The word WITCH is one of the scariest words in the English language. Say it and people recoil in horror, grabbing their women and children to escape from certain and imminent danger.
Of course, this is all due to ignorance and fear, yet humans are adept at not examining our deeply held fears (me included).
Which is why I decided I would use the word Witch. I had to plunge myself headlong into my deepest fears... of monsters, demons, goblins and more, all deep within the unconscious mind. There's much to explore in the darkness of our own psyche. Fear of what we'll find is enough to thwart many on this mission of self exploration. Uncovering our deepest, darkest, most unquestioned fears is our job. It's not an easy job, yet it has to be done IF we're to be free as intended by our Creator.
A long while back, I received in my spirit a remembrance of a cause of sorts that I had agreed to as a soul. You may have made a similar agreement: to remove stigma, including fear and ignorance, from the word WITCH. How? Not by proselytizing or preaching. By using, honoring, walking with, wearing and elevating the word WITCH.
That's a tall order considering that Hollywood and the masses insist on keeping the Witch in a position of spiritual terrorist. All this cavorting with the devil and his minions (as widely publicized by the ignorant and sadistic Malleus Maleficarum aka Hammer of Witches aka The Hammer of the Witch written and promulgated by the Catholic clergyman Henricus Institor) while dancing in the woods naked at nighttime orgies is enough to bring forth lurid imaginings from even the most pious and holy among us.
We know the history of persecution of Witchcraft well, along with its centuries of torture, brutality and murder, all under the guise of God's work. I don't know what God that is, but over the course of human history a lot has been pinned on God that was most assuredly NOT God.
After centuries of myth, legend, lore and outright scare tactics, the word Witch has remained in the realm of the forbidden for the masses. The word is uncomfortable. It makes people squirm.
Even with all that on the table, the word WITCH is glorious. I honor the word Witch, not because of its roots (wise woman). I honor it precisely because it is the forbidden name we choose to call ourselves, for those who take this name on as a holy mantle. We chose it. We wear it with pride. We are the Witches who are not afraid. As the internet memes proclaim "We are the descendants of the Witches you couldn't burn."
I added the video below to this blog post, posted not too long ago on the Christian Witches YouTube channel. It's a shorter, edited version of a video I posted many years ago on the Valerie Love YouTube channel.
It's a brief snippet from my sordid story of being a Witch afraid to use the word. I tiptoed around it. Tried to call myself anything but it (even as people around me called me it). Better than calling myself a Witch, I resorted to less daunting sounding words, like Intuitive Advisor or Angelic Messenger.
As I state in the video, these may be true. Maybe I am an Intuitive Advisor and an Angel Messenger. That's not the point. The point is that I chose the more innocuous words to avoid using the word Witch due to fear.
The intention for this blog post is to be inspiration for any Witch who feels like I did: afraid. We don't have to be afraid.
We're Witches.
Thank you for devoting precious moments from your day to read the blog. You are appreciated!
Blessed be,
Rev. Valerie Love (aka KAISI)
Rev. Valerie Love is the author of over 20 books on practical spirituality, magick, the occult and Christian Witchcraft and is the Founder and Head Mistress of the Covenant of Christian Witches Mystery School in the Solomonic Tradition (CCW for short) and the initiated High Priestess of the Ma'at Temple of Love, Light & Truth. Explore the Christian Witchcraft series of books intentionally designed for you... the practicing Christian Witch.
(Oh and if you've read any of the books, would you be kind and leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads? Thanks beyond the moon!)
If the call to Initiation is whispering to you, and you're ready to honor that inner knowing, doors to the Initiation program in the Christian Witches Mystery School open on October 22, 2022. Find out more.