Why I call myself a witch

I love working with herbs. I dry them, make tinctures from them, and know which plant suits which moment. I work with energy; as a reiki practitioner, I feel where it flows and where it's stuck. I honor nature. The seasons, the moon cycle, the earth beneath my feet: I live in harmony with them.

And at some point, I thought: there's a word for this. That word is witch.

Not what you think

I know what it evokes. Black cats. Brooms. Something dark and dangerous. But that's not the witch I am — and not the witch most women who claim this word for themselves are.

Let me state it clearly: witchcraft has nothing to do with black magic. Absolutely nothing. Modern witchcraft is a nature religion. It's about connection — with the earth, with the seasons, with your own body and intuition. There is no devil in this story, no curses, no evil. On the contrary: the ethics of most modern witches revolve around the principle of do no harm. What you send out comes back. Take care of the earth. Take care of yourself. Take care of others.

The image of the malicious witch is a story that has been used for centuries to scare women with knowledge and power — and to scare others of them. It's time we let go of that story.

The herbal women of yesteryear

The women who were persecuted as witches in the past were often the healers of their village. The herbal women. The midwives. Women who knew how to heal with plants and hands, who knew the cycles of nature and lived by them. Their knowledge was power, and that made others uncomfortable.

When I read Susan Smit's book Witch, I recognized myself on every page. She describes witchcraft as an ancient female knowing. A connection with nature, with your body, with the cycles of life. A way of being that has always existed, long before the word witch became a derogatory term.

That knowledge has never disappeared. It lives on in women who dry herbs, collect stones, and stand outside under the full moon.

What I do as a witch

For me, witchcraft is very concrete. It's in the small things of everyday life.

It's in the herbs I collect and dry. In the tinctures I make and the knowledge of which plant suits which moment. In being aware of the moon cycle and what it does to my energy. In the stones I have around me, not as decoration, but because I feel and appreciate their energy. In the reiki I give, where I work with my hands and feel where someone is stuck. In honoring the seasons, celebrating the turning points of the year.

It is a way of life where you don't see nature as a backdrop, but as something you are part of.

Why this word

I could have called myself something else. Herbalist. Energy worker. Holistic therapist. All true.

But witch covers the whole spectrum. The herbs and the energy and the connection with the earth and the feminine knowing that I carry within myself. It is also a word that I reclaim, stripped of its negative connotations, filled with what it always should have meant: wisdom, strength, care for the earth and for each other.

And frankly, I also find it a bit of an act of defiance. Because every time a woman calls herself a witch without shame, she restores something that was broken long ago.

Perhaps you recognize this too

If you read this and something inside you says "yes, I know this", if you also instinctively reach for herbs, feel the moon cycle, collect stones because they do something for you, then you are in good company here at Natuurlijk Gaia.

Everything I offer stems from the same conviction: that nature gives us what we need, if only we learn to listen. The handmade herbal products, the gemstones, the ritual tools. They are for women who feel what I feel.

With love,
Mirjam