Chrysalis – The form which Butterflies, moths, and other insects assume when they change from the state of larva or caterpillar and before they arrive at their winged or perfect state.

I came across this definition in a dictionary one day and it struck a cord within me. It seemed a very good definition for my journey as a Witch.

Witch, it’s a problematic word both for those of us in the Pagan community and for those outside of it. I used to use Wicca and Witch interchangeably in describing my faith. Then I had a heart to heart discussion with a good friend who is a 3rd Degree Priestess in a British Traditional coven. She had no problem with, or doubts about, my connection/relationship with the divine or my ethics or practice. It’s just that as a self-initiated Witch, by the definitions of her Trad I was not Wicca.

It shook me for a while, this disagreement. Wicca, the faith of witchcraft, was and is a big part of how I define and understand myself. I still use Wicca to describe my faith, because in the eyes of the larger world this word at least points people in the right direction as to my faith and philosophy.

Back to Chrysalis, for me witchcraft has been a journey of transformation and growth. Transformation from what I was and growth into what I can be. This is a journey that despite periods of distraction, and dormancy, and stagnation, I continue to this day and into the future. Witchcraft is more than the rituals and the spells, and all too often it seems that the magic (or magick) and the rituals are what we focus on, instead of the philosophy and faith; the process instead of the journey, the outer things instead of the inner essence of the faith.

I hope to help others to find that inner essence with this Blog while at the same time rekindling my own.

Peace,

Pax