Being a witch today is more challenging because of all the false information surrounded it. Conspiracy theories and ‘normal’ people are giving birth to a second age of witch hunt.

So Many Different Witch Paths

*** This article will not mention or discuss Wicca as a religion. ***
*** This article does not mention astrologer, psychic, or medium as a path. Not all witches are fortune-tellers or astrologers, which are their own paths. ***

Witchcraft comes in many forms and is unique to the witch’s heart. There are main paths such as but not limited to: green, hedge, hereditary, folk, kitchen, house, pagan, Norse, seer, necromancy, druid, solitary, eclectic, academia, and so many more.

Those paths mentioned above can have similarities but also uniqueness to their practice. Many genres submerge as years go by and new skills and specialties grow. 

Take academia, for example. It’s relatively new as a path, which means a ‘book witch.’ They are usually surrounded by witchcraft books.

An eclectic witch pulls practices and traditions from various paths and merges them to turn them into a personal practice. It can be a little green, folk, house and Norse, and that recipe is for one eclectic witch.

What About The Bad Magic Paths?

There is none. Hollywood lied for decades about witchcraft having only two divisions, white or black. It isn’t how witchcraft works. The concept of good and evil is relative to the person practicing witchcraft.

Different types of more edgy practices exist, but it doesn’t mean they are bad or evil. It’s not because a witch does her spells at night that she is evil. The moon and the tranquillity of the night are very beneficial to many spells, potions, gatherings of energy, and more.

So, remove the ‘black magick’ concept as it doesn’t exist as a path. All paths can be good or bad. It all depends on how one uses it. While on the subject, Satanists aren’t witches, but they aren’t evil either. In fact, The Satanic Temple does a lot of good in the communities where their churches are.

Blood magick is a type of practice that is often discouraged by witches and occultists. We all have good reasons as to why we advise against it. The strong link between one’s blood and words could prove hard to dismantle or undo. Blood magick isn’t a game and shouldn’t be practised by novices regardless of good or bad intentions.

What Path Do I Follow And How Did I Choose?

Raised by my grandparents at a young age, my grandmother admitted to being an actual witch. She was the daughter of a witch, who was the daughter of a witch, and so on. The gift of foretelling in my family was passed down through the generations. 

Long story short, I come from a lineage of witches, and yes, it is fantastic, and I am quite proud of it. I was young when I watched my grandmother circling the house with salt every Fall and lighting a white candle, leaving it to burn in the sink for the dead. My grandmother was not only a hereditary witch through her bloodline but a folk witch.

While my grandmother inherited her title and gift through her bloodline, she also practiced old rituals that were also passed down – folk witchery. However, as I grew older, I grew into the house witchery habits. 

I am grateful I was born into the practice as it made it simple to grow into the witch I was inside. The path was clear and easy to follow, though not straightforward because of the obstacles I faced.

How The ‘Normal’ People Perceive Witches

Although witches have existed in human history since the dawn of time, people don’t believe in them. ‘Witches are misunderstood scientists,’ my grandmother often said. Except today, scientists are accepted; meanwhile, witches are laughed at.

My grandmother meant that old knowledge of natural healing of any kind was common among witches. Mapping the sky came naturally to them as well. Combinations of the elements, reactions between liquids and gas, and so on were natural.

Witches never stagnated and still keep on perfecting their practices and gifts. We try our best to heal ourselves and others through our magick. But it isn’t easy on a planet that suffers and loses most of its magick. While witches live in colour, ‘normal people’ tend to see in grayscale.

We live in a second age of witch hunts. There isn’t a day that goes by without hearing on Fox News that Satanists or witches did this or that, mixing both terms as if they were interchangeable. 

Conspiracy theories are spreading on platforms such as TikTok and YouTube about witches being associated with evil beliefs that a pentagram will unleash hell somehow.

What Does It Feel Like To Be A Witch In 2024

My mother married a ‘normal’ man. She is an open-minded person. However, she used to be a colourful and free-spirited artist, but now married to a ‘normal’ man, she lost some of her spark. Being around them requires much energy from me, but words are the worst.

My mother doesn’t say anything about who and what I am. However, her husband is not one to keep his mouth shut. Remarks and snide comments let me know he doesn’t believe in what I do. There is no difference between saying, “I believe in Santa Claus,” and “Yes, I make potions.”

To most ‘normal’ people, saying I am a witch resonates to them like a child’s make-believe game. They cannot dissociate Hollywood from the reality of being a witch. They confuse us with hippies, tree-huggers, goths, emos, and so on. 

There is nothing wrong with anything I enumerated above. But I’m a witch, not a hippy. One is me, and the other isn’t. Being a witch isn’t a religion. I do not worship anyone or anything, but others might. It’s a way of life, not a belief. ‘Normal’ people don’t understand that because they don’t bother to try to know about us.

My Witchery Goals For 2024

While I have walked away from the toxicity in my life, I have yet to close the door completely. It is one of my goals; as a witch, I can lock the door, too. That is my primary goal for the new year.

However, my broader wish is to bring knowledge about witchcraft to everyday people. Knowledge is power, and its greater enemy isn’t always ignorance but the illusion of knowledge – looking at you, conspiracy theorists!

It is important to me to clarify what it means to be a witch from the older years to today. There is growth in our community, and it must remain healthy and welcoming. But ‘normal’ people can hurt our balance like they often hurt Mother Earth.

But until everyone knows about witches, I’ll sweep my floors of negativity and cleanse my home with love and kindness. 

The OCD Vampire