Any witches here?

[speakout]

Or Wiccans. or Pagans?

I was raised as a witch- my grandmother was born in 1890 and taught me how to scry, knotwork, many magical activities. She was a dresser of the dead and a lay midwife ( before the NHS).
I now practice my craft with enthusiasm.
A little tricky as my extended family are not supportive.

[mumonashoestring]

Something like that Certainly not Wiccan or anything else that formal, closest description is probably folk magic. Growing up it was normal in my family to tie hagstones over your doors and your livestock pens, dress trees and wells in Spring, leave offerings out for 'the small folk', talk to the bees...

What I do is mostly simple charms - protection, prosperity, fertility, that sort of thing.

[speakout]

mumonashoestring how lovely. I am not Wiccan. Simply a witch.
Your lovely craft sounds similar to mine.
I love celebrating all the festivals of the year, finding magic in the mundane.
Witchcraft is a full time job for me too- making and selling supplies worldwide.

My mother is not a witch, but my gran was (although not a term she would use. ) My DD is a witch too.

[LARLARLAND]

Absolutely fascinating. I wonder if the spells work?

[speakout]

LARLARLAND Have you tried?

Magic can be mundane. blowing out candles on a birthday cake, even having some peppermint tea, thinking of a loved one.

I have been practicing witchcraft all my life. I am totally convinced that magic works. I have had some amazing and some totally terrifying results.

[LARLARLAND]

I can't say I have ever tried but as I have said I find it fascinating. Your DGM must have been an interesting lady. It's incredible that you get results.

[Elphame]

Hi speakout. Not Wiccan but also a witch.

My grandmother would never have used the witch word but I’ve inherited some interesting artefacts from her and she definitely used magic herself. Like you it seems to have skipped my mother.

[MyBreadIsEggy]

I dabble.
Mainly alchemy, crystal healing and trying to read as much as I can about the ancient crafts.
I truly believe there has to be truth when it comes to magick, as why else would our ancestors have invested so much in it? I mean, people died for it.

[Bloomed]

Can witches do healing work on behalf of others?

[speakout]

Bloomed I heal family members- and pets.

Never as a substitute for actual medical help of course, but in addition to.

[speakout]

Elphame yes like your grandmother would never have used the word witch.
She was known locally as a Spey Wife ( a Scottish term), and would talk of her own gran being one of the Cunning Folk.

[LARLARLAND]

I've never heard of the Cunning Folk. I've just googled the term and wow, this subject is interesting.

[speakout]

Isn't it juicy!!

Growing up it was all "normal" to me. Didn't everyon'e gran teach them divination or fire scrying with blazing log fires?

It's only as an adult and pursuing the craft myself that I realise how amazing it was- and she was taught by her own mother who was born in 1858. It's wonderful to have that lineage.

And to me very interesting because all this is from long before the Cunningham/Wiccan stuff of the 20th Century.

[speakout]

Just had a conversation with my elderly mother- she talks of her paternal grandmother who also say a Spey Wife and would also do Fire Scrying she was born in 1861.

[LARLARLAND]

I'm going to google fire scrying now!

[MyBreadIsEggy]

Fire scrying sounds like a powerful tool!!

[speakout]

I have very vivid early memories of Fire /Flame scrying with my gran.

Now as a 4 year old with a vivid imagination you can imagine the scene.

Huddled up on the sofa on a dark cold winter's night with my grannie, the only light was a blazing log fire, we would sit entranced.
She would talk to me about the images we saw, a coach and horses galloping across the flaming embers, a salamander scuttling around in the flames, a person's face, a place.
We would think of people we knew and she would talk about the images that were conjoured she would explain how these images told a story, how we could ask questions.

Now like cloud watching I imaging most of us can see shapes and things- the fire was not so different.
But some of these images seemed so real to me at the time, that I can remember them to this day.
Even now whenever I look at a real fire images and faces jump out at me like a pixar animation.!!

[clairethewitch70]

I am a witch, following the hedge witch/solitary/wiccan path. My DH is a Pagan, but doesn't follow a particular tradition, more nature based.

No one else in my family is a witch and the maternal family line were all utterly freaked out by the way I have turned out (not Christian) and blame all my ailments and illness on not being a Christian.

My DS' have been brought up Pagan although to them it is just normal and do not see it has being brought up in a particular religion.

[speakout]

clairethewitch70 I sympathise, most of my immediate family are christian, and takes a very dim view.
I hide as much as I can from them.

[MyBreadIsEggy]

speakout my family just roll their eyes and change the subject if I mention anything remotely witchy

[speakout]

Unfortunately some of my family are quite fundamental.
They think I am possessed by Satan.

[MyBreadIsEggy]

Wow

[speakout]

So I hide it- hard though because I run a pagan supply business too- full time.

[clairethewitch70]

Yes speakout mine think I am a devil worshipper and sacrifice babies. Nothing could be further from the truth. I use crystals, healing spells and do house cleansings.

Incidently, my DM, a Christian has pagan symbols all over her house, as she is usually with me when I shop, and she copies what I buy - think green man, broomsticks, pentagrams etc.

[AnneLovesGilbert]

Can I please take a fertility spell from one of you wonderful women?

I find this fascinating.

I’m friendly with the local curate and no faith of my own at all though I dabble in mild reiki and stones. He’s very into Wiccan! One of the kindest, mildest Christians I’ve ever met and so open minded.

[Giggorata]

I am following a Wiccan path now, but am a long time solo hedgewitch. Being part of a coven and forming the group mind has been an extraordinary experience.