I’ll start this post by acknowledging that what I’m going to say will induce a mean case of the upsets in some folks. I will say it all the same.
For centuries, witches have been something to fear in the eyes of the general public. In turn, the biggest thing witches had to fear was being labeled a witch by the general public, leading to harassment, exile, or worse, torture and death. There is a long history of fear that has been a constant companion to witchcraft. However, it is only in recent years that witches have seemingly become afraid of their own craft.
I see too many self-proclaimed witches who vehemently warn others not to mess with the dirty, dark parts of the craft and who refuse to associate with others who do. I’ve seen warnings about working with certain gods that people ignorantly conflate with the devil. Exclamations about working with spirits and ancestors being too dangerous because you can never trust that the spirit isn’t lying to you and does indeed, have ill intentions. I’ve even seen witches ostracize and blackball those who work with baneful plants and hedgecrossing.
I’m not here as a gatekeeper, I don’t care who calls themselves as witch in theory. But, my friends, to quote Gordon White from his article Counting Witches on Pinheads,
“Naturally, I don’t want anyone to feel sheepish about their chosen spiritual path. In the nicest possible way, I don’t care. But if you’re going to call yourself the Princess of Canada or whatever, you should probably look to have some supporting evidence for your claim.”
If you’re going to call yourself a witch, you first should be aware of the history of that word and what it has meant for at least the past 2000 years, yeah? Spoiler: It hasn’t meant good things. It hasn’t meant crystals and herbs and moonlight. It has meant hexing, stealing peoples’ bodies to ride to witches sabbats, mixing entheogens and alcohol, and keeping amputated penises as pets. This is your legacy, dear witches. You don’t have to do these things to be a witch, but you sure as hell have to embrace them as part of the heritage of your craft.
So, why are witches afraid of the strange, the dangerous, and the frightening parts of the craft? Dangerous does not mean deadly; it means in order to do it safely you need to be prepared and experienced. Frightening doesn’t mean deadly either; it means it is yet to be known and understood. If you mean to practice witchcraft, it will be dangerous, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. It means that you first have to focus on being prepared for the danger. If you mean to practice witchcraft, you must first become intimately comfortable with fear. It will meet you at every corner, and surprisingly, it will never kill you. You only need to learn to understand it. Fear is only something aching to be seen and known. You cannot see it if you do not look. You cannot know it if you do not introduce yourself.
I know of witches who don’t work with spirits because they find spirits too deceitful and dangerous (there’s that word again) and they’re not wrong. Spirits are very much like people, in that they’re a mixed bag. Some are naughty, some are nice. The naughty ones may try to convince you they’re nice. You need both the experience to tell the difference and the preparation to protect yourself from the former. Similarly, I know of witches who say hedge riding is too perilous. Not only because of spirit interactions, but because you can leave parts of yourself there and even get lost entirely, never returning to your physical body. Once again, I have to agree that without proper knowledge and experience, it is better that you stay in this world and leave the astral to those more suited to hedge crossing. Once again, I have to say ignorance and fear are no substitutes for knowledge and practice.
I have no qualms with those witches who don’t work with spirits or the astral for those reasons; they are right to stay away if they lack the preparedness and experience. What I do have a problem with is telling other witches they shouldn’t be practicing the way they do, or socially punishing those who choose to. It’s like foraging for wild mushrooms to eat; it may be extremely dangerous for you because you’re unfamiliar with it, but that doesn’t make you not an asshole if you start ranting to an experienced botanist who regularly forages for mushrooms about how irresponsible they are for doing what they know from extensive experience and training how to do.
It’s the same with baneful plants, the beautiful and otherworldly Solanaceae. You should be slightly afraid when working with these plants. They inspire a deep respect for a reason. They can kill you. So can Tylenol if you use the wrong dose. You don’t want to work with them out of fear? That’s understandable and probably the best choice for you. Start to demonize any other witches who use them, though, and you lose my sympathy. Just because you don’t know enough about them to feel safe, just because you lack the experience does not give you rights to the soapbox you’re standing on to demean other practitioners who have done their research. Maybe you should do yours.
Do your research. If something about witchcraft scares you, you don’t have to incorporate it into your practice. Though I strongly suggest you read up on it if you plan to continue calling yourself a witch. Lack of knowledge does not excuse ignorant hatred, especially when it comes to a craft you claim to be a part of.
“A witch ought never to be frightened in the darkest forest, Granny Weatherwax had once told her, because she should be sure in her soul that the most terrifying thing in the forest was her.”
Title is a reference, courtesy of @rootandrock
