Why do people say witch like it's a bad thing?

Dear Digital Diary,

I love witches, so I was thinking about the word witch today, and how strange it is that people still use it like it's supposed to mean something bad.

Because if you really look at history, a witch was often just a woman who knew things.

And not in a dramatic or eccentric sort of way. I mean literally knew things.

She knew which herbs helped a fever. She knew when the seasons were about to change. She knew how to read. She knew how to think. She knew how to ask questions without immediately accepting whatever answer she was given.

And for some reason, that has always made people uncomfortable.

The more I read about history, the more I feel like society has had this recurring habit of looking at an intelligent woman and deciding there must be something unnatural about her. A man discovers something? Brilliant. A woman discovers something? Suspicious. A man spends his life studying the world? Dedicated. A woman spends her life studying the world? Well, now people start getting nervous.

Maybe that's why I love witches so much.

Not the Halloween version. Not the cartoon version. Not even necessarily the magical version.

I love witches as an idea.

I love the image of a woman living exactly as she pleases. A woman who collects knowledge simply because she wants to know things. A woman who notices tiny details everyone else misses. A woman who spends an afternoon learning the names of flowers for no reason other than curiosity. A woman who reads old books and writes notes in the margins and stares at the moon a little longer than everyone else does.

There is something so beautiful about that.

And maybe what I love most is that witches always seem connected to the world around them. They know the names of trees. They know which birds arrive first in winter. They know that rosemary smells different when it's growing in someone's garden than when it's dried in a jar. They notice things.

The world feels very fast lately. Everyone is rushing somewhere, trying to become something, trying to prove something. But whenever I think of witches, I think of women who take the time to notice things. Women who remain curious. Women who refuse to let the wonder leave them.

I don't think people were ever really afraid of magic.

I think they were afraid of women who belonged to themselves.

Women who couldn't be easily explained.

Women who weren't interested in fitting neatly into whatever shape had been prepared for them.

Because once a woman starts thinking for herself, learning for herself, living for herself, she becomes unpredictable. And history has never been particularly fond of unpredictable women.

So yes, if being a witch means being curious, thoughtful, slightly odd, deeply observant, a little stubborn, and completely unwilling to stop learning, then I suppose I understand the appeal.

Maybe the word was meant to be an accusation.

Somewhere along the way, it became a compliment.

And honestly, I've never met a witch I didn't like.

Witches always support other bitches, anyway.