WITCHY TALK - INTEGRITY & CULTURAL APPROPRIATION

September 4, 2020

Witchy Talk – Why are you a witch? Have you considered Cultural Appropriation? Let's talk

Being a witch, or following “The Path” or following “The Craft” is a personal choice for many – in fact Wicca is the fastest growing religion in the world right now. Have you stopped to consider why? And if you have decided to walk “The Path”, have you considered the cultural appropriation that comes with Wicca?

Wicca is a religion of predominantly women – many many young women in fact. But why? Is it the shock factor – young girls turning to something they know their parents won't approve of? Is it the lack of a main book (i.e. Bible or Koran or Torah) that dictates how one should live their life? (As an aside, it's not that there isn't a book to teach you how to walk “The Path” but rather there are hundreds if not thousands of books – perhaps this is the draw for some) Is it a call to follow the Divine Feminine and move away from the Patriarchy that has dominated so much of our modern history?

For each true Witch, there is a unique answer that speaks to their soul. Some feel a calling in their being – a knowing from their soul, that “The Craft” will bring them certainty and serenity in their life. Some are all about the power and the spells. Some practice because their BFF does. Some practice because mom, or an aunt, or nana passed along the gifts and secrets. Some practice because of the secretive aspect. Some can feel that in a past life they were a part of something larger than them and they are pulled back to walk a similar path. Kitchen Witches just know, as they cook, that they are putting magick in their meals. Green or Garden Witches have a deep knowing as everything around them grows, including plants that everyone has a tendency to kill.

No matter the Why? For the Why is always a personal choice, have you ever stopped to consider the should? After all, “The Craft” is relatively new to the modern stage – so much of original Wicca, or the traditions of The Cunning Folk, was lost over the past millennia. The Cunning Folk and Witches, along with Pagans, were forced underground by numerous organized religions (and the patriarchy) in the past. And as such, much of what is in practice today is borrowed or stolen (depending on your perspective) from other cultures.

Before we look at a few common traditions, lets look at where modern Wicca came from....this will give us perspective. Modern Wicca was really born from Gerald Gardner – any modern Witch knows this name – he is known as the Father of Modern Witchcraft. But where did Gerald Gardner (and most modern well known Witches) receive his/their teachings if so much of the ancient Craft has been lost?

Gerald Gardner and many other modern Witches received much of their teachings from Tribal Rituals, from Rites of Passage from other cultures, and from sacred ceremonies of Indigenous peoples from around the world. So did they steal, appropriate or mis-appropriate the traditions? Can you steal a concept? Or are we talking about semantics?

Let's dig deeper: Take Mantras. Mantras or Chants have been used all over the world and continue to be used today. Mantras or Chants were likely being used before Wicca, or Paganism or any of these names were even a thought. Mantra is a Hindu word. So is it OK to use the word Mantra when referring to a chant used during a Wiccan spell? Good Question right?

What about Karma? Again, Karma is a Hindu word for which there is no translation into English – and yet most Witches believe in Karma – take the Witches Rede or the Law of Three, (I'm paraphrasing but basically What ye put out, comes back you ye as three). Is that not Karma (or the Western interpretation of Karma)? So is it OK to use the word Karma. Or would it be better to refer to this phenomenon as Cosmic Reciprocity?

One last example from the Eastern traditions: Chakras – almost everyone in the West is now familiar with the term Chakra (even if they don't fully understand what a Chakra is). But again, this is a Hindu term – so it is OK to use it or should we refer to these as Energy Points?

Let's move on to Indigenous traditions. The Indigenous peoples around the world talk about Spirit Animals. Witches have adopted this term as well. But should they perhaps change to Spirit Helper, or Spirit Guide. Would using the term Spirit Guide also be “stepping on toes”?

How about Smudge? The tradition of using smoke from burning sacred plants to cleanse and clear an area, implements for an altar, or ingredients for a spell, has likely been around for centuries and comes to humanity from many many cultures. But the term “Smudge” is pretty exclusive to Indigenous cultures as a reference to an elaborate ritual of burning sacred herbs for the purposes of cleansing and clearing space and the human body and spirit. So is it OK for Witches to have adopted the use of the word Smudge? The fact is, the use of smoke was likely used by the ancestors who practiced a form, or various forms, of what we today see as modern Wicca, but is it appropriate to use the terms of another culture? Would it be more appropriate to use the term “Smoke cleanse?”

Seance is another adaptation of a ritual from the Spiritualist tradition. Black Salt is from Hoodoo and Voodoo. But are these different from the examples above as these refer to actual rituals and substances rather than just semantics.

There are so many more examples out there but that's not the point. In this blog I have posed far more questions than I have answered. Why would I do that?

Because this article, not unlike Wicca itself, is all about self exploration – having you take a good hard look at your reasons for identifying yourself as a Witch. It was all about having you ask yourself if what you're doing and the words you're using, are appropriate or potentially insulting?

My dear Witchy friends, so much of Witchcraft is about personal choices...and personal choice is what attracted you to this “Path” in the first place. Just ensure your personal choices are well informed decisions and based on all of the info you can possibly gather about your “Craft”.

In Love and Light

Marnie