A Word - Witch

A Word - Witch

There is a word - Witch -
that defies the borders of countries,
which crosses the walls of religions,
that is rooted in every society
from developing nations
to modern civilizations.
It is a word born of superstition,
of fear,
of hate.
It is a word that has been
used as justification,
through out time,
for the abuse of,
mutilation of,
beating of,
ostracizing of,
and finally the murder of,
practitioners and innocents alike.

But what, in truth,
does this word - Witch - mean?
Is it a superstitious notion of
women and men, alike,
cavorting with demons,
romping with the Devil,
dancing with the damned?
Is it anyone who casts
evil hexes and spells on innocents,
tormenting them day and night,
murdering children,
destroying crops,
ravaging virgin maidens in
sadistic satanic rituals?

Or is this word - Witch -
something entirely different?
Could it be that it is simply misunderstood?
Could it be,
the reverence of nature,
the honoring of the old ways
that are little known to the outside world,
the worship of Gods and Goddesses
found to be heathen in this
modern monotheistic time?

And could this word - Witch -
have a double meaning?
Perhaps for one group,
it represents the strength
and beauty of the old ways
which set us apart from
modern monotheistic religions.
And perhaps for another group,
out of fear,
hate,
prejudice,
and lack of knowledge and understanding,
it stands for scapegoat,
a lesser being on which one
can place all the blames of the world,
for it is a tangible link to
their naive definition of evil.

- Witch -
The Unknown.
The Misunderstood.
The Outcasts.
The Ostracized.
The Forgotten.
The Scapegoat.
We are all of these and none,
for we are - Witch -.