I have been called a bitch and a witch on occasion throughout my life. It’s more often that I’ve been called a bitch and that name-calling started much younger. I know that some women step into their power as a natural act and embrace their bitchiness and witchiness early in life, but it took me about 50 years to understand the power in those monikers. I would have done anything to avoid being called those ugly names which I thought insinuated a nasty disposition and mean, calculating motives. A different perspective was slow in coming.

Devi Mavropoulo hosts workshops to help women step into their feminine energy. The workshops are called Bitches n’Witches, and they are designed to shift the thinking around the two types of energies. She describes the energies as below on her website:

BITCH is a woman who:

• Knows she is unique and irreplaceable and is not competitive with other women because aggression, jealousy and competition are qualities that indicate fear, anxiety and lack of knowledge about her true value.
• Doesn’t abandon her own dreams or compromise her beliefs and desires to please or accommodate others.
• Has confidence and knows her own strength and beauty regardless of the reaction of others.
• Is never a “victim” and does not debase herself just to be with someone.
• Follows the truth of her heart and loves herself.
• Trusts her instincts, her wisdom and dreams.
• Is sensitive, caring and kind.

Every woman is a WITCH because:

• The femininity of her enigmatic existence allows her to create unique, therapeutic, magical, enjoyable moments.
• There is an ages-old potential inside every woman to harness female power and spirituality for great good.
• Her monthly cycle, brings Life, Power and Magic into her body and gives her the qualities of the Moon.
• Her beauty, uniqueness, and sacramental nature make her glorious, wise and enchanting.
• She has the ability to become a therapist, a visionary and a healer.
• She is instinctively insightful and intuitive.

I was at a female empowerment workshop called Woman Within when I was first introduced to this beautiful description of female power. It transformed the way I thought about those words that weekend and hopefully forevermore. I can’t say that I’m not taken aback when I hear that I am called one of those names today – and it’s rarely ever to my face. But, then I remember the qualities they are seeing in me, and how afraid they must be of looking at those own qualities in themselves. It is scary to stand in your power as a woman. In many circles it is seen as a negative, and you must be brought down.

One of the most outrageous examples of the fear of female power was the Salem witch trials. In the hindsight of history, it is speculated that people were afraid of some new more independent behaviors exhibited by the women and girls in the Puritan colony, and a hysteria ensued. Nineteen people were put to death because of their witchery. History.com has an excellent video if you want to know more about the history. It is certainly not the first time that independent women were seen as heretics, and it certainly won’t be the last. As much as we’d like to think that the world sees women in a new light, women are still seen as ‘hormonal’ when they are angry. A friend of mine boldly spoke up to her in-laws about some of the dysfunction in her family, and her doctor told her she was menopausal. Women who practice their spirituality differently than the traditional Judeo-Christian rituals are called witches behind their backs. Men in the workplace can be domineering and powerfully speak their minds, and they are rewarded for their bravado. Women who do the same thing are called bitches and told to control their emotions. Yes, this dumbing down of feminine power still exists. We just haven’t been hung for it lately.

What I know is that when I step into my inner bitch, I feel the closest to my own nature. I know my heart, and I trust my instincts. I know who is for and against me. Because I am in my own power, I am confident. I am able to be sensitive, caring and kind from a place of truth and love and not from a need to please somebody else. When I step into my inner witch, I know that I have the power to change my life and the lives of others. I know that with my God standing right beside me nothing is impossible. I know that He has plans for me, and they are nothing short of amazing. I don’t believe He made me as a woman to shrink beside life but to grab my broom and paint the sky with diamonds. Feminine energy comes from God. How could it be anything less than supernatural? So, you think I’m a witch? Thank you so much. It took me long enough to get here. Now, where did I put that broom? 🙂

Witches are lovely and sweet with incredible power to teach us….

And scary if they have agendas different than mine and the power to make it happen…

They can bring the house down on me ….

Or protect me from being hurt by others….

But their power is always magical and transforming…