Witch Essence: Smoke \u2013 painting by the author<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe earliest witches were those tapped into\u00a0directly working with the realm of spirits. \u00a0If we consider the possibilities hidden within cave paintings around the world, we\u2019ve been around a long, long time. \u00a0Be it gut instinct\u00a0or the result of too many novels about prehistoric humanity, I get the feeling that even in close-quarter tribal living situations, the Witch probably occupied their own nook in the far back.<\/p>\n
Why? \u00a0Working with spirits and deity alters you \u2013 or as some would say, perhaps we\u2019re differently wired from the start, which is why we do what we do. \u00a0Although we may do a lot of work for the good of the community, that doesn\u2019t mean we\u2019re social creatures by nature. \u00a0We\u2019re already keeping a lot of company as it is. Even if you can\u2019t see them. \u00a0Adding more people to the mix can get exhausting very quickly. \u00a0Space, distance, solitude provides mental and spiritual sanctity.<\/p>\n
But the communal distance isn\u2019t just for the benefit of the Witch \u2013 most people are not comfortable with the concept of the Other \u2013 of spirits, gods, visions, and liminal spaces. \u00a0They may respect it, be in awe of it, even worship it, but they\u2019re really just totes fine with it staying over there. Along with the Witch.<\/p>\n
Which gets me to the sticky topic of covens and their somewhat unnatural nature in my book. Before anybody has a conniption and spills wax on their cloak \u2013 I do understand that the coven structure is something that works for many. \u00a0And as always, if it works for you, that\u2019s wonderful. But I\u2019m here to unravel why in a long-term historic context, they don\u2019t quite make sense to\u00a0me.<\/p>\n
In every society, there is a certain order to things that can be seen\u00a0in\u00a0a repeating\u00a0pattern for thousands of years all over the planet. \u00a0You have those who directly work with the sacred\/spiritual (priests, clergy, shamans, witches, etc), and the rest of the community that in varying degrees follows the beliefs and rules of the divine while going about their own business. \u00a0They acknowledged the divine through various protocol, festivals, and ritual outlined by the clergy, while the latter directly dealt with that realm. \u00a0On their own, in temples, in sanctuaries, in places apart from the rest of society.<\/p>\n
In various \u201cwitch-cult\u201d theories, the idea is that pre-Christian beliefs had to go underground to survive, and covens were a way to keep the old gods alive. Other theories and systems believe that Christianity just got layered on top of the older practices and were practiced in covens or families. Either can make sense (and there\u2019s varying degrees of evidence supporting both depending on who you ask), but where it gets a bit strange for me is the idea that everyone in the coven was a priest\/priestess kind of Witch. \u00a0It\u2019s a lot of cooks for one cauldron (in a regular, daily sense).<\/p>\n
If you consider the Witch in a professional sense \u2013 it\u2019s highly unlikely that you had a slew of them in one area \u2013 just like you wouldn\u2019t have 6 shoemakers for a village of 200 people, or 10 blacksmiths. \u00a0Add to it that professionals of all kinds have very specific ways of doing their thing, in their own way. \u00a0They rarely combine forces unless the population or space requires it.<\/p>\n
What I can<\/em> see happening is\u00a0a convening<\/em> of witches \u2013 or in more modern terms:\u00a0a convention. \u00a0Where Witches would travel to a certain location on \u00a0yearly or so basis, talk trade and exchange wisdom, perhaps take care of some big issues by working together.\u00a0(I doubt they had badges and ribbons \u2013 but perhaps they did have guests of honor and I\u2019m sure late-night room parties were probably part of the deal. \u00a0I wonder if they covered travel expenses\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\nAnd then they returned back to where they lived, most likely solitary on the edge of the community (or as some say, hedge). \u00a0There, the Witch would continue to serve the needs of their area, even if it didn\u2019t apply in a larger, communal spiritual context anymore \u2013 and working with the Other in their own terms. \u00a0Even if the town didn\u2019t openly worship or claim to believe in the Other, they still respected it \u2013 and\u00a0in many cases \u2013 feared it. If anything, the continuation of witches throughout time has hedged on one major factor: we are the problem-solvers. \u00a0When humanity has been at its least-educated or most-oppressed, thwarted by greater forces, the Witch has been there. \u00a0We heal, we charm, we cleanse, and we deal with the darker side of things as well. \u00a0We get shit done. (Which is usually a problematic thing for those in authoritative positions.)<\/em><\/p>\nWe Witches do like our hedges, our little corners in the backs of caves, our cottages at the edge of the woods and civilization. \u00a0We cherish our peace and quiet, and our autonomy. \u00a0But we do know (or at least should know) when it\u2019s time to combine forces, to convene, to raise energy together. \u00a0To put aside differences and variations for the greater good. Even if we\u2019re each doing it from our own little corners, it can have an impact. For sometimes edges are made of blades, and those blades are sharp enough to cut through the most troubling of times. \u00a0That is, if we give ourselves the power to wield them.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Getting\u00a0back to our series on looking at the essence of being a\u00a0Witch series\u2026.refer back to Part I, Part II, and Part III here if you haven\u2019t read them yet\u2026 The earliest witches were those tapped into\u00a0directly working with the realm of spirits. \u00a0If we consider the possibilities hidden within cave paintings around the world, we\u2019ve […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":346,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,13,14],"tags":[124,161,7,4,94],"class_list":["post-344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modernpractice","category-myth-and-folklore","category-tradition","tag-coven","tag-wearearadia","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft","tag-witches"],"yoast_head":"\n
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