spooniewitches:

Who are Spoonie Witches?

…and why are there so many of us?

Simply put, a spoonie witch is a person with a chronic illness, disability or mental illness who also practises magic and/or witchcraft.

The term spoonie comes from The Spoon Theory, first termed by Christine Miserandino on her blog. It is an analogy to express the way people with chronic illnesses feel with low, limited and/or sporadic energy levels. Recently, the term has been used by chronically ill, disabled and mentally ill people, as an umbrella name for us all – Spoonies!

Since meeting other witches with chronic illnesses and disabilities online, and in real life, I have asked myself a simple question: why are so many of us drawn to witchcraft and magic? Until recently, I found it difficult to answer the question, but now I can answer it for myself at least; I wonder if I’m right for you too. Magic gives us power, a sense of agency and control over ourselves and our environment. Whatever our illnesses or disabilities, they can sometimes leave us with a sense of helplessness, feeling out of control or of feeling lost within our world. Magic gives us a way back to being an active part of the universe, to be changed and to make changes.

Magic takes many forms and is unique to all of us. Whether we like to take hours to perform a complex ritual or make wishes when we blow out candles – we are all performing daily rituals of magic.