Healing the witch wound
Tonight we met - the majority of us Reiki Masters I realised - around the fire at my parent’s smallholding to heal our witch wound.
It was magical, under the trees, the mist soon coming in, on Gaia herself, a group of beautiful women, many in a process of signifiant life change, becoming more of what their heart desires, and letting go of any inherited fear getting in the way of them shining even more brightly into the world.
We threw rosemary on the fire in honour of our ancestors and all those persecuted for being wise women, before meditating on our fears, “I am scared of…”, writing them down before burning on the fire.
With space now made, we meditated again this time on hopes and dreams and wrote these too on paper, before casting our own spell with crystals, herbs, an item of jewellery and Reiki symbols.
Oracle cards followed next, with tea and organic and home made treats.
Thank you ladies for just being your wonderful authentic selves with no pretence or need to be anyone but who you are. We can heal this wound!
What is the witch wound?
The Witch Wound is an inherited, collective trauma that is rooted in the dark history of the witch trials and manifests as a fear of being seen, speaking up, and stepping into your full magic and power.
This was all thanks to a famous book called Malleus Maleficarum,The Hammer of Witches written in 1468 by Heinrich Kramer, an Inquisitor of the Catholic Church and was first published in Germany in 1487 where it circulated Europe before making its way to Britain. Its purpose was to find and essentially flush out women and men who were believed to practice witchcraft and therefore ‘dance with the devil’.
It fuelled a frenzy of fear and suspicion that overwhelmed society for three centuries. Many innocent people were accused of witchcraft, tortured and executed. Those who knew them were forced to testify against them including children, family members and friends - or be tortured themselves.
During this time, tens of thousands of innocent women and men across Europe were imprisoned, tortured, and executed in the most inhuman and brutal of ways: burning, beheading, drowning, hanging.
Some of these victims were healers, midwives, wise women and men, and diviners who served their communities. Others were just people who were too outspoken, too old, too rich, too poor, too beautiful, or too ugly, or in some way a threat to the establishment.
It is fair to say that of them were victims of patriarchy, capitalism and religious tyranny.
Our ancestors who survived these dark times carried the memory of these events not just in their minds, but also in their bodies. Their fear, their grief, their shame, their survival instincts have been passed down through the ages, and now live on in our blood and bones.
This, my friends, is the legacy of the Witch Wound, which exists on a soul and cellular level. Of course it also exists on a societal and cultural level too. Even today, the toxicity of patriarchy, capitalism and religious tyranny lives on, restricting our self-expression – those of us Reiki attuned are not allowed to practice in St martin’s Community Centre, for example, as the land is owned by St Martin’s Church.
Here on Guernsey, anyone convicted of being a witch was burnt alive at the bottom of Tower Hill in St Peter Port. In an 80 year period from 1560 to 1640, 44 people were burnt at the stake and 35 were banished from the island for life. It is said these methods drove many of the witches even further underground and meant the island's sorciers stopped writing down their art.
Is it any wonder that those who were witches in previous lives might stay small and quiet to stay safe? That they might have a fear of speaking their truth and denying the innate healing qualities that they possess?
The trauma lies deep in our DNA, passed down through our ancestors. Even now our children are taught to fear the ‘wicked’ witch, that witches are evil.
But witches are not evil. Witches are those who claim their Earth-blessed birthrights of spirituality and magic, who connect with the cycles of nature, worship the planet, who use herbal remedies for healing and believe in the power of positive energy and intent to create positive change. They are generally intuitive, creative and work with the forces of good, the elements, the moon and the stars to help others and the planet.
Witches are not the ones we should fear. Instead, it might well be the men wielding the torches.
It is time for us witches to stop hiding our magic and reclaim our power. It is time for us - you - to step up and be all of who we - you - are, without the fear of being seen and heard for the gifts we - you - have been granted in this lifetime and the magic that we - you - can experience in your life if only we - you - can heal the witch wound deep inside.
Love Emma
