This is the seventh piece I've posted on this site, and by now you may have inferred via the obvious clues I've dropped that I'm not too fond of most witchy sayings. Well, if you got that, genius, you're right. If not, and you didn't just get here, then you're not smart enough to understand this site, and I ask that you leave now. If you did just get here, click this and read to exclude yourself from my wrath against the stupid.
However, there is one that I have found that, above all others I've come across, proves that Wicca has hope. This one piece of advice, if heeded by the masses, would turn this NWO into the fucking laughingstock of the pagan community and maybe even the religious community at large. If heeded, this bit of advice would improve interpagan relations hundredfold. It's the best piece of wisdom I've ever come across in a Wiccan book, and while I've seen it in many forms, I present it to you as follows:
Now I'm going to expound this common adage, juxtaposing common sense, wisdom and my ever insidious venom in one lovely expanse of silver and red.
But before I begin, I'd like to mention (because I know some dipshit's going to whine at me about this) that I am well aware that I'm about to make blanket statements. I'm fully conscious of the fact that not all witches think like I do; indeed, I feel that if they did, this world would be a better place (that's not being narcissistic, just honest). I also feel I must clarify that my definition of the word witch is someone with magical powers, and has no religious connotation whatsoever. Okay, that's cleared up, so on with the show.
I have never met a stupid witch. Sure, I've met plenty of stupid Wiccans, but I've never met a stupid witch. I've met asshole witches, and I've met feminazi witches, and I've met mean witches, and a couple of sick fucking witches, but never in my life have I met a stupid witch. Why? Because witches can't be stupid. It's impossible to wield significant magical power without extensive knowledge and/or study. I'll admit myself that I'm no grand wizard of anything. I've never made a mountain move. I've never flown of my own accord. I've never cast a lightning bolt on someone. I've never succeeded with telekinesis, clairvoyance, or any of the other new-agey bullshit being thrown around now. While I don't challenge the existence of such talents, I have studied enough about them to where I know what I can and cannot do. So that's not what I mean by stupid. You want to know what stupid is? Watch C-Span late at night. Watch Jackass. Go to your local mall and watch the pubescent boys try to act cool. Watch people drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. That's stupid.
See, the reason I've never succeeded at telekinesis or any of that jazz is because success at magical disciplines takes a lot of time and effort that currently I've invested elsewhere. However, I am not wasting my potential, as I am investing my effort in learning. I am constantly reading books, talking with experienced witches of all sorts of paths, voicing my opinions on here and watching myself morph into the magus I'm sure to become. I feel I am a Witch because I do have magical power (my power is mostly used in candle magic, energy manipulation and crowd-working), and I am constantly seeking knowledge and wisdom.
The way of the witch is to know. And that involves knowing that you don't know everything, and knowing where you ought to seek. The way of the witch is to know, and I do. I am a Witch.
I have never met a chicken shit witch. Sure, I've met a wussy Wiccan or two or twenty score, but let's face it: magic is the manipulation of energy through one's WILL. If a witch doesn't have willpower, her spell ain't gonna make it past her fucking mouth. You can say all the lovely Enochian keys you want, or invoke all the powerful deities you like, or do happy little spiral dances until womyn and men are finally unequal, but if you don't invest any of yourself into your work, you're not going to reap anything significant. Let me analogise this to the slots in a casino: You can sit for hours with a bucket of nickels at the 5¢ slots. Sure, you won't waste a lot of money, but you'll waste a lot of time and your payouts won't be anything over fifty bucks. However, if you play the $20 machines, your investment is greater and your risks are greater, but the payout is much more rewarding in the end. In order to walk out with five G's, you're gonna have to invest more than a nickel at a time. Witchcraft ain't for the half-assed.
Now, sure, we're not perfect. I sure as hell ain't. And I'm not motivated all the time either. Often I'll plop on my bed and wonder why the fuck I even bother fighting. But after a few minutes of self-loath and moping about, I get sick of being pitiful and I become the Witch that I am. Why? Because the way of the Witch isn't to go "poor pity me, I'm being pewsecuted for my wewigion and the church is out to get me and all those Kwistians are mean woman-hating conniving evangewistic types who want to see me burn in Hell". No. The way of the Witch is to WILL. And anyone who stands in my way to will shall suffer the consequences.
Please don't read into this the wrong way: I'm not saying "I'm my own witch and I can do what I want!" While that is indeed theoretically permissible under my moral umbrella, it ain't gonna happen. I have a conscience, I have ethics, I have morals and I have a code of honour, all of which I do my best to uphold to the fullest at all times. However, when I know I'm right, I stick to my guns and I stick to my faith. There comes a time when that's all you have: your mind as your strength, your faith as your weapon, and your will to put behind it. The way of the Witch is to will, and I do. I am a Witch.
Witches don't let themselves be governed by fear. Sorry to burst your bubble, but we don't. Fuck any of the spineless pieces of shit that do, and shame on them if they claim to be Witches. Wiccan or not, anyone who is afraid to chase their dreams is a miserable failure of a Witch.
See, there are things that I do not understand. I'm human, just like everyone else. I'm also quite young (as I write this, I am only 20). I'm barely even beginning to scratch the surface as far as real magical power goes. I know this. For about five years now, I've had all the pieces to the puzzle, but I never had the guts to put it all together. Why? Because I was afraid I wasn't going to like the person that I saw in the portrait. I was afraid I wouldn't like me.
Slightly off topic here: have you ever looked into a mirror? Of course you have. Have you ever scried in a mirror? Probably. Notice that the first thing you see once you look into a scrying mirror (or bowl or lake or whatever) is yourself. When you finally have the strength to tear away at your monsters (memories, prejudices, abuse, etc.) all you're left with is you. If you don't like yourself, then you have to make changes in order to make yourself acceptable by your own standards. At least, that's what I did. I had to dare. I had to take the chance that I wouldn't like what I'd become.
The end result was that I didn't like what I was becoming. I had ceased magical ritual altogether in favour of floating around message boards. i had ceased music in favour of video games. I had ceased being Obsidian and became a corporate slave. I even entertained the idea of adopting the ever-so-common magical name Taliesin (no offense to the zounds of Tallybards out there)! Now how fluffy is that!? To be honest, I didn't like what I had become. So I took a few days, reflected on who I was, who I wanted to be and what I needed to do to get there.
Since doing this spring cleaning (as I call it, as this was only about a month ago) I have had three bands ask me to audition, I have been invited into several private anti-fluffy mailing lists, made friends with some very wise Witches and all in all have a better sense of who I am. I still haven't worked my timetable out yet to allow a satisfactory amount of time for ritual and meditation, but that's in the works, and I know it's in the works, and I am working on it.
In sum, the way of the witch is to dare, and I do. I am a Witch.
I've found that a lot of people have differing ideas on what "to keep silent" actually means. For some, it means the total shrouding of their magical life. Indeed, many witches you will encounter will leave you no clue whatsofuckingever about their path. For some, it means omission of critical details, usually oathbound details such as demographics and internal operations of their covens, chosen gods and ritual workings. For some, it means being open but not standing out on the street corner going "LOOK AT ME, I'M A WITCH!!!". And for others, like me, it means letting your actions speak louder than your words.
See, you can tour the country claiming to be a bridgebuilder. You can go to a thousand towns and claim a thousand times that you're a bridgebuilder, but are you? No, you're a self-promoter, unless you build bridges. The same goes for Christians. A dude can stand on the street corner and pass out Jack Chick tracts and recruit as many souls as they can for the churchy bandwagon, and he still won't be a Christian. A true Christian (per my subjective definition) follows Christ, and lets his love for humankind and for God permeate every facet of his being, his thoughts, his words and his deeds. A true Moslem follows the teachings of the Qu'ran, in complete submission to Allah. A true bridgebuilder builds bridges. A true saxophonist lets her horn do the singing. And a true Witch lets his power speak for itself. A real Witch doesn't have to boast about being able to control the weather. A real Witch doesn't have to go on talk shows to try and "dispel the myths" (especially when those myths are being replaced with other myths!). A real Witch doesn't have to do any promotion of her power, because a Witch is someone with magical skill, and just like with any skill, including bridge building, the skill and its fruit will speak for themselves. To be silent, to me, is to be honest. I may be one of the loudest motherfuckers you'll ever come across, but the way of the witch is to keep silent, and despite my vociferousness, I do. I am a Witch.
In conclusion: know what you want to be, will yourself to seek Truth, dare to find it, and be honest and hold back on the boasting: let your successes and failures illustrate you for the person you are, and the Witch that you are. That's the only way you're going to be taken seriously by serious Witches, and that's the only way you're going to be taken seriously by the most important Witch you'll ever come across: yourself.
Also, I'd like to confide that this essay means a lot to me. This essay was a sort of initiation for me, in that in this essay I have finally said what I wanted to say. I think I have finally found how to express what I really believe, and I think I'm on the right track. I can only hope that, if you are still seeking Truth, that you question what you believe and why, what you practice and why, and how you live what you believe and practice...and I hope I have helped in some way. Cheers.
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