So What's With the Woo?

As with all things, this is my opinion, how I see things and how I've seen/heard other's see and do it.  So take from it what you will, maybe my viewpoint(s) can help another with how they figure things.

So first things first.  What exactly is witchcraft?  Well, in my own words, witchcraft is a system by which a person, or group of persons, or person with the aid of another spirit/entity/deity or group of persons with the aid of the aforementioned entities work to affect change upon theirself, another person or a part of the world.  (An example would be the covens in England who regularly did spells to keep Nazi Germany from going to England.)

So what does this really  mean?  Well, basically it means that a witch (someone who practices witchcraft) holds a particular belief that there are energies associated with different things.  Theses things could be herbs, trees, crystals/stones, food, etc.  This also tends to mean that they believe in energy in general, akin to auras.  Witches believe, to varying degrees, that these energies can be used to affect change.  To put it simply, let's use hematite for an example.  Hematite is almost universally seen as a stone which is "grounding."  Grounding means keeping your personal energy under control, and keeping yourself connected to the ground, so when you have extra energy it goes down into Mother Earth and She takes the excess.  So keeping hematite on your person (a stone in your pocket, piece of jewelry, etc) helps you in this.

So what does THAT really mean?  Well, witches use these energies in their spells/rituals.  For example if a witch wants to invite romantic love into their life they will use symbols which they associate with romantic love.  Those associations are what carries a lot of the energy and seriously helps direct it.  By putting that energy into their life they will begin to attract romantic love.

Here is really where a lot of the disparaging opinions come in.  A lot of people decry the legitimacy of the energy witches work with because you can't see or feel it.  The thing is, as witches we do believe in it because we indeed can feel it, and some of us see it.  By not believing in it, not seeing it, not feeling it...that doesn't mean it's not real.  While it's a simplistic thing to say, I have never seen Shanghai with my own eyes, nor touched it with my hands.  Doesn't mean it's not there.

Same with a macaw.  I've never seen one, or heard one or held one.  They are still real.  Disbelief does not make something not real for someone else; and especially if it helps that someone else cope, or heal or if it's part of their worldview....that is no reason to look down upon it, try to tell them they shouldn't do it, etc.

~*~*~*~*~

I've taken a few days away from this post as I had too much to say before and was having difficulty organizing my thoughts into coherent sentences.  At this point I think there really are two things I want to put in this post before I publish it.  The first is that when things are boiled down, if doing a spell or ritual helps someone to accomplish something, to power/start/help them with something or to aid them with coping, then what harm does it do?  (And no, you absolutely may not, in any way, use the "you're going to hell" or "this goes against god" line.  Under no circumstances should any of you to force your beliefs upon someone else.)

The second thing is this -- You can look at a spell like a recipe.  In a recipe there are several things you put together to make one big dish, right?  Each thing has it's own purpose, even if it's just a little salt to bring out the flavor.  When you choose these items you do so (or I hope you do) knowing what they're going to do, why you're using them, how much to use them and so forth.  You then know in which manner you will combine them (stirring, flipping, boiling, whisking, etc) for how long, if it needs to bake or rise and so on and so forth.

Taking this line of thought a little further, we even know why we are making whatever it is we are making.  Is it for dinner, to feed and nourish ourselves/our family?  Is it for a party or potluck?  Or perhaps is it a treat that will be portioned out over the next few days for desert?  So do witches know the purpose of the spell they are casting.  And truthfully, most witches will know the exact purpose of their spell with much more clarity, forethought and intention than anyone who is cooking will.  We [witches] will know that we are casting a spell for us to get a new job, which has all of the benefits we need, is within a certain distance, will (or perhaps will not, you never know!) have room for advancement and will have a minimum of x-salary requirements.

Going along with this train of thought, we [witches] will know the exact purpose of each and every item we are putting in our spell.  For example, if we are doing a self love spell we will have things which represent ourselves such as hair, nail trimmings, a photo, a sample of our handwriting, our name, etc.  We will then also include things which represent love, thinking sweetly of ourselves and so forth.  For me this includes hearts, pink flowers, teddy bears, pink glitter and granulated and/or brown sugar.  For me each of these things represents a specific part of non-sexual love.  Because of this belief and my will [energy] and intent being poured into them, these things lend their energies to the spell.  So then we believe this aids us in putting our will [desire/intent/need] out into the Universe for the Universe [God, gods, goddesses, spirits, entities, angels, etc] to do what They need to do to aid us in whatever purpose our spell is for; in my self-love example this would mean aiding me in learning to love myself.

~*~*~
So for witches, the woo is necessary.  It's what we do and for most of us we fucking love it.  I LOVE casting spells because for me, when I cast a spell it means I'm taking charge and working  to make a change I see is necessary.  Are all the bits and bobbles necessary?  Absolutely not; but that's rather advanced and I just don't have the gumption to go into that right now.  It's all about energy manipulation, visualization and for many, myself included, work in the astral.  So, I'm just so not going there right now.

For those who just can't grasp what a spell is, I typically say that it's simply a really involved prayer, with lots of bells and whistles.  Now.  That doesn't mean people are going to easily accept someone casting spells, even if they can "get" what a spell is.  For that situation a lot of understanding and compromise is needed.  If I want/need to do a spell or ritual I will do them when I'm home alone or outside when I can, for various reasons including my boyfriend's atheistic beliefs and his incredible sensitivity to scented smoke (so I only burn herbs or incense if I have 2 hours or more to air out the house LOL Otherwise?  Insta-migraine time).
~*~*~*~*~

**A word from the wise**

Just because you haven't personally seen the affects of your spell doesn't mean it isn't working, hasn't worked, or isn't going to work.  A lot of things take time; the Universe runs at it's own pace and as humans we never, ever see what's right in front of us.  Also, it's entirely possible that what you did isn't meant to happen.

There's a lot of reasons for you, in this moment, not seeing any results of your spell.  Be patient, sit back, relax, quit poking at your bruise, stop picking at the scab and let things take place in the time and way they were meant to take.

**An additional word from the wise**

Also -- when we are overfocused on something we often can't see it and then we become stubborn and refuse to do anything big about it.  Especially if it's a spell like, for a job for example, even after we cast the spell we still must do all the things; send out resumes, fill out applications, check the job sites and boards, etc.  The Universe (and literally every deity and spirit I have ever worked with) will not help you if you won't help yourself.  In the end, why should They?