Are you a real Witch? 2002
Now normally my response to that would be - "Well, actually I'm a Styrofoam Witch."
But it's not always just Muggles who want to know. A lot of times the question is asked (in different forms of course) within our own Pagan Community. Every so often I hear comments from others that try to paint whole sections of the Community with a really broad brush. "Witch Craft isn't a religion" ('Scuse me?!) "They're just self-initiated." "Wicca is the religious aspect." ('Scuse me some more!?!) "Witches don't follow the Wiccan Rede." (Isn't that the 'Witch's Rede'?) "They're just young wannabe's" "They don't hold to the Three-Fold Law." (Well, even the 'Law of Return' will smack you upside the head on occasion!) "Wiccan's are just 'fluffy bunnies'" "It's the White Lighters that are the 'fluffy bunnies'" (Bunnies? When did we drag the Animal Kingdom into this?)
For a Community that prides itself on being open and accepting of everyone else's path - we certainly try to keep our own on the straight and narrow. OK, so what exactly is a real Witch, or Wiccan, or Pagan for that matter? Is it all of the above, none of the above and everything else in between? Isn't it any person who leaves that well-paved yellow brick road laid down by most mainstream religions in favor of that seldom trod dirt path, or even that old oiled down road complete with all it's overgrowth, and washouts and even ancient tire ruts? For each of us, that path is distinctively our own, each one different from the next whether we walk it alone or share it with others.
So yes, Dorothy, I really am a Witch. I'm a Witch who lives and breathes her religion every single day. I suppose, in some smaller way, I'm Wiccan as well. (Does that make me a Wiccan Witch?) Or would that be more appropriately Wicce? (I am female, after all)
If you talk to my Grand Mothers and Great Grand Mothers, (please let me know if you do) they'll probably tell you that the Craft is generations deep in my blood. Truthfully, I prefer to be called a Pagan. And when people in my own Community ask me, that's usually the answer I give them. For those who don't really need to know, that's just enough to keep them guessing. For those who understand, it's enough. They're all just labels after all. They really don't mean anything to anyone, except perhaps the person asking. My path is uniquely my own - and I will happily shine the light on it for any one who cares to follow it in search of their own path.
(Now, where did I put those Ruby Red Slippers?)
Welcome to the CircleOfOne Archives
Go Mbeannaigh (Gaelic, Ireland - Blessed Be)
Beannaichte Be (Gaelic, Scotland - Blessed Be)
Sonqongi Apukuna Wak'aychasunkiku
(Quechua, Peru - May the Heart of the Mountain bless you)
Xut Kala Xetl (Tlingit, Alaska - Blessed Be)
Seja Abençoado (Portuguese, Portugal - Blessed Be)
No comments:
Post a Comment