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?

Roots of Your Craft - Day 3

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

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:

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. 

The original post is here for those who are interested

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

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

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.

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.