Dear Patriarchy, That's Not A Witch

Let's Get That Straight

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The word witch gets a bad rap. In lore, stories, and fairytales, the witch is often depicted as ugly, evil, or mean (or all of the above). She’s rarely out to do good and is an outcast in her society. Even worse, most tellings depict her as downright manipulative and vindictive.

What if this were utterly backwards?

What if what we have been told to call a “witch” had another name? Well… it does. But before we get to that, let’s clarify what the word witch represents in what I like to call THE TRUTH.

Before the industrial age, and even long before that, a witch was known as a mystic or healer and was not only welcomed by fellow villagers but also deeply respected. For she (or he) knew about herbal medicine and how to heal all sorts of ailments, including broken bones. She communed with Mother Earth to ask for solutions and listened to her inner guidance with intense appreciation.

This brief explanation doesn’t even touch on her wisdom and power. She is a wise woman, trained or self-taught in the mystical arts. Often gifted psychically, she can look into the future to help her people prepare for bountiful or failed crops, to expect peace or war. More than foresight, a witch knows the truths of the universe and the earth and how to use both to harness true inner power.

It was only as “the man”, as we’re calling this harmful consciousness here, became greedy for an imbalanced power over others’ lives that he rose up against those people who had healed his very own child. It was “the man” who turned the name witch into something evil. And he did it purely for the reason to gain all the power and minimize the ones whose power terrified him.

So now, the witch is depicted in all manner of evil. But, what is really being depicted in our stories and folklore isn’t a true witch at all. It’s a reflection of the pain, ego, and fear that consumed “the man” who sought to condemn good people for his own benefit. The name for this type of person isn’t witch—it’s sadist.

Let’s be clear; there were those that practiced magic for “evil”, and still do. Yet, we remember what Claire tells Jamie: A sadist is someone who gets pleasure from hurting someone else. And she’s right. Whether someone uses magic or not to harm another for their own pleasure or benefit doesn’t matter. That’s not a witch; it’s a sadist.

What “the man” saw in himself that he didn’t like, paired with what he saw in these powerful humans that he believed he didn’t have in himself, caused him to use a word that was never intended for evil to torture, murder, and condemn. In truth, he was condemning himself because he was looking into a mirror and didn’t like what he saw—a sadist who would rather enjoy the suffering of others than do the real inner work to release his own true power.

Now, anytime you read a story about an “evil witch”, know that what you’re actually reading is a story about a sadist who has mirrored himself in another so he can condemn all the things he hates about himself without harming himself—though we all know this also brings him harm.

Likewise, anytime you enjoy a story about someone who is a healer, mystic, priestess, wise one… you’re enjoying the true story of the witch. For these names all mean the same in their truest, untampered meaning.

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A funny story.

When I set out to make the image for this post (below), I started it with, “This image depicts a priestess…” and what AI automatically gave me depicted what resembled the hag from Snow White with a big crooked nose, long wrinkled fingers, and warts. That’s a perfect example of a sadist (the evil queen) transforming into a hag (a.k.a. an ugly witch in Disney terms) to do evil. And how our world wants to uglify or demonize the true power of the priestess/witch/healer/mystic.

I had to go back and specifically say “beautiful priestess” to get the accurate image I have below.

Dear AI and world, a witch is a woman in her power and beautiful in her own skin. Let’s get that straight. 🔥🌙

Moonrise Mystic is the journey of a novelist connecting her love of story with her passion for the mystical into one moving, breathing prayer. It’s for those who love to read fantasy stories and intuitive writings that explore expanding through the initiations of life, death and rebirth, and transmuting shadow to light. Thank you for being here!