Are you a witch they ask

 What does the word witch mean?

Many people believe the term witch means a woman who works with the devil and that it can not be used for a male practitioner; however, that is not the case. The English word witch comes from the Old English words wicca (male practitioner) and wicce (female practitioner). In their earliest usage, these terms referred to people who practiced forms of magic, sorcery, divination, or other supernatural arts. Over time, however, the feminine form became far more common, eventually leading most people to associate the word almost exclusively with women.

The exact origin of Wicca and Wicce is uncertain. Scholars have linked the words to ideas such as necromancy, divination, sacred rites, and older religious practices, but no theory has been definitively proven. While the precise origin remains debated, the words clearly referred to people involved in magical and spiritual practices long before modern definitions developed.

Are you ready to take a dive down this rabbit hole and see what ya think on the other side?

In medieval times, the definition of a witch was:

*“Woman they are to cure without having studied

She is a witch and must die.”

In essence, these women were practicing medicine without a license in a male-dominated society. And we all know how big of an issue that was.

Move up to Martin Luther in 1522, he said right before the witch trials really took off.

"Witches are the devil's whores who steal milk, raise storms,

ride on goats or broomsticks, lame or maim people, torture

babies in their cradles, change things into different shapes

so that a human being seems to be a cow or an ox and force

people into love and immorality.”

With this type of definition, it sure makes a witch seem quite scary. Yet this was not always how witches were viewed. Historical records often connect witches with prophecy, divination, and fortune-telling. Old English texts used wicca and wicce for seers and diviners, and some medieval writings even applied the term to figures such as the Magi. This suggests that the word once carried meanings that were not necessarily negative or associated with evil, nor does it say one way or the other about whether this witch is a male or female.

Let us take a look at a much newer definition. According to Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary, from 1963, the definition of a witch is:

WITCH (n ME wicche fr. OE wicca, masc.

wizard and wicce fem. witch; akin to MHG

Wicken to bewitch, OE wigle divination, OHG

with holy---more at victim)

1a. Wizard, Sorcerer

1b. A woman practicing the black arts: SORCERESS

1c. one supposed to possess supernatural powers

esp. by compact with devil or familiar

1d. or Witcher: Dowser

2. an ugly old woman: HAG

8. a charming or alluring woman

That seems pretty simple, right? However, it is by far so simple. If we look closely, there is at least 1 contradiction here... Is the witch in question an old hag or an alluring woman? Then we have wizard/sorcerer, are we talking about ugly and or alluring women, men, kids, or what here.... It doesn't stop there, though. Sure, 1963 is only 61 years ago, so not too long ago, and people still can't decide what a witch is. So let's move ahead a few years to 1972. A book titled Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend describes a witch as:

"A person who practices sorcery; a sorcerer or sorceress;

one having supernatural powers in the natural world,

especially to work evil, and usually by association with

evil spirits or the Devil: formerly applied to both men and

women, but now generally restricted to women."

Okay, that doesn't seem so bad, a little on the nose, but not so different than the one from 1965. However, now we see where a witch CAN be a male or female, though it seems more common among women. Are you confused yet? Let's jump forward a bit more. To today's definition, according to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, after all, that is about as updated as you can get. Currently, it is July 2, 2024.

According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary

As a noun

In fiction and folk traditions

A: a person (especially a women) who is credited

with having unusually malignant supernatural powers

B: a woman who is believed to practice usually black magic

often with the aid of the devil or familiar: SORCERESS

compare to - WARLOCK

3: a mean or ugly old woman: HAG, CRONE

4: a charming or alluring girl or woman

As a verb:

1: to affect injuriously with witchcraft

2: Archaic: to influence or beguile with allure or charm

It is understandable that so many people think “witch” means female, after all, most of these definitions angle it towards women. Though not all. So at this point, you might be thinking, well, shit, this seems pretty cut and dry of what a witch is. You might even be wondering why someone would willingly call themselves a witch, but here is where the fun really starts.

Part of the confusion comes from the fact that in early Anglo-Saxon England, witch was only one of several words used for magical practitioners. Different terms described people who worked with charms, divination, spirit communication, healing, herbs, and other forms of magical practice. What we now call a witch would not necessarily have been identified by only one title in the past.

*" According to Dr. Margaret Alice Murray a scholar who wrote a long-standing definition of witchcraft for the Encyclopedia Britannica, the word "witch" has been used since the fifteenth century almost exclusively to describe persons, either male or female, who worked magic."

If we go off of Margaret's definition, we can understand a witch isn't so scary after all; it simply means someone who practices magic (energy manipulation).

If you have been around Wicca at all, I'm sure you have heard of Raymond Buckland. He has written many books on witches and witchcraft, and this is his definition of “witch".

*"The actual meaning of the word Witch is linked to

"wisdom" and is the same root as "to have wit and"

to know." It comes from the Anglo- Saron wicce (f)

or wicca (m) meaning "wise one," witches being

both female and male."

He then goes on to say, “Witchcraft is an ancient Pagan religion with a belief in both male and female. Deities with a reverence for nature and all life, and recognition of a need for fertility among plants, animals, and humans in Western Europe, witchcraft grew into a loosely formalized religion with its own priesthood."

Now, based on that, a witch is part of the religion of witchcraft and is a member of the priesthood.

Then we have Carl Jung, who was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist. And he has an interesting take on this topic. According to Jung *"a witch is simply a man not averse to metaphysical study—witches are projections of the dark side of the anima the female side of human nature." So we once again have a take that a witch can be male or female, though a little twist on the matter.

Well, there you have it, the definition of a witch.... right? Not even close.

As Christianity spread throughout Europe, older spiritual practices increasingly came under suspicion. Over time, the word witch became more closely associated with sorcery, forbidden magic, and dealings with spirits or demons. By the late medieval period, many people believed witches gained supernatural abilities through demonic forces, a view that heavily influenced later witch trials and folklore.

If you want to go biblical, you can even look to Genesis for a definition of witch. Where it is recounted that watchers, the rebel angels, fell in love with human women, and those women gave birth, and after many generations down the line of children, we have not only the Nephilim but also witches. Some believe witches come from this coupling. That of angelic and human ancestry is what created witch blood.

We even have The Witch of Endor. According to the Hebrew Bible, King Sol consulted this witch in Endor because she could communicate across the boundary of death. Meaning a witch is a medium.

Have you ever heard the modern turn of phrase “that person was a real witch,” indicating they were someone unagreeable, rude, unruly, ill-tempered, a real bitch? Well, that brings us to the other side, and to look at the Urban Dictionary for the definition of witch.

Urban Dictionary of Witch:

1: one who practices witchcraft ( not necessarily connected to Wicca)
It is also used to describe those who follow the Wiccan religion, and,
in some instances, those who practice any type of magick ( Goetic,
Herbal, Enochian, Etc)
2: A bitter or hateful woman. Used in a derogatory sense. A a Hag
if you will.
3: a less insulting (if there is such a thing) form of calling someone a bitch
4: A member of the craft. One who does good deeds when and where
they can, and understands the meaning of balance and spirit
4:Someone who does their studies (watching Charmed doesn't make
you a witch, that show has its facts mixed up)
5: Someone who does their best in this incarnate and the next.
6: knows the rules and plays by them
Witch, n. A properly trained and initiated Priest or Priestess of the
Old Religion. From the English wit or wic which means witty, wise or
intelligent, or alternatively to bend or to shape, and related to wit, wicked,
wicker, wizard.

Well, now we have it the definition of a witch, but wait, if you ask the random Joe or Jane on the street, chances are they are going to tell you witches aren't real, they are something Hollywood made up after all, Hollywood has many examples of what a witch is. From Harry Potter, Charmed, to cult classics like Hocus Pocus and The Craft. Then you have the hoards of literature of what a witch is to choose from. You may just get the silly answers of Halloween costumes, maybe even the green skin and mole on the nose answers.

They may even range to the scantily dressed women during the holiday who know how to have a bit of fun and laugh. After all, having fun, loud laughter, and not being solemn are signs of being a witch according to the witch hunters. The meaning of the word continued to shift over the centuries. In some contexts, a witch became synonymous with a cruel, unpleasant, or malicious woman. In others, the word described someone enchanting, charming, or captivating. Historical records even show that witch and wise woman were sometimes used interchangeably, demonstrating just how varied the term has been throughout history.

So what is a witch?

After all, we have seen quite a few definitions, but they range wildly. It's like the ink blot. You ask 5 people what they see, and you'll get 5 different answers. It's interesting that in so many definitions there is a link between the witch and the devil or evil, and yet historically people labeled as such were the victims of horrible crimes and still are today in some parts of the world. The burning time, witch hunts, fear, and hatred. We wish it were a thing of the past, but sadly, in parts of India and Africa, it is still quite dangerous to be labeled a witch.

What makes you a witch?

Some studies suggest you have to practice for a year and a day to become a witch, some say you are born a witch, others claim you can be a self-taught witch coming from any religion, and others still claim if you do a simple spell that makes you a witch. In some lines, witches learn and pass down old magical arts such as contacting departed spirits, working the weather, and reading the signs. While others may be called to the path once coming of age.

Today, the word witch can mean many different things depending on who is using it. For some, it refers to a practitioner of modern witchcraft. For others, it describes a folk magician, healer, spirit worker, medium, or a figure from folklore and popular culture. The history of the word reflects centuries of changing beliefs about magic, religion, wisdom, and the people who practiced them.

According to Judika Illes, “The word witch historically has been used to encompass Wise Women Priestesses, Sorcerers, Wizards, Magicians, Healers, Conjurers, Shamans, and Powerful women as well as archetypal figures of fantasy.” And if you look to Russia, they have a euphemism for witches and Sorcerers that furthers this mindset. It translates to "people with knowledge." Even looking at Eve's mythology from the Bible, many interpret her story as she was punished, but not simply for taking the apple, but because of what it represented. Wisdom and knowledge, and that meant becoming free.

You ask me, "Are you a witch?

This is a question I get asked often, and I don't feel confused about the answer. Mine will always be yes because, for me, a witch is someone who always strives for knowledge. Someone who understands the magic and the energy of this realm, and whom reaches to learn about others. A person who is always learning. Someone who has learned how to use this energy and work with it. Even though there may be some negative connotations around the word Witch and though I have been treated at times less than kindly and had people judge me because they don't understand, my answer isn't changing. I am a witch, and I will help enlighten others.

"Belief in witches exists in all lands, from the earliest times to the present day. The wise woman and the medicine man of primitive societies, the learned pagan priestess, and the divinities of early religion." - Dr. Margaret Alice Murray

There have always been people that we would call witches, and there always will be; we aren't going anywhere.

Are you a witch
?

• Encyclopedia of Witchcraft by Judika Illes
• 1972 Funk and Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folk-Lore, Mythology, and Legend by Maria Leach archive
• 1963 Webster Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary pg 1025 Archive
• https://www.etymonline.com/word/witch