#rootsofcraft

[lets-go-every-witchway]

Roots of Your Craft - Day 20

What are your general thoughts about newer magical traditions such as pop culture spells, and technowitchery?

What were the pantheons of Ancient Greece, Rome and Egypt if not part of the popular culture of their day? Modern day pantheons would consist of characters in movies, TV shows, books, comics etc. So I totally get how new magical traditions would evolve around pop culture icons, imagery and music. I’ve recently considered using modern music in my spells - particularly ones used for cleansing or self- love - as there are songs/pieces of music that seem to reach into my soul and change me. I’m sure we all can relate to that. I don’t think I’ll be incorporating other aspects of pop culture into my practice, but who can say at this early stage?

Technowitchery - again, I totally get it. Witches have always had to adapt to use the tools at their disposal, usually to blend in with the general populace and not stand out as a witch. Of course, though attitudes aren’t quite as hostile towards witches as they once were, it can still be hard for us to flaunt our practice for all to see. And what’s more unobtrusive in this day and age than technology? Plus it’s so convenient! So many of us use Tumblr or other blogging sites, either as our Books of Shadows or Grimoires in their own right, or as a collection of references and notes we can come back to when compiling our physical books. Digital versions of tarot and oracle cards are easily found, you can create sigils, crystal grids and all manner of useful things digitally. Will I delve further into technowitchery than just the odd digital tarot reading? No plans to yet, but again, it’s still early days!

[sassyllamaspirit]

Roots of your Craft day 3

Roots of Your Craft - Day 3

How powerful do you believe Magick to be, and why?

This one I had to sit and ponder on. I think that Magick is one of those things that doesn't have a limit. I think that limit comes from us. How much energy/focus we put into something, how much our higher self puts into it. I think that when a spell doesn't work or we don't get what we want, it is because the universe/our higher selves/etc for some reason has told us we don't need it. Our higher selves know what we need vs what we want. So sometimes our magick is powerful, and sometimes our magick is weak. If you look back many who use magick were not very wealthy, but they lived in comfort. They had what they needed and some of what they wanted. I think that is where we are supposed to be, we want to live comfortably, but we don't need to live lavishly. Our higher selves will know how much power we can put into a spell and allow that. Which is why I think that it is easier to do some more powerful spells as a group rather that on your own, you can tap into energy and power from others to help. So, yeah, I don't think magick itself has a limit, I think the limit comes from us.

[princesage-blog]

Day 1. Divination. Does it work? Would you use it? What do you think of those who do? Why?

[Image description: A drawing of two tarot cards, one obscured by the other, and a pendulum beside them. The card on top is XVII, The Star. To the right of the drawing is the following text:

I believe that divination works in that a person using it has to trust their instinct in order to make it work. Divination is not a guaranteed prediction or a 100% accurate method of learning information you don’t know, but as someone who does frequently use it, I find it reliable because I trust my intuition. I see it as (when looking forward) a way to get insight on what might happen, but you always have the power to change it.]

[estfortis]

More on Magic

The #RootsOfCraft 30 day challenge continues. Day 2′s prompt is “What do you think Magick actually is? What is the power or force behind witchcraft?” but since I’ve written about that already here, I’m moving on to Day 3: “How powerful do you believe Magick to be, and why?”

Ok, so I’m an anthropologist so bear with me for a minute. Claude Levi-Strauss wrote about what he called the “shamanistic complex,” or three interacting levels of belief that was necessary for shamanistic healing to be effective. These are the belief of the healer or shaman in his/her own powers, the belief of the patient in the shaman’s abilities, and the belief of the community in the healer’s efficacy. According to this theory, all three levels of belief must be present in order for shamanistic healing to work. (Remember this is from a Western perspective, and one that accepts biomedicine as the standard, so there is certainly some ethnocentrism happening in this analysis, and it may or may not hold true across various contexts. I’m just trying to make a point here). 

As far as magic goes, I think it’s a similar idea. First and foremost, the witch or practitioner must believe in her* ability to create an outcome. If you can’t make yourself believe that your ritual or spell is going to have an effect, then it never will. As I wrote in my “What is Magic?” post, it’s all about intent, and you have to be able to really see the outcome in order to build the power behind the intent. If there is anyone else involved in the spell or ritual, they too must believe in its efficacy. It might work anyway if you believe strongly enough even if the other person/people don’t, but belief is what powers this engine. Finally, surrounding yourself with a community of witches and practitioners of magic who believe in the power of magic and who believe in your ability to wield that power has a direct impact on the strength of your practice. Any time you are trying to learn or do something without any support, it is infinitely more difficult than if you are doing it with a support network around you. The other people don’t have to be involved in any way except to say “I believe in you!” I mean, this is true of almost anything. Certainly true of grad school. I would have dropped out a long time ago if it weren’t for the amazing people I have cheering me on. They don’t do my work for me, but they remind me that I can do it, and that makes a real and tangible difference. 

Finally, I think that there is or can be magic in almost any act, and even the smallest things can have huge power. As a hearth witch, hospitality is a sacred concept and practice to me, and I honestly believe that the simple act of feeding someone can frequently have a bigger impact than the most elaborate ritual. It all just depends on context. 

*I use her because I’m a lady witch and this post is a reflection on me and my craft. My use of this pronoun is not intended to imply that only a certain gender identity or expression can or should practice witchcraft. 

[ashetrash]

Roots of your Craft, Day 3

The original post is here for those who are interested

How powerful do you believe Magick to be, and why?

Magick is as powerful as it can be. Its power is derived from the user, the technique, the available channels, and the laws of nature and will act according to these things. Which is to say, it always does what it can, just like any other natural force

[teaartrevolution-blog]

I watched my grandmother weave She’d sit on the concrete Her henna covered soles Pressing down on the plaited la­­­­­kha reeds Smooth beneath her foot

I watched her weave her story With patience, precision the wit of a woman Her fingers tangled in the loose ends Leading them in and out of each other

I would try to keep up She would whisper in my mother tongue, ghes beli - don’t rush Then share with me wisdom from our history She, illiterate Only had her memories And what her own hands could conceive

I watched her weave ­­­­ Tales of contentment and longing defeat and glory Seeped into the braided reeds

I watched her weave ­­­­ With absolute conviction That my own roots were captured in these interwoven contradictions

- meshrefet by manal younus

[foxflightly]

Roots of my Craft #12 & 13

12. What do you think your life will be like in five years, magically speaking? In five years… that’s a long damn time. I’ll have a 6 year old, and maybe another kid at like 2 or 3 years old. Magically? Maybe finally just finding my feet under me. Really worked on that foundation you know? But honestly? So much is up in the air right now, I don’t know.

13.What worries you most about learning witchcraft? What might be a risk? I worry a lot about appropriation. I can’t handle getting “yelled at” for doing something wrong because of my abuse. I worry I can’t use anything I feel drawn to because I have no ties to it, especially in the Native American beliefs system. In Canada, Native Aboriginals (I don’t know the proper term now, I’m an expat since 2004) seemed very open about their faith and way of life and definitely celebrated in the media. Just about any Canadian TV program will have an episode or two of the character seeking sage advice from their local Native person, or a number of programs featuring a Native character (at least in the 90’s). I’ve always been very drawn to the beliefs and way of life. And I’m not going to pretend that racism is not a problem in Canada because it certainly is, they have their own racism up there though they like to pretend there isn’t. The US attitudes toward Native Americans is very different, way less respectful, very harsh, and understandably the Native Americans seem very withdrawn and closed off. I’d love to honestly spend months at a time at the feet of an elder, listening to their stories, learning their herbs, their way of life, but I’m scared I would just be another white person taking what isn't mine, causing great disrespect to the people I admire. It’s very different here. I wouldn’t think twice about getting involved and visiting a tribe in Canada, they at least seem like they are more willing to share their lives with people like me.

I do have some relatives with connections to the Inuit and I’m actually fairly familiar with their way of life and the struggles they’ve endured. My uncle is also very close to a publishing company that only publishes Native authors. We’ve also recently found out that my Mother-in-law is related to a Native American Tribe but that’s very recent. She had been disconnected and was even shunned by her parents when she was young from connecting to anything resembling Native American culture, and she’s very excited to find this connection, which in turn, my daughter is connected to.

I also feel disconnected from any ancestors I might have. I’m terrified of spirits(ghosts) and demons, and it really seems like witchcraft involves a lot of contact and communications with them.

[trinkets-and-spirits]

🌱The Roots of Your Craft. (1)

So! After receiving a lecture-ish message from a friend, because I encouraged something that I probably shouldn’t have encouraged & now feel really awful b/c I thought it was all just banter, but apparently not...I’ve decided to finally do the beautiful 30 day challenge that @maddiviner created a while ago, because I’d rather drown myself with witchcraft than try & find a new topic to discuss with my friend...now that there is a super awkward pause in our usual flowing discussion.

Day One: Divination. Does it work? Would you use it? What do you think of those who do use it? Why?

Well! Starting off with something that I’d like to believe I have a lot of experience in, how lucky for me...though somebody will probably reblog with a patronising comment about how they would like to open a discussion b/c they don’t agree!!1 Personally, I have two sides of the coin in my opinion; the religious side, and the teen who adores scientific theories and science as a whole...so bear with me. :p 

Yes, I do believe that divination works; and I use both tarot & dream divination on a regular basis. Sometimes, I use it without knowledge, such as in my mind; thus creating a very specific Deja Vu aspect to my life. I do believe that there are people out there who are more than capable of tapping into the future; the past, through means that really don’t make much sense—and are unique to them all. Speaking from experience, I’ve tended to have shocking precision with any reading that I’ve done on another; and I’ve seen events that my cards & dreams have predicted play out in front of me before, so I really do believe that it works.

From a science nerd opinion tho, I also have to say that I believe a lot of divination comes down to a lot of theorising, chance and luck from the diviners. You may get three or four cards that make sense in some way, but there are def times where you have to connect it to the question that the person has asked, and I would be lying through my teeth if I said that I’ve never theorised b/c the majority of my divination moments were me pulling cards and fuckin theorising the rest of it. Additionally, I believe that divination is something of a placebo effect—the minute that diviners plant the seed, the receiver almost immediately snaps into the classic routine of that makes sense!! Thanks! ...Even if it doesn’t really make sense to their situation; or isn’t helpful in any sort of way, any answer seems to encourage progression that wasn’t there before the OG seed.

As for my opinion on diviners, I believe that we’re a lovely collection of people; using all sorts of techniques and offering people an answer when they feel like nobody is giving them any, or when they feel lost. All of the divination techniques that I’ve seen in my time as a witch; tarot, crystals, dream, runes, bones, pendulum boards, spirits—all of it is so amazing! In my opinion, I think divination is a very unique and interesting branch to witchcraft, and I love being able to have a share in the practise! I want to build up my ability to answer more tarot, because I really do enjoy the practise, but it really does exhaust me doing so. :c I’d really love to build my blog more around divination & the sort, but I really find it difficult to do so...especially when everyone only seems to care about whether x loves y & stuff. Not saying that’s a bad thing, but I never really receive any strange & quirky asks; I always receive the same old relationship drama, and I really wanna have someone ask me something else. ;-; I love giving people readings on which parts of blank they should focus on to progress positively, but if someone could drop a weird tarot ask in my box at some point, I’d love u. xD