Llewellyn<\/a> this year for more books\u2026the reality of calling myself an \u2018author\u2019 made me feel uncomfortable, unworthy even.\u00a0\u00a0 It felt as if I was an imposter of some sort.<\/p>\nIn the beginning<\/h4>\n
Which reminded me of the feeling I had when I started on my Pagan Witchcraft journey, a gazillion years ago, back in the mists of time.\u00a0\u00a0 I was reading everything I could get my hands on and purchasing all kinds of things that I believed I needed (candles in all colours, bells, wands, athames, you name it I had a shopping list with it on).<\/p>\n
But when it came to calling myself a \u2018Witch\u2019, I couldn\u2019t do it at first.\u00a0 It felt really weird (and not the good kind of weird).\u00a0\u00a0 Who was I to give myself that title?\u00a0 My besom still had training wheels and my wand was still in the wrapping.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t feel that I had earnt the title.\u00a0 Looking back now, perhaps I just didn\u2019t feel that I had the experience to use it maybe?<\/p>\n
It took me a long time before I felt comfortable with the \u2018W\u2019 word.\u00a0 I think it was probably at least a couple of years before I started using it out loud and even then, it felt strange to put myself in that category.\u00a0\u00a0 After that if people asked, I would start by saying I was a Pagan.\u00a0 That seems to be far more acceptable in general society than Witch.\u00a0 Thanks to Hollywood, the media and fairy tales that have given Witchcraft such a bad reputation.\u00a0 If the person accepted that term and then asked more genuine questions I would give up the information that I was in fact, a Witch.\u00a0\u00a0 I have been extremely lucky (so far) in that I haven\u2019t met any animosity or hatred for it, the only negative reactions have been those of disbelief or laughter, thinking that I was joking.<\/p>\n
These days<\/h4>\n
These days I just open with the Witch title, whether it is a case of being older and possibly wiser I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 Perhaps I feel that after all these years, the study, the training and the experience gained that I have grown to love the Witch word and in fact am proud of it.\u00a0\u00a0 Although I continue to learn, to grow and experience new things within the Pagan world, I do feel I fit the Witch label.<\/p>\n
And there\u2019s the thing\u2026it is just a label.\u00a0 Why do we put so much importance on a title?\u00a0 Why do we feel the need to put ourselves in little boxes or categories?\u00a0 I suspect that no matter how much of a rebel some of us feel we are, we also like to belong somewhere.<\/p>\n
Just to clarify\u2026<\/h4>\n
You don\u2019t need to identify with a set title, fit in any particular box and you don\u2019t need a label at all if you don\u2019t want one!<\/p>\n
You can call yourself whatever you like, in fact my fellow coven mates spent some considerable time calling me \u2018Lady Tansy Pants\u2019 when I completed my Wiccan degrees.<\/p>\n
It is your life, your learning, your journey, your pathway \u2013 you can have a label, you can find a box to fit in or you can just be you \u2013 it is your call.\u00a0 But I do feel you need to be comfortable with it.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be pushed into calling yourself something that doesn\u2019t feel right.\u00a0\u00a0 It might just be your self confidence arguing with you, it may just be a little bit of insecurity niggling at the back of your brain, but make sure whatever title you work with feels right for you.\u00a0 And if it doesn\u2019t feel right just yet, work with it, play with it, live with it for a bit until if either falls into place or you decide to jump into another camp.\u00a0\u00a0 Don\u2019t be bound up by titles.<\/p>\n
At what point will I feel that I have earnt the author title?\u00a0 I may have to come back to you on that one\u2026<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Photo by\u00a0Bee Felten-Leidel<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It took me a long time before I felt comfortable with the \u2018W\u2019 word.\u00a0 I think it was probably at least a couple of years before I started using it out loud and even then, it felt strange to put myself in that category.\u00a0\u00a0 After that if people asked, I would start by saying I was a Pagan.\u00a0 That seems to be far more acceptable in general society than Witch.\u00a0 Thanks to Hollywood, the media and fairy tales that have given Witchcraft such a bad reputation.\u00a0 If the person accepted that term and then asked more genuine questions I would give up the information that I was in fact, a Witch.\u00a0\u00a0 I have been extremely lucky (so far) in that I haven\u2019t met any animosity or hatred for it, the only negative reactions have been those of disbelief or laughter, thinking that I was joking.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2871,"featured_media":2413,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,100],"tags":[17,8],"class_list":["post-2410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kitchen-witchcraft","category-magic","tag-labels","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\n
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![\"rachel](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/741\/2019\/02\/bee-felten-leidel-1274559-unsplash.jpg\")
<\/p>\n