After The Election – We Are Still Here

I am not afraid. I was born to do this

 ~ Joan of Arc~

Last night did not go well for many folks. There is a lot of fear and worry this day. And there should be. It’s a shock. It’s a disappointment. For many, last night was supposed to be about making herstory, instead, we get even more history. We now see the harsh reality of who the United States really is. But we witches knew this was coming, right?

How many of us have seen omens in the last few years? How many of us have been told to gather our tribes? How many of us were warned? How many rituals have you attended (or read about) where the Morrigan or Hecate or Kali or Medusa or Ceridwen were invoked as representing change, fearsome, no bones about it, it’s gonna happen folks, change?

Much of the magic we witches have been working is centered around social justice, dismantling the patriarchy, sexism, classism, racism, and even capitalism. We’ve been working to tear down these structures that are keeping us silenced and invisible and in our place. Maybe this isn’t what we expected, but remember the old saying “be careful what you wish for.”

The Reclaiming Tradition, our “home” tradition, has always worked with and for peoples on the margins. This past year, Witchcamps have focused on “Tearing down the web of lies” and “Speaking truth to Power” and “Looking at the world with the Unflinching Gaze”. Camps are already planned for 2017 that stress the importance of “Decolonizing and reweaving cultures of compassion and justice.”

Still many more traditions and covens and groups have been in the streets, marching, protesting, tending to the spiritually, emotionally and physically wounded. We are witches and for a big portion of us, this is the work we do. Of course, if we are going to dismantle something we have to be ready to put something in its place. So now instead of looking at the destruction, instead of focusing on the tearing apart (although this is far from over yet), now let’s start the conversation about what comes next? What do we want to build? What is the future for our communities, our country, and our planet? What replaces these structures that we have lived under for decades, even centuries? These are the important questions that need to be answered.

The Witches Next Door are open, public witches, living in a mostly white and brown suburban neighborhood. We aren’t planning on going back into the broom closet. We don’t plan on hiding out for the next four years. We plan on continuing to do the work that we do. We plan on helping to build the next thing that will help the future of our world. We hope that you’re with us. Of course, we look like the majority of people that just voted in a terrifying new government, so there’s a huge shadow of privilege wrapped up in all of our plans. Here in solidly blue, Northern California we’re unlikely to feel much backlash (until the Supreme court starts to fill up).

So any work we do must include all of the People. It’s time to challenge ourselves around what it means to be allies and advocates and friends and witches. It’s time to listen once more, or for the first time, to all of the People that have much to lose. And let’s be clear, when we say “much to lose” we mean the very right to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

We witches are in the margins and here we are likely to remain, but it’s in those liminal places that our magic has always and will always be the most powerful. Now more than even we need to stand together. Now more than ever we need to see the things that unify us and bring us together.

May our Ancestors and Godds and Guides bless us. May our resolve be strengthened by community. May our shoulders ever be beside those that need support the most.

We are witches. We weave spells. We have a helluva spell to weave today.