noun
female medium; sorceress
Refers to a woman who acts as a spiritual medium or sorceress, similar to a 巫女 (みこ) but explicitly female. Often used in historical or folkloric contexts.
See also: 巫女 (みこ)
村の女神子は神託を伝える役目を担っていた。
The village's female medium was responsible for conveying divine messages.
巫女 is the general term for a shrine maiden or medium, not necessarily specifying gender, while 女巫 explicitly denotes a female practitioner.
Compound of 女 (おんな, 'woman') and 巫 (みこ, 'medium, shrine maiden'). The reading みこ is a native Japanese word for a shamanistic figure.