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SecularWitch: As always, this survey is directed towards a Witchcraft slant. You can put this as a pagan slant, but it is originally for witchcraft.
1. Is there any method to see if someone’s done witchcraft against you?

Oh sure, a lot of people have “alarms” for if something is thrown at them, and generally you’ll get an off feeling. Having people with experience poke around and divination can help you discover if it’s really an attack.

2. For books on witchcraft - how can you tell if an author is a good author?

Research research research. Google the person, find out if the masses find them credible, what they spout online. Then read with a very critical eye, double and triple checking all the info.

3. Can witchcraft raise the dead?

I have faith it’s possible, though I would not suggest it.

4. Do witches fly on brooms?

If they do, they really need to teach me the trick. No more walking for me!

5. Are male witches called ‘warlocks’?

They’re kinda called whatever they call themselves..? I would call them a witch, but that’s just me.

6. Why are there all these sites that keep saying that witches follow the Threefold law?

People often confuse Wicca with all witchcraft. We’re not all Wiccan, we don’t all have the same core beliefs.

7. Why do people keep interchanging witchcraft and wicca?

Lack of proper education on the topic. Wicca is definitely one of the most visible forms of witchcraft, so it becomes a reference point for people when there is no real consistant reference point to be had.

8. Is witchcraft a religion?

No, it’s a craft. It can be a fulfilling part of religion, but can also stand alone.

9. Do divinations really work?

I’ve had very good results with them.

10. What are the Burning Times?

The salem witch trials and the general witch hunt crazed time. What folk fail to realize while hopping up and down, waving their brooms at the injustice done to their people, the horror they faced, very few witches were probably killed during the time. It was largely religious hysteria which preyed on the vulnerable.

11. Why do some witches work naked?

Well I believe it’s required in Wicca, though I may be wrong. Personally, I do it because I prefer to come to my gods bare, and connect to the earth as closely as possible. I cloth myself when necessary.

12. Are there any rules in witchcraft?

It depends on your path.

“Don’t be an asshat” should definitely be a rule though. I’ll bring it up with the witch pope. Kidding!

13. Do you have to be in a coven to be a witch?

Not at all.

14. Where can I find Witchcraft spells?

Honestly, the internet is full of them, though you’ll have to test their reliability for yourself. There are many books available, and many people willing to give spell advice. Writing your own is always an option as well.

15. Isn’t there animal sacrifices in witchcraft?

Once more, it depends on your path.

I have never encountered a witch who uses them, but I’m sure there are paths that call for it. As long as it’s done humanely and with some thought, I do not see the problem with it.

ravens1991 asked: I noticed that you mentioned Sigyn in the Marvel world, and I was wondering how was she portrayed? She's also one of the many goddesses I worship and I was just curious about it.

I have no read the exact episodes of comics she appears in, so please excuse that my info has been gathered from the internet and what I’ve been told by people who have read them.

In the comics she was apparently tricked into marrying Loki, remaining with him only because she felt a marriage could not and should not be dissolved. She was then used as a plot point to illustrate how awful Loki was, being beaten and I believe raped (or at least the implication of rape). Apparently they’ve reintroduced her? I don’t know for sure.

I believe their relationship is much more loving than marvel gives credit for.

“Offensive” witch survey.

SecularWitch: This is a survey meant to bring up unpopular opinions about certain topics within Paganism, Witchcraft, and Occultism specifically related to Magical Traditions. So if you get offended, know that you were already prepared for that joyous feeling of offense! 

SecularWitch: So tell me how you feel about… 

1. The depiction of witches in the media or other forms of expression as evil, ugly women.

To a point it bothers me, but it seems to be less of an issue as you see this motif less and less. Even if it were an issue, it just gives us more room to break people’s stereotypes about these things.

2. Veganism and whether or not it should be part of a witchcraft or pagan lifestyle.

I believe it can be a healthy part of one’s lifestyle, pagan or otherwise, but I don’t believe is MUST be unless specifically instructed by one’s deity or specific path.

3. Animal sacrifices.

I think slaughtering animal you intend to eat as a sacrifice mightbe appropriate at some instances. I’m not so alright with slaughtering pets or animals obtained purely to be killed.

4. People who are against using anything but white magic.

Well, that’s a personal choice and it’s their right to stand by it, as long as they don’t go screaming at people who don’t practice what they consider to be white magic. Of course, I don’t exactly believe there’s a solid defined line in what’s “black” or “white” magic, but some folk stand by it.

5. The spelling of Magic (Majick, Malkizz?)

It’s kind of silly and unnecessary to INSIST it’s spelled a super special way to refer to “real magic.” It’s like how you spell fairy or vampire at this point. Heavily disputed and generally unimportant.

6. Meditation as a fix all for everything.

I really don’t think anything is a fix all for everything, except perhaps duct tape and bubble baths…

7. Necromancy and whether its ok to force the dead to come back into the realm of the living to divine from them.

I’m not a fan of forcing anything to do my bidding. I would prefer to ask politely and bribe with offerings of sweets. That said, I don’t work much with the dead, aside from the ones who come willingly and of their own volition to my home, and even that is mostly conversational.

8. Graveyards

Um…

Graveyards are pretty and very quiet… I don’t get the question.

9. The depictions of deities in works of fiction/the media

I want to be offended sometimes, but honestly I feel like if the deity themself was offended by it, they’d either make sure it wasn’t released, or kinda nudge how it was written. Yes, people are going to get things wrong, or at least what I consider wrong, but they’re human. We all have a limited point of reference for these things.

I’m only offended, truly, when deities are marginalized/used as a plot device like Sigyn was in the Marvelverse.

10. People who are older than 35, who call themselves your elders in witchcraft and demand that you give them respect.

I’m not ok with anyone DEMANDING too much respect aside from what they require to do their job. (For instance, teachers must receive a level of respect to be effective.)

Older does not equal wiser, though I’d be happy to learn from them and perhaps eventually gain respect for them and hopefully from them.

11. Z Budapest and her comments about Trans* people.

Honest to gods, I’m not familiar with this.

12. Negative emotions and people who consider them to be bad.

Well, in excess they can be very bad. I don’t think people should go around cursing the moment they get hurt, but I don’t think it should exclude them from “practicing” either. I would advise finding a way to eventually level out or direct the emotion, but we need to feel these things sometimes.

13. People on Tumblr who thing that they amount of followers that they have is directly proportional to how correct they are.

It’s kind of silly, though I figure the more people that watch me the more likely someone is to catch my mistakes and help me correct them, or give me some new insight or knowledge. Gotta love community

14. People who say that Satanists are actually just Christian’s in reverse.

Having written a paper on Satanism, I do recall a SPECIFIC type of Satanism being just that. That said, it is not true of ALL Satanists, or even most of them.

15. People who claim that their great-great-great-great-great-great ancestor was a witch, and there fore that they are more legitimate than anyone else.

I feel like it can definitely be a boon to have some “magic” in your bloodline, but it doesn’t make anyone more legitimate. It will only give you so much of a leg up if they left records of their craft or passed down some sort of wisdom. Even then, it’s going to take a lot of personal work.

Bonus rant question: when people tell you that you’re not a real witch/pagan/occultist.

I think this would only bother me if their reasoning was “witches don’t exist.”

Not sure if offended by fanfics revolving around the Marvel interpretations of the Norse gods, who I follow and sort of consider part of the family, or highly amused…

Thor would likely be offended…

Loki would likely be amused…

I am torn. Marvel verse Loki makes me said, but you have to appreciate the fandom appeal…

Snagged from witchyways.tumblr.com

Anything in italicswas retained from her post.

Please describe briefly your Path:
I’m…complicated.

Currently I’m something of a soft polytheistic, though I can feel that changing, who favors the Norse and Welsh pantheons. That’s the simple answer.

Please describe briefly how you practice it:
Simple offerings for the deities who I favor and who favor me, for at least the ones who like offerings, meditation, guide meditation for others, research, teach when I can, tend to the fairies that have taken residence in my home, and work towards being the person I hope to be. Every now and again I have little rituals in the woods. None of this is scheduled, or terribly regular, but I try.

When did you first commit to your Path?
Uh… I started really learning about things when I was…11? 12? I would devote myself for a few years, hang back for a while, recommit, as I felt things out.

My path is always changing so it’s hard to give a solid answer.

How is your practice different now than it was then?
So much different! I would be shocked to hear that anyone’s practice hadn’t changed much after a year or ten.

I try to stay away from hokey, new age, unresearched, wiccan things these days. I still use things I learned back then, but I’m a lot more incredulous and cautious.

Is your practice different today than how you thought it would be back then?
I sort of thought I’d be drop dead movie powerful by now.

So much for that dream. :P

Does your Path and core belief system differ now than how it was when you first started?
Yes and no. I still hold to some parts of the old system, but my fear has been shed along with my staunch belief of dark/light/good/evil.

What is your heritage and how does this inform your Path?
The more I think about it, the more I realize it heavily influences my path.

I am largely Greek and Welsh on my grandfather’s side, and German and Scottish on my Grandmother’s. We have a healthy dose of Southern folk tradition in there too.

So really, I’m going back to my roots. It does help when researching because my family has a passion for the myths and traditions of their ancestry.

What are your main influences for your Path?
Um, my heritage, my immediate family background, the people around me online and offline, research, and experience.

Which do you do more: practice or research?

Research. Not nearly enough of it at times, but then there’s never enough research.

Do you feel that one is more important than the other?
Research is always more important. You don’t just throw someone in the ocean without ever teaching them how to swim, what to expect, the dangers, the tricks, all that good stuff.

What values and ethics are important on your Path and in your practice?

Don’t use magic “against” anyone unless they’ve really fucked up.

Be hospitable.

Take care of people when you can.

Be kinder than I am often inclined to be.

What sort of cycles do you feel your practice goes through?

I’ll have periods of heavy activity and work, and then it’ll stop almost completely for a while, and then I’ll work super hard again, then nothing, and so on.

What is one of the greatest obstacles or struggles you have had to over come?

Expecting greater tangible results than I get, and seeing through bullshit that sounds pretty. It’s easy to believe pretty stories, but not always best.

How do you see yourself practicing in ten years?
I expect I’ll be incorporating it into keeping a hearth and protecting my children. Other than that, who knows?

How do you incorporate your practice into your life?

I have a small alter I don’t tend to very often, and I try to make offerings once a week.

Has walking your Path changed you as a person?

I want to say it’s made me a better, more compassionate, healthier, better informed person.

Do you consider yourself to be a priest/ess? How so?

I…

Well. My patron likes to call me her priestess, and other deities I’m come across call me her priestess.

I’ve never felt like I’ve done enough or know enough to be considered a priestess, but who knows.

A witch? How so?

I call myself a witch. I practice magic, I study it, I work to better what I do.

A shaman? How so?

No. NO. NO NO NO.

I lack the heritage, the training, and the cultural acceptance to ever get anywhere near that title.

Which matters more: getting the vocabulary right or the actual practice of what we are trying to define?

They both seem pretty damn important to me.

One of the most profound things anyone ever said to you was:

I’m sure there have been plenty of profound moments, but none come to mind.

A defining moment on your Path was:

Probably feeling Her unconditional acceptance that one night oh so long ago.

Have you ever taken a “leap of faith”?

I would say so. Hell I got a tattoo for my patron.

Please tell us something stupid, reckless or embarrassing you did once in your practice:

Still tryin to forget all about those days. Binding things with blood, no matter how minor, is bad. Took me ages to clear that whole mess up.

What is the most frustrating thing about your Path?

That I have no real point of reference

Have you ever been frightened?

Of course.

Can you perform ritual without a script?

I can. I only use “scripts” when I want to be very very precise.

Have you ever preformed spontaneous magick/spellcraft?
All the time. Most of my stuff is kinda on the fly.

What are you still exploring or experimenting with?

Everything.

What (or whom) are you the most committed to in your practice and on your Path?
Knowledge, personal progress, and of course, without doubt, Mother.

Ritual tools are …
shiny and pretty. I can take em or leave em, but they do give a sense of drama that I love. Of course they can be anything. My man uses a braid of my hair in his workings sometimes.

Magickal tools are …
See above.

The one thing you can’t do without is:

RESEARCH.

Seeking personal power is …
part of the package, for me at least.

It’s not the ultimate goal, but it helps.

Politics and your Path are …
connected.

One thing you wish people would understand about your Path and/or practice is:

I’m not “evil” for being ok with what might be considered dark.

I’m still not completely ok with the darker side of things but it’s not like I’m about to go all Buffy on every shadow that goes boo.

Do you teach?

I teach when I can, when I have something to offer. I love giving newbies their training wheels.

What do you feel is the role of clergy in modern Paganism and Heathenism?

I don’t really use or feel the need for clergy.

When the Veil (or Hedge!) is thin, how does that feel to you?
Sparkly? If that makes sense? The whole world tingles.

What entities do you work with most? (ancestors, gods, fae etc)
Deities, right now, though I’m trying to build my relationship with the fae and the ancestors.

What is your relationship with the Land?
Not anywhere close to where it needs to be.

The most important aspect of ritual is:

The symbols and their personal and greater significance.

The main purpose of ritual is:
To focus will to greatly affect something

What is the purpose of divination/dowsing (or whichever form of augury you use)

To help bring guidance.

What was the most difficult book you ever read? (Either difficult to understand or hard to face what it said or both)

Uh….

What book do you recommend the most to others?

I don’t, very often.

What is you favourite podcast (if any) and favourite blog (other than your own)?

I don’t listen to podcasts, honestly. I follow a lot of awesome blogs which you can find a list of on my page.

If you could impart only one last piece of wisdom or knowledge, or share one experience with the world at large, what would it be?

Ugh. I’m not really a wisdom dispenser….I guess….if something feels wrong, it probably is somehow. Research and cultural respect is very important, but following your gut can help you through difficult decisions or vague situations.

Is there an additional question you would like to see here? What is it? (please also answer)

I like specific questions about practices, but I don’t really have much to say about mine right now. Followers (and non-followers) feel free to ask me anything you want to know!

Please finish this meme with a picture, image or photograph of some sort: