LESSONS IN MAGICK: People Don’t Owe You Sh*t

June 1, 2018

“Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entitled to something, that is when we start walking all over others to get it.”

Criss Jami

We live in a “give me” society, so is it shouldn’t be surprising that this mentality has seeped over into the Magickal community.

Yet, here I am shocked and dismayed at what I have been witnessing lately.

Don’t get me wrong, freeloaders are not new to the Craft, but it does seem like their numbers have increased.

Add in the fact that a lot of newbies don’t want to put in the work; they want the title of Witch, they want the (often stereotypical) aesthetic of a Witch, but they don’t understand the verb Witchcraft (thanks Nikki for putting that so eloquently).

It’s true.

Witchcraft IS a practice.

Sure, it looks different for everyone, but this path requires work.

Your path requires you to put in the work.

You can read, and read and read, collecting all the information you can find (ie. Armchair Occultist);

You can ride on the coattails of someone else, and their experiences;

You can bounce from practitioner to practitioner presenting them with some sob story and asking them to do your bidding for you;

But, eventually, the Laws of Magick will force your hand, and you either shit or get off the pot.

You either put into practice the art of Magick, or you back the fuck away slowly and don’t try to make Sacred traditions trendy ever again.

I am obviously wound up writing this post and it’s because I am seeing a lot of entitlement lately.

On top of that, I have been witnessing paranoid people claiming every unpleasant event in life is Magickally related. I have also seen people asking for energy/thoughts/good vibes/assistance on a regular basis.

I want to address these topics.

Throughout my writing career I have expressed my opinions on these subjects individually, but there is a need for this to be said in one place.

This is one of my pieces where it could be received in a few ways, and I am sure I will ruffle some feathers; I wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t.

Remember, if anything I say offends you, ask yourself, “Why am I offended?”

Your feelings have everything to do with you, and nothing to do with me.

I am but a reflection.

image source

First thing first, Witchcraft is a lifestyle.

For some people it’s a look, too, but at the core it’s a practice that we live, and breathe.

Philosophy varies from person to person, our Craft will as well, but the one thing that Witches have in common across the board is that they put in work to create the outcomes they want.

We play with the web of Wyrd.

We manipulate energy and bend it to our Will.

We are powerful, formidable creatures.

Knowing how much power we wield, it drives me nuts to see Witches who refuse to put in work. Not only do they refuse to put in work (for whatever reason) when work is required, they run to another Witch, and expect them to do their bidding.

We now are dealing with entitled, lazy Witches.

I absolutely love to help others, and I love to share my knowledge, but I will not, in fact, I refuse to do anyone else’s work for them.

I will help when needed, I will offer tricks and tips, but your path is yours to walk and the work is yours to do.

Stop looking for handouts.

Nobody owes you anything; not the world, not your job, not your fellow Witches.

Stop expecting Magickal work to be free.

You pay for services on your car, your home, your body, but when it comes to services for your Soul, you turn your nose up at it.

Or, you try and pull the “well, Witches of old never charged.”

We are not Witches of old, we are Modern Mystics and we have bills to pay.

Stop expecting results with no effort; that’s like expecting a reaction (outcome) with no action (intention).

You’re smarter than that.

Stop expecting Magick itself to be free.

Nothing is free.

Stop playing the victim.

You are only a victim if that’s how you write your narrative.

Own your shit. Face your shit. Transmute your shit. Level up.

It’s what the rest of us are doing.

You can’t take and take and take from people with zero regard for their well-being, and their own struggles.

We all have our battles to fight.

Don’t get so high on your horse that you believe yours are more important.

image source

Secondly, life sucks. I am a professional pessimist, but even if I wasn’t, life would still suck. This is a fact that we must accept.

There are countless variables in play all around us at any given moment, to think we can or do have control over it all is insane.

Sometimes shit happens.

There is no profound lesson.

There is no Magickal attack.

There is no villain.

There is no “Karma”.

Life sucks.

Life is also crazy beautiful and amazing and should be enjoyed but if you think that every bump you hit in life is somehow Magickally related, you are going to be a paranoid, frantic, no energy having wreck.

Everything we do is Magick, but not everything done to us is.

So, take a deep breath, go with the flow.

Accept what is, don’t dwell on what isn’t.

Believe in yourself.

And, trust the process.

Roots image source

Third, I have been noticing people in groups I am, even people on my friend list who are constantly asking for energy of some sort. Whether it is good vibes, Magickal assistance, thoughts or whatever, their life is always in turmoil and they always need help.

I have an unpopular opinion that every single one of us is an energy Vampyr in one way or another, and if you look closely at the people around you, you will see what I mean.

I mean, *everything* is an energy exchange.

Like I mentioned above, I have no problem helping someone out—if I have seen they have put the work in.

I prefer people who need my help to approach me with nothing but brutal honesty, and transparency.

However, if it becomes a trend, or a common occurrence, it raises concern.

Why do you constantly need help and/or energy?

Why is your life constantly in turmoil?

Getting energy is as easy as walking outside and standing in the sun. I mean, it isn’t considered the Pranic center in Ayurverdic tradition for no reason; it’s a battery.

Use it.

We all need help occasionally and I am not knocking that AT ALL, but it shouldn’t be a regular thing. I shouldn’t be signing onto fb and seeing the same 10 people asking for energy because of *insert overly dramatic huge life event*.

Meanwhile, myself and everyone else I know have their own shit going on.

We are all trying to navigate the waters of life, and more times than not I am drowning right alongside some of the people I help.

So, I help where I can and feel the need to, I draw boundaries when it seems suspicious.

I separate genuine from the fake.

The people who have given up completely, or the ones who feel too entitled to get their hands dirty are the ones I can’t and don’t assist.

Refusing to get your hands dirty is worse than giving up because it means you won’t even try.

I am the first to admit that my life is chaotic, and messy, but so are the lives of everyone I know. For this reason I try to show compassion and empathy at all times.

We all have overflowing plates;

Life is about learning to balance it all.

The VVitch (Movie): A Witch’s Perspective

January 22, 2016

Image: Lillian Liu

“Do you really believe … that everything historians tell us about men – or about women – is actually true? You ought to consider the fact that these histories have been written by men, who never tell the truth except by accident.”

Moderata Fonte

I am writing this piece per request, which ironically was a topic already floating around in my head; I didn’t touch on it prior to this evening because Retrograde had me tongue tied, finger bound, and doing major internal work. I think even though this MR got the better of me, I come out on top in the long run because I learned some valuable lessons this time around. I see major shifts coming for all of us, lots of change and growth.

Anyways…So, onto this topic. You know how occasionally Facebook has those Suggested Posts or Ads? Well there was one of those on my newsfeed for the upcoming movie “The VVitch”. Great marketing by the way because, hello! of course I clicked play. After viewing it, I decided to take a look at the comments.

And that, my friends, is where I fucked up.

The comment’s section was literally divided between two sets of people: those proclaiming to be Witches, and a slew of comments almost all identical, “Look at these white girls who watched too much Coven”. In case you don’t know, Coven was a season of the cult hit American Horror Story.

There was one Woman in particular on the thread saying, “Real Witches don’t tell you that they practice, they keep it to themselves”. I wanted to go after her most. I knew she was a Witch and all I wanted to know was why was she dividing us more by saying “a real Witch”.

Psst. A “real Witch” does whatever she or he pleases.

It seems as though there is an influx of interest in the Occult, Paganism, and Witchcraft overall in recent years, Hollywood plays a big part in that whether we like it or not. Part of me is happy to see this, however the other part of me thinks the new wave of “new agers” (I hate being referred to as New Age) forgets that you need a solid foundation of the basic principles of Magick or else everything you attempt will fail.

The masses generally only know about Wicca and in my eyes Wicca is not traditional Witchcraft, while it serves its purpose in the grand scheme and many find peace among the Rede, the religion itself is new, and by no means a true representation of what it means to both curse and cure. Do no harm ring a bell? I said it, deal with it. I am not hating on Wicca, or Wiccans, either, I just get so frustrated that with such a rich history when people hear the word Witch they think Devil Worshipper or Wiccan; honestly I don’t know which is worse.

The Right Hand Path is not for me, I don’t believe I embody or represent that in any way, so when people bring Wicca up, my skin crawls.

Side Note: A Witch must be able to move freely among all shades of the spectrum in order to efficiently understand Magick; when she/he realizes there really is no spectrum is when the true fun begins.

When people find out I am a Witch the reactions I get are priceless. There are those who think I am a child sacrificing, Devil Worshipper (as mentioned above) and others who think I am like the Witches from Charmed, Supernatural, The Witches of East End, along with a mix of all the other Witchy shows out there. I smile and take it in stride, as I grow in years, wisdom and overall maturity I have come to realize that another’s ignorance means nothing to me, and affects me not at all; literally, not at all.

Stereotypes are part of human nature; it’s how we as humans process our surroundings. It’s how we organize our world. Some call it closed mindedness, it can be. Some call it racist (depending on subject matter), it can be.

Example: “Oh, you are this, so you belong here. Oh, you are that, so you belong there.”

But stereotypes are what they are: truth sensationalized.

I of course blame Hollywood for a lot of the ignorance out there in regards to Daemons, possessions, Ghosts, Spirits and obviously Witches but if I were to get offended every time a Witch or practitioner of the Dark Arts was inaccurately portrayed I would spend my life being offended.

There are very few groups of people out there that are correctly depicted in Hollywood anyways, let’s face it. Unless you are a white man in a leading role, who plays a stereotype of his own, then you are inaccurately portrayed. I would love to see a more accurate portrayal of our community, but at the same time I don’t. I like our secrets, I like that people have these misconceptions about me, about us; I like playing off of those fears. I suppose it’s the Daemon Spirit in me.

As a community we cannot get upset every time we are not depicted in the manner that suits us best. If we really want to fight this fight we need to go after Abrahamic faiths who were and are the original Witch-hunters. Even that is not a solution though because going after them makes us no better than they were when they hung, burned, and tortured our Ancestors.

Let Hollywood have their misconceptions about us. We have bigger fights to fight.

Moving right along to the douchebags galore who decided to make it about race. The craft is not about race, never has been and never will be. If you need examples, Voudon (Voodoo) primarily originates from Haiti, and Hoodoo is an American spin on the Island tradition that slaves and Southern Blacks practiced and still widely practice today. These traditions are incorporated into many aspects of the modern Craft and people with all skin colors practice, worship and respect the Loa.

Do I also really need to point out that not all Witches are white Women? So just stop with that nonsense; then again talking logic to someone who has such an abundance of ignorance works as well as putting a cat in water.

What I am saying here is, stop being so goddamn offended and accept this for what it is, a Hollywood movie. It looks good anyways.

Blessed Are The Witches.

To read a review, and watch the trailer:

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_witch_2016/

A Moment of Clarity: What is New Age?

December 23, 2015

Image: Nona Limmen

“Your life is your spiritual path.

It’s what’s right in front of you. You can’t live anyone else’s life. The task is to live yours and stop trying to copy one you think looks better.”

Sandy Nathan

I have discovered that bringing people who are part of my readership onto my personal page never really works out well; either it’s because they have an expectation of who or what I am supposed to be, or to put it simply, we just don’t get along. I have said many times that I am not a people person, ever since my awakening I view others very differently, and am no longer the free spirited, lighthearted, social butterfly I once was; I barely like hanging out with anyone at all.

I like getting lost in my work or in books, I like going mad from seeking an answer for days only to find out it was right in front of my face the whole time; I like not having to answer to anyone, and I like owning myself– my decisions, my mistakes, my triumphs, and my failures.

I like owning exactly who I am, especially the flawed parts; I own those so they cannot be used as weapons against me.

I often am misunderstood by others, and it’s something I am trying to work on but deep rooted issues like the ones I am still digging up cannot be fixed overnight; we are talking years, lifetimes of pain that has, like a vine creeping through a garden gate, become an intrusive, unwelcomed guest.

This garden of mine cannot be weeded, and these flowers cannot fully bloom, not yet, the timing is not right.

Gardening is after all, an art form.

A flower can learn a lot being amongst the weeds. I think of my life as a garden, sometimes I am the flower, sometimes I am the gardener, other times I wonder if there is any difference between the two. The people who come into my life can either enrich my garden, or kill my garden, and it is up to me to decide what role they will play, and when they need to be culled.

I have been blessed to meet some absolutely amazing people through my work, and I am grateful for each interaction, but it’s hard to form a real friendship with someone when they know I’m “Noir from Nephilim Rising” when I just want to be known as Jaclyn.

As the numbers on my page rise so do the requests from people wanting favors, a bit discouraging I must say but I guess it comes with the territory; that saying “it’s lonely at the top” comes to mind, not that I am necessarily at the top of anything, but I sure as Hell am not at the bottom.

What I am really trying to say here is that authentic people are scarce these days, and trust given is often trust then taken for granted, so I have learned not to trust thus making it lonely. Defense mechanism of the fucked up kind.

Recently I added a nice young man (about 20 years old) because his vibe was, and is, contagious. When he would comment on NR I couldn’t help but sense his thirst for knowledge, and it excited me. “Someone who gets it!” I thought to myself, only to be reminded that age plays a huge role, at times, into spirituality but it really boils down to morality, ethics, personality, and character.

You can wear all the pretty masks you want, attach all the fancy labels you need and even demean, or discredit other’s spiritual experiences but sooner or later your true self will be revealed. I become so easily annoyed by those who scream enlightenment in every post on Facebook but can’t even comprehend what it means to be enlightened AND tolerant; they go hand in hand.

Note: I am not at all saying that age was the main factor here, but I do believe it played a part. I know some children who have more depth and awareness of their surroundings than I do, so this isn’t about age.

I didn’t mind his posts really, there is always an unfollow option. I thought he liked to push the limit but often confused rebellion with being a douchebag; confusing ego with spirituality.

This is totally my opinion, yes I am judging, and yes I am being a hypocrite.

He was transparent, but I saw potential until, that is, a post crossed my newsfeed that rendered me speechless.

“She’s not one of these New Age Bitches.”

Pump. The. Breaks.

Stop.

Back-up.

Rewind.

What did he just say?

New age bitches?

In context he was speaking to one of his friends about a mutual friend of their’s.

So I guess props to the young Woman for not being a “new age bitch” and all…

I know he is most likely going to read this and I want to say that this is not an attack, and you will remain nameless but I will not remain silent.

An Awakened Man, or Woman for that matter, does not refer to Women as bitches; I am not trying to speak for every woke person, but I can say with confidence that the general consensus is not to use such a derogatory word that is meant to subjugate Women.

I think to call yourself enlightened but refer to the Divine Feminine in any of Her aspects as “bitch” or collectively “bitches” shows where the true disconnection is, and the root of the problem: The Mother Wound.

Mass generalizations will get you nowhere in life, my friend.

Now let’s talk about the term New-Age, I often get offended when people call me New-Age because there is nothing “new” about my practices, but I find myself defending the term right now because through research I have found the truth.

The term New-Age, coined in the 70’s, is defined as follows: adjective: 1. Of or relating to a movement espousing a broad range of philosophies and practices traditionally viewed as occult, metaphysical, or paranormal. 2. Of or relating to an unintrusive style of music using both acoustic and electronic instruments and drawing on classical music, jazz, and rock.

Most commonly associated with Wicca, Hipsters who happen to be into all things metaphysical and often used as an insult, the word term itself conjures very unique imagery. When we think of the term, we often think of “love and light”, light workers, do no harm, kumbaya etc.

I mean there are lots of things that come to mind when the term New-Age is brought up, but most people don’t understand that not only does Wicca fall under the umbrella term “New-Age” so does Satanism and Luciferianism, technically so could the new wave of Paganism.

Before spewing your “I’m so enlightened” bullshit, why don’t you actually practice some humility, and seek real enlightenment?

This is not a contest, we are not competing with our fellow Occultist’s or Spiritualist’s, we are supposed to work together and find common ground among the false divisions.

Ascension of the individual is only possible through unity of the collective, and that fact must be understood in order to gain anything on any spiritual path. A point missed by so many.

Needless to say my garden is finding its harmony, and rhythm again because let’s face it, that weed had to be pulled.

To read about the New Age Movement:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/newage.htm

Truth Comes to Light

May 25, 2015

Image: Jessica Lutz

“Chaos is what we’ve lost touch with. This is why it is given a bad name. It is feared by the dominant archetype of our world, which is Ego, which clenches because its existence is defined in terms of control.”

Terence McKenna

I’m not going to make any friends with post, for that I am sure; I guess it is a good thing I don’t write to make friends, I write to make people think. I sometimes feel that I think so much, about every single thing possible, so that others don’t have to. It’s like, if I analyze it, rip it apart, drive myself mad and tell of my findings, it may save another the pain. It takes a certain person to be able to exist in Chaos and I thrive in Chaos because it flows in my veins, while most dissipate into it.

I am going to write about some things that have been on my mind for a very long time, and I have written about them in the past but I didn’t do the topics any justice, or myself for that matter. I know that writing about the Occult I open myself up to criticism, and others opinions. I will usually debate, and I will always hear another’s opinion on the matter, we are all experiencing this world differently, and to deny listening to another is like denying them to tell their story.

I will never deny anyone the right to speak their truth.

I am going to speak some truth that many of you will probably not like, or deny all together, maybe you have never thought about it to begin with, or maybe you will know exactly what I mean. It is my hope, my intention that this piece will open your mind, and allow you to look deep within yourself. Allow yourself to get back to the roots of Magick because our community has gone far off track.

Because I do not want to come off as if I have a superiority complex, or that I am trying to tell anyone how to be, or whatever, I am going to tell you my story on the subject of ego and other Pagans/Witches/Otherkin. I am not at all innocent in allowing ego to take over, and I have experienced obnoxious amounts from other people. So, I have seen, literally felt, both sides.

This morning there was a situation that left me disappointed in a fellow Sister Witch, and I became so angry that I could not allow my Beast to stay inside, so here she sits with me to write this piece. I will not go into details about the situation but it had to do with ego, and a paranoid fear. While I understand why my Sister felt this way, her reaction and her Sister Witch’s reaction was uncalled for, and not how we should conduct ourselves.

I get it, if anyone gets ego, or fear, it’s me. If you have followed my writing since the beginning you have seen me call people out, and strut my stuff, as if I was the baddest in town. The Universe, however, did not find my display entertaining and made sure that I did not do it again. I have been that Witch who has made fun of Wiccans for being “light and fluffy” or “fluff bunnies”. I have been the one who dismisses others opinions because I thought I knew best. There is nothing that I have not experienced in regards to ego, and allowing it to take root in my mind.

I shut it out now, though. There is no room for ego on my path, it is simply not part of my journey.

There is pride, and that is something else entirely. Maybe another time, another post.

Let me get to the point..

Here are the issues we are facing as a community, and I am going to bring them to the surface because I am sick and tired of running into them at every corner. First, let me say that making fun of Wiccans, or any other belief, is unacceptable behavior, we should handle ourselves better, and it is the very intolerance that we experience from society. We cannot allow an eye for an eye mentality become the norm, we are better than that.

Gandhi said, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

We should not power ourselves with insults, we must power ourselves with knowledge, and know our craft. So, if there is a point to defend ourselves our Magick and defenses are top notch. The truth is, when we insult, make fun of, or belittle another, no matter how funny or how true the statement may be, it says more about us and our weak insecurities than it does about them.

Second, fear of Magickal attacks from fellow Witches seems to be a common theme. I want to bring some of you back to a level mind on this topic. A true Magickal attack is not easy to do, it takes skill, determination and true, pure intentions. This is not something that is a common occurrence, but it seems to be a common fear. Yes, we are at risk from spirit we work with, but to walk around defensive of every Witch and/or Otherkin we come across is not productive, and if we continue like this we will never learn anything, and we will always be alone.

To those who do use their Magick for attacks, big or small, that is not what Witchcraft is. I practice dark arts, and there is just as much healing, and support for other Witches as there is hexing, cursing, and the like. Magick should be something personal for you, not a skill you learn to harm other people. Get it?

We, Pagans, Satanists, Luciferians, Witches, Wiccans, Occultists, Otherkin, Heathens, Heretics, and any other label or non-label you can think of, are already ostracized by society. We already walk a lonely path, and while it may be hard to find someone who thinks exactly like we do, we can find likeminded individuals who help us grow. We can find others who know what it’s like to be made fun of, or ridiculed for having a non-conventional Philosophy. We can build a support system so that in times of stress, pain, and suffering we have counsel, we have protection, we have love and we have support.

But, we don’t do that, we don’t trust other people. Everyone thinks everyone else is fake, “fluffy”, or is out to get someone else, and blah blah blah.

None of this has to do with Magick, all of this gossip has to do with HUMAN insecurity coming through and using Magick as the guise. Only those insecure in themselves, their Magick, their shields, their defense, and their energy reading ability would walk around constantly scared of Magickal attack.

I know because I used to be like this, but now I am not. I took a long, deep look in the mirror, I faced my demons, I worked on my craft, I studied, I practiced, and I shed bled, and tears. This is the only way to freedom, you must shed your old self.

Let’s all take a collective deep breath.

Spiritual attacks are real, and I am in no way down playing them, but not every Witch you meet is out to get you, or strong enough to do so anyways. Come on guys, like I said, we can do better. We have to do better, it is our Magick that is going to save this place, but none of us can do it alone.

The next topic I want to discuss is ego. I have fell victim to this, and I was left embarrassed and disgusted by my behavior. I am here to help people, and nothing more. I want to write about my experiences in order for everyone to be as free as I am. When ego came into my life it wasn’t about the grand scheme of things anymore, it was about me, and there is no me. I am everything and nothing, I am the Alpha and Omega, I am the darkness and light. I am part of the cosmos, and to put myself before my soul’s purpose is something I cannot do.

Ego feels good, it is a momentary satisfaction but that is all that it is, a moment in time. It does nothing but make the other person feel like shit just to build yourself up. As someone who has played both roles, I can say that this is no way to be.

The thing I want to really say is, we have to start accepting others for who they are. We cannot accept them with conditions, or if they fit into a mold, we must be willing to accept all those who wish to walk this path. I can say that nothing has been more rewarding than my spiritual journey, and if I can help others find the strength to start forging their own then my job here is done.

We are all different, no two of us are alike, and that in and of itself is a fucking beautiful thing. If we do not begin to do better we will not be better, and if we can’t be better than what are we doing on this stupid rock to begin with?

The Nephilim Rising

Posts tagged with Rant

LESSONS IN MAGICK: People Don’t Owe You Sh*t

The VVitch (Movie): A Witch’s Perspective

A Moment of Clarity: What is New Age?

Truth Comes to Light