I grew up as the good little church going girl, you know, Sunday school and the whole shebang. So what happened?
I got over the whole ‘organized religion’ thing at the start of puberty, as I went through some major trauma that I still carry to this day. I felt that there wasn’t anything I could learn from a bunch of stuffy old people sitting in a stuffy church reading the same stuffy stories about how people shouldn’t do this and that.
It was boring and, honestly, pissed me off. Who was this stuffy god to tell me who I couldn’t be and what I couldn’t do? I hated having to hear the same thing every time and be told who I was supposed to be.
So I quit that shit.
I quit listening to these guys telling me who were trying to tell me who I could and couldn’t be. I quit listening to all the bullshit.
Then I spiraled for years trying to find my footing through trauma and tribulation. I tried to push spiritual growth away in favor of science. Of course, I love science and I love scientific discovery. I still do.
So why the hell wouldn’t I pick witchcraft?
I chose to practice witchcraft because I can marry my love of science and the unknown. I can live freely without judgment from someone who thinks they know me and my journey. I can live without fear of breaking some hidden rule. I can make my own path, I can live my own life. I can look at the natural world and know why a bee buzzes and a flower grows and all the things that make them tick, but I can also appreciate them deeply, appreciate them for what they bring to the world.
I can understand why people choose to practice witchcraft with the gods of their choosing; it is much more comforting to go through life with someone with more power than you on your side. I can also understand why witches like me are secular in practice; we do not need to look to a divine being to appreciate the world in all its splendor.
I’m not nay-saying the act of choosing a god or goddess as your patron; I’m just explaining why I choose to practice the way I do.
I love science, I love knowing how the world works, knowing how every little thing is connected to each other, knowing how I fit into the world and those around me fit together in a giant tapestry of living, breathing, LIFE.
As I ramble now, I practice witchcraft because it can use some of the what we know as facts now, such as the use of a placebo to make someone believe the world is turning in their favor, as well as trying to explain the things we can not yet comprehend like spirits, the afterlife, the way our minds and bodies connect.
Witchcraft has always been in people’s blood; the need to know, the need to understand, the need to comprehend ourselves and each other. We have looked to the stars for eons and we have looked to the elements for some type of answer, we have assigned meaning to the greatest aspects of human nature and human experience. Why wouldn’t I give in to the natural feelings we have all felt as humans, roaring through space on this little planet without guidance and without direction, towards who knows what? Why wouldn’t I want to be a witch knowing that even if magic is fake, magic isn’t real, I can at least give myself something to be curious and hopeful about? Why wouldn’t I give into human nature of looking for answers and understanding of the universe?
That is in short, why I have chosen to practice witchcraft.
In long, I’ve grown to recognize some aspects of witchcraft, I was practicing all along as I pulled myself through depression in high school. I look back now and realize that I used to stare at the moon every night, asking for peace. I would lay in bed and meditate on how my future would look like (manifesting, anyone?). I used to wear colors that I thought would hide me from view, protect me. I was obsessed with the undead and their subtle meanings they bring to literature (self-proclaimed zombie expert right here.)
But in short, again, I practice witchcraft because it’s self-driven, it’s open to experimentation, and it holds a place in humanity that will never be forgotten.