Words by Dylan B Jones
Think you’ve never met a witch? THINK AGAIN! They’re more prevalent than you might think.
London’s full of ‘em! Thought that was an errant pigeon casting a shadow over the moon at Streatham Hill Station? No, it was a witch, rushing to get the last of the Ras El Hanout from Streatham Sainsburys.
Jokes aside, witches are a real thing! It’s not just Bette Midler swishing around with a set of false teeth. It’s a subculture, a way of life, with its own aromatic set of traditions and nuances.
We met three witches – Johnny, Shy and Ruby – to find out more!
Shy Charles, musician & witch
I suppose I would say a witch was someone who calls themselves a witch (i.e. using that label isn’t at odds with their wider cultural or religious identity) and who believes that their symbolic actions, or their connection to spiritual entities, or their own power, can bring about change in the world.
As usual, the dictionary definition isn’t quite enough – you might see a witch being defined as a follower of Wicca, but I’d say not all witches are Wiccan.
And I think it is important that the person calls themselves a witch, because it’s not a word or concept that travels seamlessly through culture and time.
Lots of religious practice from around the world looks like what you might call witchcraft, but of course it isn’t if it is part of an organised religion and that activity isn’t seen as unusual or magical or forbidden. If it is just petitioning a saint, spirit or deity, for instance. If you look at traditional healers in many countries, they are definitely using magic and shamanism, but often to work against witchraft, so they are not witches to their mind. I suppose they are fighting fire with fire.
If you look into early modern witch hunting practice, the people who look for witches use spells. Make a cake out of the piss of a bewitched person, feed it to a dog and the dog will lead you to the witch – what is that if not a spell? But if there’s a solid cultural divide between the dominant religion and the very idea of a witch, you don’t point out that both sides seem to be using magic.
I think folklore is so locally specific that a witch doesn’t really mean exactly the same thing in any two places. But then, there is a lot of universality to the way magic seems to work in human belief everywhere, like the idea of sympathetic magic (using something that resembles whatever it is you’re trying to influence). So I am not sure if you can define a ‘witch’ outside of one belief system.
I can remember many instances in my early teens when my interest in this type of thing lead to unpleasantness; particularly with other people’s very Christian parents. One of my brother’s school friends wasn’t allowed to my house if I was going to be in! And you don’t have to look too far back to see that witches have been under attack, during the Satanic Panic for instance. The Museum of Witchcraft – now in Boscastle, Cornwall – had to relocate due to harassment and arson, etc.
I actually don’t think witches are the victim of lots of hate crime or anything these days, but it depends who knows you’re a witch! If you’re open about your belief in these things you can be subject to ridicule or worse, of course.
I certainly think that even in a fairly minor way, someone with an interest in the supernatural (most popularly I suppose in this country with Spiritualism, or divination) can be dismissed as a crank and I think this is regrettable and narrow-minded. But then we have to remember that this is in a wider cultural context where people, especially white British people, can be fairly cagey about open and earnest displays of even very mainstream religious faith. You can have a friendship with someone for a very long time without learning what they believe about the big mysteries of life. Which is fine! But it does create a sense of like, you’re not going to go around telling every bastard you’re a witch when you don’t tend to even know if your colleagues and not-so-close friends even believe in God or fate or whatnot.
In the pagan community, there’s a spectrum with three levels from wanker, to slight wanker to non-wanker. A wanker is like ‘Well of course my 13th great grandmother was one of the Pendle Witches and since then the secret ways of the Left Hand path have been passed down my family for generations and now I have a book out”
A slight wanker (my category) is more ‘Since I was a child I was drawn to nature and obsessed with witches, I was always brewing ‘potions’ in pots in the back yard and throwing seeds around to tell the future…so not to like show off or anything but I kind of think I was born a witch, no offense guys.’
Then the non-wankers are like ‘Well I was raised a Christian/Muslim/etc but it wasn’t quite for me and when I was a teenager I liked films about witches so I got a few crystals and a copy of Teen Witch by Silver Ravenwolf from a hippy shop and gradually as I grew up I got more serious about it”
A lot of witches have a love/hate relationship with books like Teen Witch by Silver Ravenwolf. Love because it was often the first type of book you got. Hate because it’s a complete load of tripe. But at least the non-wankers are honest about how they started out!
Ruby Wednesday, performer & witch
A witch is someone who practices the art of witchcraft. The clues are in the name. It is a craft and there is an artistry to it. You do need to dedicate time and energy in to it and be ready to get your hands dirty. It’s a lot of hard work and I’m always studying, reading and researching. It’s not as easy as throwing on a hat or doing a status update about Samhain.
If you take witchcraft anything more seriously than a fashion statement or something to make you look cool and kooky, then people tend to roll their eyes. If you start to talk about it sometimes there is this air of “here we go again”.
Recently I had to deal with someone feeling uncomfortable with me talking about tarot and witchcraft due to their mainstream religion. I just raised an eyebrow and debated where to start with informing them that their entire religion is a bastardisation of mine by the patriarchy. I just sipped my witches’ brew of nettle, rosemary and bay leaf (for protection, cleansing and increasing wisdom and intuition) and let it slide.
I was super attracted to candles, incense and concepts of the elements from a young age and bought my first tarot deck when I was about 13. I always loved the “weird stuff” and didn’t really have friends in school so would go to the library and read books about tarot and astrology. It took me a while to realise that all of these peculiar little interests I had were all pulling me to witchcraft.
My favourite well-known witch would probably be Stevie Nicks. She’s utterly beautiful and totally bewitched us with her music. Just listen to the lyrics, she’s always singing about magic! Then there’s Lisa Lister who’s an absolutely incredible human being, Lorde told us at Glastonbury that she’s a witch and she’s adorable so she’s up there. Oh, there are just too many to mention!
Fictionally, The Craft girls are my top girls. Nancy Downs played a heavy influence on the creation of the character of Ruby Wednesday, so she’s pretty integral.
There’s no one best thing about being a witch! There’s so much to it. I love the freedom, you aren’t bombarded with rules. Focus on your intuition and trust how you feel about things. Just be kind, respectful and loving of nature and of each other.
The power I get when I’m casting or reading is wonderful. It’s a truly amazing feeling; magical, some might say. As I said, it’s hard work, and you’re gonna cut yourself and burn yourself and your hands might smell funny for a few days after a spell, but it’s so rewarding and, yes, very magical.
Johnny Bones, drag queen & witch
I would say the definition of a witch is…A DRAG QUEEN! The Oxford Dictionary defines a witch as – ”A woman thought to have magic powers, especially evil ones..” which is basically what a drag queen does on a Saturday night. You ever seen a queen role a spiff while in a k-hole? I have, ‘magic powers’.
It terms of stigma around witches, I think there’s stigma about anything that isn’t a social norm (whatever THAT is). But if anything I think it’s glorified and marketed…who DOESN’T want to be a witch?!
I was brought up on a lot of wiccan and spiritual beliefs. My mother and my grandmother were like a compact coven all of their own. Sabbaths, nature walks, rituals and spells on the weekend! So it’s always been part of my life.
My favourite witches in pop culture are for sure Dark Willow from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and ALSO Boudica, QUEEN of witches! I mean that bitch slayed… literally! AND Hecate, Goddess of Magic, witchcraft and night. Greek witchcraft is just FAB.
The best thing about being witchy is the sisterhood of the travelling drag queens! Feeling part of a feminine power, a natural magic one that we all have that I see come out in anyone who does drag and even those who just tipple their toes into the cauldron.
First published October 2017.
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