Why Witch, Indeed?

Welcome to my journey! Witch, Indeed is a play on one of my favorite words.  I use it for emphasis.  Indeed.  Try it, it feels emphatic as it rolls off your tongue. Witch? Seems self-explanatory.  Except for someone who didn’t have the language to describe what she had done all her life. I moved to the magical, mystical town of Asheville a few years ago, and promptly found my tribe.  Pagans, witches, heathens. I admit, I had preconceived ideas when I heard those words.  Yet all these people felt like home to me. We felt a connection.

Before that, I was a happy to-be-in-the-mountains woman who loved nature. All my life, I had been drawn to nature. This was happily in co-existence when I discovered my new friends were witches, and Wiccans, and more. At first, I felt curiosity. I wanted to learn more. So I did. I attended workshops, met more people, took part in public rituals at the local Goddess temple. It seemed like a such a natural fit.

In my early days here, I would ask, What do you do as a witch? The answers surprised me a bit, because I had been doing that my entire life. Suddenly, memories of my childhood bubbled up, rituals I had done to manifest things, my workings with nature and trees all made sense. I had a new language for myself.  So yes, I am a witch. Not exactly coming out of the broom closet, because it had always been there. I had always kept my private life private, so this may surprise a few people. Or maybe not.  When I moved to Asheville, many people said that was a perfect place for me. They had seen the “me” under the professional layers I had presented. Those who know me well don’t bat an eye when I say I do ritual, or workings, or celebrate the moon.

The word itself, witch, may conjure up a vision you have had from Halloween, the green face, the warts, the cackle. I read an acronym of the word somewhere: Woman In Total Charge of Herself. That describes me and my matriarchal side of the family perfectly. I know no other way, and embrace that completely. When you think about the history of witches, who were they, really? The herbalists, the healers, the feisty, independent women. Ever read the book, The Witch of Blackbird Pond?  I memorized that book as a child, completely understanding the characters of Kit Tyler and Hannah Tupper. I still re-read it to this day. It seems even more relevant now, as the world feels full of disapproving Puritans.

Come join me on the journey, as I share what I have learned, day-to-day life in a magical place, rituals, and my continuing education in being a witch.