We’ve all heard it before: The “I’m a natural born witch” claim made by oh-so-many in the Pagan community. But is there really such thing as a “natural born witch,” at all? While it’s absolutely possible to be raised around witchcraft, or even inherit knowledge passed down through elders, it doesn’t seem at all logical to literally be “born” a witch — at least, not in the way that many people apply the idea. For many, this title is often touted as if it grants them royalty over those who came into the craft later in their lives, and sometimes follows nonsensical stories about having direct blood shared by witches who lived hundreds — or thousands — of years ago. The truth of the matter is that this is just elitist nonsense, and there is no evidence whatsoever to suggest that people inherit magical powers from some perceived bloodline of witches.

You can inherit a lot of things through your parents, your grandparents and so forth. Your hair color, eye color, allergies, medical conditions and even — to a degree — your personality. What has never been proven, however, is the inheritance of magical powers. While it’s a claim that is made daily by hundreds of witches on social media, it’s just not something that makes logical sense.

Witchcraft is a skill set, and skills require practice to master
If your father is a carpenter, and your grandfather was a carpenter, and his father a carpenter. Are you a natural born carpenter?

If every woman in your family are skilled seamstresses, are you a natural born seamstress?

It would be intellectually dishonest to ignore that some people are born with above-average intelligence, which allows them to pick up certain tasks with ease, and others have the ability to soak up information faster than their peers — but that does not mean that a person comes out of the womb with all the expertise needed to build a house, sew a dress or cast a successful spell.

And just as some people are born quite gifted with intelligence, others are born with less-than-average intelligence and a lack of ability to learn, grow and develop particular skills. It’s really just a crap-shoot on who’s born with what gifts or lack-of, meaning that a decades-disciplined witch could produce offspring that can’t light a candle without burning down the house. This is why bragging that one is a “natural born witch” is just elitist nonsense. You could be a direct descendant of Aleister Crowley himself, and still possess little to no ability to focus intent and express the energy needed to successfully manifest. Meanwhile, you could be five years into your practice and have more focus and success than someone who throws around such a cliche’ claim.

We’re (mostly) all the same
We’re all human beings. We all come from the same universal energies, and are made up of the same (mostly) atoms. So, if you want to get philosophical, we’re all natural born witches. It’s just a matter of practicing our craft and perfecting our own natural gifts. Instead of bothering with whether or not we’re superior to other types of witches, all of our magic could benefit from a little extra TLC. 

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