Healing the Witch Wound+ Oracle of the Witch Deck Review (Podcast Ep. 49 Blog)
This blog goes along with Healing Thru Tarot Podcast Ep. 49: Healing the Witch Wound + Review of the Oracle of the Witch: Reclaim Your Birthright Deck
In this blog, I discuss healing the witch wound and I review the Oracle of the Witch: Reclaim Your Birthright deck and Spells: A Little Deck of Enchantments both by Rockpool Publishing. I also share with you a 9 card spread I created to help us heal the witch wound.
I know that some people fear witches, but I’ve always been drawn to the witch archetype. Not the scary version they like to portray in horror films, but the healer aspect that I strongly associate with witches. Sure, there are those that dabble in the dark arts, but you’ll find that in any group of people. That’s part of humanity. There will always be those that corrupt and twist their power to inflict harm. That doesn’t mean we disconnect and disown one of the most powerful archetypes I’ve worked with.
I associate witches with healing, concocting soothing tonics and tinctures, and dancing under the full moon to amplify their healing powers and their connection to the divine. Witches are stewards of the earth, protecting and worshiping nature while also forging in the woods for natural ingredients to treat all kinds of ailments. She walks her own path and doesn’t conform to society’s pressures and demands. Just because she’s mysterious doesn’t mean she’s up to no good. She keeps to herself to protect herself from threats of those who don’t understand her ways. She doesn’t force her beliefs upon anyone. She just asks for her beliefs to be respected.
Is she wild by nature? Sure. But why is that so bad? She’s a free spirit – one that can’t be controlled or manipulated by corrupt authority figures. I see that as an admirable trait. She’s true only to herself, her craft, and her path. She’s unapologetic, bold, rooted in her power, and sure of herself and her abilities. Are those not traits we want to embody? I’m an indigo child so I resonate with this renegade, rebellious, unconforming approach to life so those are definitely traits I cherish. These are the same qualities that certain groups are trying to stamp out these days because they know it threatens their power. But I say let them shake in their boots. It’s time to reawaken the witches and come back to our ancient ways. My inner witch seems to be close to the surface more so these days, awakened by the fear that our kind is being hunted again in new ways.
As I continue to work with various archetypes, I feel I resonate the most with the healer, the witch, and the mystic. For me, they blend together even into one powerful healing, divinely connected way of being in the world. As I age and now that I’ve reconnected with divination in this life, my inner witch ever present. Always at the ready to have me tap in and receive ancient wisdom from her vast experiences in many of my other incarnations. I can always count on her to remind me how powerful I am. She dances within anytime I’m near fire or a flickering candle and especially when the moon is full, and the storms roll in. She rages within when injustice rears its head again, which is way too often these days. It can be hard to withstand her wrath at times when she notices old patterns repeating. That fear of the witch hunts is never far from the surface.
The musician and composer Karliene captures witch energy better than anyone else. Her songs including her Wake the Witch album has been instrumental in healing the wounds left gaping from the tragic witch hunts and trials that I’ve been working so hard at healing. These wounds have been the hardest for me to heal, but I’m doing the work that needs to be done. I feel strongly that this time in history requires all the past witches to return to those memories and soothe that ache. The wrath, the grief, and the pain that we’ve carried for centuries is calling for us to finally release it.
Music has aided my healing work with this particular wound. I make a playlist for all my books in the Divining Sisters Series, and there’s a ton of witchy songs on there that are empowering and healing in this area. I have those on my author website and I’ll include links below for each of those playlists if you want to use this music to awaken your inner witch, tap into her power, and heal the wounds associated with the injustices she faced. Check those out and I highly recommend the songs Witch by Karliene, Witch by Devon Cole, Same old energy by Kiki Rockwell, Water Witch by Brandi Carlisle, and all the tracks on Karliene’s Wake the Witch album she released in early 2023. Seriously go listen to all those. All these songs are all featured prominently in all my playlists.
Links to playlists I curated for each book in The Divining Sisters Series
Playlist for Book 1: The Call of the Cards
Playlist for Book 2: We Divine Three
Playlist for Book 3: The Threads of Fate
So, how will you know if you have a witch wound that needs healing work? Mine manifests strongly as a blocked throat chakra. In fact, this might be the first sign you notice. During the witch hunts, women were tortured, jailed, and silenced – literally. Google witch bridle to see the image of the metal contraption they would place on an accused witch’s head. There’s a mouth piece that is inserted into the mouth to hold the tongue in place to keep the witch from saying incantations to harm their jailers. These were used in England and Scotland mostly around the late 1500s and 1600s. It was barbaric and cruel punishment. And remember most of these women were innocent. But that didn’t stop those in power from spreading fear that women were to blame for all that ailed a village. Knowing this treatment awaited them if they raised any suspicion, it’s no wonder many women kept silent, losing the ability to use their own voices.
For millennia women were blamed for failed crops, temptation of man, impotence, plagues, and natural disasters. Those they accused of witchcraft were attacked, hunted, tortured, broken down physically and psychologically, starved, sleep deprived and in many cases persecuted. Often this was for something as simple as offering a neighbor a healing tea, growing herbs, or sharing medical knowledge. These abuses and injustices conditioned women to hide their light, their knowledge, and any gifts they may have possessed. And it taught them to withhold their wisdom or healing abilities out of self-preservation unfortunately. Who could blame them?
Through the witch hunts, women learned to hide, isolate, play small, play down their abilities, and they let their gifts wither away as they put targets on their backs. This was to the detriment of society as a whole. Those gifts brought light into the world and in each case when they dimmed their light, the world was a darker place. We all lose when we force individuals to dampen their light. These are inherent gifts that should be celebrated not stamped out.
Do you notice yourself hiding your gifts? If so, this is common with this type of past-life wound. For millennia, this knowledge was lost due to women being silenced, but I’m noticing that these rituals, sacred wisdom, and healing gifts are returning as witches of the past awaken. Think of all the wisdom lost when women stopped sharing their knowledge of the healing arts and remedies for common ailments. How many lives could have been spared had these “cunning” women not been afraid to speak up? The witch trials were a great injustice that lasted hundreds of years. Truth be told I think they lasted millennia, but history doesn’t have the actual count of lives lost to these hunts. But we can be part of the healing that clears the trauma left by those unjust actions taken against those who were misunderstood just because they held beliefs and practices that weren’t in line with societal norms.
Our healing can help us move past this trauma that has left a lot of us hiding in the shadows and playing small because it feels safer to be invisible. In order to heal, we have to face the anger and resentment that lingers from those tragic deaths. It’s not easy. In fact, this was the hardest part of my healing journey. I just had to cry it out and let myself rage against those memories and rage at those in this life that are repeating similar patterns that I’ve often found triggering. But as we’ve learned through our shadow work, we are triggered in order to facilitate our healing, so I have been able to work through that for the most part.
So, if you find yourself holding your tongue, modifying your behavior, hiding your practices and studies, and protecting your rituals from prying eyes, you could have a witch wound that needs to be addressed. I’ve noticed that a lot of women express it as playing small, attempting to be invisible, and working only from the shadows. I’m guilty of this. When I first discovered tarot, I kept it a secret from everyone for 2 years. I only came out because I felt called to create this podcast, and then of course I went on to write my fictional divination book series, The Divining Sisters Series that features divination and the past lives of witches prominently. But it wasn’t easy to overcome a severely blocked throat chakra and fears of being public with these beliefs. I still worry there will be backlash one day. Living in the bible belt in the Southern United States doesn’t help those fears. But I believe we incarnate to live in specific places for a reason. So, I’m here to help dispel myths about divination and demystify it. But that has required extensive work on this witch wound. I’ve had the help of an extraordinary energy healer who has helped me in that regard.
Stephanie Seavers, the real-life Izzy Frey
She’s the inspiration for Izzy Frey, one of the main divining sisters in my book series. She is the most magical person I know. I had to create a character based exactly on her to show the world that magic does really exist. If you’re interested in working with the real life Izzy – her name is Stephanie Seavers and you can find her at thewokewanderer.com/
With her help, we’ve discovered numerous past lives where I was persecuted as a witch. Some of those lives I was directly involved in the craft and others I was just a healer who was deemed a witch. Those lives are strongly connected to the fears I face in this life of being public about my healing and intuitive gifts. I fight through severe anxiety, panic, and distrust of others because of it.
Pay attention to how you feel when revealing parts of yourself or your practices that you find most sacred. Are you scared of physical harm or of being disowned by family or confronted by others? Those are telltale signs.
When I record my podcast, I still struggle getting the words out at times. My throat seizes up and I must massage the throat muscles and start again. When that happens, I grab my Queen of Wands card and place it next to me as I record. She’s the witch of the tarot so I embody her fierce courage to push through that issue. There’s a reason why we still suffer from blocked throat chakras. Institutions and others in power are trying to keep us from spreading the message that we all have magic and have the power to heal ourselves. They want to keep us silent, sick, and powerless just like they did for millennia. But as we awaken to this inner power, it will be harder to silence us. Once you understand the power you hold, that knowledge never goes dormant again.
In book 3 of my series, my main character realizes that healing is magic, and magic is healing. I just love this connection. I’ll never let them cut me off from my healing magic again.
The reason I wrote my book series, The Divining Sisters, was to work through my trauma from my past witch lives. It has helped me immensely to tell my story and I find it healing every time I go back and re-read the story. I also wanted to inspire others to work on healing this witch wound. Through this soul-stirring story I aim to teach empowerment by finding our voices again and reconnecting with gifts from past lives where we would have been punished and persecuted for practices that weren’t acceptable in our communities at the time. Practices that could even include healing.
This time in history this healing is desperately needed. It’s time that all the past witches, mystics, diviners, and healers tap back into our intuitive and healing gifts and use them proudly in this life and to clear all the trauma associated with those gifts that we may have even spent lifetimes hiding out of fear of being found out again. It’s time for us to come forward and live in the open with no fear. We need to be able to practice divination and healing rituals and whatever magical work flows through us.
It’s time to reclaim our power and clear our karmic debts and finish whatever missions weren’t completed due to persecutions that ended many lives way too early. There are experiences, scars, trauma, and wounds that we carry with us from all these lifetimes. And all that is playing out on the unconscious level but can be so impactful in our daily lives. To heal our witch wounds, we need to reclaim our stories, restore our voices, and share our stories and experiences with each other. And we can help others heal by listening to their stories with open minds and hearts. We can validate someone’s experience by listening and holding space for them as they open up to us. Each time we use our voice to speak about the pain of those wounds and to tap into our power and magic, we’re healing at the soul level. Compassion for one another is how we move forward together. I heal from telling my story and from listening to others because when they heal through using their voice, I also heal parts of myself. That collective healing is so powerful!
But punishment for witchcraft is not just a thing of the past. So, if you are in an area of the world where you could still be punished for these practices, then of course do whatever you need to in order to stay safe. I discovered last year that there are at least ten witch camps in Africa where women who are cast out of their villages for suspected witchcraft are forced to live. Most of these women are innocent and don’t even believe in witchcraft, but their family or neighbors accused them and cast them out anyway. They have nowhere else to turn. I’ve seen videos of these camps from this year and there can be around 100 women living in one campsite. Some were cast out due to husbands wanting to remarry, some had neighbors who wanted their land. All it took was an accusation of a curse or an evil stare cast their way before they fell sick. It reminds me of the quote from Cotton Mather from his book called On Witchcraft that he published in 1693 just after the Salem Witch Trials, “The things confessed by witches, and the things endured by others, laid together, amount unto this account of our affliction.”
It's up to us to clear this energy so we can move out of this collective trauma from the witch trials. Once we heal those wounds, we won’t be stuck in the past with that trauma. We will move forward out of the pain and rage for that injustice, and we won’t be stewing in a lust for revenge against those who harmed us. Part of healing is growing past that and leaving it behind us. You don’t have to forgive if that doesn’t feel right to you but I’ve learned to forgive some things related to that time to free myself so I could get to a point where I could teach these concepts. I simply don’t want to rage anymore. I’m ready to move forward.
Oracle of the Witch: Reclaim Your Birthright Deck Review
Rockpool Publishing sent over the Oracle of the Witch: Reclaim Your Birthright deck for me to work with and review. This 44 card oracle helps you reawaken to the old ways and receive magical messages along with incantations to heighten your power and magic. The creators have really captured the essence of witch energy and power here with these striking red, black, and white images. And I’m captivated with the images of the hands on the card backs. Simple but powerful if you understand how vital our hands are to magic and healing. There’s a reason all my book cover images for my book series, The Divining Sisters, are focused on the hands. For diviners, healers, and witches, we feel the flow of energy that bursts through our hands. They are our most important tools really.
When I touch these cards, they exude a magical, empowering energy. And working with them, you can feel the wisdom flowing through helping you to tap into crone energy, folk wisdom, and sacred knowledge from the ancient ones, our ancestors. Perfect for ancestral work and healing. I’ve found them to have some very unique themes with card titles like Hagstone, Knot Magick, Forager, Weather Magick, Kitchen Witchery, Spellcasting, Sigil, Cures and Remedies, Grimoire, Ritual Magick, and Witch Hunts.
The guidebook is brimming with informative rituals, ancient knowledge, and profoundly deep messages. It’s like sitting down to a mediumship session with the ancient ones. Each card has a magical witchery message, practical witchy tips, and both shadow and light messages for upright or reversals. There’s historical information for each theme, and a magical incantation is provided for each card to help you connect with that ancient wisdom. I’m always renewed with energy after working with these cards.
This deck helps you tap into your own inner wisdom too that resides within that you may have been disconnected from for a while, even lifetimes. These messages and card images help to evoke that inner wisdom and intuitive gifts and helps to reconnect you with your power, so they serve to awaken parts of yourself that you need to call back to you at this time.
For us, I pulled the Aradia card. The keyword for this card is “Magick.” It says, “The magic in your bones calls you to rise to the challenge. Don’t hide your witchcraft.”
There are several paragraphs here on historical information related to magic, witches, and the old ways so I’ll just provide the gist of this. “Magic runs through your veins, and you are reminded to perceive, accept, and harness it as a tool to attain your heart’s desire and for healing and empowerment. Calling yourself a witch is an act of defiance that fights magical resistance and is a testament to the wise ones who have walked the path of the old ways before you. It’s time to liberate the witch within and claim your rightful place among the craft of the wise as a true magician.”
Our Light side unveiled message says, “Claiming your true path as a witch shifts your personal energy to enhance your natural powers, bringing healing, balance, and magic into your life and the world around you. Trust in your abilities and the ancient powers that support your magical path.” That complements the theme of this episode nicely. I like that this deck gives you practical actions to take, and it’s such a great tool for awakening the inner witch to help you tap into your inner magic. You could use these in spellwork, rituals, and for healing the witch wound.
This is perfect for me because the book series I’m writing now, The Divining Sisters, explores this very theme of recalling and retrieving parts of your soul and your path back to you so you can reconnect with lost gifts that could help you heal at the present time. So, for me this deck is special since I’m associating it with my mission for this witchy book series. I’m going to be doing some deep work with this deck. If you’re like me, you might sense that it’s time for all witches to awaken and reclaim our power through healing this witch wound. Reconnecting with the energy of the old ways helps us to call that part of ourselves back to us to regain what has been lost for far too long. This tool will help you do just that.
Spells: A Little Deck of Enchantments Review
Rockpool Publishing also sent over Spells: A Little Deck of Enchantments: 40 Mini Cards for Inspiration by Lorraine Anderson. She’s the author of the Seasons of the Witch Oracle deck series. These cards contain practical spells that you can implement quickly and easily to bring in more abundance and healing energy to manifest your greatest desires. You can use these cards to tap into your inner magic by including practical magic into your daily life. They are easy, simple spells to attract money, abundance, protection, love, and healing into your life. And they’re even spells for banishment if you feel you need extra protection around you.
For example, for a simple banishment spell, this card says to add 9 drops of both black pepper and clove to an aromatherapy diffuser whenever you believe you have been cursed or are the subject of malicious intent.
For heart healing, she says to fill a sachet with amaranth and coriander at the time of a full moon. Place the sachet under your pillow every day for 14 days, then throw it away at the new moon. Easy but effective. When we make our magic accessible and simple, it’s easier to work it into our already busy schedules and to stick with it.
You can either choose a card you need based on the intention you want to set or shuffle and pull a card randomly to determine which spell is needed at that time. What I love about this little deck of cards is that you can choose one and complete the spell quickly within just a few minutes. And they are small enough to travel with or keep in your car or your desk at work. They’d make a great stocking stuffer. And at $12.95 on Amazon they're the perfect price.
You don’t need any experience with spellwork to work with these easy spells. Lorraine even suggests that you pull a card daily for intention or goal setting. You can even keep the card with you for the day to draw that energy or intention to you. Amplify your healing and manifestation and tap into your inner magic with these magical enchantment cards. Thanks to Rockpool Publishing for sending over both decks.
I also highly recommend using the Season of the Witch oracle decks from Rockpool. They always help me tap into witch energy. They’ve already put out the Samhain, Yule, Beltane, and Mabon decks. They will be publishing one for each sabbath. The Imbolc deck is coming very soon! I reviewed the Samhain and Yule decks in Ep. 32 where I also explore healing with the witch archetype and there’s a fabulous spread in that episode that focuses on tapping into your inner witch, finding your voice, and reclaiming your power. Great to pair with today’s spread below.
Links for all the decks and books discussed in this episode are located at the end of this blog.
Healing the Witch Wound Spread
Here's the 9 card custom spread I created to help us heal the witch wound. I would love to see the photo of you spreads. Please tag me on Instagram @healingthrutarot and please use the hashtag #HTThealingthewitchwoundspread
And definitely check out my fictional divination book series, The Divining Sisters Series. Healing the witch wound is a running theme throughout the series. It’s a very healing, soul stirring, and empowering story. You can find books 1 thru 3 - The Call of the Cards, We Divine Three, and The Threads of Fate on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Scribd, Smashwords and more. And catch up before book 4 drops in summer 2024. It has witches, mystics, diviners, and all types of healers who reincarnate lifetime after lifetime to reunite with their coven sisters to heal their witch wounds together.
Books and Decks shown in this blog or recommended:
Oracle of the Witch: Reclaim Your Birthright, Spells: A Little Deck of Enchantments: 40 Mini Cards for Inspiration, Everyday Witch Tarot, Magick and Mediums Oracle, Seasons of the Witch: Samhain Oracle, Seasons of the Witch: Yule Oracle, Seasons of the Witch: Beltane Oracle, Seasons of the Witch: Mabon Oracle,Seasons of the Witch: Imbolc Oracle
Link to Podcast Episode 49 click here
Other relevant Podcast Episodes - Click below to listen
The Divining Sisters Series
And if you are looking for a good witchy book for an autumn read my new book series, The Divining Sisters, is perfect for this time of year. Book 1 in the series, The Call of the Cards is available now as an ebook $4.99 and paperback $14.99 on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Find out more details on my novels on my author website author.heatherhardison.com
You can find the ebook and paperback of The Call of the Cards, We Divine Three, and The Threads of Fate on Amazon. And the eBooks are also on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple Books, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd, Smash words, and more. The Ebook is $4.99 and the paperback is $14.99.
Readers are raving about the series like this 5 star amazon review of The Call of the Cards “The metaphysical series I've been waiting for! I was hooked from the beginning and even find myself slowing down because I want it to last. The characters are so relatable and genuine, and the explanations of tarot readings and past life stories is spot on! I'm eagerly awaiting the next ones. Please please, Heather, keep writing.”
If you get a copy, please leave a book review on whatever platform you buy it on if you enjoy it. That really helps me out and can help get my book in front of more readers. And if you love it please also review it on good reads.
I have a dedicated website for my books at author.heatherhardison.com - that’s where I post updates on book releases, book blurbs and quotes, book covers, links to purchase, and fun things like my Spotify playlists for each book. I carefully curate those to express the energy of each book. Buy The Call of the Cards here
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see updates on the book releases there. I have 2 instagram accounts My tarot and podcast account - healingthrutarot My author account heatherhardisonauthor
Time to pre-order the 2024 Writual Tarot Planner
And it’s that time of year when we need to order another tarot journal. It's out now! I always order a new Writual Tarot Planner around this time. If you want one before the new year, remember you can use my Writual discount code at checkout. Use my Writual ambassador link here along with my discount code HEALING (all caps), which gets you 15% off your Writual purchases when you use that affiliate link and code. Writual has tarot stamps and stickers, dated and undated tarot journals and planners, including one for kids, tarot decks and tarot-themed mugs, candles, and jewelry so check them out using my link!
Healing Thru Tarot's Spread Ebook Line
A Spread for All Seasons - 17 custom spreads
Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 1 - 15 custom spreads
Healing and Mental Health Spreads Vol. 2- 15 9-card spreads
Shadow Work Spreads and Workbook - 20 spreads
Healing Thru Tarot’s Life Path and Life Purpose spread ebook includes 15 custom spreads I’ve created to help you identify and align with your life path and sail to success. Spreads like the life path alignment spread, lightwork path guidance spread, conquering obstacles on my path spread, advice from my future self-spread and karmic healing path spread will help you position yourself to step into your full power and achieve the purpose you incarnated to fulfill. Plus many more spreads offering guidance and advice to get on path and stay on track. $12
Click here to purchase any of these spread ebooks
Magic Mind
I don’t know about you, but I pull cards as well as writing and record ing podcast episodes. Magic Mind is my coffee replacement that keeps my mind clear and alert, so I don’t nod off when I’m up late into the night journaling or pulling cards for my spreads.
This 2-ounce elixir is easier on my stomach than coffee and doesn’t leave me with jitters. I sip on it right before my writing sessions and I get in a good 7 hours of productive work thanks to the natural ingredients like the nootropics and adaptogens that not only help me stay focused and inspired but also relaxed as I write through the evening.
If you’d like to try this elixir for yourself go to https://www.magicmind.com/thrutarot
You can use my code at checkout: HEALING20 (that’s all caps) for 20% off your one time purchase or up to 56% off your first subscription because it stacks with the subscription discount from their website. That’s HEALING20 for 56% off. And it also works if you’re already a subscriber, you save on your next subscription payment. I’d recommend the 30 pack because it’s the best deal.
If you’re a writer like me or just someone looking for enhanced productivity and creativity as you work, give Magic Mind a try.
Listener Support
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