Witch

a little tidbit of what I have been working on, bit by bit, chapter by chapter I will get there......

Isn’t it interesting when we are young we make all these plans, decide where we want to be when we get to this age.  I remember making all those plans, and I remember some that insisted this is the way things should be.  Ordered with timelines of a year, two and five year plans.  I guess that is the way it is for some, neatly packaged lives into year spans, chock filled with deadlines and such.  Me truthfully I have never been good with deadlines or absolutes, the deadlines well they even now in my crone years make me want to rebel, against them, push them, and absolutes well truthfully there are very few absolutes and the ones that are at least in my own experience are very personal.

My absolutes go something like this; I am absolutely a female, heterosexual, mother and a witch.  So three of those absolutes are accepted very easily as part of my truth unfortunately the third, witch is heavily misunderstood.  Witch has no particular religious attachment, it does not require that type of connection to be what it is, but yet it is no less absolute for me than any of the others.

There are witches of every possible denomination you can think of, and those that would fight being considered even a part of a denomination, this term is not limited to or owned somehow by only Pagans.  Believe it or not, I live it I know it, we come in all beliefs, shapes, sizes and colors and none of us are tied to the same pantheon, religion or path for lack of another word to call it.  This aspect seems to be the most difficult part for most to understand, for me as simple as breathing, it just is what it is.  So here begins my need, or quest to explain what witch is to me.  Knowing a little about me you would expect that I would look to research this, from all angles as I must be fair to all parties, regardless of my own thoughts.  So I started with dictionaries and what I found in some was actually quite frightening, not so much by the definition but more so the glaring inaccuracy or ignorance really that is so vividly apparent.

The image of a witch is very different in the mind of those that read those definitions of evil women using magic and their wiles to influence than it is in reality.  A witch seems menacing, scary, frightening if seen through those words, they cloud the vision with dark evil images.  I will not say those types of witches do not exist because in all reality they do, but then again people like that exist in everyday life that are not witches as well, many who have demonstrated the exact same evilness and darkness of heart and spirit that most associate with witches.  No religion or choice of path predicates our moral compass, more so our morals are a direct reflection of who we truly are, all religions aside and that is what chooses our own paths.  This simple bit of human nature is no different for a witch; we are after all very human.  We feel the same, breathe the same, bleed the same and our hearts pump the same as anyone else’s on this planet. 

Another definition claimed that all witches are women, well although some of us are female, that is not an absolute for all witches, we are available in all genders.  Which then of course opens up the discussion about using our wiles to illicit favourable responses, I’m sorry but doesn’t everyone do that?  So have those before us and those to come after us and that would make us all by that definition witches.  Really have we all not done that? Smiled at someone to illicit a favourable response?  How did you meet your partner? Was that moment one of magic for you? Are you a witch too?

It doesn’t escape me that we seem to vilify the very qualities of graciousness and even simple civilities into some supposed dark art so that we can stand accusingly pointing fingers at another person, especially when we are ourselves are using our own wiles to make others look approvingly at us while disapproving of others.  When does this behaviour ever end for us?   Or is this how it will always be for the human race?  Forever judging, forever us and them mentality, generation after generation of ignorance, hatred and ugliness and truthfully not just about this one word, but about anything that makes someone different, and as I write this I cringe.

What exactly is it that makes someone different? In reality we are all different from each other, even our own kids at times make us shake our heads wondering how they can be so very different from us, having come from us, raised by us and yet they are different than us.  So what dictates a human is different in such a profound enough way to be considered an outsider based on that difference?  So much fighting has been done to garner human rights but yet we still do this to each other even today, ignorance still runs rampant.  Admitting it happens doesn’t dignify it, it simply brings it into the light, keeping it in the shadows only perpetuates its power and makes it even more damaging, so I am here wanting to have the conversation, allowing you to see my vulnerabilities seeing how very not different from you I truly am.

Let’s take a moment to see where we are at now; a witch is a human being, it is a genderless term.  Witch is also not specific to any one religion, path or God/dess.  Witch is not a delusion, made up by our brains to cover up some malignant past.  Witch is simply that, a living breathing being just like everyone else on this earth.  Odds are you either friends with one or you are one; sometimes you just don’t know it yet. 

So to be clear my absolutes; I am absolutely a female, heterosexual, mother and witch. Yours may not be the same and that is ok too, in my world difference is celebrated!

more installments to come from A Witch by Any other Name.....