Guess I can't blame my partner as he complains from inside the doorway. Try as I may, rarely can I get to sleep until midnight is well past. Sometimes it must be tough living with a witch.
While he's zonked out, I'm sitting up by my candle, sipping herbal tea and playing with his three fluffy black cats and crystals.
This is my favorite time to meditate, study the books and allow my spiritual mind to soar.
As duality is the rule, my personal religious practices are the counterweight to the lore I share with others, interdependent. I need it for deep self-healing, also to recharge my powers to help others.
Without the Craft consistent in my life, the parts become dissociate and weak. I have come to rely on this filter for truth and sensitivity.
Wicca is new to me - this is still my first year, but the thought of what's to come fills me with inspiration.
So many things make sense now. I see how all the good things I've done for others have elevated my position, and how the wrongs I've committed brought me down. And I now know the difference and can distinguish it in others.
How can we present the discovery of this great lie (the perception of witchcraft) that says something so kind is inherently evil? And how can we cleanse those who accept the lie about witchcraft, continue to perpetuate it and now pollute the Craft? How can we convince the people that evil does not belong in association with the true strength and meaning of the Wiccan's path?
Stop the hypocrisy,
Allisunn
Dear Allisunn,
Thank you for your letter; it reminds me how I too was once as idealistic as you are now. This is no doubt the correct place for you to be, in relation to your time and experience in the Craft.
The church, the media and the Hollywood mentality will continue to perpetuate the stereotype of witches as "dark, powerful and evil!" (as in the recent movie The Craft, reviewed in this issue), and some of us will adopt that image as our own identity. Many young people enter the Craft through the avenue you describe. It usually doesn't hold them for long, and they either drop out or move on to something with a bit more substance.
In my opinion, there is no time that we are not "on our path," so to speak. I think it's important to notice that you are asking us to cleanse those who you think are bad, or wrong. It's not our job to "cleanse" anyone who does not ask for it. Everyone is entitled to walk their own path; you don't have to be on the path with them, but I hope you honor it.
The implication is that there is something wrong with the "darkness," and I have to disagree. Everything in life is a balance of dark and light; we all have our dark side. If we didn't, maybe we would all be perfect humans, but the fact is that none of us are perfect (not even me!).
Blessings,
Sylvana
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