11/06/2025
"Calling yourself a witch at this moment in history is a BIG deal. Our way of being as women has been persecuted for millennia. The word ‘witch’ has been vilified and slung around as an insult. So it’s no wonder that we, as women, hold back our power, hush our voices and stay small because we’ve been told that being powerful is unsafe.
Our work, the work of the witch, is to make it safe to be powerful again.
Being powerful in the face of thousands of years of patriarchal expectations and conditioning means going against so many of the things you’ve been taught, right?
And yet . . . the power to shape events, to change things up and make things happen flows naturally through you. Your biology is honed and optimized to wield that power and use it for good.
It’s your birthright as a woman.
This is witch work.
The thing is, so many of us have grown really good at playing the roles we’ve been offered up as women in the world...
The problem? I don’t know about you, but when I’ve played these roles (and I’ve played many of them in the past), I’ve always found myself feeling a combination of unfulfilled/hungry/displeased/restless.
And if you feel that restlessness too? That’s the unexpressed part of you.
Over time, that part of you starts to scream inside. The scream becomes deafening. All-consuming.
For some it shows up as pain and dis-ease in the body. For others it’ll be depression and/or anxiety.
You may use food/drink/shopping/drugs to numb it.
At first, you’ll probably push it down.
And in pushing down the scream, you’ll go one of two ways. You’ll either become despondent and submissive to life, or you’ll become aggressive and/or hardened – taking on predominantly masculine traits to survive . . .
I totally disconnected from my female body. I lived my life from the neck up, operating and making decisions decisions from my head. I lived life like a dude because that option seemed much easier than having to deal with being a woman who was never seen or heard . . .
Pushing down the scream is what we’re dealing with here . . . it’s a basic reality for so many women in the western world. Recognize it in your body.
Recognize it in your being, because it’s time to stop pushing it down. It’s time to start letting it all be seen and felt. FULLY.
This is witch work.
How do we dare to express our fullness?
We must bring it ALL.
Rage AND laughter.
Beauty AND strength.
Fierceness AND grace.
Vulnerability AND force.
Compassion AND passion."
~ Lisa Lister, "Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic."
Art: Aleah Chapin, “Splitting the Silence" on Instagram
