It's time

Now there is lots of back and forward as to what trad witches do and most of it is malarkey in one way or another because it does not make one important admission - witches are a diverse lot that do whatever is easiest to get the job done.

I do try to remind myself to do so every time.

I can only tell you about what happens from the point of view of the line I belong to and those I have witnessed.

Indeed even in my own line we don't all do things the same way or think the same! Some had robes and some did not; some had books and some did not; some had tools and some did not. Claiming much other than this is simply off mark and applying one's own standards to everyone else for the sake of sounding authoritative or an attempt to pigeon hole things.

This same goes by applauded a lot nowdays really and while I love hamming it up with a spot of panto/ritual as much as the next man, I often get totally weary at the sort of stuff I see about the place where so many are emphatic that “it is trad” cause there is a stang or not cause it is from a new book .. or a newly discovered "old book".

*Shakes head*

To my mind that is all a firm pointer to the fact that people are not craving witchcraft but rather legitimacy. You know what I mean (and the "sort" I mean!):

"Oh I use a stang so I must be legit" and "I don't talk about three fold laws nor have a book of shadows so again I must be legit" blah blah.

As I keep saying to people - if you are a witch, (read as you get your way) then that is enough, (or at least it SHOULD BE!!) .. if you come across something that works - use it!

Much of what is squabbled over is not, (in all truth) *needed* any more than it is a *legitimising* tool. You either *are* serious about what you do and do it for a *reason* or you AREN'T - and no amount of odd words, accoutrements or jigging about when everyone else is asleep will change this one way or another.

Now what I do would seem pretty alien to most these days I expect simply becaus emost of what is around these days is based on Wicca or Ceremonial Magic to a greater degree. Generally I am pretty leery of discussing what I do or how I would do it but thanks to a very timely query from a certain someone on a Traditional Witch board, (thanks I! I often need someone to ask a question before I note where I have been heading!) i have spotted that it is time I said a few things about this angle.

I hope it is not too alien for most people of an enquiring bent.

I have only one tool that I use regularly and it isn't to be found in any book I have read or encountered. No knife, no staff, no wand, no pentacle. I have used such in other forms of magic I have used before I took my initiation.

Were I to use such again it would be no different to using goggles and flippers if you wanted to go diving. I would have to go get some and get on with it. That won't happen though because I have something else that works and so have no need for the other systems I have used in the past - other than as examples that I have learnt from.

I have candles that I burn to my guides and gods and incense too and I get them from a shop up the road. To be clear some jobs require special tools and some paths and people require special tools but it is no more than that. So much for the mysterious tools of this witch.

On this same subject I do have many books on many subjects both technical and practical. Some of them I have used in other forms of work and they were important as "directions" and "recipe books" to me then - just as they were those others of those ways. I expect that they still are and so I keep them as memories and guides to understanding the ways others think.

I even have one that is bits and bobs that was put together by my initiator. It has some rituals in it that are by and large not much more than guidelines containing certain cultural pointers that our Gods have agreed are acceptable if we have not the wit to listen and do as "we are bid". It has some points and tips in it on divination and practice which are not very different from what anyone who had studied and practiced before might tell a neophyte.

It also has a couple of what would called these days: "Pathworkings". Except for the fact that I don't know anyone who has finished them without having them hijacked by one of our guides or another, I suppose there is enough similarities for the application of that name.

Personally again I see them as a collection of pass words and attributes phrased in a story so as to aid the memory and transition from one state to another. It even has some spells, (for want of a better term) in it and some of them are the sort of thing any practitioner may work out for themselves while others are the likes of which I have not seen anywhere else in form or practice.
All told it is considerably shorter than any of the books you may buy in a store, quantitatively it holds far less info than they do and would it would, (I expect) be far too practical to be considered as much more than a work book. On top of all that, our line stresses to each as they are inducted and confirmed that it in itself is in no way needed - if you have the contacts they will tell you what you need to know and need to do and one can dispense largely with even the few pointers this or any other book holds. So much for the mysterious books and spells of this witch!

I have a couple of robes and they are left overs from old systems and offices I have used and held. My line requires no special outfit from me. I keep them because they are comfy and I can often be seen, (as weather permits) lounging round the house in one robe or other watching telly or listening to music and reading or thinking.

Of course some ways require uniforms just as your local fast food joint requires uniforms but really just as a cop wears a cop uniform and not surgical scrubs so to why would one witch feel the need to wear another's robes when it is not required? It is not much more than that. So much for the mysterious robes of this witch!

I have worked naked before too but again, this is not required of me by my line. Hell I get naked at least twice a day - I shower naked and I sleep naked. I will admit that sometimes when I shower I have revelations and I have been known to have visions in sleep - but again that is no more "the ritual requirements" than a hammer and nail for hanging a picture on the wall. In such case nakedness is the right tool cause wet clothes is a stupid idea and I like to sleep without "jim jams".

Some I have heard believe that they cannot be honest and pure before their gods and siblings without shedding their clothes - I figure that I am who I am no matter what I wear or not.

Besides I also reckon I like the idea of sex far too much to make a habit out of working naked with others - I like to keep a clear head when I work and I would find that pretty hard now just as I have in the past. True that can also be useful power but again .. I no longer need that as my line requires none such. So much for the mysterious nakedness of this witch!

But what about Gods, Guides, Elementals, Land Spirits, Ghosts, Ancestors and so on? Well to that I reply: what about Politicians, Police, Janitors, Park Rangers, Old Friends long unseen and the members of your family across town!? Yes I have dealings with all these and more when it is needed but I don't have to "Check In" every time I so much as do anything!

Some people have limited dealings with one or all of these - just as I would wager that the number of times you have spoken to a Politician is not equal to the number of times you have spoken to your family members lately. Why should it need to be seen as so different?

I contact all of these when I feel I wish to or they can help or advise me in some way - just like Politicians, Police and Family. I no more attend holy days for my gods than I do for old friends - though I have been known to attend the odd birthday party when I feel like it. So much for the secret and mysterious contacts of this witch!

But what about this wheel of the year hoo hah while we are on the subject? Well I will be blunt. If you want to attend festivals then go right ahead - just as if you like going to the ballet or rock concerts. My line teaches that of course the years seasons change - they always have and they always will. This happens whether you want to engage in panto or not.

My Gods do not die every half year so I know the seasons change - I am expected to be intelligent enough to spot that all on my own. We are not especially religious as our gods do not require flowery dances and gatherings - they are a bit pragmatic for that sort of thing even though it has been known for people to honour them with such things in the past.

I am in no way required to attend sabbats every full moon or quarter year but it is told me that I'd be stupid to ignore the fact that some times are better than others both for seeding and for harvesting. I am likewise told I'd be stupid to treat that like it is a religion any more than pruning the trees out back of my house.

Seasons change and times change and I use each for their benefits if I have a need or wish to - if not I just get on with my life. So much for the mysterious festivals of this witch!

So what else? Covens?

Well sometimes there have been covens and sometimes not. I have belonged to some, I have run some and other times I have done neither. Now that I am a part of a line I find myself having been a part of one and now being out on my own. I have sisters and some brothers though we don't talk a great deal - there is not a great deal of reason as to why we should need to.

Perhaps we should be considered like a trade guild or union. At need the need the white collar workers pull together but more often than not this does not mean that your bank teller and your accountant are on "first name basis". Sometimes I find myself faced with the fact that one day my elder will die and I may not see my other siblings ever again. Some days this makes me almost grief striken before time.

This is even given the fact that I know from experience that in our line the important ones are always there and remain.

Then I would be alone were it not for the fact of my wife and children. My gods know them and they know my gods. Were I to be considered to have a coven I suppose this would be them. We belong to a line like others I am aware of but fail to see the necessity of getting together all the time to "slap each other on the back" and say how much we agree with each other.

Our gods and guides give us the support and info we need and they have the connection to them just as I have - they can get just as much as I can so why would they need my help to do so? Ours is not a membership card carrying club - we do not need to have funny handshakes every time we pass in public any more than the local mechanics do.

We are related by our connections and related further and dimly to those of other traditions in other ways. I do not see my relatives all the time because they would get on my nerves - why should this facet of my life be any different? So much for the mysterious lineage of this witch!

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