I’m native American and get to deal with colonial entitlement AAAAAALL THE DAMN TIME. They take our medicines, deface sacred sites, desecrate burials, etc. These people feel a disconnect because they’re not from this land so they do the culture vulture thing and/or romanticize the “old world” (I so hate that term.) But that started with European colonizers in general. It’s so exhausting.
As an American Mutt I was born on this soil just as you claim to be just like many generations before me in my family. I respect everyone but these people in this time and day claiming everything is theirs, theirs, theirs. The land belongs to none of us. We are all merely stewards biding our time until we become one with it.
oh yes, the "permission" thing. They so rarely say no... a friend of mine gave a workshop at a festival and she brought her drum with raven feathers she had collected in norway. A woman approached her and said "i went into your tent and cut a feather off your drum bcs my spirit guides said it was for me" My friend was almost too stunned to object. i dont recall what exactly she did, but she got the feather back. I would probably have slapped such a woman and told her my spirit guides told me she needed to be slapped lol. Also love how you address the cumulative impact. 10000x "oh a little wont hurt" will be a LOT and hurt for sure. thats how parks become trash heaps and grass becomes mud.
Thank you for doing this. The stone has been placed back to the cairns today. 3 weeks and a lot of time and energy went into its return. Thank you to everyone that raised awareness and loaned their voices to the return of the stone.
That is amazing news. My heart hurts that somebody claiming the title of "Traditional Witch" knows so very little to have done this in the first place, but I'm truly glad it is back.
@@GrumpyOldCrone we all know there's a lot of trads out there that aren't trads. Which I guess is one of the good things that ca.e out of this. We can see the problems now and take steps to fix it. Im glad it's home amd I'm grateful for all the support everyone gave us. It's been a massive learning experience for all 💙
I feel that this phenomenon of tourists snatching even ordinary stuff from the places they visit is "the river stone effect." You know when you visit a sunlit river bed or a creak and all of the stones beneath the water look like colorful little jewels, but when you pick one up in delight, it just dries up into an ordinary stone? That is basically what these tourists are doing. And like the river stone who lives beneath the water and dies in the open air, these objects will never be as beautiful or as special when taken from the context of their true homes.
Her continuous repitation of "carefully, respectfully and with permission" set my teeth on edge. Those are the words of someone who very well knows they're crossing a very deep line, and are trying to get away with it. Even though I know the context of how very much *wrong* taking those particular items is, I wouldn't have needed to because of those lines alone What a very callous, and selfish person
I don't remember the details but geologists and their ilk have proven that parts of the Appalachian mountain range and mountains in Scotland (and I presume other nearby areas) were all one. But then the Supercontinents broke apart and shifted into the world as we know it now. You want a stone with the vibe of ANCIENT Scotland.... then go find a rock in the Appalachians. Its that simple. Perhaps its one of the reasons that early Scottish immigrants felt so at home in those hills. We are all connected after all. 😉❤🌎🌍🌏❤
Right? You can't just take stuff from elsewhere and expect it to have power! It doesn't! At that point it is just a dumb old rock, which was probably part of a neolithic monument. *sigh*. Glad it's not just me, though!
Exactly! Learning to work with and cultivating a relationship with the spirits of place (genius loci) is so important. I live close to Avebury and it's associated sacred sites and the disrespect born of entitlement that occurs there is breathtaking and anger making!
Education is the key word here and lots of new age witches just wing it because history, botany, chemistry, etc. are too boring to study. I’m still learning about stuff and I expect I will until I die.
I've read the Outlander books by Diana gabaldon. Claire doesn't go through the stones at clava cairns. I think she was mis-sold the Outlander tour! In fact, the stone circle in Outlander doesn't exist in the real world. "Leave only footprints, take only photos"
Yup - exactly this! I'm guessing Diana Gabaldon may have been inspired by Clava Cairns? Maybe? What whatever the motivation, taking something from a place where you are explicitly told not to because of a fiction novel you read is just... wrong.
@@GrumpyOldCrone i don't think Diana was inspired by clava cairns. Craig na dun (her stone circle) is more standing stones in a circle, rather than a burial cairn. The TV version looks more like callanish crossed with Avebury but it's a tiny circle really
@@MelanieButson Agreed. Craig na Dun was *not* a cairn site, as those of us who have read the books know. There really isn't an excuse for this dreadful woman. Another commenter - @punkrockwitch - pointed out the woman (i'll not grace her with the title of 'witch', she's obviously not got a clue) is also a plagiarist. A troublesome person all round.
Peat bogs could also also harbor the deceased and both are best left to rest in peace. She left it, thankfully. Angry spirits can wreak havoc be it human or what guards them in sleep.
Given the ones that had the deceased were sacrificial iirc, I think there's plenty they'd anger not just the dead. Would not want to mess with that. This video did make me wonder if the peat sold through tourist and souvenir websites were ethical or not.
In New Zealand we have seriously strict bio security, there are massive fines if you even attempt to bring something living or that was living into the country. We have a very delicate balance here. Great video, i laughed so hard
As a fellow Southern Hemispherean (Aussie) I was CRINGING so hard. Idk what it is like travelling between the North and South Islands but the STATE I live in has such stringent biosecurity laws that you can't even bring in any plant or dirt from other parts of *Australia* let alone another country!
As a Scot, living in Scotland and a practicing witch for most of my life, I am so tired of entitled people, thinking its okay to do this. It's not. So glad i came across your video. Scotland is damp and hilly and has midges apart from 3 or so days a year 😂😂
I'm half-welsh, so am familiar with the concept of people returning to "the ancestral home" and claiming it. I don't claim to be welsh, as I was raised in England and this is where my home is. I like visiting family, and given half a cider speak with a mid-Wales accent. But it *isn't mine* to plunder. I don't know why people can't understand that.
I confess, during my honeymoon ( I’m in the USA), I found a plastic bottle on the beach in Chesapeake Bay. I had never seen the ocean before. I filled it with water and sand. It’s still sealed and is a reminder of that day. I had permission from the man who owned that beach. But protected sites? Just no! What was she thinking?
See... I think that's just perfect! Water and a little bit of sand is absolutely fine. It's not a protected site and will be replaced within moments. I grew up by the sea, so I'm a bit blasé about it. But when I got handfasted last year, the water element of our circle was sea water from my hometown.
Im an ecologist, and foraging can be ok, and sometimes it isnt ok. Now here in the us, in most national parks you can collect things within reason for personal use. So i have found things like hematite (i only collect a few small stones, not the large ones), interesting sticks, feathers, things like that. I don't go deep out into the woods, or take things from places that are known native american sites. I also forage from areas close to where i live. Im in Tennessee so we have a lot of parks. I also dont take from protected areas or things that are really rare or are important to the local ecology. For example, i never pick wildflowers because the plants need the flowers to form seed heads. My state has a lot of plants that only grow here, so you need to let the plants reproduce. I have no problems with people foraging, but you have to know the law, and you have to make sure you arent taking too much and that you arent taking anything endangered or important to the ecosystem.
I understand completely. I used to work as the head groundskeeper for a historic church in Powell, Ohio. 17 acres of land filled with Native American history and very rare Ohio plants. I was asked to cut those rare plants down. When I told them no this is sacred land and plants that are important to the biological diversity of this place, I was met with so much backlash. I used to forage there but I only used invasive species. I made English ivy baskets and flutes made from invasive honey suckle. I got in trouble because I was cutting down the “pretty” invasive plants and refused to cut down the rare species. I eventually contacted ODNR and they did nothing.
Apart from disturbing ecological balance and whatnot...it's clear she doesn't have much of a connection with the Fae realms. At. All. Because I know dang well that, apart from not taking anything from preserved sites, the very idea of taking something from an area where there might be **any** Fae inhabitants -- w/out even a smidgen of an offering, greeting, or any attempt at cordial communication...that's asking for trouble right there. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
In complete agreeance. What really pisses me off is the etsy sellers who have bucket loads of hagstones they have collected then selling them off. So taking something that is gifted and putting a price on it and leaving none for the those who may take and treasure just one.
There is so much bog land here in Washington State and peat moss its beyond belief. And in Florida, And Alabama. This woman had broken some major international laws. What scared me is what else she "acquired." Stones from the Acropolis in Greece? A marble chip from Pompeii? I will be making some major phone calls. As an Archeologist I have some serious concerns what else she has "acquired" from where. This "crazy witch" could be looking at some jail time. At the very least, she would certainly be on a "no fly" list. And justly so.
As an American, a few things jumped out at me. First, many if not most Americans completely disregard the importance and complexity of indigenous civilizations and cultures. So many think there was just a vast amount of nothing except for some Indians until Europeans came and built “civilization”. Even politicians make comment to this effect. It’s disgusting. Our education system teaches that white civilization had a “Manifest Destiny” to increase the size of the country and the genocide that was perpetrated on the Native Americans is a paragraph in one textbook in high school. So, her attitude to Scotland being so “old” probably stems from this pervasive attitude amongst Americans, even Pagans who are supposedly more in tune with the earth. Secondly, while I agree wholeheartedly that she should not be taking things from protected sites or breaking contraband laws bringing lichens into the country, it seems as if she’s at least thinking in somewhat animistic terms when asking permission from the land to take some away. I always ask permission to take a cutting. From a plant or tree when gathering and leave an offering of blessed moon water that I’ve infused with an intention of love, peace, and prosperity to the plant. If she’s asking permission in that regard, I cannot criticize that. Finally, in America, the first book by Diana Gabaldon is titled Outlander. It’s my understanding that publishers often have different titles for books depending on the country it’s released, even when the language is the same. For instance, Americans are too stupid to understand Philosophers Stone and so in America JK TERF-ing’s first book was entitled HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This lady had me rolling my eyes too, especially if she holds these places so sacred, why can’t she get the names right? Clava Karens? lol 😂
I can't disagree with any of that, really! Good point on the book title, also: I totally hadn't considered that. Here in the UK it is "Cross Stitch". My darling mum bought it because she thought it was about needlework. She was somewhat surprised by the book, and then loaned it to me. Blimey!
Right? That's really dodgy. At that point it's not about the ethics of nicking it from Scotland, it's about the potential damage bio-contaminants can do to the US plant life. I've offered my adopted US mom a blackcurrant cutting to smuggle back to the States before, but she *very rightfully* told me that it isn't worth the risk. It would probably be fine, but it might also very much be NOT fine.
She did not bring lichen from Scotland into the US. No way. No. Noooooooooooo.... What a quick and easy way to let everyone know that, really, you know very little about the natural world that you claim to revere. That's shocking.
Where I’m at you can’t even take a boat across the provincial lines without reminders (though it’s not really enforced very much) to check for invasive hitchhikers on the bottom. I wonder how she even got it through customs…
I find it funny how condescending how some call others out for the same behavior they are guilty of. I was taught never take unless you give back, but then I was raised to protect our mother so generations to come can as well. In the end we are all just stewards of the land and our job is to protect it so she will stay healthy and strong for generations to come. It breaks my heart to see what the USA has become. Beautiful land turned into trash dumps for consumerism to just create more trash. The loss of animals and plant life all for greed and stupidity.
You have me howling lovely. It's damp and a lot of midges 😂😂😂😂😂 I was planning on reacting to this too hahahhaha but this. 😂😂😂😂😂 Idk if I can top hahahaha
PLEASE REACT!!!!! PLEEEEEEEASE! And then post here to link to it! Also, I'm not wrong am I? I've been to Scotland. The midges are INSANE! My daughter went out to play on play equipment at the place we stayed, and had a lovely time until 7pm, at which time, a brief glance out of the window showed her jumping around and flapping her arms in what I came to name, "The midge dance". She came to appreciate the joy of reading quietly inside after 7pm in the Lowlands during summer....
I’m sorry but as someone with ancestral ties to Scotland- your Mum stealing cutting from the Queens garden is top tier legend for me now. Iconic!!!! 😂😂😂
Sunday morning in New York City and you popped up in my recommended videos !! As an American, this woman's disrespect infuriates me ! If I had to guess, she's from the Southern portion of the United States...possibly Texas. 🙄 This American, apologizes profusely for her ignorance. We are not all like that !! Currently enjoying my rainy Sunday morning, binge watching all of your videos. YT was right, I love your content !! 😉
That's so kind!!!! FWIW, I've got very, very dear friends all over the States, and have visited many times. I'm so glad to say that I know she's a clueless minority!
Hello I am loving your videos so it's good to know it's not just me. You make me laugh and I love how you are keeping things real . So refreshing just as I was getting sick to death with all the mainstream , sugar coated, BS out there, Much love from one grumpy old hag to another I will be 54 tomorrow and have been practising since my 20s it was not "fashionable" then xxx
ME TOO!!!! 54 and practising since before "witch shops" were a thing. Had a new age shop in Brighton, but it was regularly picketed by Christians for selling tarot cards and rocks. I'm too old for all this love and light bollocks. I've got a fox skull to get clean today....
@@GrumpyOldCrone I worked in a New Age store in Louisiana in 1992-94. We were regularly harassed by Christians and some actual Christian cultists. Those people were bonkers!
LMAO I’m an Aussie so I had no idea what this American woman was talking about. But going by your reactions I figured the subtitles/spelling/pronunciation was incorrect so I googled 😂😂😂
Person: "I can't believe you just slapped him in the face." Entitled American Tourist: "I very respectfully slapped them in the face. And I had permission."
I am an American. Sometimes the stress of walking around being ashamed of my fellow citizens is overwhelming, I am sad that my ancestors did not stay in Scotland, Ireland, and England. They were brave in their adventures, some settling in what is now Vermont in the mid-18th Century, pre-Revolution, sailing from England to a relatively unexplored place. But I often imagine how life would be if they had just stayed put!!!
She claims to be a traditional witch, but seems to not really understand what that means. It's all about the power of the land you live on and the spirits that surround you. It's not about collecting bags of dirt from places you visit. I think the whirring sound I can hear is Robert Cochrane spinning in his grave.... Besides, the US is so amazing and magical and powerful - visit Scotland for the scenery, fun (and midges, never forget the bloody midges) and history - but there is no lack of amazing, magical places in the US to root her power.
I have cousins that are Cairns so when I hear that word. I think of my sweet Aunt Polly. I found your channel last night & have been enjoying your vids. And yea, anything from a shop in Edinburgh is sus. I was in Scotland for my 55th bday last year & got so frustrated by all the made in China crap. I did come away with a nice rain jacket though (better than I’ve ever seen in the shops I frequent). And a couple small rocks -one from the beach in North Berwick & another from a stream at the clan castle for my surname. For me Scotland felt like home but only in that the highlands I saw were so similar to the Blue Ridge here in Virginia.
You are doing it right! Nobody minds about stones from beaches - they get washed away most days anyway. I will admit that I think the Scots do raincoats better than anyone else - unsurprising given their annual rainfall, but the clothing is great :-)
I myself love beach glass - some of the colors I've found are pretty. But that's all it is - pretty colored glass that won't cut me when I handle it. FWIW, she said the land was rocky and hilly. Our southern accents (we have a lot of them) can really change how a word sounds, and if it's really thick, we can give one vowel two distinct syllables. Husbeast is endlessly amused that I give 'walk' two syllables myself. I personally think he's trying to play a joke on me about it, 'cause I can't hear it.
Glad to find a kindred soul! I'm only politically incorrect in terms of not being deliberately and stupidly hurtful. I commit most of my crimes out of sheer ignorance and being dumb....
In the states our state parks have signs that tell you do not take anything or climb on trees or canyon walls. Also the sticks stones and dirt in my yard and garden are just a step away and much more powerful and meaningful than anything taken from a site i have little to no connection to
To explain the currants being questionably legal in the states thing for those unaware way back in what equates to the Edwardian era some businesses in the lumber industry had a bit of an issue. Namely that some of the white pines they brought over from Europe were diseased and it was spreading to the other white pines. Currants were the plant said disease was using as an in-between and was fairly common. Rather than take the path Europe would the lumber industry instead went to those in charge and had them screw over the everyday person for the sake of profit. Tale as old as the upper class. The government in turn employed folks and had them go around and destroy as many currant plants as they could find. This also sparked the shift away from using currants in recipes, with them being replaced by grapes or raisins. Said national ban ended in the 1960s, but the legality still varies greatly state to state despite said type of tree being rarely used for lumber anymore. In my own state the berries are legal, but being caught transporting an entire plant is trouble. As per the connection to Scotland thing that’s possibly tied to a separate issue. Some folks (primarily of European descent) in the states tend to either be blind to our own various regional cultures outside of a few exceptions or reject it for some reason and in response to this void tend to latch hold of either stories they like, DNA results, or rumors of heritage. Heck, I have a relative that latched strongly onto the claiming to be of Native descent bit only to have the DNA results come back and completely disprove her.
I lived in Aberdeen for 8 months and have made multiple trips to Edinburgh, over a period of about 45 years and I have to say, I don't recall seeing a single midgie in all that time. Nor do I recall it being particularly wet. I did suffer badly from hypothermia in the first two months because I was staying in a medical students' residence with badly malfunctioning heating. It gets bloody cold on the East coast.
REALLY? I've been utterly covered in midges the instant I entered the lowlands! Maybe it's just me.... Although I would argue with you about the rain. It rains way more in Scotland because of the geography.
@@GrumpyOldCrone I think geography might be the issue. I've never spent much time in the lowlands and I've always been quite close to the east coast. Also, up there the weather tends to not bother with rain and springs quite rapidly to sleet, hail or snow. I was in Aberdeen in 1983 and the 1982-83 winter was pretty harsh. Edinburgh was usually a summer venue. But it's a city, so less places for midgies to propagate. Edinburgh in winter is like the North Pole.
I'll take cuttings to propagate, but, yeah, I don't get this. I mean, I don't work with dirt - not even graveyard dirt - so maybe that's part of my not getting this. But I also prefer to work with living, rooted plants as far as Spirit work goes, and I use hand grown dried herbs in some spell work. The entire visiting another place in bringing back parts of it for its specific magical aura or whatever... I just don't get it. I have Stones I collected when we visited Germany that I picked up from the side of a river while we were waiting for a ferry tour to start, but I don't think of them as having special power because they're from Germany. They're special because of the memory of spending that time with my aunt uncle collecting.
Dammit. You are 100% correct. I'm so deaf it isn't funny. Except the fact that my brain misinterprets things to make them really weird, actually *is* quite funny sometimes...
1. Yes, don't take stuff that you shouldn't! 2. My aunt use to collect little soil samples in jelly jars from all of the states that she visited and had them lined up on a shelf.
I bring home and collect dirt from every new place I visit. Then I shake out my doormat. Edit - wow. I just got to the peat bog bit and I’m no longer laughing. I have a feeling it’s going to get worse, too.
In America Scotland seems to have been romanticized by some, probably from outlander. I have a grandma who's convinced we are deeply Scottish. Also 🖤🖤🖤
I do understand loving other countries, but the US is such a diverse and beautiful place, with so much pre-colonisation history as well. I have such a strong connection with the ground beneath me, and I really hope that other people find the same.
I think US customs gets *very* twitchy about biological stuff coming back into the States. We have several *bad* tree diseases and pests which can decimate whole forests. The US needs more European tree diseases like a hole in the head! But also: I see what you did there!
That’s why as an American I would love to visit the UK especially Scotland and Wales even Ireland but I’ll do my absolute best to research sacred sites and protected native species and be respectful.
...and yet Heritage Scotland have made a statement and said that it should NOT have been removed. The point being that maybe it was from a quarry (collieries are something very different), but we'll never know. The colour and size of the stone indicate that it is not quarried chippings, but a piece of pinkish Grampian granite which is what is found in the south-east portion of the cairn mounds, within the kerb stones.
Yeah it’s sad that women can’t tone down the face tuning… it really screws up their self esteem… It’s selfharming. Sometimes people use a unrecognisable face on all their videos to not be recognised in real life 😅 Personally I just remove my make up and I am suddenly incognito 😂 Going to Scotland and stealing. Classy🙄
I hadn't thought of the disguise aspect of it.... Excellent point. It's just weird to my mind. I'm so glad to be the age I am - many friends and family didn't have the luxury of getting old, it is something to be embraced and celebrated in my book! And taking broken glass etc. is fine, but if there's a big ass ole sign saying "do not remove anything", then yeah. We should not be removing anything. The crazy thing to my mind is that she says she didn't want to disturb the ground to bring back dirt. Which would be absolutely fine almost anywhere in Scotland. But taking stones from an ancient monument site seems to be fine... Odd.
@@GrumpyOldCroneyes some people make money online with having a different face. They now have the Luxury to do what they can for there family, have a totally tuned body and face. And IF they are smart about it they will cover tattoos or “trademarks” on their bodies. And use green screen. I do not support that kinda business but I support women in general as long as they don’t hurt children. This was really off topic but it’s good to see perspectives for why women may use really heavy filters. Also, HT’ers, would want their captives to wear a filter. On our coastline in Vestfold, Nevlunghavn. There is a magical place called Mølen. The sign say DO NOT TAKE STONES. And i believe people in fact donor take them.. i have a stone from my past from there. It was not a round ocean polished stone, so young me thought it’s probably fine to take this multi million year old vulkanic black squarish stone home🙄 Some day I will return the stone. I have kept it safe for years. It’s okey to make mistake because we are young and eager. But grown women like this one, Iam sure she is trolling on the internet to make money. And that is EVERYTHING wrong with the internet.
I am proud of my Ancestory but I respect them so very much but I'm from born and raised in the United States. And often say I was born in the wrong country lol because I love the UK and so many places I'd love to see before I die. Kind of a bucket list kind of thing.
The US is such an amazing place - I've got family and friends there and have visited quite a bit. I honestly don't know why anyone would ignore the spirit of such an amazing place to try and claim something that is thousands of miles away.
@@GrumpyOldCronethere is a LOT of conflict between the land spirits here and white settlers. Most Americans do not feel a connection to the ground they have lived on their whole lives and seek that connection anywhere they can get it, even when it is as fake as the filter that lady was using.
Plagiarized? Really? Oooooh, do I have to go searching for more info? [EDIT]: I didn't have to look very far, did I? Blimey. What a hot mess. Who plagiarises Scott Cunningham and Ray Buckland???? Just... why would you do that?
I guess I will burn in the underworld. When I was in my ancestral homeland (Italy) I took some stones from a beach…. I did contemplate on it. -thanked the gods - picked up any refuse i saw and placed it in the proper bins…it was just a regular beach not a UNESCO site or protected- I hope Pluto/Proserpina will forgive me. Im using the stones as part of my altar to Ceres.
Sorry for re'peat'ing what everyone else said (😂😂 see what i did there) I wrote this 'before' I'd read the comments.......👉🏻. I also wonder what DEFRA and the American equivalent would think about her taking dirt and plant material back to the US with her. Also the 'stones' Claire travelled through are a polystyrene film prop 😂😂 (i do realise she went to a real cairn) 😂😂😂 and being ex uk services, we called stella, wife beater 😵💫 for obvious reasons!
Stella definitely has that reputation! But yeah, it's a whole mad thing. The stone is apparently back now. But I occasionally wonder about that lichen...
Whats with this obsession with Scotland anyway? 😅 It's lovely, but in the end it's just as shitty as any other place. 😂 Like, you live in AMERICA, full of natural wonders! Go see Alaska, the Everglades, ye olde Grand Canyon - embrace your home! Your communities! America is amazing!
I mean, RIGHT? I've only been to the teeny tiniest fraction of the US, and it's AMAZING! If you want to feel witch-centric and deep rooted, go to Appalachia! I would love to visit there. (My heart goes out to those dealing with the storm destruction, though....)
I have come across your channel from this video and have been following the return the stone saga closely on tiktok. I have to say I really enjoyed your commentary on this subject and have now subscribed :) I have a lot of thoughts on the matter, but this comment would turn into an essay if I outlined them all, but long and short of it is - she shouldn't have taken the stone, thin air and a voice in your head cannot give you permission to take something from a place or person, she needs to return the stone.
Omg! NO OMG! I AM FROM AMERICA AND HAVE VERY CELTIC ANCESTORY BUT NO HELL NO!!!! And I agree with you. I don't like tiktok and this particular tiktok plate form for this reason. Make us all look stupid and so unedited. This Old Crones rant!
I *think* she said "old and hilly" despite what the autogenerated captions said. You certainly can't dispute the 'hilly' part. Somewhat delightfully, the Scottish highlands are, geologically speaking at least, the north eastern end of the Appalachian Mountains, so she didn't even have to leave the States to pick up a lump of similar rock. Are there really folk who are watching that video for any other reason than to point and laugh though?
Oh! Hilly! Makes more sense than "healing".... Being a Deaf and Grumpy Old Crone I was most definitely reading the captions. Whoops! Geologically amusing, though! (And yeah, I don't recommend diving down the rabbit hole unless you really want to either hoot with laughter or despair of humanity, but there are a LOT of people who think she's the definition of "witchy" and to be Taken Very Seriously.)
This woman infuriates me. Im an american who has done a good bit of traveling and the one thing i am always "paranoid" about is being as respectful as i can and not making americans look like entitled a-holes. This woman grinds my gears. I promise, we r not all like that, most of us r very respectful and good guests.
I have seen videos of Americans jumping on bogs in ireland .. kinda clueless .. not even traditional cutting is allowed here anymore so the idea tourists think they are allowed .. huh... my friends and i went around doing paper rubbings on stones or trees as momentos .. you take nothing and disturb nothing .. or we would do a watercolour
OMWord!! So. . . I'm one of those "collect a rock" people and this is WILD. I would have thought it was common sense to make sure you were allowed to take a rock before just snatching one (and I mean actually allowed. . . not by asking the ground or whatever this lady thinks she's doing). I mean. . . my experience is that there are signs posted all over the place in areas where you need to leave stuff alone. Sheesh!
She said 'hilly' as in a lot of hills... And b/c the US is, ya know, massive, there's millions of ppl living in unique landscapes for the duration of their lives. Ppl live and die here without ever seeing the Rockies. The great planes. A beach, etc. none of which precludes a desire to see other countries. Seems like the lady in the vid did deserve some of this roast, but not without the roaster showing a bit of her own arse in the process. Nobody won this one.
Yup, I am totally a deaf AND grumpy old crone who relied on the captions and got it wrong. Whoops! My point still stands. Revering a place a way off for being "old", "hilly" and "rocky", and giving it some kind of mythological meaning for that (and it's inclusion in a 1990's romance novel) , and yet have no *actual* respect or knowledge about the country is a hot take, for sure. Why not travel to places on your own landmass that don't involve transatlantic air travel that offer the same geographical and topological points? As one commenter further down pointed down, the Appalachians are actually the eastern end of the Scottish Highlands.... I have no issue with wanting to see other countries. I've been overseas a number of times, and loved the experience. I truly think this woman needs to give her head a wobble. Claiming to be a traditional witch whilst obviously understanding NOTHING about what that means, well, it makes my teeth itch. I'm not entirely sure where the "showing my own arse" comes (maybe in mishearing the "hilly" thing), but as you hopefully take away from any of my videos - I'm not precious about myself. I'm old, fat, and extraordinarily comfortable in my practice and my skin. I am also, as the channel name suggests, quite grumpy! Have a lovely day, and thanks for dropping by and commenting :-).
If someone from the US has a habit of collecting dirt from places she's visited, it's safe to say she's nothing like me, someone who will in all likelihood die without ever having seen the ocean. Just food for thought- she is a product of privilege.
No she is not! You’ve got that right! Americans have no land and no culture ,no background no ancestors and no tradition! We are all unwanted orphans because 4 generations ago our Greats had the nerve to come to the US to escape poverty and starvation.
For crying out loud! If you’re gonna be a chocolate fireguard and take things at LEAST be intelligent enough to make sure you are not taking stuff that could have an environmental impact on either end! Utterly absurd!
I'm so angry at her. Apparently the stone has been returned now. But having explored this person's account, she's just making me generically angry now.
I am not understanding why you wouldn’t understand the magic of dirt I think about how long it’s been there. It’s really an unexplainable thing I think any old crown should know that.
As a Trad witch, I absolutely understand the importance of Earth. But it only has power as your own land, the land that you live on and draw your power from. The instant you put it into a jar and take it away and stick it on a shelf, you shatter the mycelium network, isolate and minimise the power and communication that goes on in the earth. (I highly recommend Suzanne Simard’s book, “Finding the Mother Tree” for the cast iron scientific proof for this belief). So, it’s not that I don’t understand it. It’s that what she does flies in the face of both emotional, spiritual and scientific bases.
How the F did she get any of this through US customs? Also, this is why I’m inclined to let people continue to think I’m Canadian when I’m abroad. But then I get paranoid that I might inadvertently do something shitty and embarrass Canada, so I ultimately confess to being American. Sigh.
I’m native American and get to deal with colonial entitlement AAAAAALL THE DAMN TIME. They take our medicines, deface sacred sites, desecrate burials, etc. These people feel a disconnect because they’re not from this land so they do the culture vulture thing and/or romanticize the “old world” (I so hate that term.) But that started with European colonizers in general. It’s so exhausting.
I’m so sorry you are dealing with your culture being appropriated like that. It’s awful on every level.
#LandBack
#Landback
As an American Mutt I was born on this soil just as you claim to be just like many generations before me in my family. I respect everyone but these people in this time and day claiming everything is theirs, theirs, theirs. The land belongs to none of us. We are all merely stewards biding our time until we become one with it.
@@seymourbutts2710 That sounds like a self-placating fantasy to abdicate your responsibility in the perpetuity of oppression.
oh yes, the "permission" thing. They so rarely say no...
a friend of mine gave a workshop at a festival and she brought her drum with raven feathers she had collected in norway. A woman approached her and said "i went into your tent and cut a feather off your drum bcs my spirit guides said it was for me"
My friend was almost too stunned to object. i dont recall what exactly she did, but she got the feather back. I would probably have slapped such a woman and told her my spirit guides told me she needed to be slapped lol.
Also love how you address the cumulative impact.
10000x "oh a little wont hurt" will be a LOT and hurt for sure. thats how parks become trash heaps and grass becomes mud.
Thank you for doing this. The stone has been placed back to the cairns today. 3 weeks and a lot of time and energy went into its return. Thank you to everyone that raised awareness and loaned their voices to the return of the stone.
That is amazing news. My heart hurts that somebody claiming the title of "Traditional Witch" knows so very little to have done this in the first place, but I'm truly glad it is back.
@@GrumpyOldCrone we all know there's a lot of trads out there that aren't trads. Which I guess is one of the good things that ca.e out of this. We can see the problems now and take steps to fix it. Im glad it's home amd I'm grateful for all the support everyone gave us. It's been a massive learning experience for all 💙
I feel that this phenomenon of tourists snatching even ordinary stuff from the places they visit is "the river stone effect."
You know when you visit a sunlit river bed or a creak and all of the stones beneath the water look like colorful little jewels, but when you pick one up in delight, it just dries up into an ordinary stone? That is basically what these tourists are doing. And like the river stone who lives beneath the water and dies in the open air, these objects will never be as beautiful or as special when taken from the context of their true homes.
I adore your videos. So glad I found you.
Her continuous repitation of "carefully, respectfully and with permission" set my teeth on edge. Those are the words of someone who very well knows they're crossing a very deep line, and are trying to get away with it. Even though I know the context of how very much *wrong* taking those particular items is, I wouldn't have needed to because of those lines alone
What a very callous, and selfish person
TBH, I can't get past her ill fitting dentures.
I don't remember the details but geologists and their ilk have proven that parts of the Appalachian mountain range and mountains in Scotland (and I presume other nearby areas) were all one. But then the Supercontinents broke apart and shifted into the world as we know it now. You want a stone with the vibe of ANCIENT Scotland.... then go find a rock in the Appalachians. Its that simple.
Perhaps its one of the reasons that early Scottish immigrants felt so at home in those hills. We are all connected after all. 😉❤🌎🌍🌏❤
I will never understand some of these witches... for me working with things from where I LIVE is what gives me the most power.
Right? You can't just take stuff from elsewhere and expect it to have power! It doesn't! At that point it is just a dumb old rock, which was probably part of a neolithic monument. *sigh*. Glad it's not just me, though!
Exactly! Learning to work with and cultivating a relationship with the spirits of place (genius loci) is so important. I live close to Avebury and it's associated sacred sites and the disrespect born of entitlement that occurs there is breathtaking and anger making!
Education is the key word here and lots of new age witches just wing it because history, botany, chemistry, etc. are too boring to study. I’m still learning about stuff and I expect I will until I die.
Some of them are closer to LARPing than they are to a genuine connection and practice
I've read the Outlander books by Diana gabaldon. Claire doesn't go through the stones at clava cairns. I think she was mis-sold the Outlander tour! In fact, the stone circle in Outlander doesn't exist in the real world.
"Leave only footprints, take only photos"
Yup - exactly this! I'm guessing Diana Gabaldon may have been inspired by Clava Cairns? Maybe? What whatever the motivation, taking something from a place where you are explicitly told not to because of a fiction novel you read is just... wrong.
@@GrumpyOldCrone i don't think Diana was inspired by clava cairns. Craig na dun (her stone circle) is more standing stones in a circle, rather than a burial cairn. The TV version looks more like callanish crossed with Avebury but it's a tiny circle really
@@MelanieButson Agreed. Craig na Dun was *not* a cairn site, as those of us who have read the books know. There really isn't an excuse for this dreadful woman. Another commenter - @punkrockwitch - pointed out the woman (i'll not grace her with the title of 'witch', she's obviously not got a clue) is also a plagiarist. A troublesome person all round.
@@GrumpyOldCrone that's why I said she had been mis-sold her Outlander tour.
Aha! I wasn't the only one to suspect Outlander was a part of this! I've got so many friends who are rabid fans!
"but is it older than anywhere else?" i died lmao
Peat bogs could also also harbor the deceased and both are best left to rest in peace.
She left it, thankfully. Angry spirits can wreak havoc be it human or what guards them in sleep.
Agreed. Agreed SO HARD. I point you at the newly rediscovered interview footage about the Hexham Heads!
That is exactly what I was thinking also. Bodies r in them and u best not be messing with that.
Given the ones that had the deceased were sacrificial iirc, I think there's plenty they'd anger not just the dead. Would not want to mess with that.
This video did make me wonder if the peat sold through tourist and souvenir websites were ethical or not.
In New Zealand we have seriously strict bio security, there are massive fines if you even attempt to bring something living or that was living into the country. We have a very delicate balance here. Great video, i laughed so hard
It's so easy to completely mess up an ecosystem. It really horrified me.
As a fellow Southern Hemispherean (Aussie) I was CRINGING so hard. Idk what it is like travelling between the North and South Islands but the STATE I live in has such stringent biosecurity laws that you can't even bring in any plant or dirt from other parts of *Australia* let alone another country!
I'm old, dirty and rocky (especially in the mornings). Does that mean I'm Scotland? Asking for a friend.
I think you are definitely Scotland. Check your cairns!
@@GrumpyOldCrone and your Karens
I think she said "hilly" not healing
I was just about to say that.
As a Scot, living in Scotland and a practicing witch for most of my life, I am so tired of entitled people, thinking its okay to do this. It's not.
So glad i came across your video. Scotland is damp and hilly and has midges apart from 3 or so days a year 😂😂
I'm half-welsh, so am familiar with the concept of people returning to "the ancestral home" and claiming it. I don't claim to be welsh, as I was raised in England and this is where my home is. I like visiting family, and given half a cider speak with a mid-Wales accent. But it *isn't mine* to plunder. I don't know why people can't understand that.
I confess, during my honeymoon ( I’m in the USA), I found a plastic bottle on the beach in Chesapeake Bay. I had never seen the ocean before. I filled it with water and sand. It’s still sealed and is a reminder of that day. I had permission from the man who owned that beach.
But protected sites? Just no! What was she thinking?
See... I think that's just perfect! Water and a little bit of sand is absolutely fine. It's not a protected site and will be replaced within moments. I grew up by the sea, so I'm a bit blasé about it. But when I got handfasted last year, the water element of our circle was sea water from my hometown.
Hey, at least you picked up some litter in the process! It's give and take.
@ yep. We picked the beach clean that day. Still a wonderful time. :)
@@GrumpyOldCrone That is so sweet
There have been reports that so many fans of the Gabaldon books visited the sites that the damage done was devastating.
Im an ecologist, and foraging can be ok, and sometimes it isnt ok. Now here in the us, in most national parks you can collect things within reason for personal use. So i have found things like hematite (i only collect a few small stones, not the large ones), interesting sticks, feathers, things like that. I don't go deep out into the woods, or take things from places that are known native american sites. I also forage from areas close to where i live. Im in Tennessee so we have a lot of parks. I also dont take from protected areas or things that are really rare or are important to the local ecology. For example, i never pick wildflowers because the plants need the flowers to form seed heads. My state has a lot of plants that only grow here, so you need to let the plants reproduce. I have no problems with people foraging, but you have to know the law, and you have to make sure you arent taking too much and that you arent taking anything endangered or important to the ecosystem.
Sounds like you know exactly how to do it well and without harm. I wish more people were like you!
I understand completely. I used to work as the head groundskeeper for a historic church in Powell, Ohio. 17 acres of land filled with Native American history and very rare Ohio plants. I was asked to cut those rare plants down. When I told them no this is sacred land and plants that are important to the biological diversity of this place, I was met with so much backlash. I used to forage there but I only used invasive species. I made English ivy baskets and flutes made from invasive honey suckle. I got in trouble because I was cutting down the “pretty” invasive plants and refused to cut down the rare species. I eventually contacted ODNR and they did nothing.
As an American witch and pagan, this is embarrassing. Sorry to everyone in Scotland.
Apart from disturbing ecological balance and whatnot...it's clear she doesn't have much of a connection with the Fae realms. At. All.
Because I know dang well that, apart from not taking anything from preserved sites, the very idea of taking something from an area where there might be **any** Fae inhabitants -- w/out even a smidgen of an offering, greeting, or any attempt at cordial communication...that's asking for trouble right there. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
Agreed 100%. Just clueless.....
In complete agreeance. What really pisses me off is the etsy sellers who have bucket loads of hagstones they have collected then selling them off. So taking something that is gifted and putting a price on it and leaving none for the those who may take and treasure just one.
There is so much bog land here in Washington State and peat moss its beyond belief. And in Florida, And Alabama. This woman had broken some major international laws. What scared me is what else she "acquired." Stones from the Acropolis in Greece? A marble chip from Pompeii? I will be making some major phone calls. As an Archeologist I have some serious concerns what else she has "acquired" from where. This "crazy witch" could be looking at some jail time. At the very least, she would certainly be on a "no fly" list. And justly so.
As an American, a few things jumped out at me. First, many if not most Americans completely disregard the importance and complexity of indigenous civilizations and cultures. So many think there was just a vast amount of nothing except for some Indians until Europeans came and built “civilization”. Even politicians make comment to this effect. It’s disgusting. Our education system teaches that white civilization had a “Manifest Destiny” to increase the size of the country and the genocide that was perpetrated on the Native Americans is a paragraph in one textbook in high school. So, her attitude to Scotland being so “old” probably stems from this pervasive attitude amongst Americans, even Pagans who are supposedly more in tune with the earth. Secondly, while I agree wholeheartedly that she should not be taking things from protected sites or breaking contraband laws bringing lichens into the country, it seems as if she’s at least thinking in somewhat animistic terms when asking permission from the land to take some away. I always ask permission to take a cutting. From a plant or tree when gathering and leave an offering of blessed moon water that I’ve infused with an intention of love, peace, and prosperity to the plant. If she’s asking permission in that regard, I cannot criticize that. Finally, in America, the first book by Diana Gabaldon is titled Outlander. It’s my understanding that publishers often have different titles for books depending on the country it’s released, even when the language is the same. For instance, Americans are too stupid to understand Philosophers Stone and so in America JK TERF-ing’s first book was entitled HP and the Sorcerer’s Stone. This lady had me rolling my eyes too, especially if she holds these places so sacred, why can’t she get the names right? Clava Karens? lol 😂
I can't disagree with any of that, really! Good point on the book title, also: I totally hadn't considered that. Here in the UK it is "Cross Stitch". My darling mum bought it because she thought it was about needlework. She was somewhat surprised by the book, and then loaned it to me. Blimey!
I was already thinking how did she get that stuff through customs back into the USA but the Lichen OMFG 😮
Right? That's really dodgy. At that point it's not about the ethics of nicking it from Scotland, it's about the potential damage bio-contaminants can do to the US plant life. I've offered my adopted US mom a blackcurrant cutting to smuggle back to the States before, but she *very rightfully* told me that it isn't worth the risk. It would probably be fine, but it might also very much be NOT fine.
She did not bring lichen from Scotland into the US. No way. No. Noooooooooooo....
What a quick and easy way to let everyone know that, really, you know very little about the natural world that you claim to revere. That's shocking.
I know, right???
Where I’m at you can’t even take a boat across the provincial lines without reminders (though it’s not really enforced very much) to check for invasive hitchhikers on the bottom. I wonder how she even got it through customs…
I find it funny how condescending how some call others out for the same behavior they are guilty of. I was taught never take unless you give back, but then I was raised to protect our mother so generations to come can as well. In the end we are all just stewards of the land and our job is to protect it so she will stay healthy and strong for generations to come. It breaks my heart to see what the USA has become. Beautiful land turned into trash dumps for consumerism to just create more trash. The loss of animals and plant life all for greed and stupidity.
You have me howling lovely. It's damp and a lot of midges 😂😂😂😂😂 I was planning on reacting to this too hahahhaha but this. 😂😂😂😂😂 Idk if I can top hahahaha
PLEASE REACT!!!!! PLEEEEEEEASE! And then post here to link to it!
Also, I'm not wrong am I? I've been to Scotland. The midges are INSANE! My daughter went out to play on play equipment at the place we stayed, and had a lovely time until 7pm, at which time, a brief glance out of the window showed her jumping around and flapping her arms in what I came to name, "The midge dance". She came to appreciate the joy of reading quietly inside after 7pm in the Lowlands during summer....
@@GrumpyOldCrone haha midge dance...funny lol!
I’m sorry but as someone with ancestral ties to Scotland- your Mum stealing cutting from the Queens garden is top tier legend for me now. Iconic!!!! 😂😂😂
Sunday morning in New York City and you popped up in my recommended videos !! As an American, this woman's disrespect infuriates me ! If I had to guess, she's from the Southern portion of the United States...possibly Texas. 🙄 This American, apologizes profusely for her ignorance. We are not all like that !! Currently enjoying my rainy Sunday morning, binge watching all of your videos. YT was right, I love your content !! 😉
That's so kind!!!! FWIW, I've got very, very dear friends all over the States, and have visited many times. I'm so glad to say that I know she's a clueless minority!
Hello I am loving your videos so it's good to know it's not just me. You make me laugh and I love how you are keeping things real . So refreshing just as I was getting sick to death with all the mainstream , sugar coated, BS out there, Much love from one grumpy old hag to another I will be 54 tomorrow and have been practising since my 20s it was not "fashionable" then xxx
ME TOO!!!! 54 and practising since before "witch shops" were a thing. Had a new age shop in Brighton, but it was regularly picketed by Christians for selling tarot cards and rocks. I'm too old for all this love and light bollocks. I've got a fox skull to get clean today....
@@GrumpyOldCrone I worked in a New Age store in Louisiana in 1992-94. We were regularly harassed by Christians and some actual Christian cultists. Those people were bonkers!
LMAO I’m an Aussie so I had no idea what this American woman was talking about. But going by your reactions I figured the subtitles/spelling/pronunciation was incorrect so I googled
😂😂😂
I feel both you and I stand a better change of understanding each other than of understanding her!
I hope you do more of these reaction videos because I'm here for the salt and snark
Person: "I can't believe you just slapped him in the face."
Entitled American Tourist: "I very respectfully slapped them in the face. And I had permission."
EXACTLY. I mean really, I couldn't have put it better myself.
“Yes the whole world is old” 😂😂😂. I think she said hilly
As an American, I apologize. We aren't all like this
I am an American. Sometimes the stress of walking around being ashamed of my fellow citizens is overwhelming, I am sad that my ancestors did not stay in Scotland, Ireland, and England. They were brave in their adventures, some settling in what is now Vermont in the mid-18th Century, pre-Revolution, sailing from England to a relatively unexplored place. But I often imagine how life would be if they had just stayed put!!!
Sad that someone would announce that claiming a piece of rock in another country brings magic into your country. Does not help the witch community
She claims to be a traditional witch, but seems to not really understand what that means. It's all about the power of the land you live on and the spirits that surround you. It's not about collecting bags of dirt from places you visit. I think the whirring sound I can hear is Robert Cochrane spinning in his grave....
Besides, the US is so amazing and magical and powerful - visit Scotland for the scenery, fun (and midges, never forget the bloody midges) and history - but there is no lack of amazing, magical places in the US to root her power.
@@GrumpyOldCrone Unfortunately, we have the midges, too, and they always appear right at the tail end of summer. Annoying lil' f**rs. 😖😜
I have cousins that are Cairns so when I hear that word. I think of my sweet Aunt Polly. I found your channel last night & have been enjoying your vids. And yea, anything from a shop in Edinburgh is sus. I was in Scotland for my 55th bday last year & got so frustrated by all the made in China crap. I did come away with a nice rain jacket though (better than I’ve ever seen in the shops I frequent). And a couple small rocks -one from the beach in North Berwick & another from a stream at the clan castle for my surname. For me Scotland felt like home but only in that the highlands I saw were so similar to the Blue Ridge here in Virginia.
You are doing it right! Nobody minds about stones from beaches - they get washed away most days anyway. I will admit that I think the Scots do raincoats better than anyone else - unsurprising given their annual rainfall, but the clothing is great :-)
Brilliant video 👏 just an FYI today the stone was finally returned to clava cairns. Great points you make in your video x
That is fantastic news! Thankyou.
I myself love beach glass - some of the colors I've found are pretty. But that's all it is - pretty colored glass that won't cut me when I handle it. FWIW, she said the land was rocky and hilly. Our southern accents (we have a lot of them) can really change how a word sounds, and if it's really thick, we can give one vowel two distinct syllables. Husbeast is endlessly amused that I give 'walk' two syllables myself. I personally think he's trying to play a joke on me about it, 'cause I can't hear it.
I want to hear you say "walk" now! I have realised the problem with what I heard and read on the subtitles - you are absolutely correct!
You’re freaking funny af. I’m not pc either. This was delightful😆
Glad to find a kindred soul! I'm only politically incorrect in terms of not being deliberately and stupidly hurtful. I commit most of my crimes out of sheer ignorance and being dumb....
In the states our state parks have signs that tell you do not take anything or climb on trees or canyon walls. Also the sticks stones and dirt in my yard and garden are just a step away and much more powerful and meaningful than anything taken from a site i have little to no connection to
You get it! One doesn't need to travel to another continent and take stones from there....
To explain the currants being questionably legal in the states thing for those unaware way back in what equates to the Edwardian era some businesses in the lumber industry had a bit of an issue. Namely that some of the white pines they brought over from Europe were diseased and it was spreading to the other white pines. Currants were the plant said disease was using as an in-between and was fairly common. Rather than take the path Europe would the lumber industry instead went to those in charge and had them screw over the everyday person for the sake of profit. Tale as old as the upper class. The government in turn employed folks and had them go around and destroy as many currant plants as they could find. This also sparked the shift away from using currants in recipes, with them being replaced by grapes or raisins. Said national ban ended in the 1960s, but the legality still varies greatly state to state despite said type of tree being rarely used for lumber anymore. In my own state the berries are legal, but being caught transporting an entire plant is trouble.
As per the connection to Scotland thing that’s possibly tied to a separate issue. Some folks (primarily of European descent) in the states tend to either be blind to our own various regional cultures outside of a few exceptions or reject it for some reason and in response to this void tend to latch hold of either stories they like, DNA results, or rumors of heritage. Heck, I have a relative that latched strongly onto the claiming to be of Native descent bit only to have the DNA results come back and completely disprove her.
I lived in Aberdeen for 8 months and have made multiple trips to Edinburgh, over a period of about 45 years and I have to say, I don't recall seeing a single midgie in all that time. Nor do I recall it being particularly wet. I did suffer badly from hypothermia in the first two months because I was staying in a medical students' residence with badly malfunctioning heating. It gets bloody cold on the East coast.
REALLY? I've been utterly covered in midges the instant I entered the lowlands! Maybe it's just me.... Although I would argue with you about the rain. It rains way more in Scotland because of the geography.
@@GrumpyOldCrone I think geography might be the issue. I've never spent much time in the lowlands and I've always been quite close to the east coast. Also, up there the weather tends to not bother with rain and springs quite rapidly to sleet, hail or snow. I was in Aberdeen in 1983 and the 1982-83 winter was pretty harsh. Edinburgh was usually a summer venue. But it's a city, so less places for midgies to propagate. Edinburgh in winter is like the North Pole.
I'll take cuttings to propagate, but, yeah, I don't get this. I mean, I don't work with dirt - not even graveyard dirt - so maybe that's part of my not getting this. But I also prefer to work with living, rooted plants as far as Spirit work goes, and I use hand grown dried herbs in some spell work.
The entire visiting another place in bringing back parts of it for its specific magical aura or whatever... I just don't get it.
I have Stones I collected when we visited Germany that I picked up from the side of a river while we were waiting for a ferry tour to start, but I don't think of them as having special power because they're from Germany. They're special because of the memory of spending that time with my aunt uncle collecting.
I think she said rocky and hilly, not healing.
Dammit. You are 100% correct. I'm so deaf it isn't funny. Except the fact that my brain misinterprets things to make them really weird, actually *is* quite funny sometimes...
Yes I think so too.
1. Yes, don't take stuff that you shouldn't! 2. My aunt use to collect little soil samples in jelly jars from all of the states that she visited and had them lined up on a shelf.
I bring home and collect dirt from every new place I visit. Then I shake out my doormat.
Edit - wow. I just got to the peat bog bit and I’m no longer laughing. I have a feeling it’s going to get worse, too.
In America Scotland seems to have been romanticized by some, probably from outlander. I have a grandma who's convinced we are deeply Scottish. Also 🖤🖤🖤
I do understand loving other countries, but the US is such a diverse and beautiful place, with so much pre-colonisation history as well. I have such a strong connection with the ground beneath me, and I really hope that other people find the same.
Pinecones and twigs come back, but mountain and stones don’t grow on trees 😅
I think US customs gets *very* twitchy about biological stuff coming back into the States. We have several *bad* tree diseases and pests which can decimate whole forests. The US needs more European tree diseases like a hole in the head!
But also: I see what you did there!
@@GrumpyOldCrone that’s the best saying . “Like you need a hole in the head🫢”
That’s why as an American I would love to visit the UK especially Scotland and Wales even Ireland but I’ll do my absolute best to research sacred sites and protected native species and be respectful.
The stone is probably a piece of chipping brought in for the pathway 😂😂😂 probably from a Granit colliery and not from Scotland at all😂😂😂
...and yet Heritage Scotland have made a statement and said that it should NOT have been removed.
The point being that maybe it was from a quarry (collieries are something very different), but we'll never know. The colour and size of the stone indicate that it is not quarried chippings, but a piece of pinkish Grampian granite which is what is found in the south-east portion of the cairn mounds, within the kerb stones.
@@GrumpyOldCrone totally agree take only pictures leave only footprints
@@Bubletraveler Glad we agree! It's not hard, is it? I can't imagine I'd get a brilliant reception if I chipped a lump of the Alamo off....
Do picking up stones from a public beach count?
Unless there is a mahoosive sign saying, "DO NOT REMOVE ANYTHING FROM THIS AREA", then I think you're golden :-)
Yeah it’s sad that women can’t tone down the face tuning… it really screws up their self esteem… It’s selfharming.
Sometimes people use a unrecognisable face on all their videos to not be recognised in real life 😅
Personally I just remove my make up and I am suddenly incognito 😂
Going to Scotland and stealing. Classy🙄
I hadn't thought of the disguise aspect of it.... Excellent point. It's just weird to my mind. I'm so glad to be the age I am - many friends and family didn't have the luxury of getting old, it is something to be embraced and celebrated in my book!
And taking broken glass etc. is fine, but if there's a big ass ole sign saying "do not remove anything", then yeah. We should not be removing anything. The crazy thing to my mind is that she says she didn't want to disturb the ground to bring back dirt. Which would be absolutely fine almost anywhere in Scotland. But taking stones from an ancient monument site seems to be fine... Odd.
@@GrumpyOldCroneyes some people make money online with having a different face. They now have the Luxury to do what they can for there family, have a totally tuned body and face. And IF they are smart about it they will cover tattoos or “trademarks” on their bodies. And use green screen. I do not support that kinda business but I support women in general as long as they don’t hurt children.
This was really off topic but it’s good to see perspectives for why women may use really heavy filters. Also, HT’ers, would want their captives to wear a filter.
On our coastline in Vestfold, Nevlunghavn. There is a magical place called Mølen. The sign say DO NOT TAKE STONES.
And i believe people in fact donor take them.. i have a stone from my past from there. It was not a round ocean polished stone, so young me thought it’s probably fine to take this multi million year old vulkanic black squarish stone home🙄 Some day I will return the stone. I have kept it safe for years.
It’s okey to make mistake because we are young and eager. But grown women like this one, Iam sure she is trolling on the internet to make money.
And that is EVERYTHING wrong with the internet.
@@GrumpyOldCrone Do England check luggage for biological souvenirs? With no tag or identification on offcorse
I am proud of my Ancestory but I respect them so very much but I'm from born and raised in the United States. And often say I was born in the wrong country lol because I love the UK and so many places I'd love to see before I die. Kind of a bucket list kind of thing.
The US is such an amazing place - I've got family and friends there and have visited quite a bit. I honestly don't know why anyone would ignore the spirit of such an amazing place to try and claim something that is thousands of miles away.
@GrumpyOldCrone don't get me wrong I love my country and home I just would love to see the UK bucket list kind of thing and it to is beautiful.
@@GrumpyOldCronethere is a LOT of conflict between the land spirits here and white settlers.
Most Americans do not feel a connection to the ground they have lived on their whole lives and seek that connection anywhere they can get it, even when it is as fake as the filter that lady was using.
I found a whole stone for my mom at the beach made of lava she got a bladder infection when she wore it in the mainland
I think she’s from the south…. Bless her heart
This is the most incredible video I’ve seen about the Thief of Scotland 🏴🪨🏴
Previously known as the plagiarized witch.
Thief of Scotland! That about sums it up, really, doesn't it? Thankyou!
Plagiarized? Really? Oooooh, do I have to go searching for more info?
[EDIT]: I didn't have to look very far, did I? Blimey. What a hot mess. Who plagiarises Scott Cunningham and Ray Buckland???? Just... why would you do that?
I guess I will burn in the underworld. When I was in my ancestral homeland (Italy) I took some stones from a beach…. I did contemplate on it. -thanked the gods - picked up any refuse i saw and placed it in the proper bins…it was just a regular beach not a UNESCO site or protected- I hope Pluto/Proserpina will forgive me. Im using the stones as part of my altar to Ceres.
I’ve been sitting here trying to think of who she reminds me of with that filter she’s using and it finally clicked….Gary Busey!
Sorry for re'peat'ing what everyone else said (😂😂 see what i did there) I wrote this 'before' I'd read the comments.......👉🏻. I also wonder what DEFRA and the American equivalent would think about her taking dirt and plant material back to the US with her. Also the 'stones' Claire travelled through are a polystyrene film prop 😂😂 (i do realise she went to a real cairn) 😂😂😂 and being ex uk services, we called stella, wife beater 😵💫 for obvious reasons!
Stella definitely has that reputation! But yeah, it's a whole mad thing. The stone is apparently back now. But I occasionally wonder about that lichen...
Whats with this obsession with Scotland anyway? 😅 It's lovely, but in the end it's just as shitty as any other place. 😂
Like, you live in AMERICA, full of natural wonders! Go see Alaska, the Everglades, ye olde Grand Canyon - embrace your home! Your communities! America is amazing!
I mean, RIGHT? I've only been to the teeny tiniest fraction of the US, and it's AMAZING! If you want to feel witch-centric and deep rooted, go to Appalachia! I would love to visit there. (My heart goes out to those dealing with the storm destruction, though....)
I have come across your channel from this video and have been following the return the stone saga closely on tiktok. I have to say I really enjoyed your commentary on this subject and have now subscribed :)
I have a lot of thoughts on the matter, but this comment would turn into an essay if I outlined them all, but long and short of it is - she shouldn't have taken the stone, thin air and a voice in your head cannot give you permission to take something from a place or person, she needs to return the stone.
I ranted a lot more, and then deleted it. I got a bit out of hand.... But you're spot on, in my book.
Omg! NO OMG! I AM FROM AMERICA AND HAVE VERY CELTIC ANCESTORY BUT NO HELL NO!!!! And I agree with you. I don't like tiktok and this particular tiktok plate form for this reason. Make us all look stupid and so unedited. This Old Crones rant!
I can't get the hang of Tiktok. Which might be the best evidence for me being an old fart ever....
Im sorry that I've just watched this vid but the faces you pulled when she said she had permission made me laugh 😂😂😂 omg i hate these new age witches
I have been told I have an "expressive face". I just pull a lot of weird expressions, I think!
I *think* she said "old and hilly" despite what the autogenerated captions said. You certainly can't dispute the 'hilly' part.
Somewhat delightfully, the Scottish highlands are, geologically speaking at least, the north eastern end of the Appalachian Mountains, so she didn't even have to leave the States to pick up a lump of similar rock.
Are there really folk who are watching that video for any other reason than to point and laugh though?
Oh! Hilly! Makes more sense than "healing".... Being a Deaf and Grumpy Old Crone I was most definitely reading the captions. Whoops! Geologically amusing, though! (And yeah, I don't recommend diving down the rabbit hole unless you really want to either hoot with laughter or despair of humanity, but there are a LOT of people who think she's the definition of "witchy" and to be Taken Very Seriously.)
should she have been attempting to fly dirt across to another country anyway?
This woman infuriates me. Im an american who has done a good bit of traveling and the one thing i am always "paranoid" about is being as respectful as i can and not making americans look like entitled a-holes. This woman grinds my gears. I promise, we r not all like that, most of us r very respectful and good guests.
I have seen videos of Americans jumping on bogs in ireland .. kinda clueless .. not even traditional cutting is allowed here anymore so the idea tourists think they are allowed .. huh... my friends and i went around doing paper rubbings on stones or trees as momentos .. you take nothing and disturb nothing .. or we would do a watercolour
It's so easy to destroy something really important and irreplaceable. I'm a big fan of a digital photo, myself!
Not "healing". She said "hilly". There are a lot of hills.
You're 100% correct. As well as being grumpy, I am also a bit deaf!
OMWord!! So. . . I'm one of those "collect a rock" people and this is WILD. I would have thought it was common sense to make sure you were allowed to take a rock before just snatching one (and I mean actually allowed. . . not by asking the ground or whatever this lady thinks she's doing). I mean. . . my experience is that there are signs posted all over the place in areas where you need to leave stuff alone. Sheesh!
Love you channel ❤ you are a breath of fresh air and music to my ears . Have a amazing Sunday 😊
Thankyou so much! I'm planning my next highly sarcastic video as we speak. Thankyou for dropping by!
She said 'hilly' as in a lot of hills...
And b/c the US is, ya know, massive, there's millions of ppl living in unique landscapes for the duration of their lives. Ppl live and die here without ever seeing the Rockies. The great planes. A beach, etc. none of which precludes a desire to see other countries.
Seems like the lady in the vid did deserve some of this roast, but not without the roaster showing a bit of her own arse in the process.
Nobody won this one.
Yup, I am totally a deaf AND grumpy old crone who relied on the captions and got it wrong. Whoops!
My point still stands. Revering a place a way off for being "old", "hilly" and "rocky", and giving it some kind of mythological meaning for that (and it's inclusion in a 1990's romance novel) , and yet have no *actual* respect or knowledge about the country is a hot take, for sure. Why not travel to places on your own landmass that don't involve transatlantic air travel that offer the same geographical and topological points? As one commenter further down pointed down, the Appalachians are actually the eastern end of the Scottish Highlands....
I have no issue with wanting to see other countries. I've been overseas a number of times, and loved the experience. I truly think this woman needs to give her head a wobble. Claiming to be a traditional witch whilst obviously understanding NOTHING about what that means, well, it makes my teeth itch.
I'm not entirely sure where the "showing my own arse" comes (maybe in mishearing the "hilly" thing), but as you hopefully take away from any of my videos - I'm not precious about myself. I'm old, fat, and extraordinarily comfortable in my practice and my skin. I am also, as the channel name suggests, quite grumpy!
Have a lovely day, and thanks for dropping by and commenting :-).
If someone from the US has a habit of collecting dirt from places she's visited, it's safe to say she's nothing like me, someone who will in all likelihood die without ever having seen the ocean. Just food for thought- she is a product of privilege.
Well, she's not even entitled to the land she lives on.
No she is not! You’ve got that right! Americans have no land and no culture ,no background no ancestors and no tradition! We are all unwanted orphans because 4 generations ago our Greats had the nerve to come to the US to escape poverty and starvation.
For crying out loud! If you’re gonna be a chocolate fireguard and take things at LEAST be intelligent enough to make sure you are not taking stuff that could have an environmental impact on either end!
Utterly absurd!
I'm so angry at her. Apparently the stone has been returned now. But having explored this person's account, she's just making me generically angry now.
I am not understanding why you wouldn’t understand the magic of dirt I think about how long it’s been there. It’s really an unexplainable thing I think any old crown should know that.
As a Trad witch, I absolutely understand the importance of Earth. But it only has power as your own land, the land that you live on and draw your power from. The instant you put it into a jar and take it away and stick it on a shelf, you shatter the mycelium network, isolate and minimise the power and communication that goes on in the earth. (I highly recommend Suzanne Simard’s book, “Finding the Mother Tree” for the cast iron scientific proof for this belief). So, it’s not that I don’t understand it. It’s that what she does flies in the face of both emotional, spiritual and scientific bases.
Australian biosecurity will crucify you for this. I hope that 'hag stone' isn't an ancient historical loom weight...
How the F did she get any of this through US customs? Also, this is why I’m inclined to let people continue to think I’m Canadian when I’m abroad. But then I get paranoid that I might inadvertently do something shitty and embarrass Canada, so I ultimately confess to being American. Sigh.
She seems a little bit intense..
The face filter doesn't help, does it?
@@GrumpyOldCrone Foolish girl. I feel a bit sorry for her. She clearly isn't a happy camper..
Rocky and hilly
Hilarious😂
Thankyou! I've reached the "shouting at clouds" stage of my life, obviously.
@GrumpyOldCrone me and Marie are both 56 and with age you lose patience with idiots and egotistical people parading as spiritual gurus
@@CosmicCroneConversation Just wait until you get to 64! I'm just over it all, amused at just how pretentious it all is.
Not to defend the outcast Thief of Scotland she said hilly not healing.
Yup, you're absolutely correct. I'm deaf AND grumpy, and relied on the captions which were wrong. Ooops!
@@GrumpyOldCrone I always turn on CC if its a UK accent too. Its not always correct lol
Healy lol
I'm embarrassed and ashamed 😔
You've got nothing to be worried about, you're doing just fine