The Witch
The most misunderstood and feared archetype—and the one we need most to reclaim.
"Like the word wild, the word witch has come to be understood as a pejorative, but long ago it was an appellation given to both old and young women healers, the word witch deriving from the word wit, meaning wise. This was before cultures carrying the one-God-only religious image began to overwhelm the older pantheistic cultures which understood the Deity through multiple religious images of the universe and all its phenomena. But regardless, the ogress, the witch, the wild nature, and whatever other criaturas and integral aspects the culture finds awful in the psyches of women are the very blessed things which women often need most to retrieve and bring to the surface."
~ Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Women Who Run With The Wolves
Healer. Intuitive. Medicine woman. Shaman. Priestess.
It fascinates me how many people embrace these words when describing someone who works in the spaces of spirituality, wellness, and holistic healing. But as soon as you utter “witch”—a synonym for any of the above—unease ripples through the room.
Why is that?
The witch archetype is the most misunderstood and feared, yet it is also one of the most powerful and liberated energies we each carry. It is the vault where our most potent magic is kept. Working with the witch demands an alchemical quest: facing shadows, embarking on the heroine’s journey, diving deep to unearth the treasure—your unapologetic power.
In this regard, fearing the witch makes perfect sense. We dread our internal shadows as much as we dread our own radiance. How many of us tremble at success, at the spotlight, at shining so brightly we unsettle others? At being so utterly ourselves that the world must adjust?
The witch is a merciless mirror for us if we allow her to be.
She stretches back through history—witchcraft predating Christianity and Rome by 35,000 years, woven into the collective as far as stories reach. Yet she lives in us all: embraced by some, shunned by others, buried under layers of shame.
The witch is not the evil, cackling, Satan-worshipping demon crafted by Hollywood. She is the embodiment of sovereignty, grounded power, fierce truth, intuitive intelligence, earth wisdom, creative energy, and the courage to be uniquely you. She marches to the beat of her own drum, living as an example of liberation and creative expression.
Yes, the witch is a healer. She is also an alchemist. She does not fear the depths of the psyche, the shadow, the uncertainty of the void. In fact, this is the realm she is most comfortable in - the unseen, the intangible. She doesn’t shy away from the mystery of life. She leans in closer.
This archetype is a deeply loving, sacred feminine energy. It’s because of this deep love that she doesn’t stand for bullshit, excuses, playing small, hiding yourself, or staying on the surface. She is the purest form of power and understands how to work with energy to weave and shape reality. She wields her power responsibly and with integrity because she understands the ripple effect of all she does, thinks, intends, and says. This is why she is so feared by the patriarchy - because she knows that the power lies within her, not out there. She understands that everything is connected—as above so below, as within so without—she is not separate and she reminds us of this interconnectedness.
This is why our world has kept us so afraid and in the dark when it comes to the witch. Because as soon as we tap into this energy, this part of Self, we realize how powerful, capable, and sovereign we truly are. The need for external validation is no longer what steers our decisions, how we feel, and how we live.
The witch is a keeper of the Earth and all her children, including plants and animals. She is a reclaiming. Of the old ways. Of integral, grounded power. Of truth. Of wisdom that transcends the ages. Of the Self.
When we understand her, there is nothing left to fear. The witch simply reveals what we’ve hidden to blend in: the parts of ourselves we dread, shame, exile.
How might you begin to court her?
Sit with your shadows. Name your fears of power. Let her mirror reflect not terror, but treasure.
With love + magic,
Montoya Miller
The Muse’s Altar
P.S. What does the witch whisper to you in the quiet hours?