Hello, pornies!
It is 9 past midnight and I cannot sleep, because my mind doesn’t work like neurotypicals; a fancy way of saying that I’m a little weird. This happened several times in the past and, instead of just lying in my bed and waiting for dreams to come, I’d rather do something productive and that I enjoy.
Something curious is that, until now, I never stopped to think about what it means to be a witch. Yeah, we all read the books and blogs and post and listen to podcasts about witchcraft and how cool it is, but what is this all about in concrete?
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| A witch at her cauldron surrounded by beasts. Etching by J. Wellcome. |
It can be pretty simple to say that a witch is a person who practices witchcraft and that witchcraft is the craft of witches. Yup, doesn’t say much, yet I’ve found those answers over and over again, which is frustrating, to say the least.
I will go quickly with this one: for me, a witch is a person that uses magic, the energy present in matter, mostly organic matter, to produce results they desire, and said person tends to defy / not to identify with common norms.
I usually hate when people go on and on about backgrounds and explanations before giving an answer, so I decided to shape-shift the structure. Now, why do I define a witch like that? Enter backgrounds and explanations.
First, witches used to be pariahs, and in a sense we still are. Witches questioned the common, socially acceptable ways and created their own. As Laura Tempest Zakroff says in her book Weave the Liminal (which you totally want to read), witches get shit done. Period. It doesn’t mean that witchcraft is exact, predictable and scientifically studied (although Laurie Cabot wouldn’t agree with this,) but that witches know what they do, how to do it, when, with whom, where and why.
If we go back to Leland’s Aradia (click on the title to read it for free at Sacred Texts), one of the most fundamental books on the topic, we discover that Aradia, witches’ Messiah, taught the Craft to the underdogs, those left behind, the pariahs, the undesirable, to give them power, a voice, and a stand. Why do you think everyone fears and respects a witch?
Now, why do I say mostly organic matter? For me, a witch is someone who wants to get near to the source of all that exists (God, Tao, Godds, Prana, Universe, Cosmos, The Lord and The Lady, the Invisible, Pink Unicorn, you name it), and I cannot think of anything as near to it than organic matter, regardless of its actual state when we interact with it. That’s a part of my Wiccan past that I keep still with me.
Herbs, gems, charged water, candles, sigils, bread, wine, food, salt, the list goes on and one, but when I shudder when I hear, think or see that plastic is in the middle of magical working. Why? Because it is not natural. Of course, I won’t say a thing if you want to do a spell with, for example, balloons, and I will respect and honor your choice because it is your practice, defined by you, but I have seen better results when only or mostly organic matter is involved.
So that’s it for me, and that’s what I wanted to share today with you. Do you agree with this point of view? Why? Why not? Please, I want to discuss this, so let me know in the comments. Tons of love for you, witches.
Kinky regards, K!
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