A Different Cut: The Witch on the Edge

Last updated on: January 30, 2017 at 6:19 pm by Laura Tempest Zakroff

A Different Cut: The Witch on the Edge 2017-01-30T18:19:24-08:00 Laura Tempest Zakroff

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Getting back to our series on looking at the essence of being a Witch series….refer back to Part I, Part II, and Part III here if you haven’t read them yet…

Smoke - painting by the author

Witch Essence: Smoke – painting by the author

The earliest witches were those tapped into directly working with the realm of spirits. If we consider the possibilities hidden within cave paintings around the world, we’ve been around a long, long time. Be it gut instinct or the result of too many novels about prehistoric humanity, I get the feeling that even in close-quarter tribal living situations, the Witch probably occupied their own nook in the far back.

Why? Working with spirits and deity alters you – or as some would say, perhaps we’re differently wired from the start, which is why we do what we do. Although we may do a lot of work for the good of the community, that doesn’t mean we’re social creatures by nature. We’re already keeping a lot of company as it is. Even if you can’t see them. Adding more people to the mix can get exhausting very quickly. Space, distance, solitude provides mental and spiritual sanctity.

But the communal distance isn’t just for the benefit of the Witch – most people are not comfortable with the concept of the Other – of spirits, gods, visions, and liminal spaces. They may respect it, be in awe of it, even worship it, but they’re really just totes fine with it staying over there. Along with the Witch.

Which gets me to the sticky topic of covens and their somewhat unnatural nature in my book. Before anybody has a conniption and spills wax on their cloak – I do understand that the coven structure is something that works for many. And as always, if it works for you, that’s wonderful. But I’m here to unravel why in a long-term historic context, they don’t quite make sense to me.

In every society, there is a certain order to things that can be seen in a repeating pattern for thousands of years all over the planet. You have those who directly work with the sacred/spiritual (priests, clergy, shamans, witches, etc), and the rest of the community that in varying degrees follows the beliefs and rules of the divine while going about their own business. They acknowledged the divine through various protocol, festivals, and ritual outlined by the clergy, while the latter directly dealt with that realm. On their own, in temples, in sanctuaries, in places apart from the rest of society.

In various “witch-cult” theories, the idea is that pre-Christian beliefs had to go underground to survive, and covens were a way to keep the old gods alive. Other theories and systems believe that Christianity just got layered on top of the older practices and were practiced in covens or families. Either can make sense (and there’s varying degrees of evidence supporting both depending on who you ask), but where it gets a bit strange for me is the idea that everyone in the coven was a priest/priestess kind of Witch. It’s a lot of cooks for one cauldron (in a regular, daily sense).

If you consider the Witch in a professional sense – it’s highly unlikely that you had a slew of them in one area – just like you wouldn’t have 6 shoemakers for a village of 200 people, or 10 blacksmiths. Add to it that professionals of all kinds have very specific ways of doing their thing, in their own way. They rarely combine forces unless the population or space requires it.

What I can see happening is a convening of witches – or in more modern terms: a convention. Where Witches would travel to a certain location on yearly or so basis, talk trade and exchange wisdom, perhaps take care of some big issues by working together. (I doubt they had badges and ribbons – but perhaps they did have guests of honor and I’m sure late-night room parties were probably part of the deal. I wonder if they covered travel expenses…)

And then they returned back to where they lived, most likely solitary on the edge of the community (or as some say, hedge). There, the Witch would continue to serve the needs of their area, even if it didn’t apply in a larger, communal spiritual context anymore – and working with the Other in their own terms. Even if the town didn’t openly worship or claim to believe in the Other, they still respected it – and in many cases – feared it. If anything, the continuation of witches throughout time has hedged on one major factor: we are the problem-solvers. When humanity has been at its least-educated or most-oppressed, thwarted by greater forces, the Witch has been there. We heal, we charm, we cleanse, and we deal with the darker side of things as well. We get shit done. (Which is usually a problematic thing for those in authoritative positions.)

We Witches do like our hedges, our little corners in the backs of caves, our cottages at the edge of the woods and civilization. We cherish our peace and quiet, and our autonomy. But we do know (or at least should know) when it’s time to combine forces, to convene, to raise energy together. To put aside differences and variations for the greater good. Even if we’re each doing it from our own little corners, it can have an impact. For sometimes edges are made of blades, and those blades are sharp enough to cut through the most troubling of times. That is, if we give ourselves the power to wield them.

Previous Post

January 27, 2017

Witch Theology: The Sacredness of the Now

Next Post

February 2, 2017 A Curse & A Blessing: Both Are About Energy

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Art Books cats cauldron month community contest Events home Metaphysics Modern Practice Movement Myth & Folklore satire sigils Tradition travel Uncategorized video

Select a Month May 2026 March 2026 January 2026 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 February 2023 December 2022 November 2022 September 2022 July 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz