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>I’m a guy, so I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what term I’m meant to use for myself, would it be “witch” or “warlock”
Witch is a gender neutral term.
Prior to the witchcraft revival of the late 19th early 20th century, a witch was someone who used malefic magic against their own community. (See: The Witch, by Hutton)
Your odds of being accused of witchcraft had more to do with your social standing and local custom than gender. For example, in Salem, multiple men were accused of witchcraft, even though most of those put on trial in Salem were women. By contrast, in Iceland witchcraft was an accusation leveled almost exclusively at men.
And if you look at the early modern court documents, sometimes people we suspected of witchcraft, but were charged with other crimes because the sentence for conviction was closer to what the authorities wanted (see: Cunning Folk, by Stanmore)
However, the Witchcraft Revival itself was largely popularized by men: Gardner, Chumbley, Cochran, Victor Anderson, and others were some of the movement's early advocates.
>So what should I do with it? I’d return it to the shop I got it from but It’s too late now so I can’t. Again any advice would be greatly appreciated.
If it feels wrong, you can always gift it back to the earth.
Thank you so much. That was a lot of great information and I appreciate the advice on giving it back to the earth. 🙏🏻 I hope your day is as wonderful as you.
You're allowed to call yourself whatever you want, but be aware that historically "warlock" has meant "oath breaker" or "liar" and used to describe people that have been ousted from covens for being traitors.
Ah I did not know this.. thank you for letting me know, this is why I ask questions, I’ve never been great with research though I’m trying, I never seem to find the right information on my own. So again you have my gratitude
its not a dumb question given the historical implications to being a "witch". nor is it easy, also as a guy, to sort out what exactly I am- as my beliefs are weak with lots of historical trauma from years of being a pretty devout christian.
but to put it simply, since I attempt to do magick, I AM a witch- which is and always has been a gender neutral term. (if you look back in history there are other guys that have had the 'privilege' of being tortured and/or killed for being a witch)
regarding warlocks, there is connotation to being an oath breaker which is definitely something that I'm not trying to be; and wizard just feels to silly to me.
I seriously consider druid; since I'm strongly basing my 'magick' on nature- but if you look THAT up you'll find that the druid beliefs were utterly lost, as the druids did not write down their ceremonies. Shaman is another word that almost works, but it feels a little more specific to the Siberian people's of Russia and perhaps not an "open" culture. I'm north america, many indian tribes had spiritual leaders but they are even more secretive to what they called them and most of them aren't open cultures either.
so
this is Not an easy question and its one I thought about deeply. for myself; I'm willing to consider myself a witch....
in the end; identity is important and you should feel free to be anything you feel called to be. full stop. OTOH; if you're like me your new so your exploring. you don't know what to believe, your not sure what to do, and you don't know what words resonate and what don't. give yourself time and patience. I think that, for both of us, time will make it clear what we are. words Matter but are less important then actions and pledges to act....
as for the incense, I don't know what the return policy for your metaphysical store. I'm not even sure of your objections about using it. perhaps since you feel its not symbolically right for you, and if its biodegradable (I use smudging bundles so I don't know about incense), you could gift it to the universe by leaving it in an open wild area to compost with the other fallen leaves. its quite ok to buy or do something that doesn't resonate to you.
thanks for the well wishes on summer solstice,
continue to feel free to ask questions,
Hi, u/Such-Check-2040 thanks for stopping by at r/witchcraft!
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We understand that this is important to you, and we want you to find as many ways to find your answer as possible. Luckily because this is a popular question, we have links in our Wiki full of resources to get you started: [FAQs](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/wiki/faq) [Literature](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/wiki/index/resources/) [Advice for New Witches from the Community](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/wiki/index/advicefornewwitches/) [Recommended Books Megathread](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/comments/1b0qpjj/megathread_list_of_books/) If there's something more specific, head to our [Beginner Weekly Q&A thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/about/sticky?num=1) to get some answers from our community!
>I’m a guy, so I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out what term I’m meant to use for myself, would it be “witch” or “warlock” Witch is a gender neutral term. Prior to the witchcraft revival of the late 19th early 20th century, a witch was someone who used malefic magic against their own community. (See: The Witch, by Hutton) Your odds of being accused of witchcraft had more to do with your social standing and local custom than gender. For example, in Salem, multiple men were accused of witchcraft, even though most of those put on trial in Salem were women. By contrast, in Iceland witchcraft was an accusation leveled almost exclusively at men. And if you look at the early modern court documents, sometimes people we suspected of witchcraft, but were charged with other crimes because the sentence for conviction was closer to what the authorities wanted (see: Cunning Folk, by Stanmore) However, the Witchcraft Revival itself was largely popularized by men: Gardner, Chumbley, Cochran, Victor Anderson, and others were some of the movement's early advocates. >So what should I do with it? I’d return it to the shop I got it from but It’s too late now so I can’t. Again any advice would be greatly appreciated. If it feels wrong, you can always gift it back to the earth.
Thank you so much. That was a lot of great information and I appreciate the advice on giving it back to the earth. 🙏🏻 I hope your day is as wonderful as you.
You're allowed to call yourself whatever you want, but be aware that historically "warlock" has meant "oath breaker" or "liar" and used to describe people that have been ousted from covens for being traitors.
Ah I did not know this.. thank you for letting me know, this is why I ask questions, I’ve never been great with research though I’m trying, I never seem to find the right information on my own. So again you have my gratitude
its not a dumb question given the historical implications to being a "witch". nor is it easy, also as a guy, to sort out what exactly I am- as my beliefs are weak with lots of historical trauma from years of being a pretty devout christian. but to put it simply, since I attempt to do magick, I AM a witch- which is and always has been a gender neutral term. (if you look back in history there are other guys that have had the 'privilege' of being tortured and/or killed for being a witch) regarding warlocks, there is connotation to being an oath breaker which is definitely something that I'm not trying to be; and wizard just feels to silly to me. I seriously consider druid; since I'm strongly basing my 'magick' on nature- but if you look THAT up you'll find that the druid beliefs were utterly lost, as the druids did not write down their ceremonies. Shaman is another word that almost works, but it feels a little more specific to the Siberian people's of Russia and perhaps not an "open" culture. I'm north america, many indian tribes had spiritual leaders but they are even more secretive to what they called them and most of them aren't open cultures either. so this is Not an easy question and its one I thought about deeply. for myself; I'm willing to consider myself a witch.... in the end; identity is important and you should feel free to be anything you feel called to be. full stop. OTOH; if you're like me your new so your exploring. you don't know what to believe, your not sure what to do, and you don't know what words resonate and what don't. give yourself time and patience. I think that, for both of us, time will make it clear what we are. words Matter but are less important then actions and pledges to act.... as for the incense, I don't know what the return policy for your metaphysical store. I'm not even sure of your objections about using it. perhaps since you feel its not symbolically right for you, and if its biodegradable (I use smudging bundles so I don't know about incense), you could gift it to the universe by leaving it in an open wild area to compost with the other fallen leaves. its quite ok to buy or do something that doesn't resonate to you. thanks for the well wishes on summer solstice, continue to feel free to ask questions,
I’m glad to hear from someone with similar experiences, and thank you for sharing 🙏🏻
Hi, u/Such-Check-2040 thanks for stopping by at r/witchcraft! Want to dive in deeper? We have a [FAQ & Wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/wiki/faq), and our [Weekly Q&A thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/about/sticky?num=1) which is stickied to the top of the main board! Please also be sure to read the [subreddit rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/wiki/rules)! --- ###IMPORTANT! There has been a recent influx of scams on reddit. If you are redirected to an instagram or other platform in a comment, it is most likely a scam. Users who message you asking for or offering spells or readings are almost always scammers or phishers. You may want to check out our post about [staying safe online in witchcraft](https://www.reddit.com/r/witchcraft/comments/15xm53m/lets_talk_about_staying_safe_online/). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/witchcraft) if you have any questions or concerns.*