Witchcraft 101: What is a Witch?

Dear Reader,

Say the word 'witch' and it brings to mind any number of images. While the images have improved some as witchcraft is becoming more tolerated in public, they tend to remain negative in many respects. The stereotype of the witch is an older, ill tempered woman with a cabinet of questionable items and prone to cursing people for fun. A newer stereotype is that of a younger woman decked out in at least ten pounds of silver jewelry and gemstones, bohemian-chic clothing style, a house full of plants, and no less than forty two tarot decks. Both come with the requisite cat familiar, spooky looking broom, and more jars than you can shake a stick at.

Those of you who know me off-line are probably laughing because of the two stereotypes. I'll be honest, my familiar is a feisty little blue betta fish, my jar collection is slightly less prolific than this time last year, and I only curse people who have earned the honor. Cursing is work, honestly. And it is easier to just flip the annoying people off and walk away than go through the work of cursing or I'd be cursing all the time. And I haven't hit forty two tarot decks, yet.

So, what exactly is a witch? Some would say that all witches are Wiccans. Whelp, that's not exactly accurate. Almost all Wiccans identify as witches, however. A witch is a person who is engaged in the manipulation of the world on a level commonly known as spiritual / metaphysical. There are countless methods for how to do this. Witches have been found from all spiritual traditions.

There is one thing about witches that you need to remember. It is a bit dangerous to be one. I'm not talking about how a certain deity will strike one down for it. Witches have, historically, existed at the margins of society. They turned to witchcraft as a means to improve their lot because there weren't many other options, historically speaking and in various parts around the world. To be a witch today is still a dangerous thing in many parts of the world and they do not claim the title as proudly as people may here in the United States where it is relatively safe to do so.

Can you be a witch and not be one of the marginalized people of the world? Yes. There are people who do so every day. You may know one right now but they don't call themselves a witch. Because the word is still heavily loaded with negative concepts and the claiming of the title is still dangerous in even the United States. There are witches who have had burning crosses planted on their front yard because they were public about their faith or practices. There are witches who have been harassed and psychologically tortured because they were public about it. There are also many who have suffered such things because they were suspected of it.

It happens every day. Speak to any witch who is public about their craft and you'll get horror stories of harassment from every single one who is willing to talk about it. The harassment gets worse the smaller the community, by the way, because the witches are pushed farther to the margins because we don't fit in very well.

Generally, witches are like everyone else when it comes to temperment and moral compass. It may be expressed differently, but they tend to abide by social norms and rule of law. We're people just like you. We just happen to have a different skill set, different circumstances, and, increasingly often, a different faith.