“The sea owes us nothing and takes everything.” ~ trueriptide
Sometimes people look at me oddly, at first, when I tell them that I am not only a witch, but that I am a water witch. For those that are not familiar with witchcraft, they usually do not realise that there are “specialities” or areas of craft that just come naturally to some. After we talk about it for awhile, it becomes quite obvious to them that being a water witch fits me perfectly.
Some common traits of water witches:
love water, inclement weather, and the moon.
act as an amplifying echo chamber: if you are kind, you get kindness & compassion from them; if you only flatter, you get only superficial flattery from them; and if you are mean, expect a wrathful storm in return.
imbued with fairness, justness, and a great sense of accountability to self.
gifted with the quality of “just knowing” or “second sight”; their intuition is to be trusted.
adept at divination: tarot, shells, dowsing, and scrying are all typical.
rarely view anything as a true obstacle; “things will always work out”; and rarely admit weakness.
exhibit an understanding of creation, reproduction, menstruation, coming-of-age, and moon-lodges.
specialise in energy, intuition, healing, cleansing, emotions, and beauty.
practising by instinct and less concerned with timing and correspondences.
known for their generous hospitality.
wise, flexible, and slow to develop an opinion (but once they have one, it is quite known).
a healer by profession: service personnel, therapist, mediator, counselor, obstetrician, pediatrician, psychologist, or midwife.
often moody, ebbing and flowing like the sea, with mood swings predictable by moon phases.
One of the most common questions that I get from others is, “Does that mean that you only do stuff with water?” I usually answer with something along these lines, “‘Only’ might be a rather strong word to use; I would say ‘prefer to work with water’ or ‘predominately works with water’ instead.” The follow up question is always, “How does that work?” To which I try to explain things simply by stating, “It just means that I work with the energies of water/weather/storms/seas more than other energies and elements; I am more attuned to those energies and working with them comes naturally to me. I use water in various forms in my ritual work.”
Like most Traditional Witches (non-Wiccan/pre-modern; inspired by historical forms of witchcraft, folk magic, cunning, and midwifery), I serve my community first and then myself; practising mainly responsive, problem/situation-based magic for community members for barter or monetary compensation. I am someone that community members turn to when mainstream avenues have proved to be dead ends. I typically practise as a solitary witch, mainly because most of my magic is intuitive, instinctual, and not often planned like ceremonial magic. I am in a constant state of self-reflection and self-refinement — if I do not know who I am and where I stand, my magic suffers.
I am an Animist and find myself focusing on the assumed energetic powers of the items I work with more than focusing on any power I might see myself as having; I have worked very hard to safely practise as a receptive practitioner, to serve as a conduit for the energy of the natural objects and forces I utilise, all while adding my intentions to those energies. My professional and academic background includes Anthropology, Psychology, and Midwifery and I find that these sciences have an immense influence on how I practise. I have also done extensive research into the craft and old folk-ways of my Czechoslovakian and Romani heritage and the more modern Rootwork/Conjure that I draw from as well. I have spent more than half my life at this point studying the path I follow, which is always ready with another sharp turn or bend in the road right as I am feeling confident in my stride.
The water and weather aspects are unavoidable for me. I spent my youth in Oklahoma running outside to watch the clouds, feel the wind and rain, and smell the Earth and Air, instead of running inside to hide as the tornado sirens sounded. When I got older, I used to jump in my car and drive towards the storm, feeding off of its energy. Now I still go outside to meditate or charge magical items when a storm front is rolling in — with the best seat in the house being my hammock. I can not imagine practising magic without these elements and their energy; I would feel incomplete.
I often get asked about “grey magic” since the concept is associated with sea/water witchery. It is true, my craft (like all magic) is neither black, nor white, but it lives in the grey realm (like Nature; she is neither black, nor white, but she is grey). Working with water and the weather is chaos, unpredictable, and wild. I like to maintain a balance and harmony, as being balanced is a practical necessity in magic, in my experience. I am can be very dark when it is warranted and I can be very love and light when that is needed.
I want to end this post with a binding spell.
Materials:
bowl of salt water
black candle
smudge bundle
hemp rope or hemp twine length for each entryway into your home (doors AND windows)
Light your candle and focus your intention of banishing evil. Then take and wave your candle and smudge bundle at each entryway. While marking the entryways with a saltwater cross on the threshold or sill, say the following:
May greeted friends be welcome here. People unknown should have fear. Those who without welcome cross this door Shall writhe in pain forevermore.
The last thing to do is to take a length of your hemp rope/twine and tie five knots in it to represent a person’s limbs and head. Then place the length of hemp across the threshold, sill, or ledge or hang it above the entryway and if an intruder breaks in, the rope will be disturbed, causing the intruder to be bound in pain until the knots are untied. If you choose not to unbind them, bury the rope and the intruder will be bound in pain forever.
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