{"id":966,"date":"2017-11-26T17:42:29","date_gmt":"2017-11-27T01:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=966"},"modified":"2017-11-30T12:04:25","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T20:04:25","slug":"un-othering-witchcraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/11\/un-othering-witchcraft.html","title":{"rendered":"Un-Othering Witchcraft"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"unothering-banner\"
photo of Tempest by Carrie Meyer, digital f*ckery by Tempest<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

I often talk about the Other and Witchcraft a lot on this blog.\u00a0 We tend to be the marginal folks<\/a>, and sometimes we wear that as a badge of pride.\u00a0 We might say things like:\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re different<\/em> from those people.\u00a0 They don\u2019t understand us.\u00a0 It\u2019s always been this way. We\u2019re revolutionary<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But what if the revolution involves un-othering Witchcraft?\u00a0 What if that is a solution to many issues facing humanity?\u00a0 What does that mean?
\n<\/strong>
\nHow the hell did I even get to that thought?\u00a0 Bear with me for some exposition: My life is a bit ridiculous right now in the book department.\u00a0 I\u2019m finishing up the first draft of \u201cWeave the Liminal\u201d, doing my parts for the second draft of \u201cThe Witch\u2019s Altar\u201d, and \u201cSigil Witchery\u201d <\/a>is a little over a month away from officially dropping. I\u2019m also reading several books \u2013 mainly for research, but I\u2019ve put those aside for \u201cArt & Fear: Observations On The Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking\u201d<\/a> by David Bayles & Ted Orland.<\/p>\n

Art & Fear<\/em> was recommended by my friend and fellow artist Steven Archer<\/a>, and so I added it to my request stack from the library.\u00a0 And after losing focus in some or other history\/anthropology\/witchcraft book, I picked it up off of my nightstand and got sucked immediately in. Reading it, I feel like I\u2019m sitting in a room with some of my favorite professors.\u00a0 It affirms a lot of what I\u2019ve come to believe, but at the same time jostles my brain (and ego) in really helpful ways \u2013 that apply to all major aspects of my life: art, dance, writing, and yes, even Witchcraft.<\/p>\n

\"My
My studio in college\u2026<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I hit a particular section last night that got me thinking. The authors talk about how art and especially the making of it was integrated in earlier parts of human civilization. There was a common understanding of what the art portrayed between the audience and the maker.\u00a0 In the last several hundred years, art has been elevated in such a way that \u201cevery day\u201d people don\u2019t recognize, identify with or relate to art.\u00a0 Art is seen to be something of the elite, of galleries and fancy shin-digs, that the meaning is steeped in mystery, only to be unraveled by the super-educated.\u00a0 The cumulative result is that an integral part of the human existence has been removed or made inaccessible to much of society \u2013 doing a huge disservice to artists, makers, and the audience alike.\u00a0 Art-making heals, it provides a powerful means of expression\u00a0\u2013 and the sharing of art helps foster connectivity and understanding. When art gets devalued, everyone loses.<\/p>\n

Essentially, art has been Othered. And I can see correlation with Witchcraft \u2013 and it adds another good reason to the pile of why Witchcraft hitting the mainstream again can be extremely beneficial.<\/p>\n

Along with art, the practice of Witchcraft fosters creativity and strengthens the power of the imagination.\u00a0 Witchcraft tasks us to think outside the confines society puts upon us, to see more than with just our eyes. Imagination doesn\u2019t\u00a0equate to fiction or fantasy, it means thinking creatively with the mind. We become re-oriented with the wilder parts of ourselves, merging with the fearful beauty of darkness.<\/a>\u00a0 The connections between life, living, dying, death, and rebirth become illuminated.<\/p>\n

So many problems in our society stem from the lack of imagination,\u00a0from failing to honor life and death, of embracing fear rather than compassion or connectivity, the willingness to\u00a0relinquish one\u2019s own power .\u00a0 The Witch represents the opposite direction society has taken in all of these ways.<\/p>\n

\"The Four Witches\" - etching by Albrecht D\u00fcrer
\u201cThe Four Witches\u201d \u2013 etching by Albrecht D\u00fcrer<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

What if the Witch lifts the veil from society\u2019s eyes? What if they are seen as been integral to understanding both life and death, recognizing spirits and\u00a0self-divine power?\u00a0 What if the Witch isn\u2019t\u00a0viewed\u00a0as someone you sneak off to go see under the cover of night to heal you or solve that one tricky problem? But instead, the Witch could be recognized as a\u00a0valuable, integral part of society \u2013 like the doctor, the farmer, accountant, or lawyer?\u00a0 All part of the natural order \u2013 which includes the unnatural and the unknown? What if, through the Witch, society regains a sense of magic, wonder, creativity, and inter-connectivity?\u00a0That humanity\u00a0loses irrational fear and gains a healthy sense of respect?<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think the Witch would lose any power in melting down the Wall of Other \u2013 in fact, the exact opposite could be true.\u00a0 The Witch would be better understood as the Changer, a bridge to the unseen, a guide to the spirits.<\/p>\n

I suppose the question is, who is more afraid of un-othering the Witch?\u00a0 Society or Witches?\u00a0 Definitely something to ponder.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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