Healing the collective witch wound
A witch is so much more than just a costume.
Every year, over 5 million people dress up as witches at Halloween, making it the most popular costume in the country. Tied for second place? Barbie and Batman.
It seems like a good omen how favor is turning for witches. If #WitchTok1 is any indication, witchcraft and Wicca have gone mainstream.
You’ll find all sorts of modern day witches:
Baby witches, or brand new witches
Crystal witches, who work with the power of crystals
Kitchen witches, who use cooking and food in their spell-casting
Sea witches: (Ursula? J/k.) These witches work with the power of the ocean
Sex witches: This is my niche! These witches work with sacred sexuality as a portal to healing and manifestation (scroll down for more juiciness!)
In ancient times, witches, or wise women, were healers, tapped into circadian rhythms, provided natural remedies, and well acquainted with their own pleasure.
Undoubtedly you know of the Salem Witch Trials in 16922.
But have you heard of the Burning Times3?
Also known as the Witch Craze, this was a witch hunt of epic proportions in Europe between the 1500s and 1600s led by the Roman Catholic Church. They estimate some 50,000 women were executed for witchcraft—most of whom weren’t actually witches.
Women who earned their own income or who refused to marry and bear offspring (i.e. to supply the future labor pool) were a threat to the growing systems of capitalism and patriarchy.
Mage by Moonlight
This persecution of women was calculated and systematic: a way for the church to lay claim to women’s bodies and agency, as self-appointed judge, jury and sentencer. The majority were unmarried women over 40 who owned property and wielded influence. Consider that women after their childbearing years could afford to have more sex without the risk of pregnancy. This would not be met with favor by the church.
The authorities had a practice of torturing women until they confessed, eliciting many a false confession. They often wouldn’t stop until they had turned in another woman.
These violent atrocities sank deep into our collective consciousness.
The message from the dark days was clear:
Keep your head down.
Stay in formation.
Obey the rules.
Get married.
Have children.
And whatever you do, don’t rock the boat.
If you have ever tried to take up space, use your voice and found it to terrifying, felt threatened by another woman, made choices contrary to societal norms and felt a sense of existential dread, you may be tapping into the collective witch wound.
We’ve got some healing to do.
The study of epigenetics4 is how our environment and behavior influences can impact the expression of our genes, causing a gene to turn on or off.
There was a recent study from the Barcelona’s Center for Genomic Regulation5 that showed how your ancestors from 14 generations ago may be impacting your current life:
The authors of a new Science paper describe it more precisely as “transgenerational transmission of environmental information.” It has already been seen in humans – Holocaust survivors’ descendants, for example, have lower levels of the stress-hormone cortisol in their blood, which means they’re more vulnerable to stress and fear.
Holding intergenerational wounds is valid.
The good news about healing is that it isn’t linear. When you heal in the present, it’s like a drop in the ocean that can be felt backwards and forwards through time. Now that’s magik.
The healing you do today liberates your unborn daughters, the grandmother you laid to rest, the great-great-great-grandmother you never met but whose eyes you have.
As we heal our collective witch wound, here’s ways to cultivate our own magik natures.
Tap into your night dreams.
It’s possible to cultivate a practice to remember your dreams. In the waking hours, the tendrils of dreams can be as subtle as smoke and can disperse quickly if you aren’t careful. Try not to make any sudden movements upon waking. Keep a journal or audio recorder by your bed so you can capture the dreams and recall them later.
My dreams have been incredible teachers for me. One season where things had grown increasingly unsafe at work, I dreamt of being hunted by murderous men for a month straight — all variations on the same theme. After the tumultuous process that led to me tending my resignation, the dream theme changed abruptly. I dreamt of preparing a bride for her wedding. From the darkness, I saw hope. It was a confirmation to me that I made the right decision.
Engage in ritual.
I engaged in a powerful ritual a few years ago as a way to acknowledge a significant season that was ending. Ritual is a marker for the body to establish beginnings and endings so it knows where it is in time and space. We have established rituals for birth, baptism, marriage, and death — sadly few other rituals exist within our culture.
My ritual maker6 encouraged me to gather soil from places in my neighborhood that were meaningful to me. I later transplanted a beautiful plant cutting my sister sent me for my birthday with that soil from across the city. The plant is flourishing to this day.
Look for animal totems.
Do you dream of an animals? Do you see the same animal in a way that doesn’t feel like a coincidence? Does an animal cross your path on a trail?
A few years ago, I dreamt of crossing the road to my car, opening the door and being met by a giant owl in the driver’s seat. Around the same time in my waking hours, I had heard an owl hooting on the roof of my townhouse in the darkness. Its presence felt safe.
Owls belong to both realms, the day and the night. Not unlike women, they are wildly misunderstood. They are totems of wisdom and seeing in the dark. I took this dream to mean that my intuitive nature ought to be the one in the driver’s seat. My logical brain could take a back seat for a change.
For more on interpreting the animals you encounter, check out the Spirit Animal deck by the Wild Unknown7.
Practice sex magic.
Sex magic is an ancient Tantric practice of using pleasure as a manifestation tool. While you’re cultivating your turn-on in your body, envision your chosen desires — this can be harnessed in either a solo pleasure practice or encounter with a partner. When you climax, use the power of your orgasm to send your desired vision into the universe, then trust that what you desire is already yours. In engaging in this ancient practice you are attuning your body to be receptive in flow state.
Think about it. During a sexy encounter, there’s an immense amount of creation energy that’s cultivated. You are vibrating at peak frequency. This orgasmic energy is creation energy and is powerful enough to manufacture a human being. Instead of creating life, you’re using it to tap into a portal of possibility. Start to dedicate your orgasms to the higher good.
I teach my clients sex magic so they can use their pleasure as prayer. If you’re tantalized and want this kind of energy in your life, schedule a complimentary 30-minute session!
In closing:
If you’re not living a life that wouldn’t get you burned at the stake, are you really living?
Love this article and picking up a fresh thought on generational trauma and collective wounds. All new topics which benefit from further discussion. I did try clicking on the link at the bottom of the post for a consult but it didn’t work.
Sarah this is a fucking awesome piece, I am soooo glad I got to read it! Thank you for the richness here. So many things I could pick up on, first, yes the collective witch wound, it's so real. Also, my spirit animal is also an owl, I feel the owl so deeply and yet lately there have been moths coming at me so often, every shape and colour and size. Thank you again, I LOVE YOUR WORK