The witch wound
A historical overview of the Witch archetype & introduction to ancestral healing
What is a witch?
“Witch” has Old Germanic origins in the word “prophetic,” before it was used to describe someone who practices magick or witchcraft. Like the term "pagan," the word “witch” comes less from the group identifying themselves as alike, and more from Christianity marginalizing them as "other." As it became the dominant religion & gained ruling power in Medieval Europe, the Christian Church began condemning any earth-based or esoteric practices as morally wrong. Those who clung to their earth-based practices the longest were healers like midwives & medicine women, the deeply spiritual, and those living more rurally & far enough away from the influence of the Church. Others were quick to assimilate into their nation’s new religion out of fear for their own safety.
Once non-biblical spirituality was formally outlawed, it wasn't a huge jump to further categorize people who use these practices as being in cahoots with the devil. The demonization of witches and the occult could be a whole blog post on its own and has a massive responsibility, but still doesn’t fully explain why so many women were systematically prosecuted and murdered, especially considering most of them were innocent.
The deadly persecution of witches begins and persists in the intersection of misogyny & capitalism, where those in power (the Church) wanted to disempower those who threaten their status & profit (women who follow their own religion & thus societal roles). Particularly threatening were religions or spiritualities like paganism, witchcraft, and folk magick because they can be practiced by anyone— without education, literacy, or money which the clergy men of the Church used to claim their piety & enforce laws. Earth-based spirituality instead encourages every individual’s direct connection with God or Source energy. A faith dependent on a few clergy men who have a divine connection- and ability to read it’s holy text- concentrates power and control much more centrally. This is important to note because while even most societies BCE have also been patriarchal with their own archetype of the witch or medicine woman, it’s not until the power struggle of the “Great Conversion” to Christianity and progression from feudalism that we see such a wide scale persecution of female practitioners. The witch trials are also unique from other examples of religious protection in this gender-specific way.
Witch trials & prosecution varied from culture to culture, and definitely didn’t start in Salem, M.A., which was centuries after this in 1692. Millions of women were killed, and many estimate the recorded number is low. You can dive into the history of your ancestors’ stories to understand more specifically what may have caused them to be accused, and the brutal ways the trials were conducted. It can be kind of disturbing, but there’s a lot of symbolic history worth learning. For example, many alleged witches were burned publicly at the stake in certain cultures and their [literal or energetic] descendants today may have a fear of fires and burns.
What is the Witch wound?
In the spiritual or self development journey there will inevitably be shadow work and times of asking yourself, “why am I the way the way that I am?” and “why do I find myself in the same patterns over and over again?” The answer to a good majority of this will be conditioning in childhood or ancestral trauma inherited directly from your parents and theirs. But some of your other triggers, preferences, and core wounds can be traced to a deeper, less linear ancestry. One less concerned with bloodlines and more with archetypes and remembrances from past lives— such as the witch.
Given the oppression and persecution of women for being witches— whether or not they were— there are many women who moved onto their next lifetime with great remorse. As a result, there are many women today still feeling the unresolved pain of those who walked this path before them. This generational trauma is the Witch Wound. And it’s especially common for women who embody roles in this lifetime that historically have been dangerous. See the list below for examples!
Archetypes who may carry the witch wound:
mystical, magickal women
spiritual elders or teachers
female doctors, scientists, or any sort of healer— but especially those in women’s health
female politicians, activists and change-makers
single mamas (or really any woman of child-bearing age without children)
widows or women who’s children had died
nature-loving environmentalist women
women in community with each other
If any of these sound like you, you were probably persecuted for your knowledge & power in at least one other lifetime. Again, it’s important to remember that there was a vast number of things that could cause you to be suspected of witchcraft, varying greatly within and between cultures. So it’s safe to say that really all women grappled with fear and concealing parts of themselves, not just those who actually practiced magick or healing arts.
Now turn inward and ask yourself if any of the following indicators of the witch wound also resonate— especially if you can’t think of any other conditioning that led to this aspect of your shadow!
Ways the witch wound Shows up today
feeling misunderstood, different, or “weird”
fear of speaking up or speaking out
fear of cancel culture (or the tendency to engage in “canceling,” poistioning ourselves as the martyr)
self-censorship
fear of being yourself
feeling of being “too much” or “extra”
feeling of not being enough; perfectionism
fear of being alone or being excluded
over-independence and reluctance to rely on community
female friendship wounds
doubting your intelligence or leadership skills
doubting your intuition and gifts
disconnection from your/ your body’s innate wisdom and healing ability
Healing the Witch wound
The collective witch wound is still alive and well, so long as the patriarchy continues to structure society. While these beliefs may be ancestral, we experience so many things in this lifetime that confirm them. Women still face greater scrutiny in all of those “witchy” jobs or roles I listed. Witches and the occult are still associated with a dark & evil energy. Fantasy and imagination is still considered weird, even for children past a certain age. “Alternative” and holistic health care is still considered untrustworthy and fringe, while the Catholic Church remains the largest non-government provider of healthcare, and growing. We still have a deep mistrust for women… in professional settings, legal settings, in advocating for their (or their children’s!) needs in medical settings… it goes on.
But we can recognize the Witch Wound within ourselves, and how it affects our personality and behavior. Then we can begin the process of shifting the ancestral beliefs to new a mindset— effectively healing ourselves, those who came before us, and those who come after us. Sometimes the process can be as simple as realizing the root cause of our beliefs and chosing to no longer subscribe to the narrative. And sometimes it takes integration. But if you’re standing in your power, following in your dreams, and trusting your intuition, you’ve already undertaken such a massive amount of healing.
My guided meditation & yoga flow for healing the Witch Wound is out on my Youtube channel! Movement can be such an effective way of beginning to find healing for complex or core wounds, as it allows somatic integration in the body. Intergenerational trauma is passed through lineages but stored in the physical body, in many ways. To move the body and connect to the breath is to offer a way for your nervous system to process that which is beyond words and even consciousness.
Podcast episodes:
Almost 30 Healing the Witch Wound
The Twelfth House Witch Wound & pt 2
The Highest Self Reclaiming Your Inner Witch
Books:
Caliban and the Witch, Silvia Federici
The Enchanted Life, Sharon Blackie
Medicine Woman, Lucy Pearce
Pagans, James J. O’Donnell
