Step into the realm of ancient wisdom and holistic healing with Claire Ottewell, affectionately known as “The Oily Witch.” With a lineage woven through many lifetimes of healing and guidance, Claire embodies the essence of a timeless practitioner, dedicated to reviving forgotten ancient wellbeing practices. In her own words, Claire reflects on her journey, stating, “In many lifetimes, I have been a healer, created to serve and guide you.” The Oily Witch emerges as the culmination of Claire’s divine calling—a beacon of light guiding seekers back to the embrace of nature’s rhythms and the wisdom of ancestral practices. Central to Claire’s ethos is the belief in the interconnectedness of mind, body, and spirit—a philosophy that underpins her holistic approach to wellbeing. Embracing this holistic perspective, Claire emphasizes the importance of balance across all three realms, recognizing that true health flourishes when harmony is cultivated within. Join Mystic Mag as we embark on a journey of rediscovery and transformation with Claire Ottewell, as she unveils the treasures of ancient wisdom and guides us towards a path of holistic wellbeing.
Can you share more about your journey from feeling different as a child to becoming a holistic wellbeing practitioner and self-care expert today?
I think that I always knew, even as a child, that I felt different from other children. I very much enjoyed fairy tales, and whenever my parents or grandparents would read stories to me, I would always ask if it could be a fairy tale. I just loved the world of magic and really wanted to live in a world where that was true. I was very sensitive and shy, and I remember being aware of certain things, even wearing a blanket over my head when passing certain rooms in the house because I felt it made me safe. I was very much aware of the ‘other’ and of portals, and had a very vivid imagination. But is it a vivid imagination, or just an awareness that a child has of other dimensions?
I remember having an experience when I was 9, at school, when I told someone that I felt like I had come from another planet, a place where there is pure love, and I couldn’t understand why humans were not very kind to themselves and each other on this dimension. She said she felt the same way, and we bonded over that. This was my first experience of acknowledging to another person that I felt that I didn’t come from Earth. Even within my family, I always felt very different, with a different personality.
During school, I was always interested in religion, despite my family not being religious. My mother’s family was very scientific, while my father’s family had been religious but turned to spirituality. I got confirmed into the Christian Church of England when I was 12 or 13, much to the horror of both sides of my family. It never felt entirely right to me; there always seemed to be something missing from Christianity. Christianity felt restrictive, unachievable in so far as, feeling less than if you couldn’t “turn the other cheek” and didn’t have any realistic female role models.
In my mid-teens, I became even more interested in spirituality. I met a male witch during my second job in London, and he introduced me to witchcraft. It felt completely right to me, like a glove that fits perfectly , and from that moment on I owned being a witch and professed this to be my spiritual status. It was a very private awakening and although happy to declare myself a witch I was not open to discussion upon it for those who mocked it. I delved into it, reading books and practicing loosely. When I moved to Brighton, I attended courses on graphology, palm reading, and eventually, a psychic school where I studied spiritual counseling and spirituality.
Despite encountering different approaches to witchcraft and spirituality, it always remained a personal journey for me. My family history revealed connections to witchcraft through my mother’s father’s line. His mother and her sisters were witches and his grandmother was an astrologer and a witch. No one told me this, I discovered if after I’d studied Astrology and sometimes, I feel like I am a reincarnation of Rachel. For though I am a being from another place, my genes carry genetic human memories I can tap into. In 2018, after a period of illness and challenges, including the death of my father, I delved deeper into aromatherapy, which I had always been passionate about. I had to find more natural ways to heal myself, leading me to explore spiritual healing with essential oils and sharing that knowledge through workshops.
Then COVID happened, and I faced legal threats for sharing information about using plants for healing. It was frustrating, but it also prompted me to study further. Despite the challenges, my journey of self-discovery and spiritual exploration continues, even when faced with obstacles.
How do you integrate your experiences with witchcraft, spirituality, and ancient medicinal practices into your holistic wellness approach?
When the spirit is pleased with what I’ve said, it gives me guidance. So, I began studying astrology, focusing initially on medical astrology to comprehend the connection between planets and plants since I was working with them and the body. I delved into vitamin therapy to understand how energy is produced in the body, as I had a grasp of energy dynamics. My studies extended to mushrooms, wild superfoods, and foraging, a practice I had already engaged in for a few years. Foraging had always been a belief of mine, so I had been doing it for quite some time. These were natural interests of mine, and I decided to pursue them wholeheartedly because other jobs I attempted didn’t work out; it felt like the universe was guiding me in this direction . Plus, all my own health complications and experience of orthodox medicine had been so negative, I needed to find effective ways to manage my own health and once I had, I wanted to of course study share them.
I then advanced to studying astrology itself because I found medical astrology insufficient. I began interpreting charts, building on my previous experience with aromatherapy, where I analyzed people’s bodies and guided them through natural treatment processes using plants. With full astrology, I incorporated their astrological chart alongside their medical information. Additionally, I explored blood type analysis and DNA analysis. My rationale was that understanding a person’s genetic heritage could guide dietary choices more effectively. The world’s history is far more diverse and interconnected than commonly believed, with people and cultures constantly moving and exchanging goods.
What type of services do you offer?
I delved into foraging, aromatherapy, astrology, vitamins, and body healing. Then, I began dowsing; I attended a course at the British Dowsing Institute to learn about it. Dowsing is a natural practice for witches, something I didn’t know until then. Now, I use my pendulum for various purposes; it provides me with dietary information about people. I gather their health information through a health and well-being questionnaire they fill out, along with their chart. Then, I merge the two and use dowsing to determine which vitamins, mineral salts, diet adjustments, and exercise habits would be beneficial. I create this comprehensive plan and then meet with them online or in person to discuss and ensure the accuracy of the information before producing a report. This report includes recommendations, oils, plants, and practices tailored to them. Additionally, I offer spiritual guidance, drawing on my counseling qualifications acquired initially though my psychic school training and more recently through a quality licensed scheme. I assist people in identifying issues in their body, mind, or spirit, then help them address and clear these issues. I use my pendulum, tarot cards, Oracle cards, psychic intuition, and guided meditations to facilitate this process, channeling messages and energy clearing techniques. To further support my work, I’ve developed online courses covering essential oil usage, body healing, astrology basics, and witchcraft, both for individual sessions and as recorded courses for self-study. My goal is to empower others by sharing knowledge and breaking down barriers created by religious practices.
You mentioned being a 7th-dimensional universal being with a life purpose to heal and serve. How does this cosmic perspective influence your work with clients?
I feel that we have intuitively chosen to incarnate at this time because we are entering the dawn of Aquarius. We are not constructing a new world, but rather ushering in a new era within this world. I believe that everything that has occurred in the past was necessary. It seems that the divine source intentionally distanced human beings from their spirituality to observe how humans would fare without a connection to their divinity. Thus, we have traversed a period of at least 2000 years known as the Age of Darkness, during which we were conditioned to look outside ourselves for validation and only enter spiritual communication through a third party, a priest etc.
Now, however, I sense there is a need to reclaim our personal spirituality, humanity has become too dense and the karmic trauma and burdens need to be cleansed and cleared. Many individuals, including myself, have been born with the purpose of facilitating this cosmic return to enlightenment. My personal mission is practical: I aim to awaken dormant aspects within people and instill confidence in them to reconnect with their spirituality effortlessly. This is my service and my purpose.
Much of this knowledge, including the magic and mystique, has been preserved within mystery schools by groups like the Masons and other elites, who sought to control access to it. My journey involves disseminating this message to everyday individuals, affirming their validity and inherent magic. It is about empowering others to tap into their own magic and potential.
I operate within the 7th dimension, which signifies the end of a phase. In this realm, I delve into ancestral and past-life issues that require healing. Many people are grappling with karmic ties from past lives, contributing to the current chaotic state of affairs resulting from our disconnection from spirituality. My mission is to encourage individuals to reclaim their power, take responsibility for their actions, and seek answers within themselves rather than relying on external validation.
It is essential to avoid being distracted by worldly events, as focusing on external concerns can lower our vibrational frequency and impede our effectiveness. Instead, by maintaining a positive frequency, we can influence the energy around us positively, fostering harmony and synchronicity in our lives.
“The English Book of Magic” is a cornerstone of your practice. How does this text inform your approach to healing and self-care, and what insights can readers expect to gain from it?
I would say that what happened with the English Book of Magic, more than anything, is that when I read that book, it contained all the information that I already knew. So it was more like affirmation than anything else; it simply consolidated everything into one book. If someone wants to read because I’ve gathered information from various sources like the secret history of the world, there’s another amazing book—I’ll tell you who that’s by, though I may not have it—Jonathan Black.
Essentially, what is wonderful about the English Book of Magic is the fact that it suggests that there’s more magic in this land than anywhere else in the world. Now, that’s not universally true, but it is true for people living on this land. The message of the English Book of Magic is the importance of connecting with your native magic, which is why it’s also useful to know DNA-wise where you’re from. If you’re living in that land, connect with its magic; don’t fly off to South America and start experimenting with drugs in the jungle, connecting with their land. That’s their land, their plants—it’s for them, you know? It’s like, stay in your own lane. There’s enough magic here in each of our countries, enough magic plants, psychotropic plants that can help support inner journeys and connect with oneself in the right way. Magic and trees and plants need to be respected and reconnected with as the most important guardians of our human existence. They give us the air we breathe, the food we eat, heal us, protect us and connect us to the Divine.
The English Book of Magic is a fantastic reference book for understanding how everything fits together—the principles of the mystery schools and so on. For me, it was more of a validation; when I say a cornerstone, it was more like a revelation that someone had written about all the things I’m interested in within one book. Another thing about me is that I haven’t done a lot of reading. I’ve read some things, but most of my wisdom comes from my own mind because I’m that person who doesn’t have time to sit down and read. I have a lot of fire in my sign, so I’m always moving and doing stuff. Hence, I have to rely on a lot of it to come through in the moment of inspiration, which is where it usually does come through, often when I’m in the shower. Or, yeah, it’s generally when I’m in water that I get downloads, and I’d say that’s simply tapping into the Akashic records, which everyone has access to. So it’s kind of like nothing is new; we think it’s new, but it’s not. We don’t own any of it either—it’s all of ours. It’s the very basis of humanity; it’s our gift to have.
Find out more at https://www.theoilywitch.co.uk/
