There’s More Than One Kind of Witch

When someone hears the word witch, they might picture a pointy hat, a bubbling cauldron and a black cat looking mildly judgmental. Thankfully, modern witchcraft is considerably more interesting – and there’s no one-size-fits-all witch.

Witchcraft is a wonderfully individual practice, and over time, witches have developed different paths and styles that reflect their interests, personalities and the things that make their magical hearts happy.

You might be a hedge witch, drawn to nature, dreams, spirit work and wandering between the everyday world and the magical one. Or perhaps you’re a kitchen witch, where the cauldron is more likely to contain soup than a mysterious potion, and cooking becomes a form of magic.

Then there’s the green witch, who feels most at home among herbs, trees, gardens and growing things. A sea witch may find their magic in oceans, rivers, shells, tides and the ever-changing moods of water. And a lunar witch might look to the Moon and its phases when planning magical work, rituals and reflection.

Some witches follow the path of the chaos witch, taking a flexible approach to magic and borrowing whatever practices work for them. Others may be eclectic witches, happily gathering pieces from different traditions rather than following one particular path.

There are also witches who focus heavily on divination, working with tarot, runes, Ogham, pendulums or other methods of seeking insight. Some are particularly interested in herbal magic, crystals, candle magic, folk traditions, or the seasons and cycles of nature.

And here’s the fun part: you don’t necessarily have to choose just one.

A witch might be a green witch who loves kitchen magic, practices divination and occasionally wanders down the hedge witch path. Another might be a kitchen witch who grows her own herbs and follows the Wheel of the Year. Witchcraft doesn’t come with membership cards, rigid job descriptions or a supervisor checking whether you’re doing it correctly.

These names are best thought of as paths, styles or areas of interest, rather than strict categories. They can help a witch understand what naturally draws them to their practice – and they can change over time.

So if you’ve ever wondered, “What kind of witch am I?”, the answer might simply be:

The kind of witch you are becoming.

And there are plenty of fascinating paths to explore along the way. In future articles, we’ll take a closer look at some of these different types of witches and what makes each path unique.