Let me share the reasons why I know the witch wound is real.
The Witch Wound – Past and Present
The witch wound is an inherited, collective past trauma that originated in the times when women were persecuted, tortured, and executed for using their intuitive gifts and connection to Nature. They were exiled from their communities and judged for crafting magic and practising healing rituals like herbalism and divination.
The witch wound can manifest as fear of sharing and being seen for our spiritual gifts.
It can stop you from fully expressing your magic and living in your full power. It’s part of an old societal narrative that saw magic and feminine attributes as unacceptable, unpredictable, and bad. You may carry this wound at the soul level or even in your DNA.
The Witch Wound at work
I’ve seen the witch wound manifest in both my clients and myself. From what I’ve seen, it comes to awareness as an energetic intensity that cannot be explained logically or linearly. It can be intense, uncomfortable, and stops you in your tracks. These unconscious fears scream: “Alert! Alert! You are not safe! You are under threat! You will be exposed! You will be killed!”
This has occurred to me a few times during my life. It felt like a wool rug was pulled from under my feet. I lost my balance, and it felt like I was free-falling. My central nervous system reacted as if I needed to fight for my life, and all I wanted to do was run away. The first few times I experienced this, I didn’t have a framework. And it sent me spiralling. It absolutely took me years to recover and not go into fight-or-flight every time I thought of the incidents.
A few weeks ago, I had a strong reaction to my witch wound again, in a leadership meeting. I was searching within for why I was responding to the conflict in such an intense way. Yep, I cried; I wanted to hide, withdraw and run. It dawned on me that it felt like an interrogation. It didn’t matter what my response was; I could not satisfy the audience and therefore was guilty of a “reprehensible” act and must be punished.
Remember the witch trials?
The women who were judged, too, didn’t feel safe and could not find any words that would save them. Anything they said was deemed futile and added to their guilt.
The witch wound doesn’t make sense in this linear world, but in the energetic world makes so much sense! It feels like deep healing as you transcend what you “should” do to bring your power and integrity to respond in ways that feel right and aligned. You may feel like you have no power to placate someone’s need to have power over you. Which, by the way, may be completely an unconscious belief. The other people could be experiencing their own existential crisis too.
How does the Witch Wound manifest?
- Abandonment, feeling unsafe, unsupported, alone. This wound manifests in the root chakra.
- Shame and judgment. The fear around identifying as a healer or gifted person. You’ll feel it in the sacral chakra
- Rejection, feeling unworthy, powerless. This one will show up in the solar plexus chakra.
- Betrayal. You’ll experience anger, avoidance, and the need to armour. You’ll feel it in the heart chakra.
- Persecution. The need to become invisible, censor yourself, or stay silent. This is felt in the throat chakra.
Experiencing the Witch Wound
So, how do you know if you are experiencing a reaction that comes from your witch wound? Listen to the signs. Are you having an out-of-body experience that feels intense and extreme? You can also ask your body: is this a witch wound?
If it is, get some mentoring and clear this episode from your physical, mental, and energy bodies. See this as an opportunity to gain traction, using this spiritual labour to create conscious awareness for any future time you are presented with a “burn-at-the-stake” moment.
Mentoring is worth its weight in gold. It will heal the mother wound, as well as the imposter syndrome and the good girl syndrome. Most women who poke their heads up as leaders experience these syndromes and unconscious discomfort along the way. Especially in times of growth and expansion.
What can you do about it?
So, now that we’ve built awareness around the witch wound, what will you do when you experience it? Will you let it stop you in your tracks, or will you seek support to clear it?
I say be brave! You’ve got this, and you are more powerful than you think you are.
Become the leader you are meant to be, and from now on, happy witching!
