 | "The Witch is mysterious and alluring, intelligent - but devious. Eclectic. Beautiful. Disgusting. Mystifying. This is how we envision her, though she is so much more." -Ola'i Wildeboar |
Close your eyes and picture her: long, dark, tangled hair, sunken-in eyes, long scrawny fingers with black claws, a black flowing cloak, a thick nose, a wicked smile and a tall, pointy hat. You are picturing the Witch. She is mysterious and alluring, intelligent - but devious. Eclectic. Beautiful. Disgusting. Mystifying. This is how we envision her, though she is so much more. The stereotypes following her can’t begin to describe the complexity that comes with identifying as a Witch. Our intelligence on this subject has been hindered by the distorted representation in media that Witches often get. Even when she is not evil and murderous, she is portrayed as unstable, cruel, and altogether embellished by darkness. However, a main focus of witchcraft is to maintain balance and equality in all things. This and many other foundational beliefs of witchcraft and wiccanism have been twisted and dismissed by our culture, while other attributes have been glorified and made popular in a demeaning way.
The term “witch” has arguable etymology. The most accepted seems to be that it is from (the norse) “wicce” or “to bend”or shape reality as we know it. For certain the term witch was only widely used since the time of the church’s crusade against the wise women (and men, but mostly women). Those who were called “witch” were first our healers, midwives, etc. At that time the same women who brought life in also “mid-wifed” death. The cycles of life have timelessly been frightening for people. Those who brought life were then accused of bringing death and blamed for sickness and bad luck. They were hunted and hung and burned for it.
Or, for example, take the image of the pentacle, a sacred pagan symbol, has been taken on by youth subcultures in ways that do not respect what it is truly about. The pentacle represents many different things for different Witches. Most importantly it is a symbol of protection and its foundation is in the elements. Four of the points are symbolic of earth, water, fire, and air, while the last point represents the spirit. The combination of these symbolizes the connection between mother earth and the sacred spirit for which all Witches aim. Unfortunately, the pentacle is often misrepresented by pop stars and teenagers as something satanic or negative. While the reversed pentacle (the pentagram) is associated with Lucifer and the satanic goat, it has only recently been utilized for these purposes. In traditional paganism, the upright pentacle represents the reception of positive energy, while the reverse is the release of negative energy, or something similar. The idea that the symbol is satanic came around during the Salem Witch trials of the 1600s, when witches were--quite wrongly--associated with the devil.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Firstly, it should be made clear that the assumption of Witch wearing all black or having warts and crooked teeth is completely inaccurate. You do not need to pile on eyeliner or dye your hair to be considered “witchy”. In fact, this is the complete opposite of what you should do, as a core belief of being a Witch is that everyone’s honest self is welcome to be presented and celebrated. Witches are much more often natural in appearance, though this doesn’t mean you can’t have bright pink hair and a nose ring to be a Witch. A Witch can be anyone, anywhere, with any attributes, as long as they have love in their hearts.
Many believe that having lineage or being taught by an elder Witch is essential to becoming one, however, some of the best Witches out there are self-taught enthusiasts with no Pagan heritage. Being Wiccan and practicing Witchcraft do not go hand in hand. Wicca is the religious side of Witchcraft, a branch off of Paganism and a belief system that encompases Witchcraft but does not require it. Paganism is the overarching term for all earth-based religious or spiritual practices. One can practice Witchcraft and call themselves a Witch, but also identify as Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Atheist, Etc. However, it is generally assumed that if you practice Witchcraft, you have assumed the title of a Pagan. Being Wiccan or being raised with Pagan beliefs does not make one any better than those who found Witchcraft later in their life. A very important focus of being a Witch is that they are all-inclusive, thus being sexist, homophobic, racist, transphobic, or discriminatory in any way goes completely against what being a Witch is all about. Real witches honor all people and creatures of the land, and celebrate their individual existence as well as our co-dependent existence. This goes along with ensuring that your heart is full of unconditional love and without divisive judgement of those around you. A core belief of Witches around the world is that they never harm another living being. Harm none, and no harm will come to you.
Witches were born from a combination of many practices including Paganism, Celticism, Druidism, Voodoo, and Native American beliefs. When the burning of the Witches occurred, the assumption that Witches were children of the Devil became wildly popular. Meanwhile, most Witches do not even believe in the Devil, or anything which purely sprouts from evil. The only evil that exists in the world is the evil that humans do onto themselves, and even then, every human is believed to have good inside of them.
Knowing all this information makes it quite difficult to watch or read modern witchy art and be satisfied with the way they’re represented. Take, for instance, something as wildly popular as Harry Potter, which coins the term “witch” but does not use any of its core other than the fact that it is a person who can perform magic. Students in the wizarding world were taught potions, herbology, spells, and curses, all of which are a part of witchcraft, but were never taught the morals and beauty that is a part of embracing witchcraft. No mention of the elements, no mention of the goddess, no mention of the earth and how it intertwines with witchcraft, and overall an obliteration of the spirituality that is being a Witch. This theme stays consistent through most media. Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Wizards of Waverly Place, Halloweentown, Teen Witch: all exclude the spiritual goodness.
There have so far been two representations that I know of which most closely follow the actual principals. Firstly, Charmed, the 90’s television drama, includes multiple Wiccan beliefs such as harm none, protect the innocents, and no magic for personal gain. In this show, the witches are presented as integral everyday people, and the magic they do is all for the greater good. Concepts such as demons and whitelighters were added conflicts for the sake of drama, however elements such as their Book of Shadows are accurate. A Book of Shadows is the witch’s spellbook, and it is filled with anything magic-related that the Witch desires to include. Same with their “powers”: most often, each witch has something in particular which they focus on, or a strength that they use to benefit their magic. It may sometimes take a while for the witch to realize their strength, but it is always in them.
Another somewhat accurate media example is the 90’s film The Craft, which is the source of many teens attraction to witchery. In this film, their magic is not immediate nor outrageous, it is a spoken spell that takes it’s own time for the results to appear. They also honor the elements, and hold sacred space in a coven’s circle. The film also does a good job at showing the consequences of using magic for personal gain, or using it to harm another being.
This brings us to the subject of curses, which seems to be the main interest of most newly practicing witches. Let me make this clear: a good witch should never curse anyone, no matter the consequences. I recently have seen a lot of excitement on the internet, particularly Tumblr, regarding the craft. Many budding witches are encouraging the use of curses and teaching other witches how to do them. What is not understood is that all magic you put into the world comes back to you amplified, so if you set your magical intentions on displeasing or inconveniencing another, you are doing more harm unto yourself than the person in question. Curses are never something to be thrown around lightly. They are deeply effective and and have serious repercussions. It is harmful to tell a beginning Witch to carry out curses, as it will badly affect the course of their magical growth. All magic is circular, all magic balances itself out. Be careful what you put out and be cautious of what you absorb. Keep love as the sole principal in your heart. Instead of cursing someone, create a spell which helps them find their way towards being a better person, so no one has to feel a desire to curse them ever again.
Witches are guided by the power of the Goddess, the Great Mother, the Moon, Sophia, Gaia, Mother Nature, whatever you would like to call her, she encompases all that is. She is all the gods and goddesses and creatures in one body, the body of our planet. She is consciousness and emptiness, existence and nothingness. We honor her because we honor ourselves, as we are all a part of the Goddess. May you find her in your journey, may you radiate love. May all that you do be good and wholesome. Good luck. Blessed be.
The term “witch” has arguable etymology. The most accepted seems to be that it is from (the norse) “wicce” or “to bend”or shape reality as we know it. For certain the term witch was only widely used since the time of the church’s crusade against the wise women (and men, but mostly women). Those who were called “witch” were first our healers, midwives, etc. At that time the same women who brought life in also “mid-wifed” death. The cycles of life have timelessly been frightening for people. Those who brought life were then accused of bringing death and blamed for sickness and bad luck. They were hunted and hung and burned for it.
Or, for example, take the image of the pentacle, a sacred pagan symbol, has been taken on by youth subcultures in ways that do not respect what it is truly about. The pentacle represents many different things for different Witches. Most importantly it is a symbol of protection and its foundation is in the elements. Four of the points are symbolic of earth, water, fire, and air, while the last point represents the spirit. The combination of these symbolizes the connection between mother earth and the sacred spirit for which all Witches aim. Unfortunately, the pentacle is often misrepresented by pop stars and teenagers as something satanic or negative. While the reversed pentacle (the pentagram) is associated with Lucifer and the satanic goat, it has only recently been utilized for these purposes. In traditional paganism, the upright pentacle represents the reception of positive energy, while the reverse is the release of negative energy, or something similar. The idea that the symbol is satanic came around during the Salem Witch trials of the 1600s, when witches were--quite wrongly--associated with the devil.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Firstly, it should be made clear that the assumption of Witch wearing all black or having warts and crooked teeth is completely inaccurate. You do not need to pile on eyeliner or dye your hair to be considered “witchy”. In fact, this is the complete opposite of what you should do, as a core belief of being a Witch is that everyone’s honest self is welcome to be presented and celebrated. Witches are much more often natural in appearance, though this doesn’t mean you can’t have bright pink hair and a nose ring to be a Witch. A Witch can be anyone, anywhere, with any attributes, as long as they have love in their hearts.
Many believe that having lineage or being taught by an elder Witch is essential to becoming one, however, some of the best Witches out there are self-taught enthusiasts with no Pagan heritage. Being Wiccan and practicing Witchcraft do not go hand in hand. Wicca is the religious side of Witchcraft, a branch off of Paganism and a belief system that encompases Witchcraft but does not require it. Paganism is the overarching term for all earth-based religious or spiritual practices. One can practice Witchcraft and call themselves a Witch, but also identify as Christian, Buddhist, Jewish, Atheist, Etc. However, it is generally assumed that if you practice Witchcraft, you have assumed the title of a Pagan. Being Wiccan or being raised with Pagan beliefs does not make one any better than those who found Witchcraft later in their life. A very important focus of being a Witch is that they are all-inclusive, thus being sexist, homophobic, racist, transphobic, or discriminatory in any way goes completely against what being a Witch is all about. Real witches honor all people and creatures of the land, and celebrate their individual existence as well as our co-dependent existence. This goes along with ensuring that your heart is full of unconditional love and without divisive judgement of those around you. A core belief of Witches around the world is that they never harm another living being. Harm none, and no harm will come to you.
Witches were born from a combination of many practices including Paganism, Celticism, Druidism, Voodoo, and Native American beliefs. When the burning of the Witches occurred, the assumption that Witches were children of the Devil became wildly popular. Meanwhile, most Witches do not even believe in the Devil, or anything which purely sprouts from evil. The only evil that exists in the world is the evil that humans do onto themselves, and even then, every human is believed to have good inside of them.
Knowing all this information makes it quite difficult to watch or read modern witchy art and be satisfied with the way they’re represented. Take, for instance, something as wildly popular as Harry Potter, which coins the term “witch” but does not use any of its core other than the fact that it is a person who can perform magic. Students in the wizarding world were taught potions, herbology, spells, and curses, all of which are a part of witchcraft, but were never taught the morals and beauty that is a part of embracing witchcraft. No mention of the elements, no mention of the goddess, no mention of the earth and how it intertwines with witchcraft, and overall an obliteration of the spirituality that is being a Witch. This theme stays consistent through most media. Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Wizards of Waverly Place, Halloweentown, Teen Witch: all exclude the spiritual goodness.
There have so far been two representations that I know of which most closely follow the actual principals. Firstly, Charmed, the 90’s television drama, includes multiple Wiccan beliefs such as harm none, protect the innocents, and no magic for personal gain. In this show, the witches are presented as integral everyday people, and the magic they do is all for the greater good. Concepts such as demons and whitelighters were added conflicts for the sake of drama, however elements such as their Book of Shadows are accurate. A Book of Shadows is the witch’s spellbook, and it is filled with anything magic-related that the Witch desires to include. Same with their “powers”: most often, each witch has something in particular which they focus on, or a strength that they use to benefit their magic. It may sometimes take a while for the witch to realize their strength, but it is always in them.
Another somewhat accurate media example is the 90’s film The Craft, which is the source of many teens attraction to witchery. In this film, their magic is not immediate nor outrageous, it is a spoken spell that takes it’s own time for the results to appear. They also honor the elements, and hold sacred space in a coven’s circle. The film also does a good job at showing the consequences of using magic for personal gain, or using it to harm another being.
This brings us to the subject of curses, which seems to be the main interest of most newly practicing witches. Let me make this clear: a good witch should never curse anyone, no matter the consequences. I recently have seen a lot of excitement on the internet, particularly Tumblr, regarding the craft. Many budding witches are encouraging the use of curses and teaching other witches how to do them. What is not understood is that all magic you put into the world comes back to you amplified, so if you set your magical intentions on displeasing or inconveniencing another, you are doing more harm unto yourself than the person in question. Curses are never something to be thrown around lightly. They are deeply effective and and have serious repercussions. It is harmful to tell a beginning Witch to carry out curses, as it will badly affect the course of their magical growth. All magic is circular, all magic balances itself out. Be careful what you put out and be cautious of what you absorb. Keep love as the sole principal in your heart. Instead of cursing someone, create a spell which helps them find their way towards being a better person, so no one has to feel a desire to curse them ever again.
Witches are guided by the power of the Goddess, the Great Mother, the Moon, Sophia, Gaia, Mother Nature, whatever you would like to call her, she encompases all that is. She is all the gods and goddesses and creatures in one body, the body of our planet. She is consciousness and emptiness, existence and nothingness. We honor her because we honor ourselves, as we are all a part of the Goddess. May you find her in your journey, may you radiate love. May all that you do be good and wholesome. Good luck. Blessed be.
