The Coven

Willow’s unusual hair and eye colors represent her opposing sides—those associated with life and death magic—and become a motif that emphasizes The Balance of Opposites. Of her hair, she says, “Mine was a distinct, deep auburn, like the darkest merlot. Or as my father liked to call it, hair the color of old blood […]. It brightened at the ends, becoming more like fresh blood versus the near black of most of the length” (68). The dark length of her hair, which Samuel compares to old blood, signifies her Hecate lineage, as Charlotte Hecate was the Coven’s first witch and necromancer. By contrast, the ends of Willow’s hair are the color of fresh blood, which is linked to her Green magic and references her ability to work with the energies of the natural world. Old blood, as from the dead, is dark, while fresh blood, as from the living, is bright. 

Significantly, her father’s hair does not have the red-tipped ends because he is not a Green witch and does not share that aspect of Willow’s magic. His hair is “pure black” and lacks the reddish tints, just as he lacks his sister’s powers. In contrast to Samuel, Willow’s hair symbolizes her balance of opposites, a combination that makes her much more powerful and compassionate than her father.