Introduction – What is a Green Witch?
Witchcraft is translated as “The Craft of the Wise.” From ancient times, most witches aligned themselves with the forces, cycles, and seasons of nature. The knowledge of herbs and plant medicines they had was important to the folks in the villages they lived in. They were shamanic practitioners, healers, and leaders.
The history of witchcraft shows us that witches once held a revered place in society. That’s a stark contrast to how they’ve been viewed since then. (Even today, there’s a lot of misinformation about witches.)
In this blog post, I will share the basics of what it means to be a green witch, drawing from my own decades of solitary practice.
Our ancestor witches felt that humans were not superior to nature, the earth, and its creatures. Instead, they viewed humans as being only one aspect of the world. A part of it, rather than apart from it. In shamanic cultures and practice, you’ll often hear the term the “more than human” world. I think that sums it up nicely.
The idea of sustainable living to maintain balance and equilibrium between humans and nature was central to the belief systems of the ancestor witches. Shamans believe in the concept of ayni which means reciprocity, calling us to live in “right relationship” to the earth. Of course, this is hardly the view of nature most of society holds today.
What is a Green Witch – About Green Witchcraft
Green Witchcraft is a spiritual practice that embraces and honors and harnesses the power of nature to create positive change in our lives. It’s based on the belief that we’re all connected to Mother Earth and her abundant energies, which can be used to bring us balance, harmony, and healing.
As green witches, we use this connection to nature in our rituals, ceremonies, celebrations, and observances. We’re mindful of the impact we have on the natural world, and we always want to work in harmony with it.
In fact, the terms naturalist, conservationist, and tree hugger are all synonyms for green witch, since these are all closely aligned to the same reverence for nature.
It’s also important to note that the labels we see today – green, kitchen, hedge, hearth, sea witch and more are only labels for the convenience of our human brains since they seem to thrive on labeling things.
At its core, a witch is a witch, and most will embrace the same (or very similar) practices, principles, and ideas. In fact, it’s rare that someone only fits into one type. In my own practice, I also include elements of kitchen witchery, hearth witchery, chaos witchery, and more. But green elements are always at the heart of my practice, which is why I chose green witch to best describe my practice.
Green Witch Principles
Looking at the values and priorities of the green witch helps to answer the question of “what is a green witch?”.
Green witchcraft principles emphasize respect for nature’s cycles and rhythms as well as honoring the sacredness of all living things. We honor the earth, its creatures, and the cycles of birth, life, death, and rebirth.
Our practices (our craft) are to bring balance between ourselves and nature as well as within ourselves.
Here are some of the basic principles of green witchcraft:
- Connection to all of nature: Green witches believe that all the natural world is sacred. We want to connect with it on a deep level. We honor the changing seasons and the cycles of the moon. Natural materials such as plants, herbs, rocks, and crystals are part of our everyday life and magickal practices.
- Respect and reverence for all living beings: Green witches believe in the interconnectedness of all living beings and respect the inherent worth of all creatures. We actively look to live in harmony with all the natural world. We work to protect the environment and every living thing.
- Personal empowerment: Green witches believe in our own power to bring about change in both our lives and the world around us. We often focus on personal growth and self-discovery, using tools such as the Ravynwood Foundations which are meditation, gratitude, journaling, healing creativity, energy work and radical self-care to help us manifest lives we love filled with peace, flow, joy, meaning and purpose.
- Practicality: Green witchcraft is a blend of the practical and the magickal. Use of natural materials and simple rituals is the emphasis here. We may use spells and rituals to improve our health, relationships, or financial situations, but we also recognize the limitations of magick and do the mundane work needed to reach our goals. Intention combined with action is the surest way to success.
- Intuition: As green witches, we listen to our intuition and often use divination tools such as oracle or tarot cards or pendulums to gain insight into our lives. We trust the inner guidance we receive, and we use it to help us make decisions.
- Community: While green witchcraft is often a solitary practice and can be practiced that way forever, many practitioners also value the sense of community that comes from sharing their knowledge and experiences with others. Some will enjoy covens, circles or even study groups to learn, share and inspire each other or to celebrate the points on the Wheel of the Year.
Many green witches will have gardens. Growing their own herbs, vegetables, and flowers for food, medicine, or spell work. This is another way we bring together the practical and the magickal in our approach to honoring the natural world.
We also follow the Wheel of the Year, celebrating the turning of the seasons and the eight points or holidays, also known as Sabbats. We observe the new and full moons each month, known as the Esbats.
While each point on the Wheel of the Year will have its own themes and associations, each one aligns to the seasons of nature.
Note: Because green witchcraft is often a solitary practice, everyone will have a little different way of doing things. Some will embrace more Wicca aspects in their personal practice, while others will lean toward other practices like shamanism and animism, which have many common qualities to green witchcraft. This aspect of being able to choose what you’re drawn to is the best part of being a green witch. You may find that the longer you walk the path, the more you will pick up and discard ideas and practices.
This is as it should be. Draw inspiration from any source, but always make your practice your own.
Are you a Green Witch?
The Green Witch feels deeply connected to the earth. Her magick is always rooted in the natural world. Herbalism, plant lore, and working with the spirits of the land are all part of her practice.
Here’s a checklist you can use to see how many of the traits of the Green Witch resonate with you.
- Do you feel a strong connection to the rhythms and cycles of nature?
- Do you feel drawn to work with natural items like herbs, plants, stones, bones, flowers, trees, or animals in your practice?
- Do you feel magnetically drawn to the moon? Do you like working with the moon’s phases?
- Do you love simplicity? Do you like to live with your intentions aligned to the seasons of Mother Earth?
If you answered yes to all of these, then the path of the Green Witch might be just right for you.
What is a Green Witch? – A Crone’s Perspective
During a recent podcast interview, I was asked what being a green witch meant to me. It gave me pause since there’s a lot of good answers to this question.
My short answer is that to be a green witch is to experience wonder and joy in every season. Not just seasons of nature, but also seasons of life.
I often say that in order to come out of my personal dark night of the soul, I needed to learn to see things through the eyes of an artist. I had to notice things that I previously was oblivious to. I needed to use all of my senses to experience the world. Including what’s often called the sixth sense, intuition.
Seeing the world through the eyes of an artist is a way to recapture the joy of living. To marvel at the earthworm or bumble bee. To greet each new sunrise with excitement and gratitude. To embrace the shifting cycles and seasons and learn from the wisdom they possess.
It’s a return to the childlike wonder that we often lose along the way to adulthood. Recapturing this is a sacred process. One that restores our soul just a little more each time we notice the way the breeze brushes over our skin, the way tree bark feels under our touch, or when we stop to really look at a wildflower blooming along a forest pathway.
Summary of What is a Green Witch?
In summary, green witchcraft is a spiritual path (not a religion) that embraces a deep connection and reverence for nature, respect for all living beings, personal empowerment, practicality, intuition, and for some, community.
Your path is uniquely your own. You get to choose what you’ll include and what you will leave aside.
By working in harmony with the natural world and harnessing the power of earth magick, the elements, and nature’s cycles, green witches use this relationship to improve our lives and, in so doing, we create a better world for all.
While this post only scratches the surface, I’ll leave you with this: To be a green witch is a beautiful way to live and a beautiful way to move through this world.
Blessed be.
Want to know more about other types of witches? Check out this post: 12 Types of Witches
You might like this post too: How to Create Your Green Witch Book of Seasons
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