How I “Became” a Witch

by Goddess Hedy /  @goddess.hedy

First and foremost, I want to address that one does not “become” a witch. It is an innate knowing and connection to source/spirit/Universe/Divine etc., that is remembered or awakened. Additionally, being a witch is not for the faint of heart because it is not just an aesthetic, it is a complete lifestyle and way of being 24/7. It is not always pretty, and a lot of work is messy and raw. There is a lot of self-reflection, sometimes called “shadow work” that isn’t necessarily hard, but it will bring up ALL of your past traumas (sometimes even from other lifetimes) so that you can integrate the healing into your ascension on your path.

There are many paths when it comes to witchcraft. Some may follow Wicca, others Paganism, some Luciferianism, and so on. If you are on this page, I can be rather certain that you already have an inkling as to what path feels right to you. That is one of the most important tenets of being a witch in my humble opinion, is that you do what feels right to YOU. Every path is different and none of them are wrong, if you follow your intuition. Always follow your intuition, for me it’s always a sign from Spirit on what to do (or not to do) next.

Okay, now that I have gotten the proverbial soap-box talk over with, I can share with you my path and how I arrived at being a witch. I was kindly asked (and humbled to be asked)to share my witch journey here. So buckle up, it’s a long road, so I will try and break it down into the most frequently asked questions that I receive.

What kind of witch am I?

Well, I am an eclectic solitary witch who has strong connections with a few deities, but was called upon by Hekate. I recommend reading “Keeping Her Keys: An Introduction To Hekates Modern Witchcraft” by Dr. Cyndi Brannen to learn more about Hekate. I also work with Metatron the Archangel and many of the Divine Feminine goddesses at times. None more than Hekate though, the mother of witches. The triple goddess.

 Am I in a coven? Does a witch have to be in a coven?

Yes and no. I am not in a physical coven, but belong to a coven online. However, covens vary greatly depending on what teachings they are following. I once tried to be initiated into a Wiccan coven and that was just not jiving right with me (plus I was basically banned due to the fact I was already well advanced on my own in being an energy conduit and I can only guess as to why that made these certain individuals uncomfortable). And you DO NOT have to be in a coven to be a witch! You don't’ HAVE to do ANYTHING as a witch. As I mentioned before, it’s YOUR path and your guides will show you the way that fits you. I prefer to do many rituals alone as I am extremely sensitive to other’s energies and it can exhaust me pretty quickly. I observe very important rituals with my online Hekatean coven when I can. 

Do I worship the Devil? Will you go to Hell for being a witch?

Okay, as for me I do not worship “the Devil” and many of my contemporaries don’t either, as we don’t even believe in the Devil in the judeo-christian views. And many who are not witches may say witches are going to go to Hell, but as a witch and again with many of my witch community, we don’t believe in “Hell” either. So… no and no for me. 

Was I always a witch?

Apparently I was, but I did not know of it as a young child. I was raised in a Southern Baptist family and went to church on Sundays. I believed for a while in what they were teaching until they got to (in my humble opinion) the fear tactics of brimstone and fire, sexist, homophobic and xenophobic rhetoric. That’s when I decided that something didn’t sit right in my soul with that. It has taken MANY years and still sneaks up on me to deprogram that fear out of myself. Also during the church years, I was battling with severe depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), which may or may not have been triggered by traumatic sermons. Either way, I knew that there was something completely different about me than my happy-go-lucky peers in grade school. It wasn’t until later that I learned I had a chemical imbalance and some medication and behavioral modification have helped me immensely. I still have all those maladies and also discovered I also now have PTSD, panic disorder, and am on the Autistic spectrum as I am hyper-sensitive to just about everything. (Hypersensitivity is also a side effect or quality of a witch or connection with the spiritual realm). It’s not always a bad thing, and I have learned how to navigate between intuition and over stimulation. Again, another reason being a solitary witch is helpful for me. 

How did I start being spiritual in a non-organized religion way?

I stopped going to church. I decided to really reflect on what my values were as a person, and I sought out similar thinkers. I stumbled across the Unity church first and learned that they are wonderful people and open to loving teachings, but there was a bit too much Christ in it for me. So, I decided to just research and read. I’d say reading Eckhart Tolle was my catalyst into taking my spiritual journey into my own hands. I highly recommend reading “The Power of Now” and “A New Earth”. Those helped get me out of my own ego and into the present. Which is still something I work hard on every single day. After that life changing perspective, I started to really get tapped in with synchronicities and odd signs all at once. People started telling me that they felt they knew me, yet had never met me, I would receive messages from passed loved ones in the forms of signs only significant between us, my intuition had ALWAYS been heightened but now it was beyond anything I ever experienced. For instance, I was all the way on a college trip in Belize, and got a sickening feeling (which I had had before and always it came with news that either my mother, father, sister, pets and other close relatives had something happen that was not good), well I scrambled to try and find the only phone in the town and called my parents. They sounded a bit off to me, but assured me everything was fine and it was just my nerves from being in a foreign place. Later I would come to find out that right before I called my dad had just returned from the ER from a heart arrhythmia. Another strange thing that started to happen was many other strangers told me that I was a natural born healer. That I was an open channel for source energy and should pursue reiki healing (which later I did, and am currently a practitioner headed to being a master). As mentioned previously, I sought out Wicca and tried to join a Wiccan coven, but neither myself nor they wanted that. TLDR; stopped being Christian, sought knowledge myself, found bits and pieces of all spiritualities, while also getting massive messages from the Universe/Source/Spirit/Divine etc. and created my own spiritual beliefs, then dabbled in Wicca until I realized I was actually just an eclectic solitary witch.

How do I practice my craft? What am I into?

Books. Lots and lots of books! I can never get enough knowledge of the many various forms of witchcraft or history or spells and the like! I love to read and learn as much as I can. Also crystals! I am such a crystal witch. I would say that I have been working with crystals for their metaphysical properties longer than any other tool of divination. I have a massive collection (just as I do books) and I can never get enough! I do also have tarot cards, oracle cards, pendulums, an altar, several different Book of Shadows (BOS) for different things, incense, sage/palo santo/lavender bundles (sacred smoke for cleansing and connecting to Spirit), candles, oils, salts, ritual bath blends, statues of deities, sigils, spells, etc. I am starting to dabble more into tarot and candle magick (not just color significance which is great and I had been doing well with, but now dressing candles with oils and herbs). As I mentioned I am also a practicing and certified reiki practitioner (which to me is being a healer, which is also a role some witches may wish to pursue). I am definitely a manifesting for the best, healing, protecting witch. One thing I do not have and refuse to work with is a spirit board or Ouija board (which is not a bad thing necessarily, it’s just something I do not feel comfortable with, just as I do not feel comfortable conjuring spirits or summoning spirits). To each their own! As I have said many times, do what feels right to YOU. I also do not hex (which is again, not saying it’s a bad thing), just that I do follow the rule of what you put out you get back in return. I also believe in the tenet “Do what thou willst, harm ye none”, so I practice in a way that does not wish negative on anything nor interfere with freewill (such as hexes, love spells, etc.). Again, not that it is wrong, it’s just something I do not do.

Can I work miracles? (Where magick and reiki healing can’t completely heal all)

No, but I can help aid in certain things such as chakra blockages and perhaps amplify effects of healing work or spells. Witchcraft is not a panacea for all things, nor is reiki work. I strongly suggest working in tandem with Western medicine for health maladies. Others may disagree with me, but this is my opinion and being someone with chronic ailments that I have tried to naturally cure to no avail, I strongly advise working with medical professionals alongside any magick, and to make sure your magick isn’t interfering with medical procedures or medications (for example, St. John’s Wort has been reported to affect the efficacy of some birth control methods). Just saying, google it and be smart about your health, spiritual and physical.

If you have any further questions or would like to work with me please email me at healingwithhedy@gmail.com You can also find me on Instagram at  @healingwithhedy for my reiki page and my personal page at @goddess.hedy.

I am working on setting up a Facebook and website for my reiki.

Blessed Be!

Goddess Hedy