In this episode of “6 Minutes of Witchcraft”, I answer a question sent in via email by a viewer. Kendra sent me the following:
“Hey Tempest. I’ve got a 6 min of witchcraft video request.. I’d love to hear you do a wee ramble about people who tell you things “should” be done a certain way. Example: We were doing a candle thing, and I told someone they could blow theirs out to take it with them. Some other guy said you had to use a snuffer (and gave a reason I didn’t hear). I’ve met people who put out their candles different ways and nothing bad has happened yet. I tend to be wary of those who have absolutes in the craft. What are your thoughts on the subject, and are there any “rules” that are actually worth merit to you? Thanks much, love all of your work!! Kendra”
See my answer below in video format, and then there are more notes & thoughts after the video.
I think a lot of people get bent out of shape about “shoulds” – mainly because they’re worried about doing Witchcraft wrong somehow. They, in turn, tend to “should” other folks to feel secure that their way is the correct way. Not everyone mind you – context matters. There’s a difference between “you’re doing this wrong” and “hey, have you tried doing X this way? I find it has *these effects* without the problems of *those effects.* Or “I learned to do X this way, and it was explained to me like this.”
Regardless of whether you’re being “should-ed” or someone is trying to share their experience with you, it’s still up to you to decide what way is the right way for you. And that only happens with doing the thing and figuring it out for yourself (with logic and safety in mind hopefully).
Just keep in mind – there are often many solutions and approaches to any given problem, and what is right/wrong will depend on the practice and perspective.
The blog post I mention about Absolutes in Witchcraft.
For the episode about rethinking the threefold approach, head over here.
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