You know, for a while there, I really tried to get on the New Age bandwagon. It's become so popular these days that it's hard not to be seduced by its accessibility. Over the past few years, I became an avid reader/collector of anything published by Llewellyn ... I started collecting crystals and gemstones and other tools of the trade. I joined Wiccan groups and attended Wiccan functions ... I thought Wiccan thoughts. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with being Wiccan. It's a popular belief system for a reason, and some of the nicest people I know are practitioners of this faith. Unfortunately, some of the biggest flakes I now also subscribe to this new "Old Religion". It seems to me that the term "Wiccan" has become a watered-down, generic term for any Goddess religion, and a catch-all for misguided people who want to seem more interesting than they really are. I joined their club for a while ... I digested what it had to offer, and after a thorough analysis, I decided that like any other organized religion, Wicca is just not for me. No ... I am not a Wiccan ... I am a witch.
There has been a rich foundation of witchcraft and occult studies in my life - since childhood. For this reason, I cannot swing with the Wiccan belief that everything must be all "love and light" and that all magic should be safe and harmless and neutral. It is my opinion that magic can never be neutral, for any real magic is the manipulation of a situation for an ultimately selfish outcome. Sure, you can try to abide by the threefold law and believe that you are harming none, but somewhere down the line the ripple effect comes into play... and someone becomes harmed by your magic.
For example, say you cast a spell to get a job that you really want. Now, that seems harmless enough, but here's the rub. Maybe you're not the most qualified applicant. Perhaps another person needs the job more than you. But, you've cast a spell to make that job yours ... and it works. Does that not hurt the more qualified applicant? Does it not hurt the guy with a wife and four kids to support? Of course it does. Now, just because you don't know those people and you won't see how not getting the job affects them doesn't make the spell harmless. It just makes you blind to the bigger picture.
For a brief time, I attended an online Wiccan school - having been temporarily brainwashed by the Llewellynista that I must study for a "year and a day" to become a first degree witch. I will admit that the classes were challenging, and incredibly interesting. However, when I turned in an assignment that referred to dark magic, I was chastised for referring to it in such a way. My instructor told me that there was no such thing, which infuriated me. This was my first hint that Wiccanism is not for me. I just cannot get behind any belief system that only wants to see one side.
A witch doesn't publicize their practices, they don't shout their beliefs from the rooftop. Witches are secretive, as witchcraft is a secretive practice. A witch could live next door to you, and chances are, you would never know it.
Everything has a shadow, and I believe that true wisdom comes from being able to see both the light and the darkness.
Red Rover App
13 years ago
