It just might be me. Or you. Let me explain.
In the most simplistic terms, magic is freedom and those who use it to better their lives are free. We have realized our right to be happy, our right to withhold ourselves from those who don't deserve us, our right to choose the course of our lives. We are self-aware and capable of handling the responsibility of being so. That is the very nature of freedom, and to the establishment under which we live, it is a terror.
Those who are free don't feel the need to do what others do. They don't rely on convention to train and control them. They don't want what others want. They are unpredictable, and that's a scary thing. Are you that sort of unpredictable? Do you go your own way no matter where it may lead? Take a look at the following list of brave and bold thoughts that just such a person thinks and see just how dangerous you are!
1. Your Rules are for You
A witch doesn't have to subscribe to your ideas of right and wrong. Not only do many of us take our magical practice as a spiritual discipline--and therefore hold values separate and distinct from other belief systems--but we also have a unique understanding of how right and wrong are measured, what happens in the event of each, and how imbalances are rectified.
Because we have these feelings of our own, we're not waiting to be given limits by society. Because we see how we are different, we know that options exist and are not afraid to choose.
2. Doing What Needs Done Does Not Mean Waiting for Karma
Sitting on my ass was not in the brochure. A powerful person who watches wrongs be committed, and then does nothing to prevent, stop, or serve justice for it, is culpable for that wrong.Occultists are powerful people with talent and training behind us. We can and should make things right. I would never let the greater suffering of harm against an innocent exist just to spare myself possible retribution for harm against the guilty. That's the price I pay for desiring the knowledge I now have. If I can do something, I must do something.
3. It Doesn't Matter if We Agree
I genuinely don't care if we can't find common ground. I didn't ask your permission any more than you asked mine.That sounds a little harsh, but completely true. I feel this way whether I'm being scorned by religious types who disapprove of my lack of godliness (despite following many more gods than them! Hmmmph!) or discussing my outsider attitudes with other magical folk. We can talk about it but when it comes to being capital-R Right, I am going to throw up both hands and call it a day. It isn't something that can be decided by two humans with disparate beliefs in intangible topics.
And I've got things to do, kid, I can't stand around arguing all day.
4. Freedom Gives Me Strength
I like--no, wait---I adore setting my own standards. The gift of freedom is that I can choose what I personally feel is important, what is my weight in the world, and how I know if I'm doing the right thing or not. That's far more than fear of divine smite.
That's for me to decide based on several factors: my upbringing, my current environment, my experiences, those of others around me, the idealized images I have
in my head, traits which are revered in mythology, actions of fictional characters whom I idolize, and real life role models whom I respect. When all this comes together to help me form a sense of personal morality, I have a far greater number of options open to me than most others.
Because of this, I can be a better problem solver with far less stress than those whose broad boundaries keep them in narrow spaces.
5. Wisdom is Actually Really Simple
Because I Have Experienced, I Have Learned. Because I Learned, I am Wise.It's just that easy. And exactly that painful.
If you don't dare, you'll never understand, and understanding is the basis of all the great things humanity wishes for itself. You must go into the scary, dangerous places to find treasure. And this goes double for the places that the world around you keeps telling you is scary. Don't follow in the fears of others.
6. I Have a Low Tolerance for Bullshit in My Personal Life
Ya know, I might cast a low-level curse on you just because you annoy me. That's what the Evil Eye is all about, so don't start getting high and mighty on me! I'll tell you like it is and then, if that's not enough, I'll mess up your world. Simple as that.Witches must realize that who we are in magical terms is the same damn person we are in the mundane. If you're a horrible bitch to me when you see me in the neighborhood, but then look down your nose at the thought of hexing because you'd never taint your soul that way, you've totally missed the train on your own ethical code. And though you revile mine, I'm actually living by it. Go figure.
So there's the rub--my love of all shades of magic can be unpopular in certain occult circles, but I dole out wickedness in my magic to the same degree that I do as a regular person. I wouldn't run up to a stranger and punch them in the face, and neither would I cast a curse on someone who had done me no wrong.
The simple fact is that if you are in my way enough, bad enough, mean enough, and detrimental enough for me to bitch you out in regular life, then you can definitely expect a healthy dose of black magic coming your way. Consider yourself warned.
7. However, I Have a Much Higher Tolerance for It in My Professional Work
This is where being objective really comes into play.I'm not going to agree to curse your cousin Debbie just because she made you look stupid at the last family reunion. Get your shit together. I will offer advice--maybe a free tarot reading, too--but I'm not ruining people's lives over your small, unpleasant experience.
Unless you pay me really well--then we'll do this thing!
And there's the other side of being a business--I'm selling what you're buying and not the other way around. I set my limits on what I'll do with my magic, naturally, but sometimes the line drawn can be moved as the price rises. I've turned down offers to blight, to disease, to tear relationships apart--and I've said no. And then again, for other situations, for much, much higher fees, I've done all those things and been pleased at the results.
Real morality is complex and real freedom is almost frightful. The level of accountability that comes with both is too much for some people, and defiantly too much for some witches. But for those of us who tread outside the norm and dare to find our own way to the great repository of wisdom waiting for us all, the rewards are too great to ignore, the call to adventure too thrilling to let pass by unanswered.
Images from:
giphy.com/gifs/strength-tarot-cards
folkmagicfestival.com/2016-folk-magic-festival-schedule-of-events
gothicandamazing.tumblr.com
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