Why Am I a Witch? And Not Something Else?

Why am I a witch?

My journey (see previous blog post) led me straight to Witchcraft, Wicca at first but then off on a tangent to Kitchen/Hedge Witchery.  But why?

I guess when I first started I wasn’t aware of just how wide or varied the pagan pool was.  I knew the word witch from fairy stories, films and books. But I had only really seen the description of a druid in the Asterix books.  Although the term pagan was known to me, I didn’t really understand what it meant properly.

The history of witchcraft book I found that started it all was obviously based on witchcraft!  It was from there that I found Wicca because at the time it was the only source of learning available that I could find.

Finding Witchcraft found like coming home.

As a teenager, I spent several years following the Baptist religion. I knew I was looking for something but I wasn’t sure what, Christianity filled a gap for a while but I knew it wasn’t quite right for me.

The gods

Working with the ancient gods of the land and finding my faith.  Something/someone I can rely on for support and encouragement and the occasional telling off, sheesh some of those deities are so bossy! was literally a god send (pun intended).

Control

Being in control of my own life and being able to help shape my own destiny were definitely attractive features of being a Witch.  Learning and finding my way through the Craft has helped me to find myself.  I have made mistakes along the way but each one has helped me to learn and grow.

Rules

Whilst I don’t like being told what to do, I do like structure when I am learning.  Wicca provided me with the structure to learn the base and foundations of the Craft.  But I did find it a bit restrictive because I do like to ‘do my own thing’. It was at that point when I discovered Hedge Witchcraft and then developed my own journey more into Kitchen Witchcraft.  My love of cooking sorted that out!

Dipping in and out

Druidry drew me in for a while, belonging to a Grove and completing the first Ovate grade with the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.  It seems to me to be very similar to hedge witchcraft but from a slightly different perspective.   I learnt from that part of my journey but it wasn’t quite the right fit for me.

I have dipped into all sorts of different areas.  Studying the magical art of hoodoo was one of my favourite adventures and something that I still use now, adapting it slightly to fit in with my Craft.   Fitting it into my own way of working magic was easy, it does have similarities to European folk magic.

The pagan umbrella

Paganism is such a huge umbrella with so many offshoots too.   It has allowed me to learn a variety of different skills from meditation to spell work, Akashic Records, divination and healing to name but a few.  The Craft also helped me make sense of nature. I knew it was something very special but had no idea of the magical properties and power that each natural living thing holds.  I love that Mother Nature is also willing to share this energy with us.     If I had not found the pathway of a witch I doubt I would have discovered these other wonderful things.

I love being a witch

I love being a witch because it allows me to have a faith, to believe in a higher power and to be in control (I am a total control freak).  But also to have my pathway be a flexible one.  Witchcraft allows me to take bits and pieces from other pagan pathways and add them to my own, making my journey a very personal and unique one.   I don’t have to follow strict rules. I don’t have to do what a book says and I don’t have to do things in a set way. It is my journey, my rules and my very own pathway.

And now?

Much as I don’t like labels or fitting people into boxes I know I am a Witch, not Wiccan, not a Druid, not a Heathen but a Witch.  I love to work with the old ways, to follow Mother Nature on her cycle and to attempt to make the world a better place for myself and others and ultimately to make myself a better person.  I am most definitely not the same person now that I was a gazillion years ago before I found my way.

Witchcraft has helped me learn, grown and evolve.