Lesson 2: Witches: Who are we?

[StarDragon]

What does it mean to be a witch? 

The prototype of a "witch", many people have in their minds, is of a female wearing a black robe, witch's hat, and stirring a cauldron with her wand. Beside the witch is her companion or animal familiar, commonly a cat. However, the societal portrayal of witches is not entirely accurate. Because of societal portrayals, people tend to think of witches as mysterious, sometimes "evil" and eccentric. But witches are people too! Most witches today live amongst others in society and intermingle with other people. Although many witches are female, males can be witches as well. The term "witch" means "wise healer" and it's a gender-neutral term. In fact, the most common first witch doctors in Native American tribes were often male chiefs who helped prescribe herbal remedies to people who were ill. The word 'witch' is a gender-neutral term, but society has deemed it female because the earliest Native American shamans recorded in history were women.

Women gathered medicinal plants to help their hunter-gatherer communities survive. Some women were called shamans which were the earliest form of art similar to witchcraft. The shamans were revered for their knowledge of medicinal herbs that could induce altered states of consciousness or trance states. They were thought to be able to connect to the gods/goddesses for guidance and shamans were thought of with respect and admiration for their wisdom. When Christianity and monotheism became popular, many polytheistic religions like the shamans and witch doctors were shunted off to the side as "pagan." The Christian called them pagans because they didn't worship the "real God" but many gods/goddesses. As monotheism became more dominant over polytheistic religions, people began to think those who had polytheistic beliefs as eccentric. The Christian church called the people who didn't believe in God, "infidels." Christians began to persecute people who didn't share the same faith as they did. The term "witch" became a negative term that signified a person who worked with the Devil or Satan. The idea that people could use the world's energy to create change in their life was seen as scary and manipulative because the Christians believed that God created the world. 

The many gods/goddesses that the people believed in were reduced to one omnipotent God. Some of the shamans worshipped Pan the Horned Nature God which became a symbol of the Devil in Christianity. The term 'witch' was first used by the Christians to describe the shamans and their ways and the Christians used it to mean "sorceress" or "one who practices arts not associated with God, but in relation to the Devil." This began the change of the word "witch" to a negative term. Popular culture in modern society has lead to false stereotypes of witches and give people the perception that witches dress a certain way or have a "special" ability or that a witch is a person that is different and has an exclusive label from society making it seem like not everyone can be a witch. But, witches are humans. They choose comfort over fashion for what they wear and most don't wear long robes. Different people have different fashion styles and appearances don't really reveal a person's personality. Many witches today dress in casual wear.

To be a witch is to be a person who uses the natural energy of the universe to make positive changes in life. Witches are attuned to nature and often use the universe to recharge their energies. A witch chooses to wear whatever feels natural to them and doesn't hinder them from tapping into the natural force of the universe. The magik that witches practice is natural as they connect with nature and use natural energy to create a particular intent. The spells that Witches cast are just energy sent out to help speed up the process of an intent. Magik doesn't replace hard work. It facilitates it making the outcome more likely to occur because you are engaging with the universal life force and asking it for help in manifesting your desires, but you still have to take the physical steps for it. Witches use magik as a guide to carve a path, but they still have to walk the path. Magik is not evil or unnatural, many people have been tuning into the forces of nature since the beginning of the first civilizations.

A witch can be Male or female and any age. A witch is someone who appreciates nature and uses the natural energies of the universe to become more self-aware, heal, learn from nature, gain spiritual growth and protect from negative thoughts by working on shifting their energy frequencies through meditation, visualization, and energy manipulation.

Feel free to comment and post feedback. We all make mistakes and mistakes are teachers that help us grow.

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