Does anyone know anything about "witch rides"?

Question

Several times, but not recently, I'd been sleeping, but I wake up and my eyes are open but my body can not move. What feels like several seconds or sometimes minutes, I struggle to move my arms or legs and begin to panic when I can't move. Once, I felt as thogh I was floating about 3 or 4 feet above my bed and still completely paralized. Then, all of the sudden I can move and I'm wide awake. It must be a dream.
I met a woman at a party that had heard of this phenom and told me it was called "a witch ride", but didn't really know too much more about it.

Answer 1

It's called sleep paralysis. Fairly common.

Answer 2

indeed, sleep paralysis and it is common as the other replier mentioned. I have experienced this aswell, so you are not alone. I'm not sure if I would go in public saying it was a "witch ride", one your doc might not take you serioously and two, other pagans might be insulted (I am one of those touchy liberal pagans that might be insulted :P)

basically, part of your mind has woken up and the other portion has not....yet. So you feel disoritented and distanced from the current reality at hand. Thusly the idea that you feel as if you are floating. You didn't mention any actual experience of technically floating, so I can only assume it was the same feeling one gets when they are given anetisic gas for localized surgery. You are still awake, but not completely in control of all your functions and the first symptom that you are "under the influence" is the weightlessness. It is totally a deal your mind, in that state, can not comprehend.

Otherwise, if you don't want the scientific explanation, we can always mention that was your first out of body experience and astral travel. It's all basically the same, within reason of explanation.

Answer 3

What you are experiencing is called sleep paralysis. Every one experiences this when the enter the R.E.M. (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. those who awaken during this part of sleep suddenly are still paralyzed temporarily, and so there mind takes this as sensation as a floating or flying sensation. The individual is awake, but unable to move their body. This sleep paralysis is a way for our bodies to remain immobile while we dream; mainly because we could injure ourselves while having a nightmare. This what it sounds like to me anyway, but I have never heard of this witch ride thing and I am one, so I cannot tell what this lady was talking about. I just thought I would fill you in on what you could be experiencing that is all, and I hope this information helps you out.

24 y.o. Pagan College Student

Answer 4

This is called Atral projection sweety. It is normal and it can happen to anyone. Usually it happens when you are totally relaxed and sleeping, some people actually have to try and train their bodies to astral travel, I think your lucky. Next time try ot go with the flow. You are safe and you wont be harmed from doing this. When you astral travel it is your spirit leaving the body. It travels as you sleep. Some times you will hear a buzzing noise as the spirit leaves your body or you will feel like its jumping out from you. With practice you can train your spirit to go where you would like it to maybe another country or by the ocean. Whatever you desire. Your spirit is attached to you by a silverish cord and the only way it breaks is at the time of death. So your safe. Look on the internet under "Astral travel" to learn more. This awesome experience is not evil or witchy its natural. In fact we all astral travel its just that most of us do not possess the gift to remember this experience. Happy traveling!

Answer 5

I know exactly what this phenomina is. You are astral traveling, this is when your soul or spirit of your body comes out of the physical self and can travel beyond the laws of space and time. Every night you dream you asre astral traveling thats why sometimes you wake up with a jerking sensation and you fall off the bed. When you travel you can go into different plains of existence( fairy realm, limbo, the future, the past...and many others) When you get out of the body you can do anything you want, you can fly, breathe underwater, go through walls, go back and forth into the future and past, fly to the bottom of the sea, got to distant planets, and LOTS more. You should definetly go to Barnes and Noble bookseller and ask them for the "New age" section and there look for book that may say, "Out of body Experiences" "Astral Traveling" "Time travel." You have a natural gift of astral travel, USE IT!!!!!!!!

Answer 6

It is also called the Night Hag and it is hypnogogic sleep.
In olden times, it was believed the night hag, an unhappy spirit and sometimes the family cat was sitting on your chest sucking either air or soul for the victim
In reality, what is happening is your body is trapped between sleep and wakefulness and the signal our brain gives to keep us still while sleep hasn't been rescinded. It is a common and not a paranormal incident.
You can find references to the phenom all over the place

Answer 7

Its very possible that you are experiencing astral projection, also known as "out of body experience". I've never heard it called "witch rides", but this sounds like the early stages of a natural astral projector to me.

Some people practice and practice to try to acquire the skill of astral projection and never do (or do quite poorly), but others do so without any intention...it just starts happening, sometimes in middle age, sometimes younger. It's natural for them.

Astral Projection: In astral projection the conscious mind leaves the physical body and moves into the astral body. It is an interpretation of out-of-body experiences achieved either awake or via lucid dreaming, deep meditation, or use of psychotropics. Proponents of astral projection maintain that their consciousness or soul has transferred into an astral body (or "double"), which moves in tandem with the physical body in a parallel world known as the astral plane.

The astral body, also known as desire body or emotional body refers to concept of a subtle body which exists alongside the physical body, as a vehicle of the soul or consciousness.

The astral plane, also called the astral world or desire world, is a plane of existence according to esoteric philosophies, some religious teachings and New Age thought.

A good book to read if you want to learn more is:

Journeys Out of the Body, by Robert A. Monroe

I've read it, and it is not just informative, but Monroe is (in my opinion) an ecseptional writer and very entertaining.

Answer 8

a Witch ride is causd by the use of certai combinations of herbal plants that alow the spirit and body to seperae for a short time. I don't think you are using any of these potions.
It sounds more like the common form of astreal projecton that most everybody has. you panic when you realise this phenomomen and are afraid you will not be able to reurn back into your body. yes the body stays in the last position it was in when you left .just relax and your soul will return on its own. if you stay in the panic mode you may neiver be able to get you soul to return and evenulay the untented body will die. and your soul will eventuly return to the creator with one heck of a experence.

Answer 9

i have never experienced the floating but i have had that happen to me several times when i sleep on my stomach or my back and it have heard it being said the witch is riding you. my mom use to tell me it is because i was a bad girl. it hasnt happened in a while though.

Answer 10

Ever hear of Astral Projection? What you describe sounds uncannily like it. Check out the following:

http://www.crystalinks.com/astral.html