Witches, Fire, and Other Dangerous Things: Why I Use the W-Word by Elizabeth Barrette
The following essay began as a response to a friend's post on the Pagan Leaders mailing list. She felt that the word "witch" was too deeply ingrained in the public mind for redemption, found it personally unflattering, and expressed a preference that people not use that term for her. That is of course her right, but she also went on to say that using "witch" in public relations can cause problems and therefore it would be better to use some other term. So I pulled out my trusty old soapbox and composed this rebuttal. For those of you familiar with language science, by the way, the title for this version is a reprise of George Lakoff's famous book Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things which explores the ways people think and use language; and he took his title from a grammatical category in an Australian language. Suggestive, isn't it?
Words are power. Language is power. If we don't fight when people come to steal our power by defining us in their own terms, they will swamp us. So "Witch" is a word that many women choose to reclaim, because it's a mighty word, a magnificent and glorious name for a woman of power. Some men use it too. People are afraid of it and hate it because they want to keep the power for themselves, want to keep others submissive and under their control. They want "Witch" to go away and let them play their nasty little games in peace. They want to be the ones to write the definitions and the rules.
"Witch" is a strike against all of that. It's a way of saying that I do what I please, not what some god or his priests tell me to do. It's a way of saying that if somebody messes with me or mine, they are going to be damn sorry they did it. It's a way of saying that I am magic and I'm not willing to hide what I am -- if other people can't deal with me, that is their problem. "Witch" is a fighting word. But it's also a soft word, a generative word, a reference to the green-growing things and the forces of life. It's a dynamic word that evokes the projective power of man and the encompassing power of woman. It's a tender word that murmurs of sanctuary and rejuvenation. It's a word that says I talk to my plants and they talk to me and I listen to them.
So I'm a force of nature. Day and night, mountain and meadow, spring and fall, fierce and gentle. If somebody doesn't like it, that's just too bad. I can be discreet, I sometimes choose to out of respect for people I care about -- but at heart, I am Witch. I'm a wild thing. And anyone who thinks they can wrest a definition away from a determined Bard is going to get one hell of a nasty surprise. To let other people define you is to give them power over you. To define yourself is to lay claim to your own power. Each person must make their own choice based on their own needs. Do as you will. I know where I draw the line.
And as for the "B" word? Any feminist can tell you that "bitch" usually means a woman who refuses to do what a man wants -- or who makes other women jealous by standing up for herself. One of my main totems is Wolf. When someone calls me a bitch, I let them know they're not more than a whisker's width from the truth. They can see it when I let the human mask slip just a bit. Most of them back away at that point. For all they throw the word around like confetti, they don't want to see a real bitch. They mean it as an insult. I wear it as part of what I am. So the word "bitch" has no power to harm me ... and that tends to scare the dickens out of people when they realize it. After all, an enemy's weapon is yours if you can take it away from him.
Think about the other words people hurl. They say "pagan" and mean "godless" or "unethical." We don't let them get away with that. We stand up and bellow our own definitions right back at them, and that's how it should be. They say "dyke" and "queer" and "faggot" -- and plenty of people have reclaimed those words too. They say "slut" and I say a people have a right to fuck as they please among consenting adults. They say "cunt" and mean to make a woman's body something filthy -- I add "With teeth!" and mean it as the seat of a woman's power. You're talking about a mainstream culture that twists the beautiful and sacred into something obscene, that shackles freedom and clips wings, on a regular basis. I'm talking about memetic engineering, linguistic hacking, and cultural reconstruction. So much of the weight of language aims to cut people down. I just use the same tools to build people up. And if that undermines the mainstream culture -- small loss. We can do better.
Remember: language influences thought and thought influences language. Never give up a battle on these grounds without very careful consideration. When you work magic, you shape reality according to your will. This is no less true of language, when you shape reality according to your words. So whatever you do -- do it mindfully.
For my part, I am Witch. Let him dispute it with me who dares. I am Witch beneath the sun, the moon, and the stars; I am Witch upon the white cliffs and the black hills; I am Witch beside the misty ocean and in the quiet halls of my own house. I am Witch by right of Fire, Earth, Water, and Air; I am Witch by blood and by choice. I am Witch before the gods and the goddesses. Shall I then set aside my self for some mortal's whim? I shall not: I am Witch before the world, and before the men and women of the world, and in the sight of the Universe I stand against those who would have it otherwise. Let them take up words and duel as with swords, if they will, for words are my best weapons and the field of language my own ground.
The power of Witch rises from the bones of the earth and the breath of the sky; it is the magic in all things and it can outlast time itself. What is a mundane culture against that? They have tried their best to stamp us out and failed. So I will never yield the field to them -- I will carry my banner as always, and uphold the truth before all. I and others like me are the reality to their illusions. When foolish people talk of things they know nothing about, when they say that witches are not real, when they claim that witches do various ludicrous or vile things, when they try to push us aside, then I am there to meet them with quiet steely challenge: I am Witch.
This essay copyright 1999 by Elizabeth Barrette. It was revised for reprint on the web 6/21/11.