I am WITCH

Claiming the stories they tried to burn

I recently led a pilgrimage in Eastern Scotland titled She Who Came Before: A Journey of Remembrance. I felt that description in my bones, but I couldn’t have told you exactly what we would all remember. I knew the places we’d visit and the rituals we’d co-create to bring the remembrance to the surface, but I had no preconceived idea of the outcome.

That open-endedness is a hallmark of goddess spirituality. The goal is not indoctrination but exposure and experience. What comes of the exposure and the experience is not for me to dictate. That is the magic.

All of our pilgrimage explorations—of inner and outer landscapes—culminated in a quiet ritual in a sacred cave. By candlelight we synthesized the knowings that had emerged for us in the best ways we could in that moment. We declared who we were becoming in ways that overlap with what has been labeled as “witchy.” It looked different for each of us, as it should.

To arrive at this point, we researched and shared stories of real women persecuted as witches, and we used a beautiful framework created by Cali White of The Witches’ House of Healing Arts that breaks down the essence of the word “witch” using a simple acronym for WITCHES.

There is so much cultural baggage, misinformation and outright propaganda that became attached to the word “witch” deep in our ancestral memories. Having a touchstone to free that word within us was very helpful, allowing us each to pull forth a declaration of who we are and who we are becoming.

Each word held within the acronym was an anchor that could tether us or that we could release if it was not ours in this moment. It was our choice. Cali included the following characteristics in her acronym. She has beautiful, poetic expansions in a card deck that features one card for each attribute that make up the beautiful kaleidoscope of WITCHES. You can find Cali’s work here.

W is for Wisewoman

I is for Intuition

T is for Temptress

C is for Creatrix

H is for Healer

E is for Earthkeeper

S is for Sister

We first read these aloud together in a ritual around a small well at Dunino Den, a pre-Christian place of worship used by the ancient Picts and Druids. The resonance of these words marinated in us and among us for several days

What emerged through our final cave ritual was a beautiful picture of six women stepping into truer versions of themselves and claiming that boldly in the presence of sisters.

I have asked their permission to use their WITCH statements here and all have agreed. I will attribute the quotes of those who find it empowering to share publicly and will post others anonymously.

I will start with mine here, and will include the full list, as well as some of the liturgy of our cave ritual beyond this paywall for those who want to enter more deeply into this sacred work and see how other women embodied it in their own unique ways.

“I am WITCH I live in the magic and tell Her sacred story.” ~ Monette Chilson