What is a Hedge Witch?

By MystikRavyn
I’ve had quite a few people asking me what a Hedge Witch is. When you see, say a top ten list of pagan beliefs, it’s not usually found. Hedgewitchery is lots of times found interchangeable with Kitchen Witch, Cottage Witch, Hearth Witch, and Green Witch. Though there are many aspects which are alike between these paths they are different terms. Also each witch is different based on the reasons they are on this plane at this time.

The main qualities of a Hedge Witch is ability to talk to spirits, travel worlds, use herbalism, nature is the main focus of their spirituality, and their home is their spiritual center. Some Hedge Witches believe in Gods and Goddesses but most believe the greater power is Nature, Mother Nature, Mother Earth, Energy (as in energy never dies it just changes form) or the like natural forms. One thing to keep in mind is being a Hedge Witch is a path not a religion. It is a way of traveling though life. There can be Wiccan, Celtic, Animist, ect Hedge Witches.
One theory of how the term was created is that Hedge Witch stems from way back when in Europe when most people lived in towns. There was security in town and more light at night from candles and torches, which kept away the darkness/evil. There were usually stone walls or hedge rows that surrounded the town and there were a few people who chose to live by the hedges and were considered the “country folk” of the time. These Hedge dwellers were seen as living on the boarder of the light (the town) and the darkness (the wilderness). Spiritually they were also seen living one foot in this world and one foot in the other. Many times these people were sought out by the town to help protect the town from invaders from the darkness. Later they were hunted down, whether they practiced witchcraft or not, because they were seen as “consorting with the Devil” while protecting the towns and had “witch familiars” which were usually seen as cats, owls, rats, and hedgehogs. Living in this area a person will have cats to keep the rats away from grains and owls and hedgehogs because of it being their natural environment.

Hedge witches are sometimes intermingled with Shamanism because of their ability to communicate with spirits, heal with touch, travel among the worlds, and lots of times have an animalist nature. Like Shamanism many Hedge Witches believe plants have a spirit. Many plants are more accepting than others. Plants such as Calamus and Datura will have negative effects on the user if they are used as a recreational drug. There are many references of Datura being called Lady Datura and the Temptress. It is commonly believed these types of plants should not be used unless the plant calls to you (and even then only with an experienced teacher).

This is one aspect Hedge Witches fight about. There is one side who embraces the use of herbs in workings and the other side refuses to be associated with it. It has been recorded over and over in history the use of herbs to gain a heightened state of being. In the last 150 years plants have been abused and have ended up with a bad name. Hedge Witches should not reject herbs just because people have abused plants. Hedge Witches are also known as Hedge Riders meaning flight. Hedge Witches of the past used herbs to astral travel giving the feeling of flight. If you refuse the use of herbs then you are picking and choosing what aspects of the path you are interested in meaning you probably aren’t a Hedge Witch. Herbs should only be used when the herb calls to you and you have a watcher who knows what they are doing.

People in need are many times drawn to Hedge Witches. They radiate energy of help and healing. Many times Hedge Witches will be singled out and asked out of the blue for a tarot card reading or for herbal preparations. Hedge Witches’ homes are full of energy. Many times you can look over a Hedge Witches’ home and notice more and more things that may seem unusual to others such as crystals on the stove or a braid of onions by the door. Hedge Witches are different from a lot of pagan beliefs because their life revolves around their beliefs. Hedge Witches do not just practice on holidays. Hedge Witches put healing into their cooking, garden their own herbs and flowers, craft, and overall surround themselves with their spirituality. Hedge Witches are usually known locally for being an herbalist, make herbal products, and insightful but are usually secluded and not know as “the town witch”.

Hedge Witches are more likely to be solitary and to never/rarely use high magic. In a Hedge Witches spell casting it will include all natural objects such as stones, wood, leaves, pine resin, feathers, flowers, herbs, ect. Hedge Witches are split on the use of metals such as metal bowls or metal jewelry. In a Hedge Witches’ spell crafting they do what comes natural to them. They usually do what they feel in their heart and what is told to them by their guiding spirits. There isnt usually use of symbols, knot work (tie a knot 3x in a ribbon and tie on a candle, ect), or planned out long ceremonies in groups. Also many Hedge Witches do not cast a circle, instead they put up shields around themselves and controlling what goes in and comes out of their physical being by shifting shields. The “circle” is around their individual being and is not needed to be cast because multiple people are not needing to be protected, going back to them usually being solitary.

When there is a day where a lot of negative or positive energy is felt a Hedge Witch will go outside and take a walk and collect anything they are drawn to. It can be a stone, twig, leaf, ect. That item is kept safe and used in spell crafting when whichever the respective energy is needed. Another thing is the first snow after Yule some snow is collected and melted and that water is used in spell crafting. In the past, this water could be used in teas and other means of consuming but with current day pollution it is recommended to only use this for teas for external uses, simmering herbs for scent, and the like.

I can be contacted at LiveJournal or MySpace This has been a general explanation of this group of witches gained in the past 15 years of speaking personally to hedge/green/kitchen/cottage witches and from book/internet research. If you would like to learn more about Hedge Witchery or just chat with like minds feel free to visit Raven’s Nest Live Journal Community or The Wandering Path MySpace Group