Hedgewitch
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The term hedgewitch is a source of controversy due to its idiosyncratic nature. In 1992, the modern pagan author Rae Beth released a book entitled Hedge Witch: A Guide to Solitary Witchcraft, redefining the term for the modern era. Rae Beth proposes that "The work of the hedge witch is to take the insights of the wildwood mystic and apply them in the service of life, through spells that help and heal the land, other people or creatures, or our own selves," and that the hedgewitch is a solitary individual.
By looking at the word "hedgewitch," we can learn that it comes from the Saxon word for witch, haegtessa, which translates to "hedge-rider". The Old Norse lay Havamal refers to "hedge-riders, witching aloft".
In physical terms, the hedge separated the town from the wilderness. Crossing the hedge was considered dangerous, due to the fact that the forest was regarded as a locus of uncanny happenings, including witchcraft. To the hedgewitch and witches alike, the hedge was not thought to be a physical boundary, but a mental barrier to be crossed in trance work. It is the line drawn between this world and the next; between reality and dream. All the stories you hear of witches flying off on brooms "to the sabbat" or to Venusberg Mountain are, according to the book, true--to a point. The hedgewitch supposedly would anoint her besom, pitchfork, goat, distaff, or bread paddle, place it between her legs so that the ointment could enter her body, and "off" she went.[citation needed]
Other names for hedge-riders are myrk-rider, Wyrd-rider, and Gandreidh (wand-rider).
Hedgewitchery is a path, usually within the context of the traditional path of witchcraft, and which (as stated above) perhaps once used psychotropic herbs and mushrooms to achieve a trance state, compared to those who use blood control and dancing to achieve the same desire.[citation needed]
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[edit] Modern Wiccan/Neo-pagan definition
A hedgewitch is a solitary witch, not necessarily Wiccan, and generally unconcerned with overly formal magical workings, preferring more simple folk magic. Often an herb worker, working for the healing of self and others.
It is a modern term, derived from the works of Rae Beth starting in the 1980s. It has similarities to the traditional cunning folk of England. A famous fictional representation of a hedgewitch is Granny Weatherwax from the Discworld novels.
Shamanic practice is common, and sometimes considered the hallmark of a hedgewitch. From this perspective, if the hedge is the border between a village and the wilderness, the hedgwitch walks the border with a foot in both worlds.
Spirituality in hedgewitches varies from almost none to Wiccan to Abrahamic, but is almost always neopagan.
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[edit] References
[edit] Sources
- Beth, Rae. Hedge Witch: A Guide to Solitary Witchcraft, Robert Hale, 1992.
- Duerr, Hans Peter. Dreamtime: Concerning the Boundary between Wilderness and Civilization, pp. 46, 47, 65, 97, 132. Translated by Felicitas Goodman. Blackwell, 1985.
- Jackson, Nigel A. Call of the Horned Piper, pp. 4-5, 13, 14-15, 19-21. Capall Bann, 1994.
