Some mirrors don’t just reflect, they reveal.
There’s one in my house, hanging slightly crooked in the hallway just outside my living room. It’s old, with a soft blur at the edges where silver has worn away. The kind of mirror you don’t just look into, you fall into.
I call it my “witch’s mirror.” Not because it’s enchanted (though I wouldn’t rule it out), but because when I pass by, it always stops me. Catches me. And shows me parts of myself I’ve tried to ignore: the quiet knowing, the lingering shame, the embers of something ancient still smouldering beneath the surface.
This is a story about that mirror and how Tarot became the key to healing what it shows me.
What Is the Witch Wound?
The witch wound is a deep, ancestral, and often subconscious trauma carried by anyone who has ever been punished, in this life or another, for their truth, their power, or their otherness.
It’s what echoes through the body when we go to speak up but swallow it down instead. It’s the reason so many magical, intuitive people feel a strange fear about being “too much” or “not enough.”
It’s a generational hush that says:
~ Don’t let them see you.
~ Don’t say what you know.
~ Don’t claim your magic, it’s not safe.
You don’t have to call yourself a witch to carry it. The witch wound belongs to anyone who was ever shamed for trusting their gut, being sensitive, intuitive, passionate, loud, or different.
And most of all? It belongs to those who carry ancient wisdom in their bones, even if they can’t explain why.
“Ever felt like you had to hide the most magical parts of yourself just to stay safe?”
You’re not alone. That ache has a name: the witch wound.
A Personal Story: The Cards That Called Me Back
Years ago, I hit a wall.
I was burnt out, anxious, and wildly disconnected from myself. I’d lost work during Covid. I was grieving. I was doing what so many women are taught to do coping, numbing, keeping the peace. Until one day I found my mum’s old Tarot deck. Just touching it felt like a homecoming.
I started pulling cards again. First in secret. Then, slowly, with others. And one day, I was feeling especially fragile, imposter syndrome gnawing at me, so I shuffled without a question and drew a card.
The High Priestess.
I stared. She stared back.
Still. Silent. Sacred.
Between the black and white pillars of duality, she sat like a keeper of ancient truths, not asking to be believed, only to be felt.
And suddenly, I remembered:
I had always known things I couldn’t explain. I had always felt drawn to magic. I had always been too sensitive, too curious, too much.
The High Priestess wasn’t judging me.
She was witnessing me.
It was the first time I felt the witch wound rise and the first time I didn’t look away.
Tarot as the Witch’s Mirror
Tarot isn’t just a divination tool. It’s a mirror. One that doesn’t show your hair, your clothes, or your performance but your essence.
It reflects what’s hiding beneath the surface: the unspoken grief, the flickers of confidence, the dormant magic still waiting to be claimed.
Let’s look at some of the cards that often surface when we’re healing the witch wound and what they ask us to remember.
The High Priestess – The Inner Knowing We Silenced
She holds the scroll of hidden knowledge and guards the gateway to inner truth.
She appears when it’s time to trust your intuition even if the world says it's nonsense.
Witch Wound Connection: You were likely taught that logic is superior, that emotion is irrational, that knowing things without evidence is dangerous. This card says otherwise.
Healing Message: Your body is an oracle. You can trust what you feel.
The Hierophant (Reversed) – The Wounds of Tradition
This is the old church, the rule book, the inherited voice of “should.” Reversed, it calls us to question the systems that told us we had to earn our worth.
Witch Wound Connection: So many people carry religious trauma or carry the burden of breaking away from tradition. The Hierophant reversed asks: What rules need to be rewritten?
Healing Message: You are allowed to choose your own sacred.
The Tower – The Shattering of False Safety
Terrifying at first glance, The Tower is actually a gift. It crumbles what was never built to last, the masks, the systems, the stories.
It’s the holy undoing.
Witch Wound Connection: The witch wound often activates in moments of awakening, when we realise our lives have been shaped by fear. The Tower shows us what falls away when we choose truth.
Healing Message: Let it fall. What’s breaking isn’t you, it’s the cage you outgrew.
The Queen of Wands – The Power You Were Told to Dim
She’s sensual. She’s radiant. She’s got a black cat and a wand and she’s not sorry for any of it.
Witch Wound Connection: This Queen calls back the parts of us told to be quiet, agreeable, or small. She dares you to stop apologising.
Healing Message: Take up space. Take the throne. Light the torch and lead.
The Nine of Wands – The Exhaustion of Always Guarding Yourself
The lone warrior. Bandaged, wary, still standing.
Witch Wound Connection: This is the card of spiritual fatigue, of being hypervigilant for so long, even when the danger has passed. It often shows up for those who’ve been “on alert” their whole lives.
Healing Message: Rest. You’ve survived. Now, it’s safe to thrive.
The Five of Swords – The Fear of Rejection or Exile
This card shows conflict and the loneliness that follows.
Often, it’s not about the fight itself, but the fear that claiming your truth means losing connection.
Witch Wound Connection: For many, the greatest fear isn’t punishment, it’s being misunderstood, mocked, or left behind.
Healing Message: You don’t have to shrink to belong. Your people will find you but only when you’re being your true self.
A Healing Ritual: The Mirror & The Flame
This ritual is designed to help you face the witch wound with compassion and courage and begin calling your power home.
You’ll need:
~ A mirror (any size)
~ Your Tarot deck
~ A candle (white or black is ideal)
~ Something symbolic: an ancestral photo, a feather, a piece of jewellery, a crystal
~ Journal and pen
Ritual Steps:
1. Prepare your space.
Turn off distractions. Light your candle. Place your symbolic object nearby. Let this feel sacred.
2. Gaze into the mirror.
Take three deep breaths. Soften your gaze. Look not just at yourself but into yourself.
3. Say aloud:
“I call back the parts of me that were shamed, silenced, or hidden. I honour the wisdom in my wounds. I reclaim my magic now.”
4. Pull a card.
Ask your deck: What part of my witch wound needs healing today?
Reflect on the image. Let it speak.
5. Journal prompts:
~ When did I first feel unsafe being fully myself?
~ What was I taught to suppress in order to be accepted?
~ What magic in me is still waiting to be welcomed home?
6. Close with gratitude.
Thank yourself for showing up. Blow out the candle.
If it feels right, kiss your fingertips and press them to the mirror.
You Are the Spell
Healing the witch wound isn’t a straight line. It’s spiral-shaped.
You’ll come back to the same lessons again and again but each time with more awareness, more softness, more strength.
Tarot won’t save you. But it will see you.
And when you feel lost, silenced, or scared to shine, it will hand you the mirror and say:
"Look again. You were always the magic."
Join The Witch’s Mirror
Sacred Sunday emails from the Scottish shadows
Every Sunday, a letter lands in your inbox like a spell, part folklore, part Tarot, part soul-reminder. These aren’t just emails. They’re ritual. Reckoning. A gentle reclaiming of your magic.
~ Tarot spreads, shadow prompts, mirror rituals & stories from the in-between.
~ Especially for wild-hearted women remembering who they are.
It’s free. It’s sacred. It’s never spammy.
👉 [Join the circle here] and step back into your power, one Sunday at a time.