Wednesday, January 29, 2014

Do You Ever Get Tired ...

 

...tired of reading the same shit over and over again? This week in blogland and Facebook it seems everyone has something to say about the Grammy performance of Katy Perry, American Horror Story ~ Coven, which person calling them self Witch feels it is appropriate to pass judgement on so many others who aren't in the inner circle and then try to convince everyone they are wholesome and only want the best, how we as Witches are supposed to dress (who decided we had a dress code??) and PLEASE! don't get  me started on the who stole which craft idea from who. It's disturbing to see so much energy wasted on trivial matters.

As a woman, wife, mother, grandmother, ME, Pagan and specifically a Witch, I honestly don't care how an entertainer's performance was received. I watched the video, I thought it was a great segment of the show, I was entertained, but did I get all butt hurt because someone who is supposed to be from a Christian family is flaunting her independence and possibly her choice to follow a different spiritual path? Ummm, NO! Katy Perry is a singer, an artist, she feeds on what is popular at the time to make a profit on her music. Was her costume a slap in the face to Witches far and wide? Not any more than those costumes from OZ, or Practical Magic, or The Craft or *gasp* AHS~Coven. Did she use stage props that *could* be attributed to Witchcraft or Satanism? Yes. Again, these are props, the show was in Hollywood, California for Pete's sake. Wake up Witches!! Not everyone is out to steal our identity or make a mockery of it either.

This brings me to my next point. How we as Witches dress on a daily basis. Most Witches I personally know dress one of two ways. What is expected of them in the corporate (employment) world if there is a dress code to follow. OR what ever they feel like wearing. I personally wear a lot of black. It's my favorite color and I feel empowered (and slimmer) when I'm dressed in black. I've also begun to wear whatever the fuck I feel like wearing. Specifically long, full flowing skirts in an assortment of colors (think broomstick skirts here). In the winter I wear tights or leggings and boots with them, in the summer it's cotton bicycle shorts and flip flops or sandals. DO I feel more empowered by the choice of what can be perceived as a Witchy wardrobe? Maybe, it mostly depends on what I'm doing, where I'm going and what sort of energy I want to give off. I can be just as powerful in jeans and a sweatshirt as I can in flowing skirts or robes.

Look, I've read book by many authors, Silver Ravenwolf, Francesca De Grandis, Raven Grimassi, Phyliss Curott, Laurie Cabot, Patricia Monaghan, Merlin Stone, Christopher Penczak, just to name a few, and even though they each have much to say about many things, I'm not about to single out one or two of these amazing authors and claim they have the better attitude about how to practice, what to use on your altar, which path to follow, or how to dress in the mundane and everyday world. Each of us is an individual, each of us has the gift of free will, and each of us should be worrying about our own back yard instead of making a big deal out of someone else's business.  Stop quoting your current favorite, you sound just like that evangelist who is quoting from his Bible, eventually you are going to become a laughingstock.

Next up is the ever increasing attitude from so many that feel they have the knowledge, experience and then they add in audacity to be a teacher, a wise one, a know it all. This falls back on the post I did on False Prophets in Paganism. Everyday there is a new person (who just the day before was a regular Joe, had no clue how to do any of this and today they are the expert?) showing up in my News Feed over on Facebook that feels they have the ability to tell other people how to live their life, how to be successful and how to walk their spiritual walk. I'm calling Bullshit right now. There are too many of these false prophets (yeah, some of them I met in the real face to face world and RAN as fast as I could away from them) who open their mouth and out pops this line of propaganda you'd think they were a politician. "I only want what's best for you, the Pagan community is in such sad shape and I'm doing everything I can to make it a better community, for the low low fee of 29.99 each month I'll make you over and you will be a star, let's all eat Skittles and poop rainbows" ... GAG! In your mind you may have the best thing going, and even those you have added to your *inner circle* keep telling you how great your idea is, how much help you are going to be and WOW! I can't wait. For those of us on the outside, you look and sound like a fool of the first order ... PERIOD.

Lastly, I've got this thing about *stealing craft ideas* and about how a certain SOMEBODY who cannot have one creative thought of her own is always copying or stealing some one's ideas. REALLY?? If everyone who *stole* a craft idea was held accountable there would be a very limited supply of the things we like or produce within our community. I personally make Tarot ENVELOPES not drawstring bags, I bought a padded cosmetic pouch once and after looking at it closely, I figured out I could make padded envelopes of varying sizes for securing one's Tarot cards. I also make altar cloths, arm warmers, Pagan rosaries, scented bath salts, cloaks, and various other odds and ends. I have a friend who does amazing bead work and has been doing so for quite a few years. This is NOT something she took up within the last month or so, she's been doing it for a while and has sold quite a few of her pieces. I approached her the other day and asked her about the difficulty involved in wire work. I have arthritis in my fingers and there are just some crafty things I can't do, wood burning is one of them. She has offered to help me and has even put together a goodie box of some extra supplies she had and is sending them to me so I can see if I can actually work with wire and beads before I spend too much money on the idea. And I don't know about you, but I sure can't afford to spend money on something if I can't use it or work with it. Instead of her bitching that I stole her idea, she was gracious enough to offer her help.

HAH!!!  I just read a post on Facebook from someone in Alabama in the area with all the snow where so many people have been stranded in their cars with no heat, food or water. This person has offered her home to STRANGERS, simply because she knows she has the ability to help someone who needs it. The best part? This person will never ask for acknowledgement or repayment of any kind. This is just what she does, she is a true example of community and I am more than blessed to have her in my life, in my heart and be considered part of her tribe. How many other people do you know that would publicly post on a social media sight that she has opened her house to ANYONE needing help? This is what you people who think you are so high and mighty need to do. Stop looking to be the top dog, find something in your local neighborhood to volunteer with, stop degrading and bad mouthing everyone who isn't you. You just make yourself look stupid, and you give the rest of us our entertainment because we can't stop laughing at your dumb ass.