Are you the Village Witch?
Photo by Anthony DELANOIX on Unsplash
The concept of the Village Witch is one that is old but far from forgotten.
When I extend my imagination back into the days of living in small towns and villages, I can see the Village Witch so clearly: she’s the woman that everyone would go to when they were sick or stressed. She was the Auntie, the Grandma, the adviser, to the whole village. It was around her kitchen table that relationships were sorted out, wounds were mended, and guidance was dispensed. She was called to attend the sick, dying, and birthing. She was clandestinely approached by village leaders for consultation.
She was the one whose acts, large and small, kept the fabric of the community strong and vibrant.
And though there have been centuries of assault against such women throughout the world, the archetype of the Village Witch has never died.
There is still a village witch in every community, family, and friend group. Here are some signs that it’s you:
Your friends come to you for healing.
The cup of tea when they’re sick. The tincture that will fight off the bronchial infection. The salve for the rash that they’re too embarrassed to go to the doctor about. The broth that is conveniently delivered to their house when they’re ailing on the couch. Who is providing these ministrations? You. You know just what they need when they wake up with a sore throat on the morning of their big presentation, and they never hesitate to ask you.
Your friends come to you for advice.
It’s not just healing they seek from you. They want to know if they should break up with that guy, how to choose a preschool, or whether they should switch career paths. You listen to their stories and respond with questions and gentle insights. You don’t feel that you’re really giving them new information, but they keep coming back for more, and you’re happy to oblige.
You are asked to lead all the rituals.
Ok, maybe you’re not leading ancient fertility rites in the deep forest or handfasting fellow witches to their plant spirits. But you’re planning bridal showers, baby showers, bachelor or bachelorette nights, birthday parties, pet funerals, divorce festivities, retirement gatherings — the many rites of passage that we honor in our society. It may not seem witchy as you’re negotiating centerpieces with the mother-of-the-bride, but organizing rites of passage rituals is one of the key roles of the Village Witch.
You’re always reminding your friends about the phase of the moon or the state of the stars.
When your friend texts to say “I’m feeling so angsty today and I don’t know why,” and you shoot back “It’s the New Moon in Pisces,” that’s pure Village Witch material.
You speak a secret language.
It may be the language of crystals, or the language of plants, or animals, or the stars. Or the Tarot or the I-Ching. It could be the language of the way the egg cracks in the pan or the direction that the leaves blow. But there’s a language that you hear, even if just in whispers.
You’re affected by the weather.
Even if you work indoors, you feel the weather deep in your being. Whether a rainy day makes you feel cozy and inspired or gloomy and glum, you feel it. The summer sunshine might fill you with zest for life — or with overwhelm. But you feel it. Your wild nature is agitating just beneath the surface, and the pulse of the weather engages its instinct.
You can read people.
Their feelings. Their stories. The way they’re angling toward their desires. You don’t need to spend much time with a person to get a fairly accurate read on what’s going on with them. Some call this being intuitive, others call it being an empath — I’m going to call it being the Village Witch.
You are comfortable in chaos.
I won’t go so far as to say you “thrive” in chaos, because you might not enjoy it. But you can handle it. You know how to ride the waves and keep your head above water. You’re familiar with the sensation of the ground shifting beneath your feet — and you know it’s ok. You understand that chaos magic is the magic of transformation and creation, and you seem to deal with it better than most.
You know that you create your own reality.
No victim mentality here. You understand that you are in a continuous state of crafting your life, and you take full responsibility for that. Yes, you understand the systems of oppression that are at play in the world. But you know that within this world it is your job to make your days and years what you want them to be.
You seek to empower others.
Your default mode is collaboration, not competition. You know that when one of us thrives, it opens space for the rest of us to thrive as well. You feel called to work that educates, heals, and empowers others. You feel best when you leave an interaction and the other person (as well as yourself) has been uplifted by it.
You draw power from nature.
And support. And guidance. And healing. You need help, you ask the trees. You need inspiration, you look to the mycorrhizal network. You need comfort, you look to the flowers. You need medicine, you ask the plants. Nature gives you so much. And you’re so grateful.
You’ve experienced a Dark Night of the Soul.
The Dark Night of the Soul is a period of complete desolation, melancholy, and despair. It may be triggered by a traumatic event or by no clear moment at all. It may last for weeks or even years. Just when you think it’s past, you may realize you haven’t even hit rock bottom yet. The Dark Night of the Soul is a form of spiritual initiation and transformation. It is a journey through the unknown, a time when your usual tools seem to fail you, when you lose yourself in hopelessness.
A Dark Night of the Soul is an extremely difficult time. Ideally, you emerge from it having shed what you didn’t need and expanding into a wider, more understanding self.
If you are amid or have experienced a Dark Night of the Soul, that’s a sure sign that you’ve been initiated on the spiritual path.
You feel it in your bones.
You feel the ancestral call to the craft, to the healing arts, to divination or to community building. You feel the call to care and to tend, to make more whole, to restore. You know, deep down, that you’re the Village Witch. And you didn’t need a list to tell you that ;)
Are you the Village Witch? How do you know? Leave us a comment and fill us in!
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