Green Witchcraft is a term often used interchangeably (albeit incorrectly) with the descriptor Hedge Witch. There are certain similarities between the paths but the fundamental core of each path is very different. Where the Hedge Witch is focused on journeying to the Otherworld and receiving wisdom from the spirits she encounters, the Green Witch’s focus is much more concerned with the physical realm and the Earth on which she lives.
The path of the Green Witch is a path of Nature and of growing things. The Green Witch will likely have a good understanding of plant life and herbalism and she will have acquired knowledge and experience in relation to both growing individual plants and herbs and using them to best effect once harvested. Many Green Witches dislike the idea of buying plants and herbs ready harvested as they believe the relationship between the grower and the plant is integral to the results that can be achieved with the plant or herb. To this end a Green Witch is likely to be a witch who enjoys gardening.
A Green Witch’s relationship with the Earth goes deeper than just the work she does with plant life. The Green Witch will utilise other natural objects from the world in her workings. She will use rocks, crystals, animal parts and even fossils to cast her magic. She is also likely to make use of the weather in the form of snow, bottled rain, hailstones, morning dew and parched earth. The Green Witch is likely to work with the four elements and this may take the form of using representations of Earth, Air, Fire and Water in her workings or invoking the spirits of the elements in her rituals. A Green Witch may/may not invoke deity depending on her personal conviction. A Green Wiccan will undoubtedly worship deity as this is a key element of what it is to identify as Wiccan. Some Green Witches choose to honour Pan (The Greek God of hunting) or Gaia (The Greek Goddess who according to mythology gave birth to the Earth and who is the source of the ancient inspiration for what we would now term as Mother Nature).
It would be incorrect to say that every Green Witch works with the fey but many of them do choose to. Fairies are often viewed as land spirits and offerings are made to them in return for their help in looking after plots of earth or woodland. A Green Witch may choose to develop a relationship with the land spirits on the area where she lives or works and may make gifts of honey or brightly coloured ribbon to keep the good will of the faery folk.
The environment is an important concern for most Green Witches. This is true in both the respect of their own immediate personal environment and the state of the Earth at large. The Green Witch is likely to live in a dwelling with plants (ideally with a garden but if this is not possible you can usually recognise a Green Witch by the pots of herbs and plants growing on every window sill…) If she can, a Green Witch will favour natural materials over man made and use Earth friendly sources of building materials. A Green Witch is very likely to be environmentally aware and will limit her footprint on the Earth as much as possible. There is an echo of living in simpler times with Green Witchery – a link back to the traditional witches of old who grew their own produce and who tended their own lands and livestock.
The energy of the earth is utilised in the workings of a Green Witch and she may work with key sources of that energy such as ley lines or stone circles. She is unlikely to be inclined to work indoors as she sees the primary source of her power as the link between herself and the Earth. As such any ritual she takes part in is likely to be undertaken outdoors.
