Distinguishing oneself from a crowd of voices today is nearly impossible. Similar words are likely to be recorded on any number of blogs or websites. When I considered what to call this new blog, I wanted to set myself apart as a writer and as a voice. I also wanted to address something that I struggle with in media today.
As a feminist advocate, I want to explore the field of work that has already been written and compiled. Modern authors, poets, thinkers, artists, and educators have developed schools of thought and dedicated their lives and missions to creating a space for women of every background, creed, color, sexual orientation, class, ableness, and religion. I want to be a part of that discourse and hope that in the future my children will learn about what it means to create space for diversity and discussion. Overall, I want to have a space to make my own discoveries and harbor my own epiphanies, which is why the title was so important to me.
Women have been associated for millenia with the witch or temptress, a creature or figure meant to disrupt society and culture, wreaking havoc on the village and spreading death and disorder. The word carries an abundance of negative connotations today, but it’s also cheeky today known for its association with kitschy Halloween displays and naughty costumes. The word doesn’t bear the same weight it once did.
I’m not calling myself this in any ill-sense or nature. There were many women who went by similar titles but these titles offered them safety as healers or medicine women. When we consider the Witch Trials in early America, we remember all the women, and those few men too, who were wrongfully tried for crimes they did not commit and situations that over which they had no control.
The idea of women as the seed of evil or ill-deeds has followed us from the time of Eve. Many claim that were it not for her desires to taste the fruit, we would never suffer the calamities we face today. But, Adam had just as much a foot in all this. He participated by eating of the fruit himself. There is Lilith out of Mesopotamian and Hebrew myth who fed on the blood of babes. There are a number of creatures in Ancient Greece that possessed the face of a woman and the body of a bird to fly through the night. They doubled as witches and demons, preying on blood once more.
Merriam-Webster supplies us with about four definitions for the word. My favorite possibly being, “one that is credited with usually malignant supernatural powers; especially : a woman practicing usually black witchcraft often with the aid of a devil or familiar.” The correlation then with sorceress, hag, and warlock then follows. None of these titles ally themselves with particularly appealing connotations either unless you consider J.K. Rowling’s influence on our modern idea of witches and wizards. (For that I’m grateful!)
The word “witch” contains a number of connotations and references. A witch holds within herself the power and allure of mysticism and magic, misdeeds and misadventures, but she also harnesses control and precise action. She is a being with a focus on detail and an ear for the correct word. She is diviner and oracle. She is a thinker and an educator. She is a creature mythical and real. She is a relic and she is ageless. This precision and focus allow her to specify what she means to create and produce and the effects she hopes to have on the space she inhabits.
Personally, I believe that there is a bit of myth in each of us. There is a collective memory and history that spreads throughout time and space. We see it in each origin story that illustrates the beginning of time and the world as it was and is. I choose to harness that myth in myself and use it to my advantage. I want to learn about the early stories or my ancestors and those of the people around me.
This word “witch” opens itself to the outsider. It makes a space for that which is different or strange within each of us. No person is wholly good today. That’s a fact. The Otherness in us seeks to walk about.
As a little girl, I’d be a witch for Halloween not understanding all that meant at the time. I relished the feel of the black boa and the whimsical pointy hat festooned with its own ring of feathers around the brim. I liked the black dress and the black patent shoes. Today, I look better in black than in white. Something about it clings to me.
I don’t believe that this makes me evil or wrong. Women wear black to trim down and to own themselves. It’s a color of power and sophistication.
I don’t believe that using the word “witch” reduces me to one identity in my blog. I think it opens more space for me to write from a myriad of perspectives and appreciate other modes of thought.
I also want to claim that it doesn’t make my personal beliefs and religious identity any less valid. As a Disciples of Christ member, I think Jesus would understand the multiplicity of identity and the many connotations of a word.
I think this title allows me to be fluid and experimental when I write. I think it lends itself to the mutability of form between fiction, poetry, and nonfiction. But, mostly I liked how at first the words sounded together. “Word Witch.” “The Word Witch.” It gave me a mystical quality all of the sudden. I felt that I had a little power in my words and in my diction. I felt like I could conjure up a new movement or moment with the simple flick of keys on a keyboard. I felt good. And for the moment, I don’t believe that I wish to feel that any less.
P.S. During the Women’s Marches over the last year, a sign appeared with some frequency. It read, “We are the granddaughters of the witches you couldn’t burn.” There’s a photo here.
Works Cited
“Definition of Witch.” Merriam-Webster, 12 Dec. 2017, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witch.
Word Witch 