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.

And strangely enough my great grandmother (who was Welsh) most definitely a bit wise, but my granny isn't.

My mum is (quite powerfully so but she'd never admit it or use the witch word) and me to I think a slightly lesser extent.

My son is also very.. Perceptive, shall we say.

And I asked the fairies if I was pregnant before I took a test but had suspicions and got an unequivocal 'yes, but don't worry we have your back'

As it turns out I had sky high blood pressure when I was pregnant and could have ended up very sick and/or with a very nasty delivery as I was induced and had an epidural but I got away with minimal injury (which wouldn't have been the case if the midwife I had when I was pushing hadn't been the one on duty. She wasn't even supposed to be on duty that night she'd done a last minute swap with someone else)

It's lovely to fall across this thread today, I was only thinking this morning about whether there were any other witchy folk around.

I think I'd describe myself as a hedge witch if nothing else, similar to others I spend a enormous amount of time out in nature and keeping up with earth's rhythms.

My paternal grandmother was very witchy and baked her spells into food for people. She taught me all about plants and nature and lived in the middle of the countryside so growing up with her was amazing. Funnily enough she would have said she was Christian and my family is very Christian but she certainly had a touch of craft about her.
I'm weaving it into DS's life as he grows up.

I'm a psychic medium and trans healer. I was taught by my aunt and my great gran was a healer.

I can read cards, tea leafs, ribbons, crystals, jewellery, scarfs actually anything really, everything has an energy you can read if you put your mind to it

I can read runes but I mostly go by patterns in the leaves and shapes in the clouds, patterns in fire, that type of thing.

I also get the odd gut feeling about the odd thing here and there that usually turns out to be right.

I don't scry much anymore, I'm not sure why really. I suppose I just don't feel the need to as much.

Agree with a pp about it being very private. Certainly not something I would ever feel at all comfortable with commercialising

Really enjoying reading all this, thanks Op & pp's. Just been reading about scrying & realised I've always done this, though not very successfully. I didn't understand it I guess? Mm, maybe if I WAS a witch I would know this already

I think we all have things to learn.

It's a journey , not a destination.

I'm absolutely fascinated by this thread. My feminism has brought me round to witches. (That must sound weird but it's true!) my friends have sometimes called me a white witch after I do or say things that then come to be. How can I learn more and where do I start?

Absolutely love this thread!

I have always been so interested in this. When I was a little girl I would use every wish I had that I would become a real witch. I've always felt that there was magic all around us but that I was just out of the loop. Like I could sense it but it was just out of my grasp of understanding exactly what it was.

I have never heard of any of my family being witches, though there is a long line of Romany gypsy blood and I know my great grandmother was known to be gifted at reading tarot cards and tea leaves. I have always wanted to buy some tarot cards and see if I could learn but kind of felt that I was being in some way disrespectful, like I should leave things alone that I don't understand/have no right to be touching if you get what I mean.

I love reading all of your insights and different paths, thank you.

That must sound weird but it's true!

Not weird at all. Feminism and witchcraft are deeply intertwined.

We have all been Tarot novices at one point. Even those who know Tarot well are still learning.
And Tarot cards have the same roots and same structure- suits, numbers etc as a normal pack of playing cards.
If you are interested buy pack that appeals to you.
Investigate, pick a few cards at random, explore the meanings.
With time it will begin to make a little more sense, you can try spreads, even if you have to refer back to a book to refer to meanings.
It's disrespectful to no one.

regina exactly what Speakout said!

Also if you have romany blood tarot might suit you well, or it might not.

I have Irish romany gypsy in me on my dad's side (but quite far back and through the male line. Part of the Lee clan but it's very dilute now) and I find tarot quite intuitive but it's not my favourite thing to use.

As I said before, I prefer flames /patterns in grass /the shapes in clouds and the things animals say etc to bits of cardboard with pictures on. Now there is nothing wrong with tarot at all if that's what you prefer, it's a bit less ephemeral and that suits many (just not me personally)

The whole thing is most definitely a journey and there is always something to learn, I don't think we could know it all in a thousand life times.

Exactly , there is so much to know and we all have different interests and skills.
Some are drawn to Tarot or divination, some to psychic work, other individuals may like to work with herbs and oils.
Find love "high" or ceremonial magic, some are kitchen witches, drawn to the magic of food. Some have a close connection with their familiar, or have a creative flair and like to paint, or work with crystals.
Some of us have deities, most of us enjoy the Sabbats. Some are Wiccan and work to some rules, some are OK with grey magic.
And even working with deities- that can be done as worship or working with them in a more archetypal way.
And everything in between.
Just follow your heart and have fun.

Thank you so much. I will definitely look further into tarot cards aswell as fire scrying, that sounds so interesting.

I have always felt a strange connection to forests, like I've come home and am immediately at peace. Its a strange feeling as its not a 'oh isn't this pretty' it's like something in me changes. I can't really explain it and is probably nothing to do with it, it just came to me reading pp feelings towards nature. Strange as I hadnt been anywhere near woodland growing up so had no memories or childhood connections.

I'm really so happy I stumbled across this thread, it's opened up a lot of thought for me. Thank you both for your replies.

This is such a wonderful thread. So interesting to read. I don't think I'm a witch, I get a lot of deja vu but that's it.

Some of the charms discussed here sound really interesting. I'd love for someone to spread a little magic my way, but how would I find someone?

And by that I mean I have had a fairly large share of bad things happen to me, I feel I'm now attracting negative energy. Would love a little happiness and positivity x

regina I could've written your last post.

I'm very much a forest person, and am very drawn to trees but also herbs and wildflowers.

I grew up in a city where the closest thing to woodland we had was the local park.

My mum is the same but with the sea. She's fond of any water really but the ocean is where she finds peace.

I get quite irritable and a bit maudlin without trees too. I still live in a city but the first thing I did when moved to where I live now was to plant a half dozen trees in the back garden.

They're all fruit trees and while the redcurrants tend to go to the ants and the magpies (which is fine, they have as much right to them as I do) the rest we eat (and the trees are especially thanked when the fruit is ripe. I also get very excited when they blossom and tell them how beautiful they are and to not over exert themselves with the fruit bearing. I had a plum tree that once had so much on it its branches broke and it was never quite the same again. I get the feeling they appreciate this in their own tree sort of way. Dp thinks I'm cracked talking to and stroking trees)

My husband always jokes that I'm a witch. I have a tendency to kill electrical equipment, disrupt radios, drain phone batteries etc. As a teenager I went through about 5 cashpoint cards. I managed to turn a touch based lamp on and off by touching the table it was sitting on! Not sure if any of this counts though or if I'm just magnetic!

I do also love trees, birds and folklore-y stuff. My dad taught me to water divine with coat hangers when I was little - seemed normal at the time but apparently not everyone can do it. I'd like to pursue witchiness further but wicca always seems at odds with my other cynical self. I've met a self-proclaimed witch but I don't think I'd work well with others and couldn't bear talking about the goddess and what have you. I like to keep my crazy tree-hugging side more private!

My grandfather was a Romany gypsy and horse whisperer. He came from a long line of healers and spiritualist gypsy folk.fascinatingly he also had a notebook or two with them name and a description of al the people he ever met in his 90+ years.

I have been lucky enough to inherit the ... skills? My house if full of candles, fire and sage. I wish I had time to dedicate properly to the study of it all. Psychics ask me what I sense and I al always correct. It's weird. I dream about people and major incidents before they happen - really specific. I can spot a couple's connection etc.

This thread has made me want to dedicate more time to learning

pieceofpurplesky that sounds amazing.
I think Romany people realised the power and cultivated it within their own families.
Not something we tend to do.
I am lucky that my immediate family are so supportive. My wider family isn't, but I have enough support from the ones that really matter.

I have a tendency to kill electrical equipment, disrupt radios, drain phone batteries etc Yes me too. I can drain a 100% phone battery in seconds.

It's actually quite common in energy workers. I don't wear watches (no point - they don't work) and once I went through 3 laptops in 3 months. Amazon was very good about replacing them but I was so embarrassed. I know make sure I shield myself carefully.

I read tarot but I've been working lately with an alternative divination system which I like better. I have no great talent with tarot it seems.

WizardofToss I do like that museum although I preferred it under the previous owner. Last time I visited some of the items I particularly wanted to review were no longer on display. I also love the Pitt Rivers in Oxford. They have some amazing folk magic artefacts and I always come away inspired. There are drawers under the display cabinets which you can open and are also crammed full of treasures...

I'm going to be spending the day helping a friend make oils and incense for a occult conference but I'll try and check back later to see what's going on

Yes to the electrical stuff.
Not me but my OH.
He is not a witch, but he is employed in hi tech senior technical support.
They actually call him " the wizard" st work.
Big technical issues are often resolved by him simply walking into a room. Equipment starts working normally again sometimes after days of problems and other engineers trying to fix things.
Colleagues have noticed this on many many occasions, and some are really spooked out by it.
It's a big joke in the company that OH has some " special powers".

He''s in the right job obviously!!

For those who are asking about things to read and who are solo or hedge witchery inclined, I would suggest Rae Beth's The Hedge Witches Way, which takes you through the year; Natural Magic by Doreen Valiente; and either The Gentle Arts of Aquarian Magic or A Witch Alone by Marian Green. Then get out there and do it! Books are no substitute for experiential learning.
Scott Cunningham, although helpful, does that American thing of conflating Wicca with witchcraft, which is misleading.
People can practise witchcraft as they will. Stirring good energy sunwise into the stew, making charms and spells, etc.
You have to be initiated into Wicca, and there are certain rituals that are an integral part of it, and always performed within a cast circle.
I would also suggest “reading round”. Folk lore, mythology, Earth Mysteries.. lots of good stuff out there. May we all enjoy our journeys!