The mist filled path leading to an ancient moss-cloaked graveyard. The feeling of your soul lifting from your body and traveling far and wide. Over snow-covered mountains and down into the deepest of seas. A mystical day with tea, meditation, incense, and oils. If you’ve been a fairy-tale-loving, dreamer you’re entire life and now you’re a witch…well, I have news for you. You might be a specific kind of witch…and here we will explore all the signs you’re a hedge witch. Or, at least, that you should try practicing hedge witchcraft.
First, What is a Hedge Witch?
A hedge witch is an individual who practices a specific kind of witchcraft…obviously called hedge witchcraft. Hedge witchcraft is more than just working with herbs and tending a garden. I feel in recent years there was a misunderstanding of what a hedge witch truly is. To clear it up – a hedge witch crosses the “hedge”, so to speak, between the physical and the spiritual worlds. The hedge witch walks that fine line between here and there, and essentially is a liminal being. They might work with spirits from the Otherworld, go on regular journeys or “witchflights” up and down the World Tree, engage in astral projection and lucid dreaming, and much more. Let’s find out if you might naturally be a hedge witch…without even realizing it!
What it means to cross the hedge.
17 Signs You’re a Hedge Witch
Here are a few signs you might be a hedge witch. OR signs you should try actively practicing this form of witchcraft:
1. You’ve always been a dreamer
Ever since I was a little girl, I had vivid dreams almost every night. These dreams took me to other worlds, led me to meet my ancestors and other spirits, taught me how to heal myself, and warned me of things to come. One sign you’re a hedge witch is if you’ve always been an avid dreamer. Dreams of flying, separating from your body, traveling up and down a large tree, and diving down to the bottom of the ocean are all signs that you’re naturally crossing the hedge in your sleep.
2. Spirits are attracted to you
Since you were a child, you’ve had paranormal experiences. Spirits seem to be attracted to you…or perhaps you just sense them easier than others. You’ve never been quite sure. You just know that they are there. And it’s not a specific kind of spirit, it’s likely multiple types. At night, you had dreams of them. Any time you’d go to a haunted or historic location, you get hitchhikers (if you’re not sure what a hitchhiking spirit is, check out our post on types of ghosts). The reason why you are a magnet to spirits is because you perpertually walk in a liminal space between here and there. This is a big sign you’re a hedge witch.
3. Meditating and Visualizing Come Naturally
Visualization (being able to see pictures playing out in your mind) is an important factor of journeying to the Otherworld. Some folks have to practice at visualization, which is totally normal! And some people have the ability without ever practicing. If you find you’ve been able to visualize and meditate with ease, you might be a hedge witch.
4. Liminal Animals are attracted to you
Liminal animals have always been drawn to you. Since you were a child, strays and injured wild animals seem to come to you…drawn to you like a magnet. These liminal (in-between, Otherworldly) animals feel akin to you, since you yourself are Otherworldly. A few examples of liminal creatures include the deer, owl, cat, crow, fox, coyote, horse, and hare. The last time I visited my favorite place in the world, a mountain cabin nestled beside a babbling creek, there was a doe that seemed to come near whenever I stepped outside. I knew she was drawn to me and I to her because of our connection to the spirit realm. If you’ve had this moment, you’ll know. This is a sign you’re a hedge witch.
5. You enjoy studying and using herbs
Lots of witches are all about that crystal life, dawg. But you’ve always been more interested in herbs and that herbal life. You enjoy drinking teas for magical and medicinal reasons, you enjoy growing and harvesting your own herbs, and making magick with earth’s bounty. Some of your favorite herbs probably have otherworldly lore attached to them including the elder, hawthorn, rosemary, oak, thyme, ash, apple, etc.
6. You feel comfortable in liminal places
When you’re friends wanted to go to the city to go shopping and eat at cafes, you felt the urge to travel to the mountains to go hiking and sit by a creek. You’ve always felt more comfortable in liminal places…graveyards, crossroads, herb gardens, abandoned places, shorelines. These are your happy places. You feel at home here because these places are closer to the Otherworld…you’re true home as a hedge witch.
7. You’ve had an interest in fairies and mythical creatures
Fairies, mermaids, and other mythical creatures are your jam. Signs you’re a hedge witch might include an interest in otherworldly creatures like fairies, elves, gnomes, dragons, phoenix, mermaids, and more. As a child, you pretended to be a fairy princess and a mermaid in the pool. You wanted to have a gnome as a friend, more so than an actual human friend.
8. You have Clair abilities
My honest opinion is that most witches have some sort of psychic abilities. These are often referred to as the “6 Clairs” which include clairvoyance (clear-seeing), claircognizance (clear-knowing), clairsentience (clear-feeling), clairaudience (clear-hearing), clairsalience (clear-smelling) and cleargustance (clear-tasting). Signs you’re a hedge witch include having one or more of these abilities…and probably in alignment with mediumship (speaking to the dead).
9. Liminal times call to you
In addition to feeling comfortable in liminal places, those otherworldly times also call to you. Samhain and Beltane are your favorite sabbats. You feel powerful during sunrise and sunset, as well as at midnight.
10. Divination is a favorite pasttime
What easier way to communicate with the other side than to use divination? Your favorite pasttimes are tarot reading, pendulum dowsing, reading omens and signs, throwing bones, reading runes, and scrying in mirrors. All of these practices connect us to the spirit realm and provide a channel of communication. If your favorite hobby is divination, you might be a natural hedge witch.
11.You practice in a solitary nature
You’ve never been one to join a coven or go to a group circle. Your practice is private and deeply personal to you. If someone asks, you typically say you are “solitary” and prefer it that way. Many hedge witches do. Your coven consists of your familiar spirits, animal guides, herb allies, and ancestors.
12. You live at the edge of town
Historically, witches and wise people often lived at the very edge of town. They didn’t like being in the middle of the chaos for multiple reasons. Maybe you find yourself living out in the country or far out at the edge of a suburb or city. Your body and mind crave solitude and quiet over the busy-ness of an urban setting.
13. Healing comes naturally to you
When you were a kid, you instinctively knew how to heal a scraped knee with a bit of aloe vera. You plucked mint from your grandma’s garden and chewed on it to ease a stomachache. How did you know these plants could do this? Healing comes naturally to you. This is one of the big signs you’re a hedge witch.
14. You know there’s an afterlife
You’ve always known there’s something more out there. You’ve always known there’s an afterlife and feel comfort in that. Maybe you’ve had dreams of Heaven or the Summerland. Maybe you’ve even had a near death experience and saw the afterlife yourself. Another sign you’re a hedge witch is that you know of your past lives and even know where you’re going when you die.
15. You ease the pain and uncertainty during major transitions
Speaking of the afterlife, your loved ones and friends come to you when they need comfort during times of great transition. Like death. Like pregnancy and childbirth. You seem to have a peaceful countenance and draw people to you that need advice during these scary times of life. Perhaps you’re even in the medical field and work in labor and delivery OR hospice.
16. You can find lost objects with ease
The hedge witch at the edge of town was frequently sought out for her advice and otherworldly knowledge. One of the things that people asked their town witch to help with was finding lost items. Every hedge witch has their own way of accomplishing this task from using tarot to pendulums, asking the fae, or simply using their clair abilities. If you’re able to find lost items with ease, this might be your sign.
17. The Hedge Witch’s Household Spirits
The typical hedge witch has many similarities to the green and hearth witch including an inevitable connection to the land on which they live. And to the spirits present in their own homes. If you’re naturally a liminal being, you likely already have ancestors, animal spirits, and fairies living in your home. Your home’s spirit itself might already feel a connection with you.
How to Practice Hedge Witchery
You’ve been nodding your head to every single on of the signs you’re a hedge witch. And you’ve decided perhaps this is a practice you’d like to explore. But how do you go about starting to practice hedge witchcraft? First, if you’re already a witch, you’re probably already practicing at least a few of these.
But if not, here are some practices to get you started:
1. Meditation and visualization
2. Shamanic journeying and astral projection
3. Lucid dreaming and recording your dreams
4. Keeping a grimoire to document your otherworldly experiences
5. Work with herbs of a “liminal” nature like mugwort
6. Learning to make and use your own flying ointments
7. Meeting and connecting with otherworldly beings and familiar spirits
8. Spirit work: aiding spirits who come to you for help, eradicating negative energy and spirits from your home or others, communicating with the other side
9. Keeping an herb garden and using your homegrown herbs in your practice
10. Connecting with liminal animals in the physical and spiritual realms
11. Honoring and celebrating liminal holidays and sabbats.
