Dreaming Lens: What was the witch doing in your dream? Was she frightening or fascinating? How dangerous did she seem? Was she able to do magic? Were you the witch? How did the witch relate to you in the dream?
Personal Focus: The witch is a creature of relatively modern invention with little, if any, origins in the older mythologies that have shaped Western culture. They are most likely a product of the emergence of Christianity and the growth of European cities. Any woman with Pagan-based knowledge of the healing arts might have been considered a witch by the ever-expanding political powers of the last two millenniums. To avoid punishment, such people lived away from urban centers, often in the woods, adding to the mystique and burgeoning fables of witches as evil, forest-dwelling hags. Today, the witch figures prominently in contemporary fairy tales and folklore, and she is a staple character of Halloween. She no longer heals and ministers; now she casts evil spells and eats children.
Since this is an Archetype, how she appears in your dream is important to your understanding of your own personal development. The areas of life ruled by this Archetype are mysticism, healing, and magic, primarily in the feminine principle, which relates to creativity, receptivity, nurturance, and caretaking. Examine your witch for character, skill, and motivation. Her character will inform you of the levels of good versus evil within your psyche. The power of her skills will inform you of your personal access to the magic in the universe. Understanding what inspires her will get you in touch with your own movement toward integration and away from manipulation.
Any number of hag-like, female characters could be considered the Witch Archetype. In fact, some may be evil, while others may be disenfranchised healers. Given her origins in mysticism and a preponderance of misunderstandings over the centuries, it is important to consider this duality when interpreting the Witch as a symbol. Though she may inspire fear and dread, the witch has powerful magic which, if understood and properly used, can be invaluable to the human experience. [1]
(1) A witch may be an internal source of wisdom, healing and growth.
(2) Alternatively, a witch may be a destructive unconscious force: for example, a repressed part of yourself. In a man’s dream a witch may symbolize the negative aspect of his anıma (on anim a, see Brother / Sister, section (4)-(6)). Do you suffer from moodiness and a conviction that nothing can ever come right for you? This may be because you feel in some way let down by your mother. The character of a man’s anima is as a rule shaped by his mother5 (M.-L. von Franz, in Man and His Symbols) (on ‘femme fatale’, see Woman).
NB Seemingly destructive forces in the psyche invariably reveal themselves, on fuller acquaintance, as positive and life-enhancing.
The word witch is usually used to describe a mean and heartless person, and in your dream you may be making associations in regard to yourself or someone else that fits that description.
A witch could also represent power, magic, and goodness. “White magic” is as popular and culturally significant as darker witchcraft. However, whether good or evil, the witch always tries to defy natural law and uses a short cut to accomplish a task. Ask yourself questions about the general message in the dream; is it about revealing negative characteristics or about solving your problems and getting what you want out of life by using shortcuts? The most positive connotation of this dream could be that it encourages you to solve difficulties by using creativity and intuition and brings you closer to finding powerful and magical parts of yourself. [3]
A particular situation in which you’re feeling challenged or you’d like to have more power or assistance.
A desire for more freedom or autonomy in your life, perhaps an attempt to rebel against an authority figure.
Consider also the type of witch, spells, or powers (for example, correcting a wrong could represent a desire to do the right thing, controlling people or situations might represent a desire for change, and the power to disappear could represent a wish to “escape” a responsibility or rule).
A witch coming after you can represent a feeling or fear of victimization or manipulation somewhere in your life.
Someone accusing you of being a witch can represent a feeling or fear of being falsely accused or persecuted.
Witches often presage diseases. [5]
A negative symbol for Mother, the overpowering, malevolent woman who is feared. Often points to a mother who does not care properly for her children (particularly in children’s dreams). Less often, the image of a witch points to the wise woman (particularly in women’s dreams) who exudes great magnetism.
The witch is almost always a symbol of the power of the unconscious—Magic. In fairy tales as well as in dreams, the witch plays an important, archetypal role, because she separates the hero or dream-self from his (usually royal) origin, which can then only be recaptured after he passes a certain test. [6]
If the dreamer is a man, he needs to take a good, long, honest look at his attitude toward women. He may be caught up in the notion that all women are out to get him.
If the witch is friendly in the dream, whether the dreamer is a man or a woman, it augurs an increased social life.
If the witch is the ominous Halloween figure, rough times in romance lie ahead. [7]
If you dreamed of stumbling upon a coven of witches in your dream, did you recognize any of them in waking life? If you did you may suspect them of being in a secret pact in waking life that is either benign or malignant.
If you do not recognize them, this suggests a need for protection, concealment or togetherness in real life.
See also: SPIRITS AND GHOSTS.
The Mystical Arts [8]
The fears or difficult feelings and habits we have developed in relationship with our mother. Because these feelings are now pan of ourself, if female, we can of course become the witch in relationship to someone else. Also vindictiveness, jealousy, etc. [9]
Depth Psychology: The witch represents people with ill intentions—and perhaps also your own nastiness.
It is a sign of your fear of the irrational, and suspicion of the unconscious forces that often influence your actions. Was the witch in the dream good or evil? Is there a witch inside of you? If so, what part of you does she represent? The witch might also stand for certain, strictly sexual emotions. [10]
If you feel weakened or scared by this dream, then you are running from your power, and are afraid of the negative influence it could have. Keep in mind that the shadow aspect of you is only a shadow until it is embraced by the light of your being.
The meaning of this symbol depends on the tone of the dream as well as how the dreamer relates to a certain kind of witch. [14]
Dreaming of warts, which are often associated with witches, links with that part of ourselves which remains superstitious and afraid of an energy we have not fully comprehended. [15]
A man may use the appearance of the witch to overcome his fears of the powerful woman. [17]
2. A person with seemingly magical powers. [21]