There’s a little witch in all of us

This is part three of a series, Losing My Religion. Start the series here.

Growing up in a tiny town in the bible belt in the 70s and 80s really does a number on a young girl.

In this series we’ve already discussed all the trauma that it can heap onto a person, and if that person is not a believer it creates so much fear and anxiety it can be crippling.

Good thing I come from bold, rebellious women.

Even though my sweet mama isn’t much of a rebel, my grandma and aunts definitely were. And my extended “aunties” who were not really aunts but were so close they were like family – they definitely were.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of religious women all around me, too. But they made me feel like the black sheep of the family.

And the witchy women never did. Let’s be honest, though: these “wild” women would have never referred to themselves as witches.

Because as bold and unbothered as they were, being labeled a “witch” was too much for them at the time. Except Aunt Gertie. I think she woulda told you she was in a heartbeat!

My grandma, Louella, was a woman who could wander out into the woods (aka forrest), and come back with weeds and plants that could fill your belly, heal your ailments… or probably put you in an eternal slumber.

There is good and bad in everything – including witchcraft.

Much like you can be a follower of the teachings of Christ and not be a part of any of the sinister parts of religion, you can also be a witch and not dive into any of the darker side of the craft.

I think that’s where the world gets confused. Society pits us against one another, but in actuality it’s usually not the full truth. I know and love so many Christians that have zero resemblance to what organized religion is about.

If you ask me, I personally believe that the current state of organized religion and churches is about as polar opposite of the teachings of Jesus that one could get.

Jesus would have been a liberal. He kept the company of the “outcasts” without judgment or shame. He fed the poor. He helped heal the sick. He was a person of color who rebelled against the government. He flipped tables and put people in their place. He was a protestor. A rebel. A revolutionary.

Those teachings? If that was what the church was based on? Love, shame-free goodwill, and truly caring for all? Then it might be something I could get behind. But in my experience – as well as the testimonies of thousands of my followers on social media – sadly that is not what church today is all about.

Now let’s look at the other side of witchcraft. First, it’s not a religion at all. Sure, there are witches who are pagan, or druid, or wiccan – but I am none of these. And those religions don’t have exclusionary dogmas like Christian churches, either.

There are SO many kinds of witches. Some dabble in the dark side. Some stay in the light. Some don’t really do spell work at all and instead just vibe on their own energy and decide that they are magical enough just as they are.

And none of them are wrong.

The only consistency amongst all witches is the intention with which they live their lives. By choosing to give meaning to something.

Each morning I wake up, concoct a magical potion to revitalize me, center my energy and myself into the earth, commune with the sun to receive energetic properties, and let nature cast a spell on me.

You wake up, make yourself a cup of coffee, walk outside and drink it.

It’s the SAME thing. I’m just choosing to be open to the abundant life force of the energy of the universe and let it flow through me, with intention and purpose. EVERYTHING that exists is just energy.

But I know that magical potion made from beans that you call coffee? Yeah, you can use science to manifest with it. That’s another topic for another day.

I know that walking outside barefoot means my body is connected to the energetic field of the earth and the microbiomes help me ward against sickness.

I know that getting sunlight in the morning and listening to the birds has a physiological reaction in my body to reduce stress, promote well being and to help me live a happier life.

Witchcraft is primarily choosing, intentionally, to believe in the magic of the world. Much of which can be explained by science, but the rest has been handed down through generations and works whether we believe it or not.

Witches have hidden in plain sight for so much of history for fear of literally getting murdered. And in more recent history, the fear of Satanic Panic was chaotic enough that they would rather just keep their mouth shut than deal with some dumbass who wanted to give them a hard time over practically nothing.

But GenX and Boomer witches… well we just didn’t want to hear all the judgment peddled to us by the church. And so we happily became the misfits, the outcasts, and the loners.

We are the weirdos, mister.

All the while, religion took their cues from pagans, wiccans and witches to create the rituals many of them use to this very day.

Prayer vigils with candles? That’s a spell. You’re just praying to a guy in the sky rather than a diety or ancestor or the universe. Technically speaking, all prayers are spells, after all.

The Lord’s Supper that many churches do? That’s a form of blood magic where they are ingesting the “blood and flesh” of christ.

Easter, Christmas, etc? All align with pagan holidays.

But you also do things on a regular basis that are more secular, yet are rooted in witchcraft:

• Making a wish on a birthday candle = candle magic
• Blends of essential oils = potions
• Wishing on a shooting star = a spell
• New Year’s Resolutions = spells
• Your cellphone has a crystal to make it work = magical properties
• Farmer’s planting by the moon phases = moon magic
• Wedding Rings = Love and Protection binding spell

Yes! All these and tonnnnns more of everyday things you think of as “normal” are rooted in witchcraft.

While science has caught up with a lot of it to teach us why it works, for centuries no one understood it… they just knew it did.

And isn’t that what makes life magical?

The faith to believe in something even if you don’t understand the logical reasons behind it? Because a “guy in the sky” doesn’t make much sense either to me.

So just love one another. Judge less. And align your energy with whatever works for YOU. We all deserve a life that feels authentic.