tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post9082545503508608502..comments2024-03-27T11:02:51.168-04:00Comments on Flying the Hedge: Book Review: Year of the Witch by Temperance AldenWillowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15833903403803495986noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-77469209696150222662021-01-29T20:05:12.906-05:002021-01-29T20:05:12.906-05:00That's a good answer, Willow. I admit I expect...That's a good answer, Willow. I admit I expected invective of some sort (Paranoia runs deep. Into your heart it will creep... "For What It’s Worth" by Buffalo Springfield).<br /><br />I think you've just confirmed that the main motivation to adhere to the Wiccan calendar is nostalgia. If you can accept that magic is the extension of the will into parts of the world not normally under its influence (including other neural networks in ones own nervous system, other persons, this outer world, and the Other World), then you can accept that what enhances magic may not enhance Wicca and vice versa.<br /><br />If Wicca is a palliative, a lollipop to make us feel better after the sling and arrows of outrageous fortune (and the deliberate cruelty and mayhem of life since the paleolithic), then how is it better than liberal Christianity or Buddhism? Is it mostly about knowing others who share ones tastes, problems, and social status? If so, then how is it better than being a Goth?<br /><br />I suggest that it is possible, even practical, to create a magical practice which is to Wicca as modern medicine was to Medieval medicine: with theory, tests, and big improvements for almost all of us. Raymondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01451325538857225612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-54360739791186006872021-01-29T18:55:51.520-05:002021-01-29T18:55:51.520-05:00Well...I do hold a degree in biology and geology a...Well...I do hold a degree in biology and geology and currently teach environmental science so I should be "up on my science." I am first and foremost a scientist. <br /><br />Much of the desire to hold on to the Wheel of the Year, at least for European and European-descended witches, is its connection with our ancestors, not food production. My mom and dad both trace their roots back to Scotland and Sweden. I connect deeply with the festivals and customs of both regions, knowing that historical versions of the holidays I celebrate were celebrated by my ancestors. Furthermore, the sabbats correspond with the changing of the seasons, marking major dates throughout the year and therefore changes occurring in the visible world around us. The moon cycle is celebrated every month with not just the full and new moons, but the full cycle. Lunar magic is central to most witches practices, but they aren't big holidays. Finally, many witches hold onto these sabbats because they remind them of the holidays they celebrated as a child, especially those that come from an Abrahamic background. The sabbats offer an opportunity to celebrate similarly to what we did for Easter and Christmas. While the Wheel of the Year is largely recognized as a modern version of a melting pot of celebrations, many witches find it relatable and magically sound, and that's all that really matters in the end. I celebrate a number of holidays both on and off the Wheel of the Year. We only have a short time on this earth; why not celebrate as often as possible, eh?Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15833903403803495986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-49576904660615004042021-01-29T00:39:44.692-05:002021-01-29T00:39:44.692-05:00Wow! Milankovitch cycles?! You are up on your scie...Wow! Milankovitch cycles?! You are up on your science, gal. I used to be a bit skeptical of the global warming thing. It's part of a hysteria and I always believe those are part of efforts at social engineering. Then I read a brief article by a scientist in which he summarized the argument against CO2 increases being due to volcanoes and similar natural processes. Apparently the ratio of carbon isotopes from tectonic activity and that from burning fossil fuels is quite different. The large majority of increase in CO2 has the isotope signature of fossil fuels. End of story.<br /><br />One thing I don't get about witch's adherence to the Wheel of the Year is the use of the old European calendar. This calendar abandoned the lunar cycle for a solar one and simply created conventional months. This represents the supremacy of the grain farmers, tax collectors, and money lenders over the fishermen and herders for whom the motions of the moon was of practical importance. It isn't even about knowing the planting time with pinpoint accuracy since weather conditions create bigger differences in that than solar calendar accuracy provides. It's about fixing terms for payments and the like. So why use this as opposed to a natural calendar where new moons and full moons are the holidays as well as the soltices & equinoxes?<br /><br />As with the New Age attempts to restore the worship of the national religions of pre-Christian Europe, this is just being nostalgic, just choosing to venerate one or more abandoned state religions because it isn't the one witches suffer under now. All of these systems were invented, just as the arts, music, and letters of those cultures. We can do better. Use these traditions for the clues they give to how the magicians who invented them really thought and worked. Re-invent the Sacraments for the use of witches. Straighten them out along the way: 4 blessings - birth, acceptance into the community, mating, eldership; & 4 curses - dismissal, divorce, exile from the community, and death. Celebrate one of the blessings on the full moon and mourn one of the curses on the new moon.<br /><br />Just as Wicca has had to come to terms with its fake origins and the discovery that the so-called old religion of Europe was the survival of earlier state religions, not witchcraft, so it should come to terms with the need to abandon those old state religions, their calendars, their foods, and the rest. They were no better than the ones we have now. The ancient Mediterranean countries destroyed the shores of that sea, silting up their own harbors with the soil they were letting wash away by cutting down trees and growing grains in an area not natural adapted for them. Even now Europe, E. Asia, and N. America could save soil, labor, & money by replacing grain cultivation with chestnut tree cultivation. Let's forget them and modern W. Civ. at the same time and invent a new future based on the rule of nature and magic practice.Raymondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01451325538857225612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-46770428906352467262021-01-11T21:23:17.884-05:002021-01-11T21:23:17.884-05:00Most definitely. Its a shame we have to fight raci...Most definitely. Its a shame we have to fight racism and discrimination in our community as well as outside of it.Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15833903403803495986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-72209688539356275832020-12-24T15:07:04.494-05:002020-12-24T15:07:04.494-05:00I am sad that I am paying for the sins of our fath...I am sad that I am paying for the sins of our fathers but every nation has a past .all of us need to be providing the world with positive energy /magik.I thought our next battle after we step out as witches would be convincing men that they are witches also,but no I am fighting race hate for been a married white British witch ! Really quite funny if it wasn't so sadwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04957452562056844396noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-73878735280613865492020-12-21T11:12:39.817-05:002020-12-21T11:12:39.817-05:00Now that is an absolute shame. I tried to go back ...Now that is an absolute shame. I tried to go back and find the post you are referring to, but I failed to find it. Would you mind sharing it with me? There is absolutely no reason to attack the British for historical mistakes. I am all for attacking the colonist nature of the white man and learning how to decolonize our witchy practices, but that doesn't justify hateful language toward others. Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15833903403803495986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-26844670187132728252020-12-21T11:10:56.218-05:002020-12-21T11:10:56.218-05:00I am apart of a number of Facebook groups, but the...I am apart of a number of Facebook groups, but there is only one group I adamantly enjoy being apart of and that is Witchcraft & Chill. Unfortunately they are temporarily archived, but will hopefully be back soon. Apothecary At Home has a wonderful community for subscribers of their box and The Witch of Lupine Hollow has a group called Empowered Modern Witches that is great as well. Hopefully that helps!Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15833903403803495986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-49767622642970030692020-12-17T09:35:23.649-05:002020-12-17T09:35:23.649-05:00I had this book on preorder and I cancelled my ord...I had this book on preorder and I cancelled my order after she took to Instagram and said “all British people can fuck off”. Now I am in no way a patriot and am the first to say the history of Britain is awful, however her reasons were because of historical events from hundreds of years ago. It wasn’t the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last to hear of her distaste for the British people. Therefore I unfollowed and cancelled as I am sure she wouldn’t appreciate my British pound in her pocket. Ravenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03931680948971967818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-53347405466928054472020-12-07T04:37:23.536-05:002020-12-07T04:37:23.536-05:00Off topic question - do you have any suggestions f...Off topic question - do you have any suggestions for online witchcraft communities?Värunhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00076221246584311815noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-25781622993376850642020-12-05T11:58:06.282-05:002020-12-05T11:58:06.282-05:00The idea that I should always be hustling is real....The idea that I should always be hustling is real. Fuck capitalism. Haha! <br /><br />I really hope the idea that any medication hampers your magical abilities really needs to die. We should be lifting witches up for doing what is best for them and their health.Willowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15833903403803495986noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4440943230379430538.post-37483524998778250882020-12-05T10:26:04.893-05:002020-12-05T10:26:04.893-05:00Sweet Willow, please do not worry for a moment. Yo...Sweet Willow, please do not worry for a moment. Your readers are here for you and welcome your stellar posts - no matter the pace - with open arms.<br /><br />Thank you so much for another honest book review (and for specifically touching on how you feel this title is one that is apt to appeal to long-time witches). I've not read this title yet myself, but have also been eyeing it for a while now. <br /><br />What an interesting theory to put forth regarding the use of BC. Like yourself, I do not feel, especially as a multi-chronic illness warrior witch, that it - or most - medications necessarily hampers one's ability to be fully in tune with either their own body/spirituality or nature and seriously wish this mindset would. Let us firmly hope that this mindset - within the Pagan/witchy community as a whole - soon goes the way of the dinosaur. <br /><br />Autumn Zenith 🧡 <b><a href="http://witchcraftedlife.com" rel="nofollow">Witchcrafted Life</a></b> <br /><br />Witchcrafted Lifehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02992822472797191121noreply@blogger.com