Hello! I thought I should post my path here, just because. I am, first and foremost, a witch. My path is an eclectic witchcraft path with an emphasis on British folklore and is also inspired by Isobel Gowdie. Some may call my path a traditional witchcraft path, but I tend not to subscribe to that title. I will of course be going into what these definitions mean. But first I will define what witchcraft means to me!
Witchcraft means a lot of things to different people. In the past witchcraft was looked upon as something evil. What we might call witches today (healers, protectors and such) would have been called wise men, or women, fairy doctors, witch doctors, cunning men. They protected against witchcraft. Today witchcraft usually has positive connotations rather than the negative ones of the path, and rarely will one see someone claiming to be a fairy doctor!
To me witchcraft is a "shamanic" path. I use this term loosely of course, as shaman is something completely different! By "shamanic" I mean it as an Otherworld Animistic path. In my practice the very Land beneath my feet is the connection of my power, and my life. Of course others may agree with me on this, and that is fine!
I see witchcraft as the use of spells, charms, potions, philtres, divinations, and such that draw directly from the power of the Land and the spirits and gods and sometimes ancestors that inhabit the Land. As a witch I try to build relationships with the spirits around me by giving offerings, but I will go into that later. Through these relationships I can ask them to assist me in ritual and the art of magic. A gift for a gift.
Not everyone describes witchcraft in this way, of course, and everyone has their differing definitions. This is simply how I see witchcraft for my personal practice. I think witchcraft should be a very personal thing to begin with anyway. That way one has boundaries and can keep themselves, and indeed others, safe.
Defining Witchcraft
Witchcraft means a lot of things to different people. In the past witchcraft was looked upon as something evil. What we might call witches today (healers, protectors and such) would have been called wise men, or women, fairy doctors, witch doctors, cunning men. They protected against witchcraft. Today witchcraft usually has positive connotations rather than the negative ones of the path, and rarely will one see someone claiming to be a fairy doctor!
To me witchcraft is a "shamanic" path. I use this term loosely of course, as shaman is something completely different! By "shamanic" I mean it as an Otherworld Animistic path. In my practice the very Land beneath my feet is the connection of my power, and my life. Of course others may agree with me on this, and that is fine!
I see witchcraft as the use of spells, charms, potions, philtres, divinations, and such that draw directly from the power of the Land and the spirits and gods and sometimes ancestors that inhabit the Land. As a witch I try to build relationships with the spirits around me by giving offerings, but I will go into that later. Through these relationships I can ask them to assist me in ritual and the art of magic. A gift for a gift.
Not everyone describes witchcraft in this way, of course, and everyone has their differing definitions. This is simply how I see witchcraft for my personal practice. I think witchcraft should be a very personal thing to begin with anyway. That way one has boundaries and can keep themselves, and indeed others, safe.
