There are a lot of stereotypes surrounding the word “Witch” and what should they look like. To begin with, we need to make clear that that a witch does not give up her identity because of the clothes, the accessories they wear, or the things they say. So if you see someone in the street all dressed in black, with pentagrams dangling, charm bracelets, or any other “occult” eccentricity on them, you should not assume they are a witch because of the looks. This behaviour only perpetuates stereotypes.
Of course it is also very possible that this person is a natural witch, but their appearance has nothing to do with it.
Most of the stereotypes we have today regarding the typical appearance of witches, come from the mediaeval times. The most common beliefs back then were:
Having a unibrow
Having been born on a Saturday
Having red hair
Having been born on Friday the 13th
Liking cats or having a cat as a pet, especially a black one
Animals love this person and usually much
Animals are afraid of that person
Having a birthmark or bump were the third eye is supposed to be
Having any sort of birthmark, literally anywhere on the body
Having black hair, black eyes, black eyebrows
Not being able to cry
Having a traditional broom, since this is what witch is use to fly
Wearing tall pointy black hats
Living somewhere secluded, or in a forest
etc.
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The traditional version of course, the one that still exists to our day as a stereotype, is the one from the fairy tales;
The Witch, is an old hag with a crooked nose and rotten teeth. She has a screechy voice, long talons for nails, she rides a broom, and her favourite past time is to do evil. In some fairy tales, the witch at first appears as a young beautiful maiden whose sole purpose is to trap young men. Wizards on the other hand are quite lucky, as in most fairy tales they are portrayed as old, good, wise men, who are all powerful, but their only purpose is to help good win against evil.
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THE ORIGINS
Of course, all tales and stereotypes have an origin somewhere in history.
Having been born on a Saturday, Sunday, during the full moon etc.
These dates were traditionally associated with Sabbaths, pagan holidays, and ancient rituals. Thus, a kid born during these days, it was believed that it was brought to earth by the ancient gods and that it was the spawn of evil that could grow up to become a witch.
Having red hair.
Back in the day, redheads were even more rare than they are today. Adding to that the fact that the red colour is associated with passion, it makes it easy to understand why mediaeval people believed redheads to be symbols of satanic lust.
Pets and Animals.
Since the ancient times there was the belief that witches were gathering spirits to work for them, that they were called “familiars”.
For more information on familiars you can read this article:
Familiars: A Witch’s Companion Spirit
Third Eye and Birthmarks.
Since the occult practitioners always used to practice what it is called the “Third Eye” it was only natural for uneducated people to assume that any mark on the forehead was a sign that marked a witch. At the same time, people believed that when a witch signs their soul away to get powers from the devil, the devil has to catch them in order to seal the deal. Birthmarks were also known as the points of “The Devil’s Touch”. If it was an infant that had a birthmark though, they just assumed that the mother had conceived the baby with Satan himself.
Pointy Hats, Black Cats, and Broomsticks!
This is perhaps one of the most sinister stereotypes that started from a conspiracy. Back in the day, tall black hats with a buckle, where in the centre of fashion. During that time, beer brewing was considered to be a woman’s job. During weekly gatherings, festivals, and other celebrations or social events, female beer brewers were going out and about to sell their products. In order for them to be seen among the crowds, they used to make their already tall hats as tall as possible. And when the brewery was open for business, they used to place one or more brooms over the door so customers could see that they were able to go get some beer. At the same time, due to the rat infestation that was very common because of all the herbs and plans needed for the making of beer, brewers had to keep cats as pets in order to protect their space.
When men who were into business and trade started realising that beer making is a profitable business, they tried to find a way to get in this industry. Negotiating though was almost impossible so they went down another way. They started accusing women of witchcraft and they managed to make people believe that women who were wearing tall black hats, had brooms, and cats for pets, were devil worshipers, as these were supposed to be Satan’s instruments and the marks of witch.
Because of this, a lot of female beer brewers were hunted down and executed as witches, and the brewing industry passed in the hands of men.
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Recognising a Real Witch
This is all of course false information and folklore, based on mediaeval people’s lack of understanding and science. There are some characteristics though that can be used for one to (if not recognise) at least tell if a person is possibly a witch.
They care about nature.
A witch is connected with nature and the earth kingdom, therefore it is natural for a witch to go out of their way in order to care about the environment.
They don’t get upset.
A witch is usually a patient and virtuous person that practices self-awareness and meditation. A person like that would rarely get upset, especially for mundane reasons and inconveniences, as this would go against their practice.
They don’t “pose”.
A true witch is not what you can call a “poser”. They know themselves and they know what they’re worth, therefore they have nothing to showcase. This means, that the real witch has no need to prove themselves to others.
Not a people’s person.
The majority of witches spend most of their time practising and self-developing. They usually avoid frequent social gatherings and crowded events.
Their face has, something.
Although this is not a physical trait, but a mental one, when you meet a witch, their face seems to have something that captures your attention and makes them hard to forget.
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They are hard to describe.
Usually, a witch seems so complex, that when you meet them it is quite hard to be able to describe their character to other people. They also seem to change quite a lot so it is nearly impossible to be able to characterise them.
There are gifted.
A witch is usually a gifted person. They tend to have a lot of knowledge in many different subjects, and this is because a witch ought to have as an extensive pool of knowledge as possible in order to practice their craft, and for their self-development.
They are intuitive.
Intuition is one of the first psychic abilities that the witch develops. Therefore, it is quite usual for this person to act mostly on instinct. There are also able to sense and feel things around them and this is why sometimes they seem to cause and stare at odd directions.
Of course, this does not mean that having one of these characteristics signals that the person is an actual witch. Anyone can have a number of these characteristics, and this article is only intended as a brief suggestion and a comparison between the false criteria of the past and the more truthful criteria of the present. Usually, an actual witch will manifest all the criteria mentioned above, and even more.
There are also methods and techniques that one witch can recognise the other, or even be able to tell if a person is born one or has the potential to become one, but this is mostly secret knowledge shared among practitioners, and material for a future article.