Over the years, during each October, I’ve written about the Pagan festival of Samhain. I’ve blogged about the festival’s origins, its connection to Halloween, and the different ways one can celebrate it. Because I’ve covered so much, writing something new about the festival was a challenge this year.
While watching the miniseries Agatha All Along, I got an idea. At the end of the first episode, they played a great cover of Season of the Witch by Donovan. This made me think. While various supernatural creatures, such as ghosts, werewolves, and vampires, haunt pop culture during this time, probably nothing represents October and Samhain/ Halloween more than the Witch.
But what really is a ‘Witch?’
The answer isn’t as simple as it might seem. Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary illustrates the complexity of defining the term ‘ Witch.’ It provides five possible meanings of the word:
1. Fiction and folk traditions,
2. Adherent to a neopagan tradition,
3. A mean or ugly old woman,
4. A charming or alluring girl or woman,
5. Witch of Agnesi.
It’s tempting to go down the line of these meanings one by one. However, I think taking them out of order might work better. So let me start with the last, the Witch of Agnesi.
The Witch of Agnesi isn’t really a reference to a witch. It’s an algebraic curve. The “Agnesi” comes from the Italian mathematician Maria Gaetana Agnesi, who published it in 1748. The Italian name la versiera di Agnesi was originally given, which is based on the Latin versoria (sheet of sailing ships) and the sinus versus. This was read by John Colson as l’avversiera di Agnesi, where avversiera is translated as “woman who is against God” and interpreted as “witch.”
Jumping up to the first meaning, the fiction and folk tradition is a reference to classic stories. Think about the Good and Bad witches of The Wizard of Oz. Or the evil cannibalistic Witch in Hansel and Gretel. This includes modern fictional Witches such as Agatha Harkness or Sabrina Spellman.
I find the third and fourth meanings to be examples of the Catch-22 imposed on women by our misogynistic society. A Witch can be “a mean or ugly old woman” or “a charming or alluring girl or woman.” Taken together, it shows the ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ that’s so much a part of misogyny.
This leaves us with the second meaning, a practitioner of neopaganism. While commonly associated with Gardnerian Wicca, not all neopagans who self-identify as Witches are Wiccan. There are self-identifying Witches found in a variety of neopagan traditions. And there are eclectic neopagans who proudly wear the name ‘Witch.’
Witch as a being one who practices neopaganism is better than the other four meanings, but it still falls short. Understanding what it means to be a Witch requires understanding the word’s etymology. Its origins also give us insights into why witches have been historically feared and revered.
According to the Neopagan elder Raymond Buckland,
The actual meaning of the word Witch is linked to “wisdom” and is the same root as “to have wit” and “to know.” It comes from the Anglo-Saxon wicce (f) or wicca (m) meaning “wise one,” witches being both female and male.
Source: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft by Judica Illes, page 3
Witches are those with knowledge. Not just any knowledge but knowledge far beyond everyday matters. This knowledge gives witches the ability to cure and bless. To help their loved ones and the rest of their community.
As the saying goes, knowledge is power. Witchcraft is a power drawn from an intimate understanding of the occult (i.e., hidden) nature of reality. The power of witchcraft is an egalitarian power available to everyone regardless of wealth, status, gender, or sexual preference.
This kind of power makes Witches a threat to the establishment.
One way the establishment attempts to counter-act a perceived threat is to demonize it. Hence, witches are shown as evil and dangerous. They’re portrayed as either young and beautiful sorceresses who seduce men or ugly hags who eat babies.
Thanks to neopagan elders such as Fortune, Gardner, Leek, Buckland, and the many that have come since, the title of ‘Witch’ is being returned to its rightful place of reverence.
Blessed be the Witches.
