What is a Witch

A witch (known by other names such as: wizard, sorcerer, mage, shaman, healer, druid, or other such titles) is any practitioner of magick; therefore a witch may be a specialist or a common practitioner, even if she does not consider herself a witch. All that is required is the possession of esoteric knowledge, traits, or expertise that are culturally acknowledged to harbor magickal powers.

Magickal knowledge is usually passed down from one witch to another through family or apprenticeships, though in some cultures it may also be purchased. The information transferred usually consists of instructions on how to perform a variety of rituals, manipulate magickal objects, or how to appeal to Gods or to other supernatural forces. Magickal knowledge is often well guarded, as it is a valuable commodity to which each witch believes that she has a proprietary right.

Yet the possession of magickal knowledge alone may be insufficient to grant magickal power; often a person must also possess certain magickal objects, traits or life experiences in order to be a witch. Among the Azande, for example, in order to question an oracle a man must have both the physical oracle (runes, for example) and knowledge of the words and the rites needed to make the object function.

A variety of personal traits may be credited to magickal power, though frequently they are associated with an unusual birth into the world. For example, in 16th century Friuli, babies born with the caul were believed to be good witches, benandanti, who would engage evil witches in nighttime battles over the bounty of the next year’s crops.

Certain post-birth experiences may also be believed to convey magickal power. For example a person’s survival of a near-death illness may be taken as evidence of their power as a healer: in Bali a medium’s survival is proof of her association with a patron deity and therefore her ability to communicate with other gods and spirits. Initiations are perhaps the most commonly used ceremonies to establish and to differentiate witches from common people. In these rites the witch’s relationship to the supernatural and her entry into a closed professional class is established, often through rituals that simulate death and rebirth into a new life.

Given the exclusivity of the criteria needed to become a witch, much magick is performed by specialists. Laypeople will likely have some simple magickal rituals for everyday living, but in situations of particular importance, especially when health or major life events are concerned, a specialist witch will often be consulted. The powers of both specialist and common witch are determined by culturally accepted standards of the sources and the breadth of magick. A witch may not simply invent or claim new magick; the witch is only as powerful as her peers believe her to be.

 In different cultures, various types of witches may be differentiated based on their abilities, their sources of power, and on moral considerations, including divisions into different categories like sorcerer, mage, wizard, healer and others.