Why the word "witch"?

A pagan friend and I had a discussion over the word witch. We both agreed that the word in itself conjures up negative conotations to alot of people and therefore is probably hurting the religious movement. Do y'all feel that if someone was simply stated as a pagan or follower of Earth Based Religion it would attract more followers? Just curious. I'm trying to word this as best as I can not to offend anyone. If I did I apologize and am just being curious. Thank you.

 

Who said that we want to attract more followers? Wiccan is a path for yourself not for everyone else. What sort of ideas does the word bring up for you? Maybe you should ask a Buddhist if they think the term "One who is in seek of enlightenment" will attract more followers...thats was a tad sarcastic and i appologise.
Anyone who finds an interest in a religion shouldn't be put off by the name, and if their mind is so foggy with preconceived ideas maybe Wicca is not for them.

 

No, disrespect meant and I'm sorry if I angered you. But, there's other forms of paganism outside of Wicca.I wasn't concerning myself with Wicca personally and I'm sorry if I seemed to.It was a general question and I tried to be as careful as possible about asking it. I do see your point though about people following the path that's right for them, not caring about what other's think etc. I myself know enough about paganism not to believe the fairy tales. But, does everyone? I think that Earth Based religion is a beautiful path that SHOULD have more followers. I was just thinking the term witch turned people off to this.

 

just because you are a pagan does not make you a witch

 

They spent hunderds of years turning the word "witch" into something negative, with the witch burnings and all (just regular women).

 

Can't see the problem with it, why hide away and be ashamed of our beliefs. Or try and make them acceptable to the mainstream. That isn't going to help anyone.
Surely a greater and true representation to redress the balance would be the way forward.

Besides if people are put off by a silly thing like one word then it's probably not the path for them anyway.
Funny thing is, I think 'witch' is part of the attraction. Has that whole alternative/cool/rebellious thing going, which appeals to certain people who otherwise wouldn't take to it, so are childish and insincere in their practise (known as fluffy bunnies). Am pretty sure they are a far bigger problem.

 

I know you meant no offence and i'm sorry if my reply as across as harsh.

 

It's cool Black Thorn. It's hard to tell emotion on the net. Thanks for your kindness in the matter.

 

Naturally, I think that anyone who practices any form of paganism understands this. Just like just because you're Christian doesn't mean you're Catholic.

I know there are a lot of people who practice Wicca who don't clasify themselves as Witches, and believe there is a distinction between the two, although it's a matter of interpretation. I, personally, am comfortable with calling myself both Wiccan and Witch, and believe that they're one in the same.

Different strokes for different folks, is all.

 

Witch is the english equivilent of shaman. If i were speaking tungus i would say shaman, if you speak english you say witch. From the indo-european root "weg"
that became in middle english wicche, now it is witch.

I dont call myself a witch by any means, nor do i use shaman. Not all pagans are witches/shamans, no matter how much one wants to be called that.

It is a specific role, the wise one, or spirit worker, not just pagan.

Think about it, is everyone in tribe a witch or shaman? no, just a few.

 

Yeah 'witch' is a huge pejorative. Green's completely right too about the 'witch' in terms of Western perception (espec. American) due to our puritanical history shaping christianity as the religion of American--'Witch' as an identified enemy of the christian church. To me this is a huge stumbling point...but religions like Islam and Christianity have built themselves up as intolerant religions.

I also like Heron's references to 'witch' and shaman as there are many different denotations of what a witch is in relation to different cultures.

As far as why witch, it is very common in linguistics for a word to change yet maintain usage despite a negative conotation. A thread in Christianity forum brings this up in questioning why 'Jesus' if his name was Yeshua? For that, a meliorative...Jesus, who as a name began denoting something very minimal (early christianity) has now become synonomous with infamy. And, much of this is due to our communication with people.

What alternatives are there to the word 'witch'? warlock, sorcerer, enchanter, wizard, hmmm I am sure there are more...but 'witch' is most well known, and probably less negative than 'sorcerer and warlock'. What about 'alchemist'...I'd chose that word if I was a witch!

 

yeah but 99% of neo-pagans know jack of alchemy lol.

Not a whole lot know about witchcraft either though, so
take whatcha want =P

 

True enough

Hell I don't know much about alchemy [beyond the basic definitions], and not a heck of a lot more about true witchcraft* ... but then have never tried to pass myself of as being an expert on either.

Given those options presented by 'MeMilesAway' I don't think any of those terms really fit, going by the standard connotations of the words.

*Witchcraft =/= Wicca 101 (as in, all that crap Llewellyn keep repeating).

 

My best friend is teaching a 3 month long class on real European witchcraft, from worldviews to myth analysis to how things go with the other world tribal religions.

Its a great class, fluff free and not for the new ager kind.

the witch is the western european shaman, plain and simple.

 

In my literature class we had to do this huge Research paper on something to do with the middle ages. I chose Alchemy. It is very interesting and I am really glad I chose it. I made a 98 on it. I really enjoyed it.

 

Congrats
Alchemy does sound interesting.

That's so cool, would love to go along to something like that.
I live near the New Forest [England] which was supposedly a hotbed for witchcraft and such at one time, but that time has seemingly passed. Though we are hanging in there.

 

Middle English wicche, from Old English wicce, witch, and wicca, wizard, sorcerer. Thats why the word witch. It was from Old English, as the word for a female wiccan basically. Who I agree with Heron was a western european shaman, similar to the shaman in Siberia, Africa,India,and pre buddhist tibet. The druids were an organized faction of this. With a priesthood and initation rites. The word witch is just the same as the swastika nowadays, it was corrupted into something its not and called satan worship by the Puritans. Who we all know were idiots, and basically radical muslims, bent on submission and violence against any who doesn't submit. A similar example of a word that doesn't mean what it should is Satan, the word makeup just comes from the Egyptian god Set. Who wasn't a god of evil, but just an adversary similar to cain.

 

Honestly I think many (but not all) people who use the word "witch" use it for shock value. Even a good number of people who aren't into it just to look cool use "witch" because it's not boring.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but it's true.

 

I love the word "Witch" and I am proud to be one (and I'm not Wiccan, simply a plain old kitchen/green Witch). To me, "Witch" denotes a practitioner of Earthy, Nature-based, practical, "low" magic. A Witch gets down in the dirt with herbs and roots and stones, and does very little formal circle-casting and worrying about robes and knives and props and etc. It's the Witch working in harmony with Nature that makes the magic. A practitioner of the more formalized forms of "high" magic might call him or herself a Sorcerer (although to me this term has a negative-magic connotation), Enchanter, Wizard, Ceremonial Magician, etc. I was lead to understand "Warlock" is a form of an Old English word meaning "oath-breaker," but I read somewhere recently that that might not be true. At any rate, a male Witch these days usually calls himself simply a Witch.

I think it's important that we continue to reclaim the term "Witch." It has a lot of power. How we choose to use it today means a lot, I think. If that is what you are, you should not be afraid to identify yourself as such - no matter what the origins of the word, or what mainstream society might think it means. You have that right. Come out of that broom closet!

 

Well said, Pyewacket

There are all sorts of terms used nowadays that many choose based on their meaning and many based on political correctness. Personally, I've found that many people respond negatively to pagan as much as witch. Although the terms are different.

I wouldn't necessarily call myself a witch. I do occasionally practice witchcraft, but I don't make a regular habit of it. I find I can work my influence in the universe through simple meditation and thought rather than ritual and such. On that same note, I cannot call myself a shaman even though I practice several shamanic practices. To call myself either of these would really insult the terms and those who deserve to bear them. I generally just refer to myself as a pagan simply so I don't become bogged down with labels and definitions and such, or I would constantly be asking myself "does this fit in with my worldview?" and "can this belief fit with this belief?"

Anyway, in response to the original question, I do believe that while many people respond to "witch" negatively, (a) there's really no "substitute term" to fit in its place, and (b) we're not pandering to others' prejudices or trying to spin witchcraft to make it more appealing. And one thing that has been pointed out and should be taken into account is that paganism is a religion, while witchcraft is a practice.