There is a lot of wisdom in the witches of Discworld. They cultivate Luddite Sensibilities that see through techno-solutionism. They center care work.
First Sight and Second Thoughts, that’s what a witch had to rely on: First Sight to see what’s really there, and Second Thoughts to watch the First Thoughts to check that they were thinking right.
Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett
The Witches of Discworld on Service Work
Tiffany couldn’t quite work out how Miss Level got paid. Certainly the basket she carried filled up more than it emptied. They’d walk past a cottage and a woman would come scurrying out with a fresh-baked loaf or a jar of pickles, even though Miss Level hadn’t stopped there. But they’d spend an hour somewhere else, stitching up the leg of a farmer who’d been careless with an axe, and get a cup of tea and a stale biscuit. It didn’t seem fair.
“Oh, it evens out,” said Miss Level, as they walked on through the woods. “You do what you can. People give what they can, when they can. Old Slapwick there, with the leg, he’s as mean as a cat, but there’ll be a big cut of beef on my doorstep before the week’s end, you can bet on it. His wife will see to it. And pretty soon people will be killing their pigs for the winter, and I’ll get more lard, ham, bacon, and sausages turning up than a family could eat in a year.”
“You will? What do you do with all that food?”
“Store it,” said Miss Level.
“But you—”
“I store it in other people. It’s amazing what you can store in other people.” Miss Level laughed at Tiffany’s expression. “I mean, I take what I don’t need around to those who don’t have a pig, or who’re going through a bad patch, or who don’t have anyone to remember them.”
“But that means they’ll owe you a favor!”
“Right! And so it just keeps on going around. It all works out.”
“I bet some people are too mean to pay—”
“Not pay,” said Miss Level, severely. “A witch never expects payment and never asks for it and just hopes she never needs to. But sadly, you are right.”
“And then what happens?”
“What do you mean?”
“You stop helping them, do you?”
“Oh, no,” said Miss Level, genuinely shocked. “You can’t not help people just because they’re stupid or forgetful or unpleasant. Everyone’s poor around here. If I don’t help them, who will?”
Pratchett, Terry. A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld Book 32) (pp. 116-117). HarperCollins.
Even if it’s not your fault, it’s your responsibility. Witches deal with things.
Pratchett, Terry. A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld Book 32) (pp. 56). HarperCollins.
“There isn’t a way things should be. There’s just what happens, and what we do.”
Pratchett, Terry. A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld Book 32) (p. 124). HarperCollins.
“It’s still magic. Knowing things is magical, if other people don’t know them.”
Pratchett, Terry. A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld Book 32) (p. 124). HarperCollins.
“We do what can be done. Mistress Weatherwax said you’ve got to learn that witchcraft is mostly about doing quite ordinary things.”
Pratchett, Terry. A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld Book 32) (p. 125). HarperCollins.
Open your eyes, and then open your eyes again.
Pratchett, Terry. A Hat Full of Sky (Discworld Book 32) (pp. 57). HarperCollins.
