{"id":596,"date":"2017-05-17T09:50:14","date_gmt":"2017-05-17T17:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=596"},"modified":"2017-05-25T09:03:08","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T17:03:08","slug":"secrets-uncommon-witch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html","title":{"rendered":"Secrets of the Uncommon Witch"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Seer\" - painting by Laura Tempest Zakroff
\u201cSeer\u201d \u2013 painting by Laura Tempest Zakroff<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

I grew up hearing my father say, \u201cCommon sense isn\u2019t common.\u201d \u00a0As a young child, that idiom was mystifying, but as I grew, I began to\u00a0understand its meaning. My upbringing challenged me to think critically, consider deeply, and solve creatively. \u00a0I discovered that what seemed to be obvious and unspoken truths to me, wasn\u2019t the norm in general.<\/p>\n

The same is true for Witchcraft. Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more \u201csexy\u201d ones in the larger population. \u00a0(In this mirror,\u00a0my normal is somewhat abnormal, but I\u2019ve had a lifetime to get used that.) \u00a0What\u2019s even more fascinating is how dualistic they can be in nature. \u00a0As with the tendency of black\/white thinkin<\/a>g, it be very easy to become unbalanced if you believe one side trumps the other.<\/p>\n

So in the interest of exploration, the following are 3 pairs of skills\/abilities\/talents I believe are essential to Witchcraft. \u00a0They may seem obvious to some, but sometimes that which is in plain sight is the most elusive. \u00a0The least sparkling object may keep the greatest jewel.<\/p>\n

\"seer-banner\"
\nObserve & Obscure\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
\nWitches watch. \u00a0We consider signs, signals, and symbols found in nature, in people, animals, and liminal spaces. \u00a0Through our observations, we reveal and divine, we make careful choices. \u00a0We bring knowledge and wisdom into the light. \u00a0Yet at the same time, we know the value of obscuring, of hiding, and of illusion. \u00a0We are familiar with the safety found within the dark and that which is hushed under velvet layers.<\/p>\n

Listen & Speak<\/strong><\/em>
\nWitches listen. \u00a0It\u2019s part of the Observation<\/em> skill \u2013 but we don\u2019t listen just to respond or to know when to speak. We listen to understand, consider, and contemplate. \u00a0We physically hear\u00a0verbal information, but we also take in the emotional, spiritual, and metaphysical context as well. \u00a0When we speak, we don\u2019t do it to hear ourselves talk. \u00a0We don\u2019t waste breath. Rather we speak to guide and instruct, to make a difference when it is within our power to do so. \u00a0We know our words hold power<\/a>. \u00a0We don\u2019t use them to make empty threats or pompous boasts \u2013 but we can use them as knives to cut and cleanse, as we can use them as balm to heal and protect.<\/p>\n

Change & Rest\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>
\nOne of my favorite root-word theories for \u201cwitch\u201d is \u201cone who bends or changes.\u201d Witches bring about change \u2013 physical, metaphysical, emotional, spiritual, mental \u2013 any and all are possible. \u00a0We can affect the microcosm to influence the macrocosm. \u00a0We can change ourselves and shift our environments. \u00a0But then there\u2019s also the other side of change, and that is knowing when to rest, to be still, when not to act. Sometimes you just have to let things be, and sometimes it\u2019s not your place or job to do the thing.<\/p>\n

I will admit the skill of rest\u00a0has been the\u00a0hardest for me to master. \u00a0I\u2019m a workaholic and an overthinker. \u00a0I want to help, do, make, and create. \u00a0But for my own good, as well as that of others, sometimes it\u2019s best to just step back, and let the fields lay fallow for a bit.<\/p>\n

Building These Skills<\/strong><\/em>
\nHoning these abilities is a daily practice and a lifelong journey. \u00a0Not only that, but they are the root of all of the more \u201csexy\u201d things people are often drawn to when they start to get into witchcraft. \u00a0Want to cast spells? Better know how to observe the world around you and consider how change will work. \u00a0Tell the future? You need to be able to listen and know when to speak. \u00a0Want to be powerful? You need to know how to rest and when to be silent.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more “sexy” ones in the larger population.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,12],"tags":[77,205,107,161,7,158,4,138],"class_list":["post-596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metaphysics","category-modernpractice","tag-tempest","tag-traditional-witch","tag-traditional-witchcraft","tag-wearearadia","tag-witch","tag-witch-power","tag-witchcraft","tag-witchery"],"yoast_head":"\nSecrets of the Uncommon Witch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more "sexy" ones in the larger population.\" \/>\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\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Secrets of the Uncommon Witch\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more "sexy" ones in the larger population.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-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=\"2017-05-17T17:50:14+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-05-25T17:03:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2017\/05\/blog-banner.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=\"3 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\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html\",\"name\":\"Secrets of the Uncommon Witch\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-05-17T17:50:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-05-25T17:03:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72\"},\"description\":\"Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more \\\"sexy\\\" ones in the larger population.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Secrets of the Uncommon 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":"Secrets of the Uncommon Witch","description":"Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more \"sexy\" ones in the larger population.","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\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Secrets of the Uncommon Witch","og_description":"Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more \"sexy\" ones in the larger population.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html","og_site_name":"A Modern Traditional Witch","article_author":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LauraTempestZakroff","article_published_time":"2017-05-17T17:50:14+00:00","article_modified_time":"2017-05-25T17:03:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/654\/2017\/05\/blog-banner.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":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html","name":"Secrets of the Uncommon Witch","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-05-17T17:50:14+00:00","dateModified":"2017-05-25T17:03:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/#\/schema\/person\/4b27926466da8da8d2f065b017f61b72"},"description":"Some of the traits and abilities I value and admire the most are often overlooked for more \"sexy\" ones in the larger population.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/05\/secrets-uncommon-witch.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Secrets of the Uncommon 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\/596","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=596"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/596\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=596"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=596"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=596"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}