From time immemorial, people have believed that beings with supernatural powers live next to them. They scare some, but sometimes you can expect help from them. The witch is one of these characters. She is credited with both evil and good deeds. Who is a witch, do they really exist? This issue should be considered in more detail.
Mystical stories about such women are not uncommon today. Popular rumor ascribes to them mostly negative qualities. However, to understand what a witch is, it is necessary to delve into the history of our people. The answers may be hidden much deeper than the casual eye can see.
Modern ideas about witches
The definition of the term "witch" in our time includes mostly negative qualities. This word is sometimes used with a clear desire to offend some of the fair sex.
Such a woman, according to most people, is endowed with a certain evil power. A witch can harm a person in many ways. By all accounts, she knows the evil spirits, flies on a broom and does terrible, creepy things.
Outwardly, this character looks like an ordinary woman. She can be young and beautiful or old and scary. Moreover, at will, the sorceress can change her appearance.
What do witches do?
In addition to a certain appearance, the rumor endows similar entities with behavioral features. There is a clear description of the witch. Who is a witch? Different people answer differently. Yes, and her behavior is also quite diverse.
Many agree that sorceresses periodically fly to the Sabbath. There they exchange experience and knowledge. Also, the typical behavioral features of this evil spirit include harmful actions against people. A witch can steal pets, spoil crops, and contribute to the deterioration of the weather.
This is one of the most harmless acts. The witch, according to our ancestors, could send diseases to the entire settlement, steal children, and also hung out with the devil himself. She could seduce men.
At the same time, such a woman performed special rituals. She brewed a potion, cast spells. Since the Middle Ages, the image of a witch has been supplemented with new details. Today, this character is more like a horror movie.
Slavs were afraid of such women. But in Europe they were tortured and killed. How many innocent girls burned then at the stakes of the Inquisition, were drowned in the rivers, it's hard to even count! Indeed, in those days, to fall into the category of a witch, it was enough just to be beautiful.
Gaining power
All witches can be divided into two categories. The first includes girls who received their special gift at birth. People believed that in a family in which only girls were born, there was a high probability of a witch appearing. It was also believed that if a pregnant woman was cursed, she would give birth to a child endowed with dark powers.
Studying folk legends about what a witch is, one can distinguish another category of these creatures. A woman could acquire her gift during her life. Certain knowledge could be transferred to her by any evil spirit.
Ability to transform into animals
Studying the legends about who a witch is, one cannot ignore the stories about their ability to turn into animals. For this, the witch performed various rituals. These included the use of ointments, infusions. Some could turn into animals or birds by tumbling backward through 12 knives, a furnace fire, a yoke or rope.
A strong witch didn't even need to do that. She could turn into different animals at will. Most often, the owner of superpowers became a black cat, dog, toad, magpie or wolf.
Hunters used to tell many stories about how, after skinning their prey, they found a woman in beautiful clothes under her skin.
Sometimes the witch became a terrible werewolf. She scoured the houses at night, stealing children from the cradle. Sometimes she could even strangle someone she didn't like in her sleep.
Helpers
Advancing in the study of the question of who a witch is, it should be said about her assistants. Usuallythey were presented in the form of a cat, a snake, a dog or a toad. This is an evil spirit that helped the witch in her dark deeds.
When a woman received witch power, she was always given an assistant. It could even be a devil, a kikimora or other evil spirits. If for some reason the witch died before her time (for which a diabolical contract was concluded with her), the assistant still remained by her side. After death, a woman endowed with sinister power turned into a different entity. She could rise from the grave and continue her dark deeds.
Wishing to have fun, the witch could bring trouble on a person, forcing him to fulfill her commands. More N. V. Gogol described how the witch flew astride Khoma Brut through the night field.
The ancient meaning of the word "witch"
However, all the scary stories were invented much later than the appearance of the word "witch". It originates from ancient times. And it had a completely different meaning. When the ancient Slavs lived on these lands, they used it for a respected woman.
The meaning of the word "witch" is easy to understand, knowing its origin. It consists of 2 parts. This is the Lead Mother. In other words, a woman who knows has the highest knowledge. She has a lot of life experience. Such a woman is in harmony with nature and her Self.
Witches used to include midwives, healers, and fortune-tellers. They helped with advice, possessed the highest wisdom. The Lead Mother is a good wife. She canto predict the desires of her husband, suits their life together correctly. Previously, any woman who knew folk rituals and customs was a witch.
White Witch
The truth is that the original concept of witches has been perverted. It is now misunderstood. The true witch is in harmony with herself, the higher forces of the universe. She does not believe in religion, but she feels God around and within herself. She feels how everything is connected in this world. The witch knows that everything is endowed with its own subtle energy and consciousness. And she can control these forces through herself.
A wise woman uses her gift for the good of others, and not for her own selfish benefit. Such a witch is called a white witch. Even after centuries of distorting the concept of such an entity, people today are aware of the existence of a good force.
To understand who a white witch is, one should refer to the original meaning of this concept. Initially, almost all women with higher knowledge were white. They brought good, healing power to the world.
Do witches exist today?
People often wonder who witches are and whether they really exist. To answer them, you need to decide what kind of entity we are talking about. Fairy tales about a woman on a broomstick who turns into a cat or a snake raise some doubts.
But if we take into account that the sorceress has the highest knowledge, then such witches really exist. They receive their abilities from higher powers. It cannot be taught.
The witch feels the energy of this world so subtly, is in harmony with it and with her Self, that she can even control her own powers. Moreover, she can do this for both bad and good purposes. However, every bad deed will return to such a woman a hundredfold. After all, with the receipt of certain knowledge, the responsibility of a person also increases.
The modern witch is really wise. One gets the impression that she draws her knowledge from some hidden, internal sources. Many people do not understand this, it scares them. Everything unknown is treated with caution. Therefore, witches are still feared today, attributing various terrible deeds to them.
Development of the Modern Witch
In search of an answer to the question of who a witch is, one should consider the types of modern representatives of this class. The first is considered a woman who does not have any knowledge. She can brazenly deceive the townsfolk for her own selfish purposes. This is not a real witch.
The second category includes women who have some knowledge, but do not feel higher powers. This is the initial stage of development. Over time, such sensitivity may visit such a woman. She becomes not just smart, but wise.
But some people can use knowledge for bad purposes. These are envious, evil women. They are unable to find harmony in themselves and in the world around them. They take their anger out on those around them. However, they cannot harm a pure developed personality.
You shouldn't be afraid of witches. Better aimdevelop your personality, seek higher knowledge. Wisdom is the true power a person can have.
