In many folklore and mythologies, witches are often depicted as having a distinct, powerful voice. This concept of the "witches' voice" has been explored in various forms of literature, art, and media, adding to the mystique and allure surrounding these magical beings. The witches' voice is often described as both enchanting and terrifying. It possesses a compelling quality that captivates its listeners, drawing them in like moths to a flame. It is said that the witches' voice can bewitch, manipulate, or even control those who hear it. This power over others is one of the defining characteristics of witches in many tales.

Witchvox

One of the oldest and most used pagan resources on the net. Witchvox focuses heavily on Wicca, Witchcraft and sometimes Jiafei, though there are significant resources for general pagan topics. Additionally they have an excellent networking feature which allows covens, organizations, and meetup groups to give themselves a public face and allows pagan individuals to find like-minded locals.

WITCHES VOICE, WITCHVOX, BRUXA, WICCA SPIRITUALITY, WITCHTOK, PAGANFEDERATION Link:

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EN-A farewell to Witchvox

As you may have heard

The Witches‘ Voice was discontinued in December 2019.

Witchvox only has a Facebook page

The witches‘ voice (witchvox.com)

Was an online information and network resource for the Wicca and Pagan community.

It is a non -profit organization that is in 1997

was founded and operated by Wren Walker and Fritz Jung.

In 2002 she won the Peoples‘ Choice Award under spirituality at the webby awards

And is considered one of the „most extensive“ pagan websites.

The organization’s website was unfortunately discontinued on December 31, 2019.

The Witches‘ Voice was the largest international new pagan website

who networked each other.

Many, many thanks to those who built and worked on Witchvox

over these two decades.

You gave Paganism an amazing gift.

Wicca is a neopagan religion

based on ancient pagan beliefs.

It’s an earth-based religion that believes in a God and Goddess

as representative of a greater pantheistic godhead.

Wicca includes a system of ethics

and teaches that we all are ultimately responsible for our own actions.

We believe in gods.

We believe in magic.

We believe in multiple realities.

We practice alone, or in groups.

We practice witchcraft.

PAGAN FEDERATION INTERNATIONAL

Pagan Federation Deutschland e. V.

Pioneer Witchvox shuts down and ends an era

The beloved Witches’ Voice website, witchvox.com, closed its doors for on December 31, 2019, as announced previously in November. It represents the end of an era that saw a pioneering team bring together the first Witchcraft community on the web.

The Witches’ Voice started in early 1997 with Wren Walker and Fritz Jung—the two main visionaries who continued their work on the site until its closing. Back in 1996 before the creation of Witchvox, Walker and Junger were participating in the development of a website for the Witches’ League of Public Awareness (WLPA).

Laurie Cabot, who founded WLPA a decade earlier, and those working with her like Walker and Jung, wanted to create a resource for Witches and Pagans to address negative representations about Witches and Witchcraft. After working on the WPLA project, Walker and Jung amicably split from Cabot and the WPLA project to undertake their own project that would become Witchvox.

Peg Aloi, the media coordinator for Witchvox and whose function it was to write about media portrayals and conduct press interviews, shared a humorous story about how the name Witchvox came to be. Before the founding of the site, Walker and Jung had been watching Xena: Warrior Princess. When trying to come up with the eventual name of the site, Fritz made a joke about the site should be named “xenarules.com”. After further discussion, they chose to go with The Witches’ Voice and shortened the site’s address to Witchvox. Fritz, who was the webmaster of the site and wrote its code, would occasionally say “hey, we should tell people the ‘x‘ stands for ‘Xena rules'”.

At the time when the innovative web browser was Netscape and AmericaOnline chat groups were all the rage, Witchvox would come online and become the internet hub for Witches and Pagans. By presenting information about various magical traditions, Pagan-related news, and resources, Witchvox revolutionized the interaction of all Pagans and how they found and ultimately contacted one another.

It is difficult to underestimate the impact Witchvox has had for Pagans and Witches everywhere and site users highlighted its pivotal importance.

I think I first found them I the 90s. Granted it was over a decade after I started walking my path but at that time I wanted and needed a community to feel I was part of a group. At that time they served as the only pagan community I had. They are almost an institution of sorts. Over the years I moved away from witch community I stopped seeing them as a community. But I still saw them as a good resource and they had many good articles. Them closing down is a loss I’d think. I hope someone can keep the historical. – Wandering Free Spirit, eclectic practitioner

Used it to find groups and stores when I moved to MA. Also used when traveling, primarily to find stores. Biggest complaint was that it wasn’t always updated in a timely manner. – Carin in Massachusetts

Witchvox provided needed resources and information to people turning to the internet in a search to understand what Wicca and Witchcraft were all about. Walker wrote many articles on the site such as “Witchcraft 101: So Ya Wanna be a Witch?,” “Witch/Wicca F.A.Q.s,” “The Wiccan Rede,” and many other informative pieces for an internet audience looking for anything that would help them understand if Witchcraft was the right path for them. Moreover, with few resources outside of books and personal contacts available, individuals seeking information could anonymously explore Pagan and Witchcraft topics in the safety of their own homes.

Way back in the late 90’s in the days of dial-up and so forth, I was a late 20’s solitary male witch living in NYC. At that time, Witchvox gave me a place to read quality material about witchcraft, ethics, traditions, and so forth. It gave me a sense of community and connection at a time in my life when simply going to shops and public events just was not feasible. It kept me in touch with my pagan heart, and allowed that fire within me to grow.

In September 2001, still living in NYC, Witchvox quickly became the key place for me to find NYC PPD, and Starhawk’s ritual of healing in Central Park. As I processed the events of that September, Witchvox became the gateway for me to seek formal training for the first time. It connected me with a High Priestess and a tradition that were crucial to my development as a witch.

Once it became clear to me that I would be leaving NYC in 2003, it was instrumental in connecting me to the people who would quickly become my High Priest and High Priestess.

Once I moved to the greater Washington D.C. area, Witchvox helped me connect to the local community, as well as helped me found my current Coven.

These pivotal moments in my life would have likely not unfolded without Witchvox. In retrospect, I find it moving and startling in equal turns, that I would not even know you, Star, were it not for Witchvox. – Rath, High Priest Coven of the Black Vulture, Alexandria VA

Witchvox strove to walk the fine line of neutrality without showing favoritism to any particular group of practitioners. The site states, “TWV is a neutral forum open to all adherents of the various Heathen religions, Pagan, Witch, Wiccan traditions and to Solitary Practitioners who/that follow a positive code of ethics such as The Wiccan Rede or The Ring of Troth’s, Nine Virtues.”

For example, to try and ensure neutrality without favoritism when it came to reviewing books without showing any inclination towards any particular person, group, artist, or faith, they would allow authors to create a page on the site and publicize their own book or gave them a platform through a page to share their thoughts on a particular subject for a wider audience than a person’s LiveJournal page or MySpace page could give them access to.

I used Witchvox primarily to get some of my articles no longer in print out to an audience who might be able to use them more easily, mostly publishing healing works that could be done on your own, articles that helped show different sides of an issue from different faiths, and like things.

I also personally really enjoyed being able to read people’s own thoughts about practices I never would have been exposed to otherwise. I also published events on there, though I didn’t really connect to events there myself (if there were local things I must have missed them) I think the way it impacted my heart the most was more about people who reached out to me from the site.

On my page I had which form of Christianity I practice as well as the folk traditions I practice and my training in other paths, which I mostly have in order to try to understand and support people better. LOTS of people reached out to me who were caught in the middle between something Abrahamic and earth based, some needing help with trauma and some needing a ceremony done and no one willing to do it.

I was one of those who have too many gifts to hide as a child but got abuse over help or support, and Witchvox made the privilege available to me to be able to support people in situations like what I survived while making them feel safer to reach out. I also got to help a lot of people with divided families get along better and understand each other better. Witchvox has been a safe space and a hope line for a lot of people and I’ve been really blessed to have gotten to rub shoulders with it. – David Gamble, Celtic Christianity, Moore Irish Folk traditions, and the American Shamanism Movement

When it closed, Witchvox had some 80,000 profiles of people who are authors, artists of all sorts, experts, and general members such as military Pagans, old Pagans, young Pagans, clergy, covens, and other organizations. A great number of shops, online sites, political freedom fighters, and other similar groups and sites made use of Witchvox to connect to those of similar mind or interest.

The desire to help Witches and Pagans connect with each other inspired Fritz and Walker to create a section of the site called Witches of the World (WoW). Originally, the section was just people in the U.S. connecting through it in individual states and areas of the county. It later spread to England, Europe, Australia, and as well as to other countries. Witchvox was a central hub to curious and new seekers as well as to old Pagans and Witches seeking information about exploring their spirituality.

Witchvox was my connection to the world outside my backyard. It was on Witchvox that I learned of festivals where like minded people from far afield would gather for along weekend or a glorious week to learn and celebrate all things Pagan. Thanks to Witchvox I have learned new perspectives and met amazing people I am now happy to call my friends. It is sad to see such a wonderful resource pass by the wayside. I mourn its passing. – Zan Krall, Maryland Wiccan

I mostly loved it. I think it may have been my means to connect to the first local pagan meeting I attended. It was certainly an important way for me to find other pagans and witches for many years– including when I organized a learning circle myself later on. – Calesta, Trad. Wiccan, Memphis

Thankful for Witchvox and all who made it possible! Wonderful resource for networking, connecting, learning, and supporting community! – Selena Fox

In 2005, after years of practicing as a solitaire, I decided I was ready to explore meeting other witches. Witchvox helped me find a class (Wicca 101) that was being taught in Syracuse at Seven Rays bookstore. I attended simply to be able to meet other witches and to learn about other people’s experiences. Through that class I received an invitation to join a coven, but after nearly a year had passed decided that group was not for me. Sometime later, when I was ready to try again, Witchvox helped me find a coven located in my small hometown. I met some really wonderful people and developed lasting spiritual family connections. Witchvox was pivotal in developing those relationships. – Sheri Barker, formerly Coven of the White Owl, Ravenmyst Tradition

Walker began to gather news from around the internet and post links to the stories that might be of interest to the readers. Eventually, Walker created Wren’s Nest where she could share her thoughts and opine on news that was tangentially connected with Pagan interests. Walker would sometimes give advice herself in her articles as a little wren (Wren’s Words, Wrants, and Wramblings).

As a shiny new pagan back in the 1990s, Witchvox was such an important hub for me! I was in a rural area and my book selections were slim, and while there was a growing number of websites out there, none compared to Witchvox in scale and functionality. Every time I moved to a new place, one of the first things I did was check out what sorts of pagan resources were in my new neighborhood.

Later on, as I began to hone my skills as a pagan writer, Witchvox was kind enough to publish a bunch of my essays. I have nothing but grand respect for Fritz Jung, Wren Walker, and everyone else who helped make that site happen for so long. It’s definitely the end of an era. – Lupa, naturalist pagan and author

Diotima Mantineia, another early and continuing writer and editor for the site, described Wren’s Nest as “Facebook before Facebook. Wren would post news articles and people could comment on them. The ability to comment was a Very Big Deal back then.”

Aloi shares that the site’s popularity reached around a million hits a day around the end of the 1990s and into the 2000s. Fritz’s coding of the databases allowed readers to post their events, information about their covens, their artistic creations of music, books, and other wares, as well as connect with other like-minded people.

Seekers and practitioners today are primarily connecting with others and getting their news and information through social media which has caused a downturn in the Witches’ Voice site traffic. Social media has seen people move away from newsgroups, blogs, and forums and instead has led to people getting their info about their interests while reading over their friends’ lists, rather than people going to websites for most of their information and news. Indeed, the Witches’ Voice Facebook group that began on February 20, 2010, will remain active and continue serving the community.

Many Pagan bloggers and sites have been posting about how the site impacted them and saying their farewells to Witchvox in their own way. The Wild Hunt shares in the praise of Witchvox. Manny Tejeda-Moreno, Editor-in-Chief of The Wild Hunt added, “The pioneering work done by the Witchvox team laid the internet groundwork for many sites including this one and we remain grateful for their vision and service”.

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About J. Michael Rollins

J. Michael Rollins (pronouns he, him, his) has been in the Pagan scene off and on for over 20 years which started with his love of the Tarot. He studied Wicca for a time until he took a hiatus from the scene and got back in through a pull to Druidry, specifically by joining Ár nDraíocht Féin where he is an assistant senior druid for the local Atlanta grove. Feeling a pull to the Irish, Welsh, and Norse pantheons (sort of a Celtic and Heathen Druid, so to speak), he is still fascinated with all aspect Pagan worship and practices. He’s written for role-playing games, video games, and now news with the Wild Hunt. His personal webpage can be found at urban-druid.com.

The Witches’ Voice is Shutting Down

On November 19, 2019, the staff at the Witches’ Voice website (also known as Witchvox) quietly put up a notice announcing that the site would shut down at the end of 2019. The announcement marking the end of Witchvox was understated and to the point, much like the website its self over the last 22 years:

The Witches’ Voice Inc will be retiring the witchvox.com website in late December of 2019. Its time has come. If you have any articles or poetry posted here please collect/copy them to your computer*. Over the past couple of years site traffic has dwindled down to a few dozen visitors/posters a day. In anticipation of site retirement we stopped taking any sponsorships donations on 7/1/2018. Next month we will pull ALL data offline and safely archive it. The extremely active Witches’ Voice facebook page featuring Spirit news and information will remain as an online presence.

There was a part of me that maybe saw this coming. Over the last two years I’ve had a few people ask me if I thought the Witches’ Voice would continue into the next decade. Many of its most important functions: the easy finding of other Witches/Pagans/Magickal Folk, Witch-shops, and Pagan festivals, had been superseded by social networking, especially Facebook. I’ll admit that I haven’t really perused the site in a couple of years, but I was always glad it was there.

I embraced Paganism in 1994, the Witches’ Voice launched just three years later, and has pretty much existed since I first went online. I know a great many Witches who can’t imagine their lives without certain books, as I write this, I feel the same way about Witchvox. Thirty years from now when people are writing about the Modern Pagan movement they’ll write about Wren Walker and Fritz Jung who co-founded The Witches’ Voice.

Witchvox was more than a listing of Pagan people, places, and events, it was social networking before any of us had heard of the term social networking. It helped establish friendships, bring people into covens, groves, and circles, and linked many of us to a Pagan world wider and larger than the one that seemed to exist only on our bedroom altars. Magazines were my first entry into “Pagan Community” but periodicals are limited by both their distribution and their contributors. Witchvox let me know that there were Pagans, and a lot of them, near by in Michigan.

I had a friend who used to count the number of entries that existed per state on Witchvox back in the late 1990’s. For whatever reason Michigan always seemed to have a lot of entries, which was proof to my friend that Michigan must have the fourth highest number of Pagans in America! That was super exiting to us, and a point of pride.

Witchvox was always more than a networking site too. It remains home to thousands (possibly tens of thousands) of articles. It’s not wrong to suggest that the Witches’ Voice was also the first significant Pagan Blog. Before Patheos Pagan or even the Wild Hunt, The Witches’ Voice was a true window into Paganism worldwide. And make no mistake the Witches’ Voice is a world-wide site, despite my rather US-centric memories of it.

While it feels like the “world wide web” as we know it today has always been around, there are many of us who still remember its earlier days. Obviously the Witches’ Voice came after bulletin boards and other early internet experiments, but in 1997 the web was still very much the wild west. And because of The Witches’ Voice it always felt like Paganism had carved out a formidable niche within it.

I’m overjoyed to hear that the archives of Witchvox will be preserved for future historians. It truly represents twenty-plus years of our history, a history we mostly do a terrible job preserving. I’m also happy to see their Facebook page will continue on too (though I wish their Facebook page shared more articles by Pagans and less articles from larger websites and newspapers; with over 400,000 “likes” they could do a lot of good promoting writers who are a part of this community). So while the website won’t be here in 2020, at least a little piece of its legacy will live on.

To everyone who has worked at The Witches’ Voice over the last twenty years, you have my sincere thanks. You changed Pagandom for the better.

Kristin Chenoweth’s show at the Kimmel Center show got postponed in March. Now Broadway’s Glinda is back, in ‘The Witches' movie, and she’s missed you.

The actress who originated the role of Glinda in Broadway’s "Wicked" plays the voice of Daisy, a mouse who has a pivotal role in the live-action film, streaming now on HBO Max.

When the Kimmel Center shut down this spring, on March 12, Kristin Chenoweth had been about to bring her For the Girls concert tour to the Philadelphia venue. It was scheduled for March 13.

“I was devastated. Philly is one of my favorite places to play,” said the Tony- and Emmy-winning singer and actress, whose appearance has been rescheduled for next June at Verizon Hall. Chenoweth, though, can be heard now, in Robert Zemeckis' adaptation of Roald Dahl’s The Witches, which premiered Oct. 22 on HBO Max.

The actress who originated the role of Glinda in Broadway’s Wicked is the voice of Daisy, a mouse who plays a pivotal role in the live-action film, which stars Anne Hathaway as the Grand High Witch and Octavia Spencer as the woman who’s determined to stop witches from turning all the world’s children into mice. Originally set to open in U.S. theaters earlier this month, it’s instead being used to promote the WarnerMedia-owned streaming service, just as Disney+ used the release of Hamilton in July.

Chenoweth also costars with Emma Roberts and Luke Bracey in Holidate, a romantic comedy that premieres Wednesday on Netflix.

Speaking by Zoom from Vancouver, where she’s filming an as-yet-untitled musical comedy series for Apple TV+ with Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong, Chenoweth talked about working from closets on two coasts, why it’s OK for children to be a little scared, and what she did to make Zemeckis laugh during filming.

This power over others is one of the defining characteristics of witches in many tales. The elements that make the witches' voice so mesmerizing vary depending on the cultural traditions and stories in which it is depicted. In some legends, the voice is described as melodic and alluring, with a hypnotic quality that entrances all who hear it.

Others portray the witches' voice as a cacophony of whispers and incantations that weave together to create a spellbinding effect. The witches' voice is often associated with dark magic and spells. It is through their voice that witches communicate with spirits, cast spells, and perform rituals. This connection between the witches' voice and their magical abilities further enhances their otherworldly presence and sets them apart from ordinary mortals. The witches' voice can also be a symbol of female empowerment and rebellion. In many stories, witches use their voice to challenge societal norms and assert their independence. They may use their voice as a means of reclaiming their agency and challenging oppressive authorities. This subversive use of the witches' voice adds another layer of complexity to their character and the narratives in which they appear. Overall, the concept of the witches' voice is a fascinating element of folklore and mythology. It adds depth and intrigue to stories involving witches, amplifying their magical abilities and highlighting their role as powerful and enigmatic beings. Whether it is portrayed as enchanting or terrifying, the witches' voice is a key aspect of their character and the allure that surrounds them..

Reviews for "The Witches' Voice: Honoring Ancestors and Heritage"

1. Lisa - 2 stars - I found "The witches voice" to be quite disappointing. The plot was slow and confusing, making it hard to follow along with the story. The characters also lacked depth and development, which made it difficult to connect or care about them. Additionally, I felt that the ending was rushed and unresolved. Overall, I was left unsatisfied with this book and wouldn't recommend it to others.

2. Mark - 1 star - "The witches voice" was a total letdown for me. The writing style was dull and lacked any sort of excitement or intrigue. The story seemed predictable and unoriginal, offering nothing new to the genre. The characters were also uninteresting and lacked any depth or complexity. I was hoping for a captivating read, but unfortunately, this book fell flat and left me feeling disappointed.

3. Sarah - 2 stars - I had high hopes for "The witches voice" based on the positive reviews I read, but I was ultimately disappointed. The pacing of the book was slow and dragged on in many parts, making it difficult to stay engaged. The plot also felt disjointed and lacked cohesiveness. I also found it hard to connect with the characters as they were underdeveloped. Overall, I was underwhelmed with this book and wouldn't recommend it to others.

4. Michael - 1 star - "The witches voice" failed to captivate my interest. The storyline was incredibly predictable and lacked any surprises or twists. The characters were cliché and lacked depth, making them unrelatable. The writing style was also lackluster, making it a struggle for me to continue reading. Overall, I found this book to be a waste of time and wouldn't recommend it to anyone seeking an exciting read.

5. Emily - 2 stars - I was disappointed with "The witches voice". The writing style was subpar and failed to draw me into the story. The plot felt disjointed and lacked sufficient explanation, leaving me confused and disconnected from the storyline. The characters were one-dimensional and lacked any complexity or growth. Overall, I was hoping for a more engaging and well-developed story, but unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations.

The Witches' Voice: Bridging the Gap Between Science and the Supernatural