the spell, which calls for the use of chicken hearts and requires Rose to spill her blood. She cuts her finger, and they chant. Fern finds herself becoming hyper-aware of the earth beneath her feet but less in control of her body. She moves and sways, and then the girls are drawn upwards into the sky. The spell is working. Afterward, Rose sneaks a mysterious powder into Miss Wellwood’s coffee. How to Be Groovy Witch warns that spells are dangerous and that those who perform them are often afraid of their power.

Rose’s parents arrive and pick her up in a blue Cadillac. Fern is sad to see her go, but Fern promises Rose that she will administer another dose of the powder to Miss Wellwood in two weeks, as directed by Miss Parcae. 

The weeks crawl by in the hot summer heat. Fern reads more of How to Be a Groovy Witch and learns that witches should think of their bonds with one another (rather than their spells) as their primary source of power. The book also notes that witchcraft is intuitive rather than intellectual. Fern ponders this information. Zinnia, who is still resolutely against witchcraft, warns Fern against giving Miss Wellwood the powder. Fern does it anyway, and Miss Wellwood disappears. When Mrs. Deckle informs the girls that Miss Wellwood is ill, Fern wonders if she has just done something terrible. She resolves to consult Miss Parcae.