BellaOnline Forums Religion and Spirituality Wicca Types of Witchcraft

You might be wondering about all the labels floating around out there on the internet such as green witch, kitchen witch, Christian witch, and others. Which of these terms, if any, might apply to you? Types of Witchcraft

Ro, I am not familiar with all of the different types of witches. I do know that on one side of my family there were resolute yet very accepting Christians and on the other there were silent and hidden metaphysical/spiritualist people who just happen to have the same characteristics as ancient as well as and some modern day Wiccans. We worked with the elements and forces of nature and the human mind to help heal so many wounds within the human experience. I saw my Grandmother heal people. She used the elements to bring about remedies that saved the lives of many people. Some of the Christians in my family believed that the Holy Spirit/ The Comforter, was indeed the Ancient Mother of the Universe. A few believed that the sign of the cross originally had 4 sides. Father at the top, Jesus on one side, the Holy Ghost on the other, and the Mother at the bottom. She was the base and stability for the entire structure without which there was no foundation.

Having a Mother figure as a “go to source” for many cultures is a foreign concept but to all of us, whether mystics, seers, readers, or Christians, we knew that without her guidance we had little hope of survival. That has preserved us for the last 500 years. My Granddad was a devout Christian but he loved the ground that my witch Grandmother walked upon.

Years back, long after my Grandmother had passed a lady that had known her had come by to ask me if I really knew who my Grandmother really was. I knew that she wanted to “enlighten” me as to her true status when on the earth. She was about to tell me some very critical things that she was sure that I did not know. I guess that I should have listened but instead I promptly dismissed her. I knew my family and even with all of our flaws we nevertheless had one goal in mind.

I watched my Grandmother be persecuted by the same people that would call upon her when she was their last hope. Therefore when I hear someone condemn witches I remember the love that My Grandparents had for all of humanity and even though I am silent on the issue I have strong feelings of protection for those that help to heal the earth. Just my 2 cents worth.

Blessings

Ancientflaxman, thank you so much for your comment! It sounds like you come from an awesome spiritual lineage, so varied and yet so accepting of different traditions. I wish I'd known your grandmother. She sounds like an amazing person. And I'd never heard of the four-sided interpretation of the Christian Trinity before. I think it's fascinating. I agree with you that the Goddess is foundation to it all. She is what makes everything possible. Please feel free to post here in the Wicca area whenever the mood strikes you; your spiritual knowledge is enriching this forum.

Ro, I made a post years ago on the Goddess forum that I think you will find interesting if I may share it here.

I believe that some of my family were into Rhenish and very old Netherlands mysticism. My Great Aunt Gertrude “Gert” was a very deep thinker and because of that fact I believe that she used humor and a little joking around to pull her mind back from such depth as a balancing mechanism.

She asked me one day,” How many sides are there to the cross?” I told her that there were 4, just to be contrary. I figured that there is in actuality a top, a bottom ,and2 sides. I just wanted to give her little gas so I just blurted out that answer thinking that she would be bugged a little.

She told me that I was right! She said that God is at the top, the unknown was at the bottom, Jesus was on one side and the Holy Ghost on the other. I Asked her ,”Unknown at the bottom???” She said that the unknown is the support, the one that is in the earth and yet supports the entire structure. After she said that she looked very seriously at me. She had a very deep spirit and seemed to have a way of “seeing” things beyond, if you will.
Then she lightened up and with a hint of humor in her voice she told me,” Only a woman could hold all of that up!”

That has been many many years ago but I thought that you would appreciate it.
Blessings

Ancientflaxman, I like it! Your great-aunt Gert sounds like an amazing person, very spiritual. I can picture her clearly from your description, the seriousness and the humor.

The unknown at the foundation of the cross sounds like the Tao, the indescribable, the yin, which I would tend to equate with the Goddess. This is the void from which everything originates. And I really like how your great-aunt Gert described it: Only a woman could hold all of that up! That's also very cool how you were on the right track all along as a kid even though you were just trying to get a reaction from her. Thanks for sharing!

Kitchen witches might enjoy this ritual. Are there any kitchen witches out there? I'd love to hear from you about your experience choosing the path of a kitchen witch!