Why a witch?

Because my mother asks the good questions.

Summary for other busy bees: I am a witch and it looks good on me.

I have the absolute pleasure of my mother visiting this week, and when we are in person, magic happens.

She and I may differ on how we engage with the mysterious and divine, but for us, that just makes for more interesting conversation.

This week, she asked me, “What does it mean to you to be a witch?”

And this gave me pause.

I have been so busy drawing tarot, making witches circles, cutting cords, and reading about queer witchcraft, including delights like Lessons from the Empress by Cassandra Snow and Siri Vincent Plouff and Queering Your Craft by Cassandra Snow that I haven’t sat down to articulate just what being a witch means to me.

So here is my first draft!

Being a witch means that I am open to how the divine and mystery appears to me. And the most deep affirmation of this is through magic.

So what is this “divine and mystery"?

It is ever changing and ever elusive, but I have felt it many a time.

When feeding a chickadee from my hand.

When Nova or Quimby curls up on my just as I begin to cry.

When celebrating Samhain with my coven for the very first time.

I love the aesthetic, the meanings, the symbols of being a witch. The mighty hammer of Thor. The pentagram. The gorgeous tarot decks!

The most important part of being a witch to me is recognizing, taking ahold of, and feeling my personal power.

So far in my experience, every form of Christianity I have encountered decentralizes personal power.

But not in a way that builds community.

In a way that wrings you out like a washcloth and tosses you in the dirty rag pile.

As you may have guessed, that did not work for me. So I left the church, several times!

And I have found power and magic in my intuition, in my silence, in my experience of the divine.

It has begun with tarot, which I have always been drawn to and naturally curious about, and I love deepening my practice.

I am a witch because it works. It is who I am, ancestrally, aesthetically, and philosophically.

Therefore, you are dealing with a witch.

Another part of why I am a witch is the community is vast and delightfully uncooperative. We may do a tarot reading and never see each other again.

Or we could become friends, form a coven, and practice our magic together.

Thank you for reading, and may you continue to find your power and your community and remain delightfully uncooperative.

Photo of my first professional tarot reading gig! Two chairs sit opposite each other, one red and velvety with my witch hat, covered in black lace, and the other red and black plaid. There is a table with assorted business and witchy materials, including a tarot deck. Behind are various and sundry dragons, fireplaces, and curtains. It was a blast and delight, I met so many wonderful people!