What is a Word Witch?
What is a “Word Witch?”
That is the question I’ll attempt to answer in this article. But the truth is, there’s no official definition. If you Google “Word Witch” or “Word Witchery,” there’s very little you’ll find on the subject. It’s not surprising, given the stigma around anything “witch” related.
And yet, we’ve been in the presence of word witches since humans existed.
Whether it was a scribe or a storyteller, a healer or a grandmother, a mother, a maiden, or a crone — word witches have graced our Earth since the beginning.
So to think that being a “Word Witch” is somehow unique or unimportant is silly. And I can point to hundreds of female writers, activists, and scholars, who would be considered word witches. They were women who used the power of writing to make a difference. They intentionally alchemized ideas, emotions, and knowledge into one coherent narrative.
And, with today’s technological advances… word witches are everywhere. They’re in that fifteen-second TikTok you just watched. They’re in the comments sections of a YouTube video. They’re bloggers, podcasters, journalists, authors, activists, non-profit leaders…
To be a word witch in modern society is to defy definition.
And maybe that’s precisely the problem — how do you explain something that doesn’t have a clear-cut definition? If you can’t even describe what it is, how do you help someone understand how powerful and important it is? It’s not something you can easily “teach,” either.
As an apprenticing word witch, I have spent the last two years deep diving into this question for myself. I have poured hours into journaling, writing, and reflecting on what this title or label means to me and what I’ve learned is that my answer to the question I’m posing is heavily influenced by how I’ve experienced the magic of it.
It’s only been in the doing of word-witchery… the hundred and hundreds of words written in different varieties for different reasons in different ways that have given me a deep understanding of what being a Word Witch means to me. It’s been in the studying of so many amazing guides, teachers, and mentors that I have come to appreciate how word witches operate in so many different ways.
And with that being said, my experiences are just that — my experiences. I have certain privileges that undoubtedly influence my perception, perspective, and experience. That means I can only speak from and for myself.
So I present to you not a standard definition of the term but rather my interpretation for myself.
A Word Witch is…
In the simplest terms: someone who places intention, energy, and belief into whatever words they bring to life.
To me, it’s someone who can alchemize one of the most foundational parts of our lives (words and language) and turn it into something else.
Someone who can use words as a vehicle for movement, change, revelations, disruption, expression, and meaning-making (to name a few).
Someone who studies the craft of words to better ask for what we need or want in this world.
Someone who uses words as part of a prayer, a hope, a cry for help — a reason to stay alive
Someone with a deep, intergenerational, and spiritual connection to language and stories.
Someone who writes to make a change, big or small.
Someone who writes to preserve the secrets, the truth, and the history of our people at all costs
I could go on and on, but here’s the key to that question I posed — only you will know what it truly means to embody word witchery when you experience it for yourself.
And that’s one of my main goals for 2023… to empower writers to see the inherent magic in their own words. In their own practices. In their own individual and unique way.
I’m dedicated to providing experiences and opportunities for others to learn what it means to be a word witch in their own way because empowered people, empower people. I know it sounds corny, but I believe it’s true. I know the more empowered I feel, the more I want to empower others.
This is the start of an ongoing discussion I want to have with my readers, my clients, my friends, and my followers. I want to be in dialogue about how important word witchery is and how we can empower others on the journey.
I also believe that to better understand word witchery, we need to look at those who have cleared the way for us to step into that role. Here’s a list of my word witch heroes to kick off your studies. Read, explore, learn. See what you dig up. See what feels right in your gut about the word witch and what they’ve talked about or created.
Danielle is probably the word witch I look to the most when it comes to understanding the power of words within a witchy context. She proudly wears the label of word witch (and rightly so) because her words are pure magic. But it’s not just her writing that is magical. It’s the way she tells or writes stories that make you sit at the edge of your seat waiting for more. It’s the way she builds curriculum and exercises and weaves in the power of words and other witchy knowledge. She embodies word witchery in a way I deeply admire and aspire to be like.
Susannah is one of my favorite examples of word witchery in the form of blogs and newsletters. I’ve long followed Susannah for her insightful writing and her ability to mix the spiritual with the mundane. The way she moves through life is so interesting when viewed through her lens, and she has a magnetism that oozes from her words.
Only a word witch would get ultra meta with their gifts. Taisa’s Literary Witches: A Celebration of Magical Women Writers and The Literary Witches Oracle are fountains of information. Taisa casts her spell onto the reader with her words, while Katy Horan draws us into the magic with her illustrations. Between the two creations, Taisa and Katy profile thirty women who they believe deserve the highest title of literary witches. The power in their creations is in the highlighting of other empowered word witches, and their stories. (I highly recommend getting both of these creations because the word witchery inspiration is superb!)
This Word Witch is a lovely tarot creator, and podcaster who uses the handle The Word Witch (jealous!), and I’m obsessed with the way they are using their voice around witchery, social justice, writing, tarot, and more. Their advocacy and creativity remind me of how intertwined word witchery and human rights can be.
One of my favorite contemporary poets, Nikita Gill’s poetry is laced with word witchery. I love that some of her collections are written around the idea of fairytales and others around goddesses. What’s magical about Nikita’s words is that it does put a spell on you. One minute, you’re nodding your head and feeling the power of the words, the next minute, you’re raging with a raised fist at the injustices she highlights. I can tell from the way Nikita writes her poetry and talks about it that she is so thoughtful and intentional about the magic of her words
Octavia Butler
Somewhere, I heard that word witches are also prophets. I believe that to be true. Octavia Butler is one of the many word witches who have written stories that were criticized, ostracized, and thought of as “too out there,” yet ring true in modern society. Octavia’s writing has bewitched millions of readers across the world and brought up issues that were taboo and unheard of in her time. Her bravery in her word witchery shows in every word on every page.
These are just a few of the many word witches I consider to be my inspiration and role models. They are all different and come to word witchery in different ways — but the common denominator is that their words are magic. Their words have created change in the lives of others. Their words have been used to fight injustices. Their words have been tattooed on the hearts of those who have been misunderstood.
This brings me full circle back to the question: What is a word witch?
I think by now you know that there isn’t one answer.
But I was curious how my partner-in-crime, fellow word witch, and beautiful bestie, Allie felt about the label, and this is what she had to say:
“If you try to look up what it means to be a “word witch” you will be left with more questions than answers. And honestly, that is a shame.
This is a term that I had not considered or heard of until I met Jade. I had heard of the kitchen witch, the green witch, and many others, but when Jade first talked to me about word witchery I felt a click. I felt that pull, the inner knowing that “yes, that feels right.”
You see, for me, the title of Word Witch is about someone who breathes magic with their words. It is that simple. Their words have power, and they spark in us certain feelings and emotions. These men and women are musicians, authors, poets, actors, and actresses. They are creatives. Their words cause a reaction and can put movement where there is none. They can spark passion when one is feeling nothing. They can bring us to tears when we least expect it. They are the authors that create worlds we see and feel so clearly within ourselves when they do not exist in our reality. They are the Shakespeares that can live on long past their death because of the power they had. Because of their ability to affect people and change the course and path of time.
Many of us do not even know that we are word witches. We do not understand the power that lies within us. We have the desire to share, to connect, with even just one individual. We weave magic that we cannot always see ourselves, but it is there, and it finds those who need it when they need it most.”
So I ask you, dear reader, what do YOU think a word witch is? Do you identify as one?
