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Writer's pictureLaurie 'Silver-Bear'

Witches? Warlock? What can I call myself if I am male or identify as male?


Witches? Warlock? What can I call myself if I am male or identify as male?

Firstly, you can call yourself whatever you like. It's your practice. 😃 But here is some interesting things I found on the subject.


Many men call themselves "witches." Pagans believe the universe is driven by forces that are equally male and female. The person credited with founding Wicca was a man named Gerald Gardner. He was a world traveler with an interest in the occult. He first heard the word "Wica" used in 1930, when he became involved with a coven in Highcliffe, England. He was initiated into the group in 1939.


In 1946 Gardner bought land in the village of Brickett Wood to establish a center for folkloric study, that would serve as headquarters for a coven of his own.


Gardner died of a heart attack in 1964 while onboard a ship off the North African coast.

His personal collection was sold to Ripley's Believe It Or Not.


A side note: Pagan men today are much more likely to label themselves "witches" rather than "warlocks."


Though the words "pagan" and "witch" started out as historical slurs and have since been revived and reclaimed, "warlock," for some reason, is still mostly considered an insult, taken to mean "oath-breaker."


According to Nicholas Johnson on Medium, he found that Warlock became a synonymous with ‘magician’ or ‘sorcerer’ or ‘male witch’ after the emergence of Hollywood and pop culture.


Before that, Christian authors used the word and it meant a traitor to Christianity or to Jesus.


The Oxford dictionary says it comes from Old English wǣrloga meaning ‘traitor, scoundrel, monster’.


Another version says that it simply means oath-bound, one who has taken a sacred oath of service or one who officiates over sacred oaths such as weddings. Incidentally this is the same etymology from which we get wedlock.


Yet another Old Norse source could be Varth-Lokkr, (one who locks or enclose) meaning someone who binds spirits.


The word “witch” is gender neutral and has been as long as it has been in the English language.


So, witch, carry on with your badass self! 🥰

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This was Super interesting and informative. Thanks!! 🧙🏽‍♀️

いいね!
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