I realize that I've been swimming in Lake Logos for a little too long. The waves have been beating on me- I'm weary, and I need to contemplate, to remember who I am.
Logos: broken down to its simplest meaning, is defined as "The Word". We're bombarded by "the word" every day, and especially in the netverse where the word rules over all.
So, I've come the shore of the Wildwood Gate to contemplate what what it means to be a witch; and of course, that will entail what it doesn't mean as well. If you've been swimming out there a little too long, you are welcome to visit with me here, while I mull this over. Before I do, this isn't a "slam" on anyone, personally. Just because someone isn't a witch doesn't mean he/she can't be a practitioner of magic or a Wiccan, Pagan or Druid, Asatru (insert your brand of Pagan here). And, with that said...
In my opinion, no other person has ever been able to define the term as well as Ly De Angeles.
In her book, Witchcraft: Theory and Practice she writes, "A true witch is a natural. I've never yet met a true witch who felt like something else. I've met a lot of people who want to be witches, who dress and talk the part, but when you're not, you're not." ( pg 47)
And, frankly, I'm seeing a lot of "wanna-be witches" hanging around the social media sites I frequent. They talk a good game, but when it comes down to it, I don't believe they have the first clue as to what it means to be a witch.
My friend Jaime is someone I met via Witchvox when I moved back home to WV in 2004. She and I corresponded online, then on the phone, then chose to meet up at a coffee shop with other witches at the time.
As soon as I met Jaime, I knew she was a natural witch, and I told her that. The girl emanates power... not a "I'm-here-to-dominate-you" kind of power, but the kind of earth magics that only another witch can identify. The other people I met that night were all in the "wanna-be" category.
There was one who tagged me and Jaime right off.. she could, at the very least, sense the power. But, she wanted to use us, and she actually told both of us that if we ever crossed her, she would (insert wanna-be threats of curses here). She held the title of "high priestess" in this "coven of traditional witches".
I warned Jaime that she didn't need what this woman had to offer. Jaime wanted training, but I told her, "people will try to train the witch right out of you". And, I was right.
After I went back to Maryland, that's what they tried to do to her. But, she wouldn't let it happen. She's too smart for that. They couldn't be her, and they couldn't take from her what wasn't freely given. She couldn't make them something they were not. She couldn't make them witches by association.
So, she returned to her woods where she is home and safe and can just be who/what she is, and she doesn't need someone who isn't a witch to tell her how to honor her birthright- she innately knows it already.
Ly De Angeles: "A witch realizes certain powers: represents, rather than worships them: calls them Goddess and God (without it being a fixed, or boxed theology) and invokes them in the vast forces of nature and beyond that (within other frames of reference)." (pg 47)
And then, she goes on to something much more controversial. She speaks to two expressions that are common within The Craft. "A witch is born, not made" and "It takes a witch to make a witch."
"1. It's in the blood, no matter how many generations it may not have been acknowledged (and self-preservation may very well have been why seven or ten or fifteen or more generations ago your ancestor shut up about it and did not pass the knowledge down the line). Like a dormant seed, it waits until the season is fertile for it to germinate.
2. Unless the witch is willing to take initiation when the magic calls, and to actively, consciously and with free will, walk across the line to live in the world but not of it, and to take the oaths of priesthood, then the line is not crossed. The power will withdraw because it knows the witch is not ready. 'Some other time,' it seems to say. That's okay, too, understand, because you won't be the same as everyone else."( pp 48,49)
The magic calls to you, not the other way around. It isn't something you get to put on and play dress-up with, like a ritual robe and some gothy makeup, and take off when you're finished playing around. You can learn all the public witchy terms you want, and you can dress up and play the part, but The Mystery knows, and you know that you're not really fooling anyone. To be a witch is to enter into a sacred contract and take on a lifelong responsibility. It is not a religion. I cannot emphasize that strongly enough.
My friend Rhonda serves The Mystery honorably. I watch her daily trying to wake people up to the damage they are doing to the Earth. I feel her pain, even though she may not know it. Her spirit is sometimes bruised and bloodied from beating itself up against the brick wall of apathy. But, she keeps going. Why? Because...
"Once you have chosen to take upon yourself the obligations of the practice of Witchcraft, then the effects, or the immanence, of this way of life will be bestowed on you from aligned intelligences, and so will the tests that accompany them.
Anyone who willingly opens themselves to the powers beyond the veil of manifestation (as we understand it) opens themselves to the possibility of inner initiation. Witches know that they are witches., but initiation is what seals that knowledge through the power of ritual and intent inherent within the process itself, to a deeper strata of recognition and response both within oneself and from the powers to which we are oathed. Once initiation has occurred, there is no turning back-- you will quest all your life; it is not a thing to do thoughtlessly" (Introduction xxiii)
And, therein lies the rub. I've seen way too many people who want to talk a good game, but are in no way a part of that priest(ess)hood.
They have no understanding of the deep connection one must have with the earth and Her magics, nor of the service to Mystery that a witch (through inner initiation) covenants to keep. They talk too much, they distill the term "witch", and they do not honor The Craft. (There's that word, "honor" again. It's becoming a rare and precious asset these days.) They exploit the name 'Witch' for what they can get out of it (money, fame, attention).. but, that's not what it means to be one.
Being a witch is a sacred birthright, and the understanding of the responsibility carried therein. Sometimes, even a witch seems to forget his/her pledge and power- though, not for long. There is always the call to remember, and to get back on track. Ly isn't joking when she says "there is no turning back".
We should be careful about our online time and associations. While it's great to interact with others via the interwebs and social media, it can take a lot out of a witch, in particular. Swimming in Lake Logos for too long can infect us, and dilute our sense of purpose.
We need time with The Mystery and the little magics in the world- and that they need us, too. This symbiotic relationship is also the very definition of a witch. She needs her time in the Wild. He needs to consult with Nature and The Mystery..and it stems from our sacred obligation; our geis. Talking and writing about it all is fine, but without action and practice, it means nothing.
Yes, that's both what being a witch is and isn't, but I'm not ready to go back yet. The Mystery is here at the Wildwood Gate and The Watcher has appeared. I'm going to sit and listen and remember. Feel free to stay.
"I am forgotten until you remember me,
I am the living root; the forever Tree---
I await beneath the senses for the soul who truly listens
with an ear to hear my mystery...
and in the song of such a one I am remembered;
and remembering will set the sacred free
to walk through dreams that can rebuild the ancient trackways,
to awaken memories of fires on the hills,
to call the faidh and the ceoltóirí to attend me
As I plant the living legends in the places of the deep,
(where the forgotten ones still sleep)
of the forest of profusion of the ever-living Tree.
I am the Watcher of the Gate--I am not found
in any book already written, already printed, already bound
but in the spaces yet to be heard;
in the mystery of the yet-to-be-written word.
Ancient Now. Alive divine.
Prepare a place for me; a face for me.
Deny me not; I am the legend of the Vine.
And I am yours, beloved---you who hear me
And in an act that holds to nothing, we entwine."~ Ly De Angeles (excerpt: The Watcher)
Logos: broken down to its simplest meaning, is defined as "The Word". We're bombarded by "the word" every day, and especially in the netverse where the word rules over all.
So, I've come the shore of the Wildwood Gate to contemplate what what it means to be a witch; and of course, that will entail what it doesn't mean as well. If you've been swimming out there a little too long, you are welcome to visit with me here, while I mull this over. Before I do, this isn't a "slam" on anyone, personally. Just because someone isn't a witch doesn't mean he/she can't be a practitioner of magic or a Wiccan, Pagan or Druid, Asatru (insert your brand of Pagan here). And, with that said...
In my opinion, no other person has ever been able to define the term as well as Ly De Angeles.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| Click here to buy |
And, frankly, I'm seeing a lot of "wanna-be witches" hanging around the social media sites I frequent. They talk a good game, but when it comes down to it, I don't believe they have the first clue as to what it means to be a witch.
My friend Jaime is someone I met via Witchvox when I moved back home to WV in 2004. She and I corresponded online, then on the phone, then chose to meet up at a coffee shop with other witches at the time.
As soon as I met Jaime, I knew she was a natural witch, and I told her that. The girl emanates power... not a "I'm-here-to-dominate-you" kind of power, but the kind of earth magics that only another witch can identify. The other people I met that night were all in the "wanna-be" category.
There was one who tagged me and Jaime right off.. she could, at the very least, sense the power. But, she wanted to use us, and she actually told both of us that if we ever crossed her, she would (insert wanna-be threats of curses here). She held the title of "high priestess" in this "coven of traditional witches".
I warned Jaime that she didn't need what this woman had to offer. Jaime wanted training, but I told her, "people will try to train the witch right out of you". And, I was right.
After I went back to Maryland, that's what they tried to do to her. But, she wouldn't let it happen. She's too smart for that. They couldn't be her, and they couldn't take from her what wasn't freely given. She couldn't make them something they were not. She couldn't make them witches by association.
So, she returned to her woods where she is home and safe and can just be who/what she is, and she doesn't need someone who isn't a witch to tell her how to honor her birthright- she innately knows it already.
Ly De Angeles: "A witch realizes certain powers: represents, rather than worships them: calls them Goddess and God (without it being a fixed, or boxed theology) and invokes them in the vast forces of nature and beyond that (within other frames of reference)." (pg 47)
And then, she goes on to something much more controversial. She speaks to two expressions that are common within The Craft. "A witch is born, not made" and "It takes a witch to make a witch."
"1. It's in the blood, no matter how many generations it may not have been acknowledged (and self-preservation may very well have been why seven or ten or fifteen or more generations ago your ancestor shut up about it and did not pass the knowledge down the line). Like a dormant seed, it waits until the season is fertile for it to germinate.
2. Unless the witch is willing to take initiation when the magic calls, and to actively, consciously and with free will, walk across the line to live in the world but not of it, and to take the oaths of priesthood, then the line is not crossed. The power will withdraw because it knows the witch is not ready. 'Some other time,' it seems to say. That's okay, too, understand, because you won't be the same as everyone else."( pp 48,49)
The magic calls to you, not the other way around. It isn't something you get to put on and play dress-up with, like a ritual robe and some gothy makeup, and take off when you're finished playing around. You can learn all the public witchy terms you want, and you can dress up and play the part, but The Mystery knows, and you know that you're not really fooling anyone. To be a witch is to enter into a sacred contract and take on a lifelong responsibility. It is not a religion. I cannot emphasize that strongly enough.
My friend Rhonda serves The Mystery honorably. I watch her daily trying to wake people up to the damage they are doing to the Earth. I feel her pain, even though she may not know it. Her spirit is sometimes bruised and bloodied from beating itself up against the brick wall of apathy. But, she keeps going. Why? Because...
"Once you have chosen to take upon yourself the obligations of the practice of Witchcraft, then the effects, or the immanence, of this way of life will be bestowed on you from aligned intelligences, and so will the tests that accompany them.
Anyone who willingly opens themselves to the powers beyond the veil of manifestation (as we understand it) opens themselves to the possibility of inner initiation. Witches know that they are witches., but initiation is what seals that knowledge through the power of ritual and intent inherent within the process itself, to a deeper strata of recognition and response both within oneself and from the powers to which we are oathed. Once initiation has occurred, there is no turning back-- you will quest all your life; it is not a thing to do thoughtlessly" (Introduction xxiii)
And, therein lies the rub. I've seen way too many people who want to talk a good game, but are in no way a part of that priest(ess)hood.
They have no understanding of the deep connection one must have with the earth and Her magics, nor of the service to Mystery that a witch (through inner initiation) covenants to keep. They talk too much, they distill the term "witch", and they do not honor The Craft. (There's that word, "honor" again. It's becoming a rare and precious asset these days.) They exploit the name 'Witch' for what they can get out of it (money, fame, attention).. but, that's not what it means to be one.
Being a witch is a sacred birthright, and the understanding of the responsibility carried therein. Sometimes, even a witch seems to forget his/her pledge and power- though, not for long. There is always the call to remember, and to get back on track. Ly isn't joking when she says "there is no turning back".
We should be careful about our online time and associations. While it's great to interact with others via the interwebs and social media, it can take a lot out of a witch, in particular. Swimming in Lake Logos for too long can infect us, and dilute our sense of purpose.
We need time with The Mystery and the little magics in the world- and that they need us, too. This symbiotic relationship is also the very definition of a witch. She needs her time in the Wild. He needs to consult with Nature and The Mystery..and it stems from our sacred obligation; our geis. Talking and writing about it all is fine, but without action and practice, it means nothing.
Yes, that's both what being a witch is and isn't, but I'm not ready to go back yet. The Mystery is here at the Wildwood Gate and The Watcher has appeared. I'm going to sit and listen and remember. Feel free to stay.
"I am forgotten until you remember me,
I am the living root; the forever Tree---
I await beneath the senses for the soul who truly listens
with an ear to hear my mystery...
and in the song of such a one I am remembered;
and remembering will set the sacred free
to walk through dreams that can rebuild the ancient trackways,
to awaken memories of fires on the hills,
to call the faidh and the ceoltóirí to attend me
As I plant the living legends in the places of the deep,
(where the forgotten ones still sleep)
of the forest of profusion of the ever-living Tree.
I am the Watcher of the Gate--I am not found
in any book already written, already printed, already bound
but in the spaces yet to be heard;
in the mystery of the yet-to-be-written word.
Ancient Now. Alive divine.
Prepare a place for me; a face for me.
Deny me not; I am the legend of the Vine.
And I am yours, beloved---you who hear me
And in an act that holds to nothing, we entwine."~ Ly De Angeles (excerpt: The Watcher)