Wherever you look on the Witchy blogosphere, the word Hedgewitch seems to be everywhere. After 15 years of being the Queen Of Popular Witchy Ways, it seems that Wicca is losing her throne to this new term that everyone is using, and it appears that actually they are using it to stay away from Wicca. Me, I am not a Hedgewitch, nor a Wiccan, not even a Santera; I’m just a Witch. Most of that words have no translation in Spanish even, so though I understand what they mean, they have no use in my language. I’m afraid that, in another 15 years, all those Hedgewitches will be changing costumes again into 2025′s new witchy flavour.
The sad truth is that the term Hedgewitch is being just as misunderstood as the term Wiccan has been in the past 15 years. Most of the witches that I see using this term use it because its definition is so wide that almost everyone who knows the name of three herbs can use it, and that creates a whole movement of Witchcraft practitioners that, unsure of which is their path, adopt this term carelessly.
But the truth is – being a Hedgewitch is not that easy. A Hedgewitch is not only a very skilled herbalist, but a shaman in many ways. Hedgewitches practise many forms of trance and spirit connection that are highly related to shamanism. Calling yourself a Hedgewitch because you know how to make a tincture is like calling yourself a Doctor because you know how to use an aspirin; the Hedge Craft is a very serious practise for really advanced practitioners, and not the new Wicca. Many times, Hedgewitch traditions have to be carefully reconstructed from ancient knowledge by practitioners, after long researching and studying.
And please stop using the word “intuitive”. Nine times out of ten, the use of the word intuitive means “invented on the go”. That is NOT intuition, it’s just lack of knowledge. Intuition is a very (VERY) powerful tool that has nothing to do with improvisation, and that needs to be focused, trained and exercised for a long, long time before it becomes a tool. Everyone has intuition, as everyone has premonitions – that has nothing to do with Witchcraft, but with the fact that we all come from the same source and we all are born with an amount of the spiritual light of that source.
There is something I find really strange: in the world of Santeria, practitioners have a local spiritual leader that instructs them on helping themselves with spells and prayers; all practitioners know how to make “everyday” spells and even know a little about reading cards or the coconut oracle – but that doesn’t make Santeros (Santería priests/priestesses) of them. In the world of European-origin traditions, everyone who can light a candle thinks that has the right to call themselves a Witch.
If I am writing this post is not because I had the need to rant; as I do not consider myself a Hedgewitch, there are no personal reasons to complain; but the truth is that I find it very disrespectful towards the real Hedge Craft practitioners I know. I would be really pissed if I was one. One of the things I dislike most of the pagan community is professional imposture, and believe me, after 20 years I can tell a fake Witch from a true one from a mile away – in this particular case, just by reading a couple of blog posts. It makes me sad to think that for many, being simply a Witch, or a Seeker, or a Practitioner is not enough for their egos, so they have to add another self-inflicted title to their poor idea of themselves.
That is kinda funny. I am guessing these are adults who are making these claims. I remember in high school when my friends saw the craft and were all witches. I never understood that.
Yes, sadly it’s adults who make this kind of claims. The Craft and Practical Magic have made more harm than good I think…
I commented a bit on this on FaceBook. I’ve always considered “Witch” a title and a title which is earned over time and with experience. I still feel fairly inexperienced in so many things that I have yet to call myself a Witch. However, that is what I strive for. Nightly you can find me in my chair with my nose buried in a book on the Craft. I continue to read about several different paths which include Italian Witchcraft and, as Carolina knows, my interest in Hoodoo has peaked of late. I simply draw from each what calls to me and what works best for me.
I think a lot of people tend to stray from Wicca now a days because many Witches have deemed it the “fluffy bunny” Witchcraft. In the US any bookstore you go into you will find a million books on Wicca and not much else which contributes to the popularity. There are also many Wiccan writers who have become “Christian Haters” and spread this disease to the community when they should be enforcing acceptance. I really think that Wicca is a great jump off point for anyone interested in Witchcraft but knowledge should never stop there, it should expand and grow a hundred fold and explore different paths and systems.
You are quite right, I’ve noticed that this seems to be the new *thing*. I wonder if it’s a product of carelessness and people mentally/spiritually feeling their way in the dark to the place they are going. It can be difficult when you are solitary to find good guidance, even with (and sometimes because of) all the books, blogs, and fakes. The people I find myself most frustrated with are the ones who act like their lives are a movie and they’re the ‘witch’ character. They’re so busy trying to *look & act* witchy that they miss the point entirely and mislead others in the process. Kind of sad, really because they are missing the profound connection with the All that is possible when you focus spiritually rather than materially.
Sorry for rattling on. Must’ve been a sore spot I didn’t realise I had! Thanks for making me think!
Thanks everyone for your comments!
Most people do consider me a hedgewitch, so I have to say thank you very much for this post and hear hear! Most of the people I find using the word “hedgewitch” for themselves mean it in the Rae Beth “Green Wicca” sense, not in the actual definition of the word. I don’t think it’s that Hedgewitchery is the new popular craft, I think it falls into the huge current “anything but Wicca” trend… even though those “practicing” it are still using a Wiccan structure *sighs*
I like to tell newbies, “so you want to be a real hedgewitch? Read Dale Pendell’s three Pharmako books and if you’re still sane afterward get back to me.”
Dear Sarah, you are one of the few true Hedgewitches that I know – you know well the respect I have for your work and your knowledge. Thanks so much for your comment!
“I think a lot of people tend to stray from Wicca now a days because many Witches have deemed it the “fluffy bunny” Witchcraft.”
I definitely think this is a huge part of the “falling from favour” of the label of Wiccan. However, Wiccan has been just as appropriated as Hedgewitch now is! I guess there must be something in human nature which brings this to the forefront in such matters — many things are misaligned in such a way.
As for me, I don’t ever pretend to be a hedgewitch. That implies, to me, a much deeper understanding that I have come to yet. I like to use the word…. seeker… haha.
I think that is quite wise from you, Minako :).
Very Interesting. Might I ask, if everyone seems to have a different opinion of what the definition of ‘hedgewitch’ is, how do you know what the “true” definition is? Are you referring to what it was known to be before it became popular (I understand this to be about 15 years ago)? Having only been following this path for 7 years or so, I understandably am not familiar with the climate of earlier times.
Recently I have been reading Ellen Dugan’s Garden Witch’s Herbal. She does actually mention this controversy, and notes that there doesn’t seem to be any specific definition of hedgewitch–mostly because everyone has a different opinion. She does claim that hedgewitches ‘straddle the hedge’; that is, They stand always with one foot in the natural world and one foot in the spiritual world.
This has long been my understanding of hedgewitchery, and for some time I have called myself a hedgewitch. I called myself this because I was not a Druid, and I was not a Shaman, yet I learned my path from nature itself. I started learning with weather, stones, and trees…I have slowly been learning herbalism, and hope to one day be certified as an herbalist. Despite this I have a notoriously black thumb.
Does this mean that I cannot identify as a hedgewitch? I see hedgewitchery much as a housewitch, but for the wild–I am not rigorously trained in a specific tradition full of rules and censures, but I learn from the wild itself in a practical and respectful sense.
I fear I have ranted too long–my apologies. I may have completely misunderstood your message in the first place. It simply rubs my fur the wrong way when I perceive what seems to be irrational rules…”You can only be a hedgewitch if you practice EXACTLY THIS WAY, ’cause that’s how other people do it”. I understand this is probably not what you are saying, and it is quite rude of me to barge in here and start assaulting you like this…I do apologize. A nerve was struck, whether it was intended or not, and I’m afraid I could not keep my peace. I shall let you be now, and I do hope that I do not offend–it is not my intention.
Leathra, you are most welcome to speak your mind freely in this blog, whether in agreement or disagreement. Also, I think you have the right to identify yourself as whatever you feel is right. I don’t think I, or any of the other commenters, are here to judge anyone’s particular case – we were just speaking about general trends in the Pagan community.
Thank you for this post. I think part of this may also have to do with people feeling as if they have to definitively declare what they are or where they stand. What kind of witch are you, in a sense. I am definitely not a hedgewitch–I’m pretty sure my black thumb rules out any path that involves extensive herbalism and working with plants–but I do find it a very wise and inspiring path and love hearing from those who follow it.
You are very right Ivy! The need of tagging ourselves is always limiting.
Thank You for verbalizing what many of us feel!
I know what you mean! People don’t understand that hedge witchery is NOT synonymous with green witchery. Hedgewitches are hedgeriders. I am a hedgewitch. We ride to the otherworlds through the use of trance. It’s essentially just like astral travelling, except instead of just roaming around, we ride to the otherworlds.