Am I A Witch?

Have you read all those books that people recommended to you? Good. Have you tried a few basic spells? Wonderful. Still wondering if you're really cut out for this nature-based religion thing? Thought so. It isn't as hard as people might make it out to be actually. Great mystic moments where the universe reveals itself to you aren't required. If you were going to wait for one you'd be sitting around for a long time hoping for something that might never come, so it might be good to give up on that idea for a little while. But then what do you do? Well I suppose you haven't figured it out yet then have you? Oh don't worry, it's not as much of a problem as it may seem, I have a few spare minutes and if you do too then pull up a chair and I'll explain. You see, in earth religions there's a bit of a duality. Sure, we might use fancy tools, and expensive incenses and essential oils, but that isn't all of it. Way back when the way things are now were only a dream of the future the village wise women used whatever was available to them. There were no mass-production factories churning out incense for them and they didn't get a catalog in the mail offering the latest in scented candles. Herbs were gathered in the time of year that they grew, or not at all... What's that you say? Ah, you don't think that's important to you because we have grow lamps and indoor heating... Well that's where you're missing the most important thing. You see, when we use those things, the plants are made to live by our schedule instead of us going out and learning about theirs. Understand that much? Great, that's only part of it, but an important part. So let's continue... Everything in nature religions tends to be centered on the rhythms of nature. When many people write a ritual they'll think of what season and moon phase and maybe even day of the week it should be done during. The cycles that we look at for this have nothing to do with the weather inside your house or under your grow lamps. The important thing is what's happening outside, what the earth is doing, whether the ground is covered in a carpet of grass or a blanket of snow. If you want to know whether a nature religion is good for you, you have to think about whether these natural cycles mean anything to you. Wait! Don't leave yet, I'm not quite done explaining. Okay, you may think that this all sounds like nonsense, and that there's no possible way of making use of it, but before we're done today I'll have given you one very easy way to try out. Here's what you should do: Wait till a nice night, comfortable temperature, clear sky, moon high above. Turn out the lights in your house, go outside, and just sit for a while. Don't try to do anything in particular, just sit and listen to the night and look at the stars, and come inside whenever you feel ready. What you really need to ask yourself about this experiment is what did it make you feel? How does the night affect you? What's so important about this? Okay okay I'm getting there. You see, if you felt nothing, absolutely nothing, then you might want to start looking at non-nature religions. Yes, there are some that use magick and all that so don't worry too much. No, this doesn't mean that you can't possibly become a wonderful member of one of the many religions that celebrate the seasons. What is does mean, is that if you're sure that's the way you want to go, you need to start spending some time getting in tune with what you're celebrating. Otherwise, most of your religion will be focusing on something that really means nothing to you. Understand now? Good.

This article has also appeared at: The Witches' Voice (Monthly Essay Section) Note: Though Witchcraft isn't necessarily a seasonal religion, the title of this essay was chosen to reflect the type of Witchcraft reflected at the site it was written for. (Witches' Voice) Return to the Library. Or go back to the Moonlit Grove main page. This site is Copyright ©1998 Cossie All Rights Reserved The current URL is http://www.geocities.com/Athens/1492/library/am_i.html

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