Witches have always walked among us, populating societies and storyscapes across the globe for thousands of years. From Circe to Hermione, from Morgan le Fay to Marie Laveau, the witch has long existed in the tales we tell about ladies with strange powers that can harm or heal. And although people of all genders have been considered witches, it is a word that is now usually associated with women.
Throughout most of history, she has been someone to fear, an uncanny Other who threatens our safety or manipulates reality for her own mercurial purposes. She’s a pariah, a persona non grata, a bogeywoman to defeat and discard. Though she has often been deemed a destructive entity, in actuality a witchy woman has historically been far more susceptible to attack than an inflictor of violence herself. As with other “terrifying” outsiders, she occupies a paradoxical role in cultural consciousness as both vicious aggressor and vulnerable prey.
Over the past 150 years or so, however, the witch has done another magic trick, by turning from a fright into a figure of inspiration. She is now as likely to be the heroine of your favorite tv show as she is its villain. She might show up in the form of your Wiccan coworker, or the beloved musician who gives off a sorceress vibe in videos or onstage.
There is also a chance that she is you, and that “witch” is an identity you have taken upon yourself for any number of reasons — heartfelt or flippant, public or private.
Today, more women than ever are choosing the way of the witch, whether literally or symbolically. They’re floating down catwalks and sidewalks in gauzy black clothing and adorning themselves with Pinterest-worthy pentagrams and crystals. They’re filling up movie theaters to watch witchy films, and gathering in back rooms and backyards to do rituals, consult tarot cards and set life-altering intentions. They’re marching in the streets with HEX THE PATRIARCHY place cards and casting spells each month to try to constrain the commander-in-chief. Year after year, articles keep proclaiming, “It’s the Season of the Witch!” as journalists try to wrap their heads around the mushrooming witch “trend.”
And all of this begs the question: Why?
Why do witches matter? Why are they seemingly everywhere right now? What, exactly, are they? (And why the hell won’t they go away?) An we are rising in numbers.
I get asked such things over and over, and you would think that after a lifetime of studying and writing about witches, as well as hosting a witch-themed podcast, youtube videos and being a practitioner of witchcraft myself, my answers would be succinct.
In fact, I find that the more I work with the witch, the more complex she becomes. Hers is a slippery spirit: try to pin her down, and she’ll only recede further into the deep, dark wood it brings her soul comfort.
I do know this for sure though: show me your witches, and I’ll show you your feelings about women. The fact that the resurgence of feminism and the popularity of the witch are ascending at the same time is no coincidence: the two are reflections of each other.
That said, this current Witch Wave is nothing new. I was a teenager in the 1990s, the decade that brought us such pop-occulture as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Charmed and The Craft, not to mention riot grrrls and third-wave feminists who taught me that female power could come in a variety of colors and sexualities. I learned that women could lead a revolution while wearing lipstick and combat boots — and sometimes even a cloak.
But my own witchly awakening came at an even earlier age.
Pennsauken, New Jersey, where I was raised till the age of 13, was a solidly suburban town, but it retained enough natural land features back then to still feel a little bit scruffy in spots. There was a small patch of woods not to far from my parents home close by to a small pond that goes by the name of Tippins Pond, Something about the wisp of running water that we could cross via a plank of wood so me an the girls would ride our bikes down there in groups of 3 and 4 and perform rituals. My first best friend, Janette, and I called this spot our Magical Place. That it would vanish and then reappear only added to its mystery. It was a portal to the unknown.
These woods are where I first remember doing magic — entering that state of deep play where imaginative action becomes reality. I would spend hours out there, creating rituals with rocks and sticks, drawing secret symbols in the dirt, losing all track of time. It was a space that felt holy and wild, yet still strangely safe.
As we age, we’re supposed to stop filling our heads with such “nonsense.” Unicorns are to be traded in for Barbie dolls (though both are mythical creatures, to be sure). We lose our tooth fairies, walk away from our wizards. Dragons get slain on the altar of youth.
Most kids grow out of their “majick phase.” I grew further into mine.
My 4th Grade Teacher Trudy was a librarian part time at the Pennsauken Public Library, which meant I got to spend many an afternoon lurking between the 001.9 and 135 Dewey decimal–sections, reading about Bigfoot and dream interpretation and Nostradamus. I spent countless hours in my room, learning about witches and goddesses, and I loved anything by authors like George MacDonald, Roald Dahl, and Michael Ende — writers fluent in the language of enchantment. Books were my broomstick. They allowed me to fly to other realms where anything was possible. An trust me I needed an excape and I took it.
Though fictional witches were my first guides, I soon discovered that majick was something real people could do. I started frequenting new age shops and experimenting with mass-market paperback spell books from the mall. I was raised Roman Catholic but found myself attracted to belief systems that felt more individualized and mystical and that fully honored the feminine. Eventually I found my way to Modern Paganism and Norse Paganism, a self-directed spiritual path that sustains me to this day. I’m not unique in this trajectory of pivoting away from organized religion and toward something more personal: as of September 2017, more than a quarter of U.S. adults — 27% — now say that they think of themselves as spiritual but not religious, according to Pew Research Center.
Now, I identify both as a witch and with the archetype of the witch overall, and I use the term fluidly. At any given time, I might use the word witch to signify my spiritual beliefs, my supernatural interests or my role as an unapologetically complex, dynamic female in a world that prefers its women to be smiling and still. I use it with equal parts sincerity and salt: with a bow to a rich and often painful history of worldwide witchcraft, and a wink to other members of our not-so-secret society of people who fight from the fringes for the liberty to be our weirdest and most wondrous selves. Majick is made in the margins and we are all scribbling outside the lines.
To be clear: you don’t have to practice witchcraft or any other alternative form of spirituality to awaken your own inner witch. You may feel attracted to her symbolism, her style or her stories but are not about to rush out to buy a cauldron or go sing songs to the sky. Maybe you’re more of a nasty woman lol than a devotee of the Goddess. That’s perfectly fine: the witch belongs to you too.
I remain more convinced than ever that the concept of the witch endures because she transcends literalism and because she has so many dark and sparkling things to teach us. Many people get fixated on the “truth” of the witch, and numerous fine history books attempt to tackle the topic from the angle of so-called factuality. Did people actually believe in majick? They most certainly did and still do. Were the thousands of victims who were killed in the 16th- and 17th-century witch hunts actually witches themselves? Most likely were not. Are witches real? Why, yes, you’re reading the words of one. All of these things are true love muffin! But whether or not there were actually women and men who practiced witchcraft in Rome or Lancashire or Salem, say, is less interesting to me than the fact that the idea of witches has remained so evocative and influential and so, well, bewitching in the first place.
In other words, the fact and the fiction of the witch are inextricably linked. Each informs the other and always has. I’m fascinated by how one archetype can encompass so many different facets. The witch is a notorious shape-shifter, and she comes in many guises:
A hag in a pointy hat, cackling madly as she boils a pot of bones.
A scarlet-lipped seductress slipping a potion into the drink of her unsuspecting paramour.
A cross-dressing French revolutionary who hears the voices of angels and saints.
A perfectly coifed suburban housewife, twitching her nose to change her circumstances at will, despite her husband’s protests.
A woman dancing in New York City’s Central Park with her coven to mark the change of the seasons or a new lunar phase.
The witch has a green face and a fleet of flying monkeys. She wears scarves and leather and lace.
She lives in Africa; on the island of Aeaea; in a tower; in a chicken-leg hut; in Peoria, Illinois.
She lurks in the forests of fairy tales, in the gilded frames of paintings, in the plotlines of sitcoms and YA novels, and between the bars of ghostly blues songs.
An sometimes she is just the mom that you see dropping off her kids ar daycare.
She is solitary.
She comes in threes.
She’s a member of a coven.
Sometimes she’s a he.
She is stunning, she is hideous, she is insidious, she is ubiquitous.
She is our downfall. She is our deliverance.
Our witches say as much about us as they do about anything else — for better and for worse. More than anything, though, the witch is a shining and shadowy symbol of female power and a force for subverting the status quo. No matter what form she takes, she remains an electric source of majickal agitation that we can all plug into whenever we need a high-voltage charge. She is also a vessel that contains our conflicting feelings about female power: our fear of it, our desire for it and our hope that it can and will — grow stronger, despite the flames that are thrown at it.
Whether the witch is depicted as villainous or valorous, she is always a figure of freedom — both its loss and its gain. She is perhaps the only female archetype who is an independent operator. Virgins, whores, daughters, mothers, wives — each of these is defined by whom she is sleeping with or not, the care that she is giving or that is given to her, or some sort of symbiotic debt that she must eventually pay.
The witch owes nothing to noone. That is what makes her dangerous. And that is what makes her divine. If she shares her ways with you stand in gratitude she may not always tell you what you want to hear but she will tell you what you need to know.
Witches have power on their own terms. They have agency. They create. They praise. They commune with the spiritual realm, freely and free of any mediator. They metamorphose, and they make things happen. They are change agents whose primary purpose is to transform the world as it is into the world they would like it to be.
This is also why being called a witch and calling oneself a witch are usually two vastly different experiences.
In the first case, it’s often an act of degradation, an attack against a perceived threat.
The second is an act of reclamation, an expression of autonomy and pride. Both of these aspects of the archetype are important to keep in mind. They may seem like contradictions, but there is much to glean from their interplay.
The witch is the ultimate feminist icon because she is a fully rounded symbol of female oppression and liberation. She shows us how to tap into our own might and majick, despite the many who try to strip us of our power. An they have tried.
We need her now more than ever.
We rise in numbers one by one.
Below is a list of 16 types of Witches
An I have been truly blessed to have these strong dynamic woman at my side each and every day. To my brothers and sisters I love you!
1. Traditional Witch
Traditional witches are witches who have a base in the history of witchcraft and the Old Craft that came before Wicca. They take a historical (traditional) approach to their practice and often will study their ancestors or other folklore attached to witchcraft. Traditional witches want to honor the “old” ways of practicing their craft, and will often focus on working with the local history and spirits of where they are or where they’ve come from. While these witches do old history and customs in high regard, there are absolutely contemporary traditional witches practicing today.
2. Gardnerian Witch
Gardnerian Wicca is a practice of Wicca that came about in the 1950s and because of Gerald Gardner, often considered to be “The Father of Wicca”, spread across the world. Those who practice Gardnerian Wicca have strong ties to nature, challenge societal norms, and have many rituals that are the foundation of their practice. In order to be a Gardnerian witch you must be initiated, members cannot initiate themselves. There is also an incredibly structured system of advancing as a witch and with your practice as you grow and learn more about your craft.
3. Alexandrian Witch
Founded in the 60s by Alex and Maxine Sanders, Alexandrian Wicca is a British derivative of Wicca and witchcraft. Alexandrian Wicca has a lot of similarities to its sister Gardnerian Wicca, but also pulls elements of ceremonial majick and Qabalah as well. Alexandrian Wicca is seen as “more eclectic” and is less structured than Gardnerian Wicca. They follow the belief of “if it works, use it.” Witches still must be initiated in order to practice, and there are degrees and levels of advancement that can be achieved as a witch moves along in their practice. Their covens meet on new moons, full moons and during Sabbat festivals
4. Correllian Witch
Correllian-Nativist Tradition, or Correllian Wicca, was founded in the late 20th century by Caroline High Correll. She claimed to come from a line of hereditary witches, and was a psychic, spiritual healer, and herbalist. Heavily influenced by her supposed lineage and Aradian witchcraft, she was head of the church until her death in the 1940s. Correllian Wicca was not recognized as Wicca until the 1990s, and was seen more as eclecticism and universalism. Correllian Wicca is one of the most widespread practices still in existence today.
5. Sea Witch
A sea witch has strong ties to water and the ocean and uses that element often in her practice. Sea and ocean majick will often use sand, shells, driftwood, or other elements that come from that place. Sea witches feel connected to water and ancient folklore involving sirens etc.
6. Kitchen Witch
Also known sometimes as a hearth witch or a home witch, kitchen witches create most of their majick in the home or in the kitchen. They are very home-based, often incredibly nurturing, and love to make their home a truly special and sacred space. Kitchen witches love to cook and brew and use herbs, sometimes gathered from their own garden. When practicing they combine their own personal and individual magical energy with essential oils, herbs, food, and everyday objects to create their spells, rituals, and majick.
7. Hedge Witch
Hedge witches practice what’s known as “hedge jumping” which is venturing out of this world and into the Otherworld. Hedge witches can communicate with the spiritual world and can send messages between both worlds. Hedge witches practice astral projection as well as work with herbs and Earth based majick. But what makes them specifically a hedge witch is their ability to cross the “hedge” aka: the boundary between this world and the spirit world. It’s thought that the “flying on a broomstick” legend was a misunderstanding based on hedge witches “flying” into the spiritual realm.
8. Dianic Witch
Dianic witches practice the most feminist of all witchcraft practices. Followers of the Cult of Diana are all women, so no men allowed. Dianic witches worship the Goddess through all three of her aspects—Maiden, Mother, and Crone. Rituals and worship can vary, but all have feminist aspects and come from a feminist standpoint.
9. Elemental Witch
Elemental witches study and practice based on the four elements: earth, air, wind, and fire. An elemental majick is work based on and honoring each element. An elemental witch may have an altar for each specific element. Elemental witches call on the elements when casting spells and performing rituals, and may even have an element that they personally identify with and work towards finding.
10. Ceremonial Witch
Ceremonial witches have many practices, but ceremonies and rituals are practices that they hold in especially high regard. Ceremonial majick is worked into most of the elements of their practice. They likely work a ritual or ceremony into whatever they’re casting or trying to accomplish. Ceremonial witches often call on specific beings and spiritual entities to assist them with whatever they’re casting.
11. Green Witch
Also called garden witches or forest witches, green witches are highly connected to the earth the energy that it possesses. They may have their own garden where they grow their own herbs, but they also study their area and practice with local plants and their own environment. Green witches use plants/greenery in their spells and magic and sometimes, even their cooking and in their home. Green witches are often very natural and love to be in nature and near anything “green”—plants, trees, flowers, etc. They do this to be as close to Mother Earth, and the spirit she encompasses, as possible.
12. Hereditary Witch
A hereditary witch is a witch that was born into witchcraft. It is a part of their family and/or their lineage. Their majick and practice are passed down from previous generations, though they may work with their own individual practices as well or instead of their families. However, there is still choice. Hereditary witches must be born into witchcraft, but if you do not choose to practice witchcraft you won’t STILL be a hereditary witch.
13. Cosmic Witch
Cosmic witches are contemporary witches who look to the cosmos, astrology, and astronomy and work those elements and celestial energy into their practice. Also called “Star Witches”, these witches often follow the planets and the alignment of the stars and base their spells and rituals on the different placements.
14. Secular Witch
Secular witches still cast spells, use crystals, herbs, oils, and candles, but they don’t attach spirituality to their practice. Secular witches don’t worship a deity or higher being—their practice is entirely non-religious. They don’t believe in the power behind energy or that there is energy in their work. This isn’t to say that a secular witch CAN’T be spiritual, it’s simply that their work is not. The two are entirely separate.
15. Solitary Witch
A solitary witch can be any type of witch, but they choose to practice alone rather than with a coven. This could be by choice or because they haven’t found a group to work with yet. There are also legends that solitary witches are reincarnations of witches who have been practicing for generations and at puberty, their knowledge is awakened. Since they already remember and understand the craft, their need for a coven is less than a newer witch.
16. Eclectic Witch
An eclectic witch does not have one set religion, practice, tradition, or culture that they pull from. Their practice derives from many sources and, ultimately, becomes the witch’s own. They may worship a higher being, or their practice may be primarily secular, or it might be its own kind of spiritual. An eclectic witch ultimately makes their own “rules” with their practice—it is entirely unique based on the individual witch.
And Then she whispered “I am a Witch” Taking her in his arms he kissed her as he slowly and yet passionately replied “Yes my love, I know in all my lives I have searched for you.” An for the first time in this lifetime she was finally at home…
“I never talked much about how I fell in love with John,” “It was not a convenient time for me to fall in love with him, and it wasn’t a convenient time for him to fall in love with me. … I was frightened of his way of life. I thought, I can’t fall in love with this man, but it’s just like a ring of fire.” *June Carter Cash
Love, Light & Lip Gloss
Crystal Cailleach