Not sure if Meta, but I want to ask you about Witches, you seem to like them a lot, and know about it, I like witches but don't know much bout them, so, if you have recommendations, I'd love to know Why and obviously, What.
Hello! Thanks for the ask! I’m going to put this under a “read more” bc it’s gonna be long.
I am simultaneously overjoyed and overwhelmed by this question. I do really, really REALLY like witches. Like….a lot. The image and persona of a woman who is literally and figuratively completely her own and who is aware of the power that she has = happiness.
That being said, there are so, so many facets of the mythology and actuality of witches and witchcraft. Like it would literally take like the entire course of human history to go through all of the intricacies that is involved with witches. Suffice it to say that for the entire existence of the humankind, there have been witches (or at least, the thought of/hope for/fear of witches).
A very prominent feature of witches is that they are female. Many people (men in particular) may question “why aren’t there male witches?”. There are a couple main points to answer this question:
yes, there can be male witches
but that’s not the freaking point. part of the entire history of witches is based on women. this is because men persecuted and blamed women for being witches whenever there was “just cause for witchery”. they FEARED women. and what better way to keep someone you fear in check than to convince the world that that person is inherently evil? countless (literally countless) women have been and continue to be persecuted, shunned, and killed for being suspected of witchcraft. while it is not untrue that there have been men who have experienced this as well, the history of the fear of witches is deeply rooted in misogyny. so to ignore that because “hey men can be witches, too” is offensive.
I should also mention that there is (of course) a difference between the witches of folklore and the witches that practice today. In folklore, magic is a much more…tangible thing? Like it’s usually immediate or instant gratification-y. In the practice of witchcraft in reality (from my understanding), it takes a lot from your belief system and your own will to create something out of nothing. However, I am not fully versed in this aspect of the craft and witches, so I would suggest talking to someone who practices it religiously (pun intended). My fave would probably be christowitch.
There are so many different versions of witches depending on what culture you’re looking at, too. I mean…throughout ancient cultures even. Ancient Babylonian and Egyptian cultures include witchcraft, as do European, Asian, African cultures. Like…witches are almost a staple of human history because I personally have not heard of a culture or group that does not have some sort of mythology or lore regarding witches.
Religion plays a major role in the history of witchcraft and witches, too. We of course know that certain religions damn witchcraft or consider it unholy (which I think is silly bc you can use witchcraft for good and to praise God). However, other religions can vary from a cautious understanding of witches to outright praising them. The point that I’m trying to make here is that almost all of them, at the very least, RECOGNIZE witchcraft.. Like…it’s an actual, real deal thing.
This is getting way long, and only now am I realizing that I have only really given you info about the history of witches, which is probably not all you were looking for. I will include some recs though if you are curious.
In the end, though, I think that this quote sums up witches and witchcraft kind of perfectly:
“Real magic can never be made by offering up someone else’s liver. You must tear out your own, and not expect to get it back. The true witches know that.” – The Last Unicorn
Witchy Blog Recs (you might have to search their tags):
christowitch
wormwoodandhoney
notbecauseofvictories
okayophelia
there are so many more and I can’t remember them argh but I hope you like these and always feel free to send me another ask if you have any more questions <3