{"id":19,"date":"2016-03-14T20:30:10","date_gmt":"2016-03-15T04:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=19"},"modified":"2016-03-14T20:58:53","modified_gmt":"2016-03-15T04:58:53","slug":"living-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2016\/03\/living-tradition.html","title":{"rendered":"Living Tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Our Witches\u2019 Almanac* lives in the bathroom. This location is pretty much the only guarantee that I will look at it regularly, instead of losing it in my studio. \u00a0(Seriously, in a former life, I misplaced past issues for nearly a year, so the bathroom placement is a revelation.)<\/p>\n

I tend to check in with the monthly calendar, but I particularly revel in opening it to any page and see what comes up \u2013 and am nearly always finding new material within it, no matter how long I have had it. \u00a0Usually it tends to be something very much appropriate for that moment as well.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>And it so happened the other day I picked up the newest edition and started in on David Conway\u2019s \u201cThe Old Religion.\u201d Which to summarize, talks about the need\/desire of esoteric organizations and spiritual traditions to espouse how old they are, how much they are connected to antiquity to prove the authenticity of their ways \u2013 and then points out how silly it all is. (Mind you, this is a brief summary in my own words \u2013 it\u2019s quite an extensive long article for the WA!)<\/p>\n

This sentiment created a big AH-HA! moment in my head for something I\u2019ve been pondering for nearly two decades in many ways: in Witchcraft & Paganism, in Art, in Dance. What is authenticity? What does it mean to be authentic and why is it at the heart of so many arguments?<\/p>\n

I think back to any number of the Traditional Witchcraft forums\/groups\/chats\/discussion boards I used to frequent 15 years ago \u2013 and how often \u201cmy way\/tradition is better\/more correct than yours\u201d would come up. Even as the truth about various hereditary stories being fantasy came to light, folks dug in deep. \u00a0And there I was with my Modern Tradition oxymoron \u2013 \u201cwhy yes, I\u2019m both modern AND traditional, and no I don\u2019t mean Wicca\u201d \u2013 not really giving a damn about arguing better\/worse\/older\/newer.<\/p>\n

Why? Because I\u2019m not a genetic pureblood anything, nor am I living in the 12th, 17th, or 19th centuries. \u00a0If I\u2019m not from one particular ethnic background, why would I align only with the gods found in a portion of my blood \u2013 when there\u2019s many more talking to me? What if it\u2019s not just ethnic heritage that factors in, but also\u00a0past lives \u2013 and what if those aren\u2019t connected by blood either? What if our ancestors really can come to us in dreams and initiate us in the Old Ways (as believed possible by various Slavic\/Russian and Mediterranean traditions) as needed? And if they had the tools we have access to today, would they exchange the flint for the lighter?<\/p>\n

Every day we live, we are not only existing and working with tradition, but we are innovating and creating new traditions. \u00a0To me, Witchcraft is about doing what needs to be done, with what you have available. There are time-honored things we do, not just because Grandmom did them, but because they WORK \u2013 and then there are the ways we find that work better. \u00a0Whether the method is ancient or modern doesn\u2019t make it any less effective, as long as it works.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what authenticity is about \u2013 doing what works because it\u2019s the best option available. It\u2019s not about trying to forge a link to a distant or imagined past to justify your system. There\u2019s a weight that comes with that facade that holds back growth and prevents finding truth. If you strive to maintain balance, to know yourself, and to take responsibility for your actions \u2013 it doesn\u2019t matter how old or new the tradition is, who may approve or disapprove of it. That stuff really doesn\u2019t matter in the big picture.<\/p>\n

Instead, when you decide to be authentic to yourself, and truly live your own tradition, the Universe opens up in new ways \u2013 or old ones you may have not seen before. Knowledge is never truly lost, it can only be hidden for a time.<\/p>\n

*the one published in RI \u2013 always has been my favorite \u2013 check it out at www.TheWitchesAlmanac.com<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

(This post was initially first published on 4\/1<\/em>8\/15 from the original\u00a0location of this blog , and is one of the relevant posts I will bring up from the archives to share here. )<\/em>
\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Our Witches\u2019 Almanac* lives in the bathroom. This location is pretty much the only guarantee that I will look at it regularly, instead of losing it in my studio. \u00a0(Seriously, in a former life, I misplaced past issues for nearly a year, so the bathroom placement is a revelation.) I tend to check in with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":22,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,14],"tags":[10,9,8,7,4],"class_list":["post-19","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modernpractice","category-tradition","tag-diversity","tag-modern","tag-tradition","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\nLiving Tradition<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Our Witches' Almanac* lives in the bathroom. 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