Image: Daniel Vasquez

“The Destiny of Man is to unite, not to divide. If you keep on dividing, you end up as a collection of monkeys throwing nuts at each other out of separate trees.”

T.H. White

I am not some justice warrior or one Woman army who is going to change the world, although I would like to try; I just know my calling, I see the bigger picture, and I have an amazing platform to speak on. In recent weeks I have found myself being more aware, and more present, but I have also found myself unable to bite my tongue anymore, unable to remain silent on issues that just don’t sit right with me; not that I was ever any good at biting my tongue.

I don’t want this to come off self-righteous, as if I know more, or as if I myself have not in the past been guilty of letting my ego takeover, and embarrassing myself. I am guilty of being wrong, of fucking up spells, of being rude to people who did not deserve it, of judging people too harshly when my own hands weren’t clean, and I have been most guilty of being defensive when I shouldn’t be, just to name a few.

I am not innocent, and it is my very guilt that allows me to be a better teacher.

I am a strong Woman and bad ass Witch, I will no longer hide my feelings towards some patterns that I have been seeing within our Community. I don’t expect all of you to agree with me, I actually expect a majority to be upset with me but this is bigger than me, or you, or any of us, and our egos. I admit that I have let my ego take over a time or two, and I made an ass of myself to put it mildly. As a reader said yesterday there is such a delicate balance between maintaining confidence in yourself and your Craft, and becoming egomaniacal.

That’s all any of this is ever about; most conflict, most miscommunication has to do with ego, or some form of, that is the hard truth. Most of our differences are based upon ignorance, sure, but mostly on ego, an “I’m better, I know more, I have studied longer with better people, my book collection is fancier etc.” mentality. The Witch community is full of this thought process, and if you tell me I’m wrong, you are simply in denial.

We are divided by what type of Magick we practice, what Philosophy we adhere to, what labels we do or do not wear, Hell I have been judged for not dressing “Witchy enough”. Since when is all black not Witchy enough?

We are also divided, primarily, by where we may fall on the spectrum. This is poetic irony, and I am utterly amused by it.

Which brings me to my first point I want to discuss: The Spectrum. I posted an article yesterday about the ‘new-age, love and light crap’ and how they do not accept their darkness. It was a witty, sarcastic, wonderful article, and it caused quite the stir.

We ALL carry the ENTIRE Spectrum with us. Let me say that again, we ALL carry the ENTIRE Spectrum with us. Some of us are balanced, while others favor one side to another; that does not change the fact that we are everything and nothing; we are all shades, and no shades simultaneously. Technically speaking the shades don’t even exist, but that may be too much for today.

We get so caught up in worrying about how “light” or how “dark” a person is that we can’t see them for who they are. If they are a good person and the vibe is right, if you can learn something from each other, and most importantly, you want to be in each other’s life, does it really matter where you, or they fall on the (fake) Spectrum? Does the type of Magick you practice really matter?

How boring to want to hang out with people who are exactly like you, never wanting to live outside the box, outside of your comfort zone. How fucking boring indeed.

The point most of us “Darker ones” are trying to make to the “New Age, Light ones” is that you cannot deny the darkness, or surely the Shadow self will devour you. Conversely, we (dark ones) cannot deny our light, or the darkness will become all consuming, and any hope of balance, and sensibility will be lost.

So let us try and stop judging each other so much on our differences and start finding the similarities; I bet the latter is the longer list, by far.

The next issue I want to address is that of personal evolution. We all change, some change more than others, but change is inevitable. It seems that people, especially Witches, have started to associate change with being unauthentic.

I even recently heard the most horrific term “Basic Witch” when referring to a Witch who has not evolved enough. I just want to ask, by whose standards is this evolution based?

The term is a play on words for the phrase “basic bitch” which is someone who adheres to mainstream pop culture, or basically, likes what everyone else likes. Now we are insulting our fellow Brothers and Sisters by calling them “basic”?  Not only is the term condescending and degrading, whoever came up with it seems to have done so out of a place of superiority.

My advice would be, get off your high horse before the Universe pushes you; nothing is like a piece of humble pie served from the Divine.

We all evolve, that is what our process of spiritual seeking is about: change, transcendence, shedding of old skin. None of that could be made possible without change; be open to it, embrace it, accept it.

If I happen to read something that enlightens me, or that follows my current train of thought, or Philosophy and I wish to adopt whatever it is that I read and incorporate it into my own life, I am free to do so, as are you!

There is no rule book on how we are supposed to practice, or what type of Magick makes us more authentic than the next. As I have said before, we are all real Witches, just on different levels. Who is anyone to call another person real or fake? And, honestly, I mean, HONESTLY, who is anyone to call another Witch, basic? That is petty, and catty, and speaks volumes about one’s character.

We are not obligated to make sense to anyone, or to have anyone understand our methods of madness. We are not obligated to follow any set of rules except our own. If something makes you happy, pursue it with an unbridled passion.

We are obligated only to ourselves; live your life, practice your Magick, dance to your own drummer and burn in the fire of your truth.

“We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.”

Blessed Are The Witches.