I spend some of my online time at a Wiccan chat room (more specifically Moonlight Pagan Palace, using “The Palace” chat software, (see www.ThePalace.com). The owner and priestess of this particular server teaches various Wicca studies and occasionally I field questions about the classes. I often ask perspective students what interests them most about Wicca and the number one answer is The Magic.
Hollywood paints a larger than life picture of witchcraft with illusions of house cleaning by the twitch of a nose and defeating enemies with sparks emanating from our fingertips. Although rational people realize this is just Hollywood I fear most people miss the true concept of Wicca ie., to worship the Goddess and God and be in tune with the universe. Wicca is a religion, not an association of magicians, and magic is only a byproduct of our religion.
We have become a specie expecting instant gratification. If we see it, we want it, and we want it NOW. When we get it though, it usually doesn’t provide the satisfaction we expected so we look to another quick fix. We run from one thing to the next in such a hurry that we don’t even see the things that most need appreciation. Even when we recognize our shortcomings it is difficult to break from these habits so deeply engrained by the rush of 20th and 21st century life. If Magick is what you seek, though, that is exactly what you have to do. There is no pill that turns on the magick. You must “Stop and smell the roses” and oh, how sweet they do smell.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines Magic as “The art that purports to control or forecast natural events, effects, or forces by invoking the supernatural.” In order to effect or control nature we must first understand it and feel it. In many monotheistic religions, God is the creator of heavens and earth. In Wicca, Goddess and God ARE the heavens and earth. To understand nature you must commune with nature through worship of the Goddess and God. Talk to them, pray to them, give thanks to them and most of all, learn to understand and respect nature.
You just can not control nature until you first understand it but learning to understand nature IS magic in itself. Slow down and look around. LOOK at that green vine growing out of that pot. It’s a living thing, it has cells that take in fuel to burn for energy and convert that energy into growth. The cells in these plants contain a genetic code that defines what they are and what they will become. They are life and we need to respect that life and understand it.
So don’t be in a rush to do magic, learn first to appreciate the magic around us and to thank the Goddess and God for brining it to us. The rest will come naturally as you learn
Very well said, bc. The only way to truely appreciate real 'magic' is to see the magic around us and IN us. There are no quick answers in life. Any true and real answer to any question or problem takes time and thought. There is no snapping of fingers or twitching of a nose. If life was as simple as that, where would the adventure and experience of life be?
There are many people who turn to paganism and Wicca for the wrong reasons. When they find out that it isn't what they thought, they are often dissappointed and discouraged in a very rewarding and fulfilling life path. The first reaction of some people after experiencing such a disillusion is to spread negative feedback to anyone who will listen. And there are many who will listen. I've found that living my path over many years has brought me so much closer to the world around me. I've learned to appreciate the little things that life has to offer, and I've learned to see the good in every person, no matter how some people may seem on the outside. I've learned how to be me, and to live as I believe I was meant to live.
As for control and change by using 'magic', we must start any change within ourselves...our way of thinking and living, and learn self-control. Only then can we see many situations more clearly. They may not seem as bad as we once thought. We must think carefully and responsibly before trying to control nature. Just as we tell our children that they can't have everything their own way all the time, as adults we must also realize that just because we think we want something, it doesn't mean it is good for us or those around us.
As you've said, TV and movies have done a great injustice to what real Wicca is. There have been a great number of stereotypes put out in the public over a period of many years, and it may take just as many years--if not many more--to overcome the damage that has been done. Only through research, learning, and a good deal of open-minded thinking, can those stereotypes be turned around and eliminated.
Posted by: Morgaine at November 9, 2003 02:45 PM