
But what is a witch anyway? Despite some of the images in our mainstream culture, a witch is not a negative old woman who might eat small children for fun. A witch is often a woman who often practices Wicca, an earth-based religion. There are many other women who identify as witches but who are not active Wiccans. Part of being a witch for those women is doing spells. They use herbs, crystals, metals, elementals, and other items to create energetic transformations. While I do work with herbs and crystals, I do not use them to create spells. I work with energy in different ways. It’s a fine line of difference, but I just don’t identify with spells I read nor do I really identify with Wicca though my spiritual beliefs are very earth centered.
I have seen a past life which I lived as a witch. That life occurred hundreds of years ago in coastal southeastern Ireland. My father died when I was six, and as an unprotected and impoverished innocent girl, I fell victim to the sexual abuse of the parish priest. I didn’t dare tell my older brothers what the priest was doing to me for fear that they might kill him in revenge. However, the damage that the loss of my beloved father and the sexual abuse caused was great. My bitterness against the Catholic Church grew. I ended up becoming a hermit, retreating from the people of the village into a nearby forest. I was a practicing witch who functioned much like a medicine woman. Eventually some of the villagers felt I was a bad example to the children. I was captured, tortured with a pitchfork which punctured my diaphragm, and then burned at the stake. It was a horrific way to end that life.
© 2015 Green Heart Guidance