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    What is a witch?

    My interpretation of the term 'witch' is limited to 'someone who uses magic/witchcraft as part of their religious practice'.

    I had mentioned to a friend, the other day, that I was no longer a witch. In my perception, I was saying that I no longer practice magic/witchcraft. (I consider myself, most certainly, Pagan, however!) The response from my friend was, "Are you sure?"

    Clearly, he has a different view of what a witch is. So, I thought I'd ask a greater pagan community.....What is a witch, for you?

    I suppose there is an supplemental question, as well. What does 'magic' or 'witchcraft' consist of? Meditation? Spirit work? Shamanistic practice? Energy work?
    Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

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    #2
    Re: What is a witch?

    someone that practices witchcraft...and identifies as a witch

    Or, if you weigh as much as a duck
    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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      #3
      Re: What is a witch?

      Originally posted by cesara View Post
      My interpretation of the term 'witch' is limited to 'someone who uses magic/witchcraft as part of their religious practice'.

      I had mentioned to a friend, the other day, that I was no longer a witch. In my perception, I was saying that I no longer practice magic/witchcraft. (I consider myself, most certainly, Pagan, however!) The response from my friend was, "Are you sure?"

      Clearly, he has a different view of what a witch is. So, I thought I'd ask a greater pagan community.....What is a witch, for you?

      I suppose there is an supplemental question, as well. What does 'magic' or 'witchcraft' consist of? Meditation? Spirit work? Shamanistic practice? Energy work?
      I personally think the answer to your first question is contained in the second supplemental question. Especially in the sense of identifying how the witch defines themselves within a cultural and social construct.

      Consider a hedge riding witch is a witch yet also employee's many shamanic like aspects in their craft. There is spirit work, there are periods of meditation and reflection, periods of Spirit work though that can be an issue regarding how one defines spirit work. Energy work through ones allies is as important as energy work through ones own manipulation of the environment or calling upon guides and such that one might define as semi-divine, land wights, fae, etc. Spell craft, potions, politiceses, brews, etc are all aspects of their craft but aspects that may differ from individual to individual and their specific practice. Nor does religion and spirituality define nor remove one from being identified as a Hedge Riding Witch.

      So I guess short answer is if you identify as a witch and employee the skills and crafts you equate to being a witch then you are a witch.

      Or you can go with Monty Python and see if you weight as much as a duck.
      I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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        #4
        Re: What is a witch?

        ROTFL! Ahhh, the duck! How could I have forgotten! :P

        So, for you guys....what are the skills and crafts you would associate with being a witch?
        Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

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          #5
          Re: What is a witch?

          Originally posted by cesara View Post
          ROTFL! Ahhh, the duck! How could I have forgotten! :P

          So, for you guys....what are the skills and crafts you would associate with being a witch?
          That's harder to answer as there are so many specific types of witchcraft out there.

          On a base level i'd say they have to have some form of divination in their practice. Doesn't matter if it be tarot, Ouija board, augury, etc. But some manner of looking into the future and seeing the results of actions and things that will be influencing outcomes.

          A power base that their beliefs are built upon. Figure it might be spiritual / religious that is based against some divine, semi-divine or demonic entity. It might be more mundane and strictly defined against a sense of their own worth and abilities. Critical in that it will be the power that supports their actions or belief that those acts will both be effective and actually manifest upon the physical plain.

          A medium through which their powers will be applied and directed to its end goal. Again platform is a matter of individual belief. Thus it could be via spell work, be via something like sigils used in conjunction with higher magical systems. Could be via sympathetic magics such as poppets, dollies, dolls, other constructs or though forms. More granny or folk like practices via knot works, sacred scrolls like PowWow usage, colors, etc.

          Along with medium will be the physical components that are required to aid the action. Consider for the kitchen witch its herbs, plants, spices. For other's it's magical components that connect to the physical though more dark such as the many stories of the eye of newt, crows wing, bat blood, etc. For sympathetic it might be hair, finger nails, blood, menstrual blood, semen, photo's, etc. It could be specific tools that are based upon natural items such as crystals, stones, wood, water, fire, earth, etc. Yet again depending upon particular practice you might use any of them or something similar.

          Along with medium will also be a notion of projection and defense. So consider water could be used as both a divining surface to look out but also a protection as a mirror to reflect back anyone who is looking in. Yet the item used again is heavily influenced by the particular practice and beliefs yet still has the base function of projection or protection / defense.

          So basically I suppose divination to see what is coming or influencing a situation. Power source that will enable your craft to work and sustain it. Medium (spiritual, physical, mental, etc) through which you shall apply your power or intent, physical components that will enable you to causes an action to occur and the medium through which you shall project but also protect yourself.

          Of course the practitioner has to define themselves or by their practice which items fall into which category and which ones apply to their particular practice. For example I use smoke, fire and water divination but do not use tarot or Ouija that much. Yet I first rely upon third eye divination a lot of the times. Practices that mark my craft but not specifically used by others for the same purpose or in the same manner.
          I'm Only Responsible For What I Say Not For What Or How You Understand!

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            #6
            Re: What is a witch?

            What activities would I consider witchy? Divination, spirit work, spellcraft, making magical items, are a few.

            The thing to remember though is that what a witch is and what witchcraft is is culturally derived. And in most cultures, its some sort of negative magic user (or suspected).

            My personal idea of what a (good? And by good I mean effective rather than kind) witch is/does is more personal and a bit different though--a witch is someone that lives through Earth (or maybe in accordance with)--through the patterns and rhythms of Nature as their guide, and requiring its presence as a vital force and using it to shape their existence
            Last edited by thalassa; 21 May 2015, 16:50.
            Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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              #7
              Re: What is a witch?

              I personally don't think the religious aspect is particularly important. I think you're a witch so long as you identify as one. My own magical practices are considerably different today than they were when I identified as a wiccan. I don't cast a circle or use an altar (although I still have one that I use more like a house shrine than a place for casting spells) and I rarely use props or candles.

              Most of my work is done through visualisation and/or pathwork. I'm yet to use this method to assist others, but it is working out pretty well on a personal level. I still consider myself a witch though.

              My definition of what magic is is much broader than many other practitioners though. To me ANY technique that allows me to affect desired change in the world around me is an act of magic. From the conscious use of body language to elicit a desired response from someone, to the mundane and yet extremely powerful magic of plain old verbal communication, I develop my ability to use a variety of skills available to me to help move things towards my desired goal, and I personally feel that it's this deliberate honing of such 'magical' skills that makes me a witch.
              夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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                #8
                Re: What is a witch?

                To me ANY technique that allows me to affect desired change in the world around me is an act of magic.
                Yes! I definitely agree with this, though it does bring me into a grey area where, before, I was pretty sure I had it figured out...lol.
                Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

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                  #9
                  Re: What is a witch?

                  Originally posted by cesara View Post
                  Yes! I definitely agree with this, though it does bring me into a grey area where, before, I was pretty sure I had it figured out...lol.
                  Well, don't forget that all human beings are capable of eliciting change in conformity with will. Most people can open a window if they're too hot, or ask for a bank loan, or take an evening class.. and so on. So if you don't feel that the label 'witch' suits you, then don't use it. You're just doing what every human being does and trying to make your life that little smoother. Your techniques may be a little less conventional, but this doesn't have to make you a witch if you don't feel 'witchy'.
                  夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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                    #10
                    Re: What is a witch?

                    Originally posted by Jembru View Post
                    .
                    My definition of what magic is is much broader than many other practitioners though. To me ANY technique that allows me to affect desired change in the world around me is an act of magic.
                    While I don't disagree with this, I don't think all magic is witchcraft.

                    I'm going to go with what is probably one of the more provocative and least academically correct things I've said in a while:

                    I think that there is a certain rebellion against the status quo aspect to being a witch...a certain counter-culture. Its a social response of the powerless. And if we all aren't powerless to the machine, then we're all delusional. The powerlessness of the individual (and paradoxically the strength and powerfulness of the individual) are the same--we are the machine, and if we aren't working to change it or dismantle it for something new with what tools we do have (look around), then we are complicit.

                    Witchcraft is cultural--its a culturally specific response, it is a reaction to the problems of the society where its practitioners practice. Contemporary Western witchcraft (regardless of tradition and how "traditional" it might be) is a reclaiming of agency against contemporary Western problems. And the biggest of those problems (IMO) is the ecological and humanitarian crises we are going to face in the next 100-200 years, which will determine whether we continue as a species or not...and which will leave a scar in the history of this planet (that the planet will eventually overcome) the size of the sixth extinction we are living in already...or worse.

                    “Witchcraft is the recourse of the dispossessed, the powerless, the hungry and the abused. It gives heart and tongue to stones and trees. It wears the rough skin of beasts. It turns on a civilization that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
                    Apocalyptic Witchcraft, Peter Grey
                    (I've not read this, and I'm not a total fan of the author for a number of reasons, but he's interesting and thought provoking and as right in his righteousness as he is often questionable in his historical and scientific discussion...what he is not, is easy to read. )


                    Rewilding witchcraft, Peter Grey

                    Being a witch (IMO) is going outside and knowing which plants can be used for what. Its having a relationship with the land around you. Being a witch is about being rooted in your locus. At least, if you are any good at being one. Witchcraft is not reasonable. Its is not academic. Witchcraft is not a polite response to the problems of the world. Being a witch is about being a voice for the voiceless with every option that we have left.

                    (and normally I seem like such a reasonable person, yeah?)
                    Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of HistoryPagan Devotionals, because the wind and the rain is our Bible
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                      #11
                      Re: What is a witch?

                      Girl, you so rock! You've given me faaaar more in this thread than I could have even hoped for!

                      That's probably some of the most reasonable stuff I've read in some time!

                      Being that you're on my facebook, you know that environmental and social issues are a VERY important thing for me....90% of what I post is on these topics. You are speaking my language.

                      Thanks for those quotes....he's right....he is so very, very right. There is really no need to fact-check his statements...he's right. Earth is becoming uninhabitable. We are dying. No, we are killing ourselves.

                      I LOVE that you have taken witchcraft and put it smack dab in the middle of our mundane, unhealthy, polluted, unbalanced, on the brink reality. I love that you have exposed it as the tool it is for fighting our own extinction....for fighting ourselves. And, not just fighting...allowing. Allowing ourselves to be angry, sad, afraid. Accepting that most of the damage is irreversible, and mourning that loss.

                      We need to be intimately acquainted with death, as these are the rites over which our witchcraft presides, not some nudist holiday camp capers predicated on a glut of cheap oil.
                      This.

                      Western society (read: capitalism) has a nasty habit of turning everything into a commodity. Our land, our trees, our water, ourselves. It will consume all it can, until there is nothing left. The markets run free and the people starve, disease, and die.

                      Witchcraft is the recourse of the dispossessed, the powerless, the hungry and the abused. It gives heart and tongue to stones and trees. It wears the rough skin of beasts. It turns on a civilization that knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
                      Apocalyptic Witchcraft, Peter Grey
                      and you posted:
                      Being a witch (IMO) is going outside and knowing which plants can be used for what. Its having a relationship with the land around you. Being a witch is about being rooted in your locus. At least, if you are any good at being one. Witchcraft is not reasonable. Its is not academic. Witchcraft is not a polite response to the problems of the world. Being a witch is about being a voice for the voiceless with every option that we have left.
                      I'm sure I saw one of the PF members who, in their profile, identified with "Radical Witchcraft". THIS is what that means. It is radical to turn our backs on this poisoned civilization and use every option to fight back. There is no other way.

                      You've given me a WHOLE lot to think about....rethink....

                      Maybe I'm a witch, after all....
                      Last edited by cesara; 22 May 2015, 05:35.
                      Allow me to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket. ~ Captain Jack Sparrow

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                        #12
                        Re: What is a witch?

                        Originally posted by thalassa View Post
                        Being a witch (IMO) is going outside and knowing which plants can be used for what. Its having a relationship with the land around you. Being a witch is about being rooted in your locus. At least, if you are any good at being one. Witchcraft is not reasonable. Its is not academic. Witchcraft is not a polite response to the problems of the world. Being a witch is about being a voice for the voiceless with every option that we have left.
                        I couldn't help coming back and replying to this now that I've given myself the night off (while still being at work). While going through my books of shadows again, I came across an exercise that was part of my coven's basic training, which was to locate your nearest specimens of the nine woods. It reminded me of your words above, and I recalled how I once knew not just my nearest 9 woods, but also good healthy stock of many plants I'd use in spells or teas.

                        There is also a section in my BoS about the local fauna, including any folklore connected to them (which reminds me, I should probably add the 'Wallsend cow', a cow that escaped from a nearby country park and was shot by police causing outrage amongst the locals, to this list now, because she will no doubt become a local legend).

                        Considering I actively use my connection to the energy of the land in my magical work these days, I've really lost the connection to the flora and fauna I had previously. So I've decided I'm going to get outside on my days off, and start hunting down my nearest 9 woods again. Some will be the exact same specimens because I only live a few blocks over from my mum who I lived with when I last did this, but I'm closer to the cemetery than I was back then, so I might find some species are closer than they used to be.
                        夕方に急なにわか雨は「夕立」と呼ばれるなら、なぜ朝ににわか雨は「朝立ち」と呼ばれないの? ^^If a sudden rain shower in the evening is referred to as an 'evening stand', then why isn't a shower in the morning called 'morning stand'?

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