my horoscope advised against exactly this kind of post
A few favourites in the conversation, hope the link has all re-blogs attached.
The one that highlights the most problems in the craft in fell swoop declares that gods make witches, and how dare anyone point out that someone else is mistaken and in a way that generates interest, upset and learning. That is how the craft works. It is something that comes up in discussions with non-witches as well. Who gives me the right (as a witch) to have power of other peoples lives, to make them sick or well? Who am I to judge? I am a witch. Scrap that; I am The Witch.
But these are serious problems that the craft faces, and never mind me tearing other people down, this kind of attitude is tearing the craft down. That’s right, you are killing magik. Every time someone imagines a field of loving energy and calls it a protective spell… somewhere a kitten dies. You can clap your hands and say “don’t be stupid!” and you might just save the last kitten.
The consensus appears to be that anyone can do anything (or nothing) and call themselves anything and that’s okay. Never mind how fucking hard it is being a witch, never mind the time and effort I put into making sure that no one fucks with a witch: that the title means something. I will ridicule and bash and tear down those who make my faith look like a piece of cake based around positive thought and scented candles. And I welcome your bashing back, this is how we all grow.
And then someone mentioned Intent, which I have already bashed someone else about. The original comment that I said was disgusting to me was that karma is about intent, and stated as if the person was an authority on the subject. Magik aside, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Magik aside, intent means nothing in the world of Karma where beggars get good karma because they encourage others to give. Intent means nothing outside of magik in any part of any society. Outside of false witchcraft there is no culture that rewards intent alone and regardless of the outcome.
Magikally speaking intent is worthless. This can be confirmed by anyone who is a witch first and foremost, because they have made errors in wording that totally changed the outcome, they have done protection spells that have almost killed their friend because they used the wrong item and they have done learning spells that taught them the hard way. Intent is defined as being spiritually worthless in numerous faerie and folk tales. The rabbits paw being the most popular of.
Sorry its so tldr but I also get worked up. Its good.
(I deleted everything but cultofthedead’s post, because this is sooo long, but all the reblog information should still be in the notes. Also, I’m quoting cultofthedead’s post throughout this, so paragraphs in blockquotes or italics were not written by me.)
So, basically everything I’m about to say is completely unrelated, but my thoughts aren’t organizing themselves well, so it all seems like it’s relevant. Feel free to ignore me. (But should anyone read this anyway, PLEASE understand that even if I’m talking about something emotionally charged, I’m doing so in a detached, conversational way — as I do! So try not to read any overly passionate or cold and bitchy tone into what I’m saying, ‘cause it’s not there. Even when I’m swearing, haha.)
“The consensus appears to be that anyone can do anything (or nothing) and call themselves anything and that’s okay. Never mind how fucking hard it is being a witch, never mind the time and effort I put into making sure that no one fucks with a witch: that the title means something. I will ridicule and bash and tear down those who make my faith look like a piece of cake based around positive thought and scented candles. And I welcome your bashing back, this is how we all grow.”
Part of my deal is that I don’t often care much what other people call themselves. Like, it doesn’t matter to me if someone calls themselves with the same word I use, but I can’t relate to them at all. I don’t worry about other people giving me a bad name — “I give MYSELF a name, thank you very much.” is the attitude I tend to have.
I’m not just like that with witchcraft, either. I’m an American, a Texan, a woman, a bisexual, “half black, half white”, probably-a-bad-pagan and if I have to worry about every label on me and who else has it and what they’re doing with it, I’m going to lose my mind.
And yes, it pisses me off when people who share my words are stupid, and other people judge me because of that. But you know what, fuck those people. Seriously, I Don’t Give A Fuck about their opinions because there are enough stupid people I have to deal with anyway, and if they want to help weed themselves out of my life, then that’s less attention and effort I have to tear away from the things I like doing.
I’ve gotten to the point where I can accept that two people can call themselves the same thing and be different. Completely different.
Maybe I’m sensitive, because I’ve grown up being told that I’m NOT the things I say I am. “You can’t be black! And I would know better than you do, because I’m black! You’re WHITE.” Or being told by the white folks at the DMV that even though I was OBVIOUSLY Hispanic (uh. No?) I would have to mark myself down as white anyway. (Or maybe, “Are you SURE you were molested? Maybe you wanted it!”, or also, “Jasmine, until you REALLY have sex with a guy, you can’t know if you like girls too!”)
Also I’d like to sort of echo a sentiment I made in an earlier post: I don’t need to be bashed to grow. I have no problem questioning myself, challenging myself, et cetera. I’m not saying that bashing CAN’T lead to growth…but a lot of the times it just knocks things down.
(I seriously feel that there would be so much less drama in the world if more people were willing to just question themselves every now and then.)
“The one that highlights the most problems in the craft in fell swoop declares that gods make witches, and how dare anyone point out that someone else is mistaken and in a way that generates interest, upset and learning.”
Maybe I should be quoting this in order, haha. But, let me be clear about something (which actually I’m planning on getting into in a later post)…I very much consider myself to be a self-made witch. There have been gods in my life, and they acknowledge that I am a witch, but they had nothing to do with me becoming one. (Well, nothing that I’m really aware of, at least.)
I’m a witch because I wanted to be. Because it’s all I’ve ever wanted to be, and from the moment I found out it was a possibility, I’ve been chasing after it.
On one hand, I feel like pointing out other people’s mistakes and trying to generate controversial discussion IS something that the “community” has a problem with…but that’s not limited to witchcraft. And not even other areas of importance that you might expect, such as politics.
I mentioned in an earlier post that I spent this weekend obsessing over StarCraft II players at MLG Anaheim. But every other day there’s new drama in the community, be it over balance, player manner, tournament structure, forum rules, team policy….it’s enough to drive someone crazy.
On the other hand, I think it’s also an issue of time and place — Although I didn’t want to get into much deep discussion because I was busy, in general I wouldn’t really want to get into these conversations on tumblr (or on the internet in general) and I try to avoid it whenever possible. (Well, except for now, obviously, although I hope it’s clear I’m leaving a lot out….and yet I’m still managing to write a novel here.)
“Magikally speaking intent is worthless. This can be confirmed by anyone who is a witch first and foremost, because they have made errors in wording that totally changed the outcome, they have done protection spells that have almost killed their friend because they used the wrong item and they have done learning spells that taught them the hard way. Intent is defined as being spiritually worthless in numerous faerie and folk tales. The rabbits paw being the most popular of.”
You know, this is really an interesting point, and definitely deserves a larger post on its own. I’m currently going through something similar right now because of my inability to find the particular way to phrase a protection spell I’ve been doing. Well, no one is about to die (unless they fuck with me), but it’s been pretty uncomfortable none-the-less.
Anyhow, enjoy that twice as tl;dr response!
(Source: hellboundwitch)
