A cool wind blows across the fields, bringing Inspiration... Oh, cut the artsy BS already. This is Litha, the air issue in our elements series. Air is the intellectual element. We don't need the traditional "cool wind" and ancient European peasant stuff. For air, we need raw data and lots of it. Things to think about, not just to feel and admire their beauty.
This issue of Widdershins is full of, as one friend puts it, mental masturbation. The articles are things you look at and play with (in your mind) until you reach your desired level of satisfaction and/or understanding. And we have lots of things to think about. We have a review and poetry for those who want to start off with a quickie. A meditation and some articles for deeper thought. And my article about the Makah whale hunt for those who want to question beliefs we hold dear.
Air is the element of thinking and questioning. What are our beliefs, and why are they correct? More than any other issue I have worked on, the Makah whale hunt has brought those questions to the fore. Those of us here in the Northwest certainly can't avoid this issue, so we should use it to our mental benefit.
Let's ask some hard questions. What is right? Do we have a responsibility to act if we see others committing harm? What about an Internet chain letter that "threatens us with luck," as blackWing writes? The Wiccan rede: "An it harm none, do as you will," which many of us try to use as a moral guide, does not go this far.
What is power, and how and when should I use it? Do spells count? What about magick that will affect others? Before you decide to act, you must ask. If you don't do anything, is that decision also an exercise in power? What are its consequences? Is there some third way, a new way of looking at things?
There are no easy answers. If you disagree with us, if you have a different view, write us. We will print as many letters as we can, and respond to your comments; we might even print your view as an article.
Air carries our thoughts and communications to each other. Can that be a bad thing?
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