In keeping with our theme of the 4 Powers of the Sphinx, aka The Witches' Pyramid, let's discuss the phrase, "To Dare". A lot of times, you'll see this after "To Will". To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silent. In some cases, you'll see it as "To Know. To Dare. To Will. To Keep Silent". Order can be important, so choose for yourself which works for you. I'm going with "To Dare" as the second step of the pyramid. I think this is one of the most misunderstood aspects, and the least practiced.
First, let's look at the etymology of the word, dare:
dare (v.) ~ from first and third person singular of Old English durran "to brave danger, dare; venture, presume," from Proto-Germanic *ders- (cf. Old Norse dearr, Old High German giturran, Gothic gadaursan), from PIE *dhers- "to dare, be courageous" (cf. Sanskrit dadharsha "to be bold;" Old Persian darš- "to dare;" Greek thrasys "bold;" Old Church Slavonic druzate "to be bold, dare;" Lithuanian dristi "to dare," drasus "courageous").
An Old English irregular preterite-present verb: darr, dearst, dear were first, second and third person singular present indicative; mostly regularized 16c., though past tense dorste survived as durst, but is now dying, persisting mainly in northern English dialect. Meaning "to challenge or defy (someone)" is first recorded 1570s.
*Source: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=dare
So, as you can see, it's an action word, that involves braving danger, venturing forth, to presume... I found the word 'presume' most interesting. It's etymology comes from Latin and French, and I'm particularly interested in it's meaning, "to take upon oneself".
A Mantle
I believe that's where the word 'dare' in this context has its most significance. When practicing the craft, it is necessary to know (which we discussed last week), but also to have the understanding of what you are taking on when doing so. A lot is written and spoken about "do as you will, if it harms none". When daring, or taking on the responsibilities/consequences, this comes into the picture. I'm not sure it's possible to completely know that the action you take is not going to harm someone.. any action I take in life may cause harm to another creature, whether I'm aware of it or not. However, that's not an excuse for me to simply act without contemplation, either.
ATNA?
I'm of the belief that this isn't really the prevalent problem with those in The Craft today. I believe, more than anything, it's a situation of ATNA (all talk, no action). I see a lot of people in social media circles, in their blogs, etc... telling everyone else how to do things. There seems to be a vast supply of 'teachers' and 'knowledge keepers' and very few actual practitioners. To KNOW is the first step, by all means.
To DARE says, "You've gotten the easy part done." Daring means you have agreed to take on the mantle of responsibility, and act upon what you know. Gathering vasts amounts of knowledge is a wonderful thing- if you plan to be a library. You cannot teach others if you've never dared to experience what's being taught. Oh, sure. You can TRY. Eventually, it becomes evident to your students that you don't have a clue as to what it's like to actually practice The Craft. It is the realm of fire, action, youth, vigor...
Daring requires courage
I've had several people approach me with wanting to teach others,yet they choose to remain in "the broom closet". Now, before I go further, I want to preface what I'm about to say with my understanding that there are very real, very valid reasons for wanting to stay in the broom closet... you have a job that you love and you have a family to support; you live in an isolated area where your life and family might be in physical danger if it were known that you are a witch... I get it.. I really do. There is no judgment in what I'm about to say, but it needs to be said.
There's a saying that life is full of little trade-offs. We all have choices to make. I say this with love. If you are too concerned with what others think about you.. if you are living in a state of worry about loss, then perhaps you shouldn't consider teaching The Craft to others. That requires a daring beyond simple spells, rituals and magical names. It requires vulnerability, leadership, disclosure, flexibility, compassion, sensitivity, sensibility.... all of which hinge upon the courage of putting yourself out there.
It's okay. If your current set of friends is more important.. if you love the job you have more, then by all means, stay your course. I'm not telling you to come out of the closet. I get it. But, trying to have one foot in and one foot out is not conducive to teaching others, and certainly not in this day and age.
In the past, one might have been able to be a part of a coven, quietly learn and teach behind the veil of secrecy... but, in this world of social media where everyone's life is so openly on display, you can bet dollars to doughnuts that the minute you put your foot down, draw a line that someone can't cross, etc.. someone will 'out' you to the world, out of hurt feelings and lack of honor.
It's about priorities and geasa and birthrights. Only you can make the decision about where those all fit into your own life/destiny/wyrd/imramma. You can still be a witch, practice your craft within your set of parameters. But, living in the broom closet is going to limit you. It is a self-imposed geis of sorts. Again, completely understandable. It is not a situation where you can have your cake and eat it, too, no matter what the latest memes will tell you. That's not how it works.
Louder Than Words
Another idiom is that actions speak louder than words. Words are powerful. Words are used in spells. Intention (will) is critical. Without DARING, without that action, it's all impotent. When we say that we "practice" The Craft, we are declaring that we are acting upon our knowledge.
Practice - c.1400, "to do, act;" early 15c., "to follow or employ; to carry on a profession," especially medicine, from Old French pratiser, practiser "to practice," alteration of practiquer, from Medieval Latin practicare "to do, perform, practice," from Late Latin practicus "practical," from Greek praktikos "practical" (see practical).
From early 15c. as "to perform repeatedly to acquire skill, to learn by repeated performance;" mid-15c. as "to perform, to work at, exercise." Related: Practiced; practicing.
Practiced- expert.
In essence, we perform repeatedly to acquire skill and become an expert. To DARE requires that we walk away from the electronic devices, stop talking and start doing. Without this, we have no self-control, and have no power to accomplish anything.
In order to DARE we must KNOW; in order to WILL, we must DARE...
Next week, we'll take on "To Will". In the meantime, here's something you can do to help you in your pyramid-building.
Exercise:
Create a Vision Board for the phrase: TO DARE
Use fiery imagery, things that speak to you about courage, daring, bravery, and action, within the context of The Craft. Once you've created your vision board, meditate upon it for 3 days (at least 10 minutes per day), and then take action. Do something daring.
*hint* There's a new moon on March 30th ;)
You can also begin to build your own Witches' Pyramid. Here's a visual to help you get started.
First, let's look at the etymology of the word, dare:
dare (v.) ~ from first and third person singular of Old English durran "to brave danger, dare; venture, presume," from Proto-Germanic *ders- (cf. Old Norse dearr, Old High German giturran, Gothic gadaursan), from PIE *dhers- "to dare, be courageous" (cf. Sanskrit dadharsha "to be bold;" Old Persian darš- "to dare;" Greek thrasys "bold;" Old Church Slavonic druzate "to be bold, dare;" Lithuanian dristi "to dare," drasus "courageous").
An Old English irregular preterite-present verb: darr, dearst, dear were first, second and third person singular present indicative; mostly regularized 16c., though past tense dorste survived as durst, but is now dying, persisting mainly in northern English dialect. Meaning "to challenge or defy (someone)" is first recorded 1570s.
*Source: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=dare
So, as you can see, it's an action word, that involves braving danger, venturing forth, to presume... I found the word 'presume' most interesting. It's etymology comes from Latin and French, and I'm particularly interested in it's meaning, "to take upon oneself".
A Mantle
I believe that's where the word 'dare' in this context has its most significance. When practicing the craft, it is necessary to know (which we discussed last week), but also to have the understanding of what you are taking on when doing so. A lot is written and spoken about "do as you will, if it harms none". When daring, or taking on the responsibilities/consequences, this comes into the picture. I'm not sure it's possible to completely know that the action you take is not going to harm someone.. any action I take in life may cause harm to another creature, whether I'm aware of it or not. However, that's not an excuse for me to simply act without contemplation, either.
ATNA?
I'm of the belief that this isn't really the prevalent problem with those in The Craft today. I believe, more than anything, it's a situation of ATNA (all talk, no action). I see a lot of people in social media circles, in their blogs, etc... telling everyone else how to do things. There seems to be a vast supply of 'teachers' and 'knowledge keepers' and very few actual practitioners. To KNOW is the first step, by all means.
To DARE says, "You've gotten the easy part done." Daring means you have agreed to take on the mantle of responsibility, and act upon what you know. Gathering vasts amounts of knowledge is a wonderful thing- if you plan to be a library. You cannot teach others if you've never dared to experience what's being taught. Oh, sure. You can TRY. Eventually, it becomes evident to your students that you don't have a clue as to what it's like to actually practice The Craft. It is the realm of fire, action, youth, vigor...
Daring requires courage
I've had several people approach me with wanting to teach others,yet they choose to remain in "the broom closet". Now, before I go further, I want to preface what I'm about to say with my understanding that there are very real, very valid reasons for wanting to stay in the broom closet... you have a job that you love and you have a family to support; you live in an isolated area where your life and family might be in physical danger if it were known that you are a witch... I get it.. I really do. There is no judgment in what I'm about to say, but it needs to be said.
There's a saying that life is full of little trade-offs. We all have choices to make. I say this with love. If you are too concerned with what others think about you.. if you are living in a state of worry about loss, then perhaps you shouldn't consider teaching The Craft to others. That requires a daring beyond simple spells, rituals and magical names. It requires vulnerability, leadership, disclosure, flexibility, compassion, sensitivity, sensibility.... all of which hinge upon the courage of putting yourself out there.
It's okay. If your current set of friends is more important.. if you love the job you have more, then by all means, stay your course. I'm not telling you to come out of the closet. I get it. But, trying to have one foot in and one foot out is not conducive to teaching others, and certainly not in this day and age.
In the past, one might have been able to be a part of a coven, quietly learn and teach behind the veil of secrecy... but, in this world of social media where everyone's life is so openly on display, you can bet dollars to doughnuts that the minute you put your foot down, draw a line that someone can't cross, etc.. someone will 'out' you to the world, out of hurt feelings and lack of honor.
It's about priorities and geasa and birthrights. Only you can make the decision about where those all fit into your own life/destiny/wyrd/imramma. You can still be a witch, practice your craft within your set of parameters. But, living in the broom closet is going to limit you. It is a self-imposed geis of sorts. Again, completely understandable. It is not a situation where you can have your cake and eat it, too, no matter what the latest memes will tell you. That's not how it works.
Louder Than Words
Another idiom is that actions speak louder than words. Words are powerful. Words are used in spells. Intention (will) is critical. Without DARING, without that action, it's all impotent. When we say that we "practice" The Craft, we are declaring that we are acting upon our knowledge.
Practice - c.1400, "to do, act;" early 15c., "to follow or employ; to carry on a profession," especially medicine, from Old French pratiser, practiser "to practice," alteration of practiquer, from Medieval Latin practicare "to do, perform, practice," from Late Latin practicus "practical," from Greek praktikos "practical" (see practical).
From early 15c. as "to perform repeatedly to acquire skill, to learn by repeated performance;" mid-15c. as "to perform, to work at, exercise." Related: Practiced; practicing.
Practiced- expert.
In essence, we perform repeatedly to acquire skill and become an expert. To DARE requires that we walk away from the electronic devices, stop talking and start doing. Without this, we have no self-control, and have no power to accomplish anything.
In order to DARE we must KNOW; in order to WILL, we must DARE...
Next week, we'll take on "To Will". In the meantime, here's something you can do to help you in your pyramid-building.
Exercise:
Create a Vision Board for the phrase: TO DARE
Use fiery imagery, things that speak to you about courage, daring, bravery, and action, within the context of The Craft. Once you've created your vision board, meditate upon it for 3 days (at least 10 minutes per day), and then take action. Do something daring.
*hint* There's a new moon on March 30th ;)
You can also begin to build your own Witches' Pyramid. Here's a visual to help you get started.
| Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.  |
| The Witches' Pyramid |