Hedgewitches?

[Blair]

If you're a hedgewitch or know alot about it, could you please explain what exactly it is that you do or believe that defines you as such? This has been a question in the back of my mind for a while. Also if you have any good resources on this path could you share them?

[Faelon_Moon_Hawk]

my understanding of what a hedgewitch is that they are ones who specialize in working more on the astral plane, they are more along the lines of shamans. They work with spirits and other worldly beings, often using "flying ointments" of various (often poisonous) herbs to acheive trance states and go "oot and about", or crossing the bounds (aka hedge) of this world and the Otherworld...the astral.

links:
http://wildling.port5.com/witch/hedgewitch.htm (http://wildling.port5.com/witch/hedgewitch.htm)
http://www.angelfire.com/wy/elfhame/hagcave.html (http://www.angelfire.com/wy/elfhame/hagcave.html)
http://www.hedgewytchery.com/indexb.html (http://www.hedgewytchery.com/indexb.html)

[Romani Vixen]

A hedge witch is many, many things. They're traditionally the wise woman who lives at the edge of the village (borders defined by a hedge). They are solitary practitioners primarially. They are healers and advisors. Many consider them to be similar to Shamans. They can also be Kitchen Witches. They prefer self-study, and intuition.

Their physical localities historically, can also be seen as a metaphor. Just as they live on the edge of the village and the wilds, they too live on the edge of the material world and the otherworlds.

It's really odd that you bring this up... I've always been something along these lines, but never really used the label.

http://www.themystica.com/mystica/articles/h/hedge_witch.html
http://www.angelfire.com/folk/greenwitch/enter.html

There are also a few books out, though I don't have any.

[Romani Vixen]

Found another one:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hedge_witch/
http://www.moonsongstress.com/
http://www.hedge-witch.com/

[Little Willow]

I agree with you Romani Vixen. To me a hedge witch has been called a lot of things. Kitchen witch, green witch and most recently hearthwitch (and that's what I am). I suppose Folk Witch would also be the same thing ... though not entirely sure. To me a hedge witch is someone who goes out and picks their stuff from the hedgerow (which would be green) and uses it in lotions and potions (which would be "kitchen" because that's where they're made). Basically, it could be a herbalist who leans towards magic I suppose ... which is me to a T. I like the name hearthwitch better than the rest, though it's something I only heard today.

[Romani Vixen]

Hedge Witchery can also be considered Traditional Witchcraft, as it was the form of many from the time that we gave up the nomadic ways.

[Blair]

Thanks for all the lovely links and info. I've been getting rather interested in herbalism and more "folky" magick.

[Faelon_Moon_Hawk]

I found this essay while going through some word documents and thought i'd share it:



Hedge Witch

Some may call themselves solitaries, if you press them for a label. They work independently at the edge of the wood, beyond the clamoring bustle of a town's daily life. But most hedge witches and intuitives are not really interested in labels. Most refer to themselves as simply eclectic, a follower of the Goddess or an herbalist, a healer. Whatever natural gifts a wisewoman has, she uses them quietly. She may make her own soaps, cultivate an herb garden or have a knack with animals. She is not political, or interested in gaining power - she is guileless, intuitive and empathic. Hedge witches weave their path alone.

The hedge witch label originated in the British Isles, defining the local wise woman, healer, herbalist, midwife or crone who lived “beyond the hedge” of the village, on the outskirts of town. Some were intinerant, moving from township to township, living a Gypsy life. Whether she put down roots or kept moving with the seasons, she was the quintessential witch, learned in the old folkways, able to portend outcomes and possibilities by her keenly observing temperament. She had an innate sense of psychology, an understanding of human nature, body language and signs of trouble. She paid attention to the whisperings of the wind and the activities of her animal familiars. She knew the local landscape like the back of her own unwavering hand, every nest and every burrow, every hidden thicket rich with native treasure.

Most villages had a hedge witch. She might have been a widow, an aunt, a grandmother, a midwife, a renowned gardener. More often than not, she was a churchgoer. Her skills were held in esteem by her neighbors, who came to her for simple herbal cures, a love potion or advice on childbearing. Her knowledge was respected, and eventually, feared. As science crafted its own spell of promised salvation among the populace, the witch's skills were scorned as mere superstition. Her once sought after wisdom was brushed under the rug of old folk beliefs. Her ancient and proud archetype was altered into a projection of fear and evil, mirroring the dread of a population ravaged by plagues and spiritual darkness.

As we look back upon the inquisitions and tribunals widely known as the "burning times", we now know that both men and women were persecuted for witchcraft and heresy. Victims of the witch craze spanned age groups, economics and religious faiths. From grandmothers to barren widows, from nuns to school children, the witch hunts claimed the lives of tens of thousands of innocents. Attracting the projected Shadow of a denied Goddess, women suffered most. And yet our archetypal wisewoman survived. Our quiet hedge witch lives on.

Perhaps it is this tenacious resistance to conform to prevailing dogma that speaks to my own heart. The archetype of this venerable hedge witch - wild, independent, resisting conformity, holding sacred those precious things that modern progress crushed underfoot, quickens my heartbeat and strengthens my resolve to live an authentic life. To be true to my own spirit, and the things I seem to know, in the grain of my very bones.

Evidence that witchcraft was an ancient religion, with formal covens and secret ceremonies has yet to be authenticated. The Wicca of today has grown from a mid twentieth century Gardnerian concept - infused with Mr. Gardner's desire to revive a romantic interest in the magical ceremonies and occult explorations of late 19th century free thinkers (including the Masons), and stir it up with old folk practices and seasonal pagan festivals. The intuitive folk ways of a hedge witch don't stem from the same tree. Natural witches and wisewomen belong to a branch of a much older gnarled tree whose ancient trunk taps its tenacious roots deep in the earth itself; its very life force stems from the Goddess, our spiritual Mother. The Latin word for mother is Mater, the root word for matter. The simple truth is cellular. Our very being, our bodies, our bones are intrinsically sacred, for we are made of the stuff of the Goddess. Her life force informs and sustains all things. Her feminine dark mystery perfectly compliments the Gods’ light of consciousness. We are matter infused with spirit.

The ever cycling dance of the masculine and feminine is self evident in the very nature of things. The earth, moon, sky and sea are a sacred mirror for the divine. Every wing and turning leaf, every river stone and salt marsh, every star and deep ravine - is sacred. A hedge witch is aware of this with every breath she takes. Rather than worshipping a force outside herself, transcendent, in some cold and distant heaven, a hedge witch breathes and moves and bleeds the sacred force. The divine is immanent, always present, within her, and all creation. From the tiniest creature to the measureless sea. All are sacred.

The beloved archetype of the hedge witch, wisewoman and herbalist stems from this age old wisdom, from her daily connection to the changing seasons, the eternal cycle of seed, growth, decay and death, followed by rebirth again to repeat itself. Observing the moon and her changing display of waxing light, luminescence and decline, the hedge witch finds a mirror where her own truth is reflected. She understands these mysteries intuitively, in an instinctive, pre-verbal way. Her communion with the divine is spontaneous, springing from the beating of her own heart. Words could not contain the depth and breadth of her knowing. Her response is total, uncalculated and innocent.

Think back to your early childhood, to the less structured hours spent lying beneath an oak, watching the moving thunder clouds, or listening to the rain. If you recall the sensation of being utterly complete, without need or purpose, your spirit allowed to simply be, without defense - this is the realm of the hedge witch. The human BE-ing. This is the realm of the pure ancient feminine. The pulse of the Goddess. The call of the wild. The profound understanding that you are part of a greater mysterious whole. No rituals were necessary then, lying beneath that tree. You needed no grand words of power, no elaborate tools.

This is the world of the born empathic, the natural witch, the child of nature.

In this new century of post-modern thought, words like innocence and intuition sound almost archaic. Many of us live in structures of steel and concrete, with precious few trees nearby. Sodium lights burn with an eerie glow all night long. People resist the dark, and ignore the natural rhythms of the seasons. Activity is honored above contemplation. Status and financial power are the new religion. Consumerism is the number one faith. Corporations pollute the earth daily.

It is difficult to think of a time when our deep dark wells were holy places. When stretches of heathered moors, the ocean's edge and fields of green were not simply real estate to be developed for profit, but sacred. A gift of the Goddess, her beauty and wisdom reflected in the diversity of thriving wilderness.

We are under the delusion that we have tamed Mother Nature, that we have conquered her power. Our intuition and instinct are not needed now. Science must be the answer. Science has given us great things. It is also a double edged sword. What is needed is synthesis - the middle way of the Buddha - the Jungian concept of holding the tension of opposites, finding the mandorla, the sacred almond shaped space created when two circles meet and interconnect. The way of the mystic. The longing for the holy marriage.

This is why hedge witches, wisewomen, and wild ones are needed - now more than ever. We are the contemporary expression of the ancient Goddess. The clear and direct articulation of the divine force, without artifice. Every time we respect our intuition, listen to the call of a crow with expectancy, tend an herb garden or ask a loved one “What did you dream last night?” we honor the divine feminine.

I do not think of myself as a Priestess. I have no ceremonial robes or consecrated jewelry. I own no sword or crystal encrusted wand. I have not submitted to any official initiation rites. I submit to no dogma. I stubbornly resist hierarchy, systems, laws and rules. My initiation has been a lifelong process, beginning in early childhood. Taught by the wind and pounding surf, the autumn flight of geese, the pale morning moon and the sprouting narcissus. The conception of children and the blood of a miscarriage. The act of giving birth was a profound initiation, at the deepest level. The joy of nursing was an embodiment of the Great Goddess herself. As I grow and learn and move slowly toward cronehood, my intuition is intensifying, and now, thank Goddess, I have the wisdom to pay close attention! No rite from a book, no dramatic ceremony conducted by a high priest could have taught me what I know now. Life teaches, Spirit calls us - if we listen.

My own magic is quiet, often without ceremony. I work small miracles in kitchen pots and backyard dirt. My tools are my capable hands and heart, my wooden soup spoon, and pinches of rosemary. The call of the crow and the wind stirred leaf speaks to my soul and carries my intention. But I know I am not alone.

There are many lone hedge witches edging out a path in the uncommon thicket. Following the call of the Goddess and the Green Man. Honoring intuition and listening to life, to the wild call of Spirit that cannot be defined in rules and laws and dogma. You know who you are - you are out there - are you listening?

~ Karri Ann Allrich © 2002



Also, i was thinking...i think that the term hedgewitch has almost two meanings, one being the more kitchenwitchy one relating to green witchcraft, and the other, the one meaning one who rides the hedge, who travels between the worlds.

[Romani Vixen]

Thank you for sharing that!

Hedge Witches are actually both the walker of the worlds, and the healer who lives at the edge of the village.

[Blair]

Thank you so much for that essay. It was very inspiring.

[rhee]

I had never heard of a hedge witch before but after reading the essay and everyone's opinion I think I now have a name to give my beliefs. My love for plants and the use of herbs is what led me to my witchy ways. Thanks for all of the great info.

[Faelon_Moon_Hawk]

" Hedgewitchery in Brief
I have noticed lately a trend for mainstream pagans to adopt the term 'hedgewitch' or one of its derivatives either for themselves or to describe a type of folk magic. Along with this has come, unfortunately, many misconceptions as to the actual meaning of the word.

Hedgewitch, is a modern variant of the older haegtessa, hagazusa and hedge rider. Germanic heathen words that describe one who is practised in 'riding the hedge' which is a metaphor for the world boundary, thus 'riding the hedge' is synonymous with spirit travel, also known as faring forth, flying, walking on the wind etc.

Hedge riding is the core of hedgewitchery, that is not to say a hedgewitch is not practised in other types of magic but this is this skill that defines her as such.

I shall address a few misconceptions as follows.

1. Hedgewitches are wortcunners and herb-crafters
This idea may have been brought about by the fact that some hedgewitches are skilled in the art of using certain herbs to gain altered states of conciousness, necessary for hedge-riding. Flying ointments and the like are very much the domain of the hedgewitch, but at the same time she may choose to work without them. Herbal knowledge and healing is an aspect of witchcraft in general, not at all specific to hedgecraft.

2. Hedgewitches are solitairy
I believe we can thank Rae Beth for this one. There is no evidence to suggest that hedgeriders of the past or hedgewitches today have always worked solitairy.

3. Hedgewitches need to work in groups for safety, thus are not solitairy.
While hedgeriding and particularly the use of enethogens is dangerous to the beginner, it is unliking that all hedgewitches have had the luxury of a support group. One can fare forth both alone and in the company of others, I do not believe either has any baring on the Hedgewitch definition.

4. Hedgewitchery is working with spirits of the dead.
I recently came across this concept on one of my own groups. Hedgeriding is not specific to necromancy or work with the dead in any way. It may be used as a method of accessing various underworlds and holds of the dead but this is not its sole purpose.

5. Hedgecraft is 'folk magic' or 'low magic'
This depends greatly on how you define these two terms. In essence however, as I have mentioned, Hedgecraft is specific to spirit flight, which has its folk magic forms but doesn't cover folk magic in general. By my definition; Hedgeriding is a form of high magic, because it involves the development of the spirit self and interaction within the other planes.

6. Hedge witches lived on the edge of the village, thus the term Hedge
It has already been mentioned that the hedge is metaphoric for the boundry between worlds. Whilst it is possible that such witches were traditionally positioned in the outskirts of the community this is not the source of the term.

7. Hedgewitches are the same as Kitchen witches and/or Green witches
I don't see how the skills of the Hedgewitch paralell to either culinary and domestic magic or herbalism and healing. These terms have separate definitions for a good reason and should not be confused. Note that I use green witch in the sense of a healer and not a follower of Ann Moura's tradition.

I hope that clears up a bit of the fiction out there and clarifies the core of Hedgecraft in brief. I note on the side that while I define a hedgewitch as one who practises the art of hedgeriding that by no means suggests that everyone who practises spirit flight is a hedgewitch. The usual boundries to the term 'witch' apply.

Pax
Kitari "

From: Kitarifox (http://www.livejournal.com/userinfo.bml?user=kitarifox)

[SylvanFae]

Also, i was thinking...i think that the term hedgewitch has almost two meanings, one being the more kitchenwitchy one relating to green witchcraft, and the other, the one meaning one who rides the hedge, who travels between the worlds.I agree with this definition! I chose to call myself a hedge witch because it would incorporate both the shamanic work and the village wise woman/healer/herbalist aspect. She goes beyond the literal hedge to gather herbs and knowledge of nature's workings, and the metaphorical hedge to gather wisdom and spiritual knowledge from the otherworld. All for the benefit of her community. Even if she does live on the fringes.

:broomride

Here's an excellent Yahoo group that I'm a member of, although they tend more toward the herbalism side of things: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/learninghedgewitchry

[Romani Vixen]

Wow.. that's a busy group! lol Thanks for sharing.