{"id":579,"date":"2017-05-10T10:05:47","date_gmt":"2017-05-10T18:05:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=579"},"modified":"2017-05-16T07:30:04","modified_gmt":"2017-05-16T15:30:04","slug":"conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html","title":{"rendered":"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and labeled. \u00a0Something is either THIS or THAT, YES or NO, BLACK or WHITE*, 0 or 1. This type of programming is designed to minimize stress, so we can focus on whatever task is at hand.<\/p>\n

The reality is we\u2019re swimming through a zero-gravity ball pit with questionable sanitary conditions. \u00a0The brain does not like this at all, and so it tries to deal in absolutes.<\/p>\n

\"The
The Great Cosmic Ball Pit<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are no absolutes in witchcraft, and I\u2019d dare expand it beyond that, but let\u2019s try focus on witchcraft, shall we? \u00a0As witches, we understand that the world is messy, entangled, and full of nuance. \u00a0Energy is energy, and how it is utilized can be viewed positively or negatively \u2013 but the reality is those positions are more about perspective and subjective behavior than anything else. \u00a0Living is a constant cycle of birth and death, cells creating, splitting, destroying,\u00a0dying, and reforming from matter. We know that death is not an end, but a change \u2013 a transition of states. \u00a0Spirit is both physical and metaphysical. \u00a0We are of society, but we are marginal as well.<\/p>\n

The difficulty is being able to examine words, thoughts, actions in close detail while also being aware of the larger, messier picture. \u00a0And here\u2019s where the title comes into play.**<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve already established our brains love to trick us into absolutes to be comfortable. \u00a0But that\u2019s not reality. \u00a0We see this daily on the internet. \u00a0Someone posts a thing and it\u2019s deemed the best\/worst thing ever. \u00a0Someone creates a counter-thing declaring opposition. \u00a0A third person creates a thing that supports the first thing. \u00a0The fourth person creates a thing that says, \u201cwell actually\u2026\u201d and shows how 1,2, and 3 are all simultaneously both right and wrong\u2026.middle ground is somewhat found, and we all go on our way until the next post. The reason for all of this is the illusion of of the absolute and our own myopic tendencies.<\/p>\n

\"Moon
Moon & Sun \u2013 art by the author<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s easy to declare something or someone is THIS\/THAT, GOOD\/BAD. \u00a0How we do it is that we compare what we hear\/see\/read to our own experiences and then file it into the appropriate box: RELATED or OTHER. \u00a0It\u2019s very easy to react to everything we encounter as relevant to our own worlds, or not. \u00a0This is myopic vision \u2013 the problem with only examining our world in a nearsighted manner.*** It\u2019s also myopic to think everything should be catered to you. \u00a0Which is pretty darn ridiculous.<\/p>\n

A very basic example:<\/em> For years I was a fashion jewelry designer. I had a variety of clients to design for. For the company, I\u00a0created extremely avant-garde jewelry for \u201cMarket Week.\u201d These over-the-top pieces were meant to catch the eye of store buyers from Macy\u2019s, Target, Nordstrom\u2019s, etc at exclusive buying events. \u00a0Then specific pieces were designed for their own client\u00a0markets and price-points. \u00a0One week I\u2019m designing basic necklaces for middle-age, middle-class income office-working women, and the next week I\u2019m doing a \u201cgoth rocker\u201d collection for teens at Target with a $5 maximum price point. \u00a0Is there cross-over in the market between the high fashion socialite, the admin at the local business, and a 13 year old gothling? \u00a0Possibly, but it\u2019s a very, very small overlap.<\/p>\n

Which is to say: not everything is being targeted to YOU. \u00a0<\/strong>Not everything put out into the world is meant for your consumption and pleasure. \u00a0If it\u2019s not directed at you, that doesn\u2019t make it automatically bad, wrong, or other \u2013 it means it\u2019s not for you. \u00a0And there\u2019s nothing wrong with that \u2013 but there\u2019s no need to fall prey to absolutes. This goes from products to important social programs\u00a0to beliefs.<\/p>\n

-Don\u2019t need a fancy designer rose gold watch to tell time?<\/em> Then you don\u2019t need to buy one. \u00a0But there\u2019s nothing wrong with that guy over there getting one. \u00a0No skin off your back.
\n-Already have health insurance through your job?<\/em> Awesome! But most jobs in this country don\u2019t offer health insurance to their full-time employees, and even find loopholes to avoid it, so other people DO need access to affordable healthcare that won\u2019t bankrupt them \u2013 and the whole of society DOES benefit from people having access\u2026so perhaps you should care.
\n-You have very specific ideas about deity?<\/em> That\u2019s your<\/em> experience. \u00a0Someone else having different ideas doesn\u2019t make YOUR ideas wrong \u2013 or their\u2019s, especially if they\u2019re not bothering you. \u00a0So do what works for you personally. \u00a0If you find it engaging, then communicate respectfully versus being an asshole. \u00a0\u00a0Or \u00a0contemplate the appropriateness of \u201cTo Be Silent\u201d here. Because that\u2019s being a decent person, and you might actually learn a thing.<\/p>\n

As Witches, we can\u00a0consciously disengage from the cycle by seeking to understand it. As I mentioned in the Witch\u2019s Guide to Etiquette<\/a>: \u201cWitches absorb, think, then<\/em> act.\u201d \u00a0To avoid falling prey to the illusion of the absolute and myopic vision, consider the following:<\/p>\n

1) Read or listen carefully\u00a0(not just the title or a part, the WHOLE thing)<\/strong>
\n2) What is the person\/piece trying to say?\u00a0<\/strong>
\n3) Who is this directed to? Am I the target audience?\u00a0<\/strong>
\n4) How does this affect me, if at all? How does it make me feel, and why?<\/strong>
\n5) Should I engage or not \u2013 why or how?What are the possible results of my action or inaction? Is it worth the effort?<\/strong>
\n6) Do the thing or don\u2019t do the thing and move along.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As witches, if we use this method when processing what comes across our path, we become better equipped to handle issues of all kinds. \u00a0It enables us to reach out to others and seek to understand them. \u00a0Our words and actions can have a more powerful, productive effect on the world around us.<\/p>\n

Notes:<\/strong><\/em>
\n*As an artist, black vs white plays directly into is \u201cabsence of light\u201d vs \u201call light\u201d and \u201cpresence of all colors\u201d vs \u201crejects all colors.\u201d In terms of witchery, it was fashionable in the late 20th century to declare oneself a \u201cwhite witch\u201d to signify that you meant no harm, that you were a \u201cgood witch.\u201d \u00a0In terms of identity, it becomes blurred into a sense of \u201cdirty\u201d vs \u201cclean\u201d \u2013 which plays host to a load of racial and cultural baggage that is so very uncool. So the title \u00a0of this post is a play on the sense of a false absolute. \u00a0Labels can be harmful, despite intentions.<\/p>\n

**I wanted to title this piece \u201cThe Illusion of the Absolute and the Fallacy of Myopia\u201d but I severely doubted anyone would read it. \u00a0Though my high school AP English teacher would probably love it.<\/p>\n

***FYI, I\u2019m not picking on people who are physically visually impaired in the near-sighted spectrum. \u00a0That\u2019s been me since 5th grade. It\u2019s a metaphor.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and labeled. \u00a0Something is either THIS or THAT, YES or NO, BLACK or WHITE*, 0 or 1. This type of programming is designed to minimize stress, so we can focus on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[247,256,249,253,251,248,254,257,252,255,250,7,4],"class_list":["post-579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-modernpractice","tag-absolute","tag-black","tag-code","tag-cycles","tag-intent","tag-metaphor","tag-metaphsyics","tag-rede","tag-social-constructs","tag-white","tag-will","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Modern Traditional Witch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-05-10T18:05:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-16T15:30:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2017\/05\/conundrum.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@LTempestZ\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html\",\"name\":\"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-10T18:05:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-16T15:30:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72\"},\"description\":\"The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/\",\"name\":\"A Modern Traditional Witch\",\"description\":\"Weaving the Realms of Tradition, Folklore, and Modern Practice\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72\",\"name\":\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Laura Tempest Zakroff\"},\"description\":\"Laura Tempest Zakroff is a professional artist, author, performer, and Modern Traditional Witch based in New England. She holds a BFA from RISD (the Rhode Island School of Design), and her artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Her work embodies myth and the esoteric through her drawings and paintings, jewelry, talismans, and other designs. Laura is the author of the bestselling Llewellyn books Weave the Liminal, Sigil Witchery, and Anatomy of a Witch, as well as the Liminal Spirits Oracle (artist\/author), The Witch\u2019s Cauldron, and co-author of The Witch\u2019s Altar with Jason Mankey. Laura edited The New Aradia: A Witch\u2019s Handbook to Magical Resistance (Revelore Press). She is the creative force behind several community events and teaches workshops online and worldwide.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/www.lauratempestzakroff.com\",\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/owlkeyme.arts\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LTempestZ\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/author\/ltzakroff\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch","description":"The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch","og_description":"The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html","og_site_name":"A Modern Traditional Witch","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff","article_published_time":"2017-05-10T18:05:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-05-16T15:30:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2017\/05\/conundrum.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Laura Tempest Zakroff","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@LTempestZ","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Laura Tempest Zakroff","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html","name":"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-05-10T18:05:47+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-16T15:30:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72"},"description":"The human brain likes to think we can put everything in neat, clean, little boxes. \u00a0It says that everything can be clearly defined, sanitized, and","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/conundrum-near-sighted-white-witch.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Conundrum of the Near-Sighted White Witch"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/","name":"A Modern Traditional Witch","description":"Weaving the Realms of Tradition, Folklore, and Modern Practice","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72","name":"Laura Tempest Zakroff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/acc3ea529c8d56233a639e2fc69121da?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Laura Tempest Zakroff"},"description":"Laura Tempest Zakroff is a professional artist, author, performer, and Modern Traditional Witch based in New England. She holds a BFA from RISD (the Rhode Island School of Design), and her artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Her work embodies myth and the esoteric through her drawings and paintings, jewelry, talismans, and other designs. Laura is the author of the bestselling Llewellyn books Weave the Liminal, Sigil Witchery, and Anatomy of a Witch, as well as the Liminal Spirits Oracle (artist\/author), The Witch\u2019s Cauldron, and co-author of The Witch\u2019s Altar with Jason Mankey. Laura edited The New Aradia: A Witch\u2019s Handbook to Magical Resistance (Revelore Press). She is the creative force behind several community events and teaches workshops online and worldwide.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.lauratempestzakroff.com","http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/owlkeyme.arts\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/LTempestZ"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/author\/ltzakroff"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}