The fair witch project

[icymist]

The fair witch project
FIONA MacGREGOR

PLACENTA and petroleum, mares' urine and powdered hoof; nitrates and formaldehyde, dolphin fat and... the bizarre ingredients we choose to smear on our faces in our endless quest for beauty would satisfy the most morbid of magicians.

Many of us zap ourselves with electric pulses, burn ourselves with lasers and put our faith in the goddesses Elemis and Clarins. But, in one part of Scotland at least, some women are looking to an altogether more ancient method of boosting their attractiveness - witchcraft.

Alongside the manicures, waxing, fake tans and holistic therapies such as hopi-ear candles, Reiki and reflexology on offer at Bewitching Beauty in Glasgow's south side, Pauline Reid, practising witch and high priestess of the city's Hearth Coven, offers clients a spell clinic.

In establishing her beauty salon, Reid, originally from Ayrshire, is following a career path very much in the witching tradition: one that dates back hundreds of years to when wise women, learned in herbs and the powers of nature, first started to offer poultices and potions to tackle problems - all wrapped up in a tidy little spell.

But can witchcraft really have a place in 21st-century beauty?

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