The Secret Lifestyle of a Witch

 "What is more alluring, more provocative, than a woman who owns her power and wields it without apology?"

Lilac

There is no way to know if a person is a Witch.  If you are still laboring under the delusion that a Witch is someone born with natural tendencies toward evil, then sadly you are mistaken.  Witches today are often treated in a certain way due to these common and false stereotypes.  I confess...I was once like this too.  I literally hated myself for who I was and refused to allow myself to be that which I knew I was on the inside.  Who can relate?

How does a person know if they are a Witch?  I might ask a person who is Gay or Transsexual or Republican, why they are these things.  The answer we will get in all cases is that the person is drawn to the Lifestyle, philosophies or beliefs found in the group they associate with.  In my case, I am a witch because I read Tarot Cards (they speak to me), I commune with the dead, I favor herbal remedies having been introduced to them during childhood.  I love herb gardening, I commune with nature, enjoying hikes and long periods of quiet in the woods.  I heal through music and vibration.  I communicate with animals.  I prefer natural things and the "old ways" to technology and innovation.  I guess in short...I am just drawn to these things.  That is ALL one should need in order to be what they wish to be.  Just feeling connected to it means that you are it.  In my case, my abilities were a little more involved then just "an interest in it"...but even at that, I tried to fight the stigma for years.  To this day I cringe whenever someone boldly announces, "oh, you are a witch then".  I feel my body cower and my eyes look upward for a house to fall on me from the sky.

How can you embrace the Witch Lifestyle?  

Its a great question and I decided to answer it today.  

I meet a lot of young people through my own daughter who is 19 years old.  The kids in her generation are very comfortable with this stuff.  I am amazed when I realize how MUCH they know and what they do with ease and comfort that I do behind closed doors and with timidity and fear of judgement.  It is because of them, that I throw off those shackles and expose my witchy underbelly!

Here are my top 5 favorite Witchy Lifestyle items:

1. Gardens

When it comes to gardens, a witch should be purposeful and always joyful.  Most witches enjoy at least a small amount of gardening.  This can include indoor pots, small herb or flower beds, or all out farming.  If you don't relish the idea of the labors of the earth, you can still enjoy the fruits of the labors by using herbs, dried flowers and just by choosing fresh, organic fruits and veggies.

Aromatherapy often starts in the garden.  Aromatherapy is a useful , effective and simple way to enhance mood and treat minor or regular ailments. Aromatherapy starts with the growing of herbs, and can also become the extraction of oils from those herbs.  In other cases, sachets and potpourri's are used to add fragrance to home and hearth.  

Any witch worth her weight in sand will know that you must be wise when using herbal remedies, or whilst out gathering plants for the making of tinctures (medicinals) or culinary herbs.  Some herbs can be deadly in high enough doses.  Knowing the dangers and the powers is part of the magick that witches wield in the garden.  The photo above shows the innocent looking yet deadly variety of flowers and herbals which a proper gardener, farmer or culinary witch ought to be familiar.

Garden design, layout and knowing what to plant when, are all essentials of having a bountiful garden.  I love the design of this one here because it allows for plants to have their own space from one another (on the root level) while also accommodating foot traffic to get a close look at plants and to care for them. Garden designs are as varied as the gardening witches themselves.  Your own personal flair will bring any garden to life!  Plant what you love and enjoy!

2. Divination

The art of Divination can be done using a variety of Divination tools such as Tarot Cards, Ouija Boards, Pendulums, Tea Leaves, Mediumship, Palm Reading, Numerology and other lesser known or less used divination techniques not mentioned here.  Anyone who uses these divination tools can be considered a witch, no doubt.  But one does not need special or enhanced abilities to use some of these tools...they can be learned and practiced for mastery.

3.  Use of an Altar

Almost every witch I know uses an altar.  It is a space for worshipping and observing.  Some of the most common items that are used in creation of an altar or placed on the altar are as follows:

Altar Cloth

Statues

Herbs

Tarot Cards or other Divination tools

Photos

Candles

Crystals

The statue shown here looks to me to be Baba Yaga- an old Crone witch in traditional witch culture.  She is often found by the hearth (Stove)

This Altar is highly ornate and seems to take up the entire table and walls surrounding it.  Altars can be extremely tiny or they can be over-sized like this one.  This Altar features many beautiful crystals- another favorite tool in the witch's handbook of favorites.

The Gods and Goddesses as displayed in statues and on Tapestries represent important roles for witches.  Hecate and Baba Yaga are just two such Goddesses/ Witches.  I personally, in my own kitchen, have a Buddha Goddess.  On my Kitchen Altar I have a wooden Jamaican Goddess Statue.  On my Altar in my Studio, I do not have a Goddess or a statue at all.  In my Garden I have a solid silhouette statue of a woman in form who is non-discript.  She is every woman.

4. Nature

Nature and Gardening are similar but not the same exact thing.  Not every witch will want to grow herbs or make tinctures or cook.  Those witches are the witches of the hearth and home.  Some witches prefer spellcasting, potions or manifestation.  Some use dance and movement and kinesthesia to express their craft.  But one piece that they all have in common is that they enjoy recharging their emotional and spiritual batteries out in nature.  This could mean out in the water or out in the woods.  It could be a meadow full of flowers or a vigorous bike ride on a mountain trail.  Whatever draws you out, heals you in.

5.  Creation

A witch will always be creative.  No matter what type of art they are drawn into creating, a witch will want to NOT be idle.  Here are a few idea that many witches find interesting:

Smudging- 

Smudging is a tradition using herbs that have been dried (and sometimes using flowers too), bundled together and burned so they create smoke.  The smoke is wafted through the air in the rooms of the home to clear negative energy and to shift vibrational energy.  Witches in the garden might grow sage which looks like this:

And then after harvesting and drying, they can bundle for home use.  The product will look like this:

Creation can be simple and still satisfying- such as bottling dried flowers with salts as below.  Glass jars with cork tops are a favorite of hearth witches.

Other witches will "create" a sense of community by developing a circle of witches who gather and meet and perform their art together.  These are known as Covens.  Below are a Circle of women dancing as part of a ritual of their coven.  This is a familiar scene amongst female witches, especially those who use dance to awaken spiritual blessings.

So what kind of witch are you? It's ok if you think you are a witch but you are not sure what kind.  However, I truly hope that if you are trying to figure it out, and have read my article...that it was helpful!  Here are some photos of what "My Life" as a witch looks like:

~Namaste

Lilac