What Is a Witch?

While getting myself ready to write this article, I start making a cup of tea. Not the type of tea that people are used to drinking but a special tea that I concoct for myself. When others make tea, it's usually the normal black, white, fruity, herbal, or some sort of variation. And of course, to them, it wouldn't be a tea without additives of sugar and honey. But I take my tea straight. I realize I'm not using the proper terminology so I'm going to clarify. The type of tea that I'm creating is rosemary & thyme which differs from tea made from the Camellia sinensis plant and is actually considered to be an infusion. Many witches today would be able to note the usefulness of both herbs. Rosemary helps with your memory and thyme helps with concentration, among other things. And I realize that I can even further clarify this as a potion of sorts. Many people know of potions as a way to aid witches in some way and some can be very complex while others, like mine, very simple and to the point.

So, now that I've had the comforting feeling of my infusion fueling my brainpower, I can get straight to work. I'm closing my eyes and envisioning my idea of what a witch is. What I see may be pretty strange in your eyes. If you try this, you'll most likely see a woman with green skin, a large nose, and a big ugly mole on her chin wearing a pointed, black hat. If you put a name to the face it would probably somewhere on the lines of Evil Bitch, I mean Witch. This woman would most likely crouch away into her cave or dark forest concocting various amounts of evil potions or spells to hex little children, cackling every step of the way. You're afraid of this witch, I'm afraid of this witch, everyone's afraid of this witch! But I hope you find comfort in the fact that she's not real. She's a figment of your imagination, or more so, Hollywood's imagination.

At this point, I've opened my eyes and yours should be opened as well. Questionable Halloween costumes aside, you now know that witches are not scary monsters. When you think about it, there's nothing worse than an unwanted label. The label of scary or evil has been placed on many things that would be more easily categorized as the unknown. People seem to be increasingly afraid of the unknown and, instead of learning from or investigating it for themselves, they find comfort in believing that they should remain in the dark. In the era of the woke movement, it's time for this to change drastically.

Witches often wear black, not only as a fashion statement, but also because it represents the unknown and, in regards to the Law of Sympathy, it is a way for them to connect with it. Instead of running away, they swallow their fear and move on head first as eager students.

If you ever have the pleasure of meeting a real modern day witch, you may note some of the similarities you have to one another. You both have eyes, ears, a mouth, and a nose. And of course, the fundamental similarity is that you're both human. The only real difference you may have is the difference in beliefs which is what makes us all interesting and unique. Witches believe that there is magic constantly surrounding us and that harnessing various energies can help to manifest our biggest desires. That affirmation you made last week stating, "I'm going to succeed in everything I do," or that prayer you whispered to yourself to help a family member in need is very similar to the many practices of witches. We all essentially have the power to create the lives that we want, it's just a matter of acknowledging our abilities and believing in ourselves.

Stepping into the Pagan community is incredibly welcoming. As a newcomer or interested party, not only will you have others that believe in your abilities but you'll also be greeted with a barrage of different tools and books to study. Many new age and occult stores have fun gatherings for holidays, such as Easter and Yule, and classes to learn the many facets of witchcraft. These classes are not only useful for learning the craft but also for getting in touch with your higher-self in order to aid in spiritual awakening or transformation; a goal for many witches that may be quite surprising to most bystanders.

This may not be exactly what you were hoping to hear but it's the truth. Many of us have the standard idea of what we may think of as truth but as we dig deeper we realize that there's so much more. Take a moment to learn from a community such as this that's different from your own. It may open your eyes to new possibilities and, even if it doesn't, you'll at least be able to say that you had an interesting experience.