Feminists who identity their deep centering Selves with the term witch are not being merely metaphorical, or cute, or popularizing, or "trivializing." I suggest, rather, that the reverse is true: that to limit the term to apply only to those who have esoteric knowledge of and participate formally in "the Craft" is the real reductionism. This is the case particularly since the cult, as Murray demonstrated (perhaps inadvertently), has been strongly invaded by patriarchal influences.

Together with Robin Morgan, who has done so much both to elicit in women the wide and deep intuition of the meaning of Witch and to resist simple vulgarization, I hope that more feminists will give to the study of witches “the serious study that it warrants, recognizing it as a part of our entombed history, a remnant of the Old Religion which pre-dated all patriarchal faiths and which was a Goddess-worshipping, matriarchal faith . . . [reading] the anthropological, religious, and mythographic studies on the subject.” Hopefully, in doing so we will not sacrifice the original vigor and integrity that inspired the "New York Covens" in the late sixties to proclaim:

“You are a Witch by saying aloud, "I am a Witch" three times, and thinking about that. You are a Witch by being female, untamed, angry, joyous, and immortal.”

Many women have understood this identity of the Witch within, the Self who is the target of the fathers' attacks and the center of original movement. Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English did much to spread knowledge among women of the role of the witches as midwives and healers, showing that their suppression coincided with the creation of a new male medical profession. In the early seventies, Andrea Dworkin named the witchcraze for what it is: gynocide. She showed its interconnectedness with other horrors such as foot-binding, fairy tales, rape, and pornography. Others have searched out pieces of the mosaic which are not easy to find.

Such works should be valued for igniting the Spark which inflames the desire to search further. There is much to be done. Working with increased confidence and precision, Hags must continue in the spiritual tradition of such visionaries as Matilda Joslyn Gage, continuing to uncover our past and paths to our future. This will be possible to the degree that we continue with courage in the Journey of our own time/space. Seeing through the fraudulent re-presentations of the witchcraze will help us recognize the tactics of today's Male Midwives, the professional Wizards who have unsuccessfully "succeeded" the Wise Women—the Unhealers of Modern Medicine.

-Mary Daly, Gyn/Ecology

Had an epiphany this morning regarding Hekate and Shadow Work and I've been writing all morning. This will definitely be turned into a post on our websites blog.

Helllo!

Dianic Witchcraft student here. Currently working through Women's rites, Women's Mysteries by Ruth Barrett and in desperate search of friends. 😭😂❤️❤️

Please feel free to message me!

Not a bot / paper towel users, blue-juice drinkers and blanket haters (unless for neurodivergency reasons) dni

The MoonWitch tarot by Cosmic Valeria on Etsy.

I cannot wait to start working with it!

I don't dream of a future where little girls grow up wanting to be ceos, or lockheed martin scientists, or soldiers, or whatever a human recourses developer is. I dream of a world where girls grow up wanting to be occultist practitioners, and sex workers, and unhinged artists, and boys.

great news everyone !

I think that radical feminists have issue seeing the worth of witchcraft, dianic witchcraft and female-centred witchcraft because they do not know much about it. The reason it drew me in was because of rituals and symbols. There are a few radfems I have seen who understand that the lack of positive symbols in religion have a negative effect of women everywhere. Men have the cross, women have the apple. That sort of thing. However female-centred witchcraft seeks to change that and instead have positive symbols and rituals that explore aspects of things unique in women! Such as our life experiences and our bodies.

These are some extracts of Ruth Barrett’s Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries, which is a book on Dianic Witchcraft. Now before I share I want to preface that spirituality simply isn’t for everyone. I’m not advocating to convert you. I am merely sharing in the hopes you will see WHY some radfems choose to explore the Dianic spirituality, or even just female centred witchcraft that tends to follow a variation of the same thought process.

I think upon reading these, it is difficult to not see the worth of witchcraft that some of us see.

As someone who has studied the history of Early Modern European witchcraft at university it is funny how many terfs spread theories as indisputable fact that are unaccepted within mainstream historical scholarship.

Yes men could be witches. No it was not a conspiracy against midwives. Yes it was rooted in misogyny and the societal disempowerment of women. No this was not the only relevant factor. Religion, class and social dynamics were also super important. Not to mention the blatant anti semitism.

The European witch hunts are such a fascinating and disturbing historical phenomenon, and I hate how it has been over simplified to support a radfem narrative.

The Devonsville Terror (1983)

when will the gods erase men off this world and leave everything to women

"The sorceress kit", a bizzare collection of about 100 trinkets found buried inside a box, in the garden of a house in Pompeii, believed to be a fortune teller's tool kit.

Image not mine.

I moved my altar Into a closet and it was the best decision.

lesbian festival season may be over but the community is as lively as ever!

EVENTS: Cinema Systers Lesbian Film Festival is in KY May 23-26! Early bird tickets on sale thru Dec 31! National Women's Music Festival is in WI June 20-23! Big Mouth Girl Music Festival is in MI July 23-28!

CLUBS & ORGANIZATIONS: INTL Women's Flag Football is inviting teams, leagues, and individuals! IWFFA.com RCGI-Crossroads is meeting in IN for Goddess-focused Shabbat rituals! The Temple of Diana is offering virtual and in-person classes! templeofdiana.org Guardians of the Grove are offering virtual classes in female-centered magick and ritual-making! guardiansofthegrove.org

BOOKS, MUSIC, & FILMS: Overcoming Deepest Grief: a Woman's Journey by Mary Aviyah Farkas. Award-winning book about finding love and joy after the agonizing loss of her first wife. Love with Soul: Award-winning romance novels with lesbians 50+, slow burn, and abiding love. The Hum of Bees and Lie with ME by Patricia Spencer Novels by Carol Anne Douglas: Choosing Yellowstone, about older lesbians still in love but separated by miles. Lesbian movies: Wolfe Video for DVDs and streaming wolfevideo.com, wolfeondemand.com Sinister Wisdom: a Multicultural Lesbian Literary and Art Journal! 50th anniversary in 2026! sinisterwisdom.com The Touch of Her Voice: Romance, relationship, betrayal, and redemption… with some basketball thrown in. A debut novel by Sara Scott. Joyful, sexy, fun! Miss Lister's Guest House gets rave reviews. You'll love this new lesbian romance by A L Aikman. What Makes a Lesbian? A short story memoir by Paula Schorr. Soulful Reflections: a book of poetry and photos by Linda L. Franklin.

Theory time

{ Gonna say this, this is not a radfem post so if you're a radfem kindly fuck off. Because you're not in this conversation, you openly oppress and harm others just like hateful cis straight men do.}

I've noticed cis straight men HATE the zodiac, crystals, witchcraft and all that but I got a theory on WHY.

IT'S BECAUSE UNLIKE MOST OTHER BELIEFS THEY ARE NOT IN CHARGE.

Yes you heard me I think it's likely cis straight men feel threatened And mock these forms of spirituality/beliefs because it doesn't push misogynistic values and put men at the head on things or have a divine that's a dude.

Notice how it was cis straight dudes that started the hate against crystals, witchcraft, cleansings, reiki, the evil eye, tarot, Horoscopes and all that...

These sorts of spiritualities are normally dominated by woman and LGBTQ+, both of these groups are oppressed outsiders in many cis straight dominated religions. Normally women and LGBTQ+ ppl support each other on those communities and uplift each other. I think that's another reason cis straight men see it as such a threat.

Just saying

also cis straight dudes that normally respect that stuff or are into that stuff don't hate women or LGBTQ+ ppl I've noticed...

{ when I say women on this post or on any post I ever make on this account I mean all women both cis and trans. Because trans women are women }

“Some of the old goddess tales were twisted to suit the takeover of male powers, in order to win converts to their new gods. For example, Pandora (All-Gifts) was originally a Great Mother Goddess, whose box (womb, cauldron, cave, cup) was a reservoir of beauty and life-sustaining gifts. Patriarchal myth tells us that Her box contained all manner of destructive demons, which once unleashed upon the world, brought evil and suffering to all. Eve was also a Mother Goddess, whose tree was the Tree of Life. The serpent was her own sensual wisdom, and the apple was her sacred fruit. Athene, whom we are told was born fully grown out of the head of Zeus, dressed in armor and ready for war, was originally the daughter of the matriarchal goddess Metis. (Meter, method, measure, matter, mother…) Both mother and daughter were worshipped by the Amazons at Lake Triton, and were born parthenogenetically—without sperm.”

This quote was taken from the book, Ariadne’s Thread A Workbook of Goddess Magic by Shekhinah Mountainwater. The quote comes from the Myth-Making section of Cycle 1 on page 26.

Reading about the true origins of Pandora, Eve, and Athene (female mythical figures we’ve all heard about and seen in popular media) is cathartic. My heart is filled with joy!