How Many Here Consider Themselves Witches or....

[Little Fang]

I'd like to make a note in here to be respectful.  We don't know everyone's circumstances.  Some people are finding their path and it's not an easy thing, and sometimes it's a phase, but lots of people go through a "cringy" stage in life.  Some people find it later in life, and some people just like the style.

 

On the subject, I'm not Wiccan, but I somewhat consider myself a witch, in the fact that I'm learning spellwork and the like. ❤️ 

[EvylynRose]

I am loving this topic and all the posts so far! I considered quoting and commenting on some things said so far, but I think I'll try avoiding my "textbook mode" (basically, me thinking I'm being helpful by pumping out an excessive amount of knowledge like the onslaught of a teacher putting entirely too many book assignments in front of you at once, but to which the typical feedback I receive often includes the word "condescending"). So I'll just stick with answering the original question. 😅

 

I do consider myself a Witch. Since that can cover a myriad of paths, styles, values, etc., I generally clarify with "Witch with heavy Wiccan influence."

 

I didn't like using the term "witch" initially (thanks to all the negative connotations as has already been brought up). I started as the typical brand-new-to-Wicca-solitary-type and simply learned and grew. I'm a contextual learner, so history and etiology were extremely pertinent. Learning that "Wicca" was born out of the earlier term for "Witch" in Old English, I realized that the two terms are one and the same. Yes, the way we use them can vary wildly and the paths they denote has evolved rapidly in the past 70+ years, but that realization that calling myself Wiccan was no different from calling myself a Witch made the discomfort completely fall away.

 

But then the community divide and "witch wars" seemed to widen rapidly. In response to all the "fluffy" or "newbie" self-proclaimed Wiccans (who will either come to stop using the term or grow and learn and devote to the path given their own time), there was the fundamentalism sweeping through and that has now reached a point where it's hard to connect with others of like-mind within the community because of an extreme view that the term "Wicca" is to be used exclusively by those following traditions which are now defining themselves as strictly mystery traditions. (So, in other words, if you have not been formally initiated into a coven of particular traditions, no matter how experienced, knowledgeable, and wise--especially if you would be quick to use the terms "eclectic" and "solitary"--you are likely to be shunned for using the label "Wicca" to define yourself). While I can certainly understand and respect the viewpoint, I also can't shake the feeling that that level of elitism and fundamentalism is what has led to many of the atrocities associated with other religions. Not for me. No thank you.

 

So as my spiritual path, values, theology, and magickal practices very much still resemble Wicca in most regards, Witch is the term I most identify with and use.

 

When it does come up, I typically do not pause or anticipate any sort of response beyond the perfectly normal "ah, okay" as with any other piece of information (like favorite colors or music genre). Not only because I have no interest in the shock value ("Yeah, that's right. I called myself a witch. What you gonna do about it, huh?"--who has *time* for that?), but also because I sometimes forget that others aren't "bookworms" and "research bugs" like me and I worry I might think less of them for thinking someone calling themselves a witch is anything to be shocked about in this day and age. Of all the things we *should* all be shocked--and outraged--about, words used to describe one's religion, spirituality, lifestyle, etc. is probably the dumbest...

[Mab]

I'm very late to this thread but I wanted to add my tuppenny worth... 

 

I live in Britain, and I think my experiences and the pagan traditions are very different from those in America.

We are getting to be quite a secular country, and have far fewer intolerant Christian structures and churches, for one thing.

 

I practised as a witch for years, and named myself such, although not in public, but I agree about reclaiming the word.

After years of hedgewitchery and some Dianic groups, I ended up in a coven, being initiated into Wicca.

 

I'd like to define what I mean by “Wicca”.

In Britain and Europe, Wicca is a re created initiatory mystery religion which draws upon its roots in the Western Mystery Tradition, and traditional forms of folk magic, folklore, and the pagan traditions of The British Isles and Europe for inspiration.
There is no self initiation into Wicca, although there is, of course, into Witchcraft.

In America, and maybe other countries, Wicca and witchcraft seem to be used interchangeably.
Americans refer to initiatory Wicca as “British Traditional Witchcraft”.
In Britain, Traditional and Hereditary Witchcraft are quite different from Wicca.

 

I hope this is a good idea, to say this, as thanks to the plague (silver lining) I have a little more time and headspace to practise and to go on fora, and it might be helpful to explain what I'm going on about. 🙂

 

 

Having re read this thread, I’d just like to add that for me and my lot, it isn't a value judgement and isn't  elitist to say that a person is not a Wiccan, because, unless they have been through the same initiation, they aren't. 

They might well be a witch, a mage, pagan or something else

 

 

 

 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Mab
Something occurred to me

[Tanga]

(Been a while since I posted here, & I haven't read through all the posts).

 

I am a solitary progressive (or eclectic) hedge witch.

I was once in an Alexandrian Wicca coven (ala British Traditional Witchcraft defined by Mab just above my post here. I live in Britain.

And yes - @ EvylynRose - the elitism in Wicca can be pretty stinky in places).

 

So... I observe the 8 Wiccan festivals of the year (which have a mixed folk background) - when I'm in a mindset to do so.

(Always Samhain (Halloween) because it's my favourite one 🙃).

I devine occasionally, I work spells now and again when I'm in the mood, or when I feel I've tried everything else, and only a spell remains for anymore possible input, I meditate, I gaze at the moon. I go out into the coppice behind my house, set up altar and

do ritual (occasionally - the mosquitoes out there are MONSTERS). I do ritual regularly in my room at full moon under the window

(the room is on the 2nd floor with a wonderful sky view).  Very occasionally now - I may go to an open Wicca or some other kind of Pagan group celebration/ritual.  I have Spirit guides... that I listen to sometimes. Lol.

 

I enjoy my practice.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Tanga

[Carla]

I am a witch. I do not define myself because I defy categories. I know a lot of witches, and no two are the same, nor or they anything like what the popular imagination or dabblers suspect. 

[Cheyenne]

I am a solitary eclectic witch, I am kind of all over the place as far as my practice goes, which is why I identify as eclectic. 

[GreatDane]

WOW.  I've been away for quite awhile and came back to read your posts.  REALLY interesting how people see themselves and various terms. 

 

For me, in the end, we do what we do and we think of ourselves as we do.  Whatever that is, I respect what anyone wishes to call themselves (or NOT label themselves at all) and it was interesting to read what some of you are into. 

 

Cheyenne, since you were the last who posted, I will respond directly to that. 

 

I like that definition of solitary and eclectic.  Whatever I do, I tend to be solitary and tend to be eclectic.  Some things I build on and make my own, like knot work, candle work, rituals with the moon, others things are just mine.  I think of what I want to do, accomplish and go from there. 

 

FOR ME, it's all about energy, intention and channeling it.  Really when one thinks about anything, isn't that kind of the basis?  You think about something you want to do, work on, you have an intention and you channel your energy.  With some of us, we may just use certain tools or rituals to zero in on our channeling or it may be just us, our intention, our energy with no tools at all.        

[FallenAngel]

I've really enjoyed reading this thread and hearing different people's views 🙂

 

I've recently been reconnecting with my spirituality and making more time to find out the things I am drawn to. I have to admit, that I am attracted to the thought of being able to label myself, but do not yet know what that label might be. I think this comes from a long-standing sense of not feeling like I belong. Conversely to this, I am someone who likes to spend time on my own and find this very restorative. There have been times when I've had opportunities to be part of a group (not in the spiritual sense, but in terms of other interests) and I have shied away from this. I'm not sure if this is a fear that I won't fit in, or because I value my own space.

 

Anyway, this attraction or desire to wanting to label myself can make me susceptible to getting sucked in to buying "things" and wearing things which signify I am part of such a group. So, I'm trying hard not to fall into this and instead invest my money in things like books to extend my knowledge or tools so that I can experiment and see what feels right for me.

 

Thanks for such an interesting thread as it's helped me see different sides and given me some reassurance that I don't necessarily need a label, and perhaps that instead I should look to explore my need to "belong" and work through that.

Edited August 14, 2021 by FallenAngel

[DarkMoge]

As someone who called themselves a witch in their introduction, I feel compelled to reply yes, I call myself a witch and explain why.

At first, there was a desire to find a label to know oneself and find a place of belonging, but I have found that its a hopeless endeavor. A spiritual path for solitary practitioner is likely to be not the same as someone else path. There are many titles that can apply and ultimately its your own preference. After all, you are giving yourself tittles, the only things that matters if that title serves you and when ever you like it.

I call myself many different things, depending on who I speak to and what I want to reveal. Calling oneself a witch serves a purpose of getting a lot of information with a few words. Yes, I practice occult, do rituals, etc. But no, I am not a part of a coven. I am closer to being a pagan in my believes than anything else.

I think that calling myself a witch helps to begin a conversation like that. Setting a proper mood and topic. And it also helps to discover how open minded the person that I am talking to based on their reaction.

[ChaosandtheCrow]

when I was a teenager I called myself a witch, but now I am a psychic/tarot reader...as well as an alchemist...I like the term magician but to me it makes me think of magicians that put on a show and so calling myself that makes me feel like I need to have extra pizazz lol 

[Amethista]

Just like Cheyenne, I call myself a solitary eclectic witch. I do practice rituals and spells, follow the major celebrations, but I'm not religious at all. 

I'm mainly focused on nature. I love my teeny tiny garden, as well as my indoor plants and my many herbs and spices. I'm currently awaiting an order I placed containing some seeds; very eager to start sowing them for next year!

[marinaoracles]

I don't call myself a witch.

I have nothing against the nomeclature itself. But, at least in my country, I feel that capitalism has taken over the word... Being "witchy" and "mystical" is something that sells a lot right now. I don't think spirituality should be reduced to products, aesthetics, empowerment and social media persona. And I also don't think the religious experience - regardless of how you experience it or how you call it - is mainly about being empowered. In fact, in my experience, it is often a profoundly humbling thing. So the world "witch" has become loaded with a type of mentality that I disagree with.

I call myself a Pagan, period. It gives a good idea of how I commune with the divine that I see in the world.

Whether I do magic or not, it's another matter entirely, and it is not even the most essential part of my practice anyway...

 

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by marinaoracles
Typo

[katrinka]

2 hours ago, marinaoracles said:

I don't call myself a witch.

 

I have nothing against the nomeclature itself. But, at least in my country, I feel that capitalism has taken over the word... being "witchy" and "mystical" is something that sells a lot now. I don't think spirituality should be reduced to products, aesthetics, empowerment and social media persona. And I also don't think the religious experience - regardless of how you experience it or how you call it - is mainly about being empowered. In fact, in my experience, it is often a profoundly humbling thing. So the world "witch" has become loaded with a type of mentality that I disagree with.

 

So much THIS.

It's become this profiteering, hypercapitalist, image selling thing. It's as much about money as the megachurches are, it just takes a different form. It doesn't say "spirituality" any more. It's about collecting STUFF.

 

There's nothing wrong with collecting stuff. I just think it's important not to confuse that with religious practice.

[Jon_Carlo_the_8th]

LAO, Spells, Tarot Cards whatever this all is, IT choose me.  I am not sure what I am or who I am.  It was domestication that teaches (a spell) witches are bad and that being bad was bad.  Don't believe it. its black magic.

[MissTerry]

A lot of cultures around the world have their own form of witchcraft. Interestingly, many of those different ethnic witchcrafts have elements that overlap. For example, the witchcraft of parts of old world Africa [Kongo region] called Ndoki, shares many similarities with the old world witchcraft of Europe [pre-Gardner/Cunningham/Buckland/et-al]. This similarity was written about hundreds of years ago a few individuals, whose books you can still find sometimes [most are out of print]. And then the indigenous animistic witchcraft of my own culture [Southeast Asian] has elements that overlap with Ndoki and old world European witchcraft. 

 

I had become very intrigues and interested as to why so many ethnic cultures, that have never been in contact with each other in ancient times, had indigenous witchcrafts that shared so much in common [beneath the surface of cultural and linguistically differences of course: like how automobiles look different on the outside, but share many elements in common under the hood]. And so, my intrigue and interest caused me to search for an authentic indigenous witchcraft to be initiated into. 

 

After studying and researching, I learned that Ndoki of old world Kongo-Africa had been transplanted into Cuba during the slave trade [the Kongo slaves brought it with them]. Over the centuries that witchcraft of the Kongo people became known as Palo Mayombe [also called Palo Monte in Cuba], which in the everyday vernacular is typically called "brujeria" which is Spanish for "witchcraft."  Palo Mayombe, interestingly has a cauldron as the center of the religion. The cauldron is called an "Nganga" in Kongo or a "Prenda" in Spanish.  If you click on the link, you can watch a video with ngangas in it; the video demonstrates some parts of the initiation ritual. 

 

I got initiated into Palo Mayombe a few years ago. After you get initiated your Godparents and elders in the religion begin teaching you everything slowly, and orally, since, it's an oral tradition since ancient times. And so, by initiation, I do consider/identify myself to be a witch. 

[Chariot]

No, I don't consider myself a witch.  I think of witches as people who attempt to make certain things happen via magic rituals, spells, and so forth.  That's not something I do, although I would respect anybody who is trying (or succeeding!) with that sort of interaction with the universe.  I would also believe that many of them do succeed.  But it's not me.

 

I strive more for understanding my place in the universe, and getting to grips with what's happening around me.  Tarot gives me lots of direct answers, and lots to think about.  I have no idea where these kinds of directives or answers come from—I just know that the tarot works for me, so I use it.

 

The only rituals I engage in, while doing tarot, are ones that get me to focus, and to pay attention to what the cards tell me.  The trick is to slow down.  I can't do that if I'm too squirrelly or excited or nervous, so I have a few meditative rituals I employ to get me into the right state of mind.  I make a cup of tea (which I don't drink otherwise) in a nice little one-person teapot with its own cup and saucer.  I light a few beeswax tea lights, which I find creates a good atmosphere.  I lay my white cloth which keeps the cards clean and allows me to see them clearly.  I turn on my salt lamps.  And I often put on some quiet classical guitar or theorbo background music as well.

 

By the time all this is set up, I'm usually in a calm state and ready to begin.  It probably LOOKS like witchcraft, if somebody was looking through the window at me, 😀 but I don't see it that way.

 

 If I do try to make certain things happen (or not happen) as a result of a reading, it's not via spells, rituals, magic, or even 'channeling energy.'  I just try to make the correct decisions about my life, based on what the tarot shows me. When I read for others, I try to empower others to see how they can change, or affect, or manage what happens to them via a new perspective, etc.

I believe tarot is powerful, but I don't believe I wield the power.  I just listen.

 

Edited August 20, 2022 by Chariot
wanted to add a few things to what I originally said - nobody had responded yet, so I figured no harm done

[gregory]

17 hours ago, MissTerry said:

A lot of cultures around the world have their own form of witchcraft. Interestingly, many of those different ethnic witchcrafts have elements that overlap. For example, the witchcraft of parts of old world Africa [Kongo region] called Ndoki, shares many similarities with the old world witchcraft of Europe [pre-Gardner/Cunningham/Buckland/et-al]. This similarity was written about hundreds of years ago a few individuals, whose books you can still find sometimes [most are out of print]. And then the indigenous animistic witchcraft of my own culture [Southeast Asian] has elements that overlap with Ndoki and old world European witchcraft. 

 

I had become very intrigues and interested as to why so many ethnic cultures, that have never been in contact with each other in ancient times, had indigenous witchcrafts that shared so much in common [beneath the surface of cultural and linguistically differences of course: like how automobiles look different on the outside, but share many elements in common under the hood]. And so, my intrigue and interest caused me to search for an authentic indigenous witchcraft to be initiated into. 

 

After studying and researching, I learned that Ndoki of old world Kongo-Africa had been transplanted into Cuba during the slave trade [the Kongo slaves brought it with them]. Over the centuries that witchcraft of the Kongo people became known as Palo Mayombe [also called Palo Monte in Cuba], which in the everyday vernacular is typically called "brujeria" which is Spanish for "witchcraft."  Palo Mayombe, interestingly has a cauldron as the center of the religion. The cauldron is called an "Nganga" in Kongo or a "Prenda" in Spanish.  If you click on the link, you can watch a video with ngangas in it; the video demonstrates some parts of the initiation ritual. 

 

I got initiated into Palo Mayombe a few years ago. After you get initiated your Godparents and elders in the religion begin teaching you everything slowly, and orally, since, it's an oral tradition since ancient times. And so, by initiation, I do consider/identify myself to be a witch. 

 

I have to say that suggests a finger in far too many pies to be able to dedicate oneself to any of them in any serious way. To each their own I suppose; I stick to tarot.

 

4 hours ago, Chariot said:

 If I do try to make certain things happen (or not happen) as a result of a reading, it's not via spells, rituals, magic, or even 'channeling energy.'  I just try to make the correct decisions about my life, based on what the tarot shows me. When I read for others, I try to empower others to see how they can change, or affect, or manage what happens to them via a new perspective, etc.

I believe tarot is powerful, but I don't believe I wield the power.  I just listen

 

This is much more me.

[Eno]

I really love to experiment with magic, but unfortunately my results never match the ones of those who claim to be witches/magicians. I so far never managed to summon a single demon, but i am quite successful at summoning apple pies....

[Skyyy]

I consider myself a diviner, I Really want to join a coven someday and experience a group wiccan dynamic. 

[Raggydoll]

On 8/22/2022 at 10:23 PM, Eno said:

I really love to experiment with magic, but unfortunately my results never match the ones of those who claim to be witches/magicians. I so far never managed to summon a single demon, but i am quite successful at summoning apple pies....

I can imagine three scenarios here:

 

1. You are far more dedicated to pies than demons and that’s why your demon summonings are doomed to fail

2. The pies you summon are haunted 

3. The invisible demons that you summoned were also the ones that made the pies appear, because that’s how they begin the process of leasing you astray

 

The big question is whether you ate the pies ? 😶

 

 

[Eno]

6 hours ago, Raggydoll said:

 

The big question is whether you ate the pies ? 😶

 

 

I sure do, I think it is called invocation as opposed to just looking hungry at the pies while they are contained in a magic circle in which case it would be evocation....

[Raggydoll]

6 minutes ago, Eno said:

I sure do, I think it is called invocation as opposed to just looking hungry at the pies while they are contained in a magic circle in which case it would be evocation....

Ah, yes. I would call it high level sorcery. 

[Aprils_Insights]

I too practice Magik and don't go by any book. I make my own spells and am learning how to use herbs. 

[AuroraMoone]

I think Witch is the closest I can come to explaining what I do! I cast spells, I heal, I consult with the divine, I work with energies, and I travel through the ether. I create change, I teach others, and I inspire myself to be bigger than I was yesterday!

Witch is the best term I can think of...but it all feels so much larger than that!

[rakara]

I'm finding my path and learning. 

 

I started exploring last Winter, on and off. Mostly on,  except when Life gets real busy.  I started with crystals. I was seeking relief from mental stress.  Over time, it evolved into more. I've always been drawn to astrology.

My Aunt was a tarot reader and practiced magic. I think/feel I was already predisposed toward this path. I just didn't fully realize it.