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http://www.freewebs.com/nonwiccanwitch/index.htm
I think the following passage is my favorite part, since I know a lot of witches who believe that you need to go through initiations and rituals before you can actually be called a witch, which I think is insulting to those of us who have practiced witchcraft (even if we didn't know it) all our lives:
"No one else decides if you are a witch or not; you decide yourself. Once you decide, you are, because you always were. The notion that someone else decides whether you have supernatural powers or not comes from hermetic/religiously based magic mentioned in the previous paragraph, from snobs who believe one should only be allowed to use magic if one has a high IQ or an “acceptable” way of thinking, and from certain people who believe that such things only run in families, kind of like in Harry Potter. The basic fact of our non-Wiccan witchcraft is that magic is an inborn talent of all human beings to develop and use as they see fit. If you choose to go the mystery school (hermetic)/religious route, more power to you. But you do not have to, and never let anyone try to convince you that there is only one way (that being the hermetic/religious way)."
I like to think of magic the way I think of art, writing, singing, cooking, and most other crafts, talents, and skills. Anyone can do it. Some are better than others. Some are born with an innate gift that takes their natural ability far beyond the average artist or practitioner. A magic practitioner (witch, mage, sorcerer, wizard; etc) is no different than a painter, a writer, a chef, a sculptor, a singer, in that the ability to apply the craft must be learned, studied, practiced, and continuously polished as one goes. There is always room for improvement, even among the masters. Just because a singer is born with a fantastically natural voice and can sing rings around legendary recorded music artists doesn't mean she can get a record deal with the snap of a finger -- she still needs to visit producers, go to auditions, practice with teachers, study music itself, and learn everything she can.
I'm a writer. Further, I am an aspiring author. Yes, I've been writing naturally since the age of five, I knew how it all worked when I was very young, and I astounded people with my poems and stories. However, I'm not an author yet. I have a lot of work to do. Yet I can still call myself a writer because I practice my craft every day, hone my skills, and produce good work.
A person can have loads of talent and a massive natural gift, but if nothing happens to nurture that talent, it just goes to waste. Just like magic.
I think the following passage is my favorite part, since I know a lot of witches who believe that you need to go through initiations and rituals before you can actually be called a witch, which I think is insulting to those of us who have practiced witchcraft (even if we didn't know it) all our lives:
"No one else decides if you are a witch or not; you decide yourself. Once you decide, you are, because you always were. The notion that someone else decides whether you have supernatural powers or not comes from hermetic/religiously based magic mentioned in the previous paragraph, from snobs who believe one should only be allowed to use magic if one has a high IQ or an “acceptable” way of thinking, and from certain people who believe that such things only run in families, kind of like in Harry Potter. The basic fact of our non-Wiccan witchcraft is that magic is an inborn talent of all human beings to develop and use as they see fit. If you choose to go the mystery school (hermetic)/religious route, more power to you. But you do not have to, and never let anyone try to convince you that there is only one way (that being the hermetic/religious way)."
I like to think of magic the way I think of art, writing, singing, cooking, and most other crafts, talents, and skills. Anyone can do it. Some are better than others. Some are born with an innate gift that takes their natural ability far beyond the average artist or practitioner. A magic practitioner (witch, mage, sorcerer, wizard; etc) is no different than a painter, a writer, a chef, a sculptor, a singer, in that the ability to apply the craft must be learned, studied, practiced, and continuously polished as one goes. There is always room for improvement, even among the masters. Just because a singer is born with a fantastically natural voice and can sing rings around legendary recorded music artists doesn't mean she can get a record deal with the snap of a finger -- she still needs to visit producers, go to auditions, practice with teachers, study music itself, and learn everything she can.
I'm a writer. Further, I am an aspiring author. Yes, I've been writing naturally since the age of five, I knew how it all worked when I was very young, and I astounded people with my poems and stories. However, I'm not an author yet. I have a lot of work to do. Yet I can still call myself a writer because I practice my craft every day, hone my skills, and produce good work.
A person can have loads of talent and a massive natural gift, but if nothing happens to nurture that talent, it just goes to waste. Just like magic.
