Smashing Stereotypes

 

There are many reasons why you might have been hesitant to look into the world of witchcraft - and that's understandable. There is a centuries old prejudice against witches and they have been demonised and used as the scapegoat ever since women have been feared to gain independence from men... which possibly goes back to the dawn of time.

This post will hopefully quell most of those fears and introduce you to the beauty of witchcraft. 

To be a witch you have to be trained and initiated with set tools and requirements

Witchcraft is not a religion. It's a practice. There is no formal learning process or initiation that gives you power and then you become a witch. Being a witch is something innately inside of you. The decision you have to tune into the energy that connects you to the Universe and practice directing that energy with intention (energy + intention = magic) that is when you recognise your inner witch.

Your practice does not need to look like anyone else's to be valid. You don't need to buy all the things and do all the rituals or have a picture-perfect experience of the craft to be a witch. There are many YouTube channels or Instagram accounts that will show you weathered looking tomes and vast crystal collections that make you feel as if your version of being a witch is somehow less than, but having all the stuff doesn't make your connection to magic any stronger than someone who does. It simply means they have more money to spend on items that they use to channel their intention.

In my family alone, our Book of Shadows look wildly different. Lilibet's is a spiral notebook with glitter and felt tip pens, full of vibrant colour. Mine is a leather bound journal I bought from the Sheffield Christmas Market where I handwrite my spells and press flowers within the pages, and my mum mainly draws in hers. Lilibet also has an insane collection of potion ingredients - whereas I currently have none, but I have far more tarot cards and crystals than she does. What tools we have, or how we present our spells doesn't change the fact we are all witches, but it does demonstrate that being a witch and the craft you practice is as unique as who you are as a person.

In the Gardnerian Wiccan religion there are initiations, and High Priests and Priestesses who train you in your journey. Just as other minor religions whose members are witches will have their own rites. However, you will find that a lot of witches today will be solitary witches, or ones still in the "broom closet". 

If you do feel like you would benefit from a more structured practice rather than the self-taught journey of most witches, you will be able to find a large online community willing to help - the internet has a great way of teaching you about the active witches in your area... modern man's scrying. Just be wary of who you trust online, especially those who might seek to harm when you are putting yourself in the vulnerable position of someone who wants to be educated.

Witches exist in covens

Like with the above misconception, its true that some witches do form covens (the strongest number believed to be 13 or 5 - to represent one of each element), but you don't have to be in a coven to be a witch. Being a solitary witch is increasingly becoming a popular choice in today's age (long before we were forced to self-isolate due to COVID-19!)

Witchcraft = Devil worship

Nope. Witches have never worshipped the Devil, as much as witch hunter's in the 1600s would have liked you to believe. 

A lot of the fear around "witches" came from the sexualised power of women, which was why the Devil (cloven hoofed), associated with many a goat imagery (remnants from the Greek time with the god Pan) was said to give his power to the witches by sexual acts and leave marks upon their body to signify their pact. A woman who was in control of her sexuality, took charge in her own pleasure and did not bow down to the meek standards of women who followed a man's rules might have been considered to have the spirit of the Devil in her.

A religion that does worship the Devil is Satanism. Their religious symbol is the inverted pentagram, where the Spirit points down... another reason why witches might have been associated with Devil worship in later years, especially in American culture which banned all wearing of the pentagram for students in schools believing it to be a mark of the Devil. However, the pentagram has been used since 300BC, where it was first used as a stamp of Jerusalem: so another complete misrepresentation! 

In recent years some witches have chosen to add Lucifer (the fallen angel) into their worship practices. Many witches have been known to pray to Pagan gods, the Olympians, the Roman Gods (the list goes on!) Wicca popularised the idea of a "patron" god, a deity that will guide you as a witch in your magical journey. That is not a practice that any of us Burrow women follow, but many non-Wiccan witches have taken to the practice. 

So, if you would like to add ancient deities into your religion, angels (fallen or otherwise) or indeed practice witchcraft in tandem with an existing religion you already practice, this is completely fine and accepted. And if you were to add Lucifer to that list, it wouldn't make you a Devil worshipper. If you ever read Paradise Lost you will know that Lucifer has often embodied freedom/freewill (even if Milton never intended for him to become the hero of the story as Romantics interpreted him to be!) and isn't necessarily the evil bad guy of original sin and descent. 

There is white/black magic

Yes, but not the way pop-culture might have you believe.

As I've said above, magic is the outcome of energy plus your intention*. Humans, with freewill, and the concept of right and wrong are the only creatures in the Universe who can commit evil as they are the only creatures with the knowledge of evil and the ability to choose that path. Because of this, what is considered as "black magic" (intention to do harm or influence energy by using means that will harm others/take away another's freewill) is possible. But I would never use the term "black" in regards to this type of magic.

The trope of black = bad, white = good begins as far back as Ancient Greece where Homer's Iliad and Statius's Thebaid personify death with the colour black. Similarly, in Dante's Divine Comedy, Hell and all the devils are represented in black. Black bile is also the humour responsible for "melancholy" (depression). 

A lot of the imagery can also be traced back to Christian roots. Black as the symbol of the devil (Acts 26, 18). White as the symbol for good, godly wisdom, purity, and innocence can be seen in the Book of Revelations and Exodus (chapters 26-27).

But witchcraft has its own ideas associated with colours - each representing a different aspect that you might use in spell work. White represents spirituality, peace and the higher self. Black is often used (particularly with candles) in relation to banishing, protecting, binding and being against negativity. 

In my mind, black is actually considered more pure than white. (Anyone who studies light will be able to tell you that white light is actually made of all of the colours of the rainbow because it contains all wavelengths. Therefore it is white which includes all aspects associated with every colour.)

A Witch is a Woman

Pop-culture sees a witch as a woman. This stereotype is often reinforced in TV shows, or fantasy books which label "witch" as the female equivalent for someone who practices magic (male terms being wizard, warlock, etc.)

The history of the "witch" being female goes back to the persecution of women throughout history. A "witch" symbolised all the bad qualities (and by this I mean the qualities that go against the patriarchal ideal of a woman: silent, demure, subservient, virginial, solitary, powerless) and gave these fearsome women the status of Other.

But even if the responsibility of this stereotype can be found in history, it is also in the annals of history that we find that a "witch" is not always a woman. 10-15% of those burned at the stake across Europe in the witch hunts were male. That is not to say that the poor folk of history who were sentenced to die for witchcraft were witches - but it does prove that there is nothing in history that states witches can only be female.

In modern practice, witchcraft has no gender. Though it has been seen as one of the most inclusive practices for women specifically (as nearly all religions have some form of sexism inherently ingrained within their structure due to the patriarchal age in which they were formed), it is also the most inclusive practice for all genders/non-gendered people.

Magic is inherited 

If you've not read my article on "What is Magic", I suggest for this answer you have a look at that (scroll down to the bottom of this blog for the link). But in a short summary, magic is intention plus energy. Every human on this planet is connected to the energy of the Universe and each person has their own wants, needs, wishes. Magic is the joining of those wishes to the energy of the Universe with the intent to change an outcome. In essence, it's possible for anyone to be a witch, whether you have a history in it or not.

A positive, however, of inheriting the practice is that you will automatically have a teacher in the craft, possibly a Book of Shadows that has been passed down from the generations.

If you have any more stereotypes you'd like to be corrected on please comment below and I'll be sure to get back to you with my witchy wisdom!

Blessed Be, 

Diana Greenbird

Author's Note

The craft that me and my family follow is not of the Wicca religion. Nor do we worship any deities, commune with "faerie" realms or believe in demons, etc. If you're looking for the type of witchcraft that does believe in those things, I would recommend Craft: How to Be a Modern Witch, Gabriella Herstik as a good place to start. A lot of what we do include in our blog will be relevant, but we won't touch on quite a few core aspects of the witchcraft you're seeking to pursue; so make sure to supplement your knowledge.

Another thing of note that separates our style of witchcraft is that although our practice focuses on bringing you back to Nature, and to the basics of life, we do not wholly subscribe to a lot of beliefs that some witches do follow which we believe might be damaging to your health. True, the modern world has trampled on the environment, the mental health and wellbeing of the majority of the human race and the basic rights of a lot of people all in the name of "progress" - but there are medical advances since the time of the beginning of "the witch" that we can't ignore.

You should always seek medical help first for any physical or mental pain or trouble, receive a diagnosis and treatment suggestion from a doctor before you decide to go for an alternate treatment. Whilst crystals are great for channelling energy (and we use them for this purpose) a lot of websites will encourage you to use them for healing: either dark moods caused by depression, or serious medical injuries that require you to stay in hospital. We will not be including any of those "benefits" in our medias.

*Click here to read the blog post on my definition of "magic".