Is it true that when someone is a natural witch it is inherited through bloodline/hereditary?

QUESTION - I just came across your blog through fb and read what you wrote about living with a witch,and overcoming fears.i am quite new to the craft (4 months)and since I started researching and studying it has been amazing! I finally found myself and everything I learn seems to have already been former knowledge.
It is the weirdest and coolest feeling to have such wisdom. My problem is I was raised in strict Christian home and I live in Oklahoma bible belt. I want to know where this wisdom came from. Isn’t it true that when someone is a natural witch tit is inherited through bloodline/hereditary? NO ONE in my family will even come close to admitting anyone being a witch but i suspect it may be fear, I don’t know. My mother seemed to try to give me a hint it seemed to me when she vaguely mentions out of the blue that she had a great aunt that "was burned to death in a 'house fire'.” It seems like a strange thing to say when we are on the subject of if anyone in the family is psychic. Anyway I am just searching for someone to guide me and even though i want to be solitary, I wish it did not feel like solitary confinement.......will you give me your input? I would highly value it and be honored for your gift of wisdom........blessings! btw....i really like your writing style and I totally get your humour. I giggled a few times while reading. Thanks a bunch!

ANSWER -  Your question touches on the most sensitive topic known to witches! Nothing has caused more arguments in the witch community than the question of whether you can be a genuine witch without a hereditary bloodline. There are strong advocates on both sides of the fence, many Traditional witches believe firmly in bloodline, others believe a witch is made but by formal initiation by another witch. Yet others believe a witch can be born while others believe there is a hereditary element but that it is passed down through the reincarnations of the witch rather than from a specific family heritage. You won’t find a definitive answer, just a lot of very strong opinions and belief.

My own belief is probably a mix of all the above. I certainly believe that some elements of witchcraft can be hereditary. In fact, I’d be astonished if any practicing witches of today have no element of witchcraft in the bloodline, but it can be hard to trace. Many witches do not advertise what they do and this unfortunately makes it difficult to trace the craft even in the immediate family tree. And the hereditary craft may go back further than you can trace. Just because your mother/grandmother did not practice witchcraft does not mean it is not present in your family. You may never find out, but the fact that you can’t prove it does not preclude you from being a hereditary witch and it certainly doesn’t prevent you from practising as a witch.

You mention in your question that some of the knowledge you are discovering feels like former knowledge. This may suggest that you have practiced as a witch in previous lives. We need to keep an open mind on the matter, it could also mean that what you are doing now just feels very right for you in this particular life.

Its also important to differentiate between being a natural witch and being a practicing witch. There are many more people with the natural inclination toward the craft than there are witches. Many people choose not to act on their innate abilities and choose not to define themselves as a witch. Again, this makes the tracing of witchcraft in your family difficult. It also means there can be little kudos attached to the claim that just because you have witchcraft in your lineage means you are more inclined to the craft yourself. There may be extremely powerful witches in many family trees who have simply chosen not to practice, if a person inherits this power and chooses to practice, they may be perceived as the first witch in the family though the truth would suggest that they do actually have a craft heritage.

As an aside, in terms of the whole it takes a witch to make a witch thing, I’ve spoken out about this before – it irritates me. I dislike the idea that it gives too much credence to the power of another on your individual path. I work with deity and quite frankly I don’t credit anyone at all with a greater power than my deities. If something can be done by a witch, it can certainly be done by a God/Goddess. So I’m all in favour of cutting out the middle man and confirming a chosen path with the craft directly at source.

I’ll repeat though, a lot of this is just what I think and others will differ strongly on the matter.

(In answer to the latter part of your question – I’ve sent a private reply.)

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