Letter: Woolly worms don’t lie

Posted on by Letters
Graphic by Lori Deaton

Local witches like me know to watch nature that predicts future events. For example, every autumn we note the color and stripes (or lack thereof) on the then-active orange/red furry bodies of “woolly worms,” the larvae species pyrrharctia isabella, commonly named “tiger moth.” Each horizontal black stripe they bear between black head and tail predicts a snow or frigid cold spell.

This year’s worm bore zero, and many residents have never experienced the absence of “mountain winter,” which tourists flee and only the brave endure. This supports global warming; bodes cessation of our area classified as a “temperate rain zone”; and should serve as motivation to cease relying on heat-radiating asphalt/concrete and decimating tree canopy, shrubs and grass, and impetus to replenish the latter with speedy, thoughtful precision.

— Queen Lady Passion (Dixie Deerman)
High Priestess, Coven Oldenwilde
Asheville

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7 thoughts on “Letter: Woolly worms don’t lie”

  2. Voirdire

    Awesome… right on spot. Sign me up! ( ..no time to lose for sure ..even though I’ll have to admit I cringe a bit at the idea of speciously checking out wooly worm tails …I’ll leave that part of it up to you all and your wiccan ;)

  3. Elizabeth Wilde

    It isn’t voodoo, which is another culture. You can ask many of the older native mountain folks around here who will tell you the same things. Living in the natural world and observing it is wisdom, no matter what the cultural background.

  4. ashevillain7

    All of the woolly worms I found on my property last fall were 90-100% black. By legend, this would signal a very harsh winter … which we obviously did not have. Woolly worm forecasts do not actually mean anything. But I do still agree we should definitely take better care of the only planet that we can live on.

  5. WNC

    I find it interesting when viewing woolly worms that different woolly worms a few apart have opposite colors.
    Scary

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