Is Witchcraft Bad? [REPOST]
20/10/2020
Whilst typing this I am eating a very balanced and complete breakfast! Golden oatmeal, fresh aronia berries (locally sourced, of course), over easy eggs, apple sauce, and lettuce. I wanted to share with you my recipe for golden oatmeal before we get into today’s topic.
• 1 cup oats (I use steel cut oats, not quick oats)
• 1 1/2 cup milk of your choice (I personally prefer cow’s milk as it has protein and vitamins that plant milk doesn’t have…. Worry not, I only buy milk from a local dairy that I know for a fact is nice to their cows)
• A pad of butter
• 1-2 table spoons of turmeric
• (optional) Choice of fruit, my favorites are pomegranate and berries
• Black pepper (this is crucial because the black pepper allows your body to absorb the curcumin found in turmeric!)
• Raw honey to taste (can’t stress this enough, raw honey from a local apiary is unparalleled in healing ability and it’s actually better for the environment to buy local honey)
Just make the oatmeal per the instructions on the container, mix in the butter, turmeric, pepper, honey, and fruit then enjoy! I know turmeric in oatmeal sounds pretty weird, but if my four year old can obliterate three bowls of it in one sitting, I think you will like it too.
So into the nitty gritty we go! Either out of foolishness or bravery, I have chosen to live my life out of the broom closet. Since I began walking my path (at the tender age of 12) I have been faced with ridicule, concern, fear, and sometimes even outright aggression. I’ve been asked if I eat babies. I’ve been asked if I have sex with goats. I’ve been asked if I’m mental (the jury is still out on that one).
In all the years I’ve been a solitary witch, I have realized one thing. People really don’t get witchcraft. Not even a little bit.
I have been approached by many a well meaning yet concerned cowan*. “Isn’t witch craft dangerous? Isn’t it, you know…. Bad?”
My answer has always been the same. Not at all!
….. But also yes. Allow me to explain.
In a previous entry I discussed the difference between exo-teric and eso-teric modalities of faith. Exo, like “exoskeleton” is a faith outside one’s self. Eso, as in “esotropia”**, is a faith inside one’s self. I touched on that lovely sea of existential dread that comes with esoterica and how you can either sink or swim. This is the danger that witchcraft holds. If you face this darkness within yourself and sink into its depths, the toll on your mental health can be disastrous. Such as in the case of Pazuzu Algarad (trigger warning, don’t click if you’re sensitive to VERY DARK subject matter), however bare in mind that people like Mr. Algarad are quite uncommon, to say the least.
Generally, when people sink into the aforementioned depths, they become either depressed or enraged and just give up on their esoteric pursuits altogether, and continue living a sort of half-life without the personal empowerment that comes from facing your demons and making a compromise with them. Not that anyone needs witch craft to live a full life! However if you’re drawn to it and feel the need to practice it, we can assume there is usually a deeper reason for this.
So, to recap, witchcraft is not inherently bad…. nor is it inherently good. Witch craft has no Hell, no Satan, but it also doesn’t provide false promises of salvation. Enlightenment and salvation are things you must work for in spheres of witch craft. The dangers are not of a physical nature (for the most part); it is in the sorrow of loneliness when you shift into a new paradigm and your friends do not follow. The danger is in being ridiculed by strangers in crowded bars. The danger is in feeling like you’re loosing your mind when all these strange, wonderful things start happening to you and your idea of reality crumbles away.
The danger is in learning to swim in those waters that would otherwise be your demise.
Really, the same can be said for all faiths. I know plenty of Christians who have anger and hate in their hearts. I know plenty of witches who are in the same boat. In all honesty, no spiritual pursuit will be easy. You will be tested. The Universe/God(s)/High Power/Whatever will only present you with situations that will help you grow. Will you rise to the challenge, or sink into the abyss?
*A 'cowan' is a term sometimes used to describe a non-magick person.
**Esotropia is the fancy medical term for being cross-eyed. The eyes rotate inwards.
