#witchblr psa

[hillbillybubbeleh]

Fuck Your Magic Antisemitism: A Lesser Key to the Appropriation of Jewish Magic & Mysticism

I am once again asking practitioners of magic, mysticism, and occultism to defer to Jewish voices and Jewish practitioners about the history and real-life impacts of appropriation of and theft from Judaism and Jewish mysticism instead of deferring to the opinions of non-Jewish occultists. I am also asking you to use discernment when engaging with revisionist history perpetuated by non-Jewish practitioners who profit or benefit from said revisionist history, such as claims that Jewish practitioners willingly "shared" or "gave" our practices with/to other communities, the refusal to acknowledge Jewish authorship, or the speaking over Jewish voices/attempts made by non-Jewish practitioners to speak for Jewish practitioners.

Now, I understand this can be overwhelming and many may not know where or how to begin, so I want to drop a recommendation. Fuck Your "Magic" Antisemitism: A Lesser Key to the Appropriation of Jewish Magic & Mysticism by Ezra Rose is an excellent place to start. This zine, which you can download for free (please leave a donation to support the author if you are able, and please share their work), is a wonderful treasure trove of history and resources. Per the author's description of the zine: FYMA is 'a guide to understanding the history and results of antisemitism in western occult and esoteric movements,  from the origins of "Solomonic" magic in medieval and Renaissance ceremonial grimoires, through the late 19th & early 20th century occult revival's "Qabalistic" ritual,  to ongoing appropriation and demonization in the 21st century.  A labor of love & spite, the zine is both a personal and academic look at a widely ignored topic.'

I have recommended this zine several times and have said that I think it should be required reading in witchcraft and witchcraft adjacent communities, and I stand by that. It's very, very good, and it is absolutely packed with thoroughly researched, cited, useful information.

[Follow and support Ezra Rose, the author: @sheydgarden on tumblr / @/sheydgarden on instagram.]

[herewitchywitchywitchy]

🔥🔥    Ahem.    Some of you bitches’ aesthetic photos of your altars are fucking me up with how close your open burning candles are to your herbs, flowers, plants, and curtains.

i’m not telling you how to live your life, but please practice fire safety.  It only takes a second for your whole life to go up in flames and a pretty picture of your altar isn’t worth the risk.  

I care about you, boo, and I want you to be safe.                      kissus. muah.

[solarianwitch]

A Small PSA

I’m going to be real with y’all for a moment. 

The vast majority of my practice is hidden, meaning it’s not something I feel comfortable telling others about. It’s also extremely personal and tailored to fit my specific needs. It works for me, but for someone else with less or different experiences, it might be a disaster or not work at all. 

With that in mind, I don’t know if I feel super comfortable giving detailed advice anymore, because unless you practice in a very similar way, it could actually make things worse for you. 

Are there guides and witches that can help you? Absolutely. Am I happy to answer most questions? Yes, but at some point you’ll have to realize that this is your journey, and asking someone else to try and forge it for you is just not going to work. 

- Solarian 

[theoryofmagick]

Friendly reminder that it is Cool and Good (tm) to learn, invent, develop, and advance on traditional methods of witchcraft

The fundamentals of bread-baking weren’t recorded so everyone could make the exact same loaf of bread

Branch out and experiment, you might get foccacia

[amethystlibra]

Alternatives to “Blessed be”

Not every witch is comfortable with the phrase “blessed be” being used towards them for a number of reasons, the most common ones being that they don’t wish to have your specific deity's attention drawn towards them, and they’re not following the same religion as you or even a religion at all. It’s a polite thing to avoid doing in general, but especially if the other person has voiced their discomfort with it. Instead you can use:

“Farewell”

“To your health” 

“Merry met”

“Until we meet again”

“Until then”

“Pleasant travels”

“Merry journey”

“Good health to you”

“Good fortune to you”

“Love and light”

“Until our paths cross again”

“Happiness to you and yours”

“Fair winds”

“May your journey be swift”

“Well met”

“May the winds carry you safely”

“May your forge burn bright”

“Go with peace and love”

“Guidance and clarity find you”

“Sweet water and light laughter till we next meet” 

[hillbillybubbeleh]

This problem of appropriation in the occult community is in no way limited to Kabbalah. Jewish religious practices, culture, and beliefs are frequently bastardized by the occult community in new and improved ways even in the modern-day.  From occultists using Jewish prayers but subbing in the names of their deities or having fake Shabbat ceremonies, the appropriation of Judaism isn’t new, but that doesn’t mean that it is okay.

-Kabbalah, Cabala, & Qabalah: Coercion, Appropriation, & the Desecration of Sacred Tradition (2024); Jewitches

[hillbillybubbeleh]

I'm really going to need white witches and pagans to learn how to correctly use the terms race, ethnicity, nationality, etc. before they make posts about matters involving these subjects.

I'm also going to need white witches and pagans to stop trying to white savior their way to "witchblr prominence" by presenting themselves as speaking for members of marginalized and minority communities, when they are in fact speaking over and often spreading misinformation about those communities. Who are you to speak for us? Speak for yourself and your own traditions. Let us speak for ours. We are capable of doing so, trust me.

And, while I'm at it, I need white people to stop using the term exotic to talk about people and cultures. "Exotic" to whom? Not to the people and cultures you're fixing your lips to speak about. To quote an old reponse by writingwithcolor from back in 2015, "To discuss People of Color as if we are inherently exotic implies that only the white (or outsider’s) view matters."

Stop labelling us as exotic. Stop speaking on our cultures and practices when you are not a part of them. Stop depicting us as uninformed or incapable people who can't speak for ourselves and need white practitioners to be our spokespeople. Stop speaking on things you do not know. This goes for religious practices as well. If you're not Muslim, stop talking over Muslims to speak on Islamic practices and traditions you have no part in; if you're not Jewish, we don't need your posts about Jewish traditions; if you're not Hindu, don't write talking about culture and traditions within and surrounding Hinduism; and the same for all religions. We do not need your opinion as a white practitioner taking up space and drowning out our voices. We do not need your opinion as a white practitioner confusing readers who deferred to your posts about cultures and practices you are not a part of, when there are countless people from those cultures and practices who can accurately and correctly speak to those things, who know the histories because they're from those practices and cultures, who understand the nuances of these traditions because they are from those traditions.

It's 2026, y'all; and a lot of people doing this are of a plenty big enough age to know better. At this point, there's absolutely no excuse, and the vast majority of us are beyond tired of the "well-meaning," "good-intentioned" white practitioners who continue to behave in these harmful, narrow-minded ways. Those who do this are doing so much more damage than they realize, and that's far too commonly ignored.

[hillbillybubbeleh]

If someone's reaction to people addressing/calling out racism and white supremacy is to center their annoyance at bringing such things up or their discomfort at such things being addressed, or to paint themselves somehow as a victim of "being called out" directly or of "call out culture" in general when the topics at hand are racism and white supremacy, then they're telling on themselves. They're showing the world very clearly that they would rather uphold these things than dismantle them. Hell, they'd rather uphold these things than even so much as acknowledge them.

They're showing you who and what they are. Believe them.