The answer to that question can only be answered by you. The word witch means “wise person” so if you are interested in energy work, the pursuit of enlightenment, and learning traditions of the old ways across the globe, you might just be a witch. A few factors that might signal a calling to witchcraft include a deep connection and compassion for nature and wildlife, an interest in the occult or dark arts, and a heightened sensitivity to the metaphysical.
What Kind of Witch Am I?
Unless you are a hereditary witch and have had your craft handed to you by ancestral line, your path is entirely up to you to choose. Often the label comes after quite a bit of research, practice, and discovering your own unique magic. Labels are often intersectional and it is possible to fall into more than one category unless you are part of a highly formal category of witchcraft. Below, I have listed 45 types of witches, but many variations exist in almost every culture and hybrid traditions are created as time passes and more cultures intersect.
Different Types of Witches
Alexandrian Witch: A witch who practices the magic founded by Alex and Maxine Sanders in the 1960s with a focus on ritual and ceremonial magic.
Angel Witch: A witch who works with Angels rather than or in addition to traditional deities
Animist Witch: A witch who believes there is life in all things and sees no distinction between human, plant, animal, or material objects. The animist witch sees the Universe as a living entity and all are connected by it.
Augury Witch: A witch who divines omens, signs, and symbols.
Axis Mundi Witch: A witch who studies the core idea that there is a central pillar that joins Earth to Heaven.
British Traditional Witch: A witch who focuses on the superstitions and spells that originated in the British Isles.
Celtic Witch: A witch who focuses on Celtic and Welsh deities, mythology, rituals, and earth magic.
Ceremonial Witch: A witch who practices high magick (ceremonial) such as Hermetic, Thelemic, and Enochian with a rigid and step-by-step method.
Chaos Witch: A witch who has a contemporary practice that incorporates many types of magic and is guided intuitively rather than with strict steps as seen in high magick.
Chthonioi Witch: A witch who practices a variation of the Alexandrian tradition which also includes Greek gods and goddesses.
Correllian Witch: A witch that practices a type of Wicca founded in the late 20th century by Caroline High Correll. She descended from a line of Cherokee Didanvwisgi who intermarried with Scottish Traditional Witches, and Correllian witchcraft was further influenced by Aradian Witchcraft and the Spiritualist Church.
Cosmic Witch: A witch who focuses on astrology and the placement of planets, stars, and moons when practicing their craft.
Dianic Witch: Branching from Wicca, Dianic Witches focus on female deities. Dianic Witchcraft is named after the Roman goddess Diana, ruler of hunting, nature, and the Moon.
Eclectic Witch: A witch that incorporates many different traditions into their craft; slightly similar to the chaos witch, but they may follow strict guidelines if desired.
Egyptian Witch: A witch who follows a path similar to Wicca, but with a focus on the Egyptian deities.
Elemental Witch: A witch who works with the five esoteric elements: earth, air, fire, water, and spirit.
Faery Witch: A witch who works with the Fae rooted in Irish and Scottish culture.
Folk Witch: “Cunning Folk” ; hereditary witches who follow a path similar to British witchcraft and used their magic and skills for practical purposes which were passed down through generations; *not common*
Gardnerian Witch: A witch who practiced a secret, formal, and highly structured version of Wicca based on the works of Gerald Gardner, who is credited for the modern witchcraft movement.
Hearth Witch: A witch who focuses on magick in the home.
Hedge Witch: A solitary witch that holds both kitchen and green witch attributes, such as making healing potions and brews in the kitchen; think of the old women in the woods archetype.
Hellenic Witch: A pagan witch who worships the ancient Greek pantheon of gods and goddesses.
Hereditary Witch: Unique to each family, a hereditary witch learns from their ancestral line.
Kitchen Witch: A witch who focuses on magick at home, especially the kitchen.
Left-handed Witch: A witch who often breaks taboos.
Luciferian Witch: A witch who believes Lucifer as the “bringer of light” and reveres the angel for enlightenment, independence, questioning authority, and progressive ideals.
Lunar Witch: A witch that heavily uses the cycles of the moon to do nearly all her magical work.
Music Witch: A witch who uses music as the medium of her magic.
Neo-Pagan Witch: An umbrella term for witches who practice newer forms of the craft such as Wicca, Gardernianism, and all new earth-based customs.
Norse Witch: A witch who centers their craft around Norse tradition of ancient sorcery and deities such as Odin and Freya.
Right-handed Witch: A witch that practices magic that is guided by social norms.
Satanic Witch: A witch that lives by the seven Satanic tenets and is strongly against the constructs of a dictatorial society; has nothing to do with worshiping the Christian’s idea of Lucifer. Devil-worshiping does exist elsewhere under the broad realm of witchcraft, neither is exclusive to one another.
Scandinavian Witch: A witch who practices and studies Danish Folklore and some Norse traditions.
Secular Witch: A witch who practices magick without worshiping any deities, or their deities and witchcraft are kept separate.
Shamanic Witch: A witch who uses an altered state of consciousness to deliver their magic.
Sigil Witch: Also known as Word Witch, these practitioners use sigils and words weaved into their magic
Solitary Witch: A witch who practices alone rather than in a coven.
Tech Witch: A witch who does most of her work digitally or with some form of technology; this will become more prevalent over time in modern witchcraft.
Thelema Witch: A witch who uses the occult philosophy founded by Aleister Crowley, which centers around ceremonial magic and Egyptian rituals.
Wiccan Witch: A witch who practices the modern pagan religion of Wicca introduced by Gerald Gardner. ***Note: Wicca is a religion; witchcraft is not a religion, although can be involved in religious beliefs and should thus be legally protected equally.