Cometh the Hour, Cometh the Witch – What Kind of Witch are You and Does it Matter?

By Isabella @TheWandCarver

Instagram:  @thewandcarver

[I wrote this originally in 2018 but as it seems to have stood the test of time, with a small number of changes, I am republishing it to the our new blog spot here]

If you don’t like confrontational subjects and wish to walk away now, I quite understand as things may get ugly here in the next few paragraphs.  Only because I feel very opinionated about things that I have been reading in my Google News briefings of late.  Most recently a Washington Post story [I’ll read anything, me] called “An Entire Generation is Losing Hope.  Enter the Witch”.  That doesn’t bother me.

This writer attributes the loss of hope people are feeling to the increase in witchly spiritualism.  Nothing wrong with that either.  He goes on to say that Witchcraft is “generally an occultism with a paganist bent, often with an emphasis on feminine power.” He then goes on to say, “The term can be used to describe anything from astrology to Wicca to older syncretic traditions such as VooDoo and Santeria.” Hang about!  NO! You cannot tar anything remotely Pagan with the same Witchcraft brush, you uninformed being!  Firstly, not ALL astrologers have any remote interest in Witchcraft so please don’t insult the ones who do not. And, all Wiccans are not Witches, either! Not only all of that but NOT ALL WITCHES ARE FEMININE!! Men are witches and they may work with feminine power, but they also work with masculine power… come to think on it, woman can do both as well. Apparently, Mr Ill-Informed has not read that Wicca is now a recognised religion although it is not set in stone into UK law just now, but in the US since 2015 some areas of the US and the US Army do recognise Wicca fully as a religion:

Military Courts of Justice in the U.S. have also found Wicca to be a valid religion, deserving of protection under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In United States v. Phillips, (42 M.J. 346) in 1995) the concurring opinion by Judge Wiss stated: “First, Wicca is a socially recognized religion.  It is is acknowledged as such by the Army.  From Religious Tolerance

It is a religion, it is not necessarily Witchcraft,  although there are practitioners of the Wicca faith whom are Witches.

from Google images

Next, he goes on to say that Witches are an eclectic group – yes! He gets a biscuit for he is correct here.  We are very diverse and bring many things learned from many kinds of practise from all over the World to the Witchy table.  So, his next remarks threw me into fits of laughter and fits of anger at the same time and that is what you call a tempest in a tea pot, my friends! Mr Doesn’t Know He’s Born says, “There are even Christian Witches – a new tradition that seems to have cropped up within the past five years.”  How many years??  Only five??  Begging your arty pardon, sir, but my Nana was a Christian Witch… in the late 1800’s all the way to her death in 1977! No, of course he wouldn’t know my Nana – or the thousands of Witches like her who were called cunning women in their time.  When they gathered their herbs, they prayed over them. Intermingled with their spells were religious litanies.  And they went to church every Sunday…unless like my Nana, she got where she only went for Christmas, Easter, and Mothering Sunday.  And long before my Nana these are the same kind of Witches whom were dug out by the Witchfinder General and whomever the Witchfinder of American Witches was and then burned them at the stake, buried them alive, drowned them, and more insufferable acts performed upon them even though they all went to church every Sunday and most likely believed in God.  So how very dare he say that Christian Witches are a new thing?  Aren’t journalists taught to get all their facts straight before putting pen to paper or fingertips to keyboards?

Sigh.  Sorry, a little edgy after reading about all the sudden interest in all things witchy lately from not only this author but others as well.  The upsurge in Witchcraft interest is probably partially down to a new Sabrina film which interests me not, but more importantly, because men and women are losing hope in all else because of government, climate change disasters, and all kinds of mayhem in the world and getting no help from whomever is their God…or so they believe. One thing I have learned is, no matter who you believe in, the Divine do NOT wave a magick wand over the problem just like that.  It took time to get into the messes we’re in and it will take time to get out of them….and if we aren’t given some degree of hardship, how are we to appreciate the good when it comes?

This means, of course, everyone whom is feeling the pain of the world’s problems must bear the pain and do their bit to fix the problems, no matter how small.

But what good is magick if it doesn’t help capture the attention of a Higher Source for help? Or to make the Universe send that Abundance that so many say the Universe has for our asking?  Magick is not worth a tuppence.  Not worth a bean.  Never will be unless you make some changes first.  No, I am not talking about changing your wardrobe to a witchy one or anything superficial.  The changes must come from within…did your mum or your therapist ever tell you this?  Well, it is true.  The first and most important thing you must relinquish is your Ego.  Ego really has no place in magick or any other situation.  Ego is the part of you which makes you think you know everything when indeed you do not.  Ego is the thing which makes you become angry when you don’t get your way.  Ego also makes you give up if something doesn’t go your way.  I can’t spend a blog meant for something else explaining why so if you want to know what I mean, please see Eckhart Tolle. And, if you want to see an Ego on steroids, see this other fellow I shall not mention.

You also must have a healthy belief in your power.  We all have great power, believe it or not.  It is how we tap into it and own it that makes the difference.  There is much discipline to making your power work for you.  Oh yes, I know many whom have only begun as a Witch and their first spell worked.  Then, in a lot of cases they had a series of flops.  You can’t go into spell work with doubts or disbelief in yourself.  But you said I need to drop my Ego…yes, I did and Ego and belief in yourself and your abilities have nothing at all in common.  There is a huge difference between standing on your pedestal proclaiming yourself to be the greatest Witch in the World and simple trust in yourself.  It is all you need. And if the next spell doesn’t work, keep learning and experimenting until you find the way to create one that will.

Discipline, discipline, discipline!  Don’t cut corners.  Long ago, Witches/Cunning Folk grew all their own herbs or wild-gathered them, as many of us do now.  When they harvested them there was a time of day which corresponded to the planet which ruled the herb being harvested and so they only harvested during that herb’s planetary hours.  They also many times sang a religious litany or prayer during the harvest.  Whilst preparing the herb for a spell or for use in healing, there were many prayers said over it.  And this was carried out each time.  There were prayers and such, even chanting the Psalms, for every part of their craft.  Nowadays I’m sure many the Witch – or the neo-Witch – doesn’t care to spend hours preparing his/her/their herbs or other needs like tools in order to use them.  Still, it is important and a good discipline.  I can say from experience that my spell work in which I prepared for properly have all worked very well.   You don’t necessarily need to chant Biblical verses over your herbs and so forth unless you do this already, but you can find a way which works for you and discipline yourself to do so every time for best results.

Lastly, believe!  Not only in yourself but in the Higher Source[s] whom you put your faith into.  Trust this Source.  Trust the Universe.  Yes, I know…when things go wrong, people’s first reaction is often “the Universe is against me”.  I can assure you this is not true.  Try working with the Universe, no matter if it is good or bad and see what happens.  You must realise the bad things are not the Universe taking a dig at you, but a lesson to be learned.  Does anyone ever say “thank you” to the Universe when things go right or excellently?  No, didn’t think so…but you should do.  Whatever or whomever is the driving force of the Universe does enjoy appreciation.  Especially when things seem overwhelmingly bad.  Remembering the good things and saying thank you for them never goes amiss with the Universe.  Nor does thanking the Universe for the bad things if you can see your way to understanding that bad is not always the Universe’s fault but that we are truly masters of our own destiny and nine times out of ten it is ourselves who cause our own problems.  Obviously, that does not apply to every bad thing.  And don’t have my head on a plate because I say to be thankful for bad things, for particularly if a lesson is learned and adhered to in future, it is something to be grateful for.

I’m not trying to teach you to suck eggs…or in this case, to know how to be a Witch.  There are loads of books for that, and journalists who think they know everything there is to know about being a Witch or why one wishes to become a Witch.  I will be the first to hold my hand up and say unequivocally that I do not know everything about being a Witch even after some fifty-odd years and  having learned everything I know from my cunning woman Nana. But even at my age, I still love to learn.  And, I have learned that discipline, self-belief, trusting in the Divine Parents and Universe, being grateful, and letting go of my Ego have all made me a much better Witch and person.  A happier person…a more caring person.

Sabrina ~ from Google Images

So, what kind of Witch are you? And, does it matter? Of course, it does.  I don’t mean whether you are a Hedge Witch, a Solitary Witch, an Eclectic Witch…Are you a Witch who is grounded in his/her/their beliefs and puts faith into their Higher Source and in themselves? Are you a Witch who believes they already knows everything or a Witch whom is willing to learn all they can, no matter the age? And if you are one of the many “neo-Witches” whom have entered the realm of the occult, welcome.  We are happy to have you if you are doing so for the right reasons.  Upon entering any kind of belief system, we must not enter into unadvisedly or because we feel it is the only way.  And don’t enter believing you will suddenly be performing spells that will save the world.  Still, if one person could do, I will not hold them back! But to enter because you felt you identified with Sabrina or the Charmed Ones could possibly be a fading phase you will go through.  It would be unwise to purchase loads of Witchcraft items if this is the case.

If I ruffled a few feathers in this blog, then my job is well done.  I wrote this to get people thinking.  I want you to know, beyond a doubt, what you expect of Witchcraft as well as of yourself before you enter this door.  It is a beautiful world to live in and one in which you can bring much good about from, if you are ready.  I hope that if you do, you will take heed to my above advice.  It could save you from throwing in the wand so to speak in future.  Good luck and warmest blessings to your new future!

Please feel free to comment, I do answer to all. Many thanks for reading and warmest blessings to all whom this way wander x