What exactly is a Witch?
Tis time I wrote about this, I get asked this question all the time, given I call myself the Celtic Witch Mama. I invite you to take 5 and come on a brief journey with me, where I hope to leave you with a clear impression of what it means to me and the possibilities of what it could mean to you….
I regularly keen over the loss of this ancient wisdom in my blogs, it incites both my fury and my internal crusader. To the point it’s beginning to feel a bit vocational…some people find God, I feel compelled to nourish your soul by restoring this connection to Mother Nature; Have I finally found my niche…if so, ‘quiche’ (Australian comic, Chris Lilley’s, slang word for ‘excellent’)! I might even set up a course on ‘Accessible Witchcraft’……I’ll keep you posted
Thankfully, the tide is slowly turning and witchcraft is evolving into something more socially acceptable. Have we come full circle? Are we tired of the female oppression that exists in modern patriarchal religions? Why does radicalisation/extremism always demand the shut-down of female liberty? WTF is war in the name of religion all about anyhow? A juxtaposition if ever I heard one!!! Haven’t we got too many pairs of shoes or handbags and still not enough satisfaction? I believe the time is nigh because for the majority of us, meaning is missing from our existence and we don’t want more medication! *Fuck off Stepford we no longer wish to be your wives!
However, much mystery still surrounds what being a witch actually is, despite the religion being over 35,000 years old. One popular belief, is that the word Witch is “related to the English words wit, wise, wisdom [Germanic root *weit-, *wait-, *wit-; Indo-European root *weid-, *woid-, *wid-],” so “craft of the wise.”[12]Thanks Wiki . When I say to people I am a witch, this is to what I refer…The Old Religion itself, is closer in spirit to Native American traditions or to shamanism of the Artic, taking its teachings from nature. (Source: The Spiral Dance, Starhawk) What I am not, which is what is sadly the common misrepresentation of this old religion, is a Shakespeareian Macbeth caricature…I don’t ride a broomstick, cast evil spells and change into animal form in the midnight hours….
We can put the shrouded secrecy, down to the Christian persecution of witches, starting in the 12th and 13th Centuries and ending….well in some countries still going on Today! The feudal system was breaking down, religious revolts were taking place all over the shop, shaking the churches’ foundations…ALL rivals had to go! Around 1324 Witchcraft was declared a heretical act, with an Irish Coven leader being prosecuted for worshipping a non-Christian god; she didn’t die because of her social rank but her followers were burned…nice! In 1484, the Papal Bull of Innocent VIII went full throttle with the Inquisition! And in 1486 Dominicans Kramer and Sprenger published the Malleus Maleficarum…’The Hammer of the Witches’…And the era of Misogyny was born..killing an estimated 9 million ‘witches’!
But what exactly were these poor souls guilty of???? Historical records evidence, that accusing someone of being a witch was a handy way to rid the village of their presence and a lot of the finger pointing down to malicious intention and jealousy. Because typically, it was just the local apothecary/wise-woman, using their generational botanical wisdom to make and sell medicinal potions…that got roasted. Male medical professionals got on the bandwagon, using this welcomed opportunity to get rid of midwives and village herbalists, who were their main financial competitors. Internet trolls repeat this noxious behaviour on social media in the modern day equivalent.
The Church capitalised on the power gained from manipulating people into believing ill health was a manifestation of their own evil doing….aka sin. It was no good to them if the old wise crone, (remember once upon a pre-Christian time this was a high priestess and a compliment) could make people better, it made her too powerful and rich and stopped the populous needing the Church. Much easier to make her into the epitome of evil! It all comes down to money, doesn’t it always….Hence why monks and nuns created medicine gardens and took over the healing duties. The people could then attend the Church, hand over their hard earned cash to be ‘saved’, get indoctrinated and the Church could gilt everything in sight!…
Not at all cynical am I?! But I just can’t fathom how people didn’t question why they suddenly couldn’t commune directly with the higher force? Why the Goddess, not separate from the World but the World, had to suddenly become a separate male entity named God? And how the Church was now more important than the natural world around them? Or maybe those that did, got persecuted and fear led to silence. Anyhow this ancient religion went underground at this point, earning the reputation of ‘that which cannot be told’, because the risks of passing on the knowledge so severe people only trusted their direct descendants….and even then, not always the case. Witch hunters and informers made a lot of money…money talks…filthy lucra!
However, ‘that which cannot be told‘ has other deeper connotations, a primary symbol for the Goddess and an understanding that not everything in this World can be explained. Symbols and rituals, like tarot, are tools to assist in divining what we instinctually know….if we’re in touch with our hearts and listen to our ‘gut instincts’. What I love about witchcraft, and what really suits me, is that there is no central authority to enforce how I should honor being a witch. As it’s not predicated by someone else, then it’s open to personal interpretation. Yes imagine that, you are FREE to decide what it means to you….you don’t need a ‘higher’ individual to interpret your relationship with Mother Nature…SPIRITUAL FREEDOM! You can set up your own rituals…
There are a few basic rules, love for life in all its forms, never taking life needlessly, preserving and protecting the diversity of natural life. This means maintaining the harmonious balance of plant, animal, human and divine awareness, which is not autocratic. In plain English, spiritual meditation is as important as practical activity to make this happen….whether that is cleaning a beach or going on an Anti-Fraking march…Protect the planet, which is Mother Nature, the Goddess, everything. In terms of justice, this comes from within and demands responsibility in acknowledging what you send out, returns three times over. Honour is a guiding principle, honor for thyself and for everything else.
I’m not part of a coven, check Wikki on that ‘The word “coven” remained largely unused in English until 1921 when Margaret Murray promoted the idea, now much disputed, that all witches across Europe met in groups of thirteen which they called “covens”. During the witch trials they would burn witches in groups of 13, so it can’t be that modern?! But anyhow, it is not a pre-requisite to being a witch. It is my view, that power play is an inevitable part of any group dynamic and not particularly conducive to my idea of spiritual. Being part of a coven can (not always) also involve a lot of sex?! Not my bag, as in group sex, it’s dangerous to ‘play’ with energy exchange! But covens work for some, they like the instruction from more experienced witches, again this is down to personal preference.
So my friends, there we have it, my explanation for what a witch is….I am a green one because I deal with herbs and plants. Perhaps you are one too? Claim back your inner Goddess before it’s too late…..
Originally published at celticwitchmama.com on November 5, 2018.
