Image: Daniel Waschnig
“The first time I called myself a ‘Witch’ was the most magical moment of my life.”
Margot Adler
This story has been simmering in the cauldron of my mind for years.
Perhaps because it has never really been about religion.
It has always been about power.
Who we give it to.
Who we take it back from.
And the stories we’re willing to tell ourselves about who—or what—saved our lives.
The inspiration for this piece arrived, as many things do, in the middle of the night.
Insomnia.
A television glowing in the darkness.
Infomercials.
Preachers.
Testimonies.
One after another, people stood before the camera proclaiming,
“God saved me.”
“Jesus changed my life.”
“Without Him I would be dead.”
I listened.
Not with judgment.
With curiosity.
Because I’ve heard these stories my entire life.
And while I respect that many people find comfort, meaning, and healing within religion…
I couldn’t help asking myself another question.
What if they saved themselves?
What if God was present…
but so were they?
What about the years of therapy?
The oncologist who spent a decade learning how to save lives?
The surgeon.
The nurse who never gave up.
The addict who woke up every morning and chose sobriety again.
The woman who rebuilt herself one impossible decision at a time.
Why are we so uncomfortable giving human beings credit for their own courage?
Somewhere along the way we’ve been taught that acknowledging our own strength is arrogance.
I don’t believe it is.
I believe it’s accountability.
It’s ownership.
It’s remembering that miracles often arrive disguised as ordinary people making extraordinary choices.
I can only speak for my own path.
And mine did not lead me to a church.
It led me into the forest.
Into silence.
Into Shadow.
Into Magick.
I’m often asked what Witchcraft has given me.
The answer is simple.
Everything.
Not because a spell solved my problems.
Not because the Universe handed me an easier life.
Quite the opposite.
The Craft demanded everything from me.
It stripped away every illusion I had mistaken for identity.
It asked me to look directly into the parts of myself I’d spent a lifetime trying to outrun.
My grief.
My rage.
My fear.
My power.
Especially my power.
Because that’s the thing no one tells you about Magick.
It doesn’t save you.
It introduces you…
to the version of yourself capable of doing the saving.
Without Magick…
I would be dead.
Not metaphorically.
Not poetically.
Quite literally.
The Craft didn’t rescue me because it made life easier.
It rescued me because it refused to let me lie to myself any longer.
Every initiation demanded another death.
Every death uncovered another truth.
Every truth asked me to become someone I had never imagined I could be.
People often think Magick is about changing the world around you.
I’ve found the opposite.
Real Magick changes the world within you…
until the outer world has no choice but to follow.
Once you’ve truly witnessed Magick
not performance,
not fantasy,
not wishful thinking
but the slow, relentless Alchemy
of becoming…
there is no returning
to who you were.
The old self
simply no longer fits.
That is the real initiation.
That is the real spell.
Not because we were chosen.
Because, again and again,
we chose ourselves.
Blessed Are The Witches.
The Nephilim Rising 
I’m so broken I had all my tool’s and books destroyed by family members including my husband who left me over 2 years ago. He was a High priest but kept bouncing back and forth between craft and Christian. He broke me brought me down and my fault was I let him.I want to be better and more than before. I believe I’m a witch I know I am.please help me get back to a better me and a much better Witch. Where I’m at I Not allowed to perform my Magick .MY morther is a what you call a Christian. I’m not able to leave until this time next year due to some issues that must be taken care of. Anyway this is my situation. With much Love and Respect Laurie nickname Lolli Glaze is my last name
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Laurie, thank you for taking the time to read my work, and sharing your story. First, let me say that you are much stronger than you believe, so it’s time to start acting like the warrior you are. Second, you are not broken, you simply have lost your way. When we call ourselves broken or damaged that means we are no longer viable; you create your reality, so don’t let your reality be that you are broken. Third, you have to heal your wounds before you can gain in strength, the foundation of which strength is built must be solid and strong itself. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, set small goals until you are able to leave your Mother’s home.
The power is inside you, all you have to do is go find it. You are a Witch, you control and manipulate the situation you are in, so do it. You don’t need fancy tools, or grimoires, you just need the intent to change, and the will to go chase it.
Manifest the life you want but first, heal yourself.
Blessings to you, may you find the clarity you seek.
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