The Witches Broom

The White Witch

White witches are those who practice with the elements of nature.

They aren’t as concerned with rituals as they are with healing and positive vibrational energy.

While there are many similarities in Witchcraft, especially between the White Witch and the Green Witch, we will focus on the White Witch in this post.

You are connecting to your spiritual consciousness 

You have a connection with your higher consciousness.

You are learning to trust the promptings of your sixth sense.

You just ‘know’ things intuitively.

This certainly points in the direction that you may be a white witch.

You have ancestors who were herbalists or healers

Many cultures believe that the gift of being a white witch is inherited and can be passed down through several generations.

But not having ancestors as herbalists doesn’t mean you haven’t uncovered these gifts within yourself.

You feel called to help animals and humanity 

Fueled by compassion, you often find yourself looking for ways to help animals through rescue centers, donating or volunteering.

Helping people, offering a shoulder to lean on, is always driven by the impulse to serve and give assistance.

You want to help create a positive change in people’s consciousness which is in fact what the whole world needs.

Your energy is positive

Your body/mind/soul energy is positive. When trouble looms, or you feel negatively, you try see beyond that.

Moreover, you understand that we must experience negatives in order to appreciate positives. Maybe you feel down or sad sometimes, like everyone else, nevertheless, it just never leaves you permanently marked.

You Have Vivid Dreams

Some dreams will give you ideas about what may possibly happen.

You think that whenever you do this, this is a coincidence, however, it is because you can access information from your higher consciousness, much easier than others.

You Hear Voices And Feel Impressions

You hear voices or whisperings, but there is no physical source.

It is very likely that you have a clear vibrational connections with things most people ignore.

You Feel A Strong Connection To Nature

White witches understand our connection with nature.

White witches understand everything on the physical plane is deeply interconnected through vibrations and energy.

From an early age, you have felt connected with nature.

You understand the old religion is the magic of the Earth itself. 

earth and respecting the elements: the air we breath, the soil we use to grow food and exist upon, the air we breath and fire we depend upon for spiritual and physical needs.

These things are the essence which binds all things together.

You capture people’s  vibes instantly 

White witches tend to have levels of insight which are much higher than the average person.

They have the ability or capacity to understand the situation of another, experiencing the opinions, ideas, and emotions of that person.

When they are with people, even if they do not read their facial expressions or know them very well, they can still determine what vibrations they are letting out.

You have a well-developed intuition

Intuition is that strong hunch or gut feelings. 

Your body, everyone’s body, is actually an antenna, your reception is sensitive to this energy. 

Every individual can tune into their intuition, however, most people choose to ignore it.

You don’t make decisions logically, although you do consider that your way is logical. 

You have learned that your intuition has guided you well throughout your life.

Try this: test your intuition.

Next time you have to make a decision, place your hand on your solar plexus (found in the pit of the stomach) and become aware of the feeling in your body when you consider each choice laid out.

You are content with alone time

While many people constantly need to be surrounded by other humans or crave attention, you are happy to have time by yourself.

You tolerate people, but you are content spending time alone. Actually, time spent alone is what typically “recharges” you as it gives you space to connect more deeply with your inner world.

You are self aware

White witches are not only aware of their emotions, but also their actions and thoughts, and how those things affect both the people around them as well as their outlook on life...That is powerful magic.

New Orleans Voodoo

Voodoo came to New Orleans in the early 1700s, through slaves brought from Africa's western “slave coast.” 

Like so many things New Orleans, Voodoo was then infused with the city's dominant religion, Catholicism, and became a Voodoo-Catholicism hybrid sometimes referred to as New Orleans Voodoo.

Voodoo is a fusion of religious practices from Africa that is a derivative of the world’s oldest known religions. 

It has been around since the beginning of human civilization. 

There is no single founder of Voodoo and there is no approximate date for the origin of Voodoo spirituality. 

According to the beliefs of Voodoo, and much like Shinto, there are thousands of Spirits that interact with humanity. 

These Spirits, called Lwa were once human.

Voodoo vs Hoodoo-Are they the same thing or totally different?

Both Voodoo and Hoodoo are a melting pot of different beliefs, practices and religious elements; both have roots in Africa with aspects of ancient worship. 

This is where their similarities end.

Voodoo vs Hoodoo – Differences 

Voodoo is a religion that has two markedly different branches – New Orleans/Louisiana Vodou and Haitan Vodou. Voodoo is a religion that’s practices by thousands if not millions of people.

Hoodoo is not a religion, rather a set of practices that draw heavily from folk magic, especially that which originated on West Africa and tends to be practiced in Louisiana, though it’s practice is not exclusive to that region.

As Voodoo is an established and recognised religion that has set and established practices and traditions. 

It has it’s own leaders, teachers, representatives, services and rituals. 

It’s this organization that makes Voodoo and Hoodoo different. 

Hoodoo has it’s base in folk magic and folk traditions calling on Loas using the saints from Roman Catholicism; where as Voodoo invoke Loas using African deities. 

Voodoo practitioners don’t worship through the Catholic Saints.

Many Hoodoo practitioners are often drawn to other spiritual practices or traditions too. 

Many who are practitioners of Hoodoo are known as Root Doctors or Root Healers. 

For some who practice Hoodoo see it as a form of personal power to either help themselves or to help others. 

Hoodoo practitioners help or guide others with their knowledge of herbs, roots, crystals, animal parts and sometimes a range of bodily fluids. 

Hoodoo is practiced based on the person’s inclinations, desires and intentions. 

With access to the Loas the Hoodoo practitioner can access the knowledge of the God’s and other supernatural beings to help in a wide range of areas in your life – from love, abundance and luck to banishing, protection and wading.

Voodoo is essentially the root from which Hoodoo grew because of the persecution of followers, but for those who are followers of Voodoo it’s more than just a religion, it’s a way of life, a core facet of their daily lives. 

Voodoo is very popular in areas like Mississippi and Louisiana, being most notable in New Orleans. Voodoo was brought to the USA via Haiti which was a former French colony. 

Hoodoo however was brought by those who were bound into servitude from Africa.

Voodoo is sometimes considered to be purer than Hoodoo, but Hoodoo is actually a denomination of Voodoo – like Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity. 

Voodoo influences so many areas of society from music and art to justice and language and from medicine to spirituality. 

It reaches far and deep into people’s lives whereas Hoodoo is only a small facet of the truth that’s held in voodoo and tends to focus on the spiritual aspect more than anything else.

Let the Spirits of the Earth, Sun and Moon Guide you.

Shinto

Shinto literally means “the way of the gods” and it is Japan’s native belief system.  Shinto is a nature-based religion and for the most part, it’s ancient spiritual reverence for nature has not diminished among the population.  

Shinto has remained an important piece of cultural heart of Japan.

The many practices, attitudes, and institutions that have developed to make up Shinto revolve around the Japanese land and seasons and their relation with the human inhabitants.

The traditional religion of Japan, nearly 80% of the country’s population take part in Shinto practices or rituals. Shinto is Japan’s major religion alongside Buddhism and the country is home to over 80,000 Shinto shrines.

So what is Shinto?

What are the beliefs and rituals?

Shinto is deeply rooted in the Japanese people and their cultural activities. 

Unlike many religions, Shinto does not have a founder nor does it honor a single god. There is also no sacred book such as the Bible or holy place to pray to.

Shinto believes in the kami, a divine power that can be found in all things. 

Shinto believes in many gods and animistic since it regards animals and natural objects as deities.

It’s safe to say that Shinto is less like a religion and more like a way of life or way of looking at the world.

Shinto involves the worship of kami. 

Kami can take the form of animals or natural objects such plants, mountains, or rivers. 

They are said to be responsive of human energy and have the ability to influence the course of natural forces.

Once a human dies, they are said to become a kami themselves and are memorialized by their living descendants. 

Not all Kami are thought to be good, however, and the goal is to ward off evil kami.

Both men and women are allowed to become priests and they may choose to marry and have a family as well.

Today Shinto is one of the most widely practiced religions in Japan. Nearly every aspect of Japanese culture is influenced by Shinto beliefs whether its politics, ethics, the arts, sports, or spirituality.

So… is Shinto Pagan?  

In the sense that it is a nature-based religion consisting of multiple deities, the easy answer would be yes.

Because Shinto is a nature based religion and not Christian, in that way, it’s much like Paganism.

But most likely, Shinto practitioners would like their religion to be viewed as their own belief, not necessarily part of wider pagan movement.