What Is the Witch Wound in Business?
What is the witch wound in business? It’s the fear that being seen isn’t safe. Here’s where it comes from, how it shows up in your marketing and what changes.
Last updated: 8 September 2026
My granny was the best-kept secret in Scotland.
She trained the women’s Scottish golf team. She coached famous, masculine men, and they came to her because she never told anyone who they were.
She was also a practising witch.
She had gifts. She had power. And she stayed quiet.
Here’s the thing.
The witch wound in business is the fear that it isn’t safe to be fully seen, so you hide your opinions, your gifts and the parts of your work that make you different. It’s a lens, not a diagnosis, and it can quietly wreck your marketing.
You know you need to stand out. Every time you try, something tells you to get back in your box.
Below, I’ll show you where that fear comes from, how it shows up and what happens when women stop hiding.
What does the witch wound mean?
The witch wound is a name for the belief that being different, powerful or visible will get you punished. Other writers use the term too. I use it because it explains something I kept seeing in capable women who wouldn’t publish their own marketing.
It sounds like this:
Stay hidden. Don’t share your gifts. Being seen is dangerous.
Nobody has ever proved that this fear is passed down through your bloodline, and I’m not going to claim that it is. It’s a way of naming something real, not a medical term.
What I can tell you is what it looks like. A good strategy, a good offer and a brilliant woman who suddenly decides she needs to reorganise her files.
Where does the witch wound come from?
The witch wound takes its name from the witch hunts, when being accused could cost a person their life and most of those accused in Scotland were women. The University of Edinburgh’s Survey of Scottish Witchcraft identified 3,837 people accused between 1563 and 1736. It found that 84% were women.
My granny taught me about the trials when I was young.
Later, researching my ancestry, I found my Scottish family was connected to women killed in them.
Imagine the lesson that leaves behind. Keep your head down. Be normal. Don’t give anyone a reason to look at you.
I believe women taught that to their daughters, who taught it to theirs. Not through magic. Through every “don’t get too big for your boots”.
And it doesn’t stop at history.
Our opinions are policed. Our bodies are policed. Our experiences are policed.
How did modern marketing make the witch wound worse?
Modern marketing made the witch wound worse because so much of it sells to women by making them feel they aren’t enough. I know, because I’ve written it. For more than 14 years, I worked as a copywriter, including on campaigns aimed at women.
The brief was often the same.
If you want women to buy something, make them feel like they’re not enough. Push the insecurity. Trigger the shame. Then sell the solution.
And yes.
It works.
After a while, I realised something uncomfortable. A lot of modern marketing quietly trains capable women to doubt themselves.
No wonder so many intelligent, experienced women feel strangely uncomfortable promoting their own work.
You’re not just dealing with an old fear. You’re dealing with an industry that profits from your self-doubt.
I refuse to be part of that anymore.
How does the witch wound show up in your marketing?
The witch wound shows up whenever you make your marketing safer than your work. You sit down to write about yourself, then you remove anything that might make someone look at you twice.
What if they think I’m a fraud? What if they criticise me? What if they don’t take me seriously?
So you:
- Write generic copy that sounds like everyone else
- Let AI make you sound “professional”
- Hide your witchcraft, astrology or healing practices
- Post something, then regret it straight away
- Delete things because you’re worried what people will think
- Look to gurus for the “right” answer instead of trusting your own
That costs you.
The wrong clients find you. Your marketing feels hollow. The clients you do attract don’t really get you.
And you’re exhausted from pretending to be someone you’re not.
What can one woman’s story teach you about the witch wound?
My granny’s life shows the witch wound at its most ordinary: a powerful woman who stayed hidden because being known wasn’t worth the risk. She didn’t need a burning stake to teach her that. No one expected a woman to be helping those powerful men, so she stayed the secret.
She sent me things over the years. Jewellery with Celtic knots. Amethyst. Photos of her at sabbaths.
I didn’t understand them as a child.
As an adult, I found cards she’d sent after major events in my life, with protection pieces, timed perfectly. She was watching over me from across the world.
She passed away in 2014.
I see now what she was teaching me. Powerful women learn to hide, because history taught us that visibility is dangerous.
But I see this too.
She stayed hidden so I wouldn’t have to.
What happens when women stop hiding?
When women stop hiding and tell their real story, the right people can finally find them. None of these women changed what they did. They changed the story they told about it.
| Client | What was happening | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| Christine | Important not-for-profit, little attention | Her story was picked up nationally by Channel 7 and used in funding applications. She secured funding and received an award in Parliament |
| A photographer | Photographed women who had survived cancer, but avoided stories that didn’t feel safe | A local cancer support centre shared her story, and she now has a three-month waitlist |
| Raimona | Always the fill-in speaker, no clients | Four women waited to work with her, and she made $7,000 that day |
| Lisa | Respected goddess author, afraid to stand out too much | She was published by a major publisher and invited to teach on the largest witchcraft stages in Australia |
Those results aren’t a guarantee. They’re what happened when each woman stopped playing it safe.
Same work. Different story.
How do you work with the witch wound in your business?
You work with the witch wound by acting while the fear is still there, because waiting for it to disappear keeps you hidden. The goal isn’t to beat the fear. The goal is to be able to act anyway.
- Name it. Notice when you’re making your marketing safer than your work.
- Find out who you’re hiding from. Name one person.
- Put back one thing you’ve been hiding. A story, an opinion or the real name for what you do.
- Publish it. You don’t have to be perfect. Nobody gets it right every time.
Will some people judge you?
Yes.
They’re not your people. You don’t want everyone. You want the right ones.
If this fear is affecting your daily life, please talk to a mental health professional.
The women who came before you stayed hidden to survive.
You get to be seen.
Imposter Syndrome or Witch Wound? How to Tell.
Why Do I Keep Hiding in My Business?
FAQs: the witch wound in business
Q: What is the witch wound in simple terms? A: The witch wound is the fear that it isn’t safe for you to be fully seen. In business, it can stop you publishing, sharing your opinions or showing the unusual parts of your work. It’s a way of understanding that fear, not a medical diagnosis.
Q: Is the witch wound inherited? A: There’s no proof that it’s passed down biologically. I think of it as something learned. Women can teach their daughters to stay quiet, fit in and avoid attention, often without realising it. Whether or not you take the idea literally, the behaviour is worth noticing.
Q: Can the witch wound affect women who aren’t witches? A: Yes. You don’t need to practise witchcraft, or have any connection to the witch trials, to recognise the fear of being seen. If you hide your opinions or play small to avoid judgement, the idea may still be useful.
Q: How do I stop the witch wound affecting my marketing? A: Start by noticing what you’ve removed from your marketing to feel safe. Name who you’re worried about, put one real story or opinion back in, and publish it. You don’t need to feel fearless first.
So what do you do now?
Look at your last piece of marketing.
What did you take out to make it safe?
That might be the very thing your right client needs to see.
When you’re ready to find out who you’ve been hiding from, start with “Your Not That Interesting”, my free 5-minute training to help you get out of your own way and press publish.
You're Not That Interesting, Get the free training.
What’s the one thing you’ve been hiding in your marketing? Tell me in the comments, if you’re brave enough.
About Eve John: Eve John is a copywriter, story-based marketing strategist and the founder of Dauntlexx. She’s the author of four books: three on business and one on witchcraft. She has spent more than 14 years writing marketing, and she teaches witchcraft and speaks about the witch trials.
