Feminist Spirituality: Healing the Self, the Community, and the Earth Through Witchcraft

Feminist Spirituality: Healing the Self, the Community, and the Earth Through Witchcraft 

When I took a Psychology of Women class for my Masters in Social Work at NYU, we had to write a paper on ANYTHING we wanted pertaining to women. I started researching and I came across the term "feminist spirituality," so I went deeper and deeper until I found articles on women healing themselves and others through witchcraft.

THIS WAS IT! This is what I had been practicing and tapping into without having a word to describe it - I was practicing witchcraft! This is the first time I realized that I'm a witch!

The articles I found simultaneously scared the shit out of me and awakened my soul. I was terrified about how some of the people I love would judge me or tease me if they knew I was a witch. And at the same time I felt so validated that I finally found a word to describe who I was, and at there was a whole community of people out there finding healing through withcraft just like me!

I'm going to share this paper with you below. Please keep in mind that this is an academic paper, and it is written just like that.. not in my instagram post voice! I've also got all the citations below if you want to check them out yourself.

So here's the paper that awakened the witch within me...

Abstract

This paper first gives a brief history of feminist spirituality and then communicates its function of healing. It describes the therapeutic potential for women to heal themselves, others, and the earth. Witchcraft is considered specifically as it provides opportunities for women to mark transitions, to heal from violence, and to become agents in creating personal and social change. Through a review of the literature, healing practices in witchcraft are explored within four contexts: 1) personal exploration through symbols and metaphors; 2) healing through witch camps; 3) healing through women’s circles; and 4) sacred ritual in psychotherapy. Several examples of ritual healing, symbols, and metaphors, will be described and discussed. 

Introduction

Feminist spirituality encompasses any kind of spirituality outside of religious norms that is rooted in women’s experiences, is earth-based, and emphasizes ritual practice for healing (Neu MDiv, 2010). With a long history of oppression, feminist spirituality stems from a prehistoric, goddess-worshipping society, which was overthrown by patriarchal Aryan warriors (McCrickard, 1991) from 4500 to 2500 BCE (Eller, 2003). Goddess worshippers faced extreme oppression again during the European witch burnings of the middle ages, which were driven by patriarchal misogyny (Eller, 2003). Despite these instances of extreme violence, goddess worship was never completely exterminated as small groups of pagans and witches still gather (Eller, 2003). In the 1960s, the spiritual feminist movement was catalyzed by the feminist critique that patriarchal religions devalue and suppress women (Greenwood, 2000).

Witchcraft is a form of feminist spirituality that provides a context for addressing issues such as environmental destruction, societal oppression, and violence against women (Warwick, 2010). The practice of magic is based on a critical analysis of the patriarchal oppression of women and is focused on the cyclical nature of time, the sacredness of the earth, and respect for all people regardless of gender, sexuality, or age (Warwick, 2010). Although feminist spirituality is women-centric (Neu MDiv, 2010), cis men and other genders can take part in most practices besides Dianic Wicca, which is solely for women (Warwick, 1995). There is no universal doctrine that witches use such as the Bible; but most practice ritual magic, worship goddesses, and observe the pre-Christian Celtic agricultural calendar called the Wheel of the Year (Warwick, 2010). 

Healing in witchcraft is associated with becoming whole (Crowley, 2000, p. 157; Harris, 2004) by healing the self, others, and the earth (Roberts, 2011). Witches work toward the ability to nurture and heal others while also asking for and receiving support from their coven, a group of witches who gather together (Warwick, 2010). Healing can include bodywork, rituals, chanting, dancing, trancework, or energy healing and can take place in various settings ranging from small covens to large witch camps of hundreds (Harris, 2004). Witches are highly creative and typically improvise or write rituals that are specific to each occasion (Warwick, 2010). These rituals may include theater, dance, art, poetry, and chanting (Warwick, 2010). In this paper, witchcraft will be used as a term that encompasses both Wicca and Reclaiming, two types of feminist witchcraft (Greenwood, 2000; Harris, 2004; Roberts, 2011). Below is an exploration of four ways in which healing can take place in feminist witchcraft: 1) personal exploration through symbols and metaphors; 2) healing through witch camps; 3) healing through women’s circles; and 4) sacred ritual in psychotherapy. 

Personal Exploration Through Symbols and Metaphors

Feminist witchcraft views emotional pain as equally worthy of healing as physical pain, with the individual having the power to heal themselves (Roberts, 2011). Three ways that self-healing can be explored in feminist witchcraft are through working with the Iron Pentacle, the Shadow self, and the Wheel of the Year (Roberts, 2011; Starhawk, 1999; Duckett, 2010). The Iron Pentacle is a meditative tool which looks like a five pointed star (Starhawk, 1999, p. 91-92) and symbolizes the human body: the top point is the head, which represents sex, and the bottom four points are the limbs, representing power, the self, pride, and passion (Roberts, 2011). By noticing how one feels while meditating on these concepts, the practitioner can identify where they are facing personal challenges (Roberts, 2011). 

Two other ways to explore self-healing are through the metaphors of the Shadow and the Wheel of the Year. The Shadow is the part of the self that we have pushed out of our consciousness because we consider it unacceptable (Starhawk, 1999). This part of us may hold our sexual desires, anger, hostility, guilt, and vulnerability. Practitioners of witchcraft can start to confront the Shadow by working with trance, magic, or play (Starhawk, 1999). While the Shadow is a part of the self, the Wheel of the Year is a representation of the seasons and the cyclical nature of time (Duckett, 2010; Warwick, 1995). Witches have a deep connection to nature and the seasons (Harris, 2004), viewing Fall and Winter as times to focus on inner growth and reflection, and viewing Spring and Summer as times for outward growth and blooming (Duckett, 2010). Although the The Wheel of the Year refers to the seasons, it can also be applied developmentally and situationally throughout a woman’s lifetime (Duckett, 2010). Working with the wheel encourages women to know and trust their own internal cycles (Duckett, 2010). 

Healing Through Witch Camps

Feminist witchcraft explores community healing through witch camps, which are spaces for participants to experience group rituals (Roberts, 2011) with up to several hundred people (Harris, 2004). These rituals range from healing the self to healing the community and the earth (Harris, 2004). This section will describe specific healing rituals that have been performed at witch camps. 

The “Circle of Allies” ritual, which took place at a witch camp in 2007, provides an example of healing the self and the community simultaneously through connection to others (Roberts, 2011). With the theme of sexuality, participants stood in a circle as individuals entered the middle stating something they have experienced or identify with such as “I am gay” (Roberts, 2011). Everyone else who shared the experience stepped into the circle with them (Roberts, 2011). Participants can look to those in the middle of the circle with them as their allies and to those in the outer circle as supporters of their experience (Roberts, 2011). This kind of circle is seen as a way to heal the community by listening to and supporting others in their experiences with compassion (Roberts, 2011).

In a 1997 witch camp, a ritual focused on environmental activism was conducted specifically to protect the California redwood forests (Harris, 2004). Ritual participants each cut a lock of their hair to be woven into a collective braid that was brought to the trees as a symbol of protection (Harris, 2004). Another practice focused on healing the earth is the Waters of the World ritual, often performed at witch camp (Roberts, 2011). Several samples of water are taken from different water sources and are set up on an altar in the Western area of the witch camp (Roberts, 2011) because the west is associated with the element of water (Harris, 2004). Some of the water samples might be pristine while other samples might be polluted (Roberts, 2011). Participants are invited to meditate at the altar on bringing healing energy to the earth (Roberts, 2011). 

The Healing Ritual, a regular occurrence at witch camp, encompasses healing the self, the community, and the earth simultaneously through connection to others and to nature (Harris, 2004; Roberts, 2011). Four stations are set up in the cardinal directions, each having a different focus based on their associated elements (Roberts, 2011). As described above, the west is associated with the water element and features the Waters of the World altar, the east is associated with the air element and focuses on sound healing, the north is associated with the earth element and has an area for meditation and healthy snacks, and the south is associated with the fire element and focuses on interpersonal and sexual healing (Roberts, 2011). Mattresses in the center of the circle are for those who are seeking healing through bodywork, energy healing, or releasing tears to a listener (Roberts, 2011). In between the inner mattresses and the outer four stations, participants walk in a clockwise circle singing a chant written by Donald Engstrom-Reese, which is focused on healing: “Every step I take is a healing step; Every step I take is a sacred step; Healing, healing, healing my body; Healing, healing, healing the land” (Roberts, 2011). Participants typically spend time in all parts of the circle from the inner healing center to the outer walking circle and the four stations (Roberts, 2011). In witchcraft, humans and nature are viewed as one because healing one can heal the other (Crowley, 2000). 

Healing Through Women’s Circles

Healing occurs outside of witch camps in women’s circles on full and new moons as well as the eight earth holidays from the Wheel of the Year (Harris, 2004). These feminist spiritual support groups provide a space for women to mark transitions, heal from violence, and become agents in creating personal and social change (Neu MDiv, 2010). These support groups are springing up across the United States and provide a space for women to connect to themselves, to culture and to others (Neu MDiv, 2010). Harris (2004) was a part of a women’s circle of eight mostly lesbian and bisexual women in their twenties who gathered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These women were looking for spiritual exploration through ritual as they recovered from addiction, sexual violence, and homophobia (Harris, 2004). 

Neu MDiv (2010) has described two specific rituals that have occurred in feminist support groups, which will both be considered in detail in this section. The first ritual to be discussed marks Sara’s breaking the silence around surviving incest (Neu MDiv, 2010). Sara’s father was her perpetrator and he had died within the year. She invited friends, family, and women from her survivors’ support group to gather at her home to mark her transition. Her ritual aligned with Judith Herman’s three stages of recovery: the establishment of safety, remembrance and mourning, and reconnection with ordinary life (Herman, 1992, p. 155). First, the ritual opened by establishing safety and purification. Four candles were lit to symbolize the power, tears, life, and support of women and the participants placed evergreen branches around the home to invoke safety. Sara and each of the participants tied knots in one of her father’s handkerchiefs to symbolize no to violence. Sara told her story to mourn and remember, cutting the knots out of all the handkerchiefs she tied as everyone joined her in cutting the knots out of the ones they tied. The participants sang and danced to celebrate Sara’s silence being broken. To close the ritual and establish connection to ordinary life, the four candles were passed around the circle as the participants committed to breaking the cycle of violence by saying “My sister, as long as your light burns, violence will be overcome” (Neu MDiv, 2010). 

Another feminist ritual discussed by Neu MDiv (2010) honors Maria’s effort to gain support in her coming out process. She invited her friends to her home to come out as a lesbian and to receive support. To start, four women blessed the four cardinal directions as they read poems about Maria’s coming out that were related to the elements. Maria told her coming out story and participants honored her by giving her symbolic mementos representative of the earth’s elements, closing the ritual with a festive meal. To Maria, coming out symbolized coming home to her own body (Neu MDiv, 2010).

Sacred Ritual in Psychotherapy 

An understanding of feminist witchcraft can provide therapists with resources and tools to empower their clients and to work toward social change (Warwick, 2010). Rituals are specifically helpful when working with women who are recovering from trauma or addiction and can be used in therapy as a form of healing to mark events and transitions, welcome or terminate relationships, and ease conflict or tension (Bewley, 1995). Feminist rituals can be empowering for women in therapy to heal emotional pain, to celebrate life, and to create social change (Neu MDiv, 2010). Bewley (1995), a certified clinical mental health counselor who specializes in working with women, emphasizes the sacredness of ritual practices within therapy in order to promote healing. The ritual is typically created in partnership with the client while working within the client’s belief system. Two case examples of the use of ritual in therapy facilitated by Bewley (1995) will now be discussed.

Paula performed a ritual at home suggested by Bewley (1995) to work on issues that she faced surrounding her father’s death. As a 48-year-old-woman, drawn to Indigenous spiritual practices, her ritual was informed by her belief system. She first smudged her living room by burning dried herbs to clear the negative energy, followed by creating an ancestral altar next to her Christmas tree with a photograph of her father and some of his objects that she inherited. She played her drum to bring herself into trance and invoked the spirit of her father. Feeling his presence, she communicated to him that she missed him and that she felt guilty about her absence at his death. After performing this ritual, Bewley (1995) reported that she seemed more at peace and could sometimes feel her father’s spirit guiding her. 

Maddy performed a ritual in a therapy session with Bewley (1995) to confront her feelings surrounding the separation from her partner. Drawn to goddess-based imagery, Maddy made a small doll with a pocket to represent the parts of herself which held jealousy, guilt, and anger. She played music and lit candles to create a sacred space. As she moved to the music with her doll, she allowed her feelings to surface. Maddy realized that the doll did not represent her feelings toward her partner, but rather represented the parts of herself that she felt were alienated. Holding her doll as if she were reclaiming those parts of herself, Maddy made a set of “Maddy Cards” to put in the doll’s pocket. Each card contained one of the qualities she felt were alienated so that she could draw one whenever she felt tempted to rely on someone else for a part of herself. Since the ritual, Maddy placed a new meaning on her separation from her partner as she learned to nurture herself and to reclaim the parts of herself that she felt were lost (Bewley, 1995).

Limitations

While feminist spirituality can provide women with a means to seek healing in multiple ways (Bewley,1995; Harris, 2004; Neu MDiv, 2010), there are some limitations including who it is practiced by and how it is used in therapy. Feminist witchcraft as a whole is often seen asbeing a “white women’s movement” (Griffin, 1995), the ways in which groups approach diversity though are based on the type of witchcraft being practiced. For example, Wicca has been practiced by mostly middle-class white people who have the luxury to address issues of personal growth (Roberts, 2011), while Reclaiming values diversity and inclusivity by placing value on socio-political activism (Starhawk, 1999). 

While ritual work has the potential of being therapeutic for clients, Bewley (1995) advises taking precautions in the therapy setting based on the client’s needs. She does not recommend ritual work for clients who have trouble grounding in reality and points out that the word “ritual” might be triggering for some people based on their trauma. She also states that rituals are not to be used to destroy or harm any aspect of the client or someone else. Following a Wiccan ethic, she believes it is important to establish a ritual that the client is willing to receive back thricefold (Bewley, 1995). 

Conclusion 

Although there are some limitations to the use of feminist witchcraft, there is substantial evidence that it provides a means of healing to a specific audience in a variety of settings. Many women already seek healing and self-empowerment from trauma and addiction as they become agents in creating personal, collective, and environmental change both individually and in groups. Healing is explored in multiple contexts including large witch camps of many hundreds, small and intimate women’s circles, and individual psychotherapy sessions. Working in solidarity with other women who practice witchcraft, the spiritual feminist movement provides women with a means to heal themselves, others, and the earth through the use of symbols, metaphors, and rituals. 

Appendix: Self-Reflection

Feminist spirituality has played a large and important role in my personal healing journey from trauma. I never had a word to describe what I practiced until I did this research and realized that what I practice is called witchcraft and that I am not alone. In fact, there was an entire movement in history toward earth-based and women-centric spiritual practices called the spiritual feminist movement. I now know that I am a part of a large community of women who value healing themselves, others, and the earth. I turned toward earth-based spiritual practices because I feel a closeness to the earth’s natural cycles. I can see the moon and feel her effects on me as she waxes into fullness and wanes into darkness. I can feel my feet on the earth, dig my hands into the soil, and feel Mother Earth holding me when I have trouble holding myself. 

As an energy healing practitioner and a yoga teacher, I have developed my own extensive spiritual practice. What has been the most healing for me personally is my practice with intuitive movement and ritual work. To me, magic is not pulling a rabbit out of a hat; it is realizing that I have the power to create and to shape my life’s purpose. Magic is meditating to form a protective boundary around myself and seeing it actually work. The other night on the full moon, I lit candles, turned on music, and intuitively moved and danced. As I turned around and noticed my shadow on the wall, this ritual then became about dancing with my shadow self, the parts of myself that I bury. Dancing in this way felt magical and freeing. In addition to my self-healing, my friend and I host women’s moon gatherings, in which we facilitate a space for women to explore their spirituality and personal healing journeys amongst a supportive group through ritual work. These events never cease to amaze me with the beauty of love and support that is created in the room. 

Knowing that my own spiritual practices of witchcraft are rooted in love and healing, it pains me to think of the violence that witches faced throughout history. When I tell people that I am a witch, the response tends to be insulting and ranges from laughing at me to being scared of me. Witchcraft is based on healing connectedness with the self, others, and the earth. I do not worship the Devil and I am not a Halloween costume. As a witch, I am a lover, a healer, an activist, and a creator. Despite the violence that witches have faced throughout history, witchcraft has been an invaluable healing tool for me. As my practices grow, evolve, and deepen, I continue to engage in this journey of self-exploration from my shadow to my light. Before this paper I had no sense of belonging to a spiritual group, but now I feel validated in my spiritual practices and am ready to create a community of like-minded women.

References

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Crowley, V. (2000). Healing in Wicca. In W. Griffin (Ed.), Daughters of the Goddess: Studies in Healing, Identity, and Empowerment (151-165). Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. 

Duckett, V. K. (2010). The Wheel of the Year as a Spiritual Psychology for Women. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 29(2), 137-151. 

Eller (1991). Relativizing the Patriarchy: The Sacred History of the Feminist Spirituality Movement. History of Religions, 30(3), 279-295. 

Greenwood, S. (2000). Feminist Witchcraft: A Transformatory Politics. In W. Griffin (Ed.), Daughters of the Goddess: Studies in Healing, Identity, and Empowerment (136-150). Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press. 

Griffin, W. (1995). The Embodied Goddess: Feminist Witchcraft and Female Divinity. Sociology of Religion, 56(1), 35-48. 

Herman (2015). Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence - From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror (2015 ed.). USA: Basic Books. 

Harris, G. (2004). Healing in Feminist Wicca. In S. S. Sered & L. L. Barnes (Eds.), Religion and Healing in America (253-263). Oxford University Press. Retrieved from: http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/nyulibrary-ebooks/detail.action?docID=281392

McCrickard, E. (1991). Born-Again Moon: Fundamentalism in Christianity and the Feminist Spirituality Movement. Feminist Review, 37, 59-67. 

Neu MDiv, D. L. (2010). Women’s Empowerment Through Feminist Rituals. Women & Therapy, 16(2-3), 185-200. doi: 10.1300/J015v16n02_18

Roberts, R. (2011). “Healing my Body, Healing the Land”: Healing as Sociopolitical Activism in Reclaiming Witchcraft. Ethnologies, 33(1), 239-256.

Starhawk (1999). The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess (20th anniversary ed.). HarperSanFrancisco.

Warwick, L. (2010). Feminist Wicca, Women & Therapy, 16(2-3), 121-133. doi: 10.1300/J015v16n02_13