Chapter 2
WHAT IS A WITCH?
Let us reclaim the words Witch and magick and use them as the accessible tools that they are.
A Witch is an ally and lover of the Earth who works within the cycles of nature. The English word comes from Wicche, wicce, wicca, meaning “winer, spinner.” Other ethnic names for witches speak of them as those who know, wise ones, prophets, diviners, enchantress, healers, old women, doers or makers, shapeshifters, fateful ones, ancestors, and more. For instance, in Latin, saga (wise woman, witch), in Polish, wiedzma means “she who sees.” In Greek, pharmakis, or herbalist; in Irish, Cailleach, old woman, sorceress, charmer; in Sami, noajdisaakka, or shaman old woman; in Old German, hagedisse, or hag, hedge-spirit, wild female being; in Spanish, bruja, heathen or pegan.
In English, I associate the word “witch” and Wicca to the willow—a medicinal, magickal, and useful tree that connects us to the regenerative cycles of nature. It dies back each fall and rebirths itself, and in doing so it sends rooting hormones that allow other plants to thrive. The willow, like the Witch, knows how to work with the flexibility of reality, how to bend and not break.
Magick is the art of changing consciousness at will, according to Dion Fortune, the British pioneer of modern magick. I also love the definition by earth-based spirituality leader Starhawk: “The art of liberation, the act that releases the mysteries, that ruptures the fabric of our beliefs and lets us look into the heart of deep space where dwell the immeasurable, life-generating powers.”
The term shaman comes from the Evenki language of Siberia, and it means “the one who knows.” We now know that the oldest body of a shaman ever found was female; she lived about twenty-five thousand years ago in what’s now the Czech Republic. Archeologists used to assume that notable tombs belonged to men; this reminds us to look beyond “his-story”—the European-centric patriarchal perspective we were taught in school. In our reclamation and remembering, we are invited to discover “her-story,” and to bring balance to voices that have been silenced or oppressed.
When training witches, I share that a witch’s role is first to master her nervous system. To create magick and healing outside of us, we must begin within. Aware of how powerful our will and intentions are, we must be impeccable with our energy. We seek to know ourselves and master our energy so we do not fall into the traps of unconscious reactions and triggers. We must be able to enter a state of grace at will. From there, the ripples we generate can be medicine.
As we gather the threads of many stories and perspectives, let us enter the realms beyond gender and story. Let us reclaim our inner knowing and step into our birthright as creators of magick, as Witches, as children of the Earth and allies of the Great Mother.
What Is a Green Witch?
To be a Witch means that you worship the Earth as a mother, and to be a Green Witch means that you heal the children of the Earth by bringing them back in communication Her.
—Suzan Stone Sierralupe
A Green Witch is a wise one (of any gender) who embodies the Earth as a sacred, living being and aligns with the cycles of nature to create healing, magick, and transformation. She works from her sacred center, which overflows with unconditional love. This state of grace and her practices keep her grounded in the Earth and open to Spirit while she draws on the tools available to her in a wheel of all directions, woven from the tapestry of Nature and mystery. The Green Witch is a healer. Her spiritual practice attunes her heart to the vibration of unconditional love, which is the greatest source of true power on our planet and is the fuel of miracles.
More than anything, a Witch is a devotee of nature. Nature represents the feminine principle, teaching us the regenerative ways that compost systems of oppression and heal cancerous pushes towards perpetual growth. The Witch learns from the Earth Mother how to nourish life, from the wondrous moon how to ebb and flow, and how to work within the one principle that unites Witches, that what you do comes back to you threefold. The craft is nondogmatic, diverse, and has only one rule by which to abide: do no harm.
Plants as Conscious Beings: How to Work with Herbs
When I begin to teach people how to communicate with plants, most think they cannot do it. “Sure, I can see how a shaman can do it, or someone who grew up in the jungle, in an intact culture of natural medicine. But me? A modern person? I won’t be able to.” Wrong. We can all speak to plants. We can all learn directly from them. It is, in fact, simple. Many of us are already doing it without being aware. Maybe you have reached for ginger at the grocery store and then realized a few days later that you’re coming down with a cold and need it. Or perhaps you are struggling with indigestion, so you make yourself a mint tea. In both cases, you are communing with plants. You are drawing on your own embodied experience, on what your body has learned directly from these plants. And you can build on this, in magickal ways.
The reason this is available to all humans is because we and the plants are made of the same elements: air, water, earth, and fire. Getting to know the four elements and how they manifest in our actions, our health, our emotions, our relationships, physical spaces, plants, landscapes, cultures, and so on should be part of a Witch’s training. Witches work to create balance, and these are the ingredients we work with on the Earth plane.
However, plants—like humans—are more than the sum of their parts. They have Spirit as well. Green Witches who work with plants as conscious beings develop deep relationships with those we call plant allies. We use our physical senses and the experiences in our body to receive information on how plants affect us and what the alchemy is between us and a medicinal herb. We use our spiritual senses and our presence in meditative states to receive information and healing on the energetic level. After working with a plant for some time, bringing our presence, love, and attention to the relationship, we develop a strong enough connection to call in the spirit of a plant. Some Green Witches, including me, will argue that it is the spirit of the plant that does the healing. That is why herbal medicine made in prayer, calling in the spirit of the plant, is much more potent and effective than mass-manufactured herbal medicine, in my experience. Some traditional folk healers and shamans will work with only one or two plant allies spiritually. They know them so intimately that they have received the plant spirit’s song, and in singing it, they can heal people of a huge range of physical, spiritual, and mental complaints—sometimes without using the plant physically at all. May we remember that it is not the number of plants we call allies that makes us effective herbalists, it is the depth of connection that heals.
Learning Directly from Plants: How to Meditate with Herbal Teas
Meditating with an herbal infusion is the core practice taught at the Gaia School of Healing and Earth Education. Sage Maurer founded this herbal school in Vermont in 2001 and has trained thousands of folk herbalists and Green Witches, including me. In 2014, I opened the California chapter of the Gaia School to continue to guide people of all backgrounds in learning how to communicate directly with plants.
The following meditation practice is based on what I learned from Sage Maurer and has evolved as guided by the plants. It is a framework for how you can meditate with plants, thereby connecting to their spirits, receiving deep healing, and opening yourself to their language.
1. Prepare a “simple,” an infusion of one herb (see here). Choose a plant you wish to get to know, one that calls you. Follow your intuition or any mysterious signs.
2. Create a sacred space where you will commune with this plant spirit. It should feel peaceful and pleasant, relaxing to your spirit.
3. Use the tools and methods that help you access a meditative state, that assist in shifting consciousness. These may include meditative music, burning copal, or a blessing herb (see here), breathing deeply into your belly, and/or grounding yourself.
4. Call in the directions (shown here have a prayer you can use) and connect to your intention. Call in your guides and any benevolent spirits that can assist in communion, and cast a circle (shown here).
5. Pour your infusion, sit in a comfortable position (I prefer directly on the Earth), and close your eyes. Take some breaths, holding the cup of tea. Arrive in this moment. Breathe. You will keep your eyes closed until the end of this practice.
6. Once you feel calm and energetically open to receive the plant, begin to breathe in the smell of the tea. I call this sharing breath with the plant. Meditate on the exhalation of the plant being your inbreath. Use your breath to open your body and begin to invite in the spirit of the plant.
7. Physiologically, the plant begins to enter your blood and body through your nasal passages. Spiritually, the spirit of the plant begins to connect to your spirit. Energetically, open your breath and your heart, and bring your body into relaxation with the intention of receiving.
8. Connect to your sense of smell without losing a meditative state. Simply notice how the smell makes you feel. Maybe a memory or a landscape will come to mind. Perhaps yes, perhaps no; either way, keep on going.
9. Breathe into your heart and the presence of your Self. Energetically, offer your full presence to the spirit of the plant. Introduce yourself to the plant, speaking your name, as if you are introducing yourself to an elder or a healer.
10. Speak your intention of communing, exchanging energy, and receiving any healing or messages the plant has to share with you. Offer it as a humble prayer and request from your heart. Ask your body to open to receive this healing plant spirit. Ask the plant spirit to enter you deeply, going to the places most in need of healing.
11. With a grateful heart, begin to slowly sip. Your eyes should remain closed.
12. Sip, eyes closed, and drink. This is your meditation. Spend twenty minutes or more here.
13. Relax into receiving the energy.
14. If your mind begins to wander, bring it to sensations you are experiencing. Notice if you are feeling the energy of the plant going to any part of the body. Notice what it feels like inside of you. Notice what it makes you think of, if thoughts come up. Continue to breathe deeply and give your mind the task of gently welcoming in the spirit of the plant. Say aloud, in the silence of your experience, “Welcome plant spirit. Mmmm. Thank you. Please show me where you are going.”
15. Be in sensation and receiving as much as possible. When the mind wants to participate, give it something supportive to do in deepening the connection. For instance, you can ask questions, such as, “What is your medicine for me?” or “What are you here to help me heal?” You can ask for a message from the plant spirit. Or you can ask it to give you a healing.
16. You can ask to see the spirit of the plant. Allow your imagination to open and notice whether there is a form, color, being, or landscape. Simply allow, observe, and receive. There is no right or wrong answer. What arises comes from the unique connection of two unreplicable beings: you and the plant, in a unique moment.
17. These are all prompts and possible ways for you to connect to the energy of this plant in your body. Most importantly, follow your intuition and notice how this specific plant and you wish to experience each other.
18. End in gratitude for this plant sharing its body and spirit. In the silence of your meditation, speak words of thanks, acknowledging what you have received.
19. Close your meditation by thanking the directions and elements you invited in when casting your circle. Refer to shown here on opening the sacred container back up.
Every plant meditation is different, though during group plant meditations, elements of a certain plant will often be shared. Some plants ask me to just be in the receiving, and my meditation feels like an energy exchange or reiki without any visuals or words. Other times, I am taken on a shamanic journey. Still others, my heart opens, the grief or worries I am working through pour out, I ask the plant spirit for help and guidance, and I receive deep wisdom. The purpose of this practice is to cultivate a relationship between you and the plant—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Practice offering the gift of your full presence and uninterrupted time—something all relationships need to grow and thrive.
The Wise Woman Tradition of Healing
The Wise Woman tradition of healing is the ancient folk tradition of herbal medicine and traditional healing in which we take root on this journey. Although the term was coined by herbalist Susun Weed, it has long been an unnamed cosmology encompassing folk methods of healing held by elders, midwives, herbalists, grandmothers, wise folk, and shamans, and it can be found crossculturally. It is one of the most unrecorded traditions of healing, and part of its magick is the fact that it moves through invisible webs of nourishment and restoration and away from the spotlight of healing modalities where power and heroism of the healer take center stage. While it is largely unseen, it is foundational to our healing experience as humans.
Practitioners who identify with this tradition heal through nourishment, by supporting others in their transformations, empowering them, and connecting them to the wise one within, themselves. This is a non-hierarchical cosmology of healing and regeneration. The power is not in the healer; the power is in the self. “The cure” in the Wise Woman tradition is deep nourishment. We use our bodies to transmit energies of healing, love, and sustenance as we digest those same energies from the Earth that nourishes us.
The wise woman’s role is to support transformation in whatever form it takes, including death and disease. Death and disease are not seen as the enemy to be fixed, avoided, fought at all costs. They are seen as vehicles of transformation, messengers, teachers, and, at times, great allies. We are constantly rebirthing ourselves, recreating our world, on both a cellular and spiritual level. There is power and grace in knowing, honoring, and moving within all of the cycles of nature.
This is a woman-centered tradition, though no gender is ever excluded. This tradition is rooted in deep reverence for the energy of the feminine. As herbalist Susun Weed beautifully states, “Female energy is the void of all being: the all-consuming void, the all-birthing void. In the Wise Woman tradition, all health, all coming to wholeness begins with a return to the void.”
As an herbalist practicing in the Wise Woman tradition, I work with the plants, their bodies, and their spirits, and I make medicine in sacred space. The strongest feeling I am constantly getting from the plants and the Earth is how infinitely generous they are. We work with plants that are ecologically abundant: wild weeds, “invasives,” not rare roots that become endangered as they become a fad. I am continuously, deeply awed by how available this healing is to all of us. The plants of the world want to heal us, to have us eat them, for us to care for them, caress them, give them our love. Plants and people are made to care for one another, to consume one another—we share the intimacy of breath, after all. Every exhale of the plant is our inhale of fresh air; every exhale of ours is their inbreath.
The plants teach us how to care for one another. It is from this place of service to the ones we love, to those who need healing and support, to the plants and the Earth and the spirits, that we magickally create transformation and move toward wholeness and holiness.
The Elements of Magick
We humans are made of the same elements as the plants, the wind, the stars, and the primordial fire at the center of the Earth. We are woven together in union with the four elements of Earth, air, fire, and water. In my tradition, the four elements correspond to the four directions of North, East, South, and West, respectively. Like the trees that grow by digesting solar rays from the cosmos, bringing harmony to the electromagnetic field of the Earth, we too weave the realms of Above and Below through our bodies, actions, breath, and life. We can draw a sacred wheel around our bodies. The four directions are around us, the fifth is above, the sixth is below, and the seventh is our heart—the sacred center. This is where our inner God consciousness resides, where we vibrate in balance, harmony, and inner peace at the center of the great three-dimensional wheel.
Developing intimate relationships with the seven directions and the four elements is the primary practice of the Witch. It is how we weave our consciousness into the consciousness of the Earth and the Great Mystery.
Casting a Circle
Witches often cast circles before performing a ritual, ceremony, or spell, or when making medicine. The act of calling in the seven directions, the elements, benevolent spirits and guides, and attuning the sacred space with the energy of unconditional divine love, weaves us into the Great Web, protects us, and amplifies the power and magick of our work, while shifting our mind and consciousness so we can move energy from the heart.
The circle may be marked, drawn on the floor, or cast energetically. With no beginning or end, the circle is the perfect container for energy in motion. In circle, we gather as equals, nonhierarchically, and we build energy, allow it to flow and transform—all within a sacred and safe container. Anything that happens in the circle stays there unless it is released with intention.
There are many ways to cast a circle and create sacred space. Be clear and intentional with your words when calling energies in. Especially when speaking intentions into sacred space, use phrases like “in accordance with divine will” and “if it is for the highest good of all involved.” Practice being impeccable with your words and attune the space you create with the power of love.
When I’m teaching or working with a group, we stand in a circle and I call in the directions with my drum, praying to each direction and invoking the elements and benevolent spirits of each direction. Calling in the directions is a prayer cast through the powerful vibration of sound and intention—from the heart and speaking directly to the elements and spirits. Though it may sound poetic, calling in the directions is not about reciting a poem; it is about invoking energies from your praying heart. Upon my calling in each element, my students repeat the closing phrase for each direction together, and with open palms, we rotate clockwise going from East, through the four directions, then to above, then to below, and ending at our hearts in the sacred center. When I am working alone, I usually do not move in a circle but work as the center and cast the circle around me. Following is a prayer you may use or draw on for inspiration to create your own.
Coven Circle Casting
We stand together, fully inhabiting our bodies, rooting through our grounding cords, opening our crowns to the heavens, and breathing into the sacred center of our hearts.
We rub our hands together, opening the energy centers in the palms of our hands, and we face the East.
Spirits of the East, energies of Air, we call you into our sacred circle! With each breath we take, we ask you to open our hearts and clear our minds, lifting our spirits to the heavens, where we can see the whole from a hawk’s perspective. We call in our allies of the East—the winged ones, the sacred smokes, the mountain tops, winds, vines that reach to the sky in trust and wild, spiraling abandon.
And together we say: “Spirits of the East, energies of Air, we welcome you into our sacred circle!”
(Breathe them in.)
Spirits of the South, energies of Fire, we call you into our sacred circle! We ask you to activate and awaken each cell in our being. Empower us as vessels of transformation, so we can burn away all that hinders our highest growth and purest expression. May we rise like a phoenix from our fertile ashes, motivated and ignited in passion and devotion, unapologetically shining our unique light and generously sharing our gifts with the world!
And together we say: “Spirits of the South, energies of Fire, we welcome you into our sacred circle!”
(Breathe them in.)
Spirits of the West, energies of Water, we call you into our sacred circle! Fill our inner oceans with your profound mystery so we may access the depths of our intuition. We pray for all rivers and streams to run wild and free, and for compassion and love to flow unrestrained, honoring the sacred ocean from which all life came. We call in the thunderclouds, the cleansing rain, rivers of renewal, our syblings the fish, whales, dolphins, and flowers that bloom in the light of the moon. Soften us, open our emotional body, and let us be renewers of life.
And together we say: “Spirits of the West, energies of Water, we welcome you into our sacred circle!”
(Breathe them in.)
Spirits of the North, energies of Earth, we call you into our sacred circle! Plant allies, tree teachers, wild weeds, stone, soil, funghi, and green healers, we welcome and honor you. We call in the plant spirits and soul of this land on which we stand. May we arrive as stewards, caretakers, and students, walking gently, our bare feet kissing the Earth. May the plant spirits guide us, heal us, and weave us deeper into the great web of life, so our presence nourishes the Earth, our Mother.
And together we say: “Spirits of the North, energies of Earth, we welcome you into our sacred circle!”
(Breathe them in.)
Spirits of Above, we call you in. We call in the spiraling galaxies, the moon, and the light of the sun that gives us life and energy. We call in our guardian angels and any benevolent spirits who wish to participate in our work and hold this vessel of protection.
And together we say: “Spirits of Above, energies of our guardian angels, the plant spirit, our spirit guides, we welcome you into our sacred circle!”
(Breathe them in.)
Spirits of Below, we call you in. We bow before the layers of memory below our feet, the soil, bedrock, bones, and stones. We honor those who walked this land before us, tending these lands so we can be here today. We welcome the ancestors and ancient ones, may you gather and receive nourishment from our prayers and presence. We invite you to whisper your deep time into our bones, help us remember. We ask for your blessing as we are the ones who are living now, weaving the medicine of that which came before us into the deep presence of this present moment, so there may be life and magick for those yet unborn. Let us be bridges, be with us now.
And together we say: “Spirits of Below, energies of our ancestors, we welcome you into our sacred circle.”
Spirits of the Sacred Center, energies of our hearts, we call you in. Divine blossoming hearts, may you open like a summer rose, releasing sweet exhales of pure surrender into the holiest song. May our hearts connect, harmonize to the heartbeat of the Earth, open and become vast like the limitless heavens. We call in our holy plant allies, Tulsi, Rose, Egyptian Blue Lotus, and ask our hearts to be tuned to the song of unconditional love.
And together we say: “Spirits of the Sacred Center, energies of our hearts, we welcome you into our sacred circle.”
Our circle is cast.
We are in between worlds.
And all that happens in between worlds affects all worlds.
AND SO IT IS!
Opening the Circle Back Up
Upon completing our rituals, we open the circle we have cast back up and thank all the directions, elemental beings, benevolent spirits, and all that is seen and unseen that came to participate in our work and hold the sacred container.
As we moved clockwise starting in the East, to cast the circle and create a closed, sacred container for magick to occur, we then open the space back up, by moving counterclockwise from the North, thanking each direction, releasing and exhaling the energies out and dissolving the container.
“May all I say and all I think be in harmony with thee,
God within me, God beyond me,
Maker of the Trees.”
—Chinook prayer
Creating Sacred Space
We create sacred space around us (for ritual, medicine making, prayer, and more) by creating sacred space within us. This begins with shifting our consciousness. Reflect on how you quiet the business of your mind. Notice how deepening and slowing your breath changes the quality of your presence. What helps you arrive more fully into your body? What opens your heart and connects you to the divine?
The practices that bring you into a meditative, open-hearted, shifted state become your tools. Create a ritual that you repeat, thereby training your mind, making it easier and quicker to enter this state. For me, one of these ways occurs the moment I light a charcoal for my blessing herbs—my entire vibration shifts, and every cell in my body knows that I am going into deep time, into ritual. It is virtually impossible for my mind to start thinking busy thoughts about daily life when I perform this act. This repeated practice has created a new pathway in my mind.
Blessing Herbs, Smudging & Sacred Smoke
Burning sacred resins and aromatic herbs is a simple yet beautiful practice that shifts the energy in space and in our spirits, physically cleanses the air, and weaves our presence and prayers with the spirits of the Earth.
Frankincense, myrrh, copal, palo santo, cedar, and white sage are some of the most recognized ancient sacred smokes currently burned in ceremony and have been traded around the world for thousands of years. The first three are resins of trees—dried tears of sap that can be placed on a burning charcoal. Each of these crystallized beads of tree sap should be treated with respect and harvested ethically. At the time of this writing, frankinsence, palo santo, and white sage are overharvested. Today, it is disproportionately easy and inexpensive to obtain these herbs. While working with these resins has been a foundational aspect of my training, I now prefer to work with blessing herbs that I have personally, ethically harvested from local plants that are not harmed by sharing their sacred medicine.
Sacred tree resins have been used for thousands of years for spiritual and physical cleansing, or smudging. They have antiseptic and disinfectant properties, and they even boost our immune systems, helping ward off illness. This makes them not only spiritually but physically purifying. It is no surprise that the Three Kings of the Bible are said to have gifted baby Jesus frankincense and myrrh; it would have been a good gift for a baby born in that time—especially in a stable! Any medicine man would be wise to bring this plant medicine to a space that must be purified and to call in angelic protection in for a newborn.
However, when I begin to burn these sacred resins, it is their spiritual properties I immediately feel in my home and heart space. These sacred resins call in the spirits. Each one carries with it a different energy. For me, copal brings in the spirits of our ancestors and of the Earth. It’s a sacred resin from Central America, and the spirits of these lands and places awaken when we burn it.
Frankincense has a much higher note, a less smoky and more citrusy aroma. It is my ally for renewing and activating the purity of my home space. With it, my home—my nest and place of refuge, ritual, rest, and renewal—takes on the vibration of my sacred home sanctuary. No wonder frankincense is often burned in churches and sacred sites, the house of God and Spirit.
Over the years of working with sacred smoke and learning about harvesting practices, I have started to work with blessing herbs that I harvest myself. This ensures that the relationship is pure and that I am not causing harm in purchasing these beloved blessing herbs.
One of my favorite resins to work with is pine. It is easy to ethically source your own pine resin because there is an abundance of these trees. When a pine tree’s branches are cut or break, it sends the immune system of its sap to heal the wounds. Never take the sap directly from the tree, as it is protecting the wound from infection, and is also sticky and difficult to work with. Rather, run your fingertips around the base of the tree. You will find little tears that have fallen and dried on the forest floor—these are perfect to receive with prayers and offerings of gratitude (see Sacred Harvesting shown here). And they are not sticky, making them easy to keep.
I also grow my own white sage for harvesting. I teach students never to harvest our beloved Salvia apiana in the wild, as it, like frankincense, is overharvested. See more about ethically tending this plant shown here.
Finally, the evergreens juniper and cedar, along with mugwort and other artemisias, make wonderful incense and blessing herbs for burning. These plants are abundant and can be ethically harvested using sacred practices taught in chapter 3.
The herbs that will bring the greatest blessing in the release of their smoke are the ones you have a personal relationship with—those you harvest in prayer, in sacred connection. The plants that have given themselves to you in reciprocity are released in sweet liberation and transmutation when burned into smoke with your prayers for healing.