An Adventure in Witchcraft

    There is a term going around in the Witchy communities that I don't fully understand; a "baby" witch. It sounds gross and demeaning. Yes, I understand that there are new practitioners to witchcraft. Calling them babies is very demeaning/dismissive, makes us as a whole look foolish, and can lead to further harm in spell work.

    I am not new to witchcraft. I've been a pagan for nearly a little over a decade and a practicing witch for nearly as long. However, I am aware there are people who have been practicing more diligently and for a longer period of time than me. If any of those people were to call me a "baby", I would find it belittling. Calling a grown adult a "baby" is infantilizing. You are literally saying "you are a child that cannot take care of itself and therefore I will not take you seriously". It's toxic within our community for us to be treating each other that way. We all have valuable knowledge and share our learnings. And there are times where we all get things wrong. It is not far to assume that because someone is new to a concept, that their ideas are less valuable.

    It also makes us look foolish to the greater societal community. We are literally calling each other "babies". How is anyone supposed to take us seriously when we do that? Why would anyone want to join, especially if they thought it meant they would be harassed by being constantly called a baby? It has been so hard for us to be taken seriously in the past and now we're at a crucial point where mainstream society is valuing what we have to say. They are listening and hearing us call each other babies. Is that what we want non-witches to take from us?

    This name calling can also lead to further harm. So many people lack confidence in their craft. This is dually so when they get called baby. These new people then latch on to this idea of being a baby. I've seen practitioners who have been at it for longer than I have, refer to themselves as being baby. It's not humbling; it's a lack of confidence in their work. Witches need to have confidence in their craft in order to... well.. work. This is especially true for those who come from backgrounds in which their identities have not been valued. For example, I come from a pretty conservative Christian background. When I was young, I was not valued as a woman. If I started my craft now, I would not feel valued because I am new and keep getting called a "baby witch". (That's not to say you can't be a Christian and a witch, this is just an example).

    Maybe there is something that I don't understand here. I don't think so and I'm disappointed in with the witchy community for letting this happen. I was so welcomed when I joined and now we are calling each other babies.