Why are there so many FEMALE witches anywhere, but NOT so many MALE witches anywhere? What the...?

Question

I'm not so sure actually. Are you all sure that there 's nothing about gender discrimination on the Craft here?

Answer 1

Witchcraft tends to traditionally be a primarily female religion. This comes from the days when women had no rights or say in their lives and used magic to help even the balance.

That's not to say that there aren't plenty of male witches as well--I've known quite a few in my day. I don't think it's quite as, how do I put this, an obvious choice for as many men, perhaps?

I, personally, am a female occultist/ritual & chaos magician, and I must say...I certainly don't know of many other females who follow my path.

ETA: A male witch is called a witch. "Warlock" is an old (Scottish, I believe) word meaning "oath-breaker". Not something any witch would use to describe himself.

Answer 2

I have to clarify something here. In the religion of Wicca and/or the tradition of Witchcraft, both women and men are called Witches.
In the world of fiction, in stories like fairy tales, men are called warlocks or wizards while only women are called witches.
Note the capitalization difference. This is one way to keep the two definitions separate, at least in print.
The reason for the two different uses is because warlock does mean "oath-breaker" and in the real world it is taken as an insult.
Regarding the number of male Witches compared to female Witches, I think the numbers are much closer than many people think, it's just that the majority of people only think women when they think Witch and so the men do not get noticed as easily or as much.

Answer 3

I'm male and most would call me a witch. I've known about the same number of witches of either sex over the last 30 years. In my experience (having known a pretty representative sample set of about five or six thousand in total) they were nearly equally of each sex, however the males tend to be solitary more often than women. Of course they may end up having more males or more females in certain specific communities, but on the whole, I think it balances out. If there is a predisposition toward female witches it's probably just because women tend to be more affiliative than men in our society.

Answer 4

There are male witches around, friend.
It's just that the religions of the Western world have been male-dominated for so long that many groups focus on 'THE Goddess' and 'a god', so males often feel that they are not participating in a 'genders are equal' experience, but that maleness everywhere, including in them, is being universally disrespected.
You know how 'fragile male ego-s are' anyway, why would we hang out with people who know magic(k) and unconsciously treat us like shyte? I know Christians have been treating them like shyte for decades, but that doesn't have anything to do with me or other male witches.
Come to Pantheacon, where around 1/3 of the several thousand Pagans and witches are male.

Answer 5

There are many male witches. I am one myself. Warlock is a derogatory term and if you call a male witch a warlock you have just insulted him. I believe the term warlock was first used to describe a male witch in the television program Bewitched.

Answer 6

They are out there. Maybe just not as vocal. Also the Male witch will usually user the term Pagan as a wider description of the self.

Oh .. and a male witch is NOT a warlock.

Answer 7

Being that I am solitary witch I dont not know many people that practice the craft back when I was in high school i did, I had a coupld mentors one of which was male. Besides that I have not known any man who practices witch craft. My current Bf has tryed to learn and tryed to preactice but deep down it is just not him but he accepts me for who I am. I dont do the craft as much anymore. I have met alit of men who are Wiccan but do not actually go as far as spells

Answer 8

My aunt knew a male witch once. There is no gender discrimination

Answer 9

there are male witches you've answered your own question a male witch is called a witch.i know i dabbled in yhe occult before and my mother used to be a witch before becoming christian.a great grandma on my mother's mother's side went to a wiccan school in the early part of the twentieth century,so you can be sure i am right also they are discreet because they are still persecuted. i am not condoning the practice it just is.

Answer 10

I mean this in the nicest and most complimentary way:

Women ARE magical creatures. Women have the power to bring life into this world, and they have the power to make a man's dreams come true.

I don't think it is gender discrimination but rather an unintentional association with the natural wiles and magic that define womanhood. I LOVE women.

And aren't male witches called warlocks???

H