What Exactly Is A Witch?

While dressing up as a Witch is fun....

Dressing up as a Witch for Halloween can be a lot of fun, but what do you really know about Witches?

So, what exactly is a Witch?

Witches are peace seekers and like their life to be undisturbed. Controlling their own destiny to a point. They worship and respect nature much like the Native Indians. Earth and everything it has to offer and provides is sacred.

Witches practice folk magick using herbs, colors, stones, leaves and pretty much anything in nature.

Witches come from all walks of life. You could have one as a neighbor and not even know it, either because they haven't come out of the "broom closet" or as with most, don't feel the need to announce their beliefs, as they have no desire to try to convert you. They feel that to attempt to convert someone invalidates that person's chosen path. Witches believe that what ever path one chooses to follow is as valid as all the others as long as it doesn't infringe on others.

There are some that belong to a large "church" and some that gather in smaller groups such as a coven. Some Witches, not all, will help teach and guide you if you ask them to.

Many are what is known as a "Solitary" Witch. They don't belong to a coven and prefer to practice their path alone. Witches practice a nature based religion and follow the cycles of the seasons. They believe in free will as long as it doesn't harm oneself or other as they also believe in the rule of 3 or karma, meaning what ever they do to someone will come back to them 3 fold.

Witches prefer to hold their ceremonies outside because they feel that being with nature brings them closer to the God/dess' that created it.

While some of their beliefs and practices may seem strange to you as some of yours seem strange to them, they just want their beliefs to be respected as they respect yours.

There are many types of Witches

There are several different types of Witches. Here are just a few and what they do.

Kitchen Witch: (aka Cottage Witch & Hearth Witch)These Witches work most of their "magick" in the kitchen. They center most of what they do, in the kitchen. Making items for spells and rituals using herbs, plants and flowers, gnomes and fairies to name just a few, to make their potions and remedies and baked goods. Kitchen Witches are Healers and are highly respected once they are past their 40's, they are then looked upon as a "Wise Woman" because of their knowledge. They naturally and instinctually protect hearth and home. It is said that Kitchen Witches make good mates because they are crafty in love and relationships.

Solitary Witch: Is someone who prefers to practice their craft in the privacy of their own home or other place where they can be alone and do not feel the need to be a part of a Coven. Some do participate in some communal events and activities such as Sabbats. Many solitaries are Neo-pagans, who adhere to a diverse group of pagan religions that include various forms of Wicca, Traditional Reconstructionism and Traditional British Witchcraft, among others. About half of all pagans are self-ascribed solitary practitioners.

Hereditary Witch: Begin their journey very early in life as they are usually born into a magical family. Each family has it's own traditions. They don't join Covens as the family usually sticks together. Their "gifts" are passed down through the generations. However, it can skip a generation. So just because you may be born into a "magical" family, doesn't always mean that you are a Witch. Their belief is that the conviction that nature is a living entity owing to a divine presence or life-force.

Eclectic Witch: An Eclectic Witch forms her path by choosing from many different traditions. They prefer to study and learn from many different types of the craft and creates a more personalized form of witchcraft. In turn building their own religion or traditions from the ground up and the main complaint about Eclectic Witches is that some consider them not to be a true Witch/Wiccan because of this. Solitary Witches have open minds and are very receptive to the way others practice their craft. Most are Solitary Practioners and no two Eclectic Witches are the same.

Traditional Witch: Traditional Witches prefer the "old ways" pre-Christian and follow the history and arts in which they use to build the foundation of their craft. Like the Hereditary Witch, their craft is passed down through the generations. They prefer to work more so with the spirit world. This is where they call upon their ancestors and land spirits for their strength which are very important to the Traditional Witch. . They work with Runes and moon cycles. They are drawn to both dark and light. They are known to perform banishing spells. They do not follow the Wiccan Rede and do not believe in the rule of three. Traditional witchcraft is not Wicca. There are many more attributes to a Traditional Witch, to many to list here.

There are several more types of Witches but this should give you some idea of the more popular ones.

Witches don't always wear black

When people think of a Witch, they picture them with a pointy black hat and black cape, ugly and evil. Real Witches are kind and loving and actually prefer to wear green or purple. But on an every day basis, Witches wear clothing of all styles and colors.

Witches will usually choose to wear black clothing or robes of black for rituals.

Black absorbs energy and light which helps a Witch be more receptive of the psychic realm and it is the high point of all vibrations of light on the material plane.

Black is worn by many representatives of different faiths. Hasidic Rabbis, Priests and Nuns are some known to wear black.

Not to be confused with the Baphomet

Witches wear a Pentacle. It is not Satanic as it is worn differently than the Baphomet that the Church of Satan uses. Witches do not even believe in Satan. A Pentacle is a five pointed star inside a circle. The single point is pointed upwards. Each point stands for the four elements....Earth, Air, Fire and water. The point at the top is for the Divine Spirit. Christian knights back in Medieval times used to wear a Pentagram to bring luck and protection.

Flying high

According to legend, witches used herbs with psychoactive properties like henbane in their potions, or "flying ointments." Some historical accounts suggest witches applied these ointments to their nether regions for the "high" they would get, usually with applied it with a wooden stick.

Henbane is a very powerful hallucinogenic and can kill you.

So now you know

So now that you know what a Witch is....could you be one?

Just for fun!

What is your Witch name?

Post yours below and share so your friends can have fun too!