Characters The Black Bird Oracle Deborah Harkness

Meg Skelling: The Coven Witch Who Challenged Diana Bishop

Overview

Meg Skelling is an Ipswich coven witch who emerges as Diana Bishop’s primary antagonist in The Black Bird Oracle. She is a powerful, politically savvy practitioner who views Diana’s pursuit of higher magic as a threat to coven tradition and safety. Meg’s opposition crystallizes in two formal actions: she charges Gwyneth Proctor with misconduct for guiding Diana down the Dark Path, and she issues a Crossroads challenge to test Diana’s fitness. Her character embodies the tension between orthodoxy and transformation within the witch community.

Plot Role

Meg serves as the main obstacle Diana must overcome to claim her witch heritage. In Chapter 8, Meg recognizes the black bird oracle deck when Diana and Goody Wu meet at The Thirsty Goat. This recognition triggers a coven meeting. During the full moon gathering (Chapter 9), Meg formally charges Gwyneth with misconduct, accuses Diana of endangering coven secrets due to her marriage to a vampire, and issues the Crossroads challenge when Diana confronts her. The challenge occupies chapters 15–18 as the central magical duel. After Diana prevails, Meg concedes but later reports the Crossroads particulars to the Congregation, leading to a formal evaluation demand (Chapter 26). Yet in the same chapter, Meg accepts a returned memory bottle from Diana, hinting at a thaw.

Motivations and Traits

Meg’s motivations are rooted in fear and territorial control. Goody Wu observes that “without an enemy, Meg isn’t fully alive” and that she would be a great witch if she could drop her belief that “the goddess’s deck was stacked against her” (Chapter 8). This quote (paraphrased) suggests Meg sees injustice everywhere and channels that into combative vigilance. She genuinely believes higher magic, especially in the hands of an outsider like Diana, risks darkness spreading through the coven. Her actions show pragmatism: she uses coven bylaws against Gwyneth, attacks Diana’s vampire marriage to sway public opinion, and exploits the anniversary of Bridget Bishop’s execution to heighten emotions. Traits include cunning, persistence, legalistic thinking, and a capacity for grudging respect—seen when she concedes after the Crossroads duel and later accepts the memory bottle.

Chronological Arc

Meg first appears offstage when her name emerges during coven politics. In Chapter 8, she notices the oracle deck at the café. Her first direct confrontation occurs at the coven meeting (Chapter 9), where she verbally attacks Gwyneth and Diana. The Crossroads duel (Chapter 15) is the arc’s climax: Meg attacks using Darkness and Light magic, summons shades, and tries to prevent Diana from finding her path. After Diana frees her aunt Naomi and accepts the Dark Path, Meg concedes, saying “You have found your path. So must it be” (Chapter 15). She then reports the duel’s particulars to the Congregation, catalyzing the formal evaluation (Chapter 26). Her final major scene involves accepting the returned memory bottle, a gesture that signals potential reconciliation or at least respect.

Relationships

Diana Bishop: Meg’s primary opponent. Their relationship is adversarial but not purely hostile. Meg challenges Diana’s fitness, but after the Crossroads, she treats Diana with a measure of equality. Diana returns a stolen memory bottle to Meg in Chapter 26, which Meg accepts, suggesting mutual acknowledgment.

Gwyneth Proctor: Meg targets Gwyneth for misconduct charges, viewing her as reckless for training Diana. Gwyneth defends herself using coven bylaws, including notification of Katrina. The rivalry is professional and personal, rooted in differing views on tradition.

Goody Wu (Katrina): Katrina is a neutral observer who respects Meg’s skill but criticizes her need for enemies. She oversees the Crossroads challenge as arbiter.

Ipswich Coven: Meg holds influence, able to call meetings and sway opinion. However, after Diana joins the coven (Chapter 26), Meg’s power is balanced by Ann Downing and Hitty Braybrooke.

Key Decisions and Consequences

  1. Charging Gwyneth with misconduct: This formalizes the conflict, forces Diana to respond, and leads to the Crossroads challenge. The consequence is that Diana proves her worth and gains coven membership.

  2. Issuing the Crossroads challenge: A risky move that backfires when Diana succeeds. Meg’s concession enhances Diana’s standing.

  3. Reporting the Crossroads to the Congregation: Breaks coven confidentiality but triggers a formal evaluation that ultimately allows Diana to request a venue change to Ravenswood. This action shows Meg’s commitment to protocol even after defeat.

  4. Accepting the memory bottle: By taking back her own memory bottle, Meg implicitly accepts Diana’s apology and the return of stolen property, a step toward détente.

Theme/Symbol Connections

  • Family Legacy and Secrets: Meg represents the coven’s desire to keep family secrets hidden, especially from outsiders like Diana. She contrasts with Gwyneth’s openness.

  • Motherhood and Protection: Meg frames her opposition as protecting the coven from Diana’s “unnatural” children. This connects to the broader theme of maternal protection vs. fear.

  • Higher Magic and the Dark Path: Meg’s challenge embodies the trial every adept must face. She is the gatekeeper who tests Diana’s readiness.

  • Prophecy and Destiny: Meg’s actions are repeatedly predicted by the black bird oracle, especially the Crossroads card. She is an instrument of destiny despite her opposition.

  • Love and Vulnerability: Meg’s inability to accept help or admit weakness makes her a foil to Diana, who relies on love for Matthew and family.

Questions and Answers

Why does Meg challenge Diana to a Crossroads duel?
Meg believes Diana is unfit for higher magic due to her inexperience, her vampiric marriage, and her status as an outsider. The challenge is a formal coven mechanism to test Diana’s worth.

What is Meg’s relationship with the black bird oracle?
Meg recognizes the deck immediately, implying familiarity. However, she fears the oracle’s power and tries to prevent Diana from using it, seeing it as a threat to coven order.

Does Meg change by the end of the novel?
Subtly yes. After the Crossroads, she concedes gracefully. In Chapter 26, she accepts a returned memory bottle from Diana, suggesting a willingness to move past conflict, though she remains a stickler for rules.

How does Meg use coven politics against Diana?
She invokes bylaws, attacks Gwyneth’s leadership, and reminds the coven of Ysabeau de Clermont’s past misdeeds to sway opinion against Diana.

What does Meg’s concession after the Crossroads reveal about her character?
It shows she respects the goddess’s judgment and coven traditions. Though she tried to block Diana, she accepts the outcome without further sabotage—at least in the immediate moment.