Is the witch the last rebel?

What lies behind the figure of the witch? Is she a symbol of fear or of power? An archaic superstition or a form of dissent? These questions are explored through the voices of thinkers, activists and contemporary practitioners such as Daze Aghaji and Emma Kathryn who, through embodied spiritual practices, offer a political and imaginative vision of the witch as a figure of radical resistance and revolutionary care for planet Earth.

«When I protect the Earth, I do not do it just because it is urgent. I do it because I love her. Because I feel like she is my best friend». Daze Aghaji, activist and ritual artist, has no hesitation in calling herself a witch. Born in the Niger Delta, she weaves together Christian spirituality, animist practices and ecological justice. Her witchcraft bears no trace of fantasy tropes: it is vision, politics and relationship. The same is true for Emma Kathryn, Anglo-Caribbean writer and animist witch, for whom the heart of the practice is both intimate and radical: «A challenge that stems from publicly declaring: “this is who and what I am”». And yet, this figure that today resurfaces as a symbol of strength and freedom has long been a target throughout history.

Why, then, do so many women, environmental activists and artists lay claim to her today? And why does she still evoke fear?

The witch as a control device

The witch is not merely a folkloric or historical figure or “someone who practises magic”. She is a living archetype, reawakened every time a woman—or anyone who chooses that path—refuses to conform to dominant codes of power, knowledge and production. «To be a witch means to step into a lineage of rebellion, of healing and intuition», says Daze Aghaji, «a way of aligning with the full history it carries: resisting domination, especially the patriarchal and colonial systems that sought to erase alternative ways of knowing». To understand who the witch is today, we must begin with a crucial awareness: hers is a complex and layered figure, impossible to define in singular terms. Seen through a historical lens, the witch is deeply ambivalent: demonised as an agent of chaos on one hand, and guardian of ancient, earth-based wisdom on the other. «Witches have often been portrayed as dark and malevolent figures», Daze explains, «but in reality, they were women who held alternative forms of knowledge, who supported their communities, and who defied social norms».

«This resistance, this refusal to conform to what was expected of women at the time, made them dangerous in the eyes of the establishment».

English anthropologist Gregory Forth has described, not coincidentally, a “universal image of the witch”, one built on inverted symbols: she who does the opposite of what is right, who transgresses symbolic and biological order¹Philosopher Silvia Federici argues that in the transition from feudalism to capitalism, the witch came to represent a threat to the emerging order. The female body, mechanised and placed in service of reproduction and labour, had to be disciplined. «The witch hunts», writes Federici, «destroyed the methods women had used to control reproduction, denouncing them as devilish and institutionalising state control over the female body»².

From the islands of Indonesia to the rural villages of China, accusations of witchcraft served to ease collective tensions, to explain the unexpected, and to target those at the margins: the poor, the elderly, the sexually autonomous, or simply the different³.

The Earth as a living being

«For most people, witchcraft is what they see in films, on TV or in books: pure fantasy», says Kathryn. In truth, she explains, it is a way of rejecting the dominant worldview and of rebuilding, through rituals, words and the body, a new way of inhabiting reality—one that no longer separates earth from spirit, or spirituality from politics.

«As an animist», Kathryn continues, «I see the entire natural world as alive, with a spirit more or less like ours. I work with the spirits of place but also with the spirits of my ancestors, and this is a very important part of my witchcraft and of how I identify as a witch: as an ally of nature and the Earth».

«I try to spend time outside every day, and I am lucky to have a large garden with mature trees and many plants». There she meditates, grounds herself and listens. She honours her ancestors daily, «whether by lighting a candle and leaving offerings or by making a petition for help». Witchcraft, for her, is a layered practice made of symbolic but also highly practical actions: choosing tools at second-hand markets, foraging herbs responsibly, knowing the land one lives on and respecting its biodiversity. «Not everything has to be magical or mystical, though I like to think of magical and mundane as layered upon one another». Defending the Earth also means getting one’s hands dirty, picking litter from a path, opposing destructive building projects or cultivating a patch of urban green.

This personal bond with the living world is equally central to Daze Aghaji, for whom the witch embodies «the belief that there is more in the world than what we can see».

And above all, for whom the Earth is not an object: she is a “beloved being”. «Many of the rituals I perform or take part in are invitations, calls to the more-than-human to enter into relationship with me. Whether I am setting up my altar and making sure all the elements are present—earth, air, fire, water—or simply listening in silence to the wind or the trees, I am always building relationships with the invisible».

This deep relationship with nature is not merely a personal choice but rooted in an ancient spiritual tradition. «My family comes from the Niger Delta», says Daze, «and within that region exists a spiritual tradition that has often been labelled as witchcraft through a modern, Western lens. But I see it very differently—as an indigenous belief system, deeply rooted in connection with the land». One of the central archetypes of this tradition is Aja or Ala⁴goddess of the Earth, mother of creation, fertility and creativity. Not a mere mythic figure, but the living embodiment of the Earth as sacred being. «And when the Earth is seen as sacred, the sense of responsibility shifts. It becomes a duty, a spiritual, emotional and ethical commitment, to protect her».

Ritual and art as magical practice

«Ritual is what keeps me grounded», says Daze. «There is something deeply beautiful in repeating an action, doing the same thing over and over, as a moment of reflection, remembrance and anchoring». At the heart of contemporary witchcraft, ritual becomes a space that hosts vision, slowness and connection—an act that removes time from the economy and returns it to care, «creating a sacred space simply to be, to feel and to listen», Daze explains. «And that is radically countercultural». Rituals, of course, vary. For Kathryn, who practises Obeah⁵ and Vodou⁶there is the ritual of walking the circle “deosil” (clockwise) to build and raise “positive” energy, or “widdershins” (anticlockwise), against the movement of the Sun, to banish. For Daze, one of the most meaningful practices is «following the lunar cycles, because it helps me connect deeply with my body, especially with my hormonal cycle, which is synchronised with the full moon and makes me feel part of something greater».

Ritual is not only a spiritual or ecological act but also an artistic one. It is a process that gives shape to the invisible and opens a sacred space where dreaming is possible.

«There is something inherently artistic about ritual», says Daze. «You create a process, a structure, a sacred container through which to explore or connect. It mirrors the artistic process in many ways: it requires intention, trust and creativity».

In particular, manifestation rituals⁷are for her deeply creative acts: «You are not just hoping, you are imagining and shaping the world you want. You become at once artist and witness, dreamer and agitator». Creation becomes a form of personal power and a way of reclaiming the ability to enact change. «Many of the political crises we face today stem from a sense that people no longer feel they can shape the world around them.  But when you create something, whether a painting, a spell, a song, a story, you actively participate in the act of making».

Emma Kathryn, too, sees creativity as a vital force, not just as self-expression, but as dialogue with the invisible and a source of inspiration. «I am a writer, and so creativity naturally forms part of my practice, whether that is crafting spells, evocations and invocations, or writing as a form of divination. I hold a course in occult writing where we use different techniques to inspire and develop new work. Music too can help shift into the right mindset and access emotions in incredibly powerful ways». In this sense, even chanting and song become tools of invocation—not only of spirits or deities, but also of plant spirits and the forces of nature.

Against the established order

«The witch is a threat to patriarchal capitalism», says Daze, «because she does not follow its rules. She operates in cycles, not in straight lines of extraction. She remembers what the system wants us to forget—that we are not separate, and that power does not have to mean domination». In an age defined by toxic hypermasculinity, by the violence of speed and the constant extraction of resources, emotions and time, the witch offers a radical alternative: she brings with her slowness, care and the unseen. «There are many Indigenous prophecies that speak of this imbalance and the need to return to harmony», Daze recalls. «One that resonates with me is the Prophecy of the Eagle and the Condor⁸». The Eagle, symbol of intellect, expansion, masculine energy; the Condor, of the heart, the Earth, intuition. For centuries, says the prophecy, the Eagle would dominate. But one day the two birds would fly together again. «I believe we are living in that time now», says Daze.

«The rise of the witch, the return of feminine wisdom, the rebirth of Indigenous knowledge and the call for reconnection with the Earth are all signs of this shift. And I truly believe anyone can be a witch, regardless of whether or not they follow a particular faith».

«Whether you are religious, spiritual, agnostic or atheist, witchcraft can still be a path of reclaiming power, of building relationships and of honouring the invisible». Emma Kathryn agrees. «I think the act of reclaiming what it means to be a witch, or of proudly standing firm in one’s practice, is an act of resistance». She often encounters mockery or derision. But, she says, that is because witchcraft is feared. «What the patriarchy ridicules», she explains, «is often what holds the most power».

The witch, rebellious to the core, is not only powerful today, she is necessary. In a world that separates body from Earth, spirit from matter, sacred from everyday life, she holds together, she mends, she remembers. And in doing so, she traces new paths, ancient and future all at once.

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1. Read more: Forth, G. (2024, November 25). The universal belief in witches reveals our deepest fears | Aeon Essays. Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/the-universal-belief-in-witches-reveals-our-deepest-fears ↩︎
2. Federici, S. (2020). Calibano e la strega: Le donne, il corpo e l’accumulazione originaria. Mimesis. In this essay, the philosopher re-reads the phenomenon of witch-hunting according to historical materialism: the theory of Marx and Engels in the first phase of their collaboration, whereby the economy of a society determines its political institutions, culture and ideas. According to Federici, during the transition to capitalism, not only was the earth fenced off and expropriated, but the womb itself, the symbolic and concrete space of creation, was separated from the subjectivity of women and transformed into a reproductive machine, a commodity functional to the nascent economy. ↩︎
3. Forth, G. (2024, November 25). The universal belief in witches reveals our deepest fears | Aeon Essays. Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/the-universal-belief-in-witches-reveals-our-deepest-fears ↩︎
4. To learn more about the Earth Goddess: Okorie, A. M. (1995). Ala-Umuokoroala: The divinity of an African Igbo village. https://jbasr.com/basr/diskus/diskus1-6/OKORIE.TXT ↩︎
5. Obeah is a term used to describe magical and religious practices originating in West and Central Africa and widespread in parts of the Caribbean, such as Jamaica, Trinidad, Tobago and Belize. It is often associated with Voodoo and other African American religious traditions, sharing common elements and origins with them. For more information: Bell, H. H. J. (1889). Obeah, Witchcraft in the West Indies by Hesketh J. Bell. ↩︎
6. Vodou, or voodoo, is a syncretic religion of African origin, particularly practised in Haiti and other areas of the African diaspora. It is characterised by its complex interaction with spirits, called loa, who are served and worshipped through rituals, sacrifices and dances. The term “vodou” is derived from the Phon word “vodu”, meaning “spirit” or “deity”. https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/vudu/ ↩︎
7. A practice that aims to transform desires into reality through the use of focused thoughts, emotions and actions. ↩︎
8. Learn more: Tindall, R. (2013, November 27). Unraveling some strands: Seeking the origin of the prophecy of the Eagle and Condor | Reality Sandwich. Reality Sandwich. https://realitysandwich.com/prophecy_eagle_and_condor/ ↩︎