Which Witch Am I

Hello. My name is Kirsten and I am the Hedge Witch of Hedge Witch Cottage.

After years of knowing I was a witch, I chose to identify as a Hedge Witch because of my passion for using herbs in my life and practices, and my dedication to environmentalism. Hedge witches bring the outside world into their home, intertwining nature’s elements with their hearth. As a farm-to-table chef, I value the connection between food and the earth, and I find joy in growing and harvesting my herbs, and organic foods to incorporate into my cooking and spellwork. Hedge witches also engage in eclectic practices that combine elements of earth spirituality, sustainable living, divination, and astral work.

Their practice is deeply rooted in self-sufficiency, personal responsibility, and a profound connection to the natural world. They are well-versed in local flora and fauna, understanding which plants can harm and which can heal. They live harmoniously with natural cycles, weather patterns, and lunar phases. Additionally, I believe my continuous roles as caregiver, and master gardener, and my deep need to wander the forest have also influenced my choice, as Hedge Witches are often associated with healing and nurturing. Overall, Hedge Witchcraft seems to align well with my values and interests.

A hedge witch is a practitioner of folk magic who focuses on the liminal spaces between the physical
and spiritual worlds. The term “hedge” refers to the idea that these witches walk the metaphorical hedge, which serves as a boundary or barrier between the ordinary world and the realm of the supernatural.

Folk magic encompasses a wide variety of diverse magical practices united by the fact that they are the magical practices of the common folk, rather than the ceremonial magic worked by the learned elite.

Practical Nature: Folk magic is generally practical and aims to address common issues within a community. It includes practices such as: healing the sick, bringing love or luck, driving away evil forces, finding lost items, ensuring good harvests, granting fertility, and the reading of omens.

I learned a lot of the magical folk things that I know, from my grandmother. She was raised quite Pagan, her people had come from the “Old Country”, Sweden. She was “reformed” when a great Christian revival swept through the country and the backwoods in the 1940s. Some of it “took”, while a deeper wilder thread of the old ways continued to weave deeply through her life.

Looking back, she was quite complex in her beliefs, wearing her respectable cloak of Christianity around her friends but then dressing me in the dress and candle crown of St. Lucia for St Lucias Day on December 13th. Lucia is an ancient mythical figure with an abiding role as a bearer of light in the dark Swedish winters where Saint Lucia’s Day began, and winter days are very dark during the Winter Solstice. Ancient pagan solstice celebrations included bonfires and ceremonies to ward off evil.

On Christmas Eve my grandmother would then take me to wait for the animals to speak at midnight in the barn. The story is told of how all the animals in the world, at the stroke of midnight on Christmas Eve, speak. With their newfound power of speech, the animals rejoice at the birth of Jesus, born humbly in a manger and surrounded by animals.

My grandmother was not very patient with the little girl who talked to flowers as if they were old friends, floated into the woods to meld with the forest spirits, or spoke aloud things that came to her that she could not have any possible knowledge of.

As a teenager, I received my first deck of Tarot cards and began to learn their meanings I was really surprised at the accuracy at which I could use these divination tools. Now, it’s a bit of a passion and I love to collect beautiful nature decks.

Historical Origins: The term “hedge witch” pays homage to the wise women of old who often lived on the outskirts of villages, beyond the hedgerows. These hedge witches served dual purposes: acting as healers or cunning women and gathering herbs and plants from the woods, fields, and hedges. They typically practiced alone and infused everyday activities with magical intent.

After being married with a family, I flourished in my gardens and home. My children thought it was normal to create Witch bottles to solve problems at school, sprinkle salt across door sills to keep intruders at bay, and had no idea that other mothers didn’t go out and walk the four corners of their property in a storm, chanting to turn tornados away to keep them safe.

My husband often referred to me as the wisest person he knew. His friends often asked me about healing, nutrition, and herbs. I look back and feel the loss of the people who would not heed my words. Knowledge can sometimes be a burden when you see a solution that isn’t being utilized. Which brings a heavy heart and sorrow but doesn’t change who we are and what we do.

It was a bit ironic that in most of the places I lived in when I had to describe to someone how to get something like this: “It’s the house after the pavement ends”, “go over the railroad tracks, it’s the next house”, “my driveway is one mile long”. Beyond the hedgerows, on the outskirts is where I felt most comfortable.

Solitary Practice: Hedge witchcraft is usually practiced by solitaries—individuals who work independently
rather than within a coven or group. It involves a deep study of plants and the natural world.

I am what you would call a solitary. It’s a rarity to find that magical person I like to spend time with and when I do I tend to form a lifelong friendship with them. Most people’s interests are too mundane, and they are not interested in the depth of topics that Hedge Witchery encompasses.

I have spent a lifetime learning about herbs, plants, flowers, and essential oils, and their medicinal, magical, and mundane uses. I have spent hours gathering in books, in the gardens, the forests, and fields, or just
observing plants at their different stages in the different seasons. Learning new and different uses of things is always an exciting journey that I will forever be on.

Home and Hearth: Like kitchen witchcraft, hedge witchery often centers on the hearth and home as the core of magical activity. The home is considered a sacred space, and the energies of the people there help define it.

My treasures are my loved ones, my home, and my health. I spend a lot of my time and energy creating my sacred spaces, consciously taking steps to make an effort to ban toxic or destructive components in my home but to bring in only the best, the most pure items I can find. I create my home using homemade cleaners, and essential oils I cook from scratch as many foods as possible, use organic foods, and pasture ethically raised meats, grow vegetables, buy locally, and choose non-GMO foods as much as possible. My goal has always been to create delightful meals from foods I have grown, or foraged that are free of additives, preservatives, or any unnecessary ingredients so that every bite that goes in my mouth and into my family is filled with dense nutrition to nourish our bodies and minds as I go forth as a better version of myself, in my life as I strive to become a Wise Woman in my Hedge Witch journey.

I’ve spent quite a few years trying to create a sacred space within the walls of my home. I have also had years of struggle. Life can be a struggle, occasionally and I fully admit that I haven’t always reacted to life’s struggles with grace. I guess, that’s the joy of it, you can always wake up, check yourself, and start each day new and fresh. It’s my daily goal to wake a wiser woman than I was the day before and make corrections within myself based on these daily revelations.

This day and age has tried to minimize the effects of a woman in her home. Society tries to drag her out of her sacred space and throw her into the rat race. If that’s where you want to be then enjoyed your life. I do not enjoy a rat race, even if it’s a good one. I am here today to share my beliefs and my lifestyle along with some practical ideas on how you can start your journey into the Hedge Witch lifestyle if that is your goal.

Herbal Magic and Nature: Hedge witches spend a significant amount of time working with herbal magic. They learn skills related to herbal medicine and aromatherapy. Their practices are deeply personal and spiritual.

I have found that essential oils carry deep healing properties. There are essential oils for any ailment. The years I have studied have taught me that their slower, body-triggering healing is much more natural and less invasive for us than medications intended to mask and cover disease. Not only have essential oils been a part of my life but homeopathic medicines have been helpful. My love for herbs and their magical correspondences is an ongoing learning process.

I don’t claim to be a doctor, but I am a knowledgeable hedge witch. I have spent countless hours learning the effects herbs, oils, and nutrients have on the body. I will never tell you what you should do. I will only tell you what I would do if it were me. Hedge witchery is multifaceted and so is healing. Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit, all these elements must be addressed in healing to keep the balance.

Hedge witches honor the past, connect with nature, and blend magic seamlessly into their daily lives. I am a Hedge Witch, I have been all along. It just took me some years to learn my name.

I have created this course: “The Solitary Hedge Witch” to help you develop a solid foundation in hedge witchcraft and gain the tools and knowledge needed to practice this ancient craft all on your own. Whether you are a beginner or have some experience in witchcraft, “The Solitary Hedge Witch” course will guide you on a transformative journey of self-discovery and magical empowerment. If you are ready to start your journey I am here to help guide you on your path.

Blessed Be, Kirsten