The Goats of Watford: Fading Magic and Healing

Introduction

In Any Way the Wind Blows, the goats of Watford are far more than a herd of magical livestock. They embody the dwindling ancient magic of the school and, for Agatha Wellbelove, become a tangible focus for her own healing journey. This analysis explores what the goats are, where they appear, how their meaning shifts, and how they connect to key characters and themes.

What Are the Goats of Watford?

The goats are a magical herd that has protected Watford School for centuries. According to legend, the same herd has watched over the school since its founding. They are not ordinary goats: they have wings and can fly, a fact that surprises even former students like Agatha. Niamh Brody explains that the goats are part of Watford’s coat of arms, but their history has become an “old wives’ tale” due to the Mage’s hoarding of magical history books. The goats’ presence is tied to the school’s protective spells; if they ever choose to leave completely, Watford would lose its magic and become visible to Normals.

The herd’s numbers are falling after the death of their keeper, Ebb Petty. They are grieving and resistant to magic, often wandering away from the school grounds. Their decline mirrors the broader decay of the World of Mages after the Mage’s fall.

Where the Goats Recur

The goats appear in several key chapters, often as a catalyst for character growth:

• Chapter 31: Agatha and Niamh herd goats for the first time. Agatha learns about their magical nature and the legend linking them to Watford’s survival. This is where her real involvement begins.
• Chapter 51: The group (Agatha, Niamh, Simon, Baz) rounds up scattered goats on the school hills. Simon uses his wings to scout for them.
• Chapter 52: Agatha teaches Simon a wand technique learned from Ebb, showing her growing competence.
• Chapter 65: Agatha and Niamh rush to Watford to check on a pregnant doe, deepening their partnership.
• Chapter 73: Agatha helps deliver a stillborn kid in the Wavering Wood, a pivotal moment of failure and grief.
• Epilogue (Chapter 92): One year later, Agatha has abandoned magic and lives as the goats’ caretaker. She sleeps in their barn and leads them across the grounds each evening.

How Their Meaning Changes

Initially, the goats are an obscure background element. Agatha has never even heard of them, and the school’s headmistress dismisses them as unimportant. But as the story progresses, the goats shift from a mere curiosity to a symbol of what the magical world is losing. Their decline is tangible: “their numbers are way down” and “half the herd is gone.” The pregnant doe’s stillbirth in Chapter 73 marks a low point—the herd’s loss of new life mirrors the loss of magic itself.

For Agatha, the goats’ meaning transforms from “wasted work” to a source of purpose. By the epilogue, she has chosen to live with them, trading her wand for a walking stick. The goats no longer represent a problem to solve; they represent a simple, grounded life she freely embraces. The herd’s resilience—surviving without Ebb—parallels Agatha’s own survival after years of being defined by Simon.

Character and Theme Connections

• Agatha Wellbelove: Her arc is the most intertwined with the goats. She begins feeling useless and defined by others; by caring for the goats, she discovers quiet competence and independence. Her final decision to stay with them shows she has found a form of magic that doesn’t require spells—just patience and presence. (See more on Agatha’s character.)
• Niamh Brody: The practical veterinarian is the goats’ fiercest advocate. She sees them as vital to Watford’s heritage and fights against magical society’s neglect. Her partnership with Agatha grows through their shared work with the herd.
• Simon Snow: Simon briefly helps herd the goats but has no deep connection to them. His role is to pass on Ebb’s wand technique, acknowledging his past while Agatha forges a new future.
• Themes: The goats connect directly to identity and transformation (Agatha’s new identity as goat keeper), guilt and forgiveness (the herd’s grief over Ebb, Agatha’s guilt about her past), and family and legacy (the goats as a living legacy of Watford’s magic). They also touch on power and manipulation—the Mage’s dismissal of magical animals reflects his controlling nature.

Study Questions

Question 1

How does Agatha’s first encounter with the goats in Chapter 31 challenge her previous understanding of magic?

Answer: Agatha had never heard of the goats, let alone that they could fly. Niamh’s frustrated explanation reveals that magical creatures have been neglected by the Mage’s regime. For Agatha, this encounter makes her realize that her privileged position as “Simon Snow’s girlfriend” kept her ignorant of the school’s true heritage. She begins to see her own narrow worldview and starts to care about something beyond herself.

Question 2

Why does the pregnant doe’s stillbirth in Chapter 73 matter for the story’s themes?

Answer: The stillbirth is a moment of failure despite Agatha and Niamh’s best efforts. It reinforces the theme of guilt and forgiveness—the characters cannot undo the harm caused by the Mage’s era. The dryad’s accusation that Agatha has “failed them” echoes Agatha’s own feelings of inadequacy. Yet the scene also deepens her commitment: she stays with the doe and the herd even after loss, showing that healing is not about perfect outcomes.

Question 3

Compare the way Simon and Agatha each relate to the goats. What does this reveal about their separate journeys?

Answer: Simon helps herd the goats in Chapter 51 as a practical favor, but his focus remains on his relationship with Baz and his own magical identity. For Agatha, the goats become a full-time vocation. This contrast highlights their different directions: Simon is still wrestling with his past as the Chosen One, while Agatha is building a future completely outside that label. The goats offer Agatha a form of magic that is gentle and rooted, not explosive or world-ending.

Question 4

In the epilogue, Agatha says of the goats, “I could leave the goats to themselves all day … I still end up out in the fields with them most days.” What does this choice say about her growth?

Answer: Agatha’s choice is an act of voluntary care, not obligation. She could walk away—the goats would manage—but she chooses to stay. This reflects her growth from feeling trapped in others’ narratives to choosing her own. The simple life with the goats gives her agency, peace, and a sense of belonging that fame and magic never did. It is a quiet, radical redefinition of success: not as a savior, but as a shepherd.