Once again in defense of witchcraft being not dangerous and fucking fine to do
I am pretty sure that some witches buy into worldviews that actively frame their own magic as inherently dangerous and unbalanced.
And I think that might be what's going on, at least some of the time, when witches eschew preventive cleansing and protection.
I think that we live in an active magical ecosystem where a lot of things are happening all the time, and almost none of those things have anything to do with us.
But somehow protection magic has developed a cringy veneer, as if in order to need it you'd have to think you're a main character who's being actively targeted by evil witches and spirits.
It seems that some witches have gotten the impression that in order to be well-balanced, they've got to believe that wolves don't exist. Neither do storms, diseases, accidents, or the unscrupulous.
Cleansing has gotten the same bad rap, I feel. Inasmuch as cleansing is removing unwanted energy, a lot of witches seem to live in a world where all energy is perfectly good and natural (but they're not love-and-light witches, how could you accuse of such a thing), and not only that, but all cleansing completely strips something of every possible energy. A cleansing can destroy the utility or value of magical objects.
Just like sweeping your floor automatically destroys the floorboards, underlayment, and foundations of your house, leaving nothing but dirt and crumbled plumbing.
So protection is unnecessary for normal people, and cleansing is at best destructive. (I'd be terrified to see the curses of many witches, given how powerfully withering their most basic cleansings are.)
But it's all well and good, and this part I actually do not mean sarcastically at all - it's all well and good, because keeping up a cleansing and protection routine actually takes a decent amount of time and energy.
Depending on your methods it can get pretty streamlined. But you're still putting something on your plate - ten minutes here, five minutes there. And it can kind of get away from you.
I mean, if you start teaching yourself how to cleanse unwanted energies, then I expect by and large you're going to end up able to sense and identify unwanted energies. And then you'll start finding more magic you could be doing to deal with more problems you've learned to identify.
But it does go on: then maybe you'll get a bit overwhelmed cleansing the home, so you'd rather make a protection for the home to just keep unwanted energy out. And then that takes maintenance. And then you find a better way to do things.
And you end up doing plenty of magic.
And, if you believe that certain types of energy can accumulate around a person and make problems, and sending that energy away is therefore is helpful; and if you believe that preventative magic can stop bad things from happening; then a regular cleansing and protection routine will help things get better and go better.
I'm not saying that everyone should do preventive and maintenance magic all the time. I'm not saying that people should believe in things the same way I believe in them.
What I am saying is, hey.
Isn't it kind of weird that some witches seem to have worldviews that frame their a lot of their own magic as inherently dangerous and unbalanced?
Isn't it also kind of weird how many witches say they wish they could be doing more magic?
But no, not that kind of magic. There's no problem to chase, and that kind of prevention isn't for them, they're not a main character. No, not that kind of magic, it's at high risk of being destructive. No, not that kind of magic, that would constitute stealing from others. No, not that kind of magic, that's unethical. No, not that kind of magic, it might have unintended consequences. Also, it's unethical. Also, it's cheating.
I kind of have a conspiracy theory, okay. It's that many witches who start out eschewing spiritual hygiene (like, cleansing and protection routines) do so because they want to establish that the magical ecosystem around them isn't inherently dangerous or bad. They don't want to be the kinds of witches who think all this magic stuff is dangerous.
And I agree with that. The magical world around us isn't inherently dangerous or bad. Not any more dangerous than the mundane world around us.
But I do think a lot of witches do view their own magic as dangerous and bad. Sometimes that badness is because magic is seen as inherently destructive (like cleansing that destroy, money spells that kill and maim relatives, and job spells that strip free will from hiring managers).
At other times, the badness stems from scrupulosity: that using magic itself is inherently immoral. Protection is bad because using it demonstrates self-centeredness and egotism. Money spells are bad because you're stealing (or cheating). Binding spells are bad because you're putting your needs before others. Conjuring anything at all - from a new friend to a lucky break - may be a bit selfish, I mean, can you imagine someone who could do magic just conjuring things for themselves, instead of only helping others?
And then witches wonder how they're meant to engage in their path, when there's hardly any magic that a moral, well-balanced person would ever do.
Well, anyway. I haven't got a proper ending. Thanks for listening to my essay. I hope you're all having a nice November so far.
