#rootsofcraft

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 30

Yeah, I’m a day late posting the last day... my brother stayed with me over the weekend, so yesterday was spent hungover on the sofa playing Diablo III co-op all day! Anyway, here we are with the last day of this challenge :)

What do you think of practicing magic in a group setting? What about practicing alone? Why?

For me personally, I can’t imagine performing group magic. At the moment my craft feels so private that, even if I knew other witches and they wanted to collaborate, I think I’d feel quite uncomfortable about it. Partly because I think there’d always be an element of comparing your craft to another’s, and even if it wasn’t spoken out loud I’d be anxious of being judged for my way of practicing. 

I’m sure this would be very different if you’d been raised with witchcraft or another magical tradition. Being surrounded by family and family friends who part of a magical tradition from the moment you’re born would probably make group magic feel more natural. I do understand why new witches would be drawn to a coven - having people who can teach you rather than face the rather daunting task of a heap of solo research, having their support to make sure things don’t go wrong... I’m sure it’s very comforting for a lot of people.

I, however, enjoy practicing alone and discovering my own ways of doing things. I’ve always enjoyed my own company and working out how I can do things on my own... I don’t really like relying on others (bit of a character flaw, I know). When it comes to witchcraft, it’s not something that was around me growing up. I know of one girl I went to school with who became a Pagan Wiccan, but she’s not a close friend and I haven’t spoken to her in about 15 years! It never used to feel accessible to me, and a lot of the people around me are not the kind who would either understand or be interested. So witchcraft for me has always been quite a private interest (in terms of taking it seriously - my family know I’ve always been a bit enamoured with the idea of magic, but they think of it in more of a Harry Potter sense). I tend to feel more powerful when I’m on my own, so practicing alone is an important part of my craft.

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 29

What role does the archetype of death play in magic to you, if any? Why or why not?

So far, I’ve honestly not given death much thought in my craft. My perceptions of death are heavily coloured by my love of Discworld - I view Death as a rather benevolent being who’s just got a job to do, like everyone else. Oh, and who loves cats!

As a process, I suppose I view it as the ol’ cliche - death is a part of life. It’s very sad to lose someone you love, of course (over the past year I’ve lost one of my aunts and my grandfather, who I was very close with), but it is inevitable. In both cases of loss I’ve experienced recently, the sadness was tinged with relief - both members of my family had been suffering from degenerative illnesses that made their quality of life almost non-existent. I’m glad that they are now released from that suffering.

I suppose the death of my grandfather was involved in my calling to witchcraft. In the week before his death, I began smelling a smoky, peaty whiskey kind of aroma around 9pm each evening. The only fires burning in my village would maybe have been barbecues (though unlikely still at 9pm), and they have an altogether different smell. Then, one night, I woke up at 2am. Usually if I wake up in the night I just roll over and go back to sleep. This time I felt the need to check the time. A couple of days later, my dad called. He said that on the night I’d woken up, my grandfather had died. He’d been taken to hospital at 9pm after a stroke, and pronounced dead at 2am. That kinda freaked me out, but it was also oddly comforting - despite the COVID restrictions, I felt like I got to say goodbye in some way. It’s the only time I’ve ever had an experience like that, so it’s left quite the impression on me! 

I know I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent here, but I suppose the point I’m trying to make is that if I ever end up performing spells where death is involved somehow, it won’t be as a dark force, as something to be feared. And I can’t imagine it will ever be something I call upon to enact the death of someone or something. But rather as a being to be respected for the job they do, as a force that releases people from suffering, a necessary part of the world we live in.

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 28

Do you think that there is any potential in utilizing certain ritual places or “ley-lines” between ritual places? Why or why not?

I definitely think that certain places have power. I don’t really understand ley-lines, so can’t comment on those. But spaces that have been used for similar ritual purposes over generations I do think accumulate an energy. And it does make sense to me that you could tap into this energy to boost your own spell work (as long as you’re respectful of the place and who it belongs/belonged to etc).

I do also think that different people are sensitive to different energies in different places. So, just because somewhere has been used for rituals for hundreds of years, it doesn’t mean that every witch will feel a connection to that power. On the other side of that, someone could walk into a random clearing in a wood, or a certain spot in a field, and feel something there that speaks to them in a way that another witch may not sense at all. It doesn’t make the place any less meaningful or powerful, and as long as you are always respectful I think such places are a great way to enhance your craft.

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 27

Do you have an affinity with an animal or type of animal? What does it mean to you? If you don’t, but had to have one, what do you think it would be?

I really, really, want to say cats here. Sadly, I think I’ve lost what affinity I had with them since I’ve grown older. I still have more of an affinity with my family cat than anyone else in the family, and when I go back to the family home he’s sort of my anchoring point and a huge source of comfort. He’s old, a bit smelly at times, and definitely going senile, but I adore him and we both help to de-stress each other. He’s definitely a lot calmer and quieter when I’m there, and even a bit more obedient (if such a thing can be said of cats)!

[My grumpy old man meowing for no discernible reason <3]

However, I no longer feel a connection to cats in general as I once did. I mean, I still love them, but I don’t think the cat population are as interested in me as I am in them! If that affinity was to come back I would be very happy. I think it probably would still be to cats - my boyfriend often says I’m like a cat - and I can’t imagine sharing that kind of connection with any other animal. 

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 26

Blessings and protective Magick. Do they work? Would you use them? What do you think of those who do? Why?

I believe they do work. In face I’d say that about 50% of the (few) spells I’ve cast so far have been protection spells. I thin protection spells in particular are going to be something I’ll use a lot - to protect my home, my mind, my physical self, and my loved ones.

Not really had any experience with blessings so far, but I think I’ll definitely use them.

I think people who use blessings and protective magic are... witches. Simple as! I would think that all witches are going to use either or both of these types of magic at some point. They seem to me to be pretty fundamental aspects of the craft that cross all paths and traditions. Ideally, you should cast some sort of protective magic - even if it’s just a basic circle - before you work any other magic. And presumably you’ll want to bless your home or your garden at some point to ensure favourable conditions.

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 25

Curses. Do they work? Would you use them? What do you think of those who do? Why?

Curses/hexes is not an area I’ve even begun to look into yet. As a beginner, it just feels too risky. On that note, I suppose it’s clear that I think they do work! 

I have a feeling I’m the type of person who is going to get tempted to try cursing at least once. I do rather like the idea of the sort of ‘everyday inconvenience’-type curse (e.g. “May your pockets always get stuck on door handles”)... perhaps more a jinx than a curse? I’m generally quite a laid back person who doesn’t hold onto anger very long, so someone would have to majorly fuck with me (or more likely someone I care about) for me to want to really curse them.

I think that those who do use them have serious balls. To have enough confidence in your wards and your focus that it’s not going to backfire/go wrong somehow... in a purely ‘craft’ sense I think it’s quite admirable. However, I do think if someone is placing curses regularly, it’s more a reflection on their own psychology than whoever they’re placing them on. But I guess everyone has their ways of dealing with things!

Of course, there are also witches who will “sell” curses (i.e. cast them at the request of someone else) - and I can only hope that those who do, do so only with as much information at their disposal as possible, with as clear and unbiased an understanding of the situation as they’re able to get. It’s not my place to judge how others perform their craft, but I don’t think anyone should be purely mercenary with their power. Especially with curses - it seems like that would just be asking for trouble!

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 24

Are you more aligned with chaos or order in terms of the Magick you have or will practice? What do you think Magick itself is more aligned with?

This made my poor, hungover brain hurt today...

If we’re talking about the manner in which I’ve practiced magic so far... to me it feels quite ordered, but despite my planning I will usually end up doing something spontaneous. Either because a feeling in the moment prompts me to add/change something, or because something goes ‘wrong’ that I then try and incorporate into the spell. I personally feel more aligned with order, but I recognise that some element of chaos is inevitable!

In terms of the type of magic I practice, I would have to say chaos, hands down. I don’t subscribe to a strict path - like Wicca, or Kabbalah - and I’m approaching magic in a very ‘trial-and-error’, pick ‘n’ mix-type way. I would probably say that in that sense, nearly all secular, eclectic witches practice chaos magic (as introduced/defined by Austin Osman Spare, Peter J. Carroll, and others).

I think I said in the answer to one of the earlier Roots of Your Craft questions that I think magic itself is more aligned with chaos. It’s a chaotic force of nature, of the universe - all around us and in everything. As witches, I believe our task is (generally) to draw some order out of the chaos for a moment, in order to effect our spells.

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 23

What role do you think dreams play in magical life, if any? Why or why not?

This is a tricky one for me... I started keeping a dream journal just over 10 years ago (though until a couple of nights ago it had been eight years since I last had anything vivid enough to put in it), and that was simply because at that time of my life I was having incredibly vivid and memorable dreams at least once a week. I wasn’t studying magic at all at the time; it was actually one of the times when witchcraft was very much at the back of my mind.

I do know that dream interpretation is an important form of divination for many witches. Dreams can also be the way that other witches’ spirit guides/deities/demon patrons etc. pass on their messages or desires. When I was a teenager I also did a frankly ridiculous amount of research of symbolism in dreams, but never put it to use. 

With the emergence of a startlingly vivid dream I had just a few nights ago, the time may be ripe for me to revisit dream symbolism, interpretation and magic!