Priestess vs. Witch

We were all seated at our first feast together as a circle of women. A very powerful and intentional initiation ceremony had started off the day followed by our first ritual day together when the question was posed; plates full, hearts singing and eyes bright. “What exactly IS the difference between a Priestess and a Witch?” one of the women asked. She was a very bright, very studious and an aptly curious woman driven by her love of knowledge and the occult. I paused, allowing the question to sink in, not wanting to rush what I knew would be a very important topic that every woman around the candlelit table would inquire about at one point or another in our year long training together.

“Well, in my experience, here is how I would best describe the difference between the two..” and I went on to have a long conversation that went something like this. Now, please know, that I realize, there are many different opinions and experiences in the two, and this is just how I best experience the different frequencies of both.

The Priestess is the woman who connects UP. She is the vessel that must purify daily, often more than that, so she may be a clear channel to divine source. She is often the woman who receives messages, works with the angelic realms, and uses her body as a chalice for holding higher frequency so she may attune to the celestial realms and then bring forth that which she sees or divines as a means of being of service to her tribe, community, family and self. She may use pendulums, crystals, oracle cards, or more often than not, her mind to receive messages that are to be relayed for further progress to the web of life. The methods upon which she works may vary depending on what her natural talents are and the list of divination tools and methods is endless.

The Witch is the woman who connects DOWN. The woman who lives deeply connected to the Earth’s seasons as well as the cycles of the moon. She finds her power by connecting more to Gaia and the natural world. This is the magical woman who tends to work more with herbs and plants as a means of medicine, healing and divination. She also elicits the elements to often draw in energy and divination. Fire scrying, water scrying, etc. She celebrates the Sabbats and High Holy Days (seasons and equinoxes). She feels most at home connecting to nature, animals, plants, crystals, and the natural world. She brings magic into the foods she eats, the candles she lights, things that are of “this plane” is where she tends to do her biggest work. 

The two, of course, overlap, and so I feel like it is easy to interchange both titles depending on the work being done, the energy source being called in, and the form of divination tool being used. In all truth, the way that I personally work, and the work I do in person with women, is a blending of the two worlds. We work throughout the year with different goddesses, different energies and different divination tools that span both realms. We honor the the turnings of the wheel and the cycles of the moon through in person ceremonies and rituals, while also channeling messages and working with angels (not at the same time, but nonetheless, honoring it all). I find that some women naturally resonate with one or the other more, and then a few feel perfectly at home oscillating between both realms. I’m less interested in arguing which title deserves which act and more interested in how we as women can re-harness these ancient practices and return to a place of living from our innate gifts, intuition and deep gnosis. As the energies of the divine feminine continue to rise I too hope to connect with women, to stand shoulder to shoulder with them as we rise together. No longer alone, no longer practicing solo, but finding the power, the support and the magic in the many.

Blessed be.

Blessed be.

Blessed be.

And so it is.